Please Mum

She always sits there looking so pathetic.

There are so many squirrels out, getting away.

She gives me that look, lady, why haven't you opened the door for me.

But I know she has to have her walk first,

her poo poo bulletin board, otherwise,

she'll leave me presents.

It's a great exercise for both of us

Consistency

Blew By You

The wind is wicked today.  Not the type of day for top hats or toupees.

Watched my deck furniture move across the deck.

Some geese fighting the wind to land on the lake.

This always makes me think, "There's no place like home."

And a small part hopes I wake out of my black and white world into 

the beautiful colorful Land of Oz.

Then I look around again and simply say,

There's no place like home.

Homemade Castanets

We were challenged to make an instrument at home.

We could go with the usual - the waxed paper over the comb.

Then we thought about the swinnet, a thumb piano - but we didn't have time.

But Wolf gets the idea to make a rainstick,

Which I translate into castanets.

Here's your supply list:

bottle caps (can't help mine are beer)

hammer

cardboard

scissors

glue

paint.

Cut the cardboard into two equal strips.  Hammer the caps flat.  Paint both the cardboard strips and the bottle caps to cover the beer advertisement.   Fold the strips in half.  Glue the caps to each end of the cardboard so they click when touched together.  Put on some Otmar Liebert and ole!

Running on a winter's day

You never know what you will find on the trail.

A dog chasing a deer, who stops in mid run to come over and sniff your leg.

Some leftover snow

And a couple walking on a winter morning

Not sure why the umbrella is up.

But watching them walk by holding hands 

Makes me smile.

Big Air Competition

The hardest thing to watch as a mother.

Your child races down the hill, to hit the jump.

They are airborne, then either land the jump

Or they crash and burn.  

Your heart races as they crash.

You watch them sit there for a few minutes.

Holding your breath.

Slowly letting it out as they

Jump back up, ride to the lift

To go do it again.

Can't get sick of it

Another snow picture.

Are you sick of it yet?

Because I'm not at all.

I can spend every day on the snow.

Is it because it is fun to ski?

Or the hanging with our friends on the slops?

Or the apres ski?

I won't tell you which one I like more,

Because most already know.

I'm just going to enjoy.

The Winter Day

It starts as stillness

The air changes

There's a short pause

then it starts.

Snow falling gently

cleansing the path

as my feet

create a rhythm of

crunch, crunch, crunch.

Meditation

breathing

becomes a series of

white puffs

The mind taking a break

as Mother Nature paints her canvas white.

A Southern Staple, something for the taste buds and not the thighs.

I didn't like Pimento Cheese before because every time I ordered it,

It simply looked like orange baby food.

Then I had REAL pimento cheese.

Made with perfect by a dear friend.

And I slathered it on celery sticks,

Went all out and put it on Ritz crackers.

Even made a grilled pimento cheese sandwich.

I may be from the North, but I can't pass on all this goodness.

Especially when I get out and run my six miles to counter act the calories!

Cold Artwork

I love running on trails on cold mornings.

The only sound is the crunch of my feet as they hit the frozen ground.

Sometimes something stops me in my tracks.

Sometimes it is an animal, a deer, or listening to a woodpecker.

Today it was the design on the ice in a small puddle waiting for the sun.

The lines are straight, but go in all different directions.

The white looks frosty as the day heats up, changing it to water.

Made me think of Snow White - maybe I was the queen,

Looking into the frosty mirror, saying,

"Mirror, Mirror"

What would it reply?

Skeeter-Dog!

Welcome to Skeeters Home of the Skeeter-Dog since 1927.

We like to stop on family trips someplace unique, 

Skeeters seemed like the perfect place, according to the Internet, a "homey establishment for locals and travelers alike."

The menu - one hot dog 1.59......100 hot dogs 159.00

Old metal bar stools, red vinyl tops, well worn wooden floor, 

Old soda fountains, tin advertisements for Coke on the wall.

We walk in and everyone turns and looks at us,

Obviously we don't belong in there.

