Christmas 2010

When I was a child Christmas was a huge event in ours lives. Not just mine, all of us kids. I remember going with Dad to pick out a tree...it was always a real tree for us back then. I never even knew there were 'fake' trees. Some of the other kids came too but I don't remember who they were now.

I never knew where it was that we went but I remember trekking through the woods somewhere and Dad actually cutting the tree down. I also remember Mom being upset when the tree Dad brought home was too much of a monster to fit in the house! I believe he ended up having to cut a lot off the top of that tree and then it was up to the rest of us to make it look beautiful with the decorations.


There was something inherently wholesome about Christmas when I was young. We believed in Santa and were never disappointed if we didn't get what we wished for...because the gifts we did get were still fabulous to us and I don't recall ever asking for anything in particular anyway. The only Santa we ever saw before Christmas was associated with the volunteer Fire Dept and of course Dad knew the guy playing Santa...whoever fit the costume the best. We all took turns sitting on Santa's lap of course but I don't believe there were any pictures taken...at least I've never seen any.

It feels like we always had a white Christmas too. I'm sure that's not true, but that's the way I remember it. And probably the reason we never asked for anything in particular for Christmas was because our tv watching was very limited. We watched tv at night before going to bed and we watched whatever Mom and Dad allowed us to watch....usually shows like Ed Sullivan and Red Skelton...or possibly The Honeymooners. We weren't exposed to a lot of commercials displaying the latest toys and we knew better than to beg for that stuff anyway. It never would occur to us to ask for the stuff we saw on tv.

For the most part we were 'thrown outside' to play every day. I don't know exactly why I say it that way because there certainly was no actual throwing going on. Mom had too many of us...she'd never have had the energy to throw each child out the door. And how exhausting would it be to also keep catching the ones trying to sneak back in and tossing them out again?!
Yet we were sent outside every day and on weekends it was for most of the day too. We only came back to eat lunch; or dinner or if someone got hurt bad enough that it needed medical attention. These were the days that we played in the massive amounts of snow that seemed to be everywhere.

We'd make forts and stage snowball fights...often against unsuspecting victims. We'd make snowmen that would last for weeks..although they'd sometimes take on a warped and twisted demeanor after being exposed to sunshine all day. And we didn't use the standard things to make a face on our snowman. We'd use sticks and rocks and stolen pieces of clothing to wrap around his neck or plop on his head. It wasn't unusual for one of us kids to have to traipse outside and retrieve someone's mittens from the stick arms of the latest snowman...or someone's hat from the top of his slightly melted head.

The sides of our driveway were often piled well over our heads with snow. I'm sure now that getting that snow up there was no easy task for Dad but there was limited space to put all that snow. And we never had a snow blower...that's another thing I never knew existed until I was much older and had to do the shoveling when it snowed.
Us kids would attack that huge wall of snow and make it our own within minutes of getting outside. We'd end up with snow down our backs and inside our snow pants and boots but the secret forts and tunnels we created were well worth it. Nowadays you hear about kids actually dying inside huge snowbanks...we never even imagined such things could happen. We never wore helmets and padding when we rode our bikes either and we rode them in the road; on the sidewalk (if there was one); across the school yards and even peoples lawns. Nobody got hurt.

But I digress here because this is supposed to be about Christmas.

Christmas was always about midnight mass too. We weren't allowed to go until we were judged to be of sufficient age to handle being up that late. I think that age was around 10 but I'm not sure. I do remember going with my Mom and probably with a few other siblings in tow. We'd be in the choir area and Mom would sing in the choir. I loved being up so high and able to look down on all the people and watch. I remember one year there was a car accident that caused the church and surrounding area to lose power. There was a little bit of startled silence but very quickly candles were passed out and lit and people held them for the rest of the mass. It was the most beautiful mass I'd ever seen and seemed somehow magical just because of the candle lighting. Back in those days the Catholic mass was still being done completely in Latin so the candlelight mass was a welcome relief to me. I'm told they have a candlelight ceremony even to this day. Nice touch.

Christmas day was always the same yet different over the years. I don't know who was the first kid to wake up but it was usually the youngest ones. And they always woke everyone else because it was just impossible to keep themselves quiet...plus I'm not convinced they even tried to be quiet anyway. Eventually someone would be elected to 'sneak downstairs and see if Mom and Dad were awake'. Of COURSE they weren't awake....it was usually 5 am! When we were old enough to understand the concept of time and parents needing sleep, we were told never to come down until it was light outside. (that only gives you an hour more to sleep parents!) So the elected kid or kids would have to tip toe into Mom and Dad's room and ask if we could come down now and open gifts. Sometimes the answer would be no, go back to bed for another hour (you mean so you could pretend to sleep while we make all kinds of noise over your heads?); sometimes we'd be told we could come down and have our stockings (which were always lined up according to age on the couch; and had our names on them; and in later years were made by my Aunt Ida); and sometimes they'd actually wake up and pretend to be enjoying watching us rip into those stockings like wild cats. Usually it was Mom that got up to help the littlest ones with their stockings. Us older kids were way too involved with cramming the forbidden candy into our mouths to help the little kids. (we weren't supposed to eat any candy before eating breakfast...yeah, right!) Dad would be given a bit more time to 'fake sleep' before having to get up and join us.

Every year the gifts were handed out and opened first....Dad doing the honors. Each kid would squeal with excitement or gasp with astonishment at what they were opening. We truly loved what we got. (with the exception of that traditional orange in the toe of our stockings each year). Sometimes the gifts were too big to wrap. Then the oldest kids would have to wait and pretend that their other gifts were just so absorbing while we waited with held breath and slanting looks..to find out who's name was on the big gift when Dad called it out. Sometimes they'd fool us all and it would be for all of us. A family gift! What wonderful fights we'd have over sharing the family gifts! :)

I remember getting a camera once that took pictures in reverse of what you were looking at. I don't understand it even to this day but I had lots of fun with that thing. And another year, when we were a lot older ( and the presents were more expensive I'm sure) we got a family gift of the game 'Clue'. I think it was a brand new game back then. We played it all day long...swapping gamer players as one would get tired or hungry and another would take their place...even the neighborhood kids got in on it later in the day. I'm sure our absorption with the game gave Mom and Dad some welcome quiet time to themselves.

Mom would always make breakfast as soon as the gifts were open...feeding Dad first. We always fed Dad breakfast first. He was the man of the house, the breadwinner, the guy in charge...and he usually had tons of other things to do so didn't have time to hang around awaiting to start his day. Dad came before us kids...that was the pecking order. After breakfast of eggs; bacon; fried potatoes and toast..we were set loose on the world and allowed to play all day..whether that be inside or outside.

It wasn't until much later in life, when we had our own kids and we'd bombard Mom and Dad's house for Christmas, that Dad wasn't the one to hand out the gifts anymore. I think he had reached a point in his life where he just wanted to watch the fun now. One of us kids or sometimes Mom would hand out the gifts. There were so many of us there was never a shortage of people to 'man the tree'.
And it wouldn't be Christmas unless my Grandmother was there handing out her crazy 'grab bag' gifts. We loved picking gifts from that bag! And boy were there some crazy things in that bag!

I was so caught up in the actual living of my life that I never realized that things were changing...old traditions were giving way to the new ones...the first generation was stepping back to let the next generation take over for them. Knowing it now, there is a sense of loss that prevails but there is also the small feeling that it was supposed to happen like that. Nothing stays the same and change is inevitable. We have to move forward and embrace the best parts of what our lives give us. It's not easy to do...I know that now. It actually is quite painful at times. Right now is a transition time for me...for us...for the whole family. Some of us are painfully aware of it and trying to deal with it. Others are blissfully unaware that changes are occurring under the surface as we laugh and joke and enjoy the youngest members of the clan as they too tear into their Christmas gifts like we once did. I can only hope that these young ones will one day look back at these Christmas memories with their own kids and see it as a joyous treasured time in their lives as well.

