Friday, January 23, 2026

Do You Like Snow?


We are supposed to have a significant snowstorm. We have stocked up on food. We have battery lanterns and wood for the fireplace in case we lose power. I am not looking forward to digging out.

When I was young, I used to love snow. School would close and I could go sledding and make snowmen. I loved ice skating. I'd shovel the snow off the ice and have my personal skating rink. I tried skiing in my twenties, but it was an expensive hobby because more often than not, there wasn't enough snow in this part of NJ.

I don't ever remember being cold.

Then I grew up. Snowstorms create problems. Now I worry. I worry about my nearest and dearest driving in the snow. I worry about heavy ice on tree limbs. I worry about slipping on the ice. 

Nevertheless, falling snow is still pretty to see. I like the quiet that settles on the neighborhood as sound is muffled by the soft coating. I still find it magical to wake up and see a world of glittering diamond dust on all the trees and bushes. 

I always study the snowflakes on the sleeve of my coat and on my mittens to see if each one is really unique. I take photographs of the snow even though I have to put on extra layers of clothing so I don't feel the cold as much. 

Waiting for the snow to stop is also a great time to read books. 

But then the storm ends. The peace of the neighborhood ends, too, as snowblowers, plows, and shovels struggle to move the white stuff out of the way. 

Stay safe everyone. 

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Thursday, January 15, 2026

Reflecting


      I took this photo in one of our local parks on a cloudy but mild day. Without any wind, the lake became a mirror, reflecting everything perfectly. I was sitting on a bench opposite the one in the photo and doing some mental reflecting. My oldest daughter gave me a very lovely notebook for Christmas. When I'm writing a book, I usually type out the story. I can type much faster than I can write by hand. However, I decided to use the notebook for reflections of the past. Life was very different in the 1950s when I was a child growing up in a small neighborhood. Maybe someday my granddaughter would be interested in reading about my experiences. Of course, I'll be writing in cursive so I hope she learns how to decipher my flowing script. 😄

     But I'll still be typing out another book, too. I've entered the JeRoWriMo challenge again in hopes of writing out 30,000 words in the month of February. Wish me luck. 

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