Picture Day - Skating Assiniboine Park Duck Pond

We're making the most out of these winter days skating into the night. There isn't a better place or time to go skating than here at assiniboine park in the late evening. There are very few people on the ice at this time on a weekday evening so you can really strech out. On nights like this when you're done skating with rosy red cheeks you can always find a spot in front of the fireplace to share a hot chocolate and warm up before treking back home.

Very Short Story

She planted a seed and waited, the air was still cool the earth cold to the touch. 

She watched for a time yet nothing grew.

She came back each day running down the garden path.

First the days were rainy and as she ran her boots splashed and rain danced down her slicker.

Then the rainy days stopped the sun warmed the earth and she carried water to the seeds.

Day after day, time after time the girl returned.

And the seeds grew.

A Change of Light

It may be colder today than many of the days we have had this winter up until this point but there has also been a subtle shift to the daylight.  A warmth and a brightness that wasn’t there just a few short weeks ago seems to have developed.

The upcoming change of seasons is slowly becoming apparent, the light has changed and so spring can’t be far behind.   

I’ve often considered or been asked what is my favorite season and although there is something about each season that I love and enjoy I can’t honestly say I have a favorite.  They are each special and no matter which one I or anyone else might prefer the seasons will continue to change regardless of our preferences.

So why not just enjoy what each season has to offer and not worry about the end of a favorite season or how long it is until the next time it comes around.  I’ve often said I couldn’t live in a place that doesn’t have a change of seasons and I think I’ve come to realize why. 

 While I may not have a favorite season it is the transition between each one that is my favorite time(s) of the year.   I love watching as one season fades into one another.  It is for each and every season the transition between them that so enthralls me.  No matter which season is fading and which is next to come it is a both a new beginning and a hopeful and expectant time.

Each winter I look forward to the coming spring watching as the flowers and trees bloom into life, the rainy earthy scented days spent jumping in puddles.  The end of spring I look forward to the hot and barefoot sunny days of summer and days spent at the beach. As summer fades I eagerly await the marvelous colors of nature flaring to life and the cool evenings perfect for a bonfire. In late fall I look forward to the snow and ice so that I can skate and sled and play.

See I can’t pick a favorite season they all, each and every one, have something about them that makes them special and unique.  The change of light that comes with each season is a gentle reminder to enjoy the best points of the current season before the fun of the next one begins.  

Sometimes I wear my heart on my feet.

Having not been in the greatest mood (even after working out), I was going through the motions of getting dressed at Fitcorp (a gym I joined earlier this year).

While pulling on my dark colored dress socks, something on the bottom of one of the socks caught my eye.

Upon further examination, I discovered it was a small sticker with a heart on it!

One of the numerous stickers which litter our home had decided to stick to me and take a trip into Boston!

I SMILED.

Right then and there, my day had been made.

A simple sticker was enough for me to do a reality-check. I immediately thought of my daughters, the love they radiate, and all that I had to be grateful for.

The sticker stayed on my sock for the rest of the day.

This happened just a few days after we had gone out as a family to the local Papa Gino’s for lunch. And, unbeknown to me, I walked up to the counter and ordered our food with a (different colored) “heart” sticker on my chest. That sticker had been awarded to me by our daughter Anna.

I just love being a dad.

A Safe Spot

I will spend much of today looking for a safe spot.  Now it’s not because I have something that needs to be kept safe but that I put something somewhere safe and now I don’t know where that was.

Damn

I’ve started gathering all our paperwork for tax time and as things have slowly trickled in I’ve made sure to put everything together.  Except for one rather  important little piece of paper which thanks to a rather late mail pick-up was, instead of being put where it belonged, put somewhere safe.  

It was a moment of laziness I just didn’t feel like running it down to be added to the rest of my paperwork.  So instead of facing the trial of a single flight of stairs to put it where it belonged I put it somewhere safe until I was headed that way anyways.

Now where exactly was that?

