Surprisingly, it is a Tough Choice

A record, two days in a row of blogging. 

  So this is my routine between 5:45 and 6:00 on the days that I run:  My alarm goes off, the dog, that now sleeps in our room because her previous sleeping buddy has deserted her and gone off to college, gets up, stretches and makes weird noises. I get up, stretch and make weird noises. I let her outside and mosey to my phone to check the temperature (phones these days can tell you anything) to see how many layers of clothes I need to put on.  Today when I looked at my phone I got confused.  Did I become a bear and sleep the winter away?  57 degrees at 5:44.  Sometimes my phone takes a second to update, must have been stuck on yesterday.  I waited, and looked again, 57 degrees.  I then checked the date (concerned about the bear theory), January 31.  Incredible!!!
    Later this morning I learned from a friend that a year ago today we had a huge snow storm.  Now I tried to confirm this (that it was actually January 31)  but I was a little confused as to whether it was the really big one (record breaking 15 to 21 inches) that we had last winter or one of the smaller (5-10 inches) ones.  I never figured it out, I just  learned it did snow, a lot.
   So,  I find myself asking, which do I prefer?  I must admit that the speedier dressing time was nice. Nothing on my head (except my light), a good thing, and the fact that the streets were clear and that I could go run, a definite plus.  The air had a bit of a springtime mist which was kinda refreshing
   But...there is something to be said about a good ole Midwest snowstorm.  You know, the ones where the kids come into your room early, turn on the T.V.,  cross their fingers tightly and then jump for joy when they see their school name on the "no school today" list.  There is something to be said about rolling over and going back to sleep, getting up late, pileing on the snow gear ("now where is the match to this mitten") and going out the door to make the first tracks.  Hot chocolate, snowmen, company (your kids and the neighbor's kids) at home with you, priceless. Yes, there is something to be said about a winter storm.

  The sun is not shining today, it is warm (now approaching 70), but windy.  No coat, no mittens necessary.  It's January, so going to the garden seems odd, it is not time yet and I am really afraid to see what is coming up since I know (since it is January) that winter is far from over.  So I write a blog, by myself, about the weather, and I plan on following the normal weekday agenda. 

  I think, I have decided I would rather be screeching cuss words with my daughter behind me on a sled because I have tried, at my age,to go down a hill that might be more than I can handle (yes it happened once).  Or I might like to be building a snowman, or hunting for the other mitten or snuggled under a blanket with hot chocolate, watching a movie with someone by my side. Like I said, one more time, it is January after all, at least for today.  I wonder what February will bring.

January 31, 2011 (or close to it)

     January 31, 2012  (notice the green grass?)

Oh Deer!!!

