Thursday, February 28, 2013

By a Whisker... or "Finally! A February Post with One Hour to Spare".. or "Ice, Ice, Babies...too cold!"

Kitten's potato-stamp valentines

I'm afraid this post is going to be somewhat like listening to a talk through a photo album, so grab a cup of tea and find a cozy spot.  The last weeks have been a blur of adjusting to work, juggling homeschooling and life in general. So, although I've tried to come up with witticisms, the best I can do is a running commentary on a few of the projects, events, and chores that have filled our winter this far.  




Localmotion!  The Bike path being restored to it's former glory



February has been full of stuffed noses, icy front steps that threaten long convalesces, and the very occasional 30 degree day with sunshine to bask in.  It’s the time of year when winter-haters are fed up to the eyes but there’s the word “spring” floating around and suddenly, on the eve of March, I’m not preparing dinner in the dark.  Chocolate Easter bunnies are sprouting and seed catalogs arriving.  It’s happening fast.

My grown-up world of back-to-work has been an adjustment.  The first week I thought I would die.  I was so tired, so rusty, and so overwhelmed that I felt the return to work was sheer misery.  Now I’m six weeks in and (maybe it’s the longer light-filled days) I feel like I’ve hit my stride again.  My job as a community nurse means a lot of driving and flux all day, one of my bosses describes it as a “dynamic work place” with a wry smile on her face.  I just never know what’s going to happen from day to day, or visit to visit.  I’ve been a nurse almost eight years and I feel pretty well prepared for whatever comes my way, I actually enjoy the variety.  One of the best parts is hanging out with other clinicians; I forgot how much I liked the feeling of shared misery (just kidding), it feels good to be identified as someone other than “mom” and occasionally “napkin”.

Enough said about my work life.  Back to home…

Dodger made some adjustments when the icing wasn't quite right
"Happy Half-Birthday to You!"
We've continued to follow the school year based on public school so the kids are off this week for winter break, which means a break for all but my husband who is mired deep in taxes-yuk.  Up 'til vacation I've been writing assignments on the chalkboard every evening and the kids have been dutifully completing them.  The text books are still a go-to for starting the day but (as predicted) my husband adds his own teaching style like "Decimal" a dominoes game he picked up in Panama, though the kids play it without the coconuts filled with liquor.  I came home the other day from work to find they had baked a cake for their half-birthdays (all summer babes).  Dodger had taken the kids heights, worked out the ratios, and then decorated the cake in a pie chart.  Yes, the kitchen was a mess.  A fun mess.




A break from rink-making





Ahhh, here we are enjoying ice.  Ice, ice, ice...not enough ice for my husband who once crossed the lake on foot.  But ice nonetheless.  As exercise, Dodger and Kitten and I headed down to the lake to make a skating rink.  Four hours later we had cleared a nice rectangle while loving the feeling of being out on the quiet ice, it's how I imagine walking on the moon must feel.  Every now and then a crack of the ice moving and the sun setting over all the white...I can go on.  Finally it was time to skate, but guess what?  The skates didn't fit, the kids outgrew them!  I promised a trip to town to get replacements planned for the next day, but I was saved from this fate since the wind whipped around the lake at 40 miles an hour while we slept and by morning our rink was no more. 
In the summer she'll be swimming here!

More rink-making
Other news...finally the local kids group trip to the mountain to snowboard went ahead, it had been postponed multiple times due to bad weather, not good bad like snow, just bad bad.  I consider the kids enthusiasm for the mountain sports with mixed emotion.  An elitist sport, an expensive sport, how many folks do I meet who have been born and breed in our snowy area and never strapped on skis?  A lot.  And yet it's so fun, and they make the tickets and deals so sweet for kids-hoping to hook them young I guess.  A few more days are planned and so in this respect I hope spring waits a little longer.

Our friend Lion on a foot of ice over 15 feet of water


A rare shot of me on ice, note the auger to check depth for safety
Adding to the general insanity of heading back to work I also realized I'd volunteered to paint the backdrop for the local school play a while back.  The deadline approached and I regretted with every fiber in my body this task.  When I opened the canvas on the first day and it stretched from here to the Great Lakes and kept on unrolling I swore under my breath and saw the hours piling up like pancakes that I would be slaving over it.  Well...it's over now.  So I can feel a sense of pride that we accomplished it.  I add this thought to our blog forever etched in cyberspace, it's something I never want to forget.  And that is, "Dodger has my back".  For every hour I spent slopping on paint Dodger was right there with me, never complaining, always helpful.  What a kid.

I'm going to end here though there's lots more to tell.  It's late.  I've added my February blog post by a hair, and now I can head to bed...lovely bed.


A Popasquash project...fixin' chairs







Tension ;)

Sailor art...priceless




Dodger's bird feeder

Kitten wearing the latest style...a hand made cardy from Grandma!!!  So impressive, and yet so warm and versatile!

Mud and ice formation aka Art in the North County


A Dodger dessert..another masterpiece.

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