SPRING BLIZZARD IN UTAH

Spring in Utah is very unpredictable. My tulips and daffodils are coming up but yesterday they were covered. In snow.

Kramer was very interested in seeing if anyone would come down the street in blizzard so he could BARK-BARK-BARK! After the snow everything was covered.

And then today? Sunshine. That's life in Utah in the spring. It was so warm today I just wore a sweater when we went out. No pants or shoes and socks. Just a sweater. Phil is so understanding.

A MESSAGE FROM CARL THE WEATHERMAN

Carl the Weatherman says it isn't Global Warming. It's Global Climate Change and that it applies to the whole planet, not just Provo. Carl says they are having a warm spell and NO snow. They live in Canada, yet.

Happy Winter Olympic games, Carl. they've added a new feature this year. Dirt skiing. And rock snowboarding. And 100 meter ice water swimming. I have a box full of snow to send him. Watch for the UPS man, Carl. You and C.A. can have a snowball fight. Or donate it to the Olympics. In fact, maybe I'll send a truck full.

GLOBAL WARMING?

Yesterday, and especially last night, we had unbelievable winds--almost 70 miles an hour. We lost a huge limb out back and we have garbage all over the yard from all the garbage cans that tipped over in the night. (Today was garbage day and everyone's garbage can was in the street.)

I went to the Mock Caldecot party last night with a friend. We looked at over 30 picture books and tried to pick the winner--none of us had watched the news on Monday morning when the Coldecot winner was announced. On the way to the party we nearly got blown to the wrong house and on the way home--one measly block--we got a ride because the wind was worse!

Then today this is what we have.

Global warming? Not in Utah.

This is the Coldecot winner: THE LION AND THE MOUSE by Jerry Pinkney. No words at all, not even on the front cover! Just some "squeaks" and maybe a "roar," but I'm not sure about the roar. We had exactly one minute to look at each book and you simply can't get everything looked at or read in 60 seconds.

Jerry has been up for the Coldecot many times but never won before. He went to an art director for advice and was told, "You are afraid of white space." (He filled every inch of the page with something, even if it were only grass.) So, for THE LION AND THE MOUSE he left lots of white space and this year he won. His illustrations are amazing.

By the way, Amazon has amazing prices on the winner and two runners up. The winner is eight bucks instead of seventeen. ALL THE WORLD is $10.52 and RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS is $9.35, (They are not called runners up but I can't think of what they are called.) I guessed two of the three right, my other choice was Tsunami. And my fourth favorite was THE CURIOUS GARDEN.

This is Jerry's studio. Amazing. His web site here.

PS If you are reading this, basking in the sun, do. not. tell. me. I'm not bitter or anything.

PERSONAL HISTORY STORY--LONLINESS

I wrote this for personal history this week, forgetting that we had cancelled because everyone would be knee-deep in Thanksgiving preparations.

LONELINESS—written November 23, 2009

When I was a teenager, and wasn’t dating anyone special, I was lonely. How can you be lonely in a house with parents who loved you? I’m sure you all remember such times.

I remember one of those times with such clarity that I can feel the winter’s cold coming off the window in the east bedroom. I was kneeling on the king sized bed, watching the snow falling under the street light at the corner of Olive and Lloyd’s house.

Photo credit's here. I tried to register so I could borrow a photo

with no watermards but ran into a glitch. My apologies to the owner.

The snow was falling at a slant, and it was a brilliant white. I mentally saw myself walking into the bright snow. I could almost feel the snow hitting my face. I felt like the only person on the earth.

I watched my imaginary self, walking through the snow, and out into the dark, all bundled up in my green coat. That night, kneeling on the bed, I felt like I had no future and was maybe the last person on earth.

The house in Annabella has now been sold to my bestest cousin, Holly, who loves it more than I ever could. The east bedroom is redone in antiques. The king sized bed I knelt on is gone. Gone is the teenage girl with the unknown future.

Sometimes, now, in the still of a winter night, with the snow falling at a slant through the streetlight on my cul-de-sac in Provo, I remember that girl I was. I want to comfort her, and tell her things will be better.


Today, in two separate emails these messages came. I wish I could have read them to her, so long ago. I wish she would have listened, as her breath made frost patterns on the window. I wish she could have seen the girl she imagined, lifting her face to the sky. I want to see her fling her arms wide and turn in circles, delighting in the knowledge that nothing bad stays forever and that her future would be bright.

And, even saying that, I hope I will remember this advice, for my day to day life right now. And I hope you will too.


Email #1:
One day it will all be a distant memory, Lynne, yet I can tell you now, with the supreme confidence of someone who's gone ahead in time to know, that you'll look back on this life and be so flush with love and admiration for yourself, your journey, and who it made you, that you'll wonder, as I do now, how it could possibly have escaped you then. Maybe this will help.

Your greater-self,
The Universe


Email #2:
Sunday Will Come “Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

“But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

“No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, in this life or the next, Sunday will come.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Dark Friday, Bright Sunday," New Era, Mar. 2008, 4 )

PS I still have that coat, just in case there is one day no heat on the earth. There is actually a knitted insert inside and it weighs so much it's a chore to walk in it. Whoever wears that green coat will really be alone because they will be the last person on the earth to freeze to death.

PHIL MOWED THE LAWN

Phil mowed the lawn. He had to remove piles of snow with the snow shovel first.

