Tales of Seven

Funny Things Are Everywhere....

...the remarkable amount of fun that can be had with simple toys and just a little imagination. Christmas, 2007

From near to far
from here to there,
funny things are everywhere.

The Tin Pail and The Bike Pump

What a delicate thing our own existence can be. Apparently mine (and that of my extended family) depended on the reliability of a tin pail, bike pump, the vigor the guy at the pump, and a pencil sketch.

Shown below: my grandfather at age 17. He and his friends did lake dives using an oxygen pump he engineered and equipment made out of common household items.  We're all so glad it worked.

Also shown: one of my grandfather's early 'invention sketches'.

Winter Morning

It's 6:30am

There's beyond-just-a-chill in the air.

Snow is piled against our windows. I can see my breath in the air and regretfully crawl out of bed, feet hitting an icy cold floor... instant numbness.  I throw snow boots, mittens and a jacket on over PJs and open the outside door to a cold that takes the breath away. Time to get wood.

I tilt the wheelbarrow down and start up a narrow, shoveled path to the barn... snow brushing up against the sides of the barrow, then falling in the top of my boots ... icy wetness. Crunch, crunch, crunching of snow beneath my boots in otherwise-total-silence.

A load of wood, then the return. Icy cold hands carry wood inside.

Open the woodstove door to an exhale of ashy cold air. Numb fingers coax a little flame out of papers and kindling, then add logs. Then comes the slow-growing heat that immediately precedes the getting-ready-for-school, and blueberry pancakes.

Hard earned warmth creates a special appreciation...

- Winter Morning

At Grandma's House

the smell of bacon wafts up the stairs into my chilly, syracuse-room-in-winter

voices follow in its wake

I pad down to breakfast in pjs, over old, unfinished, squeaky wood floors

down to the kitchen warm with conversation,

coffee and people. A glance up at the cookie jar grandma always kept full.

sugar cookies taste better than eggs and bacon. can I reach them?

-- Followed later by evening --

after pie. after homemade whipped cream. bellies full.

out come the guitars, someone steps up to the piano.

aunts and uncles + mom makes eight.

jamming, harmonies, cover songs, impromptu creation

of original songs. a brief tussle over the correct chord progression.

a few different tries at the harmonies. then off they went...

hot, homemade cider steaming in my hands,

I sink into the old, worn couch to listen, absorb

and remember.

Childhood Memory of Grandma's House

Childhood Snow

Mittens crunchy with snow, scarves dripping dry in front of the fire

The smell of woodsmoke and scraping sound of an approaching snow plow

Cold nose, numb fingertips, sluggish toes

The howling wind of a blizzard in contrast to clear, still, starry nights

Snow men, snow angels

The shoveling of snow and daily carting of wood

The complete and soft silence of a deep woods, snowy landscape

-- childhood memories of winter in upstate New York --

From King to Poodle

'King' before ... and 'Poodle' after ....

Because he pulls out his Ginsu-knife-like-claws whenever she tries to brush his stomach, my Mom's cat, Latte, must suffer the occasional indignity of a near-full body clip to remove fur-knots. How embarrassing, poor creature. But that's payback for wielding those claws at brushing time.

(Before and After Pictures)

5 Obscurities

Having been tagged by Graham Glass, I'll join in the cyberworld soup du jour by sharing 5 things about myself very few people know.

• My very first job was in construction
• I've ridden horses competitively for much of my life. I bought my first horse in my mid 20s...a 'fixer upper' with no steering and no brakes.
• I love speedy, road-hugging little cars and drive too fast. Manual trumps automatic!
• I once spent an entire week living off of .25 cent packages of fig newtons
• I'm in Marketing, but am a science geek and have volunteered part-time in a diagnostics lab

Welcome Kai

My brother, Randy, first met his son Kai this past Tuesday. when Miho and Kai flew in from Japan. When we see a baby, it brings so much perspective. There's little that is more profound and amazing than bringing a little one into the world.  Welcome to our family, Kai, and we can't wait to help you through the world!