A Hopeful Project

I rescued this frame from my dad's basement and from certain trash pick up on a Wednesday morning. :)



It's pretty large, so I think it might make a nice chalkboard. My dad got me a piece of plywood so I can paint it with chalkboard paint. My hope for this project is that I will get it done. I never seem to get anything done around here. I either don't have the time, or when I do have time, I either have a migraine, don't feel good, or I'm in a funk and I can't get up the ambition to do anything other than make dinner.

I think that is my problem lately, a funk. That's what I call it when I don't feel like doing a thing. I used to get them so severely that I wouldn't even clean the house. I haven't been that bad in years, but I think it's a funk none the less.

I obviously haven't been on here at all. I'm not working on any projects. I'm just blah.

Not good, not bad, just-  just.

I was looking at some things coming up in my garden. It makes me excited that spring is finally here. We had one really warm day last weekend and that was all it took to bring things up out of the ground.

A lupine. I planted this last year, so I'm happy to see it come back up. I don't always have the best luck with perennials.

Coral bells.

Stirrings from my hydrangea.

All these plants have seemed to escape the wrath of those cute little deer I posted about last month. But, the tulips have not fared so well.

Now, my neighbor across the way gave me these bulbs last year. She has hundreds and hundreds of tulips and daffodils. Once she is blooming over there, I will post a pic of her garden. It's really quite something. Anyhoo, she gave me the bulbs and made me promise to plant them. Once I did, the squirrels dug up and ate about half. The ones that were left have now been eaten by the deer. This sweet neighbor of mine never has any of her tulips eaten. My neighbor next door has a bed of tulips. No one eats them. I have about twelve tulips left, and they are all eaten right the way down. Can anyone tell me why? Please? Mr Murphy, is it one of your laws?

I just want to mention that a friend of mine passed away last week. Her daughter was in my oldest girl's class from K thru 8th grade. I think it's so terrible for a 14 year old girl to lose her mother. I'm still recovering and I was 40 when my mom died.

My friend had cancer and suffered a lot. The funeral was quite sad, but also it was special because she had planned most of it and wrote a letter to everyone that was read aloud.

She had a very strong faith and the letter was so hopeful for all us to have the same kind of relationship with God as she had. We had all come to be supportive of her family and grieve, and we wound up being uplifted by her words.

May we all have that special peace in our hearts every day.

The End of Ski Season

Some close friends of ours belong to a local ski club. They have been members for about 10 or 11 years. This past weekend was one of the last for skiing at their club. Every Friday night, they drive south for an hour and stay in their cabin until Sunday night. They are on the slopes by 9 am on Saturday and Sunday.

Part of the end of season ritual includes "Pond Skimming". Contestants dress up in some kind of costume, ski down the slope, and ski across a man-made pond at the bottom. The object, of course, is to make it all the way across and out of the pond back onto the snow. This, is not always possible. Most people get very wet. My friend told me that when she was skiing in the morning, she saw people raking the ice out of the water! Brrrrrrrr.

My family and I went down to witness and join in the festivities.

The contestants.

The first competitor made it across, but not quite out. It was still an impressive start.

This year there were a lot of people who made it across. Maybe after 6 years of watching people, the secrets of success have been discovered.

This man made it all the way across, they say he has never gotten wet in all of his years as a competitor.

It was fun to watch, but cold. The wind was wicked. I can't imagine being in that water. Yikes!

The clown was nearly the only person to make it over and out on a board. The consensus is that it's much harder to do because your legs are not independent of one another.



We headed inside the chalet to warm up and get something to eat.

Then we went back outside to enjoy the sun and the fire.

Holly and Amy.

Dan and Ron.

Even the dogs came out to enjoy the day.

The thing with belonging to a private club is that you have a level of trust that is quite amazing.

You don't have to lock up your skis, your equipment or your cooler full of beer. When you put a tablecloth on a table in the chalet, no one else tries to take your table. When you cook burgers on the grill, no one takes your lunch. Everyone lines their crock pots up on a shelf along the wall near the electrical outlets and no one helps themselves to your meal. Your kids are safe. It really is quite nice. Amy's kids have grown up here. They've made many friends.

This year the members have gotten their money's worth since it's April and they are still skiing. Last year it was 79 degrees on pond skimming day. That seems so far off to me right now since it's still in the 30's here now. :(

Hope you are having a good week so far!