Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
friday photos
Last weekend we went on a sledding expedition with our friends John and Kristin, just after dark and just before Genghis's bedtime. It went surprisingly well. Probably because Genghis's hat kept slipping over his eyes so he couldn't see much.
Thinking of cold things, you know how sometimes people make books with family photos in them for their kids to look through and remember Auntie so-and-so and Grandma who lives across the country? I was considering making one for Genghis with photos of summer - soft grass, trees with leafy green leaves, oh - and the sun. I think he's forgetting and it's making him depressed.
Maybe I'm projecting.
Thinking of cold things, you know how sometimes people make books with family photos in them for their kids to look through and remember Auntie so-and-so and Grandma who lives across the country? I was considering making one for Genghis with photos of summer - soft grass, trees with leafy green leaves, oh - and the sun. I think he's forgetting and it's making him depressed.
Maybe I'm projecting.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
things that make me warm
1. Hot showers. I get in at medium-warm temperature and slowly turn the heat up throughout my shower. It's only warm enough if my skin is red afterward. Some day they'll find out that hot showers cause cancer, but that's just the price of February.
2. Two quilts and a down comforter on my bed. The only improvement would be flannel sheets, but I don't like the way my pajamas cling to them. Same reason I can't wear socks to bed. I have to use a Bed Bunny instead (sock filled with rice and heated in the microwave for 2 minutes).
3. Bikram Yoga. The Bikram Yoga studio here is having a special - 10 classes for $20. Bikram Yoga is a 90-minute workout in a 105 degree room.I went to my third class yesterday. The yoga feels great, but I may start going to just sit in the studio and remember what sweat is.
4. Wearing a hat all day. Feels so toasty and stylish. Bonus: don't have to do my hair and it looks super funky by the end of the day.
5. Curling up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around my feet. I can't help it - I have sensitive feet. Socks really bother me (make me shudder like the nails-on-the-chalkboard feeling) unless I'm also wearing shoes. And you can't cozy up on a couch with shoes on.
With the exception of #4, these are not conducive to getting anything done. Maybe that's why I've managed to read 9 books so far this year (working on 10 and 11 right now).
2. Two quilts and a down comforter on my bed. The only improvement would be flannel sheets, but I don't like the way my pajamas cling to them. Same reason I can't wear socks to bed. I have to use a Bed Bunny instead (sock filled with rice and heated in the microwave for 2 minutes).
3. Bikram Yoga. The Bikram Yoga studio here is having a special - 10 classes for $20. Bikram Yoga is a 90-minute workout in a 105 degree room.I went to my third class yesterday. The yoga feels great, but I may start going to just sit in the studio and remember what sweat is.
4. Wearing a hat all day. Feels so toasty and stylish. Bonus: don't have to do my hair and it looks super funky by the end of the day.
5. Curling up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around my feet. I can't help it - I have sensitive feet. Socks really bother me (make me shudder like the nails-on-the-chalkboard feeling) unless I'm also wearing shoes. And you can't cozy up on a couch with shoes on.
With the exception of #4, these are not conducive to getting anything done. Maybe that's why I've managed to read 9 books so far this year (working on 10 and 11 right now).
Sunday, March 7, 2010
this is what they mean by weekend getaway
A few weekends ago, Abe & I had what I think was our first true weekend getaway. We headed 2.5 hours north to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. We had no TV, internet, or cell phone reception - but it did come with a full kitchen, gas fireplace, and puzzles.
Our plan was to cook lots of food, read, and stay in our pajamas as long as possible.
We had Chinese Shrimp and Walnuts one night and Chicken Tikka Masala the next. One morning was an omelet breakfast, the next was classic pancakes and sausage - always accompanied by a mug of hot cocoa.
We put together 2 puzzles while enjoying the view from the dining room window overlooking the lake. We also went on a few hikes.
I think I look 12 years old in this picture.
The cabin was called a "Sportsman's Lodge" and was quite nice. The owl was a good touch.
Our plan was to cook lots of food, read, and stay in our pajamas as long as possible.
We had Chinese Shrimp and Walnuts one night and Chicken Tikka Masala the next. One morning was an omelet breakfast, the next was classic pancakes and sausage - always accompanied by a mug of hot cocoa.
We put together 2 puzzles while enjoying the view from the dining room window overlooking the lake. We also went on a few hikes.
I think I look 12 years old in this picture.
The cabin was called a "Sportsman's Lodge" and was quite nice. The owl was a good touch.
Monday, January 25, 2010
snowperson*
Snowperson update: We had a stint of warm weather. Now the snowperson is a small ball (base) sitting next to an even smaller ball (head), on the dead-green grass. Watching the snowperson's progression through January has been a poetic journey for me.
Which has me thinking about the last 3 snow creatures I have made.
#1: Energizer Bunny.
Last winter, Abe & I picked an evening after work to play in the snow. I remember this because it was about the only time we played in the snow all winter. Why is it so much more appealing when you are 10?
We borrowed sleds from our neighbors and tromped over to a nearby park. The snow was sticky, deep, and relatively untouched: perfect modeling conditions. We rolled a large ball for the base of the snowperson (let's be honest, though, the "ball" always looks like a re-wound roll of toilet paper), and a smaller ball for the head. At this point we decided the snowperson had distinctly bunny-esque features. Add dramatic floppy ears, fluffy white tail, and Thumper hind legs. Pleased, we ran up the nearby hill to take a few runs on the sleds. When we got to the top, we realized that the bulging, cylidrical base of the bunny looked much more like a base drum than a cute fuzzy belly. The Energizer was also appropriately framed by the vast expanse of the open field and a setting sun in the distance.
