Winter Woods

Woods in Winter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When winter winds are piercing chill,
And through the hawthorn blows the gale,
With solemn feet I tread the hill,
That overbrows the lonely vale.

O'er the bare upland, and away
Through the long reach of desert woods,
The embracing sunbeams chastely play,
And gladden these deep solitudes.

Where, twisted round the barren oak,
The summer vine in beauty clung,
And summer winds the stillness broke,
The crystal icicle is hung.

Where, from their frozen urns, mute springs
Pour out the river's gradual tide,
Shrilly the skater's iron rings,
And voices fill the woodland side.

Alas! how changed from the fair scene,
When birds sang out their mellow lay,
And winds were soft, and woods were green,
And the song ceased not with the day!

But still wild music is abroad,
Pale, desert woods! within your crowd;
And gathering winds, in hoarse accord,
Amid the vocal reeds pipe loud.

Chill airs and wintry winds! my ear
Has grown familiar with your song;
I hear it in the opening year,
I listen, and it cheers me long.

New dishes!

I have wanted to have my 'own' dishes (that *I* picked out) for a few years now.  I have been on the lookout, but...had a hard time finding any that I really liked that were affordable enough that if when one was broken, I would not struggle with the desire to strangle someone I ordinarily would wrestle a bear for. 

I am that way about most things, I can't spend the money, even if I really want it, because it's never been worth the worry between the kids, the pets, the visiting kids, my own clumsy nature...I would rather just have things that function and are not going to cause me stress.

I have had my eye on a similar place setting for a few months, waiting for the right time to snag a few sets.

Last night, we were at World Market and these were on sale at half off.  We picked up 6 settings, thinking we can add red or white solid-colored plates over time to round out the sets.  Or...would that be square out the sets?

 

SO pretty!  and look, a hidden Mickey!  LOL

The set has a large plate, a small sauce bowl, chopsticks, a holder and a good sized rice bowl.

I love the bright red, it's very pleasant. 

Tree

 We finally put the tree up yesterday.  I was all for skipping the whole Christmas event, but I don't live alone.  I live with three kids who so rarely ask for anything, that I find it difficult to say  no when they do, in particular if it's easily within my ability to give them what they want. In this case, the only effort was going into the attic.

I do like the tree, I like the lights and the shape of it.  I also have a few favored ornaments that I was glad to see.

 This is the first of the ornaments Matt and I ever bought.  It's a red pear, the lighting is off.  There is a green pear that matches it.

 Here is the original Matt ornament.  It was from a kid's meal...I forget from where.  I just remember seeing it on a banner and knowing THAT was THE one.  It's his favorite and after falling in love with Expedition Everest at Disney, we all cheer when the Yeti comes out each year.

 These are a set of 10 plastic bead angels the kids and I made together the last year they deemed crafts an acceptable holiday event. 

 Our Hannah and Hallie dolls, who have graced our tree for six years now.

 This angel has been on every tree I can remember.  I took it off the tree at my mother's house after I moved out on my own.  It was the only ornament from my childhood that I wanted to keep.  I remember after I asked her for that one, she boxed up a huge assortment for me to take, over the years, they have broken or have been passed on or are in a different box somewhere up there in the attic.  My little angel is the only one I really wanted.

 Hiking bear!  I love him.

 My little birdhouse to complement Ben's assortment of birds!

 I love these blank-faced angels and I have a collection of them.

This was from when I woke up one day and decided I loved pigs.  I bought...several pig figurines that year.  The kids looked for an ornament of a pig, this was as close as they could get.

So, maybe it's a Solstice tree or a standing Yule log or a fancy Festivus pole or a Christmas tree, I can't force everyone to change their minds just because I am having a hard time making sense of the season.

Cemeteries

I love cemeteries.  Old ones are my favorites, the stories and lives contained in the few words chiseled into stone.  Some are funny, some will break your heart.  Seeing a line of four or five tiny stones with the same last name, or seeing a stone so covered in decorations that you know the person is still being mourned even now.  

