Just Perfect

As promised, today, I reveal the winner of Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning by the wonderful Elizabeth Partridge (Chronicle Books). Please check out the interview with Elizabeth here if you missed it. Thanks to the magic of the random number generator (and it really is a marvel; I would marry it, if it were a sentient being), the winner is

Is

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Andy of City Jackdaw!!!

Woo hoo, Andy!! Merry Christmas to you! I hope this book will add to your love of old photographs. Please confirm below, then email your snail mail address and phone number to lmarie7b(at)gmail(dot)com, and I’ll have the book sent to you. I’m also open to providing you an ecard that will cover the cost of the book if you prefer to order it from Amazon yourself in order to maintain privacy. If that’s your preference, please say so when you email. Once again, thank you for commenting.

No. Elizabeth’s book is for Andy!

Also, I want to acknowledge the many awards for which this blog has been nominated by Patty of Petite Magique, by Melissa Janda, Teri Morin of Bite Size Canada, and others I’m sure I’m leaving out. Thank you very much for honoring the blog in such a kind way. I’m sorry to repay your kindness by being so neglectful. I’m a little overwhelmed these days, so I’ll just say thanks for the awards. One of these days, I’ll have to pass on some awards. For now, I’m doing good just putting my socks on the right feet.

Moving on: We’ve had a lot of snow and ice lately in the Midwest. Case in point: this rose bush stands outside my back door. Ain’t it purty?

So, I can’t help think about snowflakes. When I was a kid, I used to love making snowflakes in school—cutting them carefully out of paper. I’d litter my desk with tiny cutout pieces of paper. The more intricate the snowflake, the better. Though symmetrical, my snowflakes often had flaws.

Not my snowflake. My snowflakes have flaws.

Even perfect paper snowflakes can’t compare with the real thing. Frozen Planet (Discovery.com) has an awesome video on snowflakes. Check it out here: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/frozen-planet/videos/filming-snowflakes-forming.htm.

Ever catch snowflakes on your finger or on your tongue? These tiny perfect miracles born of ice crystals are a joy to see, aren’t they? (Um, unless you live in an area where the temperature is warm year round. Then, I guess you don’t see them.)

Sometimes I try to be a snowflake—you know, perfect. Buying the perfect Christmas gifts. Writing the perfect sentence, scene, or blog post. Saying the perfect thing to a grieving friend. Visiting others’ blogs with perfect consistency. Or, I have expectations of perfection—i.e., planning the perfect holiday or vacation. And you know what? Unlike snowflakes, I don’t always get it right. I don’t get it right even a third of the time. Or a tenth. I’m naturally imperfect—like the snowflakes I used to make at school. But that’s okay. I still get to have fun along the way. It’s also not an excuse either to avoid trying my best. 😀

Life’s a learning curve we’re all on. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to watching perfect snowflakes falling and remember that unlike them, I don’t have to be perfect.

Paper snowflake from themiraclejournal.com. Real snowflake from news.nationalgeographic.com. Cat from LOL Cats. Elizabeth’s book cover from her website.