Winter Wonderland

 

Cute, little birdhouse on our front porch

 

That first significant snow of the year is always exciting.   For us it was even more wonderful since were able to get away to our little cottage in the woods.  We arrived just as the snow stopped falling.  It was so beautiful to pull in the drive and see everything covered in a blanket of beautiful, white snow.  

 

First snowfall of the year at Fern Gully

 

As soon as we got unpacked and had a bite of lunch, we headed out for a walk in the woods.  Our dog, Denver, was THRILLED.

 

Happy Denver

 

We passed several neighboring cabins along they way and they all looked warm and inviting nestled in their new covering of snow, although they were probably all freezing inside since many of the cabins do not have heat.   I couldn’t resist pulling my phone out to snap a few pictures.

 

Cabin in the woods

Don’t you just want to drive down that lane?

Beautiful cabin surrounded by pines

Osaga Lodge

 

After passing several cabins we took a trail through the woods.  There is nothing like walking through virgin snow in the forest.  (Michaux State Forest)

 

Into the woods

 

I’m sure that by February I won’t be quite as thrilled by the snow, but for today it was absolutely breathtaking and I enjoyed it thoroughly!  🙂  It’s a beautiful day in the Michaux State Forest.

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A Hike with Fungi and a Fun Guy (get it?)

I recently went for a beautiful hike in the Michaux State Forest.  As always I was surrounded by beauty, but this time I noticed something different on the floor of the forest– a wide variety of Fungi.  I don’t think I had realized until that day how many various shapes and colors of mushrooms were in the forest.  I soon began to see a different mushroom around every turn.  Here are just a few:

 

Unbelievalbe color!!!

This is more a ‘typical’ color

BOLD!!

These little fellas were almost glowing.

Loving the purple!

Just plain cute 🙂

 

I wish the picture was clearer…it was a very ‘fancy’ mushroom.

As I walked along taking pictures of a variety of fungi, I caught sight of my husband ahead of me on the trail and began to chuckle as I thought of the pun…a hike with fungi and a fun guy.  (ok, I’m easily amused. 😉 )

The ‘fun guy’, my husband 🙂

I guess to be accurate I should say I was hiking with 2 fun guys…one who walked on two legs and one who walked on 4 legs.  Our faithful dog, Denver, was along for the enjoyment.

It was a day where I was able to appreciate many types of beauty in nature.  Along with the fungi and the fun guys, there were also many other beautiful sights.  I took ALL of them in.

Just one of the streams we crossed

I LOVE hiking!

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Plan “B”

Leaf Trail (aptly named) 

 

Often in life our plans change due to unforeseen circumstances.  It can be difficult to adjust to the new directions we are forced to follow, but once in a while Plan “B” isn’t a bad direction at all.  This past weekend we finally had a spring-like day and my husband and I were anxious to spend time on our mountain bikes on a local trail.  There are a TON of trails near our cottage and we are just beginning to explore them.  While I still prefer road biking, I’m quickly developing a love for riding through the mountain trails.  For me it combines two great loves – hiking and biking.  It’s like hiking on wheels.

 

Ready to hit the trail

 

 

We rode up a big hill just to get to the trail head and we excitedly started down the trail.  Some of the trail was a very smooth mountain path and other sections were more technical.  (I tend to walk the more difficult sections. – yes, I’m a wimp.  )  We were riding for about 10 minutes and we suddenly found ourselves faced with needing a plan “B”  While going over a large group of rocks my husband’s derailleur completely snapped in half and the bike could no longer be ridden.

 

The derailleur is the piece that shifts the chain between gears.  (this one is not broken)

 

We then had a decision to make—just walk the bikes back to the cottage or park them by a tree and continue on the path by foot.  We, of course, chose the latter option.  Since we love to hike it was a great alternative.

 

White I was disappointed that our original plans got derailed, (pun intended 🙂 )I realized as I walked that I was able to see things from a totally different perspective on foot than on the bike.  On the bike most of my concentration goes to avoiding obstacles – trees, rocks, roots…..  Much of the surrounding beauty is overlooked due to the necessity of needing to watch the trail directly in front of you.

 

Ready to enjoy Plan “B”

 

I began to take pictures of things I would have missed if I was still on my bike.  The first was a moss-covered rock.  The bright green just jumped out at me.  With spring just now beginning here in South-Central PA nature is just now starting to sprout green around us.

