furnace

our furnace stopped working on friday.  the low temperatures these past nights were freezing.  frost is beautiful on the grass and plants in the morning, however the house is very chilly.  here are some warm blessings from this weekend:

1.  the hot water heater works 
2.  an extra-hot mocha from the Coffee Emporium
3.  washable wool blankets
4.  space heaters (and dear friends who share theirs)
6.  lots of exercise to keep us warm 

joy to you  (p.s.  furnace fixed today.  yes.)

dog in costume

happy halloween!

walk to dinner

having family around the corner is a beautiful gift.  here's the sky last night as i walked to their house for dinner.  it was very cold (for october), and you can see winter in the bare branches.  

recess duty

after a busy morning in the classroom, there is peace under this tree.  the cool fresh air is invigorating.  how do you find peace during your work day? 

many fine adventures

yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary.  

when you spend that long together, you create something complex and interesting.

of course, the details are even more important to you each day.

but if you are lucky, you will choose someone who enjoys the same things you do.  for instance, during our one week in paris before the children were born, we went to five museums.  these included the rodin museum, which we saw in the rain.  the burghers were outside, so we splashed briefly to see them.  they are MUCH bigger than this small one, on view at the columbus museum of art.  

whatever the weather in your life, you want the one you love at your side.

he even likes max beckmann, an acquired taste!

your sweetie will add lots of color to your days.  mine has added the colors of football and baseball, golf and swimming.  (i haven't taken UP all those hobbies, however.)

 in the end, the two of you may create something beautiful.  

together we will continue to have many fine adventures.  

joy to you and your loved ones!  

(all art from the columbus museum of art, columbus, ohio)

your view

does your temperament affect what you see?  does what you expect?  i'm thinking about these things because people are so different.  beauty is in the eye, after all, which implies that our views are different.  

my theory is that expectations do affect views.  for example, i thought i was completely alone, running early on a saturday morning.  i had been down this path before and enjoyed solitude.  as i took this picture, i still thought i was by myself.  

here you can clearly see a person and some animals approaching, but i didn't when taking this.  a few minutes later the dogs bounded out of the woods and surprised me.  happily, the man held them while i passed.

okay, what you expect affects what you see, but how about your internal happiness temperature?  the glass half full or half empty, does it change what you see?  

 my blog is premised on the theory that beauty exists for all.  so i catch it to show those who are too busy, or who have trouble seeing it.  the photos in this blog are not enhanced, color corrected, or improved in any way.  the beauty is authentic.  

 it exists.

 may you see and enjoy the beauty in your days.  

spider webs

one week until halloween

i have seen webs on the bridge before, but this morning they were wet with dew and the morning sun was shining on them.  really amazing insects, don't you think?  happy early halloween!

school

 i stopped by school this morning to feed the rabbit.  it was foggy, cold, and lovely.

this tree is at the top of the recess hill.  the children play under it each day.  the sun was just coming through the fog.  

rain

yesterday it rained all day.  

 today the sun came out.  we appreciate it more now that days are short and nights are cold.  

chihuly at cincinnati art museum

yesterday at the cincinnati art museum, i enjoyed the blue chihuly glass sculpture in the lobby.  it reminded me of our spring break adventure in columbus.  at the franklin park conservatory, they have a lot of chihuly's works.  the fish pond balls were one of my favorites.

 the man who was cleaning was very personable.  these sculptures take maintenance! 

the conservatory is indoor/outdoor, and beautiful from every angle.  notice the chihuly balls up on the roof of the lower level.  really well designed.

a blue day

 it rained all day today, and while our class had a fine and wonderful learning time at the cincinnati art museum, the weather and impending funeral reminded me of these pictures.  


it was august, and my family was leaving maine the next morning.  

we were saying goodbye to the beauty.  for the time being.

chess

my son beat his father at chess last night.  my dear husband said that is a beautiful thing.  now they will have more interesting matches.  

open adoption

one very important beautiful thing on our lives has been creating our family through open adoption.  for our children's sake, we chose open adoption - that is, we know and get together with their birth families.  we wanted our kids to know who they looked like, whose sense of humor they had, and to be able to get answers for any medical questions.  what we didn't know was how wonderful it would be, and how the birth families would become our "real" families, too.  we didn't know that it wouldn't just benefit the children, but would bring traditions and adventures for all of us.  in short, they make our lives rich in love.


that means, when a birth family member dies, we grieve, too.  it's a part of life.  one part of loving more people is that you have more loss when they pass away.  but it's worth it.  the loved one will live on in our memories.  

columbus half marathon

the night before a race, eat pasta.  never have i had homemade noodles for my pre-race meal until this one.  my lovely in-laws are italian.  a beautiful gift.

early morning start - very chilly and windy.  also, a huge crowd!  the rainy sky threatened, but we did not get any downpours.  good news.

our flag was beautifully lit, and the runners were silent and respectful for the "star spangled banner".  the singer had a full, deep voice.  I took this picture running, after the song. 

walk, jog, walk to the starting line.  

view.  it looks like i was really moving, right?  not!!  

finish.  happy and sore.  one last beautiful thing - my husband, who rose at 5 a.m. to get me to the start, drove around, cheered, and picked me up at the finish. i ran this race in honor of a dear family friend who passed away last night.  he inspired my steps as i thought of the joyful times we had together.  lots of blessings today and one big sorrow.  our friend's beauty lives on through his loving family.    

the tree

this tree dominates our playground.  the children collect its acorns, enjoy the shade when it is stifling in august, and line up under it each day to go inside.  the dappled sunlight on this day was spectacular.    

soccer practice

beauty viewed while walking during son's soccer practice.  the air was fresh and chilly.

preparing for winter

today at recess i found squirrels' treasure in a tree.  it got me thinking about how animals and plants prepare for winter.  do we humans do the same?  it's interesting to  contemplate.  do we consider the changing of the seasons beyond getting the winter clothes out and seeing if they fit?    

the sky this morning predicted rain.  as you can see, some trees are already bare.

the squirrels' food is stored and ready for the new season.

any thoughts on preparing for winter?