My favorite memory of snow is from when I was about nine years old and staying at a mostly vacant resort a few hours outside of Moscow with my grandmother. It was the middle of winter. We’d spend our days red-cheeked, skiing through the surrounding forest, crunchy white powder bursting out of our way, snow-capped ferns towering everywhere. In the evenings, I’d skate on the frozen lake and we’d go for night walks between sprawling, virgin-white snowdrifts. They shimmered just like blue and pink diamonds under the streetlights, and I would pretend to be the Ice Queen, surveying my domain.

In Russia, it’s commonly believed that the way you greet the new year will reflect on the rest of it. Last year, what was meant to be a quiet evening with a few friends turned into a massive, chaotic party – lots of fun, but definitely not what we intended. Then, coincidentally or not, what was meant to be my year of full art dedication turned into something else entirely.

I was determined to greet 2013 with full correctness, so my friend Eso and I sequestered ourselves in a Pine Mountain Lake cabin. The glorious former 70s party den is undergoing renovation and only a small section is habitable, but between our sleeping bags, provisions, a drive to Yosemite and a vintage yellow hot tub, we had all we needed for the perfect 48-hour sojourn. We toasted the future with silver tequila from that hot tub after a day of frolicking in the snow, then meditated into the wee hours of the new year.

I hope everyone had a great time welcoming the new year, too! I leave you with my photos and a mantra, to help kick things off:

“Whatever you do or dream you can do – begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


7:00


Eso and her new chicken purse


“Let’s go that way!”


A log we considered sitting on, before realizing it was iced over. Next time – blow torch.


Hodgdon Meadow


Charred tree


Sherbert skies


Supplies


Removing construction dust


Happy new year!