 

Gorgeous shad of green

 

At one point I stopped and looked up at the sky.  It was so beautiful to see the sky surrounded by various tree tops.  This was something I definitely couldn’t have done on a bike.  (Try looking up at the sky while riding a bike – not a good idea)

 

Beautiful spring sky as seen through tree tops

 

We hiked to the end of the trail and began the trek back to pick up our bikes and head to the cottage.  I had passed by this tree going the first direction, but it was an entirely different view from this side.

 

One funky tree 

 

We eventually reached the spot where our bikes were leaning against a tree and began the process of walking them back.  While it was definitely not fun walking a heavy mountain bike over all of the obstacles on the trail I wouldn’t have given up the chance to simply be out in nature.  All in all it was a wonderful day.

 

Bikes are a lot more fun to ride than to walk. 😦 

 

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Never say “Never”

Never Say “Never”

 

I can’t even begin to count the times I’ve said I would NEVER do something only to wind up doing exactly what I said I’d “never” do.  

• I said I’d never live in a white house–I now live in a house with white siding.  
• I said I’d never ride a bike–I now LOVE riding bicycle.  
• I said I’d never like eating wings because it was ‘barbaric’.  Well, I now thoroughly enjoy sitting down to a heaping plateful of messy wings and tearing into them like a ravenous dog.
• plus MANY more……..

 

One thing I said I’d never do was to have any kind of vacation place.  My husband had been talking about it for years and I’ve always said that was something I’d never do.  Well………yep, you guessed it, we now own a cottage in a nearby state forest.  As my husband kept showing me picture after picture of cabins, cottages and homes in the woods I continued to adamantly tell him that it wasn’t something I wanted.  Then, one evening he showed me a picture of a cottage that had recently been listed.  To call it ‘love at first sight’ might be an overstatement, but for some reason my attitude changed and I could immediately see our family spending time at this little cottage in the woods.  Knowing how much our kids loved camping in this area when they were young, I knew they would want to spend time at this little place.  We went to see it with family members and it was unanimous—everyone loved it.  We became happy owners of a little cottage in the woods.

 

“Fern Gully” (aka Adelaide)

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Even though I loved the place and expected to enjoy it, I had no idea how much I was going to NEED it.  Just the time we began to spend time there things began to happen within our family.  

• My daughter delivered our granddaughter 4 weeks early after an extremely difficult pregnancy.
• My father, who had been ill, passed away suddenly.
• Other things happened within the family that brought sorrow.

 

As all of this was happening, I found that spending time at our peaceful, little cottage enabled me to process some of my emotions.  Many nights were spent sitting on the porch praying and crying while coming to terms with some of the grief and fear.  Sitting on that little porch in the woods, listening to the sounds of the forest as nightfall came filled me with a sense of calm.  My soul began to heal as I rocked, cried, prayed and yes, sipped wine

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The “Special” Porch

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This cottage has been something our entire family needed.  We have had several wonderful weekends at the cottage with the kids/grandkids enjoying many things as a family.  

• sitting around the fire
• enjoying dinner together
• falling asleep under the same roof and then waking up together
• seeing our first bear
• working on projects together
• hiking
• canoeing
• etc……

Nothing beats sitting around a campfire.

One of our hikes

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When I first looked at the pictures of the cottage, I knew it would be a fun place for our family, but I had no idea how healing it would be.  Even though I didn’t know all those things were about to happen-God did.  He gave me something I needed before the need was even there.   I can’t help but wonder how often God does this and we don’t even realize it.  I hope I can become more and more aware of all the ways I’m cared for by my loving God.  

 

I encourage you to never say ‘never’.  You might be saying no to a special gift that God wants to give to you.  It might be something you never wanted, but turn out being exactly what you need.

 

A Gift from Above

 

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A Happy “Memaw”

A Happy Memaw

Some women complain about getting older, however I am enjoying life as a middle-aged woman. One benefit for me is that I get to be a ‘Memaw’ to my granddaughters and that is one of the greatest joys in my life. I’m fortunate enough to have two beautiful granddaughters and two more grandchildren on the way. 🙂 The oldest one, Chloe, is 6 years old and the younger one, Missy, is 20 months. My daughter is due to deliver another little girl in July and my daughter-in-law, Tiff, is expecting in November.  I’m looking forward to having 4 grandchildren.

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 Memaw, Chloe & Missy

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There are many wonderful things about having grandchildren. To begin with, when they are babies I get to snuggle them for hours on end. The feeling is somehow different than when my own children were babies. The simple pleasure of holding your child’s offspring is indescribable. Plus, since you’re not the parent there are no other pressing things to do so you can simply enjoy the moment.

