Celebrations

It has been a stretch of good days, low key and low stress, filled with lots of warmth and occasional laughter.

We went to see Into the Woods with some friends and I did not like it as much as the play!  Though Chris Pine as the Prince was wonderful-best scene in the whole thing.  It was still very enjoyable, we had a great time and the kids have not seen the play 50 times like I have, so they could care less it was NOTEXACTLYTHESAME.

Ben has 2 banjos.  At Jake's birthday, Chan made signs for all the food, warning of gluten or dairy and there was cornbread and in another pan, also cornbread.  That sign got put on the banjo afterward and it was dubbed 'Also Cornbread'.  So now we say things like, "Are you bringing Also Cornbread to Katy's?"

We have spent the last couple of weekends cutting wood, though this past weekend was a really lame effort all around, no one (other than Matt) was in the mood to do anything and there was lots of just standing there and it ended up taking all day for what should have been a few hours of work.

Luckily, the previous weekend everyone was either in high spirits or was tired of listening to me doom and gloom about the upcoming COLD and opted to shut me up with a stack of wood to the ceiling.  We burned nearly ALL of it.  It was COLD. Single degree temps for 3 days! It did not snow at all, so I imagine there's still that looming this winter...though I am pretty okay with that, it's a nice change and short lived.

none of these trees were harmed in the making of firewood

 We had lunch at Amanda's one afternoon and it was nice to just hang out for a while.  We kicked around camping ideas, but this time of year when it's cold, we tend to dream bigger than budgets will cover.  Ski trips and scuba diving, weeks on a houseboat and driving cross country.  One of those, sure, but not all.

On Matt's Friday off, we went to Shakalaka so he could jump.  Ben LOVES Shakalaka and rock climbing, they both use so much muscle and he's so strong and fast now, I know it must be pure joy to feel that capable and healthy.

Chan, upside down again!

The lighting in this place is HORRIFIC.  The fastest I can set my shutter is half a second, which SOUNDS fast, but not faster than a flipping girl!

Look how HIGH he can get!

Matt flipped on the trapeze and landed on the back of his neck, which hurt him pretty badly.  He spent the rest of Friday and overnight on the heating pad.  Then Saturday morning he got up and ran the chainsaw for 3 hours, then split wood with the maul for another hour.

I feel so inadequate!

On Sunday, Matt's band practice got cancelled so he came to Owen's birthday party with us!

We intended to leave around 5...we got home just after 1 a.m. and Matt's alarm goes off at 4:30.  And he did not even call in.

I was on the couch talking and hanging out and Inde came in and climbed me and put her cheek on mine and whispered, "I am sorry about Kaiju."  I nearly lost it and there was no 'nearly' for Matt.  It was SO sweet.  That meant so much.

It was SO COLD, we cut wood all day Saturday in 35 degree weather and ended up peeling off shirts and jackets to leave at the house, Sunday was nearly 50, but windy and damp and it cut through you.  I watched them play, quite happy to be in a toasty house!

After the party, Kurt got out the Red Stag and something else, Crown Royal Black Label?  Mainly, Red Stag.  We had a glass and decided to play Cards Against Humanity for a little while so no one was driving home after having a drink.  It was only 7, after all.  5 hours later, we were all aching from laughing and no one wanted to leave, but everyone had to work.  Next time-Friday night games with a sleepover planned!  

The last bit of good news is that the central unit will be replaced within the week!  HEAT!  But mainly AIR CONDITIONING!  The winter is not so bad, but last summer, most of our stuff was mildewed and that's gross.  Things that did not mold over were damp and the coats and blankets stored in the closets smelled awful this winter.  

I filled out an application online with the credit union this morning, they approved the amount and gave me a much better rate than I had hoped for since it was unsecured.  The payments are the same as what we have paid the past 6 years on braces every single month, so there's not even really an adjustment to the budget.  I just paid Ben's off in October.  It was surprisingly painless and 15% lower interest than a cash advance on the credit card!

Next up-redoing the shingles on that one side of the porch roof until we can manage a new metal roof.

