Mother Nature Gets Creative

We are constantly surrounded by amazing pieces of art work that we barely notice. Have you ever looked at a spider's web in the morning with dew glistening from it? Or how about icicles? Right now, there are some stunning looking icicles hanging by my window. They look like glass. Nature is filled with wonderful artisans.

Earlier this week, Mother Nature did a reinterpretation of a sand castle. Her material this time - ice. The lighthouse is located in Cleveland at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie. I think it is magnificent.

Rounding Third and Headed Home

Cleveland lost a sports icon. His name was Bob Feller. By most accounts, Bob was one of the best right hand pitchers to ever play the game. The only pitcher to ever pitch a no hitter on an opening day. Bob had three no hitters in his career. What astounds the baseball nerd in me - he pitched twelve one hit games. To have the mental where with all to not get rattled after giving up a hit, is quite the feat.

Bob's career was interrupted by World War II, and when he returned to the Cleveland Indians (the only team he ever played for), he was part of the last team to win the World Series for Cleveland in 1948. After he quit playing, he became one of the Tribe's biggest cheerleaders. He was a familiar face at spring training and games. He threw out the first pitch during the 1997 World Series at the age of 79. It was a strike.

A lot has been said about Bob today. The one phrase said over and over - a gentleman. In light of the recent uproar over a certain someone rebuking Cleveland and moving south, it is refreshing to hear of an athlete called a gentleman.

Bob's statue will stand guard at the entrance of Progressive Field and remind people at one time, they had one of the best in the game playing for them and oh yes, he was a gentleman, too.

The Tree

I think it goes back to when I was a kid. My mother got this crazy idea that a little tree would be perfect for Christmas. She wanted to set it on a table in the front window. She thought it would look pretty from the street. I hated that tree. I did not fit my idea of the perfect tree. From that point on, there were rules as to what was the perfect tree.

Rule #1 - The tree has to be taller than me. I'm 5'7" and was the shortest person in my family so I was adamant about that rule. The rule holds true today. What helps with this rule, our old house has high ceilings so the tree has to be really tall to look good.

Rule #2 - It has to be real. Sorry, but hauling an artificial tree out and having it up in seconds isn't putting up the tree. You have to go to a tree farm on a blustery day and spend a great deal of time looking for "the one". There is also much whining from my loved ones while I take my time looking. This adds to the ambiance of the excursion.

Once we get the tree home, it is decorated with ornaments that are filled with memories. There are items my mother made, prisms from my great-grandmother's chandelier, ornaments my sons made in elementary school and the year balls. Every year, I take a ball and write down the year and things that occurred during it. It is a great way to remember memorable family events. It is a big deal each year to read aloud the items on the balls. There are also ornaments that I made and ones we received as gifts. My sons fight over one particular ornament. I'm fond of saying "When pigs fly" so of course, we have a flying pig ornament. It is a fight to see who can find that ornament and hang it from the tree. I love that my tree isn't a theme tree. It is filled with memories and love. The best kind of tree in my book.

Trapped In A Snow Globe

Help! I'm trapped in a snow globe.

We are experiencing our first big storm of the season. I live in an area fondly called "The Snow Belt". Thanks to Lake Erie (and sometimes Lake Huron), the open water of the lakes and the higher terrain on the east side makes for ideal conditions for lots of snow.

Right now, we have over a foot of snow and a lot more expected. An hour and half south of here, where my son goes to college - they have a dusting of snow. It is crazy the difference.

We have already shoveled the drive four times today and the roof once. I am figuring my poor husband, after a white knuckle drive home from work, will attempt the roof once more.

I must say, it is quite pretty. It has also put me in the mood for Christmas. So I guess the storm is not that bad. Give me a month or so and then I will be complaining.