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 Snuggle time with Missy

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As they begin to speak it is wonderful to hear them say my name. I was actually going to go with the standard name “Grandma”, but as Chloe began to talk it became “Memaw” and in hindsight I actually like that name better. Missy is just beginning to talk and my name comes out more like “Mawwww”, or more often it’s “uh, oh, Mawwww”. No matter what it sounds like, just knowing that they are calling me brings a smile to my face.

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It is also an absolute blast when they are able to do some of my favorite activities along with me. As you may know, I love making jewelry and Chloe has sat with me at my desk many times and made her own jewelry designs. She is actually pretty dang good at it. 🙂 I’ll be anxious for the others to join us when they are old enough.

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 One of Chloe’s latest designs

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I also enjoy hiking and have been able to do that with both of them.  In the beginning they go along for the ride, but now Chloe is to the point that she is a genuine little hiker.  One side benefit to hiking with a baby on your back is that it certainly adds to the amount of calories you burn.

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 Chloe when she was too young to hike

 Chloe on a family hike this past summer.

(Missy is on Anna’s back instead of mine. 🙂

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Another one of my favorite activities is cycling.  Yesterday I had the pleasure of riding bicycles with Chloe for the first time. She recently learned how to ride without training wheels and we spent part of the afternoon riding around our church parking lot. I think there are many joint rides in our future.

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 Chloe with NO training wheels–YIPPEE!

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Another activity I often do with Chloe is to cook and bake.  She likes nothing more than to help make some cookies or cupcakes.  I guarantee that when she helps me there are plenty of sprinkles and other decorations on whatever we make.  (OK, I also confess that we sometimes lick out the bowl — What happens at Memaw’s stays at Memaw’s. 🙂 )

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 She LOVES to decorate cupcakes!

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Since I also love playing the piano I’m just now getting them warmed up to that as well.  Chloe can play a wee bit and Missy just enjoys plunking away on the keys.  When Missy is here she often walks to the piano and pats the bench, which means she wants me to sit down and hold her on my lap so she can play a ‘tune’.  I think she may be hooked.

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 Future Pianist

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Yes, getting older means gray hair, wrinkles and more aches and pains, but the benefits definitely outweigh the physical signs of “maturity”. Besides becoming a grandparent I have become more comfortable with who I am, and I am now courageous enough (or maybe crazy enough) to do things I wouldn’t have done when I was younger. You can get away with some pretty eccentric things as you get older.  (like wearing a hat with feathers. 🙂 )

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One ‘crazy’ Memaw

***Photography courtesy of “Poppop”

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Courageous or Crazy?

 

 

 Sulphur Mountain Banff Canada

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The line between courage and craziness can sometimes be blurry. As a 52-year old grandma, I viewed myself as somewhat courageous because I’m still very active—I enjoy many outdoor activities including road cycling and backpacking. My perspective on that, however, has come into question.

 

My husband and I were in Banff, Canada, in the Canadian Rockies, for a business trip and we decided to make good use of the free time before the organized events began. The first day we rode mountain bikes along two fairly easy trails, but then decided to attempt a third more difficult trail. I quickly began to question our choice as it wasn’t a typical mountain bike trail, but had steep banks that had been filled in with loose rocks/gravel because the dirt had been washed away. There were many times as I was slip-sliding my way up a hill or inching my way down another that I was doing some serious praying. (i.e. “Please let me survive this.”) After several hours we did make it back to the hotel in one piece albeit with very tired legs and arms (from holding on so tight to the handlebars.)

 

 

 Me before the trail got rocky  (thus the smile)

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The next day took my questioning to a higher level. We decided to hike Sulphur Mountain, which is a fairly aggressive four mile alpine hike to the summit. I think under normal conditions we would have been OK, but the trail had a lot more snow than we expected. The trail started out as dirt and mud with little patches of snow , but as we climbed there were more and more sections that were snow covered and slippery. We both found ourselves slipping every once in a while, but then as we neared the top, I made one very poor choice in my footing. I was on a very snowy stretch, but there was a narrow strip of dirt along the edge of the trail and I decided to walk on the dirt since it was less slippery than the snow/ice. Unfortunately, as I set my foot on the dirt, it gave way. I instantly found myself on my back, sliding down the side of the mountain — I mean SLIDING at a fast rate of speed. Please understand that this is the kind of thing I’ve only seen in scary movies, but suddenly I was living it and I was TERRIFIED!

