Frozen Walls

 Looking out the window today, I noticed the big tree with the blue and white sky behind it.

Looking out the back window directly across from us is the neighbor's back door.

And look what he had done!

I don't know how or why he did this, as they have no children living at home. This has two side walls and is open inside, like a fort.

Snow‑stacked towers guard the night,

glittering under a silver moon.

Inside, the cold feels gentle,

 like a lullaby carved in blue.

Shadowing

 We did not lose our power and the storm is over! Thanking you all for your prayers! I thought I would post a few photos I took of shadows. The church is the local Catholic church and the hot air balloon is hanging from our front porch.

Shadows remind us that light is near.

The Perch

 
Last summer, a tiny bird used our garden flag as a perch. And the flag actually has the picture of a bird on it. Making the perfect photo op.

I don't mean to brag

But I have a bird on my flag!

P.S. We are facing a huge historic blizzard Saturday night, as over half the country is. So if you don't hear from me in awhile, you will know we have lost power.

Hello Dollys

Our city is the hometown of a famous artist, P. Buckley Moss. She had a museum here before she moved to a storefront downtown. Her paintings are expensive, and are in quite a few doctor's offices. To give you an idea of the size, her dollhouse sits in this window, on the right side. Her specialty is portraying the Amish life.

Let's stop on the front porch for awhile.

In the front is the living room.

This is the children's playroom upstairs.

I smell pies, so let's look in the kitchen.

An Amish doll teaches that love needs no features.

Warmth You Can Twirl In

 

For Christmas last month, I gave my girlfriend this. Here is what the description on Amazon said it is:

“Nomad Women's Retro Style Poncho Cape Boho Shawl Wraps Ruana Printed Tassel Cardigan for Spring Fall Winter”

What the heck?

The description of this is 5 different things!

1.Poncho

2.Shawl

3.Cape

4.Ruana

5.Cardigan

And what Is a Ruana anyway? 

“A ruana is a wool poncho-style outer garment native to the Colombian and Venezuelan Andes.”

 It was very soft and beautiful though. Here she is trying it on in the mirror with me snapping behind her.

I'm thinking of buying one myself.

“A poncho turns a breeze into a moment.”

The Game

 I am usually pretty good at finding new games that we can all play. And for this last Christmas, I found this game. It's supposed to be a barrel of laughs.

The object is to stick your hands in these sleeves and try to pick up and eat tiny marshmallows by grabbing them with these teeny tiny hands.

At first it started out well enough.

But it was very tricky, and soon they all hated it! As you can see by the agonizing looks on Dara's face.

I guess I was the only one who liked it. Anyway, here they all are at the end of the evening. Wonder if they will ever trust me to pick out another game...

“Every family has that one game nobody likes—but everyone plays anyway, just to laugh about it later.”

Sunday Sunset - Twice The Magic

 Another beautiful sunset. We had company at the time so I could not go out to snap it. But I did get a couple shots from the porch and two reflections through the door. The last two are the door reflections.

“Where the sky leans down to meet its own reflection.”