  The home where I grew up, as all of my known readers know (I still think someone out there will stumble on my blog and have no clue who I am or where I come from), had a big yard with lots of woods behind it. I spent endless hours roaming the grounds and going on adventures in the woods. Within the beauty of the my outdoor playground, critters scurried everywhere. Mostly I saw squirrels; rabbit sightings were a close second and sometimes, but rarely, I would spot a deer. Those sightings were always  very "wow" moments.  Then, I grew up and one day moved to Arkansas where my current house has a  big yard (not quite as big) with woods behind it and, yes, critters scurrying everywhere.
   My dogs spend their days chasing squirrels up  trees and chasing chipmunks and lizards under rocks, spending the rest of the day barking endlessly (the neighbors love us) at the tree or the rock even though the creature has long since escaped. They never catch a thing. Well, actually, one day my big dog got out of our yard and went on an adventure of her own in the woods and actually captured her prey--some turtles. She didn't kill them, she just brought them by the front door. I watched her from the kitchen window as she laid proudly among her turtles. When one would start to stray she picked it up and brought it back to the others. The sight, if videoed and posted, would be worthy of a million hits on U Tube. That, however, has nothing to do with where I am going with this blog and most of you have heard the story of my "turtle herder" anyhow.
  So, as I was saying, where I hang my hat now is much like where I came from, at least the outside world with its nature. A big difference, however, are the deer sightings which  no longer are rare. Instead, the deer are EVERYWHERE!!!  I am not exaggerating when I say that I see deer at least 5 out of  the 7 days in the week.  Often, they are in my yard.  One evening, as I pulled into my driveway, I was looking at something in the yard.  I had pushed the garage door opener and was driving slowly and waiting for the door to go up. I turned back to look to see if the door was up and there, right in front of the garage door, stood a deer.  He did not move, he just looked at me as if to say "Oh, your home."  Then he slowly moved on over to the yard and off to the woods.
   I think deer are beautiful animals, but they are beginning to become a bit of a sore spot for me. I have learned that hosta plants are their food of choice, so the 14 varieties of hosta, that the previous owner boasted exists in my garden, when selling us the house, means nothing.  The deer love to taunt my dogs, just barely staying out of the dogs portion of the yard as if to say to them "nah, nah, nah, you can't get me," causing, yes, more barking.  And sadly, we have made two trips to the body shop and calls to the insurance agent because within just yards of our home, deer have misjudged when to cross the road.  Both times they hit our car versus our car hitting them. Their fates remaining unknown since they were able to hobble off to the woods. No longer are the sightings a "wow" moment; they now are mostly "ugg" moments.
  Except when I run (finally the blog connection). Often in the wee early hours of the morning when I hit the road for my run, I see the deer.  They never scare me (my running partners just do when they grab me because the deer have scared them).  I have found it is the deer's time for some exercise, fun and fellowship too.  One day last week I caught them playing a game of chase in the school yard that we run by. It must have been  their recess time.  On another day they were actually running down the same path as me only in the opposite direction.  We actually did not run right next to each other because they went to the right of the fork in the path and I was coming from the left (but it was close).    You rarely see one by itself, they tend to stick together, they like running buddies too.   I usually speak to them, tell them good morning and always  ask nicely (usually nicely)  not come to my yard for their meals; but I think if they could talk, they would say back to me "but you have the best variety of hosta  in town. We have tasted, 14 different kinds."  So, they continue to come and I continue to curse; but, thanks to my nifty Christmas present (remember, from my last blog),  in the morning, on my runs, I find it entertaining to spot the deer in my headlight.

I'm back! Be careful what you ask for Susan.

Part I--The Rest of the Story


First of all, for those who have been on the edge of their seats since my last blog, dying to know about the "advent calendar project", let me quickly summarize. I failed. I believe about 7 task were completed. Five of them from opening the doors and then completing the task and then another two or three that I just happened to do. The box is still in my room. Last Christmas I actually filled it for the girls with trinkets; you might remember that was part of the reason for creating the project. I figured if I left it out all year it would be available to fill on the first of December instead of finding it among all the other decorations on the 5th or beyond. This year,it was still easily accessible on December 1st, but it did not get filled. I looked at it before starting this and I even opened some doors. Little scraps of paper still reside in it. So...I read them, thus the analysis of accomplished and unaccomplished tasks. Upon reading some of the unaccomplished tasks I quickly surmised they were no longer necessary--over that. Most of them, however, I still dream of completing someday. Also,I am puzzled how I could have possibly made an interesting blog from them. My success of interesting blogging might have been in jeopardy. I guess it is good that I moved on. So anyway, that is that in a gigantic nut shell.

Part II--Avoiding (heh)the "Christmas letter":

It has been two years since I started this blogging thing. It has been well over a year since my last post. I thought maybe my blogging days were over but then...the blog master, my sister Susan, (if you are not familiar with her, you can be; just visit "6 sheep and a llama" blog spot, I think she post hourly) requested that I do an annual blog. Hmmm, interesting concept--annual. Then she went on to hint (bluntly) that she is not looking for a "Christmas Letter". Difficult. An annual blog that is not a Christmas letter? Not difficult, impossible. Was it the length or content Susan feared? Or BOTH? What is she looking for here?

Hmmmmmm....Okay, I will not talk about my children: Connor's adorable family (including a new daughter in 2011), Carley's extremely successful (in academics, acclimating,getting involved and having fun)first semester at Mizzou or Cayden's important place (as a sophomore) on the Senior High Basketball team (including being part of the starting team in a few of the games)all while carrying a 4.0 gpa. Nor will I talk about my wonderful loving husband (of can you believe 20 years this past fall), whom I still have lunch with several times a week and whom I still love spending all of my time with (when he is not holding down the fort at Walmart). No, I won't talk about them. And I won't talk about me: my new love for painting, my old and steady love for running, my everyday tasks that keep me too busy or how much I love living in Bentonville. Now wait a minute. I think (I can't keep up with them all) that is what Susan blogs about. HER life. Yes, I just went and checked it out. She writes about the current players and things in her life all the time. I guess the difference is that not too many people have 6 plus sheep and a llama or for that matter even know anyone else that does. Most people, however, reading this blog, have experienced the family life. So blogging about my current players in my life, to most, would be "been there, done that". But I have an idea.