We're the youngest people in Skeeterville.

Lunch is served on a napkin, our Skeeter-Dog

They ask me why the Skeeter-dogs are "red."

"It's because they are famous," I reply, not looking at mine just eating it.

"Hey, these are pretty good," they reply as we finish our lunch,

Listening to the locals' conversations, watching the people coming and going.

A lesson in history, a little local culture, and a story they'll tell their friends.

Skeeters - home of the famous Skeeter-dog!

A dog's Love

Wouldn't it be nice to love like a dog?

To not worry about looks, or history,

Unconditional.

That being smelly was the best thing to be?

The smellier the better.

I love my dog because she loves me.

When I come home sad or depressed

Someone is there excited to see me.

I only aspire to be like her

In my daily life.

You never know

We heard on the lift today that an expert skier, someone who has a regular pass to Wisp.

Died this morning on a run.  

Lost control and hit a tree.

First thought is Sonny Bono

Second thought is how you think you know something

you are the expert then bam, 

you don't.

Third, look at these faces, 

have I told them how much I love them.

Wouldn't want that sentence lost in the wind of today.

Say what you mean, and mean what you say!

Squirrel Cage!

We're traveling to Maryland for a ski vacation to Wisp Four Season Resort.

Here's the view from the top of my favorite run of the day - Squirrel Cage.

The steep part of is caused a few sphincter dilations but it was fast and fun.

I spent the rest of the day laughing at another skier.

He came out at the top of Main Street, wrecked at the top of the hill.

Picked his hat up and put it in his mouth then turned,

and did what we call the Bullet

Straight down the hill, no turns, no stopping.

Even when he hit the bottom, skidded past the lift, under the netting

and into the street - stopping a car.

Amazing, the guy crawled back up to the lift,

Got on and went to do it AGAIN.

We never saw him the rest of that day - hope he's OK.

Snow Day

A snowy day in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Supermarkets were mobbed, bread disappearing, fights over milk.

While I snuck away with a bottle of wine and some toilet paper.

Here we freak out at the possibility of the threat of maybe some snow.

People fighting to get home AHEAD of the storm.

Children turning pajamas inside out hoping for this beautiful

SNOW DAY!

How do they spend their time?

Arguing with each other

Wrestling

Until someone finally gets hurt, and it's usually by me.

All the sweet little girls sit and watch princess movies with hot cocoa and popcorn.

I'm down to picking up dog poop, then screaming like a witch

because I've heard STOP for 1 millionth time.

And now you know why I was fighting the crowd at the supermarket for that bottle of wine.

Motivation Wienies to Warriors

Pouring down rain, my workout awaits.

Pouring down rain, what in the hell am I doing?

But my friends await, and I am accountable.

1 hour of sweating, lunging, burpeeing, (get the peeing part) and weights.

The feeling when I am done is AWESOME,

Not because it was finished.

But because we all came out in the rain,

We all gave it our best,

I am in the company of warriors!

What?

Just when you think it is Spring, Mother Nature throws a curve ball.

Here's the spring flowers peeking through the mulch, a fallen birds nest.

Warm temperatures and rain make January feel move like April.

Don't let appearances deceive you.

A Winter Watch with snow is in the forecast for Thursday night.

In North Carolina we have our ritual to guarrantee a snow day.

Which being few and far between, we have to work hard at them.

Wear the pajamas inside out, put the cotton balls between the toes,

flush the ice cubes down the toilet

All to keep the dream alive.

Could it be the white stuff on the ground or no school?

Which one is more desirable?

What's your comfort on a rainy day?

A rainy day when all you want to do is park it on the couch.

Work your way down the Trader Joe snacks you purchased.

Stalk a few friends on the Internet.

How I wish this was snow and not wet, cold rain.

When my motivation is not whether or not I can obtain bed sores,

but how quickly I can get outside in the still while quiet

of a cold snowy day.

But alas, living in the Triad of North Carolina that doesn't happen

very often.

Fingers crossed.

