Winter Warmth

I haven't yet mastered the art of walking in the snow in heels.  Snow seems to cling to my shoes to the point that it looks like I'm wearing fluffy marshmallow boot concealing the two frozen blocks of ice that used to be my feet.

I do enjoy the snow though and I am so glad that we've had as much of it this year as we have.  With February here, our chances of snow decrease exponentially, though I remember many Marches when our spring break was a snow covered stay-cation.

I love that even though it's just now a little past dawn our country road already has tracks on it.  It's quite a cozy feeling to know that this neighbor is off to work and this one has his fire going, and that one is out walking her dogs. 

Life in the country can be isolating, in fact it's part of the perks, but unlike anywhere else I've ever lived, this little hilltop feels more like a community.  We know each of our neighbors by name and stop and chat for a moment before we pass each other on the road.

And the winter feels all the warmer for such good neighbors and friends.

Shopping Info:  Skirt and sweater from Shein, Heels and Tights from ModCloth

Yay-Saying

For the record, Mr. Bleu expressly disliked trying to capture these shots of me tossing my scarf into the air and more than once asked me to please stop.  I refused.  

I knew what I wanted and what I was going for and I didn't want to give up.  Buuuut, it was early and cold and there was a lovely, warm coffee shop just adjacent to us where they roast their own beans, wafting its inviting odors our way and Mr. B's gaze was repeatedly drifting that way.

It is a wise person who takes the advice of her friends, but there is also a measure of wisdom in knowing when to follow your own heart, your own gut feelings, because you have a vision that no one else can yet see.

I had something in mind for this morning and I had already awakened early, got all dolled up, driven all this way, and now, also facing the cold and also resisting the urge to run inside that coffee shop and wrap my hands around a steaming cup of coffee-cream no sugar-and curl up in a comfy chair by the window, I was going to see this through.

It used to constantly wear on me, the nay-saying of others.  Constantly letting people talk you out of the things you want-big or small-isn't you living your life; it's letting yourself be controlled.  I'm a very rational person, and I am very often right about things because I've thought them through so thoroughly.  I don't base my decisions on how I am feeling and certainly not how I'm feeling in the moment, so it doesn't make sense to let other people's momentary feelings dictate what I do.

Now I'm more prone to let the nay-saying roll right off.  In the end, these couple of shots are are my favorite and I would have regretted giving up and not taking them.  So, as usual and in all my winter photos, please pardon my goose bumps, while I nonchalantly toss my scarf into the air like I just don't care.

And, yes, in case you're wondering, as soon as we were done here, I immediately took Mr. Bleu over to the coffee shop and bought him a cup of joe for his troubles, so everyone walked away from this morning happy.

Shopping Info: Mesh Angel Graphic Top and Cami from Forever21, skirt from ChicWish, flats from ThredUp

Happy Boo Year

Happy Boo Year!  Yes, it may be a reach, but I found a way to wear both of my Halloween sweaters well after their holiday appeal.  This was the second post planned for the ghostly sweaters that took three months to arrive and so they are far from relevant to any holidays including New Year's at the present time, but I'm making it work!  I waited three months for crying out loud, so it's happening.  You will also likely see both of these sweaters turn up again at Halloween but after waiting so long, I have no intention of waiting another ten months before these sweaters make their debut.

On the subject of getting spooked, my youngest daughter has been asking for my help lately.  She wants to enter a photography contest at her school and asked me to teach her what I know about photography.  I've assisted her in setting up a couple of photo shoots of our opossum and a still life scene or two, but I also thought it would be nice if she could work with me since I often need someone behind the camera, pushing the button for me.

This little graveyard is on the way to school, so I knew if we left early we wouldn't be late.  We arrived with plenty of time to take photos.  And yet, as soon as we pulled up, she seemed antsy.  I caught her looking over her shoulder more than once.