Rest in Peace Dad. I miss you.

The Tree

Every year I debate about putting up a Christmas tree. Some years I have one...some I don't. Sometimes I put up 'my interpretation' of a Christmas tree...I've gotten a lot of flack over the years for this but it never stops me. This year I had no choice. Kaylee is living with me so there just has to be a Christmas tree in the house. Not that she says anything about it....or even notices it....but I'm sure she would notice it if it was missing. And somehow it's just too sad not to have a Christmas tree with a young child in the house. So I just had to do it.

So I finally opened the box containing the Christmas tree my friend gave me before she moved to Florida. It had been sitting in the basement sight unseen for the past 2 yrs. All I knew of this tree was that it had lights already on it so (in theory) I wouldn't have to put lights on it. Great! Less work...I like that.

Well when I eventually got the box open...not having realized that it was sealed so tight that my bionic powers were going to be needed...I discovered that this tree was in sections; three to be exact. And it wasn't long before I discovered each section weighed approximately 2000 lbs. (must be very heavy lights on it, eh?!!). Being the only person home and having already created a wonderful space for this tree..I had to complete the job and get that tree set up. (Did I say this was going to be less work??)

Over the course of an hour (no, I'm not kidding!) I dragged each massive section out of the box; around the corner; up each stair (one at a time folks!); and into the living room, where I let the pieces lay on the carpet while the dogs laughed at me and I fought off the urge to start swearing at the top of my lungs. When I was rested (and had run out of swear words in my head) I set up the stand and convinced myself that I DID have the upper body strength to lift each piece and make it fit into the ridiculously narrow hole where it belonged. Having done that...I was very tempted to take a nap on the floor. I fought the urge and started trying to figure out just how this thing is supposed to be plugged in instead.(Hey, I thought this was supposed to be less work!)

It was right around this time that I also noticed that the tree was taller than my ceiling. It had one extra long piece sticking obscenely straight up in the air and bent at an odd angle....obviously mocking me. Not to be out done after so much hard work, I climbed up on the end of the couch and calmly bent the offending piece back down. There will be no angel or star on the top of my tree anyway because I can't seem to find any of my ornaments from previous years and I'm not willing to spend a ton of money on all new ones either. You'll get what I've got tree and you'll like it! (This really seems to be much more work....)

I'm now relieved that the real grunt work is done but the tree looks really empty too. I managed to get the lights going...or at least most of them. I'm not interested in investigating the areas that refuse to light up...that's what the damn tree wants me to do...start checking all the lights. I know how that game goes and I'm not playing along. So instead I made a trip to Walmart, bought about $6.00 worth of unbreakable (in case the dogs decide they like the tree); shiny (because I can never get enough shiny!); glittering (because it's just not Christmas unless you've got glitter in all the wrong places) ornaments and put them on the tree. I did find a little garland and some beads in the basement...put them up there too.

To my surprise the tree looks wonderful even if I do say so myself! There isn't really a lot of ornaments on it and there is not a scrap of tinsel (which is my favorite!) at this point. And there aren't any presents under it either but the lights and the shiny stuff really make it look nice.

Yet not one person coming in or out of my house has complimented my tree....not one! I think people are just so used to seeing Christmas trees all over the place they just don't really take notice of them. Well I busted my butt getting that thing in place and I want compliments....and lets not forget all this work was done for Kaylee's sake. Soooooo every 15 minutes or so I ask Kaylee how she likes my tree. Yes, every 15 minutes! She laughs and tells me she likes it and waits for me to ask her again. She's only 7 yrs old so she thinks I'm being very funny. I can't wait to see how Justin and Sara take it when I start asking them too!!

The dogs are already sick of me and refuse to answer me now.

Flu Aftermath

So, it was my understanding that once you've had the flu you've sort of earned the right to vibrant health, right? You should be absolutely glowing with your healthy vibe!

Yeah, that's what I thought too. Only I'm not glowing at all....I'm not even showing a dim light...and I'm certainly not vibrant. I'm still sick!

I don't have the flu anymore that's for sure but instead of all those symptoms..I've sort of morphed into a new arena of illness, which of course is just not fair. Now I've got bronchitis and with that comes a very odd feeling stomach that doesn't want to eat anything without suggesting I might vomit...it doesn't actually happen..it's just a suggestion after all; yet I still get the hunger pangs just for the fun of it anyway. With that comes some pressure in the old face and occasional shooting pains in the ears and a dizzy head. Lets not forget the exhaustion...pure exhaustion....but that doesn't mean I get to actually sleep. No, I'm kept awake for no reason other than so I'll know that I'm wicked tired. Unless of course I'm on the bus or at work...then it seems I'm pretty capable of falling asleep for 15 min intervals....only to be jerked awake suddenly feeling like I've got a bad drunk going on. Attempts to smile apologetically usually end up as more of a grimace....but I don't care really...I'm just too tired.

Today was my first day back at work in a little over a week. I was actually sorry I went back to work once I got there. I just wanted to go to sleep. And through out the day various people would cruise by be, asking how I am, seeing how I look and deciding I don't need to answer that question after all. Some would make dramatic left or right turns to avoid getting too close to me...calling out 'hope you feel better soon' as they swerve away from the sick zone. Others stopped by (brave souls!) to give unwanted suggestions on what I should do or what I should take to feel better. One actually stopped and said I looked white. I thought I had been white my whole life but apparently I've reached a new level of whiteness. But it's the ones that stop and want a blow by blow description of how I feel and what I'm taking that really tax me. I'm too tired to go into it folks...I feel crappy...can't we just leave it at that for now? I'll let you know everything you want to know just as soon as I'm healthy and well rested...promise!

Flu

At what point do you know you have the flu? How do you tell the difference between just 'being sick' and actually having the flu? I think I can answer that question.

You have the flu when your skin feels like it has a life of its own and wants to go live it somewhere else other than with you. When it begins to feel painfully sensitive and puts you into panic mode at least a half hour before the pain reliever is supposed to wear off. When you wake (assuming you can sleep that is) to the silent scream your skin is doing in protest of having to endure you for yet another day. Another clue you have the flu is when your muscles join in with your skin's protest but are trying to one up the skin at the same time. So there again, if you are able to sleep, that sleep will end rather abruptly with stabbing muscle pain. And to keep things interesting and make sure you are paying attention, the stabbing pain is rotated around the body randomly.

Some of this can be tamed with pain relievers (although not for the length of time indicated on the bottle!) but the flu has to be really sure you notice it.....after all this is not a modest cold and you are not going to be allowed to function normally while it's with you..in fact you are going to be made to suffer quite horrendously until you finally reach the point of giving up...and then you will start (just start mind you) to feel better.

So in order to make sure you are not mistaking this for a simple cold...your hair joins in the act. Yes, your hair will betray you. It will become sensitive at first, almost bruised feeling and that feeling will gradually grow to the point where touching it is unthinkable and looking at a hairbrush makes you cry.

Chin up you little Mary...we're not done yet. You have to have the chills running through your body at the same time that your skin hurts first! Chills make it feel like your skin is tightening and that's just exactly the opposite thing you want your skin to do now. So if you can still walk at this point (and you have to get to the bathroom at some point don't you?) you are now walking all hunched over like a little old person, trying desperately not to have your clothes touch you.

