The Unremitting Winter

I know we've had winter this late before.  Four years ago to the day, in fact, I'm pretty certain we also had snow.  Today we had snow plus drizzle ("snizzle," says our local forecaster), plus now rain.  It's grim out there, and of course, in Boston, the Marathon goes on.  Admiration for those runners! 

Much as I dislike heat, I'm ready for spring and even--gulp--summer.

Spent part of the morning coloring this tile.  It has a story attached (see below).

Tangle name: SoulStar, by Sonya Yencer, CZT. Done with black Micron 01, black Micron PN, and Prismacolor pencils.

So here's the story.  A few days ago, Cris Strovilas Letourneau--a CZT and author I admire--found out that while she & daughter Alexa were visiting her sister for an overnight, their house burned to the ground.  Unfortunately, their husband/father was inside and didn't make it out.  He died in the fire.  I cannot imagine the grief and shock and loss. 

To make bad matters even worse, it now appears the fire was started by a burglar who was in the house.  Of course, HE got out just fine.

There's a GoFundMe page set up and I've contributed, but I've been feeling so badly for Cris and Alexa.  Other than sending prayers, there's not much I can do (I don't know her, have just met her once), and then Sonya Yencer, another CZT, created a tangle named SoulStar with Cris and Alexa and Cris's husband in mind.  So last night and this morning I did the tile above.

While working on the tile, it came to me that the front "star" (lower right) is for Cris, the star tucked behind that one is for Alexa, and the "lead star" that appears to be a comet in the upper right is her husband, on his way through transition, leaving that golden trail behind as he sets out on his journey.  The fact that his circle is smaller seemed to me to be about the fact that he's given up a physical life and is now on his way in soul-form.

My heart goes out to them each day.  May their loss lessen, even though I know it will never go away, and may he travel safely into the Light.

"Body at rest, spirit free."