Another day and we’re still in negative double digits!!!
The temperature may be -10 degrees, but the wind chill is -31 degrees!
Welcome to Chi-beria!!!

It’s so cold out today that pretty much the entire city is closed down.
Of course I didn’t find out until AFTER I had dug my car out, warmed it up, drove down to the “glitter gig” and found out THEN that the office was closed. So, it’s great to have a surprise Snow Day… I just wish I knew about it BEFORE I traipsed all the way down there!

But now I’m home in the warmth of my own place. Loving my day off. And I can see the chilly winter air “struggling” to get inside… and apparently this window in my living room is the path of least resistance?!

It’s freezing cold outside this morning.
Like something Princess Elsa might have done to the town of Arendelle… but I digress.
As I was leaving this morning, I was amazed by this wonderfully frozen fern that was sadly “forgotten” in our back courtyard. Wonderful winter sculpture… yet not so good for the fern!

Just for the record… Disney’s “Frozen” was really good.            There. I said it.
Beautifully animated. Great songs. Intriguing characters. And a good plot twist or two!
And I’m not too proud to say “Yes, I do like Disney movies.”

With today’s predicted warm-up, I’m pretty sure this frozen lakefront won’t look like this by the end of the day!

Thin ice… melting fast… and “floating” off of the rocks?!

There may be inches of snow outside, but there’s still a friendly burst
of “tropical” in my kitchen window.

So I’ve been busy this week setting up Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier.
It seemed slightly ironic that this showed up today on www.HuffingtonPost.com…

More than a few artists have proved that macrophotography has merits beyond simply magnifying very small things. It can also capture aesthetically beautiful images lurking beyond our usual visual perception, whether they’re hiding inside a meteorite or on the wing of a dragonfly… or inside falling snow.

Just in time for winter and the onslaught of December snowstorms, Russian photographer Alexey Kljatov has devised a clever way to bring the wonder of macrophotography to the minuscule world of snowflakes. Using a homemade rig comprised of a working camera lens, a wooden board, some screws and old camera parts, Kljatov captures the breathtaking intricacies of snow, six-sided symmetry and all.

The wide range of shapes Kljatov manages to document certainly support the claim that no two snowflakes are alike. And while the tiny crystalline sculptures appear too perfect to believe, the dedicated photographer is able provide detailed instructions in both English and Russian for artists who wish to replicate his process. In honor of the winter wonderlands to come, feast your eyes on the delicate artworks hiding inside each snow.

NOTE: If you’re wondering about the seemingly hairy backgrounds behind these snowflakes, another image on Kljatov’s website reveals that some photographs are taken just as the snowflakes fall onto a carpet.

Click here for more of Alexey Kljatov’s incredible photographs.

A quick Thank You to one of my customers who stopped by this weekend for the Holiday Home Show. It was great to see her again… and she brought me treats!!! Okay, so I’ve never actually eaten a persimmon. Heck, I don’t know that I’ve ever even SEEN a persimmon?! But I’m always willing to try something new. So apparently I need to let them ripen a bit more… and then I can give ’em a go! Thanks Robin!!!

Not only is the ivy in my back courtyard changing beautiful shades of gold & oranges… but the sun was hitting them “just right” to make them even cooler… and a little moody. If ivy can even have moods?!

Today was another beautiful Fall day. Wonderful colors. Beautiful textures.
All of this beauty just in my back courtyard… as I was trudging through to do my laundry!
Sure, I live in the city. Sure, the courtyard is all cement. You can still have a garden
even if it is all in containers! And still plenty of natural beauty all around.
Too bad it’s all going to be gone in a few more weeks!