The winners of the Six Loose Ladies stocking challenge were announced this evening. By a landslide, #6, the Sorel boot won. #1 (mine) and #7 came in tied for a distant second, and #10 came in third. Prizes will be forth-coming. Very fun and well worth the creative exercise.
Archive for December, 2008
Tomorrow promises the third major winter storm in a week. Of course, this is New England and we rarely count on a forecast until the weather actually gets here. The last two storms have dropped at least 26 inches of snow in our yard and the wind has rearranged it into nice drifts and piles. Tomorrow is supposed to bring ice. If it materializes, that will certainly make life interesting, it being Christmas Eve and all.
Here are some pictures from the last event. We love the snow, but we’re in danger of losing the dog out there.
We buried my mom’s ashes over the weekend. Lee was up from Tennessee for Christmas so we made the trip to Pennsylvania to the cemetery where Daddy is buried. The weather was miserable – freezing rain – but in character with her memorial service back in 2003 – a blizzard. It was a very small family affair – no pastor, no flowers, no fancy trappings. John had prepared a few scriptures and we spoke briefly about what made Mom special. We sang “There i
s a Balm in Gilead”, a song I remember Mom singing often in church. The service was about the three of us being together and remembering. It was perfect.
Mom gave her body to science when she died back in 2003. We had a memorial service two weeks later in the middle of a blizzard. Not very many people made it but it was a nice time to reconnect with the family who did that we hadn’t seen in a while. We got Mom’s cremains back about two years later and we’ve been discussing what to do with them since. There were lots of options, but we settled on burying her with Daddy in a military cemetery in Philadelphia. We took time to drive by the family homes of both sets of grandparents and the church of our childhood – so many memories, mostly good ones. I can’t believe I didn’t think to get out the camera when we drove by Grandmom and Grandpop Craymer’s house but I managed Grandmom Stoughton’s house and the church.
After being with out power for about 12 hours yesterday and having a little more snow overnight, the day dawned clear and bright but bitterly cold. I had the good fortune to be out with the camera to capture some of the incredible beauty. The third one was taken at the Calvin Coolidge homestead in nearby Plymouth Notch, VT and the others were taken in our yard and on our road.
From my photo journal this morning:
Ligularia Pinwheels
Glazed Sunflower Seed Torte
Catkin Brittle
Iced Rose Hip Nougat
Jaw Breakers
Frosted Rudbekia Lollies
Beech Straws
Night Crawlers
