A Rose Garden

When the winter comes, things change. Frozen dew makes the yellowing grass stand on end, like the hair on a dog's back, hyper-aware and unprepared. The clouds flatten and scream white one day, then thicken and fluff and turn smoky the next. Will it snow or will it rain? It might hail, it may sleet. Wind will erode the sides of houses and branches, then it will still, as if the earth stops breathing. A giant pause holds every living thing in its palm, waiting for the signal to begin again.

Winter does not persevere.  It watches, it bates your heart with ice, it stays for as long as it wants. It rains only to freeze the water to skin, frosts trees to take the place of leaves. It kills all the vegetation to paint the ground in the white it creates, ruling over the land. It's visceral and it's raw, cutting deep into the flesh of the people to watch veins constrict and cheeks pink, for lips to crack and eyes to glaze. Because winter likes what it can do, what it can make, what it can suffocate and what it can bring to life.  In the midst of the chill, it ignores the predictable. It lingers for the change.

The change did not occur.  Spring will bloom like it should, and it will rain like it should, off and on, crisp and warm for hardy crops to be harvested - dandelions, dill weed and masses of brush, hidden with rich, strong herbs.

Skin/beauty secret #2:  When it comes to beauty products, I have a habit of making my own.  Here is a homemade sugar scrub that I use to make my skin super soft.

• 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
• 1/4 cup granulated brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons of red wine
• 3 teaspoons of honey

Mix all of your ingredients together.  If the mixture is thick, add a touch more oil.  If the mixture is thin, add more sugar.  Massage onto wet skin and rinse.  It can be used as an exfoliant for the face, or can be used in the shower to exfoliate the entire body.