Only with Friends

Why is it that when we are with friends

We can justify eating dessert?

Is it because our friends are dessert,

Sweet in their disposition,

A little tart in their criticism

But with a mild ending.

This was bread pudding from a dinner with friends

not just co-workers.

And both were just as sweet.

Only in North Carolina

Only in North Carolina can you have a Carolina blue sky

January temperatures hitting 65 degrees

But be standing on the top of a mountain

In a T-shirt

With skis on your feet

Getting ready to go as fast as you can

To the bottom.

Many wait for the perfect time to hit the slopes.

The snow must be powder, the temperature just right

Their outfit matching

But in our household we always say,

Any day on the snow is a great day!

Holy Sh*t - I don't know what to do!

20 or more years of skiing, 3 years of snowboarding and here we go again.

I, like a fool, strap on the skis, jump on the lift and go to the top of the mountain.

I jump off the edge and my first thought is, "Holy shit, I don't know what to do."

I take a deep breath, ride it slowly and then hit my first turn.

Like running a bike, I make a few turns and they get easier and easier.

It comes back to me, and I think, "Wow, this is actually fun!"

Isn't this what life is all about?

Standing on the edge of a cliff, thinking, "Holy shit, I don't know what to do?"

Then taking a deep breath and going?

Because once you make that first turn, it feels awkward but

the second one gets easier

and easier

and easier

until you realize that you are actually having fun!

So find that thing that's been gathering dust in your garage, closet, drawer, basement and get out there and get your heart pumping a little faster.

What have you been avoiding?

Personal Space-A myth?

My sons do not believe in personal space.  

Part of the reason that they are in school.

They come in immediately from school and are on both sides of me on the couch.

One twirling my hair, the other showing me something strange in his notebook.

I cannot even go to the bathroom a alone.

I'm sitting and pondering the universe

Knock Knock

"Sweetie I'm going to the bathroom."

"But I have to tell you something."

"Can it wait until I am finished in the bathroom."

"No, I have to tell you right now," door opens.

"Really?"  I put down my People magazine.

"Where is my phone?"

Here though, it is cute, he's in my lap, leaning against me.

His hair smells like the ocean.

He's on his computer showing me another game that makes me nauseous,

But I sit and hold him, kissing his cheek as he achieves another level.

Because in this perfect moment

I can.

Is your lap still open?

Le Tour de Laundry

I don't know what I hate more - washing clothes, folding clothes, or putting clothes away.

So my laundry does the Tour de Laundry in different stages around the house.

The First stage - it sits in the washer over night - and doesn't smell like feet.

The Second stage - it moves to the dryer then sits over night or for a few days - my trick, run the dryer with a wet washcloth and the wrinkles are gone.

Stage Three -  folded sitting in the laundry basket, usually in the kitchen for everyone to trip over.

The mountain stage -  pulling the basket upstairs then sitting on the landing.

Stage Five - the guest bedroom, sorted according to person.

Then it stays there until it is dirty again, or like this morning...

My husband comes walking through the house in a towel.....

I yell, "Toga!  Toga!"

He asks,"What stage are we on?  I'm out of underwear."

Do you have the same fun with your laundry?  How long do your stages last?

PS.  for those looking close and asking - yes, it is a Christmas tree in the guest room.  Yes it is January, but we're talking about the stages of laundry, not the stages of Christmas decorations.

Tap Tap Bus

We have a new art teacher at my youngest child's school.

She has brought bright colors, and beautiful pictures to my walls and windows.

I love this picture my son painted-the Tap Tap Bus.

I loved even more how he explained what a Tap Tap Bus is ----

The Tap Tap is a gaily painted bus that runs fixed routes on the streets of Haiti.

Tap Tap means "quick quick"

The bus doesn't leave until it is full and passengers can disembark at any point of the fixed journey.

The US Consulate does not recommend riding a Tap Tap bus as they could be unsafe.

I am glad that he was not  quick quick with this piece of art,

Because it is a keeper.