Spokane was engulfed in a gorgeous snowstorm yesterday, and the above photo was taken from my apartment window at sunset. This view is such a balm in the cold winter months--a sight that is still a marvel to me every year.
Speaking of the years, sending each of you very warm and happy wishes for 2015. I am excited and hopeful for these brand new months ahead, and ever grateful to be here writing and sharing words, ideas, discoveries, and projects.
Here's how the turn of 2014 into 2015 has looked these past few days:
This awesome backpack was a gift from my older sister for Christmas. It holds everything from books and notebooks to gym clothes and my lunches.
{It also has an adorable grimace, which I discovered the other night.}
One of the very first meals of the year was from this amazing cookbook, Toro Bravo, a collection of recipes inspired by and also served at its namesake restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Joe and I were lucky enough to eat there last October, and we absolutely loved the cocktails, the grilled flat bread with arugula and truffle cheese, and some amazing seafood dishes, including the Paella Toro--beyond delicious!
Joe made the flat bread and he also found a new recipe for us to try: sauteed chard with egg--both were perfect. We're excited for more tasty new recipes in 2015, and I'll keep doing my best when it comes to the baked goods--pies and breads ahead, methinks.
This adorable couple greeted us when we arrived at Manito Park yesterday. Apparently not all the ducks have flown south, and I'm not sure what this means, but they were pretty cute.
{So is this guy.}
There were dozens of cross-country skiers and sledders in the park, too. I've never tried cross country skiing, but this looked like a wonderful way of getting around yesterday--far better than driving, for sure. It was one of the busiest Sundays we've ever seen, and the snow just kept coming for hours. *Breathtaking*
And more ducks. It's a mystery to me, but it looks like they're here to stay through the season. The snow was here for a day and was replaced by rain in the middle of the night. We woke up to sloshy puddles and a lingering fog, which isn't nearly as thrilling, but alas, it's probably just right for a Monday. I hope you're starting your week off in good spirits and with happy memories from the holiday weekend.
Before I sign off, here are some older, but still very relevant words from writer George Saunders on kindness in The New York Times. This is one of my favorite passages:
Some of this “becoming kinder” happens naturally, with age. It might be a simple matter of attrition: as we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish — how illogical, really. We come to love other people and are thereby counter-instructed in our own centrality. We get our butts kicked by real life, and people come to our defense, and help us, and we learn that we’re not separate, and don’t want to be. We see people near and dear to us dropping away, and are gradually convinced that maybe we too will drop away (someday, a long time from now). Most people, as they age, become less selfish and more loving. I think this is true. The great Syracuse poet, Hayden Carruth, said, in a poem written near the end of his life, that he was “mostly Love, now.”
Cheers, xo
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