Tag Archives: Holiday

Weekly Photo Challenge – Surprise & 2012 in Photos

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I’m cheating - 2 Challenges in one.

Surprise! On Dec. 24th at 1:00 AM, my daughter came home to NH from her trip to AZ. I made her stand outside the door and wait while I prepared the atmosphere in the living room. A crackling fireplace is something we’ve never had in our house before, but this year thanks to Netflix we had it complete with Christmas Carols!

WElcome home Jaz

2012 In Photos

The year of the Dragon began with sunshine and contemplation.

DSC_0488We never escape the winter whiteness in NH.Out Front WinterA trip to NYC for a change of scenery.Geo 2wSpring comes slowly…and so does change. It’s a difficult year.me at beachThe blooming of hope.Haze wBeauty offers comfort.The imperfectionLife goes on.back wall 4We may need to leave here someday….my living room 2but we can still enjoy what we have for now.Amoskeag damA strong & healthy man recovers quickly.for berter or worseSharing memories with old friends.Lake W2Saying I’ll love you forever, thank you, and goodbye for now.Mom & Me wTaking care of my own health becomes a priority.My yoga 2 For the first time in 20 years we celebrate the holidays in our own little home….first & lastand cope with winter the as best as we can.coping with winter

Weekly Photo Challenge – Thankful

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DSC_0096My mother passed away the week before Thanksgiving. In order to give enough time for notifying loved ones, to avoid the holiday and allow people to make travel arrangements, we scheduled the memorial service for Dec. 1st. I think this was the first Thanksgiving I have not celebrated with my parents in 55 years.

I’m thankful for my family & friends, and their love and support during this difficult time.

I’m thankful that my mom is not suffering anymore, and that she is in a better place.

I’m thankful for traditions that bring us back together and keep us moving forward.

 http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/weekly-photo-challenge-thankful

A Strange Year

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Oct. 27, 2011 – I get a call from my daughter who’s in college near Albany, NY. “Mom it’s snowing!”, “You’re kidding, right?” I responded. A couple hours later we had a little snow dusting as well, just a little.

Oct. 28, 2011 – We woke up to see that the grass & cars were covered with a 1/2 inch white frosting. We had to defrost the cars before work & school. It melted away within an hour or two.

Oct. 29, 2011 – A reasonably nice day until about 4:00 PM. Snowflakes began to flutter down and we laughed, “I’ve heard we were going to have a snowstorm today”.

I thought, oh, it probably wont accumulate, it will just fall and melt, after all it’s not even Halloween yet. The leaves have not all turned color, and most of them are still attached to the trees. It has been an unusually late fall, not even very cold until this past week. Hmm…

5:30 PM in Manchester, NH – This is hard to believe.

We were still expecting it to stop soon and melt away.

7:30 PM – My son says, “What’s going on? It’s like the movie, Day After Tomorrow.”

Not really, but it is strange.

 In the 15 years I’ve lived in NH it has never snowed this much this early.

 One year we had a little flurry on Halloween that lasted about 30 minutes.

 A couple times it snowed during Thanksgiving. But usually, it doesn’t snow a lot until January. Often we’ve had a white Christmas, but not always. I saw enough snow last winter to last a lifetime and was not quite ready for this yet.

9:00 PM – The snow plow just went by, I see 4 inches on the tree branches.

Tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, and who knows what’s next. Is the world tilting? Perhaps we’re moving further north and the sun is moving further south. Is the equator still in the same place? We never know what might be happening on the large scheme of things. With that in mind I think that every moment is a gift of time to live lovingly, creatively and joyfully, regardless of the weather, or the changes in our lives.