I told Mrs. Bird it was time for another of her stories. She said, "Oh, I can't think right now. I'm preparing for a colenoscopy."

FAMILY, WE HAVE A slight PROBLEM

We are canceling the outdoor family dinner this Saturday. I hope you understand.Visiting on this lawn swing will have to wait for a week or so.
Phil was going to mow the lawn two days ago and decided to wait a day or two. Does this look like a lawn mower?So, dear family, maybe NEXT weekend.

WHO ORDERED WINTER?

I'd like to know who ordered winter.

Last week.

This morning.

This afternoon, thankfully.

(Below is the "big mouthed frog" my niece, Lezlie gave me. Do you know that joke about the big mouthed frog?)

Last week. This morning.
I love a good joke but...enough already.

SPRING, WHEREFORE ART THOU

Snow, falling, packing, frictionless, cars sliding, feet slipping, cold. Shivers. Sweaters, coats, gloves, dripping off chairs, drying out.Spring and summer water, growing from snow memories in bands of velvet green.

Children playing, outdoor dinners, redneck fashion, lazy eating. Dad and daughter, silly-shirt-laughter.

Hurry spring. Kids are growing, seeds are waiting, lawn mower needs a turn. Lonely for springs promise, summer's bounty, the work of fall in mason jars and then...again, the snow will come. But now, oh so lonely for the spring.

THE "LITTLE DRIVE" TO DANIELS SUMMIT

It was a snowy day today. A day to stay in with hot chocolate and buttered toast fingers. But we did not stay in. We gallivanted with the Fearless Driver, who gallivants all over the nation on "little drives."Today we gallivanted, in a snowstorm, to Daniel's Summit.

Fearless Driver and Patient Friend.Phil, the paleface wanna-be Indian and his faithful sidekick, Tonto.Fearless Driver laughs at the snow and laughs at the sleet and chuckles all through the dark of night. Nothing will stop him from gallivanting into adventures.It was a beautiful drive and I took about ten thousand photos out the car window, some once we got there and more again on the way home, using Patient Friend's camera because my battery finally said, "Enough already." 90% of the pictures were no good but I got 100% satisfaction by just clicking the shutter button.

The day was overcast and the scenery was limited to whites and shades of grey and blacks. The perfect conditions for snapping the kind of photographs I'd like to paint--not that I am really going to paint but I like to think about it. We ate lunch at the Lodge's General Store.

Phil found an Indian Headdress he said he wanted. I asked why and he said because he looked like an Indian. After I recovered from terminal laughter I pointed out to him that he is as pale as the driven snow. He said he had an Indian nose. I just shook my head and said for $1795.00 I would buy two computers. Okay, I only said that to myself but I would. Two of them. We did NOT buy the Indian headdress for Mr. Paleface. It was beautiful, though.We saw a sign that said the snowmobiles have their own bathrooms and I'll bet they are warmer than the ones in the freezer that we used earlier.

I found a hat one of my grandsons would love. I didn't buy it because he already has two of them--fur lined--and I fear his head is going to fall off from constant fur contamination.If you get tired of shopping you can linger on the porch. It's warmer there than in the bathrooms, I can tell you.

The food was very good. Next time I will get the nachos appetizer for lunch. It was excellent.

On the way back Patient Friend lent me her camera and then said to The Fearless Driver, "Let's go to Sundance." Then, every two minutes after that she said things like, "I can't believe I said that." And, "I'm the un-brave one and I have you driving up this narrow road in a snowstorm," and, again, "I can't believe I said that." But it turned out fine and was truly beautiful. Sundance got ten inches of snow today and Fearless Driver hardly noticed. Here's the entrance to the Sundance Lodge.

This is the entrance to Nirvana. Really, it is.Lord Bumhampton dunked one of our cars in this very creek one day after skiing. It was a proud moment.

This photo is for my friend, who loves fences in the snow. It's a crappy shot but it's the thought that counts, right?This is the guts of a Utah irrigation snake for my friend, Michael.
The tunnel on the way home. It's kind of cool looking, huh? You can see the white-out on the other end. It was a glorious day, just what Phil and I needed. I recommend it to all of you.When we got home there were about six inches of snow for Phil to shovel. It was a little snow-big snow day. Actually, it was the perfect day.

THE ANATOMY OF A SNOWY SHOPPING DAY

" Let's start the Christmas shopping at 9:30 in the morning," I said as Phil kissed me goodnight last night.

"Mmmump," he said, which, being the optimist I sometimes am I interpreted to mean, "Yes, dear."

We left the house at noon.

Our late start might have something to do with what we saw when we looked in the back yard.

Snow everywhere!

I think the hummingbird nectar might be frozen.

We did finally leave...The neighbor's snowman bid us farewell. I heard him snicker, "Slowpokes."This is a busy street. Usually. Today only one other fool was out.Someone forgot to take the flag down.We had a schedule--I even made a map--five places to go. We got to exactly one of them...the BYU Bookstore. We were there several hours. Phil went to get the car while I waited with the 100 pound bags. This is what the weather still looked like.And here he comes to pick me up. It is only an eight minute drive from BYU to our house. How come it was DARK when we got home? I think we drove through some kind of a time warp.

We said we would go back out to the other four places but...as you probably guessed, I am blogging and Phil is channel surfing. I guess we will start in the morning at 9:30. "Won't we dear?"

"Mmmrph."

PS Written the following day. We started at 1:30!