Every time a car approached she jumped and then panicked.  I knew she wasn't worried about ghosts, so I assumed she was worried about "getting in trouble for being in the cemetery.  When she grabbed the tripod and tried to dart to the wall to hide, I was getting a little frustrated I said, "Sweet heart, this is public land and we have a right to be here.  No one is going to yell at us."  

"Ugh!  I know," she said and rolled her eyes.  "Ok, then," I said, "focus please.  Literally, focus.  The last half dozen shots were blurry because you were looking over your shoulder."  We got a few nice shots before we heard the sound of another car and her eyes darted toward the road.  "Oh, no!  That's my friend!  She's going to see me!"

Ah ha, so that's what had my baby girl spooked.  Not spooks and specters, not even belligerent grounds keepers or random passersby.  Dear old mum might embarrass her.  Really?  Me?  Surely she must be mistaken.  Would I do something that would embarrass my sweet youngest child?

Yeah, that does sound like me.  I tried for so long not to embarrass the people I love.  I tried so hard and was so successful at it that I became invisible.  I became someone I didn't recognize and quite frankly didn't like.  I was this blank person who never spoke and had no opinions because God forbid I say something wrong.  And, as it turns out, not only did my loved ones make no attempt at reciprocating--they have publicly embarrassed me beyond anything my wildest stress dreams could conjure and I can only assume they did it because they didn't know how it felt--but I still somehow "embarrassed" them just by existing.  Try to Not embarrass a teenager and yours will be an exercise in futility.

Soooo, I decided to just be myself and they can deal with it.  I also decided to stop sparing their feelings and let them know, in no uncertain terms, when they have publicly humiliated me.  Let's face it, I haven't done anyone any favors by "being nice" in that respect.  If someone hurts you, you need to tell them especially if it's a repeat offense.  Maybe a little awareness and a little empathy after they've gone through it will help us understand and perhaps care for each other better.

In the mean time, Ima keep doin what I do.  I'm going to get these photos in the graveyard in my ghost sweaters with my daughter's help even if they do turn out crooked and slightly blurry.  I'm teaching her more than just photography tips out here and she's giving me a refresher course in patience.

So, if this first month of the new year is any indicator of how the rest of 2021 will be, then perhaps I can look forward to more photo sessions with my girl and maybe even a look back at the end of the year to see how she's improved.  There will definitely be more posts with this sweater on the way, probably not until autumn but you never know.

Shopping Info: Sweater from Aliexpress, Shorts from Forever 21, Tights and Headband from Shein

The Ghost of Christmas Presents

Mr. Dickens is probably rolling in his grave from that pun on his classic, A Christmas Carol.  But, he'll just have to keep on rolling because I have a little story to tell.  

HALLOWEEN was near: to begin with.  There is no doubt whatever about that.  The imminence of the day was verified by the calendar, the time keeper, the marker of days and seasons on the wall.  I circled it and my circling of a day meant that it was indeed important and near at hand.  Old Halloween was as near as near could be.

I saw some ghostly fair isle sweaters at Modcloth, but unfortunately, they were all sold out and my only hope was to scour resale sites well after the big day in case one should turn up.  They did of course eventually turn up and at nearly double the original asking price!  And so, Halloween came and went.  

Halloween was dead as a doornail, but I wasn't done hoping.  On a mere whim, I decided to search "ghost sweater" on Aliexpress to see if anything similar and reasonably priced turned up. To my surprise the very sweater appeared in both colors I had wanted and for a mere $16 which is a little over 25% of the original price.  Fortune smiled!

I ordered the sweaters knowing they would never make it in time for Halloween, since it was gone, but I thought it would be a fun gag to wear the sweater at Christmas in homage to Mr. Dickens, the author of the only Christmas ghost story that I know of, although surely the Victorians had others which have been lost to the ages.  

By the way, if you're ever listening to The Most Wonderful Time of the Year sung by Andy Williams and he comes to the line,  "there'll be scary ghost stories, and tales of the glories of long, long ago,"  and some jerk scoffs, "who the hell tells ghost stories at Christmas?!"  You can boldly reply, "Mr. Charles F---ing Dickens; that's who!"  You may also toss your cup of eggnog in the scoffer's face at this point should you have one close at hand. 

