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| Winter Glaze |
It's winter in the mountains. The first two winters I lived here, we had non-stop snow. If you were reading my blog then you might remember how pitiful I was when I got snowed in every other week! Last winter was very mild, and this one is shaping up to be pretty benign. Nevertheless, we have had a little snow and some ice. The picture above was taken after we had freezing rain and snow. It was very pretty, sparklingly translucent with the sun shining through. Unfortunately, my photography doesn't capture its essence. Enjoy, anyway.
When I last posted, I had returned from a Texas visit, celebrated Thanksgiving, and decorated my house for Christmas. I do have a few updates for you: Shanna's chicken eventually disappeared without a trace. She got so tired of experiencing their little deaths that she put the whole outfit up for sale (Shanna calls it "rehoming")... chickens, hen house, feeders and waterers, and I guess the fencing, too. The last I heard there have been no takers. Not that I blame anybody. Chickens are SO nasty! However, if you are in the market...I can probably get you a deal!
I finally got a tree topper. A new Michael's opened in Waynesville and I found a nice nativity star there. I never got it on the tree, though. I actually had to depend on Jim to do that, but in his most Grinch-like manner, he just "didn't have time." I finally gave up as I have discovered in the last 44 years that if I don't capture him and get him to do everything all at once, it isn't going to get done! Next year...
I have a friend who called me on Christmas morning. At least, my iPhone said she did. It was pretty early, a little out of character fro her, but I just figured that she had a busy day and needed to get an early start. Anyway, I texted her back to say I was sorryI missed her call. Several hours later she returned the text (must have been investigating) saying that she thought it must have been one of her dogs who called me as her phone had been laying on the floor. This is a first...I've never been butt-dialed by a dog before!
I don't think there is a future on the silver screen for me and Jim working as co-stars. In an effort to show my family how technologically savy I have become, I had the bright idea of videoing a little spot with my iPhone and messaging it (see, I really have the vocab down pat) to our loved ones. So I enlisted the assistance of a friend and Jim and I stood in front of our festively decorated fireplace and Chris held the phone while we spoke Christmas greetings together. Well, I don't want to say that we were inept, but it took us about seven tries before we got one that was decent. And all we were saying was "Merry Christmas". Luckily we didn't have to speak the Gettysburg address or recite the Declaration of Independence. We were out of sync, we laughed while trying to speak our message, Chris chopped off part of our rather short speech, and we were being attentive to other things in the room. We finally got one, though. I had visions of doing the same thing for New Year's but sending it to more people. That vision died aborning. It was just too much trouble. So, sorry you didn't get the message, but
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
We decided to go to Asheville (the closest real town in this part of the world) sometime right after Christmas to see a movie. Now, mind you, there were many good ones to choose from ("Skyfall", "The Hobbit", and some others). Instead, we chose "Lincoln". Fooled by the critical acclaims, we sat through 2 1/2 hours of absolute boredom. I understand that the movie is based on Doris Kearns Godwin's book, but I've read that book and the movie bears a resemblance to it only by virtue of the fact that she discusses the passage of the 13th amendment within its pages. Daniel Day Lewis did a fine job as Lincoln, Sally Field was very good in the role of the Hellcat, and Tommy Lee Jones is a favorite of mine; but the lack of passion (other than was noted in some of the abbreviated speeches given by members of the House) was astounding. There was little action, and no real plot. None of the characters was really developed, and some license was taken with historical fact. If you haven't seen it, you might consider not.
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| Sweet Chet |
Our little Chester had a "birthday" a few days ago. He came to us on a frigidly cold night with a heavy sleet falling, very thin and obviously hungry. We had just begun the rennovation of our house. The decks were down, we couldn't get under the house, and there was no place to get him out of the weather except inside. So, inside he came. We fed him catfood, gave him water, and he immediately went to sleep on the rug in front of the door. He did not move all night. We live on top of a mountain. There are two ways to get here...up a mile-long driveway or up a very steep hill. Somehow or another this poor dog managed. He was on his last leg, and I do not doubt that chances were slim that he would survive the night. The next morning we were, understandably, cautious with a strange dog in the house. We shouldn't have worried...this dog was, and remains, a cupcake. We put him out, though (the day had dawned bright, clear, and very cold) with the idea that he might go home (collarless though he was). He didn't. Apparently, he had been house hunting, and he hunted this one down. We noticed he had a limp and we looked to see if he had a hurt leg. What we found was that he had broken his left rear leg, and his "owners" had not seen fit to have it set, so it had healed crookedly, making that leg shorter than the others. Hence, the name "Chester". If you're old enough you will recognize the name of Matt Dillon's sidekick in "Gunsmoke". He stayed, following me around like I was his mother, but avoiding Jim. We figure that he had been mistreated by a man, and perhaps it had been a man that put him out. He is a hound mix and was probably bred for hunting. Of course, a crippled dog is not a good hunter, so that explained his homelessness. He cowered and slinked away when we were picking up sticks, hid from loud noises, and preferred me to Jim. When it came time to go back to Charlotte, Chester went with us, and became part of the traveling road show as we came back and forth. He has been with us for 9 years. We think he is about 10 or a little older. We asked the vet in Charlotte what we could do for his leg. She said we could amputate it. We declined. When he was young he could run about 25 miles an hour even with that bum leg. He's considerably slower now (like his owners). He and Jim are attached at the hip, and he is no longer afraid of anything except bears and thunder. He is the world's best dog (no arguing) and has enriched us beyond imagining.
I've updated my book list. I have, however, read this book that I shall not name because it is, quite possibly, the worst book I have ever read. It billed itself as a woman's novel. What it really was was a romance a la Danielle Steele. Romance is a genre that I never read because the books are so tacky, and I don't want you to think that I am tacky too! Nevertheless, it became apparent early on that this was a "romance" with a capital R. So what did I do? Did I recognize its sordidness and decide not to waste my time with this tripe? No. What I did was read every word of this thing, immersing myself in the silliness of the female protagonist. Lord! Go figure. No argument that it was a waste of time. I just can't figure out why I kept on reading.
I took down all my Christmas decorations yesterday. It took me 3 or 4 days to put them up, but I went on a mission yesterday to get them packed away. It took 8 hours and when I was finished I was stiff and sore, and thought that if I had to go up the steps one more time, I might just not make it! Am I too old for this? Possibly. But I do love it when the house is all dressed up in festive garb, so I guess I'll keep it up as long as the Grinch will help me a little bit.
My new Sleep Number bed comes on Saturday! The bedding came today (specially made for a split king bed). It was wildly expensive. Luckily, I got it for 50% off. That made me feel better as I am inherently cheap and spending lots of money makes me feel decadent, an affectation that makes me uncomfortable. Still, I'm looking forward to sleeping. I'll put a picture in my next blog.
Hope all is well with all of you. If you are still working and had to suffer reentry after the holidays, I'm sorry! If you're retired, rejoice in the fact that you can actually rest up after the holidays!
Love to all!
I'll end with another Porch Portrait, one of my million sunrises. Jim took this picture yesterday, I think. These are some of the most vibrant colors I have ever seen.
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| Mountain Sunrise |
