Snow Day...again

Just signed up for an e-course I've been eyeing for a while. Excited! Nervous!




Church is cancelled again this morning for snow. All this snow, and I can't find a sled. Wal-Mart has the sand shovels and beach blankets out, but no sleds. I guess the boogie board might work; not as if it's getting much use these days.




Guess I should organize my work space in preparation for the e-course. Clear off a spot. Stare at the walls, hoping they will tell me what color paint they want. Later I will roast a chicken.




So that's our lazy Sunday.

As Far As Days Go...

...this one was not-so-great. Not a "bad day", as in a series of annoying things, one right after the other. I would say it was a "hard day". Therefore, I'm going to my happy place:

**Where do you go when you need to detach and escape?

Bad Day

see title.

~~.G.R.I.M.M.~~

So, I move in cycles. Right now, I'm in a Grimm's Fairy Tales whirl. Probably has a little to do with the fire in the woods, and the images that came with it...

I'm reading the Tales to my high schoolers, and they've been aghast:

"Are you serious?"
"What?!"
"Did they not think it was strange that there was a cake house that didn't have birds all over it?!"
"How did Rapunzel eat?"
"No way, that guy couldn't shoot a fly's eye at two miles!"
"Eeeew, what kind of mother tells her daughter to cut off her toe for a man??"
"What kind of witch puts a spell on him that he's a frog until someone tries to kill him?"
"Don't these people have ladders?"

I have, too. I don't think I've ever read "King Thrushbeard" before. I love that story. It reminds me of our Prince. You should read it.

Help!

Yeah, so, I missed the sale. Yeah.

Road Ride x 2

I went on two--TWO!--road rides this weekend. Greedy? Perhaps. Selfish? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.



I was so happy yesterday. If Chris Carmichael showed up (but why would he show up? I don't know; it's a hypothetical. Focus.), I think I would've smooched him. On his face. That's how happy. I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm pretty excited about the upcoming year of cycling. 'Cuz it's only February, dude. Two rides. In two days. Mmm-hmm.

And the sun! The sun was so bright on Friday, I had a semi-permanent wrinkle between my eyebrows. Also, I couldn't look directly at my safety shirt. For obvious reasons. Hey. It's saved my life, probably a hundred times. At least. Don't hate.


I think there are so many little things that make riding at this time of year so lovely. For one, it's nice to not be all slimy and hallucinating from the 90% humidity. And to be able to breath. Gee, that's nice.


On the other hand, with the leaves off the trees and with me wearing my slightly garish safety shirt, it's a little challenging to find good spots for a bathroom break. TMI? Tough, that's the hard truth. Which has me wondering: I know how the male pro-cyclists relieve themselves on long rides, but, uhm, what about the female pros? Anyone know this? I'm a little afraid to research it.

February has been my second-favorite month (it's so hard to pick!) for some years now. There are all these small, subtle, almost-sneaky changes happening for Spring. The sun tilts differently. Birds start singing differently. I think it even smells different. And no one seems to love it but me. Sad. I think it is so dynamic and exciting, with this electric undercurrent buzzing and humming away.

And, you don't have to mow the grass.

Still

I'm thankful for my husband. When I whine that I have no sled, he doesn't tell me to grow up or warn that I'll get hurt. He only reminds me we don't have a hill :)

Took Slarty for a walk tonight as it was getting dark. (Does it ever get dark when there's snow on?) We went to the next neighborhood, a"holler". We heard voices and noticed there were some people high on one hillside, burning a bonfire. With the backdrop of bare trees, the gray light, the white snow, the fire all above us, I was quite struck. It reminded me of this story I read on Granny Sue's blog. I wanted to hike up there and see if February was sitting on the highest perch. It was a very Grimm's-Fairy-Tales sort of a walk.

{{FIVE}} Things for Fun...

5 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

watching pro-cycling on tv (at someone else's house since i don't get the ONE channel that airs it), the day when i come home and the house is COLORFUL and peaceful, finishing this book, vacation in the wild west, the ways the Lord is working in my life and my friends' lives right now...pretty awesome and humbling :)

5 Things I Did Yesterday:
browsed the blogs, made pancakes, sorted through the dissheveled stack of printed-out recipes I've been collecting for the past five years or so (yes! I did it!), watched the horrifying wipeouts on the olympic coverage--gah!, went for a walk with slarty.... And that's pretty much all I did yesterday; five things!

5 Things I Wish I Could do:
(((is this including 'cure cancer' and 'end famine' etc or are we talking .... what? that's the problem with me and these question-answer things. I always need clarification. Of course, that's the problem with me and people, too, hahaha... That's not funny, I guess... Okay, back to the questions)))

stop talking when i should (see above paragraph), keep a straight face when i should, keep in touch by snail mail with my pen-pal(s), be neat, use coupons with sophisticated ease

5 Places I’d Like to Travel To:
charleston, sc, new zealand, japan, nepal, new mexico

5 Cute things I've found online lately:

cool table, the best baby (or grownup) afghan I have ever seen, braided headband tutorial, new lisa leonard necklace,
nice bag

Snow & Redecorating

We are on another snow day (yesssss!). I just love the peaceful mornings moving at my own pace. I am not a morning person but I do love mornings. I just need to creep along at my slug's pace, absorbing coffee, until eleven or so. Then I'm good.



Anyhow, one of the hardware mega-giants is having a paint sale. Now, those of you who know me are probably aware of how I detest the rose-patterned wall paper in my kitchen/dining room/bike shop. Sigh. For seven years I have detested it. Where does the time go? This is way over-due.

The problem is, I have such a hard time deciding what color to go with. If it's taken this long to paint the first time, how long will it take to re-paint??

But the sale..... I have to act fast. The room faces eastish. The so-called experts recommend a warm-toned hue.

source

I've been thinking about this color on some or all the walls of our living room since an impromptu drive to the ocean a couple of Aprils ago. Have you been to the Eastern Shore in April? When the skies are gray, the wisteria blooming in the crowns of the tallest trees, the sand glowing, somehow, the water this color? Well, you should.

source

so, after two days of mulling and slugging around, that's what I got, yo. I know. This is why it's taking seven years. Sigh. The journey, the journey, I'm enjoying the journey.

Me 'n' my furfriend are going out into the snow for a bit, now. Ciao.

Happy Valentines Day!