Cold Enough for You?

Living in Florida, I have to depend on family members in Kansas and Kentucky to give me wintery updates. My dad, Clyde Martin, would usually just say, “Cold enough for you?” My mom, sisters, and aunt would get quite lyrical about it.

Cj Garriott (February 19 at 5:33 PM) “I was beginning to think the weather folk had completely blown it! But, at 4:30 p.m., it’s finally snowing. Update: 5:15 p.m., it IS coming down! Small flakes but thick and fast. Snow #10 this season.”

Cj Garriott, February 20, early morning –  Weather folks say El Dorado got an inch and a half of snow. Other areas got lots more. Kingman County, west of Wichita, has recorded maybe the most, at least in Central KS, a whopping 9 inches. Haven’t heard from nephews in North KS.
In shoveling/sweeping off my front steps, I discovered a bit of ice underneath, so be careful this morning!

Kansas snow map – Feb. 2019

Reading CJ’s posts about the current weather, reminded me of a poem that Mom (CJ’s sister) wrote.

2006 – The recent snow storm in our part of Kansas reminded me of a poem I tried to write several years ago. I’m not satisfied with my results, so if anyone has suggestions, I’m open for comments. I think my feelings of the winter beauty is there but I don’t like the word breeze. It doesn’t come close to describing our winter winds, but it seemed to fit the space besides I never claimed to be a poet. Gail

Ice Storm

Winter bequeathed its glittering jewels
Upon the resistant prairie land.
Tree tops and bushes were ruled 
By a cold and frigid hand.

The prairie glistened in a gleaming mass
And with every movement of the breeze
Stately stalks of Bluestem grass
Shattered into icy shards with ease.

Those two accounts made me think of the winter that Kentucky had so much snow. Karen kept me updated on that in 2015.

Lots of snow in Kentucky in 2015.

Kentucky Winter Storm 2015

A snow storm like this meant our country school would be closed when I was a kid. All six of the Martin kids would have been out playing in the snow until we were sodden and frozen. We’d come in and huddle around the wood stove to thaw out. Mom would already have hot homemade cocoa ready for us and we could look forward to potato soup with bread and homemade butter or pancakes and eggs for supper.

Today I’m content to watch the snow coming down from the warmth of my home. The TV news indicates that’s a really good idea. #NotGoingOut

What’s Your Best Feature?

Back in 2013, Virginia Allain wrote, “Most of us are critical of our own looks. We easily compliment others but brush off the nice things others say about our own looks. Sometimes parents felt they had to discourage children from becoming vain and tried to instill a sense of modesty in us.

Now even when we are hard on ourselves, there’s usually one feature you think is your best. Maybe it’s your eyes or your mouth or your high cheekbones. Perhaps you think your hair is what’s special about you.

The eyes above are my niece’s. She has equally lovely lips, nose, teeth, and hair. Actually, she’s pretty stunning. If you asked her, she would probably start telling you all the things that are wrong with her face and figure. I think we’ve gone overboard trying to suppress vanity in young girls.

As for me, I do like my big blue eyes and my blonde hair, though it used to be thicker and more reddish which I liked. I wish my nose wasn’t so stubby and that I didn’t have freckles. My eyebrows don’t contribute much to my face as they are too pale. See how easy it is to start tearing yourself down? Let’s start over and appreciate our own looks.

Taking a selfie – Virginia Allain

Here goes: I like my big blue eyes. They probably are a legacy from the Tower family line. Someone told me about my great-great-grandfather, Abraham Bates Tower, having the biggest blue eyes, even as an eighty-year-old.”

I know my mother, Gail Lee Martin, avoided the camera later in life if she hadn’t had her hair styled recently or if she was just wearing her comfy around-the-house clothes. I wrote about how pretty she was in her eighties. She was uncomfortable with my doing that. Here is that post: Beautiful Octogenarian.

Here we are together, Gail Martin and daughter, Ginger Allain. I actually don’t have that many photos like this. Usually, I’m the one with the camera in hand. (One of the folks’ wagon wheel rugs is in the background)

What do you consider to be your best feature? Eyes, smile, cheeks, hair, ???

My friend, Kathryn, commented on Mom’s pictures, “Your mother was beautiful 60 years ago, and she is beautiful today. As I round the bend of middle age, I am inspired by so many older women whom I meet. I certainly count your mother among them!”