Brrr! It is really chilly outside!

Kathi (my charming girlfriend) has aptly labeled this picture ‘Sunshine’ on her blog — I was really really trying to smile — this was the best I could do, sunglasses-less and FREEZING!

I have no idea how I used to do it as a kid — I distinctly remember the time that I rode my bike to school and still had wet hair, and by the time I got there I could break it off like little icicles — very cool, I thought at the time…

And, yes, I did put my tongue on a post once — I remember very well exactly where and when. The funny thing is — I knew what would happen — but I tried it anyway — and there weren’t even any kids watching or telling me I should try it — so, all alone, I eventually had to tear my tongue free and run home half-tongued.

Ahhh, the joy of winter — it really is a glorious time, crisp air that makes your lungs earn their keep — and makes your body really feel alive and kicking. And an evening of playing games and sipping tea becomes the true pinnacle of life’s ecstasy.

And I got a new pair of mittens — and now I stand an extra several minutes out in the cold just to prove that they work well!

Stay warm!

The Associated Press broke a story today about a man in Littleton Colorado, Patrick Lawler, who was complaining about a toothache, and found out that he had shot a nail into his skull 4 inches long!

What!?

I guess this is the way life is. We do this to ourselves… We walk through the routine and ignore the signs…

This is the modern day ’stop and smell the roses’… Stop to get the nail pulled out of your brain!

When we drive those nails into our mouths, let’s take some time and visit the dentist today! Take some time to breathe today. Take some time to tell folks you love them.

Be well.

Winter has come, long and slow to Long Island finally. This week we had a strange peak of 65 degrees for two days, rainy and hot… It made the recovery from a nasty stomach flu just a little more difficult!

I hope you are all well — this is that hard time of the year between holidays, before the days get longer, when the earth seems to be moving just a little too slowly, and toes and noses freeze at night under the covers.

I will be very grateful this week to sit in a warm, heated room with a cup of hot chocolate and a hot plate of food after only having chicken soup for a week!

But it has given me a lot of time to reflect on the way things are in the world right now — the floods and the mudslide — the people in the Sudan who so hope for peace, and for the peace process in the middle east — the elections so forced and dangerous.

I have a lot to be grateful for this 2005, a wonderful family, and so many friends around the country, and support from so many with all of my projects. And I must be grateful for all of the wonderful music of 2004, with Jeshua on his new CD http://www.jeshuaerickson.com, and with Micah on Live in Vermont and with Stolen Shack http://www.onesoulrecords.com — and my work on this new project, which might involve my old friend Wissam Murad in Palestine, and already involves the incredible percussion work of Jamey Haddad — who recorded with me out of total kindness…

I have a wonderful girlfriend as well, Kathi, who has lots of our pictures posted at her blog, katharinaschuhmann.b logspot.com — and we have had lots of time to spend with one another this year — she has been getting her master’s at Stony Brook where I am getting my doctorate…

It is a beautiful world, with so many wonderful things happening for all of us, and so much beautiful music, art, writing — and I am blessed.

Have a wonderful day.

Take Care