We don’t have a particularly large home and there are only so many places I could have put it yet it continues to elude me.  This search and rescue thing I got going on is taking significantly more time than if I’d just run it down to where it belonged in the first place.

I hate paperwork. 

edit:

Huh, ok I found it. In the most unlikely of places…..right where it belonged. I swear I must be organizing in my sleep because I certainly don’t remember putting it there. 

No on C30

I’ve heard many things about C-30 none of which has impressed me much.  Vic Toews needs to start listening to the Canadian voices which are coming together on this issue and saying no.  This bill is not in the best interests of the Canadian people at large and it’s a step down a very slippery slope.  Our laws are in place to protect Canadian citizens not to guide them like mind-less lambs.  

Do our copyright laws need revision, perhaps, is bill C-30 the way to do it, no, resoundingly definitely no.

Picture Day - Pencil sketch

Just a simple pencil sketch inspired by the story I wrote for yesterdays post.  This is Sindri and Odinn at the mouth of the hatching caves grabbing a torch from the fire in front of them.

A Conversation with Anna.

Toward the end of last year, Sarah and I decided to look into getting a handicap placard for our van so that our daughter Anna would not have to walk far when we go to a public place such as a grocery store. Anna was born with spina bifida and is able to walk without an aide (leg brace, walker, wheelchair, etc.). Anna's legs do, however, tire easily. Her spina bifida and corresponding weak leg muscles (hamstrings, quads, etc.) also make her a bit unsteady on her feet.

She sometimes loses her balance and falls.

I’m not sure why we hadn’t thought of looking into the parking placard when Anna and her sisters started walking. But…after recently having a few “why didn’t I think of looking into this before” moments, I started to pursue obtaining a handicap placard for our family vehicle.

Now it should be pointed out that for various reasons, throughout my life I have been an unassuming person who goes with the flow. I (nor my parents or siblings) have not been the vocal type. I am more the type of person to take what is presented, rather than pursue that which may be beyond my immediate reach. I suppose that is why I had not pursued getting a placard for Anna. I think the attitude was that we can make do without one.

On the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) website I found the form which we needed to complete. APPLICATION FOR DISABLED PARKING PLACARD/PLATE. The form has two parts – one part in which the disabled person’s information was to be filled in (by me) and the second part to be completed by the health care provider (Anna’s pediatrician).

We completed Anna’s information and forwarded the form to the doctor to complete the second section, which read in part:

CLINICAL
DIAGNOSIS:____________________________________________________________________________(Required)
DURATION (circle one): Temporary Permanent
If temporary, please estimate number of months of disability ______________________
PLEASE CHECK ALL THAT APPLY:
_____ Unable to walk 200 feet without assistance. List necessary ambulatory aids: _____________________________
_____ Legally Blind* (Cert. Of Blindness may substitute for professional certification) (*automatic loss of license)
_____ Chronic Lung Disease (check at least one of the following criteria):
FEV1 test results _______O2 saturation with minimal exertion_____ (*automatic loss of license if O2 saturation < 88%)
Use of Portable Oxygen? Yes _________ No_____
Note: Asthma is not in and of itself a qualifying condition. Please describe degree and frequency of impairment
(pulmonary test results required.)
_____ Cardiovascular Disease
AHA Functional Classification (circle one): I II III IV* (*automatic loss of license)
_____ Arthritis (please state type, severity, and location)_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_____ Loss of limb or permanent loss of use of a limb
_____________________________________________________________________________________

A few weeks later we received notification (addressed to Anna actually) from the RMV that the application had been approved. The applicant needed to go to one of the listed offices with a valid form of identification to have their picture taken for the placard. Naturally I called the RMV to ensure I was reading the requirement correctly - identification for a four year old? The representative on the other end of the phone understood that Anna would not have an i.d. – that is fine, he said.

The night before we were to go to the nearest RMV, I had this conversation with Anna at bedtime:

Me: We are going to get your picture taken tomorrow.

Anna: Ya?

Yes, we are going to get a special card for the car.

Yes?

Yes, so we can park closer to the stores and you don't have to walk so far.

