The Frozen Awesome

Ok so most people don't find the weather to be awesome, but most people don't live in a place that gets as cold as it does here in the winter. Last week here in Colorado it was so cold it made the skin on my body hurt to be outside without protection. I am a cold weather woman. I can stand most cold and it does get quite cold here, but on the days when the temp reaches 45f or 50f degrees in the dead of winter it feels like spring.

Watching people do their holiday shopping in such weather is something to behold all wrapped up in their warmest gear, loaded down with bags and boxes, children skipping and singing to the Christmas music, and the sparkling lights like fairies that have stopped for a rest in the treas. People most of the time don't tend to mind the cold while getting into the holiday spirit, but when the thermometer dips below zero its a whole other story. Most people like myself don't even want to go out of doors when the weather becomes so brutal, but when you do its a whole other world at that temperature.

Stepping outside with multiple layers covering every section of exposed skin the air bites into my unprepared lungs like knives in my chest. The soft tissue in my nose is screaming to go back inside, but my soul is free in such a place. There is no one out, everything is white from the new snow fall and there is a quiet calm that is blanketing everything, I embrace the cold creeping into my clothes. I walk around the block and my solitude is uninterrupted. The snow is so cold it squeaks under foot. The world is mine as I turn the corner to walk towards the lake.

Inspiration

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

-Alexander Pope,
An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

The Weekly Awesome

It was a great week in California, but to be honest there was no contest as to what would make the Weekly Awesome. The most beautiful day of adventure, hiking, and breath taking beauty was by far and away the 26th, the day before Thanksgiving.

We arrived at the campground late, having dinner in the moonless and chilly night I went to bed with the anticipation of the dark landscape before me. A broad grin spread across Tim's face as he unzipped the tent and bid me welcome to the redwoods. The morning light revealing the redwoods to me through the fog that just fell short of reaching the tree tops. They were a towering presence in the late morning light. We got out of the tent and began the happy task of breakfast. After a breakfast of granola and hot tea we packed it in and set off on the day's hike, eight miles though the redwoods down into Fern Canyon and finishing off on Golds Bluff beaches.
As we began to descend into the forest I felt as if I had stepped into a fairy tale where friendly dwarves and terrifying ogres could be anywhere. The sound of all human activity was swallowed up by those great trees and deadened by the sound absorbing moss that covered every surface. The impossibly huge trees drip with moss, ferns and huge clovers carpeted the forest floor, and everywhere there were rotting carcasses of these ancient giants being gutted by nothing more sinister than a myriad of fun loving and colorful fungi. This forest is not just alive it's life is covered in more life. Everything was astonishingly green and damp. At one point I turned a corner and was wondering if the Brothers Grimm were lurking about thinking of their next tale of horror.
After a pleasant hike through the forest we descended even farther into a river bed that had a small and chatty stream flowing through it. The walls were over three meters high and every available space was covered in ferns. With the trees enclosing us there was as little light here as there had been in the forest. Crossing on logs placed by those before us we crossed this strange and beautiful place. There was no escaping the water though. Tim decided he was wet enough and didn't bother and I tried and failed at staying dry. Coming out of the ravine we broke through the trees and could hear the Pacific rushing in and out and the sea birds calling us to the shore.

We crossed the marsh that divided the forest and the beach. Then onto the dunes with enough time to eat, talk, take some excellent pictures of the cliffs lined with the redwood forest, and watch the sun set over the ocean. It was the best day I believe I have ever had. Never have I felt so profoundly.

For all of you that are wondering, yes we hiked back in the dark enchanted forest and we did not run into one witch. I was a bit disappointed about that.

Pictures courtesy of Tim. He loves that camera.

The City

Is it required that all cities have strange art?

Silly Sea Lions

Creepy Spider by the Bay Bridge.

Alcatraz, I didn't go there.

San Francisco

It was a hazy day in San Fransisco as I walked the boardwalks and sidewalks. I had a great tuna fish sandwich for breakfast, then lunch in the park with a good friend, and after all that walking, taking it all in, and coffee it was time for dinner with said friend in this little night cafe. It was a beautiful and fun day. Here are a few pictures for you. I am not a photographer or artist so you will have to excuse the snapshots.

Black Coffee

My favorite mug with just simple black coffee in it sits unassuming on my desk. A sight for groggy eyes. I pick it up, the deep rich color warming my soul as the hot mug warms my hands on a chilly clear winter morning. Holding it close to my face with both hands I close my eyes and breath in the familiar aroma of the bitter dark brew. I take a slow sip and feel it warm my chest. I sigh into the darkness swirling around below me. Its going to be a good day.

Retro Awesome (pictures coming soon)

So, last week in California I did so many awesome things it will be hard to pick just one, but for now I want to tell you about my awesome from the week before. I could not post it because it was a gift and the person in question would have read about it. Would have ruined the surprise and let me tell you I believe he was surprised.

It all started years ago. I like giving gifts that are meaningful to me and the other person. I believe that each gift says something abut how I feel for the person and what they mean to me. Cost is no object, within reason, and I do love to give things I know to be of use. This brings us to my friends who are these annoying people that have everything. I agonize each year what to get them for birthdays and holidays. This particular gift took months of planning and work, but really it was years in the making.

I know Tim (the gift was for him) to have everything and he loves to travel. He told me that he would love a compass, but it needed to have meaning and life. So, I went looking, but to no avail. For months I would send him pictures of compasses that I thought he would love, but he did not.

Then one day there it was he showed me the one he liked and I jumped at it. I kept bidding on it till it was mine. Then it was shipped all the way from India. It's well over 100 years old this compass and has a poem on the inside of the lid. The green jeweled pointer makes me happy looking at it and it points North! I had the back inscribed with a little personal message. I know that it might seem strange to have an antique compass engraved in French (thanks Chris), but its me we are talking about here.

I gave it to him almost the moment I stepped off the plane. I could barley contain myself really. Then he opened it and I am happy to report that he loved it! He told me it was the best gift he has received! I cannot tell you how that touched my heart. The way he loves it. It will find good use in his hands and as with all my gifts it will be a little reminder of my quirky personality every time he uses it.

The engraving says: “Pour mon escargot nomade. Puisse cette boussole te guider toujours vers tes prochaines aventures.
Amour, toujours,
Heather”

Translated: “For my traveling snail. May this compass always point the way to your
next adventure.
Love Always,
Heather”