Yesterday, we saw a fresh grave, for a lady named Lucille.  She was 80 and her foot stone was covered in music notes and said 'Miss Lucy'.  Two ladies arrived and started fussing over her gravesite, fiddling with the fresh Alabama red clay and trying to put out some Christmas ornamentation.  One had given up staying clean and was on her knees in the clay poking flowers in a vase.  She stood up and they both whacked at her stained knees and looked at the grave.  The other kicked at the clay, trying to cover the obvious knee-dents.  

They laughed and one said to the other, "Are you gonna come do all this for me?"  Her friend replied, "Only if you go first."

There is something about the matronly older woman, especially the church-going ones.  They are women in their 60's who were my age when I was born.  But, they are exactly like the women in the churches I attended as a child.  Large, wide women with fussy hair and lipstick that's the wrong shade.  They wear flower-printed dresses with big patterns.  Their breasts like the prow of a ship, capable of opening any door.  Their shoes are black and flat, their purses match.  They keep nic-nacs on a shelf, cookies in a jar and always have cake on hand.  Their bathrooms smell of potpourri, they have plastic runners down the hall.  The guest room has a white duvet. 

They clean and cook as acts of love, they go out in the world and do things-they bring food to the sick, they take their older relatives and friends to the doctor, they know the names and ages and every detail of at least 14 grandchildren-but only have 4 of their own.  They have friends who have been their friends since they were all just married, who bolstered one another through lay-offs, child rearing, empty nest syndrome and mid-life crises. Women who call each other with questions about a little one's runny nose, news of a sale at the local store, about their mothers, their gardens, how to get Jell-o out of carpet, a bag of clothes passed to them that have now been outgrown and are ready to pass along again.  Lives that flash in a whirl of holiday meals, first days of school, birthday parties, children who had scabbed knees suddenly dating, engaged, married, which scab-knees kids of their own. 

These women steer through life, folded rain bonnet in their purse, a Bible on the night stand and a pair of comfortable shoes to wear around the house.

I love cemeteries, they have so many stories, so many memories.

Year's End

This year seems like it flew by!  

Last winter was painfully, nasty cold.  So the year started off without much fanfare, we had a couple hikes, some small adventures, my favorite being driving on the Natchez Trace with Cathy in January and February.

The big thing of 2010 was Jake getting braces.  Check out the pics:
http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/another-friday.html

The post also has the first news of Wizard of Oz, which dominated our winter and early Spring.

I spent the worst of the cold days huddled in front of the Wii playing Animal Crossing or, huddled in the bed reading.  Chan turned 12 in early February.

By the end of February, we had headed out on our first camping trip, a quick overnighter to Florida, where the temps of mid-60's were like a siren call to my frozen bones. http://eopapaver.com/quicktrips/FebFL.html

In March, Matt and I hiked to Caspey Falls, which are quite lovely.  This year started a new phase with us.  The kids are old enough to leave home for several hours at a stretch, so we started hiking at least once a month on new trails or just to geocache and take pictures.
Here are the shots of the falls:
http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-stroll.html

Also, the end of March was when I decided to start working on that 20+ pounds of weight to get to my first goal.  Over the year, I dropped all of it, ending the year with a 23 pound loss!

April brought warmer weather, camping trips, the play in full swing and did I mention warmer weather?
Tim's Ford: http://eopapaver.com/april10/timsford.html
Holt Lake: http://eopapaver.com/april10/holtlake.html

Our annual trip to Cherokee Rock Village: http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/crv.html
The Wizard of Oz: http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/week-run-down.html

In May, our annual HS camping trip, always a highlight of the year!
http://eopapaver.com/may10/lbl.html

June was filled with swimming, canoeing, shorts and water. 
http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/06/can-you-canoe.html
And ended with more camping!
http://eopapaver.com/june10/pretrip.html

The oil spill was making major news, Ben sent all of his money to help the turtles.

July, Jake decided to work toward his GED, we had field trips with our friends, we hid from the heat.
This past summer was one of the hottest on record, days of triple digit temps, heat indexes reaching nearly 120.
We did lots of school during the heat, went to the drive in as much as possible, laid low, decided to go to Disney World next fall...

