Stop and smell the Christmas rose

"The modern world we live in is one of constant distraction, 

where taking the time to connect to ourselves 

and having the patience to do so is 

becoming more and more difficult." 

Marina Abramovic, pianist

New Yorker, December 14th

Yesterday I brought in these last pink roses. They look a bit scruffy, but who would complain about picking flowers a week before Christmas?  Despite the endless bad weather, it hasn't been that cold here yet, although it sure feels that way because of the dampness.  My parents in Cripple Creek are waking up this morning to a temperature of zero degrees, with a high of 17 today.

Good morning, Dad!  Now, that's cold. I'll tell you though, a 40 degree rainy day in Seattle is more bone-chilling than a sunny zero degree winter day in Colorado. I hope you get outside today for a little walk.

I went to The Mall yesterday, something I usually avoid the week before Christmas because of the traffic and crowds. But I had a nice time shopping around alone, with an appointment to have my hair done at Gene Juarez-- my one big "beauty" indulgence.

Gene Juarez is a fancy salon with lovely service. The girls serve you ice water or coffee (in a real cup!) and greet you politely by name. I decided I like being called "Miss Sue." There is not a smartphone in sight, because the stylists are all giving their undivided attention to customers. What an old-fashioned idea.

Their customers are a different story. I looked around, and every woman was buried in her smartphone. Have you noticed people in waiting areas don't read paper magazines anymore? My brother Dave (who teaches high school math) said he has students who don't even have the attention span to watch television. So trying to teach them algebra must be a real blast.

Of course I'm guilty.  I looked at my iPhone a couple of times at Gene Juarez, but mostly because everyone else was. Why? It's not like I have a frantic social schedule to juggle.  Gene Juarez is such a pleasant and extravagant experience, it seems a shame to be off somewhere else in your mind.

Everywhere at the mall it was the same.  In the Food Court people were gobbling away while staring down at their phones, not even looking at each other across the table. It was kind of gross, but this is our world of addictive technology.  And I just spent an hour of my morning (and another hour of my precious life) staring at the computer writing this blog.  Guess I'm the pot who calls the kettle black.

Amanda sent this cute picture of Maya and Nova at the Cascadia Holiday Concert. They look very excited attending a live musical concert, but it might have something to so with the cookie :-)   For such a small and remote area, there's a surprising number of cultural and community events in the Methow Valley.  Good for them!