A "Free Day" Is....

....a snow day with no school!! And that means.....time to make and decorate Betty Whitaker's famous Santa cookies...glaze is first, frosting next...stay tuned...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.....

Wally and I just got back from a late night walk in the fresh snow in the park across the street. The sky was so light (sublimation), that it looked like dusk. All the trees have a coating of snow and the contrast made the whole scene look like an Ansel Adams black and white panorama.

We have 6" of snow on the ground and more on the way. The school district finally decided to call off classes tomorrow. Today we had a 2 hour delay in the start time, but it snowed heavily all day and it was quite the fiasco watching people try to get out of the parking lot and up the hill to the main street...especially those newly licensed sophomores. Even though I'll bemoan the make-up day in June, it's nice to have this surprise time off to catch up on last minute Christmas stuff...translation: I need to decorate the santa cookies! Jess has had 3 snow days in a row in Portland. Thankfully she'll be taking the train up on Sat. instead of trying to out-guess the weather and drive it.

Wally's handiwork

Christmas village made by Wally's Mom

Winter Wonderland

Snow arrived Saturday night and is still on the ground, at least in the parts of the county that the 40 mph winds haven't blown it off. We had a late start to school today, and it's still quite cold with more to come and, I gather, more snow. Winter has arrived!

Batten Down the Hatches....

It's a'comin'! It's blowing its way down the Fraser River Valley right now, straight out of the Arctic, and headin' this way. Temps tonight are supposed to plummet and by Monday we'll have temps in the teens, winds of 40 mph and wind chill of -10 degrees. Oh yeah, this is the famous West Coast noreaster. Stay tuned.....

There is something achingly poignant about winter sunrises. Although the trees are bare, the fields are brown and, more often than not, everything is dripping wet, this sets the stage perfectly for the beautiful shades of magenta, purple, rose, orange and gold that typify the sunrises in this corner of the world. For someone who tends to romanticize EVERYTHING, this suits my "new winter mood" perfectly.

In past years I have railed against winter and its leaden skies and all pervasive darkness. But what does that accomplish? Is it any less dark at 6:40 am when I leave for work? Is it any less dark at 4:30 pm when I get home? No! It occurred to me that I was only making myself miserable. So, if I can't beat it, then I need to join it, right?!

I am learning to embrace this season. True, the holidays help because there are colored lights and music and frivolity everywhere (as long as you're not trapped in a mall!) But aside from that, I'm creating a routine of sorts when I get home that is helping me to turn the blaaahs into ahhhs. I light my pine-scented candle, I plug in all the twinkle lights, I put on Windham Hill's "Winter Solstice" album and settle in with a cup of tea before I launch into dinner preparations and other chores. It's working!

Drumroll please....

Last night we attended a concert by the Whatcom Community College Collegiate Choir. The son of some good church friends was participating in it and we wanted to be there for him. It was an interesting concert. They performed some very interesting pieces -- a la Celtic.

But they saved the best for last when the Sweet Pumpkin Marimba band showed with their 7 (yes...count 'em, 7!!) marimbas and their two bongos. Now for someone who is as percussion/rhythym addicted as myself, this was sheer heaven and they did not disappoint...3 fabulous pieces from Zimbabwe and South Africa and I wore a hole in the floor in front of my seat where my feet couldn't resist tapping!

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

The Whitaker clan gathered at the clubhouse at Kris and Paul's condo in Des Moines (near SeaTac) for our annual turkey feast. Jess trained it up to Tukwila so we could meet her there. It was a beautiful, warm day and we had a great time putting the food together, playing games and teasing each other. Our blessings are many:

The Beauty!The Beast! ("I can't believe I ate the whole thing!")
The betters and the man with a mission...
The food including....

Grandpa Waynee's surprise pie. The list of ingredients includes: cheesecake, peanut butter, cool whip, unknown berries...ummm.....yeah...
Friday Jess, Wally, Stacia and I did Christmas in Fairhaven..fun!and....we ran into Emily who was serving her very first tapas special at Avenue Bread
In his proper role at last!
The king and his princess!