Well, once again it's snowing like crazy and there is no fighting it.

Sigh.

It's beautiful though, and this morning I was lucky enough to spot what I thought was an otter but after reviewing the photos, was actually probably a sleek little black mink wandering across my patio and yard. Gorgeous. My first in-person wild otter or mink. That was really cool.

I took a walk up into my woods and it was absolutely still. Hung out for a while on a log, just thinking and listening. Very peaceful.

So I have no complaints unless it's the unfulfilled lust for spring, which is always in my blood like a low-grade fever.

Soon, soon.

Now back to work.

I woke up feeling chatty today, which is not a bad thing because I've been holed up a while writing, wishing it would stop snowing and start warming up, and really hungry to see a little of that hazy spring green shimmering across the land.

Come on, spring. Anticipation is killing me.





I also made the mistake of paging through one of my ancient roses catalogs, swooning at the sight of the mad gallicas, the rich, fragrant moss roses, the big, velvety cabbage roses...argh. I'm helpless against them. Happily, I feel another order coming on.

And then there's the rose color interpretation  which is always fun, especially on Valentine's Day. (We'll see what the day brings, hmm?**)

So, besides working and dreaming up all kinds of adventuring plans for the nice weather, I've been watching the Olympics and thinking about taking risks for what you love doing, how extreme the winter athletes get, and how I won't even walk across my own frozen pond because it's icy and I'm not a fan of falling down.

Well, physically. Writing-wise, it's pretty much nothing but risk. Fall down, get up and try again, over and over until what you have created is the best it can be. I am a fan of this kind of risk, the emotional, the push-the-limit and never give up determination that comes with doing what you love. So I guess we all have some degree of whatever-it-takes inside of us, which I think is pretty damn cool.

Happy Valentine's Day. 

**2/15 -- The holiday brought much love and happiness, laughter, great moods, The Temptations' My Girl, roses (lavender and white, enchanting), and shimmering black and white diamonds. I felt like spring. 

 
 

Well, I just experienced my first serious flood here, and while the water rose to pretty scary heights down the road and through the river and the creeks, tearing out chunks of road, heaving debris all over and washing away banks and taking down trees (I saw this happen and it was unnerving), this place didn't suffer much. We lost electricity for half a day and had to go out and dig a channel along the side of the road to divert the water roiling down the mountain and into my yard but that wasn't bad at all. A lot of people suffered much worse, especially those with houses right on the creek and river banks.
 
And then, in the rain with the waters roaring down the mountain, we took a ride out on the quad to see what was happening downstream. Um...yikes.



This was the end of the road, and we couldn't go any further. It was moving fast, and washing the road out with it.



One of the overflowing creeks.



Same creek, overflowed through the woods.



Normally, this is about a 25 foot drop from where I'm up on the road.



Watched the water cut away the bank, and a huge, live tree go down. Didn't like it.

Some of the roads are closed because the pavement was buckled and torn away. 

The deer were running all over the place, panicked at the changing landscape. 

It was an astounding day. 

Winter is usually a quiet time for me, and I'm finding it's true this year, too. I like tucking in, laying low, writing, mulling, reading and this year, losing my mind in a 5 season The Office marathon. (You know it's bad when Dwight strides scowling into your dream and you're not surprised to see him.)

Still, I figure it's all grist for the mill. When I gear up to write, I follow whatever fascinates me. I research all sorts of weird things, exploring whatever makes me curious, and then throw that new knowledge into the pot and let it simmer along with everything else. Some things I may end up using, some I've yet to use because it's not character-appropriate but that's okay because I always learn stuff along the way.

I like this process, even when it's so slow it drives me crazy. Sometimes it feels like I'm wandering aimlessly through a big field of wildflowers, picking one here and oh, maybe one over there, while there's a giant ominous tornado brewing up ahead, and I'm la la la-ing along, trusting that this strange little bouquet I'm gathering will somehow see me through and to safety. (Er, safety would be making my deadline with a story worth telling.)

It feels good though, when it all comes together and I get it.  Really good.

Snow, snow, snow. Too bad I don't ski. (Not really, as although I have nothing but admiration for people who are brave enough to deliberately strap slippery planks to their feet and hurtle headlong down snowy mountains, I don't regret not being one of them.)

I'm more the snow-ambler type, content to wander, follow animal tracks, take pictures, make snow people, let it fall in my hair, that sort of thing. I'm not compelled to shovel it, although I will clear the sidewalk and sprinkle birdseed so the cardinals and chickadees have an easier time finding food. I always track snow into the house, too. Not sure why, but it tickles me to do it. Maybe because the cats think it's dreadful.

So for now there's a gentle little snowgirl standing by the pond, sort of wearing a snowcloak and watching the deer wander through.

Happy January.
 

Happy (late) New Year! I hope your celebration was a blast.

As for me, I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting year. A year of learning, that's for sure. I like it.

It's REALLY cold here ( -2 with the wind chill but I swear it's -8, at least. I know, like those 6 negative degrees make that much of a difference!) and the wind is fearsome. Brr.

Anyhow.

I spent all day yesterday cooking for my boyfriend's birthday party today. It's not a huge event -- just family -- but I'm really looking forward to a merry afternoon. This will be the first birthday I've hosted for him, and I had to stop myself from getting carried away. Seriously. I trimmed the menu down to 8 things, plus desserts, and am already trying to convince myself to add one more dish. But I'm not going to. (Maybe this will be the year I learn self-restraint? Hmm. Not sure how I feel about that.)

I'm glad to be tucked in today, out of the wind and ordering office supplies and 2010 calendars, revving up to get moving on the party. Tomorrow is a work day, and I'm glad for that, too.

