I was ecstatic to get raingear from my parents for Christmas (a coat and boots). It's ridiculous that I've lived in Santa Cruz for two years now without having any. To put them to good use right away, my boyfriend and I went on a muddy, chilly, wonderful hike through the mountains.
Now don't be fooled. It might look sunny and warm, but I promise you that despite our clear lack of snow, it is windy and freezing. Which I love, of course. Off in the distance we could see Windy Hill:
And closer to us, dark tree branches draped with glistening pale green moss and grand, quiet evergreens drinking in the solstice sunlight and settling rain.
Even the ground (observe my new boots that I now wear every day) was enchanting.
I made my parents wine charms, because the whose glass is whose confusion is all too common in our household.
Easy peasy 3 step process for making these:
1. Acquire (either from a jewelry supply store or from your garage) a set of earring hoops. I used 3/4" and 1" base metal ones (cheaper than sterling silver, which I didn't see as necessary since they're not going in anyone's ears.
2. Find cool beads: if you can see, I made two sets, one with animal beads (chicken, cat, toad, cow, etc) and one with little sparkly beads.
3. Thread any number of beads you like onto the hoops, and using a set of pliers MUCH smaller than the ones I used (I could not for the life of me find my earring pliers), bend the end of the hoop upwards into the hole (if using the types of hoops I used).
And that's it! Easy peasy. My lesson learned is to make sure the beads are small enough that they don't warp the hoops.
For my 9-year-old sister, I got the best gift of all: The Hobbit: An Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Michael Hague (aka the classic one that's been in print since the 80's). She loves it and I could not be happier. I'm a complete LOTR nerd, and being able to share my love of that world with my little sister is the best return I've ever gotten on a gift.
Also, after seeing the movie--which I loved, despite the fact that I'll probably have to wait another three or four years for the second and third parts to come out--it struck me how similar the filmed scenes were to the illustrations in this book. The one above, for example, where the dwarfs (that is the correct plural of "dwarf" according to J.R.R. Tolkien) eat, sing and converse in Bilbo's home, is practically identical to the movie scene. Maybe I care too much, but I appreciate that they took cues from a classic and loved illustrated edition instead of fabricating new images.
Speaking of fascinating visuals, the other night I witnessed a lunar halo, which is said to presage the coming of a storm. I did a little research and this is not, in fact, a myth: it is created by moonlight refracted through the ice crystals of cirrus clouds, which appear in the days before a storm. I didn't take this photo, but the one I witnessed was just like it.
I've also been mixing a lot of drinks: I made a sangria for Christmas dinner that was a hit with my whole family, and my boyfriend got a juicer as a gift, so we've been making lots of super nutritious blends. I'll be documenting those as they become successes. :)
I meant to document everything in one post, but this is becoming rather long and people are starting to wonder what I'm doing. I'll get on the rest of it in what will now be part II of my winter break adventures.
I hope everyone is having the happiest of holidays!
Love, Maralah
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