Skiing With Grandkids

First of all a safety tip: Do not eat crackers similar in size to your camera card while preparing to insert camera card into computer. There is a high risk you may insert the camera card in your mouth and chomp down.

This afternoon we left the 45-55 mph winds in town and headed up to the cross country ski trails with Leslie and the kids. We promised Leslie it would be "calm in the trees". Let's just say it was calmER. After mistakenly putting my own skis on before trying to put skis on two girls who had never skiied before, discovering Leslie had brought two pairs of ski boots but neither matched the one pair of skis she had brought, and finally getting Pierce bundled up in the sled with Leslie forced to walk the trail, we were off.

The girls did amazingly well for their first time out. They scooted along in the track and fell much less than I expected. Myra spent a fair amount of time on her back but that was mostly because she got bored if she had to wait in the trail very long and would drop backwards for something to do. I expected some whining about how hard it was or how cold they were but nobody whined or complained and everybody seemed to have a good time. Pierce even relaxed in the sled and didn't even try to escape. Actually he didn't even move or make a noise. I think the only part of his body that moved was his big brown eyes. Well, there was the time his hat fell down over his eyes and his body slid down so far he was buried in the blanket so he was not only blind but trapped. There was some movement and noise for a few moments then.

Dean and I had gone to the gym earlier in the day figuring we wouldn't be getting much of a workout skiing with a 3 and 5-year old. Turns out picking kids up off the ground with skis twisted around their bodies, or trying to ski with them in front of you is more of a workout than we anticipated.

The sled Leslie pulled has come full circle. We used it with Leslie and Abby when they were little, then loaned it to our good friends the Kellisons who loaned it to our mutual good friends the Shannons who then returned it to us early this year. It is far from the high-tech, insulated and covered sleds they have for kids now but it works just as well and brought back all kinds of memories.

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Skiing With Grandkids

Watch Out For Future Paybacks

Abby this post is for you. If you choose to have children at some future date, I have a feeling your sister will remember that you are the person who gave her son the following toy for Christmas...


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Watch Out For Future Paybacks

Roast Birdie

We enjoyed Christmas breakfast and present opening this morning with my dad (who is here for the holiday) and Leslie, Ryan and the three kids. At one point during the morning I thought I heard the words "Nana.....Myra....hot" from Emerson. I turned to look and Myra had a finger in her mouth and they were both looking at a little Christmas candle I had lit. Thinking Myra must have stuck her finger in the candle I said, "Oh, that's hot, Myra. You don't want to touch candles. They'll burn you."



"You can touch these pretend candles because they aren't real and they won't burn you" and I proceeded to turn on my grandma's ancient pretend candles.



A bit exasperated because I misunderstood, Emerson then clearly said, "Myra put a bird in the candle." I looked inside the candle holder and little flames were shooting up from one of the little pretend birds that we wire onto the Christmas tree. Apparently Myra had stuck her fingers in the candle. She just happened to have a little birdie clutched in them at the time. I sprang into action, quickly grabbed a table knife and fished the little blaze out of the candle as both girls stood there wide-eyed. Myra, obviously well-practiced in the art of apology, immediately offered up a vocal "sorry." The little guy managed to survive with only one charred wing and may even "live" to see another day on the Christmas tree.



Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!

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Roast Birdie

Catching Up

There are lots of other things I probably should be doing now (like preparing Christmas cards) but while I wait to usher at the annual Symphony Christmas concert I've chosen to test my memory cells.

Way back in early November we babysat the three birdies while Leslie and Ryan had a date night. As Dean was cooking gourmet weenies for all of us, Emerson and I were building a leggo tower. As the tower got higher I casually asked Emerson if she thought she would like to build real towers when she grew up. She looked at me and said, "no, I want to be a mommy." I responded by saying "I just wondered, because ever since you were really little you've always seemed to like building towers." A look of panic crossed her face and she said, "No! Please don't make me build towers. I want to be a mommy and have babies."

When Leslie and Ryan returned we were all settled in with popcorn and a "Madeleine" movie.