And at some point very soon, all the holiday decorations are coming down. My tree has been a trooper, dropping maybe 4 needles in the 6 weeks she's been up, but it's time, now. We'll take her to the woods and maybe the birds will use her branches for shelter.
 
I like that.

What a glorious, exhausting holiday.

What an absolute joy.

We opened our presents on Christmas Eve after a nice lobster tail dinner (the once-a-year fish market here really does a great job) and it was sparkly and fun and beautiful. Christmas Day my boyfriend's sons came and we opened more presents and had more fun, and then went to his family's for a delicious dinner (love that oyster dressing and broccoli casserole) and rollicking fun, including an endless boys-against-girls game of 90s Trivial Pursuit, which the girls won (of course but left me feeling like I'd spent the entire decade in a coma, as those questions were bizarre and some of the worst and most obscure I'd ever heard.

Christmas night was more food, and the whole weekend with the boys a relaxed, laughing, fun time with Beatles Monopoly (I was the second one to lose everything and go out), Paul McCartney concert videos playing, nachos, shrimp platters, and motorized helicopters whizzing through the air in the living room (I love this), the cats getting into the catnip and making their own fun, and a pancake breakfast in which I got impatient with the never-ending bowl of batter and so finished it by making one gargantuan pancake which, happily, was eaten.

Monday -- yesterday -- we loaded up and went back to my family in NJ to have Christmas again, and it was wonderful. More food -- turkey, pot roast, stuffed shells, shrimp scampi, grilled salmon, all the accompaniments, my sister's astounding array of Christmas cookies (I wasn't kidding when I said she makes like 40 different kinds with dozens of each) and my brother and my sister's fiance had us laughing so hard we were gasping for air. My mom's smile is wonderful to see, my father sent us home with a fabulous cat tree for the hairy ones -- my god, they're going to love it as soon as we manage to get it out of the truck -- and the day couldn't have been better. It felt so good to be back in my parents' house, the place I grew up, going nuts with presents, pictures and laughter, hugs and kisses. Sounds sappy but I don't care. It's true. When we're all together at my parents' we are children again in the best possible way.

And now, I'm tired. And full of good feelings. All this time leading up to Christmas I really thought I'd want to go out on New Year's Eve in a killer dress and whoop it up -- well, for as much as I whoop, anyway -- with sparkle and glitter and dance the night away -- but now I'm not so sure. I am content. Plus, we have a -4 wind chill this morning and that doesn't encourage much in the way of outside adventuring. 

Plus, my mother gave me a box of books. Plus I got some for Christmas. Plus I have some long-overdue phone calls to make to friends, and they should last a while. Plus I want to sit down and make my 2010 Goal List. Plus I have one more party to throw this weekend. 

What a season.

Christmas Eve, and it's a beauty.

Frigid air and blinding sunshine. 22 degrees and felt like 12.

We talked and lingered over coffee because I decided my To Do list could wait. And it did, because after making a double batch of mini cheesecakes we decided to take a ride and wander up into the woods.

We were the only ones there, and it was beautiful.
  



 

The snow was pristine, the water in the creek half-frozen rushing and tumbling, and the air was much colder on the bank than back at the road. There were animal tracks everywhere. We added ours to them.

Have a beautiful, serene, joyous and Merry Christmas. Good will to all.

My mind is boggled from holiday prep, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. My To Do list never seems to end. 

How are you guys holding up?

Yesterday, while it was twilight, cold and snowing, we ran down to the hot, crowded store to restock the cat litter (hey, it's a tradition) and sitting out front was the best Salvation Army bell-ringer I've ever seen. He looked just like Santa, including the suit, and despite only getting maybe one in every 15 people to drop a dollar in the pot, wore a sweet, warm smile and called Merry Christmas to everyone who passed. Irresistible.

I was also chasing a last-minute gift that I knew someone dear to me wanted, and undoubtedly exists SOMEWHERE but not, I discovered, here. It can't be shipped, it isn't stocked, and so I was left frustrated and having to settle for a lesser mutation of it, instead. That frustration led to one of those silent meltdowns in the brain, where you're left pushing a twenty-ton cart full of cat litter and birdseed through a steamy, clogged and crowded store with narrow aisles and people who see you struggling to get past them but still stop dead and turn to statues right in front of you, forcing you to push your boulder-on-wheels cart around them.

Talk about a moment of very un-peace-on-earth-good-will-to-man thoughts. 

Luckily, it passed as soon as I got out of there, and now I know for absolutely sure that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE online shopping and do not love real shopping.  I hope I remember this next year.

In book news, HOW IT ENDS picked up 5 stars and was called Heartrending, catastrophically beautiful over at A Good Addiction and the rest of the review is lovely, too. Makes my day.

So, with that in mind, it's time to make fresh coffee and get moving. It's snowing -- just flurries -- and there's brisk cheer in the air.

Good. That'll work.
  

I've been answering emails from readers who have bought Such a Pretty Girl, Leftovers and How It Ends as gifts, and want to know how they can have me sign the book(s) to make them even more special.

The fastest and best way to do that right now is to email me -- admin@laurawiess.com -- with who they want the book signed to, and their mailing address, and I can sign a bookplate and get it right back out to them. It's much easier and less expensive than mailing the actual books, and the plates will work beautifully.

I've had a lot of fun book shopping this year, for both gifts and yeah, for myself, too. Last night, while I was curled up on the couch reading, I just happened to glance up and caught Diva (aka Peach, aka Diva Diva Ondelay! ) hanging out with Santa and beaming her What I want for Christmas wishes my way.

 Happy holidays, from the feline Twilight Zone.