So I don't have to walk so far?

Yes, because you get tired sometimes from walking.

Because I get tired?

Yes, so now we will not have to walk as far and you will not get tired.

Ya?

Yes, Anna.

Because I have spina bifida?

Yes, because you have spina bifida Anna.

Good night Anna. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite. I love you.

Anna turned away and curled up against her pillow.

The next day, we (Grammy, Allie and Emily also came along) we walked into the RMV shortly after it opened. After getting a number (think grocery store deli counter), we all took a seat and waited for our number to be called.

I could write an entire blog post on the whole picture-taking process, but suffice to say it was a bit of a show. The camera and background is set-up to take drivers license pictures not to photograph the face of a 3 foot-tall four year-old girl. So...use your imagination and picture me on the ground holding Anna up while trying to keep myself out of the picture. It was difficult, but comical! After about 3 or 4 attempts, we were done. We were told the handicap placard should arrive via the mail in 4 -6 weeks. It arrived about 3 weeks later.

We’ve probably utilized the placard less than a dozen times since receiving it. I'm not sure if Anna or her sisters understand the entire handicap parking/placard thing but I do know that I have no guilt about using it. And although we haven't used it much so far, we do anticipate it will be quite helpful in the coming months (and years) to come.

The Hatching

“C’mon squelch we’re going to miss it”

“I’m coming, I’m coming and don’t call me squelch” Yelled Sindri as he chased after his older brother Odinn.  They were going to the hatchings today.  Sindri was quite sure he wouldn’t get a hatchling but Odinn might.  Odinn in the last year had grown several inches in both directions and there was no doubt he would become a warrior.  

Sindri on the other hand was a small boy, by far the smallest in his year even some of the boys two or three years back were bigger than he was.   Sindri wouldn’t be a warrior. He was good with a bow better than even his father but an axe or sword were much too heavy for Sindri and you couldn’t be a warrior if you couldn’t lift a weapon.

Sindri chased after Odinn catching up to him easily for all his strength Odinn was not the fastest boy by far.  “Do you know how many there are this year?” Sindri asked his brother

“Well Gudrun said it’s the best year for hatchlings that he’s ever seen so there has to be quite a few.  I heard there might even be a clutch of lightnings.  I bet I get a lightning.” Odinn said proudly puffing out his chest.

“But Gudrun told me that no lightnings have picked a warrior in almost a hundred years!” Sindri exclaimed.

“Oh I know that but sooner or later one will and maybe this is the year. After all Gudron says I’m the best swordsman he’s ever seen.”

“Yeah but getting chosen at all is worth something I wouldn’t care if it was a green that picked me I’d be proud of it.”

“Well you’re not going to get picked are you, Squelch?” said Odin nastily “Our family hasn’t had a hatchling since great grandfather was chosen by a spark. Besides if anyone gets one it’ll be me and I bet it’ll be a lightning”

“Well I’m named after him; maybe a lightning will pick me”

“Yeah sure squelch” Odin said as they reached the caves stopping to grab one of the torches left in the nearby fire.

“Stop calling me that, and the hatchlings can choose whoever they want” Said Sindri, his voice slowly dropping to a whisper. Something about the caves made speaking in a normal voice seem wrong.   For now arguing with Odinn over that stupid nickname didn’t matter.

They walked in silence through the caves until they reached the hatching cavern. Torches lined the wall, flashes of quartz and deposits of metal reflecting the light.  The roof soared high above their heads the single hole in the center of the roof which allowed the mothers to come and go letting in a brilliant ray of sunlight.  The sunlight flickered as the mothers flew high above awaiting the hatchlings that didn’t choose a warrior to join them in the clouds.

“There you boys are I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up, c’mon up the steps you both get a chance this year” Gudrun said quietly ushering them up the stone steps and onto a boulder Odinn onto one and Sindri on another.

Sindri stood on his boulder and looked around at the others who also stood on boulders, the boy nearest him stuck out his tongue when he saw Sindri looking. The rest of the village sat cross legged in the centre of the big cavern waiting quietly.  Sindri waved to his mother and Father but they were both watching Odinn and didn’t see him.  

