MaryAlice Musings and More

It is so still outside this morning. It is almost 7 a.m. and the dawn has not yet come. We are moving towards the longest night and there are drifts of snow that are beyond my hips. There are tunnel like walkways from the doors, to the garage, to the outside world. The sky is dawn blue, the light is beginning to break at the horizon. I can see pink almost orange color beginning to move up into the sky. Each moment there is a change, a difference to be noticed. It is so still. Even the dogs as they look outside are quiet, almost in meditation. The silhouettes of the trees, remain like black cut outs pasted in front of the sky. The do not move. Breathe in the stillness. Breathe in the light. Breathe within the darkness. Breathe.

Drifts up above my waist, actual temperature = zero, with wind chills - double digits. 18" fell in my backyard. Front page of the newspaper tells the stories. The metrodome roof didn't make it. The biggest snowstorm to hit the Twin Cities since the Halloween storm a generation ago whited out -- and pretty much paralyzed -- the metro area and much of the rest of Minnesota Saturday. I was here in Minnesota in the late 90's when we had the Halloween storm it snowed for 4 days, and there were ruts in the roads for the rest of the winter, it was awesome. Yesterday's storm pretty impressive as well. No Christmas Carol at the Guthrie, no night out with my family, and the friends who decided to camp out at my house couldn't get here because the buses were pulled. I love when mother nature just shows here hand. This is clearly beauty and danger. The cupboards are stocked. The girls are well. Not well enough to understand that they have to go out and do their dutie...

My "coupon of the day" was for an intuitive reading, and I burst out laughing when I saw it was a 2 for 1. Don't like the first reading, want some other outcome from the visit, turn in the second coupon and try again. I have lots of people around me right now in my work and beyond who are wishing they had a crystal ball and could know who Governor Elect Dayton will appoint for his cabinet, then there is the process of the assistant commissioners, and then staff, etc. etc. etc. All will be revealed! Patience is a virtue. No news is good news. Pick your choice. On the weather front we going to have blizzard like conditions soon, plunge in the temperature, winds will blow and howl, and snow will fly. Snowiest December in a long time...winter solstice still more than two weeks ago. Light the candles, sing a song, stay warm.

Governor-Elect Dayton is beginning his work as our new Governor. Many Minnesotans are excited and most are relieved that there will be no lawsuits, no stalling, no prolonging the recount, or trying to convince a judge that squeaky clean Minnesota elections are something else! Dayton announced his first Commissioner today, we will keep our very good Department of Transportatation Commissioner Tom Sorel, by all sides he has received very positive marks for pulling his Department out of the ashes of the 35W Bridge Collapse! He had been offered another job, and the team stepped in and he is staying - a good move for the state. As someone who works across a number of state agencies most certainly waiting for the announcements that will come next! In keeping with Minnesota humor very are lots of people who are just glad that Dayton's is back!

Lola, Daisy and I are all adjusting here on the home front. The moon is the tiniest of a sliver in the sky, the temperatures are too low, and the dark continues to grow each day. Inside there is laughter, sleeping, silly talking and open hearts. It is a good thing having these sweet dogs in my life. The beginning of yet another adventure. The honoring of life.

The coldest day of this season, and we are two weeks away from Solstice. The dark enfolds, and the snow illuminates. The new moon has begun, and the darkness is even deeper. As we move towards the longest night in the northern hemisphere, the moon is moving towards it's fullness. A full moon on Solstice. Yum. I have life in my house. Daisey and Lola are learning to trust these new surroundings, and I am beginning my experience of learning and listening to them. So as big flakes of snow literally drift down, and the dawn begin slowly. I breathe deeply within the darkness and appreciating the sacred cycles of the seasons, our life, and our light.

I took awhile but on Friday, Decembe r 3rd, the 3rd day of Hanukkah , and in a blazing snow storm I drove to pick up the new girls. We are all adjusting, and I have left them several times with no calamities. I bought one of those twin attachments, so the two of them are on one leash. With all the snow, they almost get lost, especially Lola who is half the size of her sister. These Shih Tzu gals are so lovable, and I look forward to learning their personalities, their needs, and their love as they begin to trust that I am going to be a good Mom and caregiver for them. What an amazing thing I have just done. To be able to say yes to all of what this will be, not saying no due to my worry of responsibility and being unable to care for them appropriately. I realized that the voice of no also carried over to no to the love, the enjoyment, the laughter and the life of these two sisters. So here we are nine degrees, sunday a.m. me drinking tea (oh I also have quit coffee - that is an...