upside to everything

Yes, the Potomac is frozen

One of the nicer things about working on a day when most people are off is that there is little traffic! A pleasant evening of music lessons~met a new adult piano student and heard that my voice student's Carnegie audition went well.

Tomorrow is supposed to be bringing more snowflakes.

criiiiiiisp air

As we've gone back into the negative wind-chilled mode of being, I am proud of myself for prying me out of my cocoon of hibernation to go for some long sunny rambles this weekend.

And we changed the Christmas red to winter blue.

some days

well, at least

I didn't step on this today.

whatever it may be

"As soon as you start thinking that this year could’ve been better, 

please remember the mountains and the valleys 

and the setbacks and the triumphs 

that got you to the exact patch of land that you inhabit now.

Feel your feet hover over the ground 

and bask in the texture across your toes, 

whatever it may be. 

This. 

Here. 

Now. 

None of it was accidental nor in vain. 

You are forever stretching, growing, breathing, evolving. 

You are not to be wrapped up in yesterday, not matter how comfortable the cloth may be." 

~Julie Faulkner

polka dots

Bring me joy~and today is full of them~sheets, jammies, coffee mug, and penny found. 

What's this??

An almost 50+ degree jump in the weather and life feels doable again. It was delightful to step outside and not feel extreme pain. Also a treat to walk firmly and quickly across the parking lot~not to mention how nice it is to drive with confidence again. Everyone is outside this afternoon and the birds/squirrels/dogs are going nuts with the frolicking.

Back to the job hunt~these snow/ice days have brought to my attention the deep need for a salaried job and/or one where I can walk/Metro to work.

cake and sleet

YUM

It's been an exciting Monday so far. I did get to teach at least one ESL class before the region freaked out and the sleet came.  I decided to swing by the library and Trader's since my evening classes were cancelled. Evidently, the entire county had the same idea. 

My students all had a huge exam over the weekend and were giddy with relief that it's over. One of them spent yesterday baking to recover and served me this divine cake~Hareeseh. Those of you who know me, know my opinion on cake. But this was so good that I got the recipe

And now, I am home~safely off the slick streets with a stack of books and a fridge full of food. Bring it, winter.

blink, blink

Astonishing how warm a windless 13 degrees feels after the negative gales we've just lived through. However, I cannot complain too much. I have a warm place to sleep. My car is still working and we never lost power.  I've read through a huge stack of books with all the cancellations of classes and other activities. It's been just TOO cold to function.

I'm so glad to see the end of Grayson (who decided to name storms?) and go back to our normal winter programming for a few days.

protect, feed, read, walk

You cannot tell by the photo, but these are frozen solid from sitting in my car. Guess I won't be disinfecting any piano keys today.

Forgot that I left a water bottle in the car as well. 

Just happened to glance out the window and caught about four minutes of gorgeous pink.

And I leave you with some words from Jane Kenyon (they are advice for writing well, but I think they work beautifully for living well):

"Be a good steward of

your gifts. Protect your

time. Feed your inner life.

Avoid too much noise.

Read good books, have

good sentences in your

ears. Be by yourself as

often as you can. Walk.

Happy Friday!

Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves, 

only the things I didn’t do 

crackle after the blazing dies.

—Naomi Shihab Nye

yes

fortuitous bounty

I am scraping the sides of this lovely lotion~gift from my choreographer from Wonka and thinking that perhaps I needed to actually go and buy some lotion.

When, unexpectedly, a friend gave me a belated Christmas gift. And!! It is almost the exact same scent and texture of the above lotion. (I am super picky about my lotions~both the scent and the texture of them.)

Perfect timing~both for the need and for the bitterly dry/cold weather our skin is enduring at present.

Also just received an offer to teach a 10-week ESL class~it's one day per week, but I'll take it!