Melting then freezing

leaves ice rink roads and sidewalks -

       skiing?  I think not! 

Sun sets and temps drop

from fifty to "low of 8" -

         it was a nice day.

We skied at the Forrestville Trailhead. Still easing back into this - maybe Blueberry Ridge tomorrow. (Temps supposed to get up to 14, so we'll see.) 

Tracks in snow on the

pedestrian corridor-

       new cross country skis!

We haven't skied in 10 or 15 years. We made it from Fair to Crescent and back. Next maybe a real trail. 

Snow on the rooftops,

windows twinkle in the dark - (1)

       half moon over town.

(1) or "lights twinkle from the ski hill" 

(from the library parking lot!) 

               

St Matthias Day - he

replaced Judas as will

       spring replace winter.

 

Feb 24 in the Episcopal Church and some others. In some places his day was a sign of spring's approach.

One long power cord,

a hair dryer, two cold hands -

       and yesterday's mail.

 

The mailbox was frozen shut!  

"Yes, I received your letter yesterday

(about the time the doorknob broke)

When you asked me how I was doing,

Was that some kind of joke?"

         - Bob Dylan 

 I have come to see the stories of The Fall and The Temptations not as stories of personal testing/trial and personal success/failure, but as a word that there is evil in the world, even in Eden, still in Jesus' day, and still again in our own, and that encountering evil leads to suffering, for you and/or for others -

So -
Always and Everywhere God,
I feel badly for Adam and Eve,
exploring their world,
(testing and pushing boundaries)
encountering evil,
and experiencing the consequences.
I feel badly for our world today,
where evil is present still
and when some push past boundaries
others (we all?) experience consequences.
I am so proud of Jesus
who stayed fully in each moment and met them faithfully.
I wish I could do the same.

Glides, jumps, spins, throws, lifts -

Exhibition Gala Skate!

          That's all - till next time. 

Egg salad sandwich,

apple, root beer, and pop corn -

       lunch, movie, The Pete.

(i.e. - lunch at the movie at the Peter White Public Library. It was "Fallen Leaves" - a Finnish comedy.) 

          

 

Brownies, heart cookies,

Valentine goodies all gone -

        three weeks til pi day! 

                    Or

Watching women skate,

wanting to "haiku describe" -

         Can't even come close! 

Snow falling gently,

quietly covering all -

       frosting on our world.

 

Last chance before lent -

Laissez les bons temps roulez -

        beignets for breakfast!

 

So do you have to stop eating mest/fried/sweet/chocolate tonight, or can you keep eating until the Ash Wed service tomorrow? Inquiring minds want to know! 

The sun sets golden.

Above the clear horizon -

    a new moon, new me? 

              Or

The sun sets golden

below horizon above

      rises new moon the. 

 A prayer for evening -

Dependable God,

daylight has faded and evening dark descends,

just as the glow from Jesus' face must have faded

and he and the three descended the mountain.

But even in the darkness your love surrounds us 

and your strong arms will keep us safe.

We settle into our evening routines

thankful for your presence with us

through daylight and darkness,

through life and death and beyond. 

We rest in you tonight. 

 

Valentines arrive,

some cyber, some paper, and

       best kind - in person.

 

 Happy Valentines Day to you!

       

 Hot dogs in a jar, (1)

jar in the solar oven -

      sure enough - cooked 'em.

 

(1) "jar" or "pan" 

Ok - you put stuff in a canning jar with hand tightened lid in the solar over and it acts like a pressure cooker.  So we have 3-4 more sunny or partly sunny days. Then we'll move on to something else besides the contents of the solar oven!

 

Pint jar of pinto

beans in the solar oven -

        sure enough - cooked them! 

 Or -

        sure 'nough -  it cooked em!

 

First time we've had the solar oven out since last fall. Nov - Jan the sun isn't really high enough in the sky to heat it up. It got up to 300 from 10am to 1pm today.

Partly sunny days,

 temps to high thirties (or more!) -

          Spring is coming - no? 

Men's short program, then

Men's ski slopestyle final, then -

       take out the garbage. 

Two eyes scan, ears twitch,
a nose sniffs, then hops away -
    outside my window.

God of this day and every day,

+when life is dull and bland as one day follows another, 

may any salt in my life bring out the delightful flavor in the life of each person I meet;

+when days turn dark and people are stumbling and bumping into things, 

may any light in my life shine to help others on their way;

+when days are cold and cloudy and all hope is gone, 

may my life somehow mirror yours enough to revive and encourage those around me;

until we come to the time of your peace in all it's wonderful and glory.

This is my prayer today.

And may I be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

 

And Isaiah (and Gretchen) said - "Fix the damn roads"! 

 

Pancakes, eggs, muffins,

granola, toast, jam, waffles -

     breakfast tomorrow?

 

"choose from" not "one of each" - but which?  And maple syrup? 

WInd blowing light snow

and no reason to go out -

       lazy day for me.

 

Other ideas I was toying with -

+multi car crash in blowing snow on M-28 

+"course hold" due to cloud/fog visibility issues at Olympics 

+"2 6 inch subs for 2 bucks" for 2/6/26. Only not in our location! 

 Thursday Olympics -

Curling plus Big Air Snowboard.

      Big Air Curling?  Nope.

 

Ok, I said some of them would just be dopey! 

Sun climbs above trees,

as moon sinks beneath roof-lines,

      in between - it's me!

 

And a new day dawning. 

Improvement on yesterday's -

   Sky candles twinkle,

    lunar lantern glows to light

        the world's living room. 

 

Now for today - 

   Groundhog Day came, went -

   Still spring does not feel closer.

      Waiting, waiting, wait....... 

Giovanni Bellini, Presentation at the Temple, tempera on panel, c. 1469. 

(Today is  The Feast/Festival of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, also observed as Candlemas - the day when people would bring their candles to the church to have them blessed.  A nice article about it here  https://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/holidays/a-light-to-lighten-the-gentiles)

 

Sky-candles twinkle,
full lantern moon glows to light 
      the world's living room.
 

 

 La presentación de Cristo en el templo by Kelly Lattimore

I'll be honest, God,

I'm not sure where I fit into all this -

  +doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly,

   +walking blameless, speaking truth from my heart,

   +being poor in spirit, and meek, and hungering  

       and thirsting for righteousness, and all the rest.

I do know that sometimes I feel foolish 

  or useless

  or just afraid.

I do know I want things to be better for all people 

  and for all of your Creation

So I'll take you at your word today -

  "Blessed are..... 

  "Blessed are.....

  "Blessed are.....

And try my best with all the rest.

I'm going to need your help.