Mid-February

See that picture on the blog banner up there? The one that looks like a winter wonderland? That was, magically, December 26th of 2012. I snapped that with my phone while on a long lakeside tromp through the white stuff with a dear girlfriend here in town.

That's also what it looks like outside today. The difference being that it's still furiously coming down (and isn't supposed to stop until after dark) and it's February 17th. My, what an enormous difference those 7 little weeks make in the face of a beautiful snowstorm. I wish that I could say I still find it ethereally gorgeous at this point in winter, but that's the nature of living where there are vast changes between seasons. By mid-February, one certainly marvels at the falling snow, but instead of reveling in it... one copes (though the younger set seems to feel otherwise, which is amazing - how can I reclaim that?).

The tricky part of mid-winter is that I probably should try to revel in it a bit more, because soon enough it will be 95 degrees and humid. I'll break out in a sweat by merely carrying a watering can across the yard from the rain barrel to the vegetable beds. My feet will be bare and I'll have the minimum amount of clothing possible on my body. The kids will likely be cavorting through the sprinkler completely naked. Then we will sit down for popsicles and think... wouldn't it be fun to make a snowman right now?!

So, on this no-school holiday while the house is quiet for naps and rest time, I'm racking my brain for ideas. We had a partially normal morning with Christopher guesting at Colin's playschool class and a sizeable trip to the grocery store. We will need both the kitchen and our playthings to help us ward off the crazies in the last few hours of the day. Maybe we'll create some paperbag puppets. Or, I'll break out the power tools and finally hang up that new rack of hooks for the dress up corner. I just took a stick of butter and an egg out of the fridge (we have chocolate chips - never weather a winter storm chip-less!). The pot of soup for dinner is done: tonight we're having Potato Leek.

There's just a little over one month left in this winter. (Yes, yes... we often get freak snowfalls through spring and the temperatures only climb out of freezing. Sadly, spring does not mean 70 degrees and sunny!) But this is what mid-winter does mean: It's garden planning time. It's the time to make any root veggie recipes that haven't been fully explored. It's the time to use the oven at will since that's the last appliance I'll want to use come summertime. It's the time to break out any art/crafting supplies or ideas that I've been hoarding. And it's time for a new knitting project!

This is a picture of The Icicle House a few blocks away from us. 

Aren't those icicles impressive? It's going to look even better tomorrow morning after all of this snow!

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there. You are loved.

In short order, the love of my life will be home after an extra-long day of work. He's my most favorite person in the whole world, you know. He's written me a Valentine's Day poem every single year for the last 18 years. (I had to count that up twice just to be sure!) I loved this year's edition. :)

After almost 18 full years together, 2+ kids, graduate school, a mortgage and minivan, various jobs and homes made all over the world... we still laugh with each other. We make decisions together. We are each other's biggest supporter and fiercest defender. He is the most important person in the world to me and I to him. The most important.

Our children are spectacularly lovely and we spend much of our time striving to provide for their happiness and well-being. We made them and obviously, we think they're pretty great.

But, ultimately, at the end of the day, it's about the two of us. And we're pretty darn good together.

Fleming's Anthem

Seriously. All of the press about Renee Fleming's super-human abilities and amazingly daring choice to sing without a backup track!!! is just funny. It was the only 2:03 minutes of the Superbowl that I watched yesterday and I was so proud to see the art form I love included in the show.

The commentator who remarked, "Best I've heard it sung," immediately after she finished, made me audibly respond, "Damn straight." And then, "Duh, of course."

Look. Pop artists are great and have a (big) place in today's music marketplace. But. Classical singers are trained singers! She made it look easy because, well... singing evenly and well-supported and healthfully over two octaves (amateurs always forget that about our anthem and screw themselves by starting too high) is EASY for a classical singer of Fleming's calibur and experience. She could have easily sung it several steps higher, in fact. And she looked good, too! No eyes squinting shut to squeeze out notes that are difficult, no sign of performance anxiety, no jaw shaking and tongue wiggling. Just gorgeous, healthy singing. And, trust me... it was easy.