Also in early November we made a trip back to see Abby. During the long, boring nine hour drive it occurred to me it was Husker home game weekend so I got out the trusy cell phone and called my ticket source, Trinity. (Yes, we are no longer the only people in the world sans cell phone. I can tell you Dean was not happy to give up that distinction but daughters---one in particular---are very good at heaping guilt on mothers who absorb guilt like a sponge). To make a long story a little less long, Abby and I were able to obtain Husker tickets on one of the coldest game days of the season and watch the Huskers beat the Kansas Jayhawks. Of course since I didn't know I was going to be attending the game I was not prepared for
sitting-in-a-cold-stadium-on-a-cold-bench-with-your-feet-on-cold-cement-for-several-hours weather. Abby generously loaned me extra clothing so after donning 3 pairs of socks, tights, 3 shirts, fleece, jacket, mittens, and ear band I was ready. The best thing of all was we remembered to bring two blankets to sit on so our butts weren't frozen solid---only partially.

The bravest guy I've ever seen was a Kansas Jayhawk fan one row down and 5 people over from us. I'm guessing he was in his early 30's and was decked out in silky basketball-type shorts, blue spandex tights, blue tight long-sleeved spandex shirt with a silky basketball-like jersey over it, lots of blue mardi gras-like beads, a Kansas Jayhawk bird hat and a Superman-like cape which he continually adjusted so it was not wrinkled or hanging crooked. He was the only Jayhawk fan surrounded by a sea of blazing red Husker fans. When the Jayhawks did something good on the field he stood up all alone and swayed back and forth with his arms in the air just like all the other Jayhawk fans in the section directly across the field from us. By the end of the game he was shivering so hard that his body was in constant vibration. And I thought Nebraska fans were crazy...

While we were visiting, we toured the Nebraska Quilt Museum and saw an awesome display of Korean patchwork. (pojagi) They are gorgeous quilts made of delicate silks and each seam was sewn together with tiny whip stitches. Here's an example of one I found on-line.




My goal is to collect enough silk fabric (not so easy in the bustling metropolis of Casper) and create one myself. Traditionally they are used to wrap gifts or carry laundry but I'm thinking if I ever get one made it'll be going on the wall.

And speaking of quilting, I have finished the next two blocks of Myra's "baby" quilt--"This Little Piggy Goes To Market" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". In the works is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"






Abby came home for Thanksgiving and we feasted on turkey with all the trimmings. Ryan's parents were also able to join us.



While the turkey was baking Ryan and the kids added some finishing touches to their cardboard castle and worked up an appetite by protecting the kingdom from marauding black knights.



One night Emerson and Myra spent the night and Abby had the honor of sharing a bed with them. Emerson was very conscientious about making sure Abby had enough space in the bed when she and Myra first crawled in but it would appear she's a cuddler.






The next morning Aunt Abby went to preschool with Emerson and got to share in crafts, a walk to the park and snacks before she flew back to Lincoln.






And now it's time for me to don my black usher duds for the symphony concert. It'll be a cold drive. We reached a new record last night with a low of eighteen degrees BELOW zero. About an hour ago (noon) Dean told me it was up to a whoppin' minus twelve. Winter has arrived.◦

Catching Up

Tea Party

Queen Nana of Dundee and Countess Abby of Lincolnshire recently hosted a tea party at Castle Make-Believe.






The tea was attended by Duchess Leslie de Chestnut, Princess Emerson de Cheveux Marron, and Princess Myra de Cheveux Rouge. Dress was formal and the guests arrived in their finest gowns.





The menu consisted of:

Cucumber sandwiches
Black and green olives
Kiwi and strawberries
Raspberries
A variety of cheese
Salami
Sesame and bunny cheese crackers
Carrots and tomatoes
Red peppers
Banana chips
Tea with cream and sugar
and
Delicately decorated bite-size cheesecake for dessert

Queen Nana's childhood teaset was put to good use as the royal group enjoyed the fine food and conversation. The tiny teapot was refilled multiple times in an effort to keep the tiny teacups filled with steaming tea.






All guests enjoyed a delightful afternoon of delicious food and stimulating conversation.◦

Tea Party