Amy Nelson

the end of a year

Acres and acres of snow soft as cotton, the winter air rises and falls like an orchestra. I can hear the gardener and spring bird in me singing to the hills with the hope they'll soon turn to green places where flowers can grow. I am impatient in my wait for the days where sunshine pours through the unhatched window and leads me like a hand into the garden. For today, I let the tiny fire of a shared bed with my loved one keep me warm.

The next time I write to you, the year will have changed and every last one of us will be clinging to reasons why we must become better people in the new year. Whether it's less wine, more walking, less jelly rolls, more jumping jacks, less pouting, more poetry — we spend our whole lives asking for our life to be different than what it was the day before. The truth is, being alive in a world where we can bend our toes while reading the thoughts of a stranger is a pretty stunning occasion.

Here's to the passing hour and the delight of being where we are and who we are in this very moment! Let us splash in the symphony that is life today and tomorrow! Goodbye December, goodbye 2015, hello January, hello 2016. May we all be treated well in the coming year.

outfit details: Peacock Boutique Consignment winter coat, Value Village boots, Beret a gift from my dad

a year of outfits

[A post featuring my favorite outfits from 2015. Click title to be taken to the original blog post.]

Which one is your favorite?

Reasons to keep a journal

my life in photographs

The hour for making music is the sweetest hour of the day.

A weekend in the mountains tastes like sugar but leaves no cavities.

Whenever I feel blue, I pick up my banjo and each strike of a string gives my sadness purpose. I begin my days feeling lighter and sweeter at heart whenever the banjo is in arms reach.

Tis' the season for warm tea.

On December 13th, I began my twenty third year.

It's winter here.

Few things make me grin so much as black coffee and flowers after milky snow dresses the windows and hilltops.

Here we are, only three more sleeps until Christmas. It is a calm time in our household, not much changes except for the colorful tree kissing the ceiling top and the endless amount of sweets to snack on. I hope wherever you are, you find yourself well and healthy during the end of December. My phone has been broken so 'my life in photographs' collection lately has been a little empty. I hope to have it fixed soon so I can bring more flowers and everyday joys into the coming year. See you soon.

belated birthday thoughts

I only have a moment for writing to you today, but every so often the writer can grow a world with only a moment. Today, I don't believe I am that kind of writer, so I'll just let the keyboard spill like snow on the valley until sentences come out. Here I am, writing to you like I have always done but instead of being twenty two, I am twenty three. It was my birthday on Sunday and I feel no more different than the day before.

I still long for every day to be spent in the company of wild flowers and the soft glow of my loved ones. I still cry at the flip of a quarter and the sight of a bird with broken wings. I still search for flights and dream of being a traveler. I still tremble when I am cold and laugh when I am bothered, but if I look through the window where the pine shakes off snow, I can believe there are new dreams and new disappointments just waiting for a new day. I will be found. I will be hurt. I will be loved and I will be listened to. After it all, I am still breathing.

It only takes a moment for the writer to grow a world, and if we allow the body to outrun the pen, we can grow a world off of paper and into the hills that surround us. I vow to let this next year be whatever it wants to be, maybe with a little nudge here and a little softness there, I will paint my masterpiece.

Or not, because that's okay too.

outfit details: value village jacket & blouse, free people shoes, crown and glory floral crown, yoins dungarees c/o

curling iron: a review

http://www.amyflyingakite.com/2015/10/a-visit-to-garden-center.html

As a prairie girl whose hair only slightly curls at the touch of seawater, I have longed to find ways to make my hair bouncy without having to plan a trip to the sea. Although, I love the idea of swimming to reach my hair goals, life is here on the prairies. I've tried rag curls which work like tiny pieces of cotton magic, but I must sleep through the night in them and some nights, I toss and turn too much!

I was recently gifted an Irresistible Me curler in exchange for an honest review. Being born with very straight and very thick hair, I have always doubted curlers. Maybe, it's because throughout my life, curling wands worked more like wave-makers that lasted for less than an hour. I imagined saying yes to the review and if the curls turned into pancakes by the second hour, I would tell you and pout for only a moment before accepting the hair I was born under.

Positives

It works!
Different heat settings make it suitable for all hair types.
Eight different types of curling heads so you can try different styles.
You can aim for fancy curls, ringlets, naturally wavy or create your own curl.
The curls stayed in all day without hairspray.
On the day after, my curls had turned into natural waves.

Negatives

At first, I was taken aback by the lack of a clamp for holding your hair, I'm the furthest personality from hairstylist so I panicked, but there is a glove to wear so you don't burn your hand and after a few tries, it does get easier.
You'll have to experiment often with the different curling heads to understand what kind of curl will form when you put your hair to it.

Well, I didn't have to pout. I didn't even have to look in the mirror and witness my curls growing dull with every hour. The curling wand worked, so I proceeded to take photographs!

http://www.amyflyingakite.com/2015/09/the-direction-of-sunbeams.html

http://www.amyflyingakite.com/2015/10/fringe-70s-throwback.html

review details: irresistible me curler

click on photograph to be taken to original blog post

Early December

In every December sunbeam, there is a song and it says things will be okay even if it doesn't feel that way right now. I try my best to get out of bed with the gusto of a pony running through a prairie field, but I have been ill and drinking cold water every hour instead. I dream of patches in the grass where a compass in hand leads me to a world where I feel healthy and I'm able to watch the crows outside win their breakfast.

I miss the simplicity of my everyday life - flower petals dying on the kitchen window, coffee so strong you squint when you taste it, the orange glow of a lamp at 5 pm, the dogs scratching at the door for midnight howling, endless emails, waiting for cheques to arrive by mail, not knowing what to wear, reading the weather report and having my mind wonder "how will I end this sentence or begin this song?"

I want to bake a cake before my birthday comes next Sunday, but I am waiting for the stale air of being sick to lift like eyes at the end of reading a poem. I am reaching for December sunbeams at the end of a tunnel. I am dreaming of tomorrow and a night where I can sleep.

—

On a day when I felt well enough to wander, I visited CrossIron Mills for their Black Friday sales. These color-of-my-dreams cowboy boots from Arnold Churgin were fifty percent off and the American Eagle pea-coat was forty percent off! Despite having what you may call a style blog, I've never truly invested in a nice winter coat. I tend to reach for outerwear that is puffy and warm, resulting in me feeling more like a black bear leaving its den than an adventuring gal. I like this coat and these boots, a lot.