In August, my grandmother and my great aunt died less than a week apart.  The pets all went to the vet.  The true end of summer vacation was signaled by the HS swim and we had a big sleep-over for the meteor shower the same weekend.

The most significant event of the year happened in August, we were finally able to get high speed internet access out here.  After 6.5 years of dial-up and sharing the single connection and taking forever to download and upload and not bothering with videos or flash because it just took too long, we are all online at the same time!  It's made a big difference in our lives.

In September, HS skating started back.  It ended up being the only skate day I attended the rest of the year, though the kids only missed the December skate.

We spent a long day with Suzette and family: http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/09/saturday-in-tn.html
Nettlevan hit 100,000 miles.
We went to Georgia for a long weekend: http://eopapaver.com/sept10/GAone.htm
I went to the dentist to get my tooth looked at.

In October, Matt and I went off for a weekend together: http://eopapaver.com/Oct10/TPTNtrip.html
We got busy with school again, had a swim to celebrate the first day of Fall, took one of my favorite hikes:
http://roamschool.blogspot.com/2010/10/wade-mountain.html

and added a new family member: http://roamschool.com/esther/zephyr.html
My great uncle died.

We had Halloween parties, went trick-or-treating.
I experienced the worst pain of my life with an infected tooth root, via x-rays discovered my jaw bone was being eaten away with infection, started a round of antibiotics and pain killers that would take me through the end of the year when my tooth is scheduled to be removed on the 30th of December.

In November, we had a successful run of NanoWriMo, all of us reaching our personal word goals.
Jake turned 15
We went to Sloss, we fell even more in love with Zephyr, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my father, I found I had an interest in family history and started piecing together our family tree, starting with my father's mother and managing to get back to 1503 and discovering several surprises.
I discovered natural sleep aids, we had our second annual HS Thanksgiving.

In December, Ben turned 11, we hosted a Jane Austen Tea for her birthday, starting what I imagine will be another annual tradition as well as adding a book swap to our line-up of things to do.  Chan tried out and was cast in another play, so there starts 2011 with rehearsals and performances.  It's a 2-monther from start to finish, so I am not complaining!  That will occupy our colder days and be over in plenty of time to be out of doors.

I wonder what 2011 will hold?  I know my plans-the play of course, Chandler's 13th birthday, our annual and yet-unplanned HS camping trip.  Matt and I will celebrate our 14th anniversary, Jake's braces will be paid off and possibly come off later in the year.  Disney in September, followed by nearly another month on the road, one of those weeks with Jacki and her girls. 

I hope to replace and upgrade some items in the house, add more insulation in the attic. Drive and camp the Natchez Trace all the way to the end.  Get the kids to Louisiana.

It's not quite time to start losing animals, but Oly the 'pig will be turning 4 and Kat will be 9.  It's not going to be too many more years before that starts to factor in.  Zeppie is about a year old, next are the kittens, who are 3, Kuma is 4, Jessie 5, Cleo is 7, Kat is almost 9, the pigs are about 3 years old, Olympia is about 6 months older than Blitz who is about 4 months older than Mochii and Tanuki.

Ah, that's sad, I'd rather think back over the fun we had this year and look ahead to the fun we will have next year with our wonderful friends, the joy and blessing of homeschooling another year.

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen

Today we held a tea in honor of Jane Austen's birthday!  Sort of.  It was more of a snack-fest with lots of chatter and we had an egg drop, made art trading cards and ate.

 

It didn't break!

 I had an idea to wrap the girls in Christmas lights and take pictures.  Not quite what I had in mind, they griped about the bulbs being hot and also being poky. 

The boys were not about to get left out!

Snow

I am FREEZING.  I hate the cold and now, frozen things are raining down on us.  Matt said there's nothing in the valley, but it's been snowing up here for 6+ hours now.  I woke up at 3 and it was coming down.  By daybreak, it was already super bright and the ground was covered.  It has not stopped, it's nearly 10 a.m. 

Chan is at Keilee's, I wish she were here to play in it with Ben.  Jake and I are so crabby, we don't go out in the snow.  I imagine I will make an exception today.