To make this experience even more fun you develop a cough and a lightheartedness that sticks with you no matter what you do. The cough is 'unproductive' and very insistent causing you to jerk around spasmodically when it starts up (usually after you've finally found a comfortable position to be in ) which of course sets off the muscle pains again. Then the nose finally gets involved...only a little bit at first...it doesn't want to let you know what it's up to. It begins to spontaneously drip (like a leaky faucet) at the oddest times.

And then you reach a point of 'I just don't care anymore', you've been sick for a week straight, you feel exhausted and totally beaten...and now the symptoms start to step down in the intensity...just a bit, not all at once...and hope begins to grow. And you think you may just make it through this flu in one piece. Silly human! You haven't had the pounding headache yet! And so they begin to start when you wake in the morning and they're joined by the hacking cough you've gotten so good at....because this flu is not quite done with you yet and wants you to know it.

So you learn to sit on the edge of the bed (no small feat) and take whatever medications you have available and stay there, head hanging, trying not to move at all or look at anything (because somehow eye movement is directly involved with that headache), and you wait...for whatever relief you may get when the meds kick in. And you have a dialog with yourself while you wait....running the inventory of pain to see where you stand (or if you'll stand) today. Does my skin still hurt as bad as yesterday? Does it still hurt to touch my hair? Why is my right arm so sore? Where did I get that huge bruise on my wrist? The chills aren't as violent today and they are becoming localized to the center of my back...is that good?

Until one day the symptoms suddenly become manageable and you finally know you will in deed live through this and in fact you no longer wish NOT to live through it. You feel incredibly weak and somewhat fragile, you still have the cough (that will be a souvenir you carry for awhile no doubt) and a mild but persistent headache (another souvenir) but you also have the knowledge to build your system back up to wellness with good food and hopefully now also you are carrying antibodies from this flu and don't have a relapse in your future. It's still a tiring adventure to walk around the yard with the dogs but at least the neighbors will no longer have to bear witness to your 'sick attire' and avert their eyes while walking quickly in the opposite direction, as you've now graduated to showering and dressing yourself...if not fashionably, at least you are no longer in robe and slippers with a rain coat over it all and a scarf wrapped around your head. Even though the neighborhood is mostly elderly and probably can't see far enough to really get a good look at you...or in fact could be dressing like that themselves...it's nice to be able to feel like you've joined the human race again..at least to some small degree.

I think I'll go brush my hair now..... :)

Funny Bone

I've never been one to turn down free tickets...especially to a comedy show. When I was told there was a ticket for me I jumped at the chance to go. I always appreciate a chance to laugh..who doesn't?


I was a little surprised at how tightly they packed the crowd into the place...our table for 4 would sit 2 people comfortably. But that was just me being naive. Of course they would try to pack in as many people as possible...especially if you are handing out free tickets...they'd need as many people as possible to buy their average tasting yet over priced food and the slightly smaller than average drinks with the sky's the limit pricing. Ok, having slammed them on the food and drinks I'll stop there because the comedians were great!


The first guy up was quite good but it turned out that he was the MC for the night. If it was his job to warm up the crowd he did a fine job. The headliner was Robert Kelly...he was good...definitely made me laugh..but actually the sexual jokes got a little tired for me after awhile. More to my taste was the middle guy (better known as Tom Dustin). We all agreed that he was the best comedian of the night and should have been the headliner. How do they pick the headliner anyway?


I can't begin to do justice to Tom Dustin's humor...it's sarcastic and offbeat....and possibly a little mean if you're inclined to be easily offended. I'm not...easily offended that is. I thought he was wonderful! I didn't want him to leave the stage.
He's non-assuming in his person and throws you off a bit by seeming to be a normal guy...but I certainly can't call his humor normal...it's inspired! My face and stomach muscles actually HURT by the time he was done with his act.


After the show I joined the herd of women stampeding the bathroom and when I joined my group outside they told me I just missed meeting all the comics. I was so disappointed! But as luck would have it Tom came back out and I noticed him lallygagging against the wall...back to being non-assuming I suppose. We weren't really sure it was him so I told Justin to yell 'Tom' at him. Justin did and we got his attention..probably scared the hell out of him too because we descended on him like locust at that point to get our pictures taken with him. He seemed surprised that we thought he was the best comedian of the night...so of course we told him repeatedly...hey, it was the truth!


I'll be keeping tabs on Tom from hear on in...waiting for him to come back to Ct. If you'd like to check out his face book page here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/tomdustin


Send him a friend request and tell him Elaine sent you. :)

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

When I was invited to go see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra I thought it was an actual orchestra. You know, the kind that has a nice white haired conductor, with a tux and tails, that stands in front of the orchestra waving his arms rhythmically while the oh so dignified orchestra plays beautiful music. I couldn't be more wrong! TSO (as they are known) is an orchestra in the very broadest sense of the word....but they are so much more! The show turned out to be more like a rock show with instruments from an orchestra on crack!

I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone in this 'orchestra' was young and had long hair. I have to admit I fell immediately in love with the guys with the long blond hair. I couldn't help myself. I was mesmerized by the way they tossed their heads in beat with the music...never missed a beat all night. And the backup singers were no slouches either. When they weren't singing they were dancing to the music, bodies swaying and gyrating just as perfectly as the rest of them. It was a thing of beauty and perfection to watch.

But it was the light show that topped it all off...that made it fantastic...that really wowed me. It's been some time since I've been to a real rock concert and my first thought were this reminds me of The Who from the 70's. (which I didn't really care for if truth be known). But this show was so far beyond anything that I've seen before that it felt reminiscent and yet completely different at the same time. They didn't just have a light show. They had a perfectly timed explosion of light, sound, sensation and emotions all at the same time. It was quite overwhelming and I'd gladly go see them again.

They used fog machines to the max...rolling out huge amounts of fog to encase the entire lower region of people sitting front and center. They had multiple video screens display images while lightening blasted through the air. They showed us waves of color changing with the tempo and beams of piercing lights throbbing with the drum beats. They had fire yes...fire, bursting so high I could feel the heat from my perch high up in my chair and rolling across the stage to encase the drummer. They even created snow gently filtering down upon the crowd below and then made it seem like a gift from heaven by piercing it with rapidly changing tiny beams of light to make it twinkle. Awesome to say the least! And this wasn't their grand finally..this was through out the entire performance, which lasted about 3 hrs.

But I can't neglect to mention the energy they all displayed throughout the concert. The lead guitarists and the lead violinist (who was also the conductor) continually raced from one side of the stage to the other so all sections of seating could get a good look at them. Then they had huge mechanical 'arms', which became part of the stage, extend out over the crowd and several members of the band walked or danced out on them to play their instruments as well. This was certainly NOT grandma's type of orchestra!

During a brief intermission of sorts the lead man introduced the band members and stated that the string section were all members of a Ct orchestra. They hire orchestra members locally wherever they play. I thought that was a nice touch and probably saves them money as they travel all over the world.
This was their Christmas show and I did vaguely recognize some Christmas melodies in the mix but it was so far above and beyond what we've come to expect of Christmas music. They were amazing and absorbing and so very precise at their craft that I fear I'll be ruined for any other concert from now on. Easily the best concert I've ever been to in my life.

Veterans Day

This year for Veteran's Day I'm making oatmeal cookies and pumpkin pie bars for our troops. I'm so grateful for the Cookies for Camouflage campaign being run by EnfieldHooah.org. They will be gathering all the homemade cookies from Enfield residents at the American Legion post and sending them out to troops from Enfield, Ct. to share in time for the holidays.

