Wintertime

Winter in Nebraska is no slice of heaven. In my opinion, you need to go further south or west if it’s heaven you’re seeking. The snow is beautiful; it makes everything look sleepy and peaceful. And when the sun shines, you’d swear you were some place extraordinary, like Vail or Aspen except there are no mountains here. But never mind that, winter is about more than gorgeous scenery and lower temps. It’s a cozy season of slowing down, reflecting and contemplating. I think God made winter for this very purpose so I’m grateful I live in a place where I can take full advantage of it. 

Over several days of sub-freezing weather and a flu-stricken husband, I left the house only to feed the birds and fetch the mail. Today he’s better, so I’m heading into town to Walmart and the library. I’m careful driving down our snow- and ice-packed lane as I pass the large snow angel our neighbor made with her brand new car earlier in the day. Some husbands would pitch a fit over a little thing like that, but I think her's was secretly delighted for the opportunity to use his vintage John Deer tractor to rescue her.

The road to town is clear and nearly dry even while piles of dirtying snow stand watch on either side. My thoughts wander back to just 2 months ago when I was sipping sangria in an outdoor café in southern Spain. We explored seaside towns, delighted in the flavors of Mediterranean cuisine and eagerly anticipated the next day's adventure. And now… I’m going to Walmart and the library in a small mid-western town in the frigid fly-over state of Nebraska. This is a slice of my life… a study in contrasts, a “moveable feast” (I like those words together, thank you E.H.).

Which is why I’m headed to the library; I need a little more of Spain today. I just finished reading The Paris Wife which is, of course, about Paris but also about Spain. It's the story of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife with whom he spent his early years in Paris and their travels to Spain before he became famous. I loved the book, but as with most of the women surrounding Hemingway, the story of Hadley Richardson very quickly becomes about Ernest. And though the author, Paula McClain, did a masterful job crafting Hadley’s personality and her life with Ernest in Paris, I only wanted to know more about him when the book ended. I realized I’d not read any of his work… not in high school nor college. So off I went in search of The Sun Also Rises which is about his travels in Spain and considered to be his best work. 

Next stop Walmart for a few necessities and a light bulb that Jack needs for his shop. Everything seems to be on sale today and many shelves that just a few weeks ago were packed with Christmas decorations, lights and ornaments now stand empty… all the sparkle and color of Christmas is gone. But wait! what’s that down at the end of the aisle so colorful and bright? Seed packets and seed starting kits?

Even though I’ve already received about a dozen seed catalogs in the mail, I wasn’t really inspired until I saw these signs of Spring at Walmart on this freezing cold winter day. Driving home I start planning my Spring garden in my mind and tonight I’ll settle into my comfy chair by the fire, browse the seed catalogs and imagine Spring with the most grateful heart I can muster. And maybe read some Hemingway.

Winter has officially arrived

Two days ago we had our first real snow this year producing just a few inches but with the help of high winds, some substantial drifting. Luckily our neighbor has a John Deere tractor with a blade that scooped much of it out of the way so we could get the cars out of the garage. The wind has stopped now and the day is crisp and beautiful. Here are a few snow scenes on our property.

Drifting...

After the wind calmed down and the sun came out, the cats ventured outdoors a few times and left these tracks in the snow on the patio. Peaches left the heart shaped one by performing a first-position ballet pose before she decided to go any further. Our cats often step in the same paw prints they made on earlier walks and I wonder how they know to place their hind feet in exactly the impression of the previously stepped in spot, without looking back! Uncanny.

Welcome to winter.

Snow Angel

So we're up with the sun this morning, nursing our coffee, and surveying the back yard from the warmth of our kitchen, when Jack notices an angel in the snow. Yea, a little angel just squatting there in our yard. It wasn't there yesterday nor anytime ever before that.... so how did it get there? did the wind blow it there? or was this a neighbor's practical joke? Thoughts of a divine messenger crossed our minds too. Jack took photos, I took photos.... then the duhhhhhhhh gobsmacked me. .. it's a bird feeder with an angel figure sitting on its rim. I'd placed it there in December to feed the birds and then forgot about it when the snow started falling around that same time. We've had so much snow, the thing has been buried for two months. In the last couple of days, the snow melted enough to expose the angel, but not the dish. Mystery solved, while Nature played with us.

Winter White Inspiration

Lately I've been thinking about color... I'm a bold color person, not a beige and white minimalist at all, so falling in love with winter white, kind of surprised me. Not the winter white of snow... there is plenty of it around here and more falling as I write, but the creamy, mellow, soft white of aged lace, pale linen, and bleached seashells. It all came together when I popped into Jill Ruth & Co.'s blog and saw her amazing banner made from bits and pieces of linen and lace and trim, all in winter whites... a thing of beauty, I say!

Looking around my space, I find "my" collection of winter whites and learn to love them all over again... thanks to Jill for the inspiration.

My dining room table display with a bleached deer antler. When the snow melts enough to see the ground, we'll often find one or two of these lying about the yard.



Arturo paper by Cartiere magnani = Squisito! Made in Italy, nothing finer.



My MIL's Bible, small, sweet, ivory, leather-bound, Eastern Star imprinted = heirloom.



A chippy, wood-carved kitty with a cheshire grin. His tails opens up to become a bird feeder = too weird to pass up.

SoCal seashell collection... reminds me of beach days gone by and beach days ahead.

Very special vintage lace collection... no two whites the same.

Vintage swan lamp I bought at auction for $1.00 with a very cool porcelain finial = mine, all mine. Still not sure about the shade I chose though...



A sweet little bone-carved box I bought in Sirmione last September... for trinkets and dreams.



The birch trees in front of our house. I love these trees... they are always winter white.


Miss PeachyDeva.. she stays winter white all year long too.