Christmas in the North Woods

Play and rest. 

Eat and visit. 

Tell stories and make new ones. 

Christmas in the North Woods is much like Christmas elsewhere.

It was a perfect evening for a snowshoe on the shore of Lake Superior. Someone else thought it was a great evening for a swim.

From One Cardinal Point to Another

The anticipation, and the waiting, will soon be over. 

Christmas Cheer

 

Though darkness abounds, light holds fast.

The office is closed; the neighborhood lights are lit. Christmas is around the corner.

Winter Solstice

The long dark is at its zenith. On the other side, light awaits.

Though the mist and dark may obscure them, beauty and mystery are most always present.

Sparkling eyes and a broad grin made the effort totally worthwhile.

It wasn't until right before we got ready to leave that I remembered I could choose to live in the present.

Her new morning routine delights everyone involved.

Life is always hard and hope is never absent.

Little Todd Harbor, Isle Royale National Park
photo by Phil

Remembering that a storm at sunset can be beautiful takes practice.

Yesterday was a good day for planning. 

Today's news might precipitate a complete rewrite.

Cat Show, continued

I'm almost embarrassed to post more cat show photos here today, but a cat show is about the strangest thing I've ever seen and, really, how could I not share that with you.

Watch where you're puttin' your hands, lady.

No, I don't think so. Uh, nope. Definitely not.

Please, just don't look, okay?

You pinch me anywhere else and I'll show you what dees toofs are for.

Don't kid yourself. I'm letting her do this.

Here's how it's gonna work, Moe. You distract 'em and I'll slip out before anyone notices. Then we'll figure out how to spring you.

You're gonna do what?

#59

Owner/handler places #59 on the judge's table.

and then walks away

to which #59 objects, strongly.

#59 executes his escape strategy

only to find his plan foiled by the evil judge.

#59 looks to his owner/handler for deliverance, but help is nowhere to be found.

Finally the judge relents and returns #59 to the show ring kennel

from where #59 gives the evil judge what for

and eagerly watches #60's fate.

Adventures in Cat Ownership

This could have gone one of several different ways. 

It's a good thing I needed a laugh tonight.

Day's End

I've been looking forward to this all day: relaxing by the fire, conversing with Phil, and enjoying a glass (or two) of wine.

A Day in the Worklife

It began with a late bus and a cat hair on my breakfast.

The mid-point included gawking at this sugary habitation.

And it ended well before I could complete any of the tasks on my to-do list.

Viewpoint

The days haven't been what I had hoped for or anticipated.

Nor have they been completely ruined.

Creative Endeavors

Over the weekend I visited with two dollmakers.

Their creativity and originality delighted me to no end.

Skill Sets

We lived for several years in rural Vermont. It's a nice place to live and all—very pretty in the fall—but can I just say that making a living there can be challenging, especially if one happens to have moved there right out of college?

One of my innumerable odd jobs during our tenure in the Green Mountain State was shipping and receiving for a small distributor of environmentally friendly products, a job in which I learned to cut down and reconfigure reclaimed cardboard boxes—it was the environmentally friendly thing to do—faster than normal people can pick a box cutter and tape gun out of an ordinary lineup of odd tools that make other people's lives easier. But that was a long time ago, and over the years my familiarity with the vagaries of cardboard and the wiles of packing tape diminished into a vague, "don't I know you from somewhere" kind of acquaintanceship.

Or so I'd imagined until the day I needed to ship something for work and I couldn't find a box for it anywhere.

Anticipation

I'd looked forward to this day for months, but I never anticipated how difficult it would be.