 Me before the fall (again, smiling before disaster)

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As I slid, I frantically grabbed at any branch, root or plant I flew past. At one point I caught the branch of a pine tree but was moving so fast that I couldn’t keep my grip and began to pick up speed. Just as I lost hope of being able to stop myself I saw a tree in my path and braced for the impact. Luckily, I caught the tree with one of my thighs and finally came to a stop with my legs straddling the tree and my arms wrapped around, holding on for dear life. I breathed a sigh of relief as I could tell that nothing was broken, but that there were lot of cuts and bruises. My husband had started to slide down to try and help me, but its was so steep and slippery that he lost control too. He managed to stop quite a bit above me and we began to talk and try to figure out what to do next.  If we tried to climb back up to the trail by ourselves the risk of beginning to slide again was a very real possibility.

 

 Trail before it got more snowy and scary

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Just then, some ‘rescuers’ came upon us. There were 3 strapping, young men coming up the trail behind us and my husband called out to them to ask for help. They carefully supported each other and climbed down to help us back up to the trail. Once I was safely back on the trail, I realized that the only way to get out of this mess was to keep climbing and finish the last mile of the hike so that we could ride the gondola down.  (Yes, we could have ridden the gondola to the top, but where’s the fun in that?)  Trying to hike back down under such slippery conditions would have been WAY more dangerous than continuing to climb. After another mile or so of hiking through snow with my shaky legs and stinging cuts we finally reached the top.

 

At the top—shaky, but smiling

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Back at the hotel, as I got my wounds cleaned and tried to assess whether I needed stitches, I began to ponder the question of whether I’m courageous or crazy. I realized how lucky I was and felt grateful for several things. First, I was very thankful that I didn’t break any bones and that I somehow escaped with just scrapes on the back of my arms, larger cuts on my legs and bruises in all kinds of places.  I was also grateful that I had packed mostly slacks and long sleeved shirts for the rest of the week since my arms and legs were NOT very pretty. I was, of course, also thankful that my hands escaped unharmed so I could keep making jewelry. 🙂

 

So…here’s the question…..is a 52-year old Grandma that does somewhat risky things like this courageous or crazy? …. And, even if she’s crazy—– should she stop? I kinda think that crazy isn’t always a bad thing. 🙂

 

Gondola ride down Sulphur Mountain

 

View of trail near the top from Gondola

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PS—Believe it or not, I climbed back on a mountain bike a few days later, but I was VERY nervous and extremely cautious—-basically a ‘chicken’.  I guess I’m going to stay ‘crazy’, but maybe a bit more cautious than before.

 

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Earrings and Redwoods

 

OK, you may be wondering what earrings and redwoods have in common…let me explain.

 

I recently took a trip to California with my husband and after landing in San Francisco, we drove to one of the California Redwood State Parks to hike. We went there directly from the airport so we wound up changing out of our ‘flying clothes’ and into our hiking gear in the restroom of the ranger station.

 

As we began our hike I realized that I had forgotten to remove my earrings and they were not exactly the kind of earrings I would normally wear to hike. They were my large open spiral earrings that are simply wire coiled round and round in a spiral of rings. Well, if you know me, I’m the kind of woman who likes things to ‘feel right’…..and these earrings simply did not. I thought about putting them in my pocket or my pack, but was afraid of damaging or losing them.

 

 Large Open Spiral Earrings

After hiking a short while we came to a redwood tree that had fallen across the path and the section that blocked the path had been cut away. This enabled us to see the inside of the tree and all of the rings. Suddenly it dawned on me that my earrings were perfect for this hike. They represented the many rings inside of the beautiful redwood trees. My earrings then ‘felt right’ for this hike. 

 

 

Smaller Open Spiral Earrings on Etsy

As you see in the pictures below I couldn’t resist having my picture taken and realized that I may be the only woman to have her picture beside one of the fallen redwoods in order to highlight her earrings. I admit that this may seem odd to some, but as a jewelry designer, I’m often thinking of what my designs ‘feel like’ to the women who wear them and I was thrilled to find a connection between my earrings and my surroundings. Believe me, this isn’t the weirdest thing I’ve done. …………

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Christmas Morning on the Appalachian Trail

A wonderful Christmas Morning on the Appalachian Trail

Over the years I’ve had many different kinds of Christmas mornings and have enjoyed all of them as I passed through various stages of life. My early years as a little girl were spent opening gifts followed by other family events.  As a young adult there were several years when Christmas morning consisted of just me and my husband opening our gifts. As our family grew there were many years of children excitedly opening  gifts followed by a big Christmas breakfast.  Those Christmas Days were exciting and will always be wonderful memories that I will treasure.

