The four stages of realization...

Anticipation...

Excitement...

Motivation...

Disappointment.

The mint will let me know when it's time.  But do you see how green it is here?  When we get a rare sunny day, which we had an unprecedented two of this week, it can really play tricks on your mind!

Minä itse

I've been told that when I was very little I often wanted to do things me myself. At 30-something, this still seems to be a strong tendency. For example, I'm rarely seen in any of the family pictures, because I'm busy taking them me myself.

This week I've been working on a special outfit for baby's first ceremony. I decided I wanted him to have a Me Myself Creation. My dad and sister and I are also practicing a few songs for the party. And I still need to get handmade announcement cards done for all the guests and a few other people. I can never manage to keep party preparations simple, and especially now all of this seems a bit much considering that I have about zero free time, but I want to do it all me myself, and I would like to emphasize that the stress involved is of a positive nature, the kind that makes one achieve goals. At least I'm not making the cake me myself. Just this once. I promise.

Rain, rain, and more rain

Lara, don't forget the other good thing about snow is that it's a little better for taking the camera outside!  Even though it is green here year-round, it seems like the gray skies always dominate.  This week saw nothing but rain....

...which led to flooding.

At least my seeds arrived in the mail today.   Waiting, waiting, waiting now!

Pohjoisen puolella

After the baby was born it was so cold for a couple of weeks that we hardly took him out at all. The darkness also made it nearly impossible to do any natural light photography (and that's the only kind I'm happy with). We live on the North side of a small hill and it blocks out all direct sunlight for a few winter months, so right now even the brightest of days appears to be cloudy when we are at home. Thank goodness for another very snowy winter - the whiteness multiplies whatever little light we do have!

Kunpa he voisivat pysyä pieninä

I'm back, just half an hour late! Thanks Amy for keeping our project alive while I was busy elsewhere! The wonder of having a newborn in your life is such a rare pleasure and passes so quickly - enjoying it thoroughly requires full concentration.
If they could just stay little! To be honest, during the past year or two I have also been enjoying the process of my oldest child growing up: being able to do more and more on her own and becoming her own person. Watching them grow is a great adventure.

Garden dreaming

This year is going to be the year!  We are staying home all summer.  Our neighborhood (knock on wood) is not having a water crisis.  We live in a mild climate.  I WILL have a vegetable garden!!  It's going to be right there, between the deck and the compost:

Saddle Road

Even though I am home, I wanted to share a few more pictures of a Hawaii that most people probably don't imagine - the long desolate road that passes between two 12,000+ ft high volcanoes, Saddle Road.  This road reaches 6,600 feet in elevation and is the best place ever for stargazing, as it's conveniently located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, away from city lights, and passes through a vast expanse of black lava.

 Though it doesn't appear to be so, this gentle mountain rises to 13,680 feet above sea level.

The faint orange glow is the lava flowing into the ocean far below.

Happy new year!

48 hours ago....

Nothing like going from 80°F (27 C) to 33°F (1 C) in five hours.  Brr! 

Happy new year to all!