Chinnabee Silent Trail

The trail is named for the Boy Scout Troup 29 from the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, who, in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service, built the trail.

On the first, Matt and I headed out to Cheaha to meet Melanie and her family for a hike to Cheaha Falls from the Turnipseed Camp parking lot on 281.

The trail is 12 miles RT end to end and back from Lake Chinnabee parking lot to the junction of the trail and 281.  Starting at 281 cuts the last 2 miles off the hike and makes it an 8 mile hike from 281 to Lake Chinnabee and back.  We turned back at Devil's Den Falls because it was close to dark making it a 7 mile hike. You can easily add on the 2 miles by continuing to Lake Chinnabee and walking around the lake on the Lake Trail Loop if time allows.

Lake Chinnabee is closed from November 15 to March 15, though you can park at the gate and walk in the 2 miles from there.

Camping is allowed along the trail all year, though in deer hunting season you need a free permit.

(October 15-Jan 31)

We hit the trail by 11 and walked the half-mile or so to the falls.

It's a lovely and very easy hike and the falls are located in a wide-open woods (trees, no underbrush!) and at the top of the falls is a camping site and if you follow the creek back, there's another site around the bend.

The creek is rock bottomed and perfect for wading!

TRACK LOG

The trail is supposed to be blue blazed, we only saw one very light blue blaze and one white blaze that may have been blue.  This is no issue anywhere other than leaving the shelter because there are 3 trails that meet there.  The correct one is (facing the shelter) the narrow track that winds off to the left.

The trail to the falls is easy walking!  The entire trail is labeled moderate to difficult, but the difficult stretch (due to climb in elevation) is the part we cut off.

That looks like a swimming hole to me!!

This is Ranger, Melanie's dog.  He is super sweet!  We had some love love time at the falls and I got to rub on his silky puppy fur.  So therapeutic.

We wandered down below the falls, then climbed the HUGE hill to get back to the trail at the shelter.  I thought I was going to be sick at the top, I am in HORRIBLE shape.  There is an actual trail that we failed to take from the top of the falls.  Coming back was easy.

After lunch at the shelter, we packed up and decided to keep going to Devil's Den Falls at the lower end of the trail.

The trail between the shelter and Devil's Den winds back along several valleys, it is similar to walking a 3 mile long W with too many u's.  A quadruple u.  hehehe.

There are several creek crossings but the step over kind.

More swimming holes!

The area has been through a burn recently, the new baby trees are popping up all over.  

The next few, I stuck my camera underwater along the creek and at the falls:

Back to Devil's Den Falls!

Melanie got a new backpacking stove and treated us to some boiling creek water for cocoa!

A lot of tornado (from early last year) and flood damage along the creek.

I have seen this creek labeled both Coldwater Creek and Cheaha Creek

Matt walked off and left me!  He's across the valley, but I still had to walk all the way around and cross the creek.  You can see Melanie's son Ben crawling up the ravine, he was not walking around.  I think he was worse off, the trail is fairly flat!

The view from the shelter!

The shelter where we had lunch.

Getting back seemed to take 15 minutes!

The area above Cheaha Falls

I think this would be a perfect hammock and read spot while the kids played in the creek and swam below the falls.

We got back to our cars AT dark, it was just after 5.

As soon as our packs were in the cargo (I never know what to call my 'trunk' as I don't have one!) it started raining! Ack.  That was close one, though we do have ponchos, I was glad not to walk out with wet legs and feet.

Below are a couple catch-up shots.  Lunch/dinner at Amanda's (we stayed all day)

Check out Jake and his 2 little magpies.  CUTE!

The above shot, I loved.  Rho with an electric guitar and Chan with her uke. hehehe.  And Owen and Elan playing Wii.  Alex was on his electric cigar box guitar (not joking) while Dae sang, Jake played with Juke and Matt was on drums.  Ben had a banjo, but did not want to play.

And the last one, Nia looking at me because Kat went in the kitchen AND sat on a chair and no one said anything.  Nia laid on her bed (a.k.a. my papasan chair!) and gave that Bad Cat the stare down punctuated by glances at me to see if I was going to get the broom.