My Dad was a veteran of two wars and now that he's gone Veteran's Day takes on even more meaning for me. I'm not just doing it for the soldiers that won't be home for Christmas. I'm doing it for Dad....because it may not have been done for him when he needed it. And because every Veteran's Day Dad would go to the local cemeteries and place small flags on all the graves of the fallen soldiers. My Dad was deeply respectful of the veterans and he cried when he put those flags on those graves...remembering his own experiences of war and missing the friends he saw die, never having the chance to grow old surrounded by a loving family like he did.

Dad suffered the rest of his life carrying the horrors of war with him every day. He rarely spoke of any of it as is typical of most veterans that have seen and lived through things that we can never even imagine. He buried it like the rest of them do and struggled for years to keep the ugly truth from his family. The truth that war is not glorious...killing is not something you forget...and innocence is the price you pay to defend your country. You enter the service a fresh faced innocent boy pumped full of patriotic feelings and determination to prove yourself. You come home a man with the horrors of war ingrained in your memory and a gritty resolve to get beyond the nightmarish memories and fit back in to society...if you're lucky enough to come back at all.

I thank God I had my father in my life. He so easily could have been a casualty of war. And if he had, I wouldn't be here today to make these cookies at all.

Ghosts, ghouls and all manner of things...

Halloween is supposed to be for kids, right? Well I haven't appreciated Halloween as much as I do now. I always enjoyed gathering a pile of candy as a small child but it seems like as I got older I learned to have so much more fun...usually at someone else's expense unfortunately.

As a older child when you know instinctively that you are too old to go door to door for candy, it's natural to start thinking of other ways to have fun. And looking back now I think we were moderately bad kids on Halloween. We didn't do any real damage but we certainly raised hell.
There was the year that we gathered an incredible amount of acorns from the old oak tree and pelted cars passing by...not with just one or two. Oh no, we dumped hundreds of acorns on those poor cars and then ran like our butts were on fire for the cover of the nearby woods. One guy actually slammed on his brakes; got out of his car and gave chase. He never had a chance of catching us..we knew the woods too well. But he certainly gave us a good scare. We decided not to do that one again. Unfortunately we got worse from there.

The following year we made a dummy...a sort of scarecrow I suppose. My parents didn't object. It got rid of a lot of the leaves in the yard and it seemed like harmless fun. They had no idea what we would eventually do with that dummy.
Back to the hill with the huge oak tree we went. And I'm a little ashamed to say we threw that dummy high into the air, timing it just right so it would land on some poor woman's windshield as she was driving by. Thankfully she didn't have an accident but she might have come close to having a heart attack. As soon as we did it we knew it was the worse thing we could have done. Once again the driver got out of the car and we started running for the woods. She didn't chase us however, she just clutched the side of her car and looked like she was going to cry or faint or something. I'm sure she thought she had just run over a person. That was a terrible thing to do to someone I know that now. But at the time we were stupid kids and thought it would be funny. We never did that again.

A few years later (I think I was a Freshman in high school) in art class I had a friend of mine help me make some gigantic wings. They were beautiful...made with heavy gauge wire and multi-colored tissue with glitter on them. They were a magnificent pair of wings if I do say so myself. The only problem with them was that they had a very small wooden block for a base and I had to attach straps to actually wear them. Eventually I came up with a plan for them. It involved wearing an old black graduation gown with the wings strapped on top. I don't know what I was supposed to be but I hit the streets dressed like that as soon as it got dark.
It wasn't long before I realized that all the kids out trick or treating were terrified of me. They never got close enough to see that I was human, they just ran...some of them screaming. It was great! I walked all over town with that outfit on and a couple of friends in tow...keeping to the shadows and suddenly looming out of the darkness when people showed up. I even had my friends hunch over and walk a little crap like while making a moaning noise. I guess I was still a rotten little kid at heart.

Many years went by and my Halloween consisted of taking my own kids out to trick or treat. Some of the magic went out of Halloween when I became an adult. I still enjoyed seeing some of the really imaginative costumes but there were no more pranks left in me. We had fun...but it was of the harmless type.

Now that my kids are grown I'm feeling a stirring again....a desire to really enjoy Halloween again. No, I'm not going to bombard anyone's car with acorns or throw a dummy on someone's car. I doubt the law would have much tolerance for that kind of stunt these days. I'm more into making cute costumes for my granddaughter and dressing up myself for Halloween parties. And I've discovered that most of the clubs/bars around have some sort of Halloween party going on, usually with costume judging and prizes as well. The past two years I've gone to two places and had a great time at each place...still seeing all kinds of costumes and also having fun dancing and getting reacquainted with some ghouls; witches; vampires and all manner of scary creatures that I grew up with. As it turns out I'm not the only one that enjoys Halloween as an adult. Maybe we're all just a bunch of kids at heart.

This year I was dressed as Maid Marion and my side kick was a flapper from the roaring 20's. And we met the piggy that said weeeee all the way home; a ghoul; a few gangsters; a criminal and a cop; and all manner of witches; devils; vampires and even little old ladies with toilet paper stuck on their shoe. There were fairies and cowboys dancing with wrestlers and snake charmers. It was nothing like the old days but it was just as much fun...and nobody got pelted with acorns. :)

Renaissance Faire 2010

I know what you're thinking. Renaissance Faires are just another place where geeks meet to impress each other with their ability to dress and speak oddly with other cult members that are as warped as they are. They are no different than the 'trekkies' that swarm the Star Trek conventions. They are social misfits and nerds that can't get dates...basically people that have no lives and this gives them something to do so they don't hate themselves quite as much as they normally do. Well I thought that was what it was going to be too. I was wrong.

Perhaps they are the same type of people...devoted to their interest and eager to explore it more. But I found that the Renaissance people can be very generous and extremely informative if you give them half a chance. I don't know if the Trekkies are the same way. The main characters ( and a lot of the bit players too) at the Renaissance Faires are paid actors and they are more than willing to converse with you even if you make no attempt to 'talk in their language'. They are friendly and easy going and it's very easy to believe you have actually stepped back in time. They are very well versed in any aspect of life from that time period and address you as if they talk to you every day. If you are a bit shy they understand that as well and don't push you beyond your comfort level. Many times I asked if I could take their picture and they gladly posed for me no matter what they happen to be doing at the time. It was a very accepting and intriguing feeling that I came away with. You don't have to make the attempt to fit in. You can just be an interested observer. Although I did see whole families that were making active participation the rule of the day.

I spoke with King Arthur and Queen Guinevere as easily as if they were an Uncle and Aunt of mine. The king posed for me and then beckoned the queen to his side (see how easy it is to slip into it?) so that I could take a picture of her...front and back. Her head piece was beautiful. I came across a minstrel playing some beautiful music on an instrument that I had never seen before. When he was finished with his songs he explained the instrument was a dulcimer and where it came from. Unfortunately a zombie chose that moment to show interest in Justin's brains so I was too distracted to absorb all the information he was giving me. Why would there be zombies at a Renaissance Faire you say? Well because they were slowly changing over to a Halloween themed evening as the day progressed. And it gave the knights, like Sir Tristan something to do to earn their keep.

I came across Sir Tristan several times and each time it seemed he had a different weapon in his hands. And busy as he was defending damsels and doing his best to stem the tide of zombies he did take the time to speak to me a few times. He never broke character and I found him very entertaining (as well as very good to look at!). Unfortunately the zombie he was supposed to fight ended up being M.I.A. (a choreographed fight scene had been planned) so he had to go searching for another foe. He seemed a bit distressed that his zombie never arrived. However he still took the time to inform me how a zombie would attack; the areas of the body they prefer and that once your loved one is bitten they are no longer to be trusted and will 'turn' soon after. On one of our encounters he was very charming and when I aimed the camera at him he asked me to wait a minute...then proceeded to toss his hair and give me a 'come hither' look for the picture! What a ham! We all loved that of course. (too bad the picture came out so terrible!)

