Where I live in West Texas, it's rare to get much snow. We had our second largest snow on record back in January, but February refused to be outdone. On Valentine's Day, Sunday, we received 14.3 inches of snow. That smashed the single day snowfall record for our town of Abilene, TX. The previous record had been a whopping 9.6 inches. The snow is beautiful. Such a rare sight is a treat to … [Read more...]
Autumn Excitement
In Texas, we usually get a tease of fall in September before summer blazes back for one more go. This year, the tease is going on two weeks now. Highs in the mid-80s to low 90s, nights in the mid-60s to high 70s. I know those are summer temperatures to some folks, but it is a great reprieve from a summer of well into the 100s. The cooler mornings have me thinking of the things I get most … [Read more...]
Nature’s Changing Seasons
The boats are coming out of storage for the season and filling the marina. The underbrush in the woods is starting to turn green. Wildflowers are in bloom! Farmers are plowing their fields. Fruit trees are blossoming. And this park along Lake Michigan is open again—one of our favorite spots for a (chilly) picnic lunch. All in all, these … [Read more...]
Here Comes the Sun
I’m not a morning person. Not. At. All. My husband is. For the first 20 or so years of our marriage, he thought if I just kept getting up early (as you have to do with babies, then school-aged children), it would become a habit. It hasn’t. He finally understands that there are some rhythms that are simply programed in our DNA. All that to say I’m not sure I’ve ever seen (or at least … [Read more...]
Balancing Act
I haven’t always done well in the balancing act between work and play. I’ve learned over the years that when I work too hard, my creativity shrivels up and the work I love becomes a chore. When I play too much when I should discipline myself to work, I end up at my computer bleary-eyed, late into night. Neither option is a good one. When my children were small, the words of Psalm 90 inspired me to … [Read more...]