Polymathematics

I learned a new word: polymath. At first I thought it must have something to do with math - makes sense. So it sounded like a person who could figure out lots of kinds of math...maybe? But it was on a writer's blog. Just to be safe, I looked it up. 

polymath: (noun) a person of wide knowledge or learning. (--Oxford Dictionary of English, Kindle Edition)

As luck would have it, that applies to me. So it makes sense to have multiple pages rather than just multiple blogs to monitor and build. This way I can blog with fair regularity on a variety of topics without seeming too out of the norm...for me, anyway. This makes me happy. :)  I want to be a regular contributor, not just post as the whims occur, but the haphazard nature of my inspirations and interests leads to a cluttered blog, so I end up not posting anything. And I don't want to have a dozen different blogs. That's just another batch of clutter. So I'm adding a few pages:

• The Pendulum Swings - this one will highlight how events happen in different ways throughout history and how they seem to affect today.
• Unapologetic Christian - I find myself reluctant to post my Christian views on my regular blog because I don't want them buried in the sea of other ideas. Be forewarned: my Christian views include but are not limited to my political stand on various issues, not the least involving the erosion of American Christian freedoms.
• Where the Ozarks Meet the Prairie - this one relates nicely to the new blog I have in partnership with my friend, Lisa, in Michigan. Here I will photoblog our various travels, scenery, nature subjects, Missouri history and culture...and stuff like that.
• Adventures in Nannyland - I'm about to be a Nanny! (That's grandmother to all you non-Philly-ites.) Although my family mostly goes by "grandma," I was a great fan of my mother-in-law and will be "Nanny" to my grandbabies. (Besides, my husband and daughters would be heartbroken if I didn't. ;) First one is due in August and I would imagine I'll have a lot to say. (No surprise there to those who know me!)
• Moving in the Write Direction - *contented sigh* a place to post fiction snippets, thoughts on writing, frustrations along the road to publication and recognition (i.e., getting paid to do this :P), and rants on grammar and usage - my personal pet peeves. I may even write a book review or two, who knows?
• My Personal Reformation - this one might be hard for me. Believe it or not, I have a private side I don't like to share with others. Included in that is the fact that, organized as I appear, I'm a clutter fiend, too. It's in my DNA so it's doubly hard to fight. But I'm on that road and I need to stay on it. Part of the overhaul of my system includes writing daily, soooo...

How many pages is that? I think Blogger allows ten...;)

Startling Beauty

It's been a beautiful winter this year. Tough? Yes, but exceedingly beautiful. Before Christmas we had one school cancellation for extreme cold. Since we came back from Christmas break we've missed nine more days - that's right, a total of ten so far - and we don't appear to be finished yet. Today many schools around us closed early for the rain-sleet-snow-freeze happening all day. Our district stayed open, but I had to clean a half-inch of wet sleet off my windshield before I could leave our slushy parking lot and drive home. 

Now, at nearly 9:30 p.m., we have yet another gorgeous winter scene developing out our windows. The rain and sleet have made the conditions perfect for a thick build-up of snow on the trees. The clouds and falling snow are collecting the light pollution and turning night to twilight reflections.

I decided to try to capture it without flash to show just how bright and beautiful the winter night can be out here where the Ozarks meet the Prairie. The tree out our back window is thickening with snow. It looks like hoarfrost the way it's glued to the branches and building up on them. 

Truly unexpected and absolutely wondrous.