Winter afternoon
peace and quiet so serene
clear and cold and blue
– but I’m never blue with you
in our home beside the sea.
***
The Japanese tanka is a 31-syllable poem.
Tanka translates as ‘short song’ and is known for its 5-line, 5/7/5/7/7 syllable count form.
Last Sunday, I shared photos from our beautiful but cold sunny walk on January 1st.
The very next day, everything changed when a blizzard moved in and left our little town without power.
The lights – and heat! – went out at suppertime while our macaroni and cheese casserole was still baking. That was okay, because it was almost done and there was enough heat in the oven to finish it up. So we ate by candlelight in the living room.
With no other heat source and before the room cooled off completely, hubs and I covered ourselves in bathrobes, throws and blankets and decided to read to each other from my Kindle. We chose Treasure Island, which I’d forgotten I had, and read alternating chapters until we got too cold to continue.
We found out online that the power wouldn’t be back until morning at the earliest because of the ongoing blizzard. So we got the idea to go to the small spare room upstairs, light as many candles as we could find, and hopefully stay warm that way until bedtime.
It worked! We set up a game of Scrabble and the candles on my writing desk, poured some wine, and played while listening to digital music. You wouldn’t believe how much heat comes from candles in a small area! We were toasty warm until it was time to blow them out and turn in – cats and all, of course.
Who won the game, you may be wondering? Hubs was in the lead the entire time, but my last play of all seven remaining letters clinched a win for me!
Neither one of us can remember what the word was – probably because of the wine. 😉
A couple of nights ago we took up Treasure Island again and read some more to each other. No, the power wasn’t gone, but we thought it was fun enough to continue reading it that way.
Have you ever come up with fun ways to enjoy a winter power outage?
Do tell!
“Photography is the art of frozen time …
the ability to store emotion and feelings within a frame.”
– Meshack Otieno
Photos were taken on the first of January while out for an afternoon walk.
Our faces felt frozen but our bodies stayed toasty warm.
Time to bundle up on those walks, my northern friends.
Happy New Year to all!
Cold winter days are fast approaching, and for our feline friends and housemates Maisie and Viv, that means snowy paws and shorter trips outside.
Sometimes they cry to go out, but change their minds and make a quick backtrack when we open the door and the bitter wind hits their furry faces. Then they cry again as if we can magically change the weather for them!
“Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.” – Joseph Wood Krutch, American writer, critic, and naturalist
Sunday Snap: Glitter
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkien
One of my favourite winter snaps. First published here on February 25, 2012.
Turn that frown upside down, little fellow.
Seals have been paying us frequent visits around the Point this winter.
I’ve shared snaps of a recent visitor on Instagram this week, as well as a little whitecoat on an earlier Sunday Snap, but today’s pic is a favourite from the post Calm in 2016.
I’ve lost count of how many times this particular photo has been pinned on Pinterest.
Wishing you all a pleasant week, my friends!
Peaceful winter morn
Dressed in snow – the only sound:
Soft moan of the sea.
I wish this was the view from our yard today, but no. This snap was taken last winter when we had snow. Positively springlike all weekend!
Photo originally published here.
“Our familiar garden by the sea has transformed . . . each bramble and bush laminated in a thick, crystalline coat, every amber blade dressed in its stiff raiment of frost. With a watchful step, I venture out on the crust of snow.” – Jennifer Kelland Perry, Endless Chill
Has winter arrived in your backyard?
Hey, all! Vivian K. Perry here, showing off in a short video on Perry’s Point yesterday.
Don’t be concerned about all my meows – I’m always that vocal when I’m having fun.
Near the end, see the panoramic view from the point, and my lightning-fast sprint back home!
Jennifer's Journal 