There has been a huge change in the weather in the last week. The morning chill is getting colder (25F this morning), and yesterday we had our first dusting of snow! It only lasted half a day - until the sun came up and melted it away. There was no real accumulation, but the little bit we got coated the ground in a white powder.

Sedona loves the snow, and she didn't hesitate to show her joy by rolling around in the front yard. I walked around the yard, taking note of the large ice crystals and the way they lay upon the foliage. The sun wasn't over the horizon yet, so I had to use my flash to take photos. The light reflected off the snow crystals, accenting the sharp edges. I especially loved the way the snow contrasted with the crimson of the strawberry spinach. I was surprised to see that the strawberry spinach plants are still alive and well; we've been dipping below freezing for almost two weeks now.

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"My son, when you were born, you brought me happiness,
as you grew, you made me laugh and brought me joy,
now you are a man, and you make me proud!"
~ Catherine Pulsifer ~

I'd like to start off with a big "Happy Birthday" to my youngest son. Today is Brandon's 24th birthday. Hard to believe that almost a quarter century has passed since I brought him into this world. I am so proud of the man he grew up to be. I love you BooBooLa! *kiss*

I think winter is here. It's been snowing for two days. The snow isn't falling heavily, and accumulation is only about an inch, but the fact that it's been going on for two straight days is worrisome. Last year the first sticking snow of winter didn't come until October 23rd. This is a couple of weeks too early, if you ask most of us interior residents! I'm hoping the sun will come out, melt off the snow that has fallen, and we'll have a couple more weeks before we move into this next (long) season. Only time will tell. The photo at left was taken at Pioneer Park late yesterday afternoon.

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The past few days have been a definite roller coaster for me. I think I have felt every emotion known to humankind in the last 96 hours. I've laughed. I've cried. I've had moments of melancholy, joy, outrage, and elation.

On Monday, the house that I grew up in on Tomlinson Road in Philadelphia was sold. (The photo at left is our family home)

The couple who bought the house are nice enough, and are excited about the house. I don't think they have any young children and that makes me a little sad. When we put Mom's house on the market, I really hoped that a family with children would move in and make the kind of memories my brothers and I made. But then again, it's a different world now. I don't believe that many kids of today will ever have the free-spirited, innocent, childhood that kids of our generation did. The world has changed a lot in the last four decades.

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We are quickly losing precious hours of daylight. The sun doesn't brighten the morning sky until close to 9am now. Since I'm usually up before 7am, it's hard to get used to sitting in darkness for a couple of hours. One of the advantages to these late sunrises, is being awake to see them. This morning the sky was striped in pale purple, orange and a deep teal blue. I stood out on the back deck watching the colors change, as the chickadees began their morning whistles for seed.

Last week, I picked up two full-spectrum lamps from Home Depot. I have one in the living room, and bought the other one for the bedroom. They're desk lamps, and not really stylish - but that really doesn't matter to me. I've been using the one in the living room for several hours per day - both morning and night. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, or mind over matter, but I feel it's helping. We'll see how things go when we're really in the midst of what sometimes seems like eternal darkness.

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The snow came on Thursday morning, and continued on and off all day long. By the time the skies were done dropping huge white flakes on the ground, we had an accumulation of just about seven inches!

I took these two photos early in the day, from the back deck.

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“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

We had more snow fall since my last entry. By my estimation it was about 2 inches. While the skies were gray as the snow fell, the next day brought blue skies with wispy clouds, and frost-encased trees. This is the experience of winter that I love the most.

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When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown~

Souzana asked us to dress up for dance class on Monday night. Truth be told, I wasn't in any mood to play along with the Halloween festivities. Since my sons are now grown and don't live at home, I no longer have the box of costumes and accessories which were always a lifesaver in years gone by. What in the world could I be?

I went out with my friend Abby earlier last week, and one of our stops took us to JoAnns. I saw cat ears with an attached bow tie, and decided that it would definitely be better than nothing. I didn't even buy face paint, hoping that I could reproduce a cat using only makeup pencils. The result was quite admirable considering my limited tools. Armed only with a black eyeliner pencil, I transformed myself into a Halloween feline. Ironically, my less than excited mood was definitely lifted once the transformation was made.

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