Reflections on Light

'When I walk the dogs before bed" ( or Long Ago and Far Way).. I find myself gazing at the lights of the winter nights. I often talk to the dogs about it, but they just go on looking for white ice to yellow...however, their ears are so large, they  seem to be listening.  I notice the many changes in the 'hood lights, and call out what is different..."ooh....the Joneses have already put up their Christmas lights...the Joneses must know when the first big snow is coming;
( November- they are so smart).". You see, it is important to put up your lights before it is too frosty or icy to be on your roof..I have been known to use a broom to sweep off the snow on the trees, so i can string lights in them...you would think I would learn!  BUT, even if you put up your lights early, there is an etiquette to when you can actually turn them on....not until until AFTER THANKSGIVING!   Paaalease!...

so now that it is the end of January...I would like to 'reflect' on what i observed these wintry nights... There is a new blue light out this year... not like the Hannukah Festival of Lights Blue...but a cool, neon, Hot Blue...I like it with the mixed colors....not so many 'icicle' light this year.... I like them all- the ones that float in the trees when it is late at night are my favorites.
Each household has their own unique style- Jen with the darling country home, has lights up her walk and in her trees...Bill and Anne, our eldest neighbors,  have single candle lamps in each window- peaceful and warm....the neighbors in the cul de sac with 5 girls, have their old bikes, in the front yard,  lined with lights, and the wheels spin festially ( festively)? The large, 3 story log home that houses a bunch of growing boys,( the boys have been jumping off the roof all winter into the snow around the yard).. have a Giant  live tree in their 3 story, corner window with a ton of lights... .. Jess likes our house to be 'dim' so i put some twinkling lights in the front tree by the front porch....and I stole Anne's idea and put a single candle LED light in the front windows.

We  also have the neighbors who like patriotic lights, and have their trees in singles of RED, White and BLUE.. It looks pretty cool...we march when we pass their house--da da da da da da da da da..

Then there is the sequence in which the lights dim this season, to only porch lights this week...Bill and Anne; first, then the big tree all lit up in the corner window- and the kids' bikes were last... There is one yard down the street who still has a one tree lit up each night- I wonder what the significance is.....

Besides the Christmas/Holdiay lights, there are the natural lights of winter... I need you to know that I LOVE the dark! You see, without the dark, the lights would have no chance to shine their sparkle, the moon, its waxing fullness, nor the snow to glitter...

As the sun sets, the dark sets off the ridgelines of the mountains, makes the shadows go from grey, to purple, to dark, and the house to silent and still..Soon, I can see the smoke from the houses, and the glare from truck headlamps as they drive in through the neighborhood.. If i walk the dogs really late, after 10, then the dark is the best.. Each night has a different sky..different shades of the moon, and shadows.. I have a pretense that things come active in the dark that do not move at all during the day... the trees can dance, there are tiny fairies somewhere, the spirits are visiting in the snow..... I know I sound crazy, but my daughter and friends will vouch for my whimsical bent...I would like to be a 'lamp lighter' in another time-) then i could have the streets to myself.. (one way to perpetuate my fantasy, is that i walk the dogs in my flannel jammies.. parka and hat of course). I can't help but notice that the natural light- and the orderly way of things- is also changing..the dawn lights up our bedroom when i awake and it is dusk, not sunset when we leave the school building in the afternoon...I do like the longer sunrays, and the amount of energy i feel increasing...but am glad i was able to enjoy a dark, yet v cold, solstice season..

There are lights i don't like- the kind that shine in my eyes when i eat dinner...a light that shines up, a red light in a sconce, the light that keeps my daughter up when she visits- a 'pididddle' light on a vehicle- the light that burns Jess' skin... flat light, warning lights and ambulance lights.
MY least favorite light- the one on my alarm clock!.
everyone has their turn ons and turn offs...any other suggestions?

House lights I do like; .fireplace light, asmanycandlesaspossible lights, REALLY like candle holders with stamped cut-outs, soft reading lights, night lights in the bathroom ( they seem friendly), the stove light, my electric blanket light, flashlights..

 and ...Winter Fireworks- yahoo!

        



  We have a saying in our family...'night go'.  It stems from a nightly routine when the dogs are sleeping, we lock the doors, and lastly turn off the lights, our parrot chimes in, right on cue.."Night Go- night go night"! soooooo, to my friends and fam... we have made it through January...
"Night go"...

Grey Bird

 

The Dead of Winter..

Well folks,
My friends encouraged me to blog again, and I wondered why i had stopped..hmmmmm.

I truly had good intentions, as Halloween approached. As you know, it is my favorite time of year. It drives me crazy when people ruin it with looming, plastic dorky decorations... My niece, Dixie, told me on the day she found a great wedding dress to shed for her daughter's costume, that she was glad her kids like to celebrate Halloween with gore and scary stuff..  I think she is healthy.. I don't like the evil kind, as i believe in evil, and really don't want it around.. Halloween is supposed to ward off evil, encourage all living things that passed over the summer to Rest In Peace...Halloween arrived very quietly this year- a downpour of torrents and hardly any Trick-or-Treaters-( . I love the kids at the door, because it gives me a chance to connect with my neighbors whom I will rarely see in the next 5 months...the dads with kids on their shoulders, the teens with pillowcases, and all my Grand Nieces and Nephews who make the stop at our house to mostly say Hi to their Uncle Jess, and the Moms have wine with me-)...

Kids Celebrating at school..

But then it was over...I was strangely sad and nostalgic...it was here..time to withdraw....and I did.. Jess was injured, and this has been a fortunate life changer for us....really very cold and brown. I found myself with big sweaters, kids finding their way into my heart and dreams every night...and meetings-always meetings, to help spur the lessons along.

Hiking at school

Thanksgiving came at Krissy's (it gave her a chance to use her lovely Wedding China)..

.she couldn't eat much...found out she was newly Pregnant! yeah we are going to be Grandparents....Then the worry began...so I put her at the top of my list of nightly worries and prayers to stay healthy- hope the vitamins don't get puked back up- and that all is well- all well..Christmas arrived with Jess still in slings and bandages, quiet time with Krissy and Dan-

fun shopping for-dare we do it- baby things...but for sure Mommy things...So as the New Year arrived, Jess is now keeping house- AND IS THE BEST AT CLEANING- EVER-the dogs follow him everywhere, the parrot has learned to call out 'Go, Go' whenever ESPN SHOUTS OUT-DA, DA,DA...

Jess drives me to work, so i can relax enroute, and we have begun our new year as GYM RATs! That is right, GYM RATS- we cannot ski or ride outside- which is why we love the mountains...but we have made new friends in Jess' Physical Therapy. They have been a blessing I cannot describe. Jess looks forward to each PT session, even though it hurts like crazy and he is so tired afterward. I have joined him- so we are now in Couples Therapy-) We stretch, reach and abduct together. No lifting or above the head stuff. There are cute, huge and sweaty guys at one end of the gym who POWER LIFT- THUMP-UGH!  I have to sneak between them to find my weights (1lb)..Jess' is pink. He cannot believe it has come to this- ha ha!!  He(we) is(are) making progress, and falling in love with being old (er) together..