There were a few zombies to be reckoned with during the day but as night drew closer they began showing up in force! My favorite part of the evening was the zombies dancing down the avenue to Michael Jackson's Thriller. I was determined to see the event and the crowd was huge and tightly packed. It didn't stop me. I started excusing myself and explaining that I was too short to see and they all edged over enough so I had a view...not a good view but I could see at least. I did take some pictures but they weren't the best shots. (probably because being the MJ fan that I am, I could barely stop myself from dancing too) But I was so swept up in the music and the anticipation of the dance number that I didn't really care. It was so wonderful to see that performed in real life....and by the undead of course. Some of the knights and ladies of the court joined in as well. And I have to admit that not everyone was a "dancer" by nature. But it's still a real treat to see that number performed in a group right in front of you. Very dramatic!

Pirates have always held a special interest for me. I've dressed the part more than once for Halloween over the years. We were fortunate enough to come across a pirate show and we were ready to sit and relax for a bit anyway so we took a seat at the top of a set of bleachers. One of the pirates took exception to our filling in the back rows....said he would have to yell his lines that much louder for us to hear. So he came up into the bleachers and yelled pirate jokes at us for awhile. He was hysterical and we loved it! I can only assume this was the way they warm up the crowd. He never relented on the crowd either...often stepping out of the scene to spray water on little kids and name different people in the crowd. One large guy in a blue shirt was named Mother and then they proceeded to blame Mother for everything that went wrong in their show. Another fellow was named chum bucket or some such name and he was eventually handed the wheel of the ship and commanded to steer for them (from the audience no less) because the captain was too drunk and too busy trying to kill his first mate, being the scoundrel that had spilled his rum! (as instructed in the pirates articles of course). Being a family show there were a few references to 'public school' having produced these pirates...a 'liberal arts' program was also blamed for their career choice too. I came away wishing I had taken those pirate courses myself!

The food at the faire was diverse also. There were choices like steak on a stick (I'm told it was delicious); a turkey leg (also delicious); vegetarian dishes as well as the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. I had the opportunity to try deep fried oreos, something I've heard of before but never tried. Now that I've tried them...I need never do that again. :) I don't generally eat deep fried anything but at least I know what they taste like now....nothing special in my book. After eating we felt the need to put Justin and Carol in the stocks for awhile...so they could relax. That was fun! And then we made the rounds visiting the various stalls with their trinkets and wares to sell. I did see many interesting clothing pieces that I'd love to have for costuming but the prices were high and I'm pretty sure I can get a better price somewhere else.

The evening ended with the flaming jousts on the tournament field. I think this was their first time doing this display and I hope they will improve it for next years performance. Many people found the field to be too dark...impossible to see the contestants and their horses...even with the lit torches. And the sound system needs to be tweaked a bit too. However I was impressed with the flaming sword thrown (while on horseback) into the huge sinister looking pumpkin in front of us..which made a very dramatic burst of flames (and some much needed warmth) in front of where I was standing. The riders caught flaming rings as they rode by and eventually had a fight to the death...quite close to where I was standing. A very tall and evil pumpkin headed creature fought the dark knight and we had the perfect spot to see his head leave his body...the body stumbling a few steps before collapsing to the ground dead. These shows are all about the drama! This ended the show and the evening and rightly so...because you just can't top the beheading of the evil pumpkin headed guy can you?

We headed for our cars..tired and happy...chatting about what we had seen during the faire. (not all of us had seen the same things as we split up several times during the day) I made sure to bid them all 'fare thee well' before leaving the gates. Yet I was surprised to find more zombies outside the gate in the parking lot. One of them was determined to come home with me. He kept following me with his shuffling gate and saying things like 'take a zombie home my lady?'; 'I don't eat much'; 'sleep under your bed or in a closet'. Every time I'd laughingly say no to him he'd come up with another line to try to persuade me. We eventually did make it to the car zombie-less. I had already decided to come back again next year...possibly for the spring show as well as the fall show. Long live the King!

Parts 1 and 2 of the faire are below.

Tyler's Welcome Home Party

Tyler (my nephew by my brother David) is now officially a Marine! And he's got the tattoo to prove it too. :)



It was great to see him and boy have they changed the boys physical appearance! He went in to boot camp a soft, slightly pudgy boy and came out slim, tall and confident...(I have no idea how they made him taller!) but they haven't changed that grin of his! He seems very happy and I really think it was the right choice for him. Of course we worry where they will be stationing him in the long run of course but you have to have confidence that he is learning all he needs to know to keep himself as safe as possible.


I had a talk with him about weapons...don't know how we got there but I do love weapons myself. He showed me a souvenir type knife that they gave him...not for combat use. It was really nice! All black blade with a multi-toned brown striped handle with the Marine insignia on it. Quite the handsome knife. He'll be learning more about some really serious weapons when he goes back. He's being sent to North Carolina for further training.



I have to be honest with you. I love all the armed forces. I think it really does make a man out of a boy. However, during times of war (such as now) I'd be happier to see an only son (like Tyler) in any one's family join up with the Air Force or the Navy...for safety's sake. The Marines and the Army are on the front lines. Most of us in my family only have one son (with the exception of my sister Bunny) and I just don't want to lose any of them. It's a constant fear I'm sure for anyone that has a family member in the Marines or Army.



So for now we will be proud and keep our fears contained...trust in the training they will give him and pray for his safety. I intend to send him as much home baked goods as he can handle as soon as he gets settled somewhere. When we worry about them, we send them goodies from home. It's what women do.

Gallery 131 and Apple Picking

This day started out with a trip to Gallery 131 in West Springfield. I had read about this small gallery on line and a friends sister is one of the artists that shows her work there. I was already impressed with the work I've seen of hers on her FB page so I figured it could only be better to see what the other artists have to show as well.

My friend Carol was my co-pilot and her skills as such leave much to be desired. I will admit the directions were also a bit confusing. I got one set of directions from Mapquest and the other set from the gallery's website. We opted to go with the directions from the website because haven't we all been burned by Mapquest at some time or other? As it turned out Carol doesn't give you the direction to turn anywhere until there is a split second to make the decision to follow her direction or not. She did not pick the right turn/exits for at least the first 4 attempts. So we had a very scenic ride through West Springfield (seeing the same area at least 3 times!) and many repeat performances at more than one rotary (don't you just hate rotaries anyway?) before we finally found our way to the gallery. Turns out that our ride that should have been 18mins according to Mapquest turned out to be at least twice that long.....using Carol's 'internal' GPS (extremely faulty I must say) and the process of elimination with the exits off the rotary. We also got quite familiar with an odd girl standing near one of the rotaries trying to get a ride. I couldn't make up my mind if she was dressed for Halloween a little early or an escapee from the circus with that get up she had on. I can't imagine anyone would want to give her a ride dressed like that but it worked in our favor as we used her as a point of reference on our many rides around that rotary. Here's that girl again! I remember this spot...she's still there! I wonder if she dresses like that all the time? Oh my God, we have to start waving at her now just to be polite! She probably was wondering why we didn't just pick her up instead of stalking her.

