I Know it's Spring, but Here are Some Winter Dreams

I just did a post about our trip to the snow over at Lilly and the Brothers.

I found these pictures and was reminded how fun it was to take pictures in a totally new environment. Snow. It was beautiful and breathtaking.

I dream of one day staying in a secluded cabin, deep in the woods, just buried in snow. I would like to lay on the couch next to a roaring fire, go snowshoeing and see no one's foot prints but mine and the animals, drink hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows, eat hot soup and fresh from the oven bread, and fall asleep to the quiet, quiet sounds of snow falling.

Then I'd like to come home to sunshine because I am terrified of driving in snow and I think I'd probably have to drive eventually. Or I guess I could learn to cross country ski.

The first time I went to Switzerland, I had just turned 17 and graduated from high school. We were driving in a gigantic bus through the Alps. After many, many, many hairpin turns, and a lot of my fellow travelers getting very sick, we reached the top of a mountain. And when we got out of the bus to stretch our legs, it was snowing.

In July.

It was only the second time I had seen snow falling. It was just so beautiful and magical.

As we drove down the mountain, we drove through village after village. Each one had a little church, tiny chalets with windows full of red geraniums, cows, a shop or two, and the greenest grass you ever laid eyes on. Outside of each village were more homes, tucked up into the hills and looking very lovely indeed. I imagined myself spending a winter there, studying abroad, alone with my books, writing, making friends with people in the village where I would go for bread and cheese.

Oh it was so romantic. I loved being 17.

I have been back to Switzerland 2 times since that trip. Each time I love it more. It is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and one of my most favorite places in the world.

I've only been there in the summer. And there is still snow up in the Alps.

But I'd like to go in the winter sometime.

As long as I don't have to drive. And I won't cause the trains in Switzerland are fabulous.

Where do you dream of being right now? Winter dreams, spring dreams or even summer dreams? Tell me. I'd love to have some new places to dream about.

Greta

Suprised By Beauty: Up and Down

Don't forget to look up.

And down.

Beauty is all around.

Look for it.

And enjoy it.

I am hoping you find beauty today.

Until tomorrow,

Greta

"The world is so full of a number of things

I'm sure we should all be happy as kings."

Robert Louis Stevenson

*With credit to CS Lewis for the original title idea.

Surprised By Beauty

A grey, rainy wintery day.

A bend in the road.

This.

Surprised by beauty.

"The world is so full of a number of things,

I'm sure we should all be happy as kings."

Robert Louis Stevenson

*With credit to CS Lewis for the original title idea and to Fallbrook, whose beauty surprises me always.

A New Year's Wish

Happy New Year, friends!

My wish for you and I on this first day of the

New Year:

that we may look beyond the sticks and storms that sometimes surround us

to see the beauty that lies beyond.

I wish you every kind of beauty in this New Year.

From the grand to the mundane--

glorious views and freshly mopped floors.

grand adventures and quiet days at home.

I am looking forward to it all.

Don't you just love a fresh start?

So happy to be sharing the excitement of a New Year with you all,

Greta

Citrus: The Gift of Winter

Today is the first day of winter. Of all the seasons, winter is my least favorite. Oh yes, there are aspects I like: hot soup and fresh baked bread on a cold night, hot tea and baked oatmeal in the morning, the sound of rain, a trip to the snow, crisp days of brilliant blue skies and bright bright sun, but eventually, I long for spring. And especially summer.

I admit I am spoiled, Winter here is not very bad. OK, it's a breeze! If it's 50 degrees outside, we have to really, really bundle up. Or just stay in on such a cold day. And that doesn't happen all that often. So I don't really experience the full effect of the winter season in the way, say, a New Englander might. Except in one way.

Fruit.

I miss summer fruit. I miss it already and it's only the first day of winter. That's not very encouraging.

I miss cantaloupe. Watermelon. Peaches. Oh, the white ones. And plums. Deep purple, and so juicy you just eat them right over the sink. Apricots.

If you tell me that you don't love summer fruit better than all the rest, I will never believe you.

And then, yesterday as I was thinking about summer fruit and missing it so, I looked out my window and I remembered.

Citrus. The gift of winter.

These oranges are from our tree. They hang just outside the dining room window. Their color is so gorgeous. I do love orange. And they are sweet. So sweet.

We squeeze them for juice in the morning. Eat the slices in the afternoon for a snack.

There are so many wonderful kinds of citrus fruit to choose from.

We use Meyer lemons from my parents' trees for lemon bread, lemon bars, lemon curd. Meyer lemons are so sweet, they even smell sweet. A bowl of Meyer lemons on my dining room table makes one of the most intoxicating scents I know.

And tangerines. Of course there are the Clementines. Everyone knows them. And they're good. And they have a great name--a name in the running if we ever have another daughter.

But have you tried Satsuma? Find them. They are so sweet and so good and just so full of tangerine flavor you will think you died and went to heaven. Ask for them at your farmers market. I have been known to eat more than 10 in a day.

We are planning on planting a Satsuma tangerine tree.

Blood oranges are amazing too.

Every time Aaron cuts into an orange, he tells the boys it's like looking at the power of the sun. And I think about how God made these bright citrus fruits to be ripe now, at this time of year; just when we need that little bit of sunshine most.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: we live in an amazing world.

Happy first day of winter, friends.

Greta

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There is another thing I like about winter. A fresh new year, ripe with possibilities and new things to be learned, discovered, tried and explored.

One of my first new adventures will be this recipe. Almond, orange and puff pasty--it sounds like a winner. to me. I'll report back. But it won't be for a while friends. We are still knee deep in Christmas cookies over here!

Stormy Skies

Our first real winter storm of the year.

I love wet windows.

Wet leaves on the sidewalk.

And stormy skies.

But it's nice to have the sun peeking out again.

This is, after all, the sunshine state.

Or is that Florida?

Or Missouri?

I think that's the show me state.

Whatever.