November came and went.  I was still waiting on my sweaters, still hoping they'd make it in time for Christmas.  And then came and went December too.  I watched my order make it to customs, return to the seller, leave again, make it customs again and then......nothing.

For three long months I waited and watched as nothing much happened and suddenly last week I received an alert that the package was in Chicago and would arrive shortly!  I was pleasantly surprised by the lovely quality of these sweaters.  They're both thick, well made and spot on for the original.  I wish I had been able to choose my own size, as they are a bit big, but I don't mind the relaxed fit too much and after so much waiting, I'm not about to send them back.

I would like to note two things here: 1.  I have modified the fit of this sweater for my photos.  I alter sweaters with yard as my thread and a plastic needle that I've borrowed from my daughters' crafting kits and it always works quite well to take in the sides of a sweater.  2. I contacted the seller several times and they were always quite helpful, patient, and willing to give me a refund should my order not arrive though they held out hope to the end and very fortunately.  Aliexpress gave the order 90 days to arrive and it ended up taking 83 days, but it did at last arrive.

I thought here in this quiet little cemetery would be a nice spot for a few ghostly photos and it is also here that the tale of these ghosts of Christmas presents from Christmas past comes to its end.  I'll have one more post on the way with the other color of this sweater before the month's end.  But in the mean time, who finally got her amazing ghost story sweater?  This girl!!

Shopping Info:  Ghost sweater from Aliexpress in orange or black

Revenge is Sweet

In December I bought some of those hot cocoa Hershey's kisses.  They only come this one time per year and I LOOOOOOOOOOVE them!  Last year my holistic doc had me on a special and very restricted diet.  It made the holidays a real drag and I only got two or three of these special candies, but this year I decided to buy a couple of bags and make them last as long as possible.

A couple of weeks after buying them, I was cleaning out the cabinets and pulled the shriveled husk of one of my Hershey's kisses bags off the shelf.  It seems my oldest child had opened and then consumed the entire bag secretly.  THE ENTIRE BAG!  I would have shared if she had asked, but she didn't and my stash of my favorite Christmas candy was now reduced by half.

Naturally, and like any reasonable adult, I totally lost it.  There was yelling and guilt tripping and I may or may not have privately shed a tear.  Not just because of the loss of candy, although that did hurt my feelings because I rarely indulge and my kid buys candy all the time and could have bought her own bag of candy anytime she wanted, but also because I hate it when people lie and steal.  I hate it even more when someone I love lies and steals from me.

Flash forward two weeks and I was feeling like having some chocolate one evening, so I decided to break open that second bag.  I pulled it from the shelf and it was so light it fairly flew off the shelf.  That's because it had been opened and consumed down to the last few pieces.  I stormed into the living room and demanded to know who the culprit was.  

To my surprise my youngest raised her hand.  Even after she witnessed the brutal tongue lashing and guilt tripping her sister received she decided not to be outdone, to brave the consequences and eat 3/4 of my last bag of chocolate.  And oh, brother did I verbally lay into her.

Flash forward three more weeks and I was getting dressed for the day when I thought that this new pair of pastel tentacle earrings might just perfectly match my outfit.  I started to ask if I could borrow them, but then I remembered that I don't have to ask because they can't say no--to anything I want.  My children now owe me.  They owe me one favor, or one borrowed-without-asking article of clothing, or an accessory, for every piece of chocolate they consumed.  Oh, my, yeeeeessss.  They are now deeply in my debt and the guilt trips will never end!  In fact I'm thinking for having "I can't believe you ate my chocolate!" inscribed on my tombstone.  Their joint effort at theft has turned out to be the sweetest gift they've ever given me and I intend to savor it, and in the process maybe teach them about the long lasting consequences of their choices....but mostly it's the savoring of the revenge.

Shopping Info:  Lauren Conrad LC Cupcake Sweater from ThredUp, Octopus Tentacle Earrings from RybaColnce