The gallery was being run this day by a sweet older woman named Mickey Encalade. That's 'Encalade'...not 'Escalade'. She was not a car...but she was an artist. Mickey was very uncertain if it would be ok for me to take pictures of the art work while I was there. I found this to be an odd attitude to have considering artists are usually looking for free publicity aren't they? I explained to her that the photos would be going into a blog I write and judging by the blank look she gave me I'm guessing she didn't know what a blog was. I decided to let her show me her artwork first and ask again later. She was willing to let me photograph her stuff at least but didn't want to make a decision for the rest of the artists. I figured that was reasonable.
She showed us all around the gallery, giving personal tidbits on any artist she knew personally. There was some really beautiful work there and we had the gallery to ourselves with Mickey so we soon got comfortable with each other. There was a variety of artistic endeavors on display...some I loved...some not so much. Some was inspired and some was just plain odd as hell. I like odd stuff for the most part...I like how someones mind works to come up with it in the first place. It was a good idea to go there even if we did take the most indirect route imaginable.

By the end of our visit you would have thought we'd all known each other our whole lives. Mickey told us several times we were funny and she obviously was having a good time. I did decide to purchase a box of note cards with a beautiful wooded scene on it. (it was just about the only thing I could afford actually) They were from a local artist, Donna Shaw. (who is the sister of the girl I went to school with) I've seen her work on her FB page and that's where I found the reference to Gallery 131 as well. Mickey told me the gallery is very new...having just opened in September. I'm guessing it's not well known yet. That works in my favor because I'd rather not have a bunch of people to wade through anyway.
As it turned out Mickey had warmed up to us to the point where the picture taking wasn't such a big deal anymore. She also justified it by saying 'she didn't see anything'...and then proceeded to ask me what kind of camera I was using and wanting to take a look at it. (she was so cute!) So while Carol had her show her some of the jewelery and hair pieces I went from room to room and took pictures to my hearts content.

Before leaving Mickey had confided that she had left her pocketbook on the front seat in her car which was parked on the street. After some discussion about it we convinced Mickey it would be a good idea to go get her pocketbook. She felt that because she could see her car from the gallery it wasn't a big deal. I suggested to her that really that just meant that she'd be watching as someone smashed her window and took it...not being able to stop them and she'd still be out the pocketbook and a solid window in her car. We kept an eye on Mickey and didn't pull away until she had made it back with her pocketbook in tow. She was such a nice lady and we'd hate to see anything happen to her.

The trip home didn't seem as long as the original ride was however we still didn't really know where we were going. This time we turned off Carol's internal GPS ( I just stopped listening to her actually) and just read the signs..taking the most logical exits to find our way back to the highway and it worked. But our day wasn't over yet. We decided to go apple picking at the Easy Pickings Orchard in Enfield . A quick stop at my house for a potty break and we ended up with another passenger for apple picking too. Kaylee wanted to go, so off we went.

I was originally looking for Gayla apples because they are sweeter and I just love them. When we got there it was to find that they had already gone by but there were a few other types that we were told we also sweet. Carol was looking for apples suitable for making pies and turnovers. I was looking for eating apples because I don't like pie. We ended up with a type of apple called Kinsea which neither one of us were familiar with but oh they are good! I justified eating one while picking so I'd know what I was buying. I ended up eating three of them! Kaylee did nothing but eat apples the whole time we were there then complained a bit that her stomach felt funny...probably apple overload. She never did any picking, just kept eating. Eventually I took her bag and filled it myself. I couldn't carry anymore and Carol was ready too so we took a few pictures and headed out to pay for our apples.
Before we paid, Kaylee said she wanted a couple of tiny white pumpkins...to keep her big pumpkin company (of course!) so I bought those for her and added a few gourds also. I love gourds...it's that preoccupation of mine with odd things coming into play again. Carol bought a couple of little pumpkins too. One for herself and one for Teddy (her dog). Teddy likes to eat them. Teddy likes to eat a lot of things. He ate some of my tomatoes right off the plant last year! I didn't know Teddy had graduated to pumpkins. I can only assume that he's never met a watermelon yet. :)

We headed home with our treasure and memories of fun in the orchard and at the gallery. I can't wait until next year when the blueberries are ripe again. I've eaten pounds of those berries this year and never put them in pies; pancakes; muffins or anything. I eat my berries naked by the fistful! And now that I think of it the last couple of times I took Kaylee with me berry picking all she did was eat them too. Her container was always empty! Seems like we have a pattern developing here doesn't it?

Just a few pictures from each of the segments of our day.

Taunya's Surprise Party

When I received Chris's invitation via Face Book for Taunya's surprise birthday party my first thought was...it's over a month early! My second thought was...you'd have to do it real early just to make sure Taunya didn't suspect anything. She's too clever for her own good sometimes. :)

Imagine OUR surprise when we got there at the appointed time only to have Taunya come out of the house and say Hi to us! She surprised us instead of the other way around. As it turned out she was told she was invited to an end of summer cook out....so of course she shows up early to help out! I don't know how the kids could have pulled if off without her finding out about it. But at least she said she had a good time and the cake was really pretty!

I did take a bunch of pictures but honestly most of them aren't all that interesting to look at. And I suspect Taunya wouldn't want me to use some of the gag shots I took. So I'm posting a picture of her lovely cake and a couple of Taunya looking her birthday best. :)

The Big E - 2010

Every year The Big E rolls around for people in the Northeast. I used to attend religiously for years then for a few years I was very sporadic with my attendance. I'm happy to say I'm back! I know a lot of people think it's just the same old thing every year but that's not necessarily true. It's actually so big that it's nearly impossible to see everything on one trip. So if you put your mind to it you can see different things every time you're there. This year will go down as my most memorable trip ever. I saw a calf being born this year and that's something I've never seen before. It was a moving and amazing experience!

When we got there the most pressing thing on the kids minds was to get a baked potato. I'm not that impressed with food in general (you can get a baked potato anywhere can't you?) but I followed along in their quest for the Maine building, apparently known for their awesome potatoes. While they stood in a line that looked like it would never end, I took a quick tour of the building to see what they had to offer. By the time I came out they had potatoes in hand and were heading for a bench outside. While they were busy inhaling their food...I noticed Santa coming towards us in a crowd. I knew it had to be Santa. He fit the description perfectly...big belly; long white hair; jolly attitude....yup, it was him. It's very funny however, that nobody else seemed to notice him just because he wasn't in his uniform. I picked him out in the crowd immediately and took his picture as he walked by. You're not fooling me Santa!

We moved on to more of the state buildings and most of us bought food at each one. Justin was extremely happy to find clam chowder at the Rhode Island building...and he was quick to point out it's not the one with the milk or cream in it and it's not the red one...it's the clear one. Looked like chicken soup with bits of clam in it to me but what do I know?

In the Massachusetts building we discovered lobster rolls. Now THAT'S something I can get a wee bit excited about. It's not something I have very often and although I prefer them warm and they are served cold, I decided to go along with Justin to get one of them. It turns out they were charging $8.00 for each lobster roll. I don't like that price one bit but this is a special day so I said nothing. However, when I gave the man my money I noticed that a new tray was coming out that had twice the filling as the ones that were currently being offered. I looked at the lady who was handing them out and promptly said I want one of those (pointing to the tray of good ones). Well this lady took exception to my request and decided I was going to get what she was handing out. (definitely had a power trip thing going on there) Apparently she didn't realize who she was dealing with. I'm not about to pay $8.00 for something and walk away with an inferior product when the better product is starring me in the face...and certainly not after she decided for me that I was taking the inferior product! So while she sat there holding the puny lobster roll and saying to me they are the same..I delayed putting my change back into my wallet so that the new tray had arrived by the time I had a hand free. I looked at the offending woman and said they are NOT the same. The new ones are twice the size. I will take one of the new ones! Well she was NOT gracious about it at all and her co-workers looked a bit embarrassed. She hurriedly shoved one of the better ones in my hand and then grabbing another one looked at Justin (standing next to me) and said I supposed HE wants one too! I said very matter of fact and with a sickening sweet smile on my face, of course he does! (thinking but not saying..he paid the same amount I did didn't he lady??!!) Having won my prize (and the power play) we moved on to bigger and better things...although I will admit it took me a little while to climb back down off my high horse after that encounter. Her attitude had caught me completely off guard and I still don't know where the hell she had hidden her broom, but she certainly seemed to have just gotten off of it. :)