This morning, however, was a bit more peaceful than many of the Christmas mornings I’ve experienced in my 50 years.   I am now in the “Empty Nest” phase and there are certain advantages that come with that.  The fact that my children spent Christmas morning with their other ‘families’ gave me the opportunity to do one of my favorite things—-go for a hike on the Appalachian Trail.  While I am extremely thankful for the time I was able to be with my children and granddaughter later in the day, I did enjoy being able to spend the morning walking through the woods.

This morning’s  hike was especially enjoyable because here in South-Central PA, we were blessed with a Christmas Eve snowfall which gave us a glorious ‘White Christmas’ morning.  With a fresh layer of snow carpeting the trail, hiking on the A.T. was truly an amazing experience.  Being out in the woods as the sun rose over the top of the mountain was a very special treat on this holiday morning.  The silence and the beauty were the best gift I could have been given.  My husband and my dog seemed to have a pretty good time also.

I am thankful for many things this Christmas and I hope that you were also able to enjoy a special Christmas morning regardless of what stage of life you are in right now.

Walking through a snowy meadow.

The AT with a fresh layer of snow.

The 2 ‘men’ who were my hiking companions.
(Don & Denver)

A white “blaze” that marks the Appalachian Trail

A very happy ‘me’ on Christmas morning.

 

 

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The First Snowfall

The First Snowfall

Peace on a Snow-covered Path

I thoroughly enjoy seeing the first snowflakes of the winter season just as I enjoy other ‘firsts’ of each season….the first daffodil in spring, the first day it’s warm enough for shorts in the summer and the first leaves that change color in the fall.  I’m very thankful that I live in a place that has seasonal changes.  Being self-employed gives me flexibility in my schedule and the opportunity to take advantage of the gifts that comes with each season.

The beginning of winter brings on cozy things like lighting the fireplace, burning candles and digging out the warm, fuzzy slippers.  The lower temperatures of winter also mean that it’s time to bring out the winter coats, hats,  mittens and yes, even the snow boots.    The cold temperatures definitely limit the time I’m able to be out on my bicycle, but as long as it’s above 40 and there is no snow on the ground, I am still able to bundle up and enjoy occasional rides.  When the weather doesn’t allow for bicycling, I can always dig out my hiking gear and head out to the Appalchian Trail for a beautiful, wintry walk in the woods.  When I can’t be out in nature I can be doing something else I enjoy—sitting at my workbench creating some new piece of jewelry and enjoying a nice, hot cup of coffee.

We had our first snowfall a few days ago here in Central PA and as  I sat at my workbench and watched the snow coming down, I decided to take a break so that  my Golden Retriever, Denver, and I could enjoy all that the snow could offer.  I bundled up in all of my winter ‘duds’ and headed out my back door for a walk in the field behind our neighborhood.  Several neighbors keep a path mowed through the tall weeds and trees and it is a perfect place to enjoy a walk in the freshly fallen snow.

Denver, of course, went completely wild, running as fast as he could through the un-marked snow.  I, on the other hand, got partway through the field and just stood still.  There is something so peaceful and calming about being outside while it is still snowing.  As millions of tiny snowflakes begin to lay a white carpet over everything there is a sense of tranquility that comes with that.  This particular morning it was so quiet and still that I could actually hear the snow as it gently landed all around me.  I even allowed myself to be a bit like a child for a bit and turned my face upward and opened my mouth, allowing the snowflakes to land on my tongue.  (yes, hoping that the neighbors were not looking out their windows.:) )

Denver and I were alone in the field and it felt like time almost stood still.  I’ve always found hiking somewhat therapeutic and a time when I can sort through things in my mind, but it is even more helpful when it is snowing.  Taking step after step along the snowy path in the silence of the morning was so refreshing that I almost wished I could go on like that forever.  Being out in that silent solitude can help me to put other things in my life in perspective and can make the other more complicated aspects of my life not seem quite as overwhelming. Unfortunately, after a while, the cold began to seep through all of my winter clothing and I finally had to head in for a hot cup of  tea to thaw out.

As I said in my last post, I am hoping to be more purposeful in how I spend my time and energies.  I hope to take advantage of other opportunities to enjoy many different things that may present themselves in my life.  That day it was stopping the work of the day long enough to do something that is truly good for my soul.  It is my hope that doing things like that will help me to become more ‘present’ and to become more thankful for things that I have a tendency to take for granted……like the beauty of nature.

As I sat back down at my workbench after the walk, I did have a more peaceful and positive feeling.  If only there was a way to bottle that feeling……….or better yet, make a piece of jewelry that could somehow impart those feelings to the person wearing it.  Hmmmmmmmm……….I wonder what that would look like. 🙂

Denver enjoying the snow.

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