That satisfied yet slightly sad feeling you get when finishing a great book

Lounging snugly in bed on Monday morning, the last day of 2007, having just finished reading Julie and Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell and feeling blissfully hopeful and happy. This book is hysterical. It follows Julie as she tackles all of the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a years time. I often felt like I was standing next to Julie, sympathizing with her difficulties and triumphing with her successes in the kitchen. The way that she uses words honestly and concocts sentences as if she was relaying stories to her good friends gives the book a personal feel for sure. Google the Julie/Julia Project to see her culinary journey....

I can't help noticing how the last two books I have read have been about women my age writing about projects they took on because they didn't really know what they wanted to do with their lives (before Julie and Julia I read Hack by Melissa Plaut, a chronicle about the adventures of being a female taxi driver in NYC). This book trend is not lost on me and after reading both I have felt great surges of hope that this 28-soon-to-be-29 year old will figure something magnificent out for the new year.

Celebrated my friend Becky's 30th birthday last night amongst great people and delicious pizza. It was one of those evenings where engaging conversations just continually flowed, whether or not you had a glass of wine in your hand. There are good people in Jackson, Wyoming...

I am going to write down some resolutions for the coming year on tomorrows post. I prefer to call resolutions " Things-to-Work-On" because this allows for a little more slippage. Call it a lack of willpower maybe but I like to think of it as just being gentle with myself if I happen to fall a little short of my purposed goal(s) :)

I do have some art to post too. I keep giving creations away before taking photos, a habit that I have to fall out of....My first Thing-to-Work-On.

Obsessed with Olive....

I can only imagine how I would be as a mother to a human baby. My relationship with my dog of two and a 1/2 years gives some indication of the type of mother I would be. A photo-crazy one for sure but also a loving one, eager to learn how to best communicate with my little one. As friends and boyfriend can attest I am a sucker for books on dogs and how to be a better dog owner. My parents gave me Merle's Door by local Wyoming author Ted Kerasote for Christmas. I have already read the book and adored it, crying myself through the last three chapters while looking at Olive and giving thanks for her existence. I must read for sure. Thanks for having good taste Mom and Dad!

We ( Jamie, Olive and myself) all had, as Olive's photo shows, a really nice, bright Christmas. Much to be thankful for....

Last night turned into a date night, one of those evenings when I felt like I was with someone for the first time as well as with my boyfriend of four years. Which equals a great night. All the art galleries were open late, indulging visitors with wine, holiday treats and good art. My scientifically-inclined boyfriend has amazed me numerous times with the way that he can talk about artwork, often finding meanings that I haven't even thought of. His awareness seems to support the idea that anyone can talk and appreciate art and in fact, some of the best are those that appear to be furthest away from the " creative" world. After delicious buffalo burgers, catchy tunes by the Boondocks, serious conversation and some good laughs ( Jamie was cougar bait. Residents of ski towns will know what I mean.) I came home full, not just of burger but true happiness.

Unlike a few days ago when I hiked Glory on a bluebird morning, the valley stretching out below Jill and I, today was a day when being blown over on the boot pack was a good possibility. At times it was pure white-out with the winds gusting around 50 knots. And I was on skis! Relying on bad visibility and slightly out of control I made my way down Shovel Slide, making a few good turns in the process. Skiing is much more work than snowboarding. Olive became a polar bear cub, her face a mask of white with only black eyes shining through. It was too cold to pull out the camera then but this photo shows her after we reached the safety of the truck. A mix of tired-dog and slight annoyance at having her photo taken by her doting "mom" yet again.

A Very Merry Christmas

I finished watching The Polar Express this morning, curled up in the Lazy Boy while a young fire crackled, and could picture the illustrations from the book. The movie's graphics are amazing and the story, although embellished, is still sweet and meaningful. It brings a little magic back into Christmas....

It has been a good day, a good week. The craziness of this holiday only intensifies each year and the searching for presents, the rushing of events, the hurrying seem to miss the point of it all completely. It was nice to get my presents off to my family and to be there for Julia as she dealt with the surgery and beginning rehabilitation of her knee. Finishing Jame's painting depicting our upcoming summer adventures in the desert, watching Olive play with her new toys, having Beth, Jamie's mom, here to celebrate the holiday and talking to family and friends on the phone were what made this holiday special and made me feel more festive.

I hope to be more regular with this blog as everything holiday related settles. I also hope to be more artistically inclined.

A Merry Christmas to all!

Start of a new month

Yesterday, trying to fight this depleting cold, I hiked Mt. Glory with Jamie and Olive and two hundred other anxious, powder-loving individuals. It was a beautiful morning, the sky tinged pink, and the hike up was not too strenuous. The ride down was beautiful, powder spraying up, carving long arcs down pure blankets of soft whiteness. Olive was in utter heaven. After the first one hundred yards of the boot-pack she turned around, snow decorating her face so only her eyes shown black, and seemed to say through her wide ear-to-ear grin, " Mom, this is so great." Having a dog who finds joy in every adventure makes any trip, even a hike up Mt. Glory with hordes of other people, enjoyable.

I am almost done reading Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken. I need to read it again to get all of the valuable information and insights out of it. It is a beautifully written book, full of optimism and confidence in the direction of the world. Hawken centers his book around the increasing influence of environmental and social non-profits, foundations, and organizations on the world and how these entities exist not through ideologies but through truth. His words and research give hope that through making yourself an aware and thoughtful person on this planet you can begin to live in a less impactful way. Human beings are part of nature and the harm we do to Earth, we do to ourselves.

5 Grateful's for December 1:

1. Ginger tea

2. The handmade, artistic advent calendar from my Mom.

3. Olives playfulness with other dogs on Cache Creek Trail.

4. Jamie's hug.

5. Our wood stove on this cold, clear night.