A little later in the day we came across one of the parades that come through during the day. They were throwing beads and as soon as I realized that I was off like a shot to get a spot in line. I wanted some of those beads! I must have turned into a teenager all of a sudden because I was jumping and waving my arms like a maniac. (you have to draw their attention somehow now don't you??) Two times I caught someones eye and they threw beads at me. The first one landed really close to a child so I let him have them. The second one went over my head a bit and a mother with a stroller made a heroic dive for it..so I let her have it too. Now I was getting really frustrated so I doubled my efforts to attract attention...and it worked. A fine set of gold colored beads were aimed at me and I caught this one. Success at last! I was very pleased..that is until the parade passed us by and I turned to go back to my group. I discovered that KC (standing right next to me the whole time) had managed to get 4 sets of different colored beads! Way to go KC!! She's going to have to show me how she did that next time. :)


We ventured into one of the animal buildings and saw creatures great and small....literally. This is one of the places that I don't often go into to when I visit the Big E. Over the years I've seen my fill of ducks; rabbits; baby chicks; goats and cows but I went along with the crowd anyway. Turns out it was the most exciting part of our day. I saw a life sized sculpture of a cow made entirely in butter (can only hope that that butter doesn't go to waste but it probably will) and some of the cutest animated figures around. They had a stage set up with singing vegetables that were just adorable! And in the dairy barn they had a refrigerator that opens periodically with all the gifts of the cow singing inside too! So cute! The little block of cheese with sunglasses and a microphone was my favorite. And what a clever way to get kids to pay attention to good nutrition.


But the very best part we came across completely by accident. We were leaving the barn, having seen cows being washed (never noticed how dirty regular cows are until I saw them all spruced up!); sheep being shaved down; goats being trimmed and prettied up..when we noticed a crowd down at one end of the barn. We wondered what was going on and decided we'd take a walk down there. As it turned out the crowd was gathered to watch a calf being born! This was a first for me...I was excited. I quickly handed my knapsack off to one of the kids, got my camera ready and started squeezing my way in to get the best view. I started snapping pictures immediately and didn't stop until it was over. It didn't take very long to my surprise...not more than 20 mins to a half hour.


When we arrived the front feet and a nose was showing but shortly most of the face was showing too. The mother cow seemed to be fine, no mooing which surprised me. One of the women who owned the cow said this was her 5th baby so maybe that had something to do with it. The lack of reaction from the calf being born had me worried for awhile. I looked at one of the farmers standing by and asked him if it was alive. He said yes but I don't know how he could tell. There was no movement in the eyes and the tongue was hanging out...really looked dead to me. One guy felt around inside to make sure the shoulder was in the right position for birthing and in a short span of time the two farmers that were in charge looped some light weight twine around each calf foot and pulled him out. One farmer announced it's a boy! The crowd clapped and cheered it's approval. One guy grabbed some hay and started rubbing the calf down while the other guy cleaned out his nose and mouth. Now the baby started to perk up and looked alive for sure. They dragged it over to the mother's head and she sniffed him and then started licking him. It was absolutely amazing to see this wonderful event happen in front of my eyes!
Everyone stayed around for a bit just watching the new baby. The farmers got the mother to stand up almost immediately. I don't know the reason for this but they sure seemed to know what they were doing. One of them also said it would take about a half hour before the baby would try to stand up on his own. Meanwhile he just gets attention from Mom so we decided to move along and let them have some mommy and me time. What a fantastic day it was for me!

There was very little else going on at the Big E that could top that so we started heading for the gate. We'd already been there for hours anyway and every body's feet were beginning to complain a bit. We did stop to buy last minute items like cheeses; candy apples; fried dough, etc. I had my going home goodies already and a camera full of memories so I was more than happy.
And it just goes to show too that you never know when you'll encounter something new and unexpected at the Big E.

Here is a collection of photos taken that day. The calf being born is at the end of the pictures. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the event itself.

Zip Zip Zipping

I'm so proud of myself! I've done something I've had on my 'to do' list for over a year and it was something I was afraid to do. I went on the Zip Line Canopy Tour at Zoar Outdoor in Deerfield, Ma. It was an experience of a lifetime and one I just may go back to do again. I've told you in previous posts that I'm all about doing stuff I've wanted to do for a long time and just haven't gotten to it. Well this one was at the top of my list. It was definitely the right choice too!

This zip tour was my birthday gift to Justin this year too. And we brought KC with us too. You just have to have someone to share this experience with...it's too exciting to do it alone. The tour is all about zipping from tree to tree (11 zip lines in total); 3 repels down from said trees and 2 'Indiana Jones' style rope bridges to cross as well. And they never even mentioned that you start the tour in a jeep; racing up the mountain on deeply rutted, twisting turns; with a maniac at the wheel! It was an open jeep and we were very thankful for the roll bars and seat belts on that ride. He drove like his ass was on fire! Really got the blood pumping that's for sure. We loved it. I did notice however that the other jeeps of people didn't seem to come racing up the mountain as fast as we did. Hmmmm...he really WAS a maniac at the wheel.

But I'm getting ahead of myself a little. The day really started with the suiting up part at the base camp. That was a little more complicated than I had expected. I remember stepping into a harness and pulling it up to geek height on my torso and the guides did the rest. There were cinches; buckles and large hooks all over the thing and of course there were adjustable hard hats and heavy gloves to wear too. We all looked like a bunch of geeky electrical linesmen when they finished with us. It took a little getting used to wearing all that gear and trying to walk in it. By the end of the day it felt like I was taking 30 lbs of gear off but I think it was only about 15lbs actually.
From the base camp they took us straight to a practice area to teach us how to stand on the a wobbly step; hand position; zipping; stop or keep coming when shown the hand signals and even how to 'rescue ourselves' should be stop too far away from the landing. I watched 2 other people do it first then volunteered to be next to try it. We had two guides..Joan, who buckled us up and sent us on our zips and Max who taught us the hand signals and unbuckled us at the landing points. After the practice Joan asked me if I'd ever done it before and I told her no. She said I got it all right the first time so she thought I'd done it before. I said no, I just watched very closely when the other two screwed up and did the opposite of them. :)
After the mini-lesson we were packed into the jeeps and racing up the mountain.

At the first zip site we started to find out that Max was a comedian. He knew we were all scared (they take you in groups of 8 so there were people there we didn't know) and would believe anything he said so he started telling us silly things or scary things and then he'd pause and say 'Naw, just kidding' or 'Nope, that's a lie'. We'd all laugh and then pay attention because it was always followed with information that we needed to know. Clever way to get everyone to pay attention isn't it? We grew to love Max and his sense of humor. He was a tall lanky long lost brother of ZZ Top...the guy had a beard that just dominated his face! He told us he called this year beard 2010. And he may have liked to joke around a lot but he really knew his stuff! We'd all have mini conversations at the landing sites with him and we learned a great deal about him during the day. The one thing he did tell us that I really appreciated hearing was that he had taken a lot more training for this job than is normally required. Joan was no slouch either...she knew her job inside out...she is a physical trainer as well as a guide and Justin told me she lifts weights too. But Max was actually trained for all cases of emergency including unconscious rescue of someone stuck in the middle of the zip. His training included going to get them and bringing them in via the zip line or going out to them and lowering them to safety if they were injured badly. So together they made a great team because he could rescue someone and Joan knew what to do with the injuries. Besides that...they were just fun! And they made the day so much better than if they had just been doing a job. They really gave the impression that they love what they do. I'm very glad we had them as our guides.

