Snow and elephants...

I love Etsy. It's an inspiration. Sometimes it always causes a little bit of envy in my heart. How is it possible for people to be so creative? Gosh, look at this. And this. I pretty much love everything here. And how adorable is this? When I have a house of my own, the walls will be filled with pictures and original artwork (from Etsy...I can't draw or paint), I hope.

I'll warn you now. This is going to be a major post. I haven't been posting as much since school started back, so I don't feel as guilty making a long post. =)

The snow came! I didn't go out in it yesterday...I worked on my health, safety, and nutrition project. Blah. But this morning, it looked so beautiful from my front window as the sun was just coming up. There's a road under there somewhere. I hate snowplows. I guess it comes from when I was in public school, when I hated to see them clearing the roads because I desperately wanted a snow day. Now I just hate the way they ruin the perfect snow. Unless it's an emergency, people can stand to be home for a day or two. =)

So I ventured out. I was planning on going sledding, but we don't have many good spots (unless I wanted to go tramping across the farm, which I didn't particularly). The best sledding hill was on the land that was my grandma's, right across the road a ways, but as it sadly isn't in our family anymore, I don't feel comfortable going over there. Anyway, it wasn't as much as we were expecting. Somewhere between 7 and 8 inches, depending on the spot. The wind blew it everywhere, so it's hard to get an accurate measure.

I love the way the snow sparkles! It's pretty magical.

Sometimes some of the prettiest views are from underneath.

Is that sky gorgeous or what? And I am so glad to see the sun shining.

I stomped around a little in the snow, taking pictures until my legs were numb (I didn't exactly dress very warmly...I was only planning on being out a few minutes) and my camera batteries died. Before I deleted any, I had taken 65 pictures! Good grief. =) I also threw a few snowballs at my mom and dad in our driveway.

So I've been doing a lot of reading this weekend. Reading novels when I should have been doing homework. Because I take a break from homework, saying that I'll only read a chapter. Then, that chapter ends so good that I just have to keep reading. I'm a terrible procrastinator. Remember those four books that came about a week ago? I've read them all. I finished the last one last night.

"Once Again to Zelda," by Marlene Wagman-Geller, was pretty interesting. I loved reading the stories behind some of the dedications. But others were just downright depressing. By the end of it, I was wondering if any famous authors lived a good clean life without having affairs, controversy, or substance addictions.
"Havah," by Tosca Lee, makes you think about the creation story and Adam and Eve. I mean, really think about it, more than just reading it occasionally in the Bible. Sometimes it was a little odd, and by the end, there were so many children, grandchildren, and relatives that I could hardly keep up with who was who. But just think of how it would be to have experienced perfect life in the garden...the way that God intended for life to be. And then to make a mistake and have to live for the rest of your life in this fallen world, a dirty reflection of how things had been. How miserable would that be? Anyway, it was a really thought-provoking book and I liked it a lot.
And then there was "The Magician's Elephant," by Kate DiCamillo, which I read off and on in about 2 hours last night. I loved it. I love children's books anyway, and this semester I'm taking a Children's Literature class where I'm not only encouraged but required to read kid's books. It's so great. =) But this book was sweet, sad, happy, humorous, magical, and perfect for reading on a cold, snowy evening. The characters were amazing and incredibly deep for a children's book, and even in this short little story, you felt as if you knew them. Here are two of my favorite parts:

"As the snow fell, Sister Marie, who sat by the door at the Orphanage of the Sisters of Perpetual Light, dreamed, too. She dreamed that she was flying high over the world, her habit spread out on either side of her like dark wings. She was terribly pleased, because she had always believed that she could fly. And now here she was, doing what she had long suspected she could do, and she could not deny that it was gratifying in the extreme. Sister Marie looked down at the world below her and saw millions and millions of stars and thought, I am not flying over the earth at all. Why, I am flying higher than that. I am flying over the very tops of the stars. I am looking down at the sky. And then she realized that no, no, it was the earth that she was flying over, and that she was looking not at the stars but at the creatures of the world, and that they were all, they were each-beggars, dogs, orphans, kings, elephants, soldiers-emitting pulses of light. The whole of creation glowed. Sister Marie's heart grew large in her chest, and her heart, expanding in such a way, allowed her to fly higher and then higher still-but no matter how high she flew, she never lost sight of the glowing earth below her. "Oh," said Sister Marie out loud in her sleep, in her chair by the door, "how wonderful. Didn't I know it? I did. I did. I knew it all along." -Chapter 15

"There is as much magic in making things disappear as there is in making them appear. More, perhaps. The undoing is almost always more difficult than the doing." -Chapter 18

I was very impressed. Now I'm anxious to read more of Kate DiCamillo's stories. I've read "Because of Winn-Dixie" and loved it, and I've heard nothing but good things about all of her books as well.

Well, if you've lasted this long, I thank you and will end here. =) I have some school stuff I need to do. We didn't have church today, and I'm not used to having so much free time on Sundays. I'm so excited for "Emma" tonight (and "Lost" on Tuesday...and "Survivor" on Thursday! But especially "Emma"). I also want to welcome my two newest followers, Emily and her mom!

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)