The snow started when they said it would. It didn’t warm up the way it often does once it starts snowing, so we kept our walk on the brief side.
I’ve mentioned the relentless data scraping going on here and it is alarming but otherwise not yet dangerous to the integrity of the site.
A wonderful side benefit has been that as I scroll through all the posts being visited, I will sometimes tap one and go back. Go back and read.
Some observations hurt. Like: Michelle is gone. Also: I used to have much, much more engagement and from folks I don’t see here anymore.
Some observations run to the trivial: two spaces between sentences? Looks so dated now.
But at times the old posts elevate me. My talk about being messy and losing things gets old, but it also has a way of rendering me very human. Also, it is weirdly helpful sometimes to read about my sister and briefly remember how she almost ruined me for nearly a decade. I’m not sure why this is true since for all intents and purposes I prefer to forget about her.
But the most positive of responses comes when now and again I read something that is really well written. In that moment, I find myself. I mean that: I find myself.
Here I am, a messy and flawed human being who occasionally writes really well.
Here’s one post I actually hunted down because of the bit about silver linings. I wrote it the day after the election in 2024. Much of the musing is sharp and painfully relevant to this moment.
Day Two of Deep Despair: link.
Perhaps here is where I should note that it is the day after the extrajudicial murder of Alex Pretti.
It’s just started to snow here. I’m ready: cans of firewood in the garage are full. Snowblower tank is full. Spare gas can is full. Dishwasher is empty and fridge is well enough stocked, and last night I just rigged some bed headboard bolsters to make our futon couch much more comfortable (we’ve been in this house since ‘92 with this or one other futon couch. Somehow this approaching big storm which I will weather by myself inspired me to up the comfort game on the couch. Odd timing).
I’ve started formatting pieces people have written about John for a book I’m putting together for Grace. This forced slow down time feels like a good moment to begin what will be a big, deep project, much like a big, deep snowstorm. I’m also in the midst of some heavy counseling work that has been planned for this period between Christmas and my birthday. So there is a lot going on inside. Seems like the perfect time for blizzard.
You describe preparedness and courage. Entering the den of grief and more. I wish I could think of something to write about John but I just haven’t been able to come up with anything. That’s pathetic, I know, but my memory is not what it should be.
Oh Dee. Both you and Ken have gone so far beyond what is reasonable to request of someone already! I know that you cared for John; you care for Grace and me. I rescind my request for a written piece!
And!! Have you watched Pernille on Netflix? I wish I hadn’t bc it would be a great snowed in binge. I may have to just settle in and watch it again.
We watched a couple. It was good. Right now we’re watching a drama about doctors and nurses in Australia who fly around to deliver care. It’s okay.
The original Flying Doctors from mid 80s was better than current series IMO. I used to work in a remote town for the health service, and one of my jobs was to take the ambulance out and clear the runway of kangaroos so the plane could land. I was usually the only one sober, which is why I got the job 😄
Amazing you! This series is a little schmaltzy so maybe we should hunt down the earlier version.
But apart from the storylines, I find the whole business of care for remote populations fascinating — including clearing runways of kangaroos!
I don’t comment as often anymore but I do read every day…. I don’t have much to say as my world is my house, my desk, my chair, my bed. Oh and most of all my TV- British Soccer, Antiques Roadshow, weather channel (today) and reading BOOKS…..
Joanne?
Dee you’re so cute! I was out shoveling a bunch of times already for the small dogs.
I have to say I’m really enjoying this snow storm. It’s so light and fluffy. I might go make a snow man (or crab) later today.
And it takes my mind off what’s happening in the rest of the country. Ugh.
And it is a good excuse to cook comfort food and overindulge. What are you making? Your dishes always look delish!
And YES you are a fantastic writer!! And poet. And visual artist. And cook. And cousin!
Finn loves the snow. And you’re right it’s nice and fluffy.
Right now I’m making a spinach salad with hard-boiled eggs, bacon, artichoke hearts, pickled onions that I made the other day, and a creamy buttermilk dressing. Nothing that fancy. But yesterday I made flatbread with a mushroom faro ragout that was tasty. tonight for dinner we’re having comfort food: rigatoni with red sauce and grocery-prepared chicken meatballs. Lots of Parmesan.
Oh and thank you!
Yum!
Your snow bunny regalia made me cackle for the first time today. The snow up there looks so friendly. Here, ice is accumulating on everything as dark settles. We will likely lose power some time in the night. It’s been flickering. About those bot scrapers. !Yes, I’ve followed some of the links to old posts and wondered what time has wrought. Posts were thought out around some passion and they delivered. And people responded. At first I wondered where I’d gone. After a very little reading, I remembered. I followed your link to the old post and knew I didn’t comment (beyond the like) because you said it all so very well.
