Winter on the River

Another weekend here and gone.

 

I shot this photo yesterday when I was supposed to be on my way to the store. It was really brisk at 7:00a.m. but I had to get out of my car and seek the sunshine.

 

Friday night we gathered with some most excellent friends down by the Columbia River to watch the boat parade. We've lived here 4 winters and had never made it to see the Christmas parade on the river. The wind was blowing and I had on three layers of coats, a silly looking hat and gloves. Just five days earlier it had been 61 degrees. Friday night it was in the 30's but felt like 20's. The weather is a bit fickle here.

 

There is a lot of money in the TriCities and you really know it when you see the yachts moored nearby. When we first moved here, I worked for a local attorney  who owned one and he always took the staff out for a cruise one Friday afternoon in June. I got to go once before he died unexpectedly. I had never been on a yacht before and doubt I will ever be on one again. It was lovely. I hardly see a yacht without thinking about that day in June.

 

My camera did not do well in the dark but I hope you can get an idea of how these yachts look all lit up, cruising down the river, admired by thousands of onlookers. I'm not sure I'll want to stand out in the cold to watch them again but I told my husband that we owe it to the yacht owners to come out to see them, even if they can't see us in the dark. It must be a tremendous amount of work to string lights on a boat in the cold.

 

The best part was sitting in the car, warming up and listening to the banter between my good friend and my hubby. She has an infectious laugh and he loves to tease her. It was totally pitch black when I turned around from the front seat and shot these pics. I'm surprised I didn't permanently blind both of them. I can't remember what he said to make her howl but it was probably naughty. Good times! 

 

I'm working for the weekend now. Only 11 more days until the shortest day of the year and then we will start gaining sunlight. Can I get an amen?

 

love, susan

 

 

 



Randomly Written

 

I woke up happy and grateful today. It's raining and it's all good. I dug out my raincoat last weekend and found my umbrella yesterday. I don't like rain but we need it here right now and it beats snow.

 

When I was a little girl, we lived in Seattle for two years while my dad went to airplane mechanic school. I loved having an umbrella and was mesmerized by watching the raindrops drip from the edges of it. Funny how some memories are branded in our brains like that.

 

We have a lovely invitation for dinner at one of my dearest friend's parents' house tomorrow. We're going! I love love love being invited to dinner. We've only spent one T-day in Tri-Cities since we moved here. I'm glad we're going to take it easy and just hang. I'm tired and need rest. Easier said than done. I'm going to make a list of movies to rent and hope for torrential rains to keep us indoors.

 

My new job is insanely busy. So far, so good. Just learning the ropes and my way around the courthouse. Super nice people. Fast paced. Reminds me of my days in Yuma, Arizona. I get an hour for lunch and since I'm riding the bus to work now, I'll have time to sit and read each day. Going to finish up that book series ("Wicked") my darling daughter-in-law gave me in August. Five hours a week to read will be a super treat!

 

Well, gotta get moving and get on with my day. Happy day to you wherever you are.

 

What are your plans for the holiday weekend?  Do tell!

love, susan






Flowers and Ice

I shot this photo last July when we were near Detroit Lake, Oregon. I always love seeing the opposites in things. I laughed when I saw the "ice" sign behind the flowers, trying to imagine how such a beautiful, warm place could get cold enough for ice. I also knew this picture would come in handy for a blog post one day.

I have little clumps of deep green stems poking up in front of my house. When I mention it to my friends they ask me if I have crocus.  Truth is, I'm not sure.  I can't remember what flowers I have.  I only know that seeing life spring up this time of year makes me very happy and I always send a little "thank you" up in the air to whoever planted those perennial flowers. I'll bet they have no idea how much their thoughtfulness is appreciated.  As the temps are not all that warm at night, I think it's a miracle that the yearlies poke their heads up already.

I know it's not officially spring yet ... but it's real  close! 

love, susan

Winter Abyss

Dec. 2008 - Richland, WA

We have snow in the forecast for Saturday. How can that be? Just last Sunday it was 63 degrees.  I'm not ready, in my head, for snow. But it will likely come and it'll be okay.  Last year, we didn't get much snow but at this time of the year I was anxiously waiting to travel to Flagstaff for Justin's graduation. A week before graduation, in mid-December, Flagstaff had a huge dump of snow that made the national news.  (I wish I could find my digital photos to insert but I wasn't all that organized with my pics last year). When we got there, we stayed in a little timeshare condo that Nancy and dad had. It was so cute & warm and we really enjoyed the couple of days in Flag with the heavy snow. As we were leaving on Sunday, another snow storm was blowing in and we stayed ahead of that storm to get me to the Phx airport. 

Snowy weather always makes me want to stay home and bake cookies. I've been thinking about baking all week and while I need to get my house cleaned really well this weekend, I gotta find some time to bake. Baking always takes me to a wonderful place in my mind.  I need that right now. I suffer from seasonal affective disorder (see SAD for more info) and since moving here from AZ, it has relapsed.  Yesterday was a tough day, for no particular reason other than the skies have been gray and I just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head and cry. I get this overwhelming sense of gloom and often times sit on the edge of tears this time of year.  It's nothing new for me, I've been like this my entire life. I know it will pass and I just tell myself to hold on and get out those cute purple winter boots! Still .... I look forward to spring.

My kids are coming next week so I'd better do double time in front of the light box.  Gotta go for now! 

love, Susan