How to use this Page

Winter is on the way OUT!  I say this as a huge storm is coming into Colorado right NOW!!  No, I did not go to the grocery store in freak out mode stocking my cupboards. Instead, I spent a bit of time today digging in my garden resisting the urge to acknowledge the storm at all!  ha!

Alas, tonight I will hunker down with my pens and paper and continue to work towards deadlines for up and coming trade shows. That is the good thing about storms!  They keep me focused.  I wonder how many artists are like me?

I have one problem.  I can’t seem to go out to my studio to work.  It’s covered with papers, receipts, file folders etc.  It is my new book-keeping system in progress. Eeeeek!  My friend is helping me set up my Quick Books program.  She entered all my checks, deposits etc, and sent me the disk. I bought the program, installed it, imported my files… … then I went to reconcile the two bank statements that my friend did not add and suddenly I am thirty dollars off!  What on earth?  What could I have done?

So, I did what I do best,  I locked the studio door and went in the house. ha!  My right brain is not in the mood for numbers!  Happy Spring everyone!

The midwest is digging out from one of the biggest snow storms in history. We have ample snow, we have mountains of snow and thankfully the winds have moved on to pester someone else. Many roads are still impassable, the temperature continues dipping lower and lower toward the 'really dangerous' zone. I only hope those who didn't heed the warnings before the blizzard hit, will prepare better this time for the cold snap we are entering.

Days before the blizzard newscasters warned us, "prepare, prepare, prepare! Bad weather is coming Tuesday afternoon." Most of us heeded the news. We listened to the advice; grocery stores were flooded with folks stocking up on food and other needs. Experts reminded folks how to prepare their vehicles, keep the gas tank full, the wipers in good repair and full of washer fluid, tires with the accurate amount of air. The advice went on for DAYS before the storm hit our area. Officials cautioned about driving on Lake Shore Drive. They warned folks to leave early and find alternate routes. They spoke of keeping children and the elderly indoors where they would be safe. In essence, we were asked to take responsibility for our own well being. Most of us did!

I woke Tuesday to high winds and snow blowing. By ten o'clock that morning our evergreen patch swayed in the wind like feathers. I knew then I wasn't going to work. As a matter of fact, I received dozens of e-mail posts from other northern Illinois libraries stating they were closing due to the blizzard approaching. High winds and severe snow fall was expected to hit the Chicago area by midafternoon. The TV newscasters sounded like a litany of warning, "prepare, prepare. Take shelter, driving will be severely restricted."

The storm hit hard. It hit pretty much when the meteorologists said it would. Lake Shore Drive disappeared into a hailstorm of blowing, drifting snow and severe whiteouts. It should have been deserted. But there are always those few who think the weather will wait for them, or claim it didn't seem that bad - at first! "I thought I could make it!" "I didn't realize it was this bad outside!"

Dozens of abandoned cars still litter Lake Shore Drive. Some folks sat in their cars for hours before they were rescued. I wonder if they could have a "do over" if they would chose a more responsible venture in getting home safely. Perhaps take heed to the warnings a bit sooner.

I thank the state troopers, national guard and others in the rescue business for accepting the responsiblity for those caught in the storm and seeing to their safety. I'm thankful they were prepared. I'm also thankful most of us did not need assistance because we took precautions to see to our own safety.

Til next time ~

DL Larson

Let's see... first there was snow, then more snow, up to 19 inches. Then the rain came and with it the flooding, and then...Oh yes, more snow. Just how many kinds of snow are there?

This time around we had "lumpy" snow. It looks so blue out there because the sky is still gray and all you can see is WHITE all around.


There is no way out the back door on the deck level, so we use the lower level to go outside, but there again, you have to shovel your way out.



The lower branches on the maple tree have bent to the ground and the swing hasn't seen a visitor in months.


Living at the edge of a forest means we are always surrounded by the incredible beauty nature provides.

I know they said that snow was coming, but I was so entirely buried in work that I raised my head just long enough to say, Snow. Oh. Okay. Snow. Then buried my head once again.

I just woke up. I just looked out the dark, snow splattered windows. I saw the porch rail toppled with at least two feet of white, the porch sculpted with drifts of perhaps four feet, the blue back of the car weighed down with white.

The word "snow" has an entirely new meaning now, in the Beth Kephart lexicon. The likes of this I've never before seen.

I wish I had a working fireplace.