Brrrrrr!

A friend from Southern Florida told me that once, when his mother was young, it snowed. It was a mellow snow, light flakes drifted down from the sky, melting amost before they hit the ground, and the temperature remained above freezing. Still, people stopped their cars on the roads and stood in the streets, staring up at the sky; clerks, shoppers, and bakers left their stands to run outside and stick their tongues out; they let the children out of school to stand in the fields and experience their first at-home snowfall... for a moment in a 1970-something Florida town, everything stood still but the sky.

Here in Colorado, snow seems a lot less magical to most of us, especially after we've reached snow-shovel-wielding age. Sometimes, though, snow can flash a person back to childhood with one quick flurry. When a fast blizzard knocks the power out and traps everybody indoors, life changes for a few cold, quiet days. Candles are dug out of hiding and used to cast light over ancient board games and dusty photo albums. Hands ache happily after building forts outside. We have time to tell eachother our dreams and re-recognize the color of one anothers' eyes. Life slows down and we have a chance to reconnect with our families and ourselves.

Last week, we had a quick, heavy snowstorm that gave us a delightful excuse to tuck away the nagging grocery list and trudge outside. This was Gabriel's first up-close experience with a good amount of snow. He loved it!

The sun is there, somewhere.

Heaven on Earth.

After a few days of freezing weather, Denver's Autumn has been cut unfairly short. The glowing leaves have mostly fallen off of their branches, cold and crisp, and their slowly changing colors are frayed now in a mottled brown. Although the weather has returned to a fantasticly fall 50 - 60° (with a gorgeous 82° day last week!), I'm very bummed that we've missed a good month of Autumnal bliss. Before the cold front crept in, however, we managed to take a lovely walk just south of Morrison and soaked in a good amount of changing foliage, rustling of crunchy leaves underfoot, and the golds, reds, and greens that make this season so unique.

I could honestly look at lichen all day long.

The Buzzings of a Busy, Busy Bee.

I feel like it's been ages since I've updated! Looking back, my last post was about a trip I took at the very beginning of September! I scolded myself, wondering how on Earth I could ever let Colorado's lovely Autumn go by without raving about it. Then I looked on my camera, and I realized I have about thirty photos of leaves, trees, and leaf piles dating back at least three weeks. I've never noticed the different stages of changing leaves quite as acutely as I have this year, and I am so happily Zen about it. I've got a handful of good posts ahead, but have been so busy that I haven't been able to get any of them together. I thought my poor, neglected blog needed an update, at least one to explain why I've been so absent. It's too beautiful outside, and there's so much to do inside, our days have just been chock full of goodness and love.

The making of Gabriel's Halloween costume; it's been very difficult, very enjoyable, and very obvious that I'm not that great with a sewing machine.

Halloween cards! That have yet to be completed! Hurry up, costume-maker!

A lamp I recently painted for Gabriel's desk, complete with all the little ones in his life.