contrary to popular belief the inuit do not have 30+ words for snow. the actually have one verb "to snow" and then qualifiers; like falling snow, blowing snow etc... very similar to the english language. this was a somewhat disheartening discovery. i was all prepared to wax eloquently about how the inuit were much more in tune with their natural surroundings and lived bravely in harsh, arctic conditions huddled in semi-warm igloos developing thousands of different concepts for the white stuff that fell from the sky. but, no, they, in fact were/are probably a lot like us. we are all dependent on the balance of the natural world for survival. but i digress....

i am loving living through my third winter back in the north. i love the thick snow flakes, i love the blowing side-wise light airy snow, i love the snow that is great for snowman-making, i love the snow that makes the cross country skies slide easily, i love wearing wool sweater, and stamping snow off of my boots, long underwear, down parkas, cold red cheeks juxtaposed with warming fireplaces.

a limerick about the ruby red:

there once was a grapefruit so red
out in front of the pack it has led
with a sublimely sweet flavor
it's fragrance i do savor
it could only be rio grande valley bred

and a haiku:

delicate citrus
rich morning mouth festival
red tropical dream

i always feel slightly overwhelmed about going to my weekly iyengar yoga lesson, but i am ALWAYS glad that i went. and when i am there i feel like i could live in the world of yoga class forever and ever amen. i love it, i mean, i love it. it's my total solace. my body bends and twists and i GET it. it's breath and movement and non-movement. it's peaceful and centering and revolutionary. i am at a real yogic crossroads, though, right now. how to continue and pursue the passion?

the best thing about today was getting up to a snow day (school canceled for sage). which allowed me to be with sage during her morning educational explosion---normally she is at school learning and doing. but today we sat over breakfast and she did like four pages of addition problems that i made up. and then i taught her subtraction. it was AMAZING.

this is rye age 15 mos at the literacy playroom.

thursday are delightfully full for me. sage goes to school, then when she gets home i go to my highly-valued iyengar yoga lesson (twists and forward bends today--ay my hamstrings!), then i am home for an hour before i take sage to the nature center at shaker lakes for a winter outdoor education class (hibernating animals, tree identification, finding animal tracks etc). while she is doing that i take the guys to the literacy playroom at the newly renovated cleve hts library. they run semi-wild and i get to spend time with other moms. other moms are an interesting breed. they are the only ones interested, without being close friends or family, in your kids.

sage is reading now...this is the first book she read all the way through. nothing spectacular about the book---it was just the right time and place; it's like a metaphor for life.