Look into my eyes

Phidippus audax at ~7:1-8:1 Full Frame
Originally uploaded by Opo Terser

Beauty in the unexpected. Beauty in the bizarre. Beauty can be found in the bits of nature most people overlook, or intentionally look away from.

As an example, Opo Terser's flickr photostream is chock full of some of the most truly awesome macros I've seen in ages. They're not safe viewing for true arachnophobes. Though, if you were going to face your fear of spiders, these images could be the place to start.

I especially love all of the stories Opo Terser includes with his photos; describing his interactions with his tiny living models.

Worldwide happy dance

Please, World. Can we have more of this?

The video is Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) by Matt Harding (sponsored by Stride gum.) For more info on Harding, try the article about him on Wikipedia if his own site wherethehellismatt.com is bogged down by traffic and won't load.

Click the video once to play. If you click it again it will take you to youtube where you can watch it in high quality (there's a "watch in high quality" link at the video's bottom right.) Or just click here and go to its page on youtube right away and click that same "high quality" link. But do make sure to watch it in high quality if at all possible.

Thanks go out to Bill Adams for bringing this video to my attention. He's a hoopy frood over at flickr who's photos I frequent for doses of beauty and fun.

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LOLcats FTW!

It's a beautiful day today! Sun shining, it's warmed up to 31°F (-1°C), and I just got back from having lunch with friends. Must go back outside and enjoy the weather. More time on the interweb later, after breathing unfrozen outdoors air for a little bit. And quilting. And practicing my Qigong. And otherwise having energy mid-day for the first time in ages.

It's a beautiful day

Waiting
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

It's a beautiful, bright, sunny day. To look out the window it looks like it would be a perfect day to go out and practice my archery. But it's -7°F (-22°C) out there, with a wind chill of -28°F (-33°C).

There were a couple of squirrels sitting on our front deck, checking out the feeding dish and looking hopeful. The deck is a dark gray, and the direct sunlight on the boards makes them wonderfully warm even in this kind of cold. So I suspect it was warming their fuzzy little coats, too.

In fact, the surface of the deck is warm enough that when I went out to fill the feeder for the squirrels I was able to do so barefoot. The air was cold enough to freeze the inside of my nose almost instantly. But my toesies were plenty warm.

So, no archery today, and probably not for some time yet.

But my Honey is home from his trip. The squirrel bowl is full and the squirrels are going to town on the goodies in it. The cats enjoyed today's episode of rodent action on the cat-tv (window) before finding comfy spots for their afternoon naps. My Mister is baking bread and filling the house with baking smells. We'll spend some time playing WoW together, and then I'll probably knit and catch up on some of the documentaries I've saved on our DVR.

Yup. It's a beautiful day.

Walk in the park

Landing
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

It finally warmed up enough to go out for a leisurely walk today. It's been in the below zero Fahrenheit range for long enough that 31°F (-1°C) felt mild enough to leave hat and gloves at home for a stroll through my local park. The breeze picked up a bit on my way back to the car, so the tops of my ears started to go numb, but in my barn coat and flannel lined jeans I was otherwise plenty warm.

The air was full of the sounds of crows, of chickadees calling to each other, and ducks splashing in the creek. This duck caught my ear as she came in for a landing and I got the camera up in time to catch her.

It felt good to be out walking. I haven't had a real walk, outside in fresh air since Thanksgiving. All my walking has been done indoors lately.

Not so hot

A combo of mittelschmerz, upset stomach, and hot and cold running chills has kept me at home. Curled up on the couch with a stuffed manatee, while my Mister takes phone calls from potential employers.

He also decided to experiment with a bread baking method we hadn't tried yet. The whole house smells like fresh bread. He cooked it in a clay crock, with a lid on, preheated to about 500° F. When he pulled it out of the crock to cool, it started to crackle and snap as the crust contracted in the cooler air. It smells beautiful. It is a lovely crusty brown. It even sounds good. So my Honey's loaf of crackly bread is my beauty observed for today.

Now I'll go back to blearily watching reruns of Tony Bourdain's No Reservations through half closed eyes.

Kitty and Compression = Good

Missy Tash
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

My "beauty observed" for today was our kitty, Miss Tash. She fell asleep on my lap today. I was still sitting in bed and making my plans for the day when she made herself comfy and took a nap. I sat very still, since she usually doesn't sit on me unless I'm asleep, and studied the creases in her fur on her forehead, and her cream colored whiskers. I've never payed close attention to kitty ears before, but this morning I noticed how velvety they are. The fur on one of her ears is half gray and half ginger colored, the other is all gray, and both ears are speckled with slightly longer white fuzzies. You can't tell by looking, but she's as soft as a bunny, especially on her cheeks and neck.

The compression stocking seems to have done the trick, if the first day of wearing it is a sign of things to come. I did a bunch driving around today and running errands and my ankle did not puff up. Joy! In addition to some shopping for groceries and other essentials I scraped the remaining melting snow off of the front steps so it wouldn't become a solid block of ice when the temperature drops again.

