Famous Last Words...

Mine sounding something like, "I'm back, and I'll be here more!"

(Day 1 of the snow, when we still thought it was pretty. Pictured is a 1935 Rugby Streamline.)

What with "Snowpocalypse" here in the NW (thank you to Dawn for the awesome moniker), Two (yes, 2!!!) plagues besetting our house in one month), and the holidays, my world has been turned upside down.

First, the snow. As I was clicking on "Publish Post" last time, I looked out the window and realized it had been snowing again! In total, I think we ended up with about 18 to 20 inches in our neighborhood (not including the 3-4 inches we got this past Sunday night) over about ten days time. Can I just mention again, an average of 3 inches of snow per year! We don't even own a snow shovel. Thankfully, we kept our power. Some people lost power here, and my friend Nancy Lefko's community back east had 424,000 homes without power. I do consider us extremely lucky.

Because of the unplowed surface streets covered in over a foot of layered ice and snow we missed our family Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Luckily Rexy is too young to have huge expectations and Phil's family always had small holidays, so they were fine. I, however, was disappointed. I missed my huge extended family. I love spending time with the cousins and aunts and uncles and various in-laws, ex-roommates, and a random selection of aging dogs. It's loud, and chaotic, and there's always somebody's elbow practically hitting you in the eye when you eat - and I love it. Our little spaghetti dinner just didn't quite compare.

Which is not to say I had a bad holiday - on the contrary!

Rexy woke up only slighly earlier than usual - and when she came out to the living room she couldn't stop saying, "Look! Look!" She was just thrilled that Santa had come. As she was unwrapping her presents, she stopped to look up at me very seriously and held out one of the bows from her presents, "Don't throw these away, I want to save these." Her parents' daughter! We had a pancake breakfast, a leisurely day, and the aforementioned spaghetti dinner (supplies were getting low). Definitely a more peaceful day than is usual.

I gave two of my cousin's paintings for Christmas. (When we finally saw them.) They turned out a little more "Prim" than I meant them to. The top one incorporates the dictionary pages for dog, cat, goat, and human for my cousin with the menagerie at home. The bottom one has a repeating 07 motif for my cousin and his wife whose birthdays are both on the 7th, as is their anniversary, as well as another family member's birthday. I thought the paintings would be fun and whimsical for their respective kitchens.

Oh - and the second coming of the plague. Sigh... Even as I write this, I am stopping periodically to turn away from the keyboard and cough my lungs out - practically. This version has been going on since about the 27th. Suffice it to say we've all had it. I seem to be having a hard time getting rid of it. I spent the entire day in bed/couch yesterday. Rexy was an angel and just played at my feet all day. The best line from Rexy about her sickness, "My throat is gone, but I think I have a beaver." I didn't laugh! Now my entire family is talking about "beavers."

Lastly, Haikus! This time it's just SueAnn and I. I'm sure my inconsistency has been affecting participation - not to mention the holidays. Next post I will be writing about goals for 2009 and I will talk about future Haiku challenges.

As usual, SueAnn's Haiku contributions are things of beauty. She is definitely a poet.

She had another for the winter theme:

Edged with snow and ice
roads disappear in the night
sliding, slipping...stuck!

and for the Beginnings theme:

Starting over again,
feeling the pangs of rebirth
Begin this life rejoicing.

And from me for the Beginnings theme:

Start, start, and start again
fall down, stand up, just don’t stop.
To stop is to fade

Beauty is in each
beginning; fresh, clean, and pure.
To begin is all.

Happy New Year.