I've been going through the past few months, absorbing all the warmth and comfort around me, trying not to miss one moment. This week, however, has been mentally and emotionally draining, and since the beginning of my blog I have made a point to limit my more serious and depressing posts, so I have written very little over the past few days. Here I try, not only to spread a morsel of hope or peace or beauty -or simple sweetness, but also to provide for myself a tiny little corner of refuge, where I can go back every once in a while and follow my links to peruse all the beautiful little things I have found on flickr and in other blogs. It's good to have a place like this. I highly recommend if you ever consider starting a journal as a path toward emotional well-being that you make time for at least one place where you can and must focus on those glimpses of light that grace each of your days-especially those that you might otherwise forget.
So in the spirit of peace and silence, and beauty, I won't begin now to explain how I have felt these past few days. Instead I will offer a single photo for thought. It's one that I took last week, on the same day that I took my most recently posted photo. (Sometimes I think in order to fully appreciate the depth of the photographer's (a term used very loosely in this case) vision, it's best to enjoy just one photo at a time.)
I like to look beyond the snow-covered branches. To me, the soft white shadows almost seem to swallow the trees with snow, yet they somehow seem so comforting-even inviting. I feel as though I want to wrap myself up in the white, and even though it is so cold I will be warm. ...The perfect place for quiet solitude, though it can't quite decide whether it wants to protect its untarnished surface, or whether it would be better loved by a silent path of footprints...
Or maybe it's just a photo I took from my porch before rushing off to work, trying to squeeze in a peek at the season before it's gone and my eyes start to shift toward dew drops and daffodils. Either way.
And here's another sneak peak at a new project in progress.
...I suppose it's a good thing that none of us will ever start all our inspirations. Having them to dream about can be just as beautiful, after all.
It has been a rough week, and I'm glad the weekend is here, though I will probably end up back at work on Sunday anyway. We thought we had just reached the end of a horrible run with Tommy's bad stomach bug on Monday -until I proceeded to get sick throughout the night. Yesterday was the only day this week that BOTH Brian and I were at work at the same time, and we were called out early due to Tommy getting sick yet again. Of course Brian's car was possessed and wouldn't start, so we both had to leave. Well, it would start... but then the engine wouldn't turn over, so it wasn't really starting up. This comes after a problem a couple of weeks ago with the high beams randomly deciding to stay on even after the car had been turned off. Brian took the fuses out because we just didn't have time to deal with it right away, and we have been avoiding the use of his car at night since. It's still sitting at work now, and we're not quite sure what we're going to do with it. We have been on edge about whether to put an offer on the most recent house we saw, but if we need to replace Brian's car, depending on the problem, we will want deal with that before we are sure just how much we want to spend on a house. Now we just don't really know what we're going to do about much of anything. Of course, I know I could have MUCH bigger problems than all of this and am really just thankful that Tommy seems to have finally kicked his virus. After all, when we had to postpone his party last Saturday, I only pushed it back two weeks. It sounds like Brian is about to get the stomach virus now too, and as much as I don't want him to get it, if he is going to I sure hope he gets it soon so we don't have to miss any more time from work next week, and so we have time to wipe out every last germ before we invite guests in for a party!
I was going to save this until I had finished the collection, but I haven't shown you much lately, so here is a sneak peek. (I'm at a stand-still anyway, at least until I buy more pens.... )
Don't forget the ketchup. =)
The cupcakes are done. I did also find some pretty perfect gifts, like this toy - and Peter Pan on DVD. We let Thomas open his presents early due to our schedule this week, and he played with the truck for most of the night. ...He'll bring the cupcakes to school tomorrow. (Yes, those cupcake cups do have Lightning McQueen on them. How cool is that?)
...You know the stuff you are feeding your children is just terrific when it "will remain fresh indefinitely." Hmm...
Somebody's birthday is coming up. There was a time when I could hardly imagine what it would be like when he would turn five. It's hard to believe that day is right around the corner and that he now enjoys games like tic tac toe and Uno.
It was time for something different. I still haven't finished, only because I ran out of yarn just a row or two from the end (plus the border). It was a bit too repetitive to enjoy as much as some of my other projects, but the blanket itself grew on me as I worked on it. That may be because the second skein of yarn still had some shine to it. The first skein had faded before I even brought it out. Oh well. I really just did it to keep my hands busy, so it doesn't really matter.
