Underwater: Lake Baikal, Russia

Lake Baikal in Winter

Lake Baikal, Russia: The picture was stolen from a sweet little blog called Tywkiwdbi who stole it from somewhere else. I love this image because this blog began as a travel blog of a trip I took to Siberia, Russia and Mongolia where I visited Lake Baikal. It's a beautiful place. I drank Russian vodka with my dear friend Linden who I rarely keep up with these days. I do miss her. I miss traveling. I promised myself I'd return to Russia to ride the train all the way across Russia someday.

Too, these chunks of snow covered ice in sun make winter seem beautiful again. I really thought I was going to make it out of this winter unscathed by the winter blues that seem to plague everyone I know in this part of the country. It's becoming a little intolerable. I am in Minnesota visiting and they still have three feet of snow on the ground-- OK, maybe two, but it's a lot. Enough so that when walking the path to the little sauna, the snow on either side of me is knee-high. And when will it ever melt?

And, tonight I have the distinct feeling that I have been underwater for a very long time. I don't know how long. Is it days, months, years, lifetimes? Perhaps one feels this way around the time her first child turns one. OR it could be that Moses and I got the flu right after we arrived in MN and are just now feeling better. OR I could belong to somewhere else, deeper still then the fairy dreams of my childhood or the watery rivers of my youth or the dusted memories of travels to places far away. 

I hear my sister giggle upstairs in her former bedroom. These are the thoughts of the day and sleep will dissolve these feelings like cleaning out a residue.