Fortunately for us, as it happened, yesterday dawned a perfect winter day. It was well below freezing, and supremely sunny, with little wind. A perfect day as far as weather was concerned, to install the new stained glass windows.

Although we have stained glass windows installed throughout our home, this was the first pair to be installed on the exterior. Work proceeded without incident. Until, after having completed the job, my husband realized he had installed one of the windows backwards. Who would notice; certainly not I. But out it came and it was re-installed right way around.

And then, scrutinizing it from the interior of the house, the dining room, he noticed a crack in one of the frosted glass portions. It hardly looked like a crack to me; more like a straight, shallow crackle in the glass itself, but out came that window once again, and down it went into my husband's workshop for remediation.

Now, whenever I pass by the dining room, I'm struck with admiration for the appearance of the two new windows. They will take some time to become accustomed to. They're not as colourful as the others; meant to be muted so as not to clash with the inserts of the shutters beside them; to complement rather than to confuse, yet they present with their own mystique, as light transforms them reflecting exterior light influences.

Altogether, they present an ever-changing play of light on transparent and opaque coloured glass as though colour itself has a life of its own.