It’s fluffy and pretty snow. Driving up to a foot deep near the side door. Still coming down pretty hard.
Stay warm. Hope the power interruption is brief.
What a grand photo of you, strong, snow woman. I bundled up as well but don’t laugh. I did so because I had to take out some trash and it was snowing, all of about 1/2″ but it was very cold here in central New Mexico and it is a big deal here!
Life holds such irony. I had intended to stay somewhat quiet these days, take a break from commenting, find some time for neglected reading and introspection… BUT I’ve been skittish for several weeks, having a crisis of confidence in terms of doing all that I should be doing for Democracy. The murders in Minnesota, the latest a VA nurse who worked with infectious diseases and I tell myself that if we lived in Minneapolis, Alex could very well have cared for my husband…watching the visceral videos, seeing the hell that storm troops across the land; knowing that arrested Minnesotans are being held here in an ICE facility in New Mexico……not knowing where to land myself. This morning, up so very early, not at all feeling like dancing which is my usual tension outlet. Instead I made a cup of tea and began reading a book by Michelle Obama that I have had for a few years and that led to my commenting on Jude’s latest Substack post. I’ve share my comment over at Liz’s blog and I’m sharing it also here. There are those times when words just spill out of me and want to go many places. In my skittishness, landing them with friends, calms me…
One of the items on Jude’s post was a list of love definitions. I wrote, “Looking at all of your definitions of love, I find that the one I want to add is Love can and needs to be fierce at times. I say this in light of what is going on in Minnesota, in our America. I’m in the middle of reading a book, written a few years ago, by Michelle Obama, titled The Light We Carry. Tomorrow, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania’s book, When We Keep the Light, will be available. In order for the light of Democracy to stand, we need fierce, communal love to shine and touch every corner of our country. If the love and light are strong enough, may ICE melt…
I’m sorry that the crises unfolding all around us are precipitating such agitation. I don’t see how it can be otherwise though.
It’s the same one-two punch that happens after the extrajudicial killing of Black people. First the grotesque violence and then blaming the victim (often followed by no charges being brought or an acquittal).
The fact that the ghouls of this regime lie so reflexively and so without concern about whether their stories are credible scares me. It’s next level. The whole George Orwell thing. “We’re lying. We know we’re lying. You know we’re lying. And we’re gonna keep lying anyway.”
We’ve been hearing about delivery of white vans to the ICE facility closest to us in Burlington. Some suppose that means they are preparing to ramp up efforts here.
Please find a way to dance tomorrow dear Marti because you know you dance for all of us.
We’re still iced in in Texas and the temp is 22 feels like 10 … but the sun is strong and I suspect the ice will clear by end of day … lucky for us, the frozen precip fell as sleet rather than rain, so the trees didn’t ice and break
I confess that I haven’t looked to see if my blogs are getting the same scrutiny as yours and Deb’s … honestly, I can’t bring myself to care much anymore (not-so-subtle reference to Melani’s We Do Not Care Club … which I followed for a while)
As for your writing … good heavens, where do I even begin to sing your praises? Your book, your blog posts, your writing workshops … all of them incredible opportunities to see great writing in action, especially the raw stuff straight off the handwritten page. More to the point, your faithfulness to the practice … lucky for us that you are so generous in sharing it all (up to and including going through the hard work of self-publishing). Thank you for that.
And hmmmm … do you think that double-spaced paragraphs will go the way of the double-spaces that used to follow periods?
Oh good grief … how does WordPress not recognize me?
Liz A
WordPress. Yeah. And you blog on WordPress! Go figure. But of course I generally know it’s you.
So glad the branches and wires survived the storm intact. We’ve been shoveling all morning. The snow blower is fritzy, so more shoveling than usual. Thankfully the snow is very light. Two feet deep in places!
Thanks for your praises. It’s not why I said that stuff about writing of course, but I do appreciate your observations. Esp from a writer of your caliber.
what a great portrait of thee. I want a pair of those glasses – are they worn by glacier climbers?
Ha! Those are my everyday progressives. With transition. They take a long time to clear once inside but I have come to love them when out in the sun. Somehow I was never a sunglasses person.
Thank you for your picture bringing a smile to my face .. I needed that. I appreciate having you smart beautiful ladies put into words all the things that I need to read in this dark time here in America. Do your words help me better understand NO!!! nothing right now brings me closer to understanding .. accepting the cruelty of what keeps happening. But putting words to my feelings helps a lot. So Thank You!!