#2: Big.
A few years ago, we had a big winter storm on New Year's Eve. Warmed by the spirits of sparkling white grape juice after midnight, Abe & I frolicked in the piles of snow around our house. In drunken delight, we decided to roll the biggest snowball ever. Knowing we would need all the snow in the open area behind our apartment building, we rolled the ball back and forth in even rows, like a lawnmower. Once the ball got to about waist height, we gave up on the rows and rolled it in whatever direction its momentum seemed to take it. We wound around to our neighbor's and left the snowball, shoulder height, just to the right of their front door. It was the most prank-like thing I'd done for several years and awoke on New Year's morning with the guilty regret of a bad hangover.
#3: Gryffin-saur
While in Utah for Christmas several years ago, we spent one evening with my sister and her family. Cue snowstorm. After making an assortment of our family's traditional Christmas cookies, Abe & I went outside with the kids to make a snowperson. Abe has a talent for rallying children to "break" the rules of whatever game they may be playing. Want to play 20 questions? Okay, but you only get points for style (instead of "Is it bigger than a breadbox?", ask, "Would Genghis Kahn appreciate it as a gift?"). Hide-and-go-seek? Fine, but expect to find Abe clinging to the eaves of a building.
So instead of a snowperson, we decided to build a Griffin. It helped that my nephew was into Harry Potter. We had a stately lion base going, along with tail. But as Abe & my nephew worked on the ferocious fowl head, my niece (who also has a penchant for doing things her own way) started placing small triangles along the creature's tail and spine, stegosaurus style. In the end, it was more of an impression of Griffin ferocity, with the scales and inevitable drop in enthusiasm as the snow numbs fingers and the smell of cookies draws everyone back inside. But it was majestic in the moonlight and falling snow.
*In an effort to rid this post of gender bias, I have chosen to use the term snowperson in place of snowman. In future posts, I may employ the use of "co" as a gender-neutral pronoun: see this website which explains co's use in the alternative living community of Twin Oaks, Virginia -- hammocks and soy products for all!
Which has me thinking about the last 3 snow creatures I have made.
#1: Energizer Bunny.
Last winter, Abe & I picked an evening after work to play in the snow. I remember this because it was about the only time we played in the snow all winter. Why is it so much more appealing when you are 10?
We borrowed sleds from our neighbors and tromped over to a nearby park. The snow was sticky, deep, and relatively untouched: perfect modeling conditions. We rolled a large ball for the base of the snowperson (let's be honest, though, the "ball" always looks like a re-wound roll of toilet paper), and a smaller ball for the head. At this point we decided the snowperson had distinctly bunny-esque features. Add dramatic floppy ears, fluffy white tail, and Thumper hind legs. Pleased, we ran up the nearby hill to take a few runs on the sleds. When we got to the top, we realized that the bulging, cylidrical base of the bunny looked much more like a base drum than a cute fuzzy belly. The Energizer was also appropriately framed by the vast expanse of the open field and a setting sun in the distance.
#2: Big.
A few years ago, we had a big winter storm on New Year's Eve. Warmed by the spirits of sparkling white grape juice after midnight, Abe & I frolicked in the piles of snow around our house. In drunken delight, we decided to roll the biggest snowball ever. Knowing we would need all the snow in the open area behind our apartment building, we rolled the ball back and forth in even rows, like a lawnmower. Once the ball got to about waist height, we gave up on the rows and rolled it in whatever direction its momentum seemed to take it. We wound around to our neighbor's and left the snowball, shoulder height, just to the right of their front door. It was the most prank-like thing I'd done for several years and awoke on New Year's morning with the guilty regret of a bad hangover.
#3: Gryffin-saur
While in Utah for Christmas several years ago, we spent one evening with my sister and her family. Cue snowstorm. After making an assortment of our family's traditional Christmas cookies, Abe & I went outside with the kids to make a snowperson. Abe has a talent for rallying children to "break" the rules of whatever game they may be playing. Want to play 20 questions? Okay, but you only get points for style (instead of "Is it bigger than a breadbox?", ask, "Would Genghis Kahn appreciate it as a gift?"). Hide-and-go-seek? Fine, but expect to find Abe clinging to the eaves of a building.
So instead of a snowperson, we decided to build a Griffin. It helped that my nephew was into Harry Potter. We had a stately lion base going, along with tail. But as Abe & my nephew worked on the ferocious fowl head, my niece (who also has a penchant for doing things her own way) started placing small triangles along the creature's tail and spine, stegosaurus style. In the end, it was more of an impression of Griffin ferocity, with the scales and inevitable drop in enthusiasm as the snow numbs fingers and the smell of cookies draws everyone back inside. But it was majestic in the moonlight and falling snow.
*In an effort to rid this post of gender bias, I have chosen to use the term snowperson in place of snowman. In future posts, I may employ the use of "co" as a gender-neutral pronoun: see this website which explains co's use in the alternative living community of Twin Oaks, Virginia -- hammocks and soy products for all!
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