Taming the Grinch within

I have always despised Christmas music, as long as I can remember. I assume, though, that when I was a little kid I liked it.  I do like Christmas, just not the music that accompanies the holiday.

My mother played constant Christmas music, from the day after Thanksgiving clear to the New Year. I attribute my disdain for Christmas music to this inundation. Sorry Mom, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but it's true. The sound sends irritation up my spine.

I once worked in a retail store in downtown Gunnison called Blue Addiction. Along with every other retailer in the U.S., Christmas music was mandatory torture for at least three weeks out of the year. The owner, Susan, allowed me to bring in instrumental music to play thinking that was Christmas-y enough. Good ol' Garcia & Grisman for the holidays. Thank the Buddha for that!

Today, being the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I decided it was time to set up the Christmas tree - for the second year in a row! Having a two-year-old makes it hard to Ba-humbug to the fullest. As soon as I set it up she said, "It's Christmas, Santa's coming." That, for some reason, kinda made me want to play Christmas music....I quickly snapped out of it...and found the Garcia & Grisman.

We have a very small house, so a small tree is all we need. My husband acquired the perfect tree for us - during his bachelorism ironically. It's about 6 feet tall, plastic, very dusty, and came equipped with its very own African American Santa. That's my favorite part of Christmas these days - my black Santa.

While I was erecting our tree, Lars piped in with some constructive criticism. He said I had put too many ornaments on the tree. I stood back and thought, What am I going to do with all of them then? He suggested we hang a few blue sparkly ones from our blue lights on the porch. Good idea...and I will get to that later this week...maybe.

I still wonder though, can there be too many blue balls in the world?

Cheese, toilet rags and holidays

Fortunately Monday only continued into part of Wednesday.

Being the day before Thanksgiving, my task list was longer and more daunting than usual. Of course, I didn't get everything I needed for our feast on Monday so I had to return to the store...this visit was more pleasant that the previous one.

While I was warming the truck up to go to the store, Prestyn was up to mischief in the kitchen. We recently installed a child lock on the refrigerator after a raw chicken incident. Luckily, only an estimated 5% of chicken is contaminated with Salmonella.

Apparently I had not slipped the baby belt lock into place on the fridge. Prestyn greeted me at the door with a big smile, "Momma, Tanner's eating the dip!" Immediately I knew she had served up the fresh goat cheese I had just made to our 10-year-old pig-dog. Sure enough, there he was, eating my precious goat cheese right out of the tupperware, without baguette!

Not a big deal, but I wish I could get those two hours of cheese making back!

Naptime, for me, is sacred. My only time to regain adult sanity. And prepare whatever food I plan to eat that night. Lately, 30-minute naps have been popular. Fortunately, Prestyn saw my list of things to do today and decided to sleep for two hours. Hallelujah!

Cleaning the bathroom was one of the last things on my list. I like to get elbow-deep in the bowl, then take a nice, hot, sanitizing shower.

Being a conservationist, I have a hard time using paper products and pitching them (other than TP of course...love to throw that away). I typically clean the bathroom using two rags, one for the counters and tub, and one for the floor and toilet. Then I sanitize the rags for reuse. In the meantime, they reside in the slop sink.

When Prestyn woke up, she ran straight for the back room which has recently been opened for her to explore. Not sure if it's a good decision or not, but it is what it is.

She played with the dogs for a while, then said, "I'm cleaning Mommy!" What a good little helper.

Then I realized I didn't know where she got the rag. I ran to the slop sink to find it empty.

My filing cabinet is now feces clean, yeah that's right, feces clean. I know you wish you had that kind of clean in your house for the holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving, from all of us in Pooh-ville.

P.S. If anyone needs help cleaning their house, I have just the girl for you.

A case of the Muh-ndays all week long

Ever had a Monday that drug into Tuesday? I'm really hoping this week's Monday doesn't continue all the way into Wednesday.

Usually a struggle for me, Mondays seem to go quickly, but are always painful. Sunday night the fridge is a barren wasteland, toys are strewn about the floor and dirty clothes peak like Everest in the hamper. Monday is grocery-getting, balance-the-checkbooks, clean-up-the-house-from-the-tornado-that-blew-through-over-the-weekend day.  Jam-packed with chores, they are often unpleasant. The smallest irritant quickly sends an urge to my over-burdened  brain to rip out some blond locks.

This week the grocery store adventure couldn't end soon enough. By the time we reached the register, a box of waffles was open, the grapes were half-eaten, the milk carton handle was so chewed I thought milk would spurt out at any second like the overfull breast of a new mother.

But, before I could even go to the store, I needed to get some weight in the bed of my two-wheel-drive truck. My concerned husband called to let me know I needed to head to the lumber yard for some sand bags because the roads were slick. Being very frugal by nature, which I inherited from my stingy grandmother (god rest her soul), I thought, "Really, I have to spend $30 to even drive to the store to spend another $150. That just ain't right."

