All images :: Kodak Portra 400, Pentax K1000

Oh, hi there. It's only our 5th day off school in a row. Squeeeee! Cal had Friday off for Parent/Teacher conferences (#proudmom) and of course Monday was President's Day. It was our first opportunity to have a holiday weekend where we didn't travel, and here we are, stuck in the house for day five. I. Love. It. After weeks of non-stop running, cozying up was just what this family needed. We've been snuggled in front of the Westminster Kennel Club Show, kerosene heater on high, every night.

With record cold expected tonight, we may not go back to school all week. Fortunately, film scans are delivered via email, and I found some in my inbox this week. I thought I'd share a few here. I was mostly pleased. There's a kid-on-Christmas feeling when you get the email that says your scans are ready. For me, someone who is new on this journey, there's a certain amount of trepidation too. How did I do? Did I totally embarrass myself? This is always a possibility. But yesterday, when I got my scans, I was mostly pleased. Not 100%, but getting better. Even the ones that aren't quite right, as are some of these here, have me thinking, "okay, almost there." Baby step by baby step, I figure things out.

I rarely pick up my digital camera now. That's why no Friday 365s. I don't see much sense in duplicating photos just to fill the spaces in a 365, so I'm trying to remember to take notes. Remembering to do things is not my strong suit, really. I'll cull through these and a few more and give you a retrospective, maybe. I always have things to say, it seems. I think next week, I'll take you on a little film journey. Nantucket maybe? In better weather than they've been having of late? I imagine by then we'll be back to our grind.

Cal and I had a great President's Day together yesterday, waiting for the storm. We went to lunch and grabbed some new boots for Neel (Cal inherited his dad's... how weird is that?). On our way home we constantly scanned the skies, watching for flurries and decided to stop by our river to see what the water looked like. For the first time ever in my decade+ here, the edges of the water was frozen. It was a stunning (if cold!) sight to see. Virginia is temperate. While we do get snowstorms, we don't get the days on days of cold that it takes to freeze our open bodies of water. At least not here along the coast.

As Cal walked along the tiny beach that's created at low tide (see the picture on the right), we both noticed some movement up against the wall. It turns out that there was a duck trapped in the frozen waves. One of his wings was completely frozen and the other about 3/4 submerged. Cal grabbed a stick and gently freed the ice around first one wing. As soon as he did the bird, who'd been moving slowly, seemed to come to life. The other wing took a bit more time, but within moments, the duck hopped up and out of the hole in which he'd been trapped. We stood there, holding our breath. Moments later the duck bee-lined for the water's edge, stopping to rest for a bit and then stopping again to drink as soon as he was at some open water (who knows how long he'd been trapped?). That boy is my hero.

The snow was just starting to fall as Cal and I stood and watched as our duck (that's what we were calling him now) made his way into the water and seemed to become even more energized. We waited while he bobbed quietly, and as soon as he dove under and came back up shaking and spreading his wings, we had to trust that he'd be all right.

After that the storm could come.

We watched the Westminster Kennel Club Show last night, and can you imagine the celebration when the beagle won best in group! Much cheering in this house! Cal and I took a walk before bed, after the snow had been falling for awhile. That's just the best, isn't it? Quiet night, no cars. Gently falling snow and the hopes of more to come. We got our five day weekend and our winter wonderland to boot. Greedy Lauren is ready for more.

housekeeping, how goes it?

finally, some snow