Long John Silver

What can I say? Winter is here to stay. We are in the thick of it now in cold, old Winnipeg. Proof of full moon vibrations left over from the night before remind me of energy yet to be harnessed and ridden out. Loads of crazy people making moves all over town. Where is my camera?

I was thrilled by the turn of the new year this year. I normally don't find New Year's eve to be big deal or reason for much celebration, but this year I welcomed my New Year's kiss with surprising fervor. I was in the valley for a midwinter getaway with my tall drink of water---Iain---when he surprised me by pulling out a bottle of champagne at the stroke of midnight. We were in the midst of a focused game of Scrabble when suddenly there he was, handing over a ceramic goblet of bubbly. There he was! Just like that. We toasted to new beginnings, to the start of something pretty incredible between us, to new experiences to come. I named my intentions for the new cycle aloud and he smirked at me with that side grin I am learning to know like my own hands. I laughed at myself and then beat the pants off him in Scrabble.

In the morning I took photos with my mind's eye. Slatted sunlight on a gentle sleeping face. Happy cheeks. The camera lay elsewhere, stone cold. The fire was down and took a little convincing before it too woke up and got to work. Coffee. We wandered through that snowy landscape he knows better than I do and I shot photos of the bush encased in ice. My kind of winter holiday.

I am terribly content and haven't laughed this much, if ever, in years. That's sign enough to keep going.

Bare naked faces. Nikon F2 // FP4 processed as Tmax 400