The first real zip we did was scary I'll admit. Max always went out first because he was the landing guy. Joan would call us up by name (they had labeled our silly looking helmets; they screwed up KC's spelling so she was dubbed "Special K" for the day!) and she'd hook our trembling bodies up to the zip line. They had head gear so they could speak to each other. Joan didn't send the next person until Max gave her the all clear. Then she'd tell him who was coming next. Only one person zips at a time and Joan mixed it all up all the time so you never knew if you were going first or not. When you reached the landing Max would unhook you from the zip line and hook you to the tree. Then we got to watch the next people come in and take pictures as you wanted.
I learned very quickly that there was really no where I could tuck my camera so it would stay in place. It kept sliding around or shifting to another place and mostly kept dangling down through my gear in my crotch area...so of course I named it my 'crotch camera' for the day. With all the gear that I had on I couldn't get to any of the pockets on my jacket or pants.

The zips became less and less scary as the day went on. The scenery was beautiful...especially from such a height. I'm not sure exactly how high we were. I know we were over 80 feet at one point but I don't think that was our highest point. I made it a point not to look directly down too much. We were zipping down the side of a mountain. Seeing the landscape drop away from you like that is not a favorite thing for me. I'm terrified of heights! I know...this is not something you'd expect a height-fobic to be doing. But actually if you look straight out it doesn't seem like you're that high up somehow. A few times we were in the tops of giant trees and the wind was making it sway. THAT was a creepy feeling for sure. But having all that gear on that was hooked to the tree somehow made it ok.

Part of the course includes going across a couple of rope bridges. Max called them 'Indiana Jones' bridges. The first one wasn't very high so that was ok. The next one was much higher...but we were still hooked to a cable the whole time and that was enough to take the fear out of it for me. Some of the other guests never relaxed on those bridges and would shuffle slowly across them. They bounce and sway when you're on them so it's a little like being on a boat with rough seas.

Then we reached a point where we had to repel down from the tree stand to the ground. They explained how this worked but it was very scary just the same. As it ended up Max was the person in control of your descent the entire time. And he had the choice of letting you drop slow, medium or fast. On one of these repels Justin went first and he requested a medium repel....well he started off medium and then Max dropped him really fast just for the fun of it. Justin and the rest of us laughed. Max did a mini-burst of speed on KC too. She loved it. I was lucky he didn't do that to me. I got the medium repel I asked for...but I was prepared for a fast one. The worst part about a repel is you have to really trust the equipment and your guides. You are not in control of the repel; they are. You have to stand facing the tree, with your feet braced on the outer edge of the platform at shoulder width and slowly lean back into open space! Bending in the middle makes it a little easier (sort of like you are about to sit down in open air) but you have to keep your feet on the platform until your head is below the level of your feet. Most of us were nervous doing it. Joan was completely prepared for our fear. She talked us through it and when possible kept her hand on our back as long as she could. She told us women have a harder time doing it because we don't trust easily ...we're cautious. Men on the other hand will just do it with no thought to getting hurt at all. Funny but true. Justin was the only guy (other than Max) on the tour and he didn't have any trouble doing the repel...even after Max let him drop fast. That's a guy for ya!

One of the zips was a little different also in that you had to get a running start on it and just throw yourself out into open space. It sounds worse than it was really. First you stand on the step to be hooked up then you step onto the ramp and use it like a run way. Max warned us that if we didn't run off the ramp we'd end up scraping our feet or butts on the ground so everyone did as instructed. That was one of my favorite zips. It was a shorter one too and I think we were going extra fast because Max also warned us that we would need to start braking very quickly...less than half way across. I made a rather quick landing on that one. Just one more time I thought I for sure I was going to take Max out on landing.

After our last zip we repelled down to the ground and it was over. A short walk back to base camp and we were instructed to remove all our gear. Easier said than done. I had forgotten entirely how I have put it on in the first place so I needed a little help to get me started. All of a sudden I felt like I had dropped 30 lbs. It didn't feel heavy when we were zipping but you sure felt light and airy when you took it off. We had noticed on our walk back to the base that there was a mini cemetery along the way. I never did get to ask Max what that was all about. I sure hope it wasn't previous zip line guests that didn't make it!

This zip line tour was a wonderful way to spend the day with your friends. We also made friends with the other people right away. Something about shared fear and danger just does that to you. I think Special K (KC) was the youngest person on the tour...I know she was the shortest one. :) Most of the others were middle aged and one was an older woman that looked to be near 80 yrs old but Justin tells me she wasn't that old. Whatever her age was she sure had a lot of spunk. She was staying overnight and going on the white water rafting the next day. Some of the others asked me if we were staying over night too. I think they wanted to get together and discuss the days fun. Unfortunately we had to head back to Ct after the fun was over. But we'll be going back next year to do the white water rafting...and maybe doing the longer version that includes camping overnight too. That will be fun. I can't wait!

Kaylee Lost A Tooth

For some time now Kaylee has had a tooth in the front that is cocked funny and really needs to give up the fight. I've been reminding her to wiggle it often and she says she's been doing that but I suspect she hasn't. She thinks it's going to hurt so she's hanging on to it for dear life!

The other day at dinner I asked her how her tooth is doing again and she said fine, it's really loose now Gramma...see? And she showed me the tooth next to the one I was talking about...and it was very loose!

Less than a minute later that loose tooth had given up it's battle to stay in place and had finally dedicated itself to the Tooth Fairy! She bit down on her hot dog and as soft as that is, it was enough to defeat that loose tooth. She looked surprised and I said see, it doesn't always have to hurt to loose a tooth. And now we get to call her toothless Annie for awhile.

She proudly posed for her toothless picture!

A Real Kayak At Last

I have a REAL kayak...finally! Never again will I use that ridicules inflatable thing! I'm done with it. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with it. It's currently folded up on my garage floor gathering dust (and probably hoping I don't just throw it away). And I would just throw it away but I don't want it to be added to a landfill when it doesn't 'technically' have anything wrong with it. After all it does float...and it does spin...and it does have a mind of it's own once it gets a taste of freedom on the open water! And lets not forget there is a half a paddle that goes with it! Oh yes, it's much too great a treasure to just throw away. I'm going to have to find it a home of some kind.

But let me tell you about my new kayak! First of all it is everything I ever imagined it would be. It's easy to maneuver; reasonably light for carrying; an absolute dream to paddle; not to mention loyal; trustworthy and dependable just like a boyscout! I was able to put it on and off my car with a minimal amount of fuss and didn't need to invest in a ton of extras to do it. I did buy two blocks to cushion the car and I'll probably buy a couple new straps when they go on sale but the extra clothesline rope I had in my trunk served very well for tying the front and back to my car. (if that didn't work I was fully prepared to use the duct tape I also had in my truck...that's how desperate I was to have it)

My first excursion on the water with it was like a new world opening up for me. It was so freeing! I was able to cross to the other side of the lake and explore to my hearts content and able to nod a greeting to other kayakers without feeling like the fat sister in the ugly prom dress. Not once did I go into a spin. Not once did the wind decide which direction I was going to have to go in. Not once did my paddle indicate that it was wishing to explore the bottom of the lake without me. (the other one is still down there somewhere) And not once did I see anyone pointing; laughing or smirking from the shore as I went peacefully by them. With this one purchase (that I had been putting off forever) I have reclaimed my dignity and taken my rightful place among the many other people that enjoy the water on their kayaks. This is by far the best purchase I've made in a very long time. I couldn't be more pleased.