Archive for ‘January, 2011’

Wintry Mix

Yesterday, the rain continued all day. The temperature stayed steady at 36F. The roads were wet but not icy. Karl and I took advantage of conditions due to deteriorate and headed to the lake for a look see.

It was drizzling and I did not have my camera pack. I hoped to drive down to get some photos but the road nearest the lake was a sheet of ice so I parked above and we walked down through the slushy snow with only my phone camera.

For a January day in Montana it was balmy.

Overnight, it finally returned to below freezing temperatures and the slush is turning to ice. My driveway conditions were improved slightly by some wintry mix of precipitation that ended up as a crunchy topping that allowed some grab for walking.

At the end of the driveway, this morning, some blue sky. But, we will not be going anywhere. The road is like the driveway – glare ice with a slightly crunchy toping…a wintry mix.

We’re still here

I don’t think it is noticeable (a GOOD thing!) but I did upgrade the underlying WordPress software which is step one in making the format changes I’m planning. The other thing not really noticeable…Bob has lost a bit of weight…

This first week “back to normal”…always a bit of a wrangle to get back in my working routine.

And then it snowed nearly 4 inches with a sloppy warm up forecast so extra time to clear snow while it was light and easily clearable.

We are all well – still working on the correct amount of insulin for Bob’s diabetes but neither the diabetes nor the treatment is affecting his normal routine. Karl continues well and we enjoy daily excursions in the snow. And I’m enjoying the boys, enjoying Winter and getting back in the swing of a normal work week.

We’re still here.

A Brand New Year: Part 2 – Fair warning, a change is coming

January 2, 2011 – For me, this is the last holiday day. Tomorrow is “Get to work” for 2011. I’m happy to do that. I anticipated doing more during the 2 week holiday period, work-wise, but I “hit the wall” right before Christmas and for the most part did not much :)!

I thought a lot, though!

One of the things I’ve been rolling around is what to do about this blog.

I thought about stopping. I thought about starting over with a new name and idea. I thought about just doing photos…but I enjoy writing sometimes… I’ve been back and forth and up and down.

A recurring theme in my thinking is if I continue, how to continue and just “live my life”. This may not make sense unless you blog also but for me, living alone and choosing to be mostly alone, there is often a blog post running through my head about everything/anything I’m doing. I want to get rid of that. I want to live my life and share bits of it, share things I see via photos, share Bob and Karl…Oh…I’m doing that, but how to change how it feels to me???

The current blog format and the past history of the format steer me into a “what do I share today” mentality. New Year’s Day, it came to me that I’d like to be able to share bits and pieces of my day as well as essays or photos. And I’d like to be able to sort through all of that in a different way. And, although I don’t want to turn into a cooking blog by any means, cooking is something I enjoy very much AND it is a fun challenge to photograph food. I have been thinking about a “What’s cooking” side blog….what to do, what to do???

I had a picture in my head of how a new “From the Front Porch” might look. I doodled on a legal pad and quickly put together a layout of what I thought I wanted. I thought I’d have to code it myself but decided to look at themes…lo and behold my thoughts of layout are not that original…what I want to do is apparently called a magazine layout and there are customizable themes.

So…finally getting to the point if you’ve stuck with me this far…I bought several magazine themes and will be trying them out – LIVE!!!

I have a test domain and I was going to fiddle around there, but now we come back to “TIME” – that thing that none of us can make more of. And, it is not like I make a living with this blog – it is a hobby :)!

Sometime this week, I am going to throw caution to the wind and change the theme and the WordPress version all in one fell swoop. And things may look wonky and confused. Links may not work. One day this blog may look one way and the next, YIKES!!! As I have time, I’ll post and tinker and one day it may be what I envision.

Fair warning, a change is coming :)!

New Year Alpenglow

I was winding down last evening at all of 4:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve fireworks kept Bob, Karl and I on edge until after 1 a.m. and the short night was catching up on all of us.

But as I was puttering in the kitchen I noticed the glow to the east.

The alpenglow light through the woods is other-worldly when it appears. A band of blazing pink-orange light typically causes me to do a short dance of stutter steps as I waver between getting the camera or just running out to see. The color can be so fleeting. Running to see the alpenglow has been part of my winter afternoon walks long before I was so regularly taking photographs. And while I love capturing what color I can, there are times when I just want to stand and watch.

But last night was clear, the light was strong and my camera was near.

First night of the new year…

New Year Alpenglow!

A Brand New Year

The first day of 2011.

I don’t typically make New Year’s resolutions. At any time through the year, if something in my life is causing me to fret or robbing me of serenity or time! – I try to look at it and determine if it is something that I can do differently. And I might even make a list of things to change or write something that triggers awareness in a post or in my quote journal or on the spreadsheet I use daily to track my work time. Writing it, helps me focus and be aware of when I’m doing the thing I’d like to not do or do differently.

Recently I came on a translation of a Vietnamese saying which I paraphrased slightly and added a 2nd line to suit me:

Exhale the negativity within you which hinders the Spirit.

Put on the armor of Light.

This is as close to making a New Year’s resolution(s) as I get. It is more mantra. When I find myself sinking into anger, fear or worry – I think EXHALE – and imagine all of whatever leaving me to be replaced by the Love and Light of God. Works for me every time :)!

It is a brand new year – 2011. I’m starting it in Light and Love.

Photo from blog post: October 23: Bros in the Sunshine