Vermont Weekend

Saturday morning W and I woke up to a white wonderland in Vermont. Friday night it was wet and muddy, but by the morning the trees were heavy with thick snow that had come silently during the night. The sky was a solid white, with the sun gradually burning through. It snowed most of the day, moving between flat grey skies, and magical sparkling sunlight.

Last thought on New Years...

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."

-Ellen Goodman


(you can read her last column here)


Quote via Design Crush, Photo by pareerica

A Fresh New Decade

The 2000s... the excitement of the Millenium, Y2K. Graduating college and finding my way in the world. My first apartment, car, and heartbreak. Traveling for months. Licia. Grad school. 9/11. Iraq and Afganhistan. Katrina. Tsunami. Bush. And Bush. And Obama. Globlization. Gas prices. Columbia and the X-Prize. Brittany Spears. SARS and H1N1. Turning 30. Starting Peanut Butter and Poetry. The Matrix and Twilight and one more Indiana Jones. Ipods and Kindles and Crocs.

It's been a crazy decade, that has taken me around the world and back to New York City. So here we are. 2010. A brand new decade. I have all sorts of ideas and plans and hopes brewing for 2010 and beyond, I expect it will be a tumultuous year with lots of travel and change and introspection.

Good things from 2009:

1. Amazing trip to Chile and Argentina in the Spring
2. Met W
3. Started a 5 Year Diary (how fun to see where I was one year ago!)
4. Went to Tracker School and made fire using my own bow drill
5. Became a member of the Red Cross Disaster Reserve and Rapid Response teams
4. Started this blog
5. Discovered tons of amazing bloggers

Abstract Ideals for 2010:

1. Think Smaller. Sometimes drastic change is not the best answer
2. Slow Down. Sometimes a little down time equals a lot of perspective.
3. Patience. It's ok to not have all the answers right now.
4. Better food, more exercise.

Concrete Goals for 2010:

1. Travel somewhere memorable (possibly Isreal/Jordan combo in the Spring)
2. Join one of those seasonal produce cooperatives. Possibly this one.
3. Shop more at the natural food store and less at the cheap non-organic grocery store.
4. Use the NY Public Library. Read everything on my Book List 2010.
5. Start running in the park again (or at least on the treadmill for now)
6. Go hiking and horseback riding
7. Schedule better to see friends more often
8. Try something new each month.
       I took a West African dance class here in December
      This drawing studio is up next...
9. Bake something with rhubarb
10. Bring my lunch to work more often

W summed it up perfectly:

"Going into the new year is like a leap of faith. A salute to a world that is bigger than either of us. We set our sights on the horizon, trim our sails, and hold on at the helm. But the way is determined also by the wind, the sea, the unknown."

Where are you setting your sights for 2010 and beyond?

Photo by Saxony Marie

Oh 2010...

I'm heading up to Boston tonight for a bit of a "reverse" New Years. W and I are going to take New Years Eve to spend some quiet time together- walk around Newbury, maybe go skating, maybe catch a movie, then linger over a nice glass of wine. There may even a cheese plate thrown in there. We will dutifully dress up and join a party before the actual stroke of midnight, but we're planning on taking this one a bit easy. The holidays have flown by, and been rather stressful; W is in the midst of a storm of grad school deadlines, and we just need some time to pause and be together. New Year's Day we're planning on cooking a big meal together, so that will really be our celebration.

I'm not quite ready to let go of 2009. It's been a crazy year, with lots of good and a little bit of bad thrown in. The last half of the year was largely consumed by busing back and forth to Boston, and all the energy that a long distance relationship requires. All the holiday chaos has left me feeling a bit muddled, and I'm hoping the next few days will help me catch up with myself a bit.

I like to go into the new year feeling cleansed, organized, and mentally prepared. There's a lot of unknowns coming up this next year, and I can't predict how the pieces will fall into place. In the face of gaping uncertainties, I'm doing things like organizing my sock bin, and throwing out the old catnip to feel like I have a little teensy bit of control in this crazy universe. I have a few thoughts on 2010 and what goals I'd like to set for myself, but I'm hoping a little peace and quiet over the next few days will help me to clarify, so more on that later.

I hope you are entering this new year feeling prepared and enthousiastic, and that you have exciting plans for New Year's Eve, whether they are big or small. I think it's an important time to think about how far we have come in the past year, and where we would like to go. To take time to pause to look at the bigger picture, and set a clear course, rather than just making reactionary decisions day-by-day.

How are you feeling about the end of 2009- are you ready for 2010?

Wishing you all a warm and wonderful New Year!


Photo by Tim Walker via That Obscure Object

Bits of Christmas

Here is a little peek into my Christmas... I spent time with my family and caught up with old friends. The constant action was also exhausting, so I'm catching my breath before launching into 2010... I hope you had a wonderful few days and have fun plans for New Year's Eve!

Merry Christmas!

I'm off to the land of no cell service and dial-up internet, to enjoy a few days with family and friends. My sister is flying in from LA, which is a treat since I rarely see her more than once a year. It will be W's first Christmas with my family, and we'll be ending the celebrations with the second annual holiday reunion of some of my oldest grade school friends.

We've been celebrating Christmas Eve with the same family for as long as I can remember, and it seems like every year there's one more little addition crawling around while we drink hot glogg and enjoy a Swedish feast. It's wonderful to have so many generations together, and to see my friends' children enjoying the same traditions we grew up with.

However you'll be spending the next few days, I wish you good friends, good wine, and lots of love and laughter.

Hugs,

Cynth

Hand printed Delicious Tree card by Cocky Rooster Design.

At Sunset...

This afternoon we took a break from grad school madness to walk around Prospect Park just as the sun dipped below the horizon. The sky was streaked with blue, pink, and cream; the snowy paths packed and slick from all the feet that had passed through today, celebrating the first real snow of the year.

 Entering the park as the shadows deepened, it felt like another world. The moon was a thin bright cresent in the sky, the dark tree branches twisted above us. I took a deep breath of the crisp air, and it suddenly felt like Christmas. We had a quick snowball fight, wandered around a bit, and watched the families sledding in the fading light. There was a general air of merriment- parents were sledding down the worn tracks with littles ones on their laps, or on the bottom of a messy pile three deep. It was that time of evening I remember so vividly from my childhood- when you can still see clearly in the dim light, but you know you only have a few more minutes before your mom calls you inside.

Today, hand in hand with W, it finally felt like Christmas.

Let it Snow! (part 2)

Black and white images of the snow... a classic love of mine.  Wouldn't this be the perfect night to cuddle up and watch White Christmas or It's a Wonderful Life?

"...where the treetops glisten... and children listen... to hear... sleighbells in the snow..." sigh.

Let it Snow! (part 1)

The snow is coming down here in cold, wet, sloppy flakes... the neighborhood is quieting down as people settle in for the first big storm of the season. I made rice and beans for dinner, and am about to settle in for a movie and some hot tea. Hopefully we'll wake up tomorrow to a beautiful white blanket of snow!