I have been in heaven the last two days because it has been snowing! It started out with a few flakes coming down on Sunday morning as I headed out to walk the labyrinth. By the time I was done, there was a very light layer of snow on the rocks and on my scarf. Within a couple of hours, the ground was carpeted and by the end of the day, the labyrinth rocks were completely covered! Since I don’t live in an area that gets snow this is such a treat for me. It’s been even better than the times I’ve been up in Tahoe in the winter because I don’t have to leave the retreat center so it’s like I have my own winter wonderland. And when I get cold and want come inside, I have a quiet, private, warm place to go. A wonderful change from the hordes of people in crowded ski areas that I’ve usually experienced when I’ve been in Tahoe.
On Sunday afternoon there was a clothing swap at the retreat center. The unexpectedly heavy snow likely decreased traffic to the swap, but it meant that those who did attend found some great stuff. I came away with an entire outfit – turtleneck, dress, V-neck sweater, hat, two scarves and gloves!
The light on the snow at night was absolutely gorgeous – I couldn’t get over how light it was even at midnight. Another all inspiring thing to experience. I am so lucky.
Monday was a lovely snow day. I got out snowshoeing twice, made a snow angel, read, stared out the window at the snow and did some coffee art. I used different strengths of coffee and cream and even added grounds. It was a lot of fun experimenting, I’ll do more of that for sure. The coffee art goes with the brown and tan colors here, though right now everything’s white. For most of the day, I couldn’t see anything past the retreat grounds – no lights, mountains, airport, or cars. The snow stopped this afternoon and it’s beautiful, especially Heart Mountain. I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy it and to have had a day like today where I didn’t have to do anything. Not bad for a Monday.
At one point, I saw a herd of deer running through the grounds and bounding over fences. It was so cool! I met Maggie, one of the service corps interns while I was out snowshoeing, we got to know each other as she skied and I snowshoed up the driveway together. I found out one of the other service corps folks is from Marin – what a small world!
I’ve got an interview for an interim ED role on Wednesday. I’m pretty prepared, but as always, I’m nervous. I’ll be glad when it’s done.