Now the length of this (now well surpassing Christmas letter standards)is beginning to worry me. I have gone on awhile now without getting to far but...oh well too bad.(Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.)


Part IV--The introduction to The New Blog: Smelling the Roses

Before starting this blog, besides checking out the advent box, I reread some of my old post, okay, all of them. It may have been my last blog that I mentioned that maybe someday I would blog about things I see on my runs. So...I have decided that that is the direction I am going to go in. It may not be a walk out to the barn but it is my perspective of my almost daily journey out into the world. Maybe most of you take walks and some run, but do you always catch the "little things"? You know "stop and smell the roses?" I love to find the "little things". They tend to lighten up and provide a sort of balance to some of the heavier stuff. I run usually 4 times a week, I walk usually the other days and sometimes even double up. Kelley and I also biked several times this fall and plan to continue that this spring. So instead of just talking about what I see on my runs, especially since most runs these days are at 6 a.m. in the dark and I don't see much, (although I did receive a nifty headlamp for Christmas that has helped), I am going to blog about something I experience on any of my previously mentioned physical routines. And as far as annual goes, I am going to give this blogging thing another shot. I know it won't be weekly but hopefully more than monthly. We will see.

Part III--The Actual Blog.

So here is a quick little "scene" from Sunday's walk with Kelley. It made me smile, but maybe you just had to be there.

I want to go on and on about all of our great new trails but I guess I will do that another time. Anyway...Kelley and I were on our 2nd walk of the new year together (2 Sundays in a row!!!). The temperature had dipped from the tropical weather we experienced earlier in the week but it was still in the "pretty nice for January" range. There were lots of people out. We quickly caught up to a family (and I mean a family)of five children, mom and dad, and their beautiful dog. The oldest child was probably in 1st or 2nd grade, a girl, a cutie with blond, blond hair. I always make it a point to notice the dogs, but this one, even though a big dog, was hardly noticeable because of all of the kids. Before passing them though, I did notice. The dog proudly pranced among them. "What a beautiful dog" I said reaching down for the customary sniff before proceeding to pet. "He is my dog" beamed the blondie. "Well he is very sweet" I replied. "What is his name?" The girl, with still young speech and absent enunciation, said "Stir-rye-pee". I looked at the dog: stark white, no markings. "Stripey?" I questioned. "Yes" she answered. "Okay..." I said looking at the parents who I am sure have relived this scenario many times. They smiled, shrugged and then the little girl said, "he had on a striped collar when we got him." "Explains everything" I said, "great name." I thought to myself, the only name that would have fit him better is Sport because he is sure a good one to agree to have the name of Stripey. Also, Sport is one of my favorite dog names, that's what my daddy called all the dogs he met (and usually ours--who had other names--too). After leaving them I imagined how the naming of the dog must have went down. Mommy: What should we name our puppy? Little Girl: Stripey. Mommy: No, honey, he doesn't have any stripes. Little girl: (the collar explanation) Mommy: (starts to argue) Daddy: I don't know, picture it: we are on a walk with all of the kids and a lady comes along and just when she is about to say (as I was) "wow, you have your hands full", she sees the dog, asks what his name is, and suddenly her focus is diverted. Mommy: Stripey it is!!! The whole name thing also reminded me of the scenario of when we got our latest kitty. The day after we found her we headed to KC for the weekend. We had not named the kitty yet. We took two cars for some reason and the girls rode with Kelley. When we got to KC I immediately ask the girls what they had named the new kitty. They both looked at Kelley who gave them a daring glareand did not answer. Later, when Kelley was absent, I learned that he had forbid the girls to have any further discussions of the kitty's name. He had just endured 3 hours of contemplations over 500 different names. She ended up Cindylou. And no, she has no resemblance of a Hoo in Hoosville, much like Stripey has no Stripes. THE END.(for now)