avrelia

As luck had it, we had a snowfall on 29th, and then temperature fell just enough for snow to stay, so we had a couple of days of winter wonderland and an opportunity to use it for all its worth.

We've made a snowman, had a snowball fight, and then - this (sledding, I guess?). I was sledding too, as I am not averse to fun, but the snowhills of my childhood were so much better. ;)

Well, I actually made this picture on 31st, when we still had snow, but it fits the theme and the mood. ;)

the words say С Новым Годом! - Happy New Year!

cannot find a picture to post again. So I'll just say that through the years I've got a lot of gifts – some I didn't expect, and some I didn't want, like everybody else. One the grand scheme of things I was pretty lucky, and I am grateful for it. The fact that I feel unhappy ever so often doesn't mean that I don't have enough of something (even though I don't have enough of something quite often), but with the fact that I cannot properly use what I do have, all the gifts I've been given. Still, I am always grateful.

a glass of wine and a sample of a contract

our town library during a snowfall

Tradition.

I don't know what to make a picture of that would illustrate meaningfully any holiday tradition to my satisfaction. SO I'll use words instead. And bulleted list.

- One of the biggest frustration of my life in North America is that I feel out of sync with the holiday season. It's not that I have completely different traditions, I have similar, but moved in time slightly, so it just makes everything awkward. I cannot accept fully North American ones, but lots of my childhood ones seem meaningless here, as they require participation of the crowds.

- my best holidays here were the ones when we celebrated Christmas with my Polish-Romanian friends, and celebrated New Year with Russian ones.

- still, when I look back, I see definite patterns emerging. Are they traditions? Not yet, but possibly on their way to becoming ones.

- every year I get depressed just before the New Year. I think of how little is accomplished, and that brings sorrow, Then I get better, as the old year goes away.

- every year I long to cook lots and lots of food, so I have to stomp on my culinary dreams, because, no one is going to eat so much food as I want to cook. It's just three of us.

- every year I want to do lots of holiday crafts with my son (it's a new pattern), and every year I do it three times at the best.

- every year I want to do something special for New Year, but we rarely do these days. Last year, though, we watched fireworks from our backyard.

- every year I want to watch lots of holiday movies, but never have time to watch at least two.

- every year I honestly wait for a holiday miracle. Occasionally it happens.

I don't hang them, I wear them.

Still, they are very festive and warm.

back to posting silliness: here are our lights

Well, I've been thinking about his entry, and then it was decided for me. Kind of. I closed my eyes, opened it and found, like Sleeping Beauty, that an eternity had passed while I was sleeping - whole two hours. Two hours of quiet! What can be more beautiful?
I can't show you the picute of me sleeping, so this is what D. was doing while I slept: