Gingerbread Houses

A couple of very elaborate gingerbread houses sitting in a field.  I do hope a field mouse moves in soon.

Adventures In Hypothermia

We assume these people knew what they were doing, but, geez, is this really fun? Some, like the woman in the top photo, wore the appropriate thermal headgear but most didn't. Some were barefoot, which is incredible to me. À chacun son goût. I'd rather just take their pictures. But then there's skydiving . . .                

A blessing on your house!

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City Daily Photo bloggers have to choose one of their own photos at the end of each year as their Photo of the Year.
You can see who chose what at the CDP website.

My picture has a message for the new year!

PAX HUIC DOMUI  --  Peace be to this house

It is the wish and the blessing of all who enter this wonderful Swiss house built in the 1700s or maybe even earlier in the tiny hamlet of Grandchamp in western Switzerland.
Now the house, named l'Amandier,  is part of a monastic community of nuns from the Reformed churches of Europe.
I lived there these past two months as a volunteer.
See my room and the whole building in an earlier post.

On December 31, on Facebook,  poet Jan Richardson shared her poem-blessing  that seems to be speaking about my beloved l'Amandier as well as about the new year.
Here is what she wrote:

"A blessing for you, from me, in this turning of the year. May this new year hold solace and hope; may it—through us—hold welcome and grace. Deep peace to you."

THE YEAR AS A HOUSE
A Blessing

Think of the year
as a house:
door flung wide
in welcome,
threshold swept
and waiting,
a graced spaciousness
opening and offering itself
to you.

Let it be blessed
in every room.
Let it be hallowed
in every corner.
Let every nook
be a refuge
and every object
set to holy use.

Let it be here
that safety will rest.
Let it be here
that health will make its home.
Let it be here
that peace will show its face.
Let it be here
that love will find its way.

Here
let the weary come
let the aching come
let the lost come
let the sorrowing come.

Here
let them find their rest
and let them find their soothing
and let them find their place
and let them find their delight.

And may it be
in this house of a year
that the seasons will spin in beauty,
and may it be
in these turning days
that time will spiral with joy.
And may it be
that its rooms will fill
with ordinary grace
and light spill from every window
to welcome the stranger home.

—Jan Richardson

Not The Way To The North Pole

Santa made a wrong turn somewhere around Minneapolis while trying to find his way home.

Actually, this is one of the members of the Missouri Disabled Water Ski Association. They do their thing in the Mississippi River under the Arch on New Year's Day. The members wear whatever one does for plunging into cold water. (And the water was cold yesterday. At least there was no ice floating in the river.) Personally I think they're nuts, although for a good cause.         

Disappearing Skyline

Happy New Year everyone.

London has had days of fog sometimes not lifting all day.  The towers of the city barely visible.  Some mornings the fog has nestled so low it appears to sit on the bridges.  It is lovely for a riverside walk, however not so much fun for the many travellers whose flights have been cancelled.