Self portrait

A self portrait - me, taking a picture of myself. Now that was an interesting exercise. I'm right-handed but left-eyed. When I peer through the viewfinder of my camera, I use my left eye. If I'm taking a photo in landscape mode, my right eye is blocked by the camera body, and it stays open. But if I'm taking a portrait-mode shot, leaving my right eye open causes confusion, so I usually close it. Confusion? Yes! With both eyes open it feels like I am looking at two different images of the same thing. One image is the size that I normally see with both eyes. The other is a smaller image as seen through the lens. It's a very odd feeling. I had to compose this photo with my right eye closed, then open it before I pressed the shutter. I really didn't want to capture myself with my eye squeezed shut!

Less than expected

Less snow, that is!

The forecasts last night were a bit overdone, calling for 3 to 7 inches of snow overnight with another 1 to 3 during the morning. They were bad enough that I went to sleep last night thinking that I was going to need to work from home today.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up and looked out to a world of white that was created by (only) 1 to 2 inches of snow. I still considered working from home, but that seemed unnecessary. I followed my normal morning routine and headed to the office. My drive took only 25 minutes, surprising considering that the plows were still out clearing the surface streets, but not surprising since there are many people who opted to take today off as an early start to New Year's festivities.

I have a feeling that I could easily be the only person in the office today. I know there are a couple of folks who are planning to work from home, but not everyone has checked in yet. One of my New Hampshire colleagues said that he had 7 to 8 inches of snow up his way, so my experience of only a couple of inches may just be a stroke of regional luck.

Designs in ice

After the rain

Rain in December...

It's been a crazy precipitation month here. We've had much more snow than normal; in fact, I heard yesterday that Boston is within an inch of having the snowiest December ever.

Last night and into this morning, liquid fell from the sky. There's still a layer of snow on the ground, but uncovered ground is peeking through too.

Crocs, no holes!

My feet are hooked on Crocs. Yes, the shoes are on the ugly side, but they are functional, and oh! so comfortable. And they come in all sorts of colors, comfort and fun for my feet...

A new pair of Crocs was waiting for me when I arrived home today (courtesy of very fast order processing & delivery from Zappos). I've been wearing my normal Crocs around home, running errands, inside, outside. Warm wool socks inside comfy shoes, and my feet are happy. That is, until I started wandering outside in our winter wet, snow, rain, puddles. The nice ventilation holes are also entry points for cold and wet. It was time to search for options.

That was an easy solution - now I have a pair of Crocs without holes.

You're right - this isn't a pair. It's just my crazy feet checking out the differences. I wonder if anyone at work would notice if I wore a mismatched pair of Crocs. I don't normally wear these to work, but it might be fun to see if I get any reactions to a very mismatched set of feet.

Two wheels rolling

A late-morning walk led to an early afternoon ride... and it was just what I needed.

It was still a bit nippy when I headed out on my walk this morning, and while I really wanted to ride, I was afraid that the roads were still going to be covered with snow melt. And my bikes told me that while they wanted to ride they didn't want to come home covered with salt and sand from the roads.

I had the whole day, and it felt like a good day for a long walk. Walking, walking... and guess what! Most of the roads were dry, with only the smallest neighborhood streets wearing a wash of salty water. And it felt like the temperature was inching up, and up. I cut my walk short, arriving home a short hour after I'd left. A snack for me, and air for my bicycle tires, and it was time to roll!

It's been many weeks since the weather wizard provided a good day for cycling. Yes, I've been a bit of a baby lately; I really don't like riding on wet roads that have been coated with sand and salt.

Today was a real gift, blue skies, reasonable (low 40s) temperatures, and dry roads. Awesome!

...many thanks are flowing to the weather wizard from me (and from my bicycles who love to be rolling down the road)!

Decorated by sunshine

Full and bright

I woke this morning to see a bright light jumping around the edges of the window blinds. The sky was still dark, but a very bright full moon was providing light and decoration.

What a beautiful greeting from the morning sky...

Solstice

Ah, winter solstice... the day when the sun changes direction, when the edges of the days here in the northern hemisphere start to slowly extend once again.

This year the solstice was a good excuse for a day off, a day to enjoy a breath of fresh air. I headed for the New Hampshire coast for a bit of a wander this afternoon. It was a bit of a challenge to reach the beach in some locations since the snow plows had left quite a pile along the side of the road. It was a challenge that I met without ending up on the ground, lucky!

There was a white band of snow along the edge of the beach, icy patches across the snow, and more waves than I've seen in a while. The waves decorated the air with a low roar as they crashed against the shore.

Once I crossed that white stuff separating me from the beach, walking was fine. But as I wandered through Odiorne Point State Park, breaking through the snow, I realized that a pair of snowshoes would have been a good idea.

Interested in seeing more photos from my coastal wander today? You can find them in my gallery Snow, sand, and the roar of the ocean.

Fluff

It's snowing again! I can't remember another winter here - and I've lived in this area since 1985 - when the snow started right after Thanksgiving and stayed. The normal pattern this early in the season is for a bit of snow followed by a disappearing act. The snow isn't disppearing this month, it's just adding to the previous snowfall.

The weather wizard says it's supposed to be warm and rainy on Sunday; that could be a real mess!

For now, it's snowing fluff, and it's beautiful.