lost found

since last spring i've been waiting for the premiere of season four of Lost. finally it is almost here and i can barely think of anything else. tomorrow night will find me on the edge of my couch once again embroiled in the lives of the survivors of oceanic flight 815. pretty bad for someone who doesn't even watch a lot of tv.

green eggs and you-know-what

fresh from a chicken this morning and gifted to me this afternoon. the planned supper of some nameless soup concoction was reshuffled to tomorrow night in favor of fresh eggs tonight. bad lighting in this shot masks the fact that these eggs are not only brown, they're green. and, no kidding, i served ham with them and never gave it a second thought until i sat down to write this post.

spring semester

this week begins another semester at university bringing with it all the clutter and disarray of prepping for class on the largest flat surface in the house. which unfortunately is also the most public. you can't even see the top of the dining room table for all the textbooks and articles and schedules and plans.

spaghetti o

dropped at precisely the right angle with exactly the right amount of force, spaghetti makes a pleasing pattern as it hits the pan of boiling water.

frost on the window

a long week this week with early morning departures and late evening arrivals. not conducive to good photography! made this east facing shot this morning as i left at sunrise - without even waiting for the windows to totally clear themselves of overnight frost.

wolf moon

the almost full wolf moon shines brightly this calm, cold, and clear january night, illuminating not only the surrounding landscape but also icicles off the roof. inside i am cozy with wool and woodstove and steaming mugs of tea.

movie night

tonight i rented a movie online through itunes, downloaded it to my computer, and watched it while i did some work. amazing. i'm not very good at multitasking that way so i don't know that i'd ever do it again. but it sure was mind-boggling that it's even possible to do that.

holly in the snow

what do you think - next year's christmas card? or at least next year's christmas stamp?

rosemary in january

this is rosemary, my favorite herb. love the subtle flavor it gives to food and the piney smell it leaves on my hands. every may i plant rosemary in a big pot and snip it all summer. every year i don't compost it at the end of the growing season. and every year i bring it into the house as late in fall as possible. only to have it dry up and die - every year. but this fall i tried the plant in a new location: the unheated bathroom with the west facing window. its certainly hasn't thrived there, but it also hasn't died. and now just look - new growth! whether it will be new leaves or the rare and coveted tiny blue flowers remains to be seen. i can only hope against hope for the latter.

narcissus II

a leftover narcissus bulb from christmas, one that never made it to the shallow pan to force the blooms in time for the holiday. my intent was to throw it out with the compost. but just look how badly it wants to grow!

comfort food

another snowy monday with no work and no escape from the house save a trip to the driveway to rid the car of its thick blanket of snow. work-at-home did not satisfy today nor did reading. and so i cooked. pot roast with onions. parslied potatoes. organic carrots from the back of the crisper drawer. and this rice pudding, embellished with cinnamon and raisins. the carrots were a hit. the others sadly were not. but the process of cooking in the warmth of the kitchen while outside the snow twirled was a comforting indulgence indeed.

stars?

for weeks i've been trying to photograph stars. so far this is the best i've got. not very impressive but if you click to make it bigger, at least it's interesting. i think i may have found the camera setting. i know now i need a tripod since the shutter stays open for a long time looking for light. i thought this shot from a few nights ago might finally be a good one - but see how camera must have moved a bit on the tripod? all the star tracks are uniform! tonight i got a shot of the belt of orion and was disappointed to find it was badly out of focus. maybe all this peering at stars is giving me eyestrain. perhaps i need new glasses.

amaryllis

looking into the enormous flower of the most beautiful pale pink amaryllis sitting on the counter at my local florist. another patron told me the collective blooms on the thick stalk were as big around as my head.

ice storm

overnight an ice storm, the loud kind that wakes you up as the rain and sleet pelt the windows. and this morning everything beyond it was encased in a thin covering of ice.

logic

when you find great gloves always buy two pair. then when a single glove goes missing, you will be happy to have a matching substitute. even though it does mean that you now have only one and a half pairs of gloves instead of two. because you know you're going to eventually lose another glove anyway. and then you'll still have a pair of great gloves left to wear.

milkweed in winter

i took this over the weekend - when the early morning sun was bright and the air was cold and the snow was glistening with millions of tiny points of light.

new tech

look! serendipitous on my brand new ipod touch!
how cool is that!!

pre-primary

ten presidential candidates in new england today. but in a nearby city, even though the weather was balmy, there were no motorcades, no stumping, no babykissing. just business as usual on every single corner i passed.

"grinching"

what is that, you say? its a great new word i read a few days ago, one that refers to undecorating the place after christmas. and its a particulary credible word having come directly from santa claus. speaking of santas, this salt and pepper set belonged to my mom. no more salt, no pepper, just a place of honor on my desk. but he'll be gone by the weekend. tomorrow night's grinching around here.

heating up

still grappling with the heating system in this new car. recirculating air or fresh air intake? do i want defrost on, heat at my face or heat at my feet? how much fan is enough? despite the fur lined hood and even a scarf, tonights drive home was particularly chilly with outside temperatures sinking as i drove. suddenly i remembered - this car has heated seats!!! such an extravagance but what a toasty ride they provide!

new year snow

one of the last leaves on the oak out back, dancing at the impending storm. after a starlit new years eve, our second snowstorm in as many days started late this morning. we havent had this much snow to usher in the new year in a very long time.