Posted tagged ‘doilies’

“The bigger the darkness, the easier it is to spot your little light.”

February 22, 2015

Last night it poured. I could hear snow and icicles sliding off the house to the deck. Even the dog woke up a couple of times, listened, heard nothing else and went back to sleep. Today has been a medley of rain and snow and rain again. My street is a sheet of ice. This morning I went across the street to get my yesterday’s mail and started to slide. I caught myself but the going and coming was so slippery I had to keep stopping to regain my balance. Finally I got to a snow bank and the walking was easy. That I didn’t fall is a miracle and soon enough the pilgrims will arrive to this holy spot.

Today is above freezing but tonight will be in the 20’s, the start of another cold trend. Tomorrow night will be 2˚.

When I was young, I thought of snow as a wonder. I loved to stand outside with my face raised to the sky and my eyes wide opened as I watched the snow fall. The individual shape of each flake reminded me of the doilies on the backs of my grandmother’s chairs. As the snow fell, the lawns and branches would get a light covering, but I could still see the tops of the grasses taller than the snow. The roads looked wet and the snow took longer to cover them.

Newly fallen snow undisturbed by cars or people is beautiful. Tall trees alone stand above the white carpet. Everything else is covered. My favorites are always the fir trees. They have snow but they also have greenery, mostly at the ends of their branches.

The strand of Christmas lights I didn’t take down from a section of my deck rail shine brightly every night. In the storm to end all storms, though they were covered in snow, I could see the different colors shining through. They looked as if they were covered by a white veil. Each night the little heat from those lights melted a bit of the snow and the bulbs’ colors got brighter. There is now no snow left on the rail. Tonight the lights will shine in all their brilliance and push back a bit of the darkness.

“If adventure does not wait on the doorstep, climb out through the window”

September 21, 2011

The day is warmer than it’s been, the sun is shining and the air is quite still. I was on the deck just after I woke up and thought how much about how much I love the mornings almost anywhere I am. When I was in Europe, I was always up so early breakfast had yet to be served. I’d go outside and listen to and watch the stirrings of the day. I’d smell the air as the morning air smells different. It has a freshness full of possibilities. In Ghana, the mornings begin early, but they were always my favorite part of the day. On this trip, I loved getting up at 6 and watching as Bolga woke up and began its day. When I worked, I was up at 5 or 5:15, and I felt as if I were the only person alive. No other house had lights, and I never heard cars. On warm mornings I’d stand outside and watch the sky for the first rays of the sun. It was a glorious way to begin my day.

Today I have a few errands, and my friends and I are going out to dinner to celebrate both their birthdays. Nothing much is planned for the rest for the week. My dance card is fairly empty.

My trip has stirred the travel bug far more than I expected. I had hoped to silence it for a bit, but it seems the bug is spreading throughout my entire body. I find myself looking at different travel sites wondering about my next trip. I’ll have to fill the larder, my bank account, first, but now I have a reason to save more money.

I’m laughing thinking of all the new hobbies I should start to occupy my day so I can stay home and spend nothing. Maybe I’ll learn to crochet, and everyone will get doilies for Christmas, the kind that go over the chair backs. There’s always origami and making thousands of cranes. They can decorate Christmas gift boxes of doilies. Years ago I made my own wrapping paper with stamps and water-color trees.  That sounds like a wonderful project. It goes on the list. Colorful napkins are easy to make-it’s just keeping the hems straight which gives me trouble. Maybe I’ll make them all different sizes and shapes so they’ll look avant-garde, not messy. People will think me creative rather than untalented with a needle and thread.

Well, it’s time to make the bed, get dressed and get in gear. I miss having my bed made, and I miss calling Thomas to pick me up for the day’s adventure though I suppose, no matter where, every day can always be an adventure.