In the Bleak Midwinter

The title of this post is also the title of one of my favorite Christmas songs.  It talks of the earth resting, and our human reaction to the earth withholding its colors and brilliance until spring awakens it again.

I love this field behind our property.  In winter, these small trees are stripped of their garments of leaves, and you can see every detail of their shape and the color of the bark.  They are starkly beautiful.

The First Rhododendrons of Spring 2015

This wonderful mid-50-degree weather is coaxing the trees and shrubs into an early Spring bloom (yes, I know it's still winter!). I am enjoying these lovely rhodies in my front yard.  It's still possible that we will have freezing temperatures in the next 30 days, and if so, we may lose this first blooming of the Washington State flower.  But they will bloom again later, so I'll be patient and hope for the best.

I love the shade of pink that this variety displays.

 

 

Mom's 86th Birthday Party

Mom's birthday is on Groundhog Day (February 2), which makes it easy to remember.  This year, we had a family dinner at the Spaghetti Factory in Lynnwood.  The food is good, and it's not too far for Dave and Kaila to go to meet us.

We had a nice dinner, fun conversation, lots of goofy pictures, and good memories.

 

 

 

 

 

Super Bowl Pies!!

Maltby Pie Company had an interesting first year!  We had orders all summer long, then for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I was not expecting to make four pies for Super Bowl Sunday!

Apple and Pecan Pies were placed in boxes decorated with Seahawk colors.  They looked very festive.  I also enjoy personally delivering them to our clients!

 

 

Concerto Concert

I am now on the Board of the Snohomish County Music Teacher's Association, and I'm also the Concerto Reception Chairperson for the Concerto Concert next weekend.  I'm looking forward to my second year with this great organization!

Here's a poster of the five concerto winners for this year, all students of my peers and colleagues.  I'm looking forward to their concert Saturday afternoon at the Everett Music Hall.

Maltby Allee

Several years ago, the church down the street hired arborists to thin out a very large stand of Douglas Fir trees on the church property.  It took weeks to pull out all the stumps, and when the work was complete, it greatly changed the amount of light and privacy that our neighborhood previously enjoyed.

Now there are less sheltering trees, and the church lights shine into our homes all hours of the week and weekends.  It's much noisier in the neighborhood, also.  But one nice thing came out of the tree-thinning--this lovely allee that has become part of my walks with Polly the Dog.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

With the cold and wet January weather, Polly has solved the problem of "the cruelest month" by sleeping through it!  She loves nosing into her bed and blankets, dozing by the wood stove, and sleeping at the foot of the bed if the night is unusually cold.