Today was a good day to be outside. With a high of 33°F (0.5° C), I was plenty comfortable in a sweater and a light jacket, and only needed to run the heater in the car long enough to take the chill off. The icicles on people's roofs are really beautiful in a dangerous looking kind of way. Some look like they must be three or four feet long. The sky was a kind of pale gray, the snow on the ground is all white (except by the sides of the road, where it's getting pretty icky) and there's still a bit of white on some branches on the shady sides of trees. The monochromatic scenery today was lovely in the way of black and white photos.

I did need to leave my jacket unbuttoned to keep from overheating, but couldn't bring myself to leave it in the car. The Californian in me still shivered sympathetically in response to seeing a few people (mostly under 20 yrs old) out in their short sleeves. But I'm starting to be less surprised by things like that each winter.

One year cancer free today

A gift from the heart
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

We're going out to Tejas tonight to celebrate my first anniversary of being cancer free. I think for the foreseeable future, January 2nd will feel like a bigger deal than my birthday, or pretty much any other event during the year-- with the possible exception of my wedding anniversary.

The image I've posted with this was a drawing that my Niece C drew for my grandmother (her great-grandmother) for Christmas. She's developing a really excellent eye for detail. I particularly like the angel, and that she included Grandma's cane. Some how the cane makes it more personal to me.

Beautiful thing for the day: The sun sparkling off of the surface of the crunchy snow on the ground this morning. It was -6° F (-21° C) with a wind chill of "Fusilli that's Cold!" The up-side of the cold is that none of the snow was slushy, and many of the snowy ice crystals had retained their sparkliness.

One day back in the office after having my foot elevated over the weekend and new year's day, and already it's puffing up again. I'm getting up and walking as frequently as I can, but it just doesn't like being dangled over the edge of a chair for any length of time.

Just realized that Peter Woodward played a guard in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I hadn't planned on seeing that film, initially. Now I'm going to have to. Though our TV screen is big enough that waiting for the DVD is probably just fine. Looks like it's probably not a role with a lot of screen time.

Edit: I've posted some photos of what we ate for our celebratory dinner on my flickr page.

Reflecting on 2007

Interesting In 2007
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

2007

• Personal heroes this year: Dr. Peter Argenta (my Oncologist) and his nurse, Joan. He saved my life. She has been compassionate and supportive, helping me navigate the office visits and such needed during healing.
  

• Three high points of the year: Successful cancer surgery. My cousin returning from deployment abroad. Every day with my Mister.

• Significant losses this year: To death: My paternal grandfather and my husband's maternal grandmother. To life: Several internal organs. To corporate downsizing: My husband's job.
  

• Significant gain this year: I've made several new friends and renewed contact with a few old friends I didn't think I'd hear from again.
  

• A Lesson learned about myself: I've learned that I can cope with a lot more physical discomfort than I thought I could. I've learned how much pain I can push through, and at what point it puts normal life on hold.

• Reading for pleasure: Read 18 fiction books this year. My 3 favorites were: Invoking Darkness (Babylon 5: The Passing of the Techno-Mages, Book 3) by Jeanne Cavelos; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling; Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Bk. 4) by Charlaine Harris
  

• Most surprising place I found myself this year: Hiking through an 8 foot high cornfield with my husband, looking for a lost model rocket. Not once, but twice.

• Something beautiful in nature I'd never seen before 2007: Hoarfrost

• Hobbies: This year I did more knitting and photography than any of my other hobbies.

• Favorite meal in a restaurant this year: Tejas in Edina, MN. Wild Mushroom Enchiladas with Humboldt Fog cheese.

• Favorite meal at home this year: My mom's spaghetti

• Favorite movie released in 2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

• Favorite movie I watched this year (any release date): 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

• Favorite TV series this year (with new episodes): Colbert Report

• Favorite TV series in re-runs: Conquest
  

• Most watched (re-watched and re-re-watched) dvd this year: Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids

• Most played game this year: World of Warcraft (pc)

• Favorite game I played for the first time in 2007: Unspeakable Words (cards/words)

• Gratitude: I am filled with gratitude this year for the compassion and support of so many people. Family and friends who either came to help when I was undergoing my surgeries, or who sent their love and support from afar. Co-workers who helped cover for my workload while I was unable to work. Financial support from family, to help me cover the bills that medical insurance didn't cover. I can't thank everyone enough.
  

• Regime Change in 2008: My preferred candidates for next year's Democratic party presidential candidate have narrowed to either John Edwards or Barack Obama. But with so many primaries and caucuses being held earlier than Minnesota's, and since Minnesota holds a caucus rather than a primary election, I don't think my preferences count for much.
  

2008 Goals

Be more physically active.
Do more quilting.
Learn to crochet.
Observe at least one thing of beauty each day, however simple.
Practice the disciplines of the Eightfold Path.