The previous week, we spent a small fortune on gravel to xeriscape our minefield of a backyard. (No people, it's NOT zero-scape, google it.)  Like the ghost of Christmas past, my grandmother appeared, "You've got a thousand sandbags in your yard!"

Unable to find suitable buckets, I grabbed an old dog food tupperware, a cooler that was on its last leg anyway, and a small trashcan and began shoveling away. Realizing I couldn't carry 500 pounds of rocks myself, I utilized the Radio Flyer ATW (yeah, that's right, All Terrain Wagon) to move the rock receptacles to my truck.

After all that, I was still sliding around town. But hey, at least I looked cool with a cooler full of rocks!

Monday continued into Tuesday with 3 pairs of poopy undies, a 30 minute nap, and a deliriously annoying two-year old.

I'm hoping for sanity tomorrow....

Blessing of your heart, you brew good ale. -Shakespeare

My favorite way to welcome winter, other than the naked snow dance, is to get my hands around a nice cold Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale. By far my favorite beer. I would definitely drink it all year long if possible.

There's nothing like a good brown beer on a cold winter day. And this one surpasses all others. If you haven't tried it, you must roll down to your nearest beer barn and pick one up. You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it. (Unless you're my father and you like watered-down, bloat your belly, burp for two hours, pathetic attempt at flavor beer...aka Bud Light.)

"The full body resulting from fermentation in stone Yorkshire squares and the luxurious malt character, which will appeal to a broad range of drinkers, is balanced against whole-dried Fuggle and Golding hops with nuances and complexities that should be contemplated before an open fire."

Gotta get me some Fuggle...

With my Sammy Smith, frosty mug, and wool sweater, I'm ready to see what the forecast holds for Thanksgiving week. And this is what I like to see....

Late Afternoon Snow Hi 38 °F  Tonight Snow Lo 11 °F  Monday Snow Hi 23 °F  Monday Night Snow Likely Lo 1 °F  Tuesday Slight Snow Hi 29 °F  Tuesday  Night Snow Likely Lo 1 °F Wednesday Snow Likely Hi 23 °F  Wednesday Night Blowing Snow Lo -8 °F  Thanksgiving Day Mostly Sunny Hi 16 °F

Better head back to the store and get more Winter Welcome to usher in the 2010-2011 ski season!

Quality of Life vs. Bank Account Figures

After 10 years in the Gunnison Valley, I find myself loving life here more every day. Although eeking out a living is difficult, the benefits of mountain life far outweigh the struggle of financial survival.

Growing up in a city had its advantages...I suppose: a choice of top private schools, various educational activities, clubs and organized sports, and let's not forget movie theatres and shopping malls. But what it didn't have, which I now find more important than anything, the GREAT OUTDOORS.

Rock climbing, snowboarding, backpacking, rafting, skiing and hiking make malls and movies pale in comparison. City things can be found in any city...but mountains, those aren't everywhere. I feel lucky to live in a place where peaks and rivers rule the unique description of existence.

My kids will probably not go to private schools, zoos, or matinees, but they will guide rafts, summit peaks and challenge themselves.

 

For me, that's worth it.

My first blog-asm...

So, I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now. After reading a friend's blog a few times, it inspired me to get off my ass (or, in this case, on my ass) and do it! And, here I am, finally on board.

You'd think, having a degree in creative writing, I would have joined the blog-o-sphere earlier. Various factors played a role in this delay: work, remodels, work, pregnancy, dogs, work, 100s of meals, and, now, a toddler to chase after.

After years on the shelf, my writing skills are a bit dusty so you may have to bear with me while I grease the wheels of creativity. Sometimes grease can be derived from wine, beer, or other vices. Free time for writing may only happen in the late of evening....after one or more vices have been consumed.

It is now November, and winter has encroached on our small town. While there is only a compacted inch of snow, more is sure to come. The firewood is piled high, sweaters have been pulled from tupperware and shorts now fill their storage space, hats and gloves are scattered throughout the house and the most-loved gear of summer is now tightly rolled tubes of PVC stacked in the shed awaiting unroll in the spring.

My skis and snowboard, however, are still covered in dust and cobwebs. Spiders are seeking warmth in the cush of my bindings. Although there is a bit of snow, there is not nearly enough to go sliding around all willy-nilly. Perhaps one or two more weeks will release enough sky dander to actually recreate upon!

Prestyn, now 2, is in for an exciting winter. Walking and running no longer a challenge, it's time to strap on some short little skis and watch her flail in the fluffy white. I think she will LOVE it. For the last two winters she has been towed behind me while skiing in her plush chariot - lucky girl! I do all the work, and she cheers on the downhill.

 

This year I'm hoping to do less towing and more laughing!  We'll see how it goes...I envision lots of runny noses and freezing fingers.