Sindri looked up along the huge expanse of wall in front of him picking out dozens of clutches of eggs nestled on little outcroppings and there on one of the biggest outcropping were three of the largest eggs he’d ever seen.  It was the lightning eggs for sure; they were as black as coal with thin lines of silver wrapped around them.  They looked just like a stormy night sky.

Sindri stared at the lightning eggs, he’d been to every hatching since he was 6 years old and this was the first time he’d seen these kinds of eggs and the first year he got to stand amongst those hoping to be chosen.

He turned as he heard others around him gasp and followed their pointing fingers up to a group of 4 blue eggs which were shaking and slowly cracking.  Sindri’s attention shot to another clutch this one of bright green eggs which were beginning to shudder.  All over the cavern clutches of eggs began to shake and shiver, Sindri looked back at the lightning eggs which still sat unmoving.

Another gasp came from the seated crowd and Sindri turned to see the first few dragons escape their eggs each of them flying straight up and out the top where cries of welcome could be heard from the other dragons above them. All around him dragons flew from their eggs and up out of the caves until finally one blue flame began to drift downwards. 

All eyes turned towards the dragon as it slowly circled around the boys who stood on boulders looking cautiously at each one until it suddenly veered inward and landed next to a boy named Vidar whose mouth had suddenly dropped open.  He reached out a hand to the dragon which had landed beside him every person held their breath as his hand came closer and closer to the dragon roosted beside him until it stretched out its neck closing the gap between its head and Vidars hand.

A collective sigh and the quite whisper of voices sounded as the village quietly rejoiced for Vidar. He had been chosen; Vidar looked up from the dragon beside him and called out “TYR!”  He had named his dragon.  

 The air was full of flapping wings as egg after egg hatched no more dragons seemed inclined to fly down to the waiting boys until a small spark flew down to choose a boy and be named Siv.  The lightning eggs still sat unmoving. A third dragon this one a green shot downwards and without circling even once landed besides a boy who called out the name Idu.

The rustling of wings became quieter as the cavern began to empty fewer and fewer eggs were left to hatch until finally all that remained were the three lightning eggs. Everyone even the three boys who had already been chosen turned their attention to these three eggs as finally they began to shiver and shake.  The crowd below gasped as the first lightning escaped its egg, its skin as black as its egg had been and watched as it shot straight up and out of the cavern, the second lightning also leaped from its perch as soon as it shook free of the last bits of shell and flew out of the cavern.

The third egg shook and shivered endlessly before finally a large crack appeared and the dragons black snout appeared quickly followed by the rest of its body.  The crowd awed in appreciation this was the most beautiful dragon any of them had ever seen it shared the ebony black of its siblings but also had the rare lightning pattern across its back the silver sparkling in the dim lighting.

It stood on the edge of its nest staring down at the crowd below.  Sindri stared at the dragon and whispered “You’re mine”. The dragon’s eyes swiveled over to Sindri and starred at him. A murmur escaped the crowd; surely the greatest dragon in the world wouldn’t pick Sindri.

The lightning stepped off the ledge and drifted down lazily its eyes following Sindri as he turned atop his boulder watching as the lightning grew closer and closer until it dropped down beside him.  Sindri reached out his hand and felt with amazement the soft skin of the dragons head push against his hand.

He heard a soft sound come from the back of the dragon’s throat and a smile slowly spread across Sindri’s face as he looked up from the magnificent dragon perched beside him and called out in a voice much stronger than he knew he had and called out “SKY!”

The crowd cheered, Sindri had been chosen.               

Bears

Still too sick today to do much of anything, my focus is on just breathing through the accumulated junk and I needed something cute to lighten my day. I think I'd take a cuddle with either one of these bears right now.

Sickly word count

We all suffer from the occasional bout of sickness and it would appear this week I’ve hit on something particularly fun filled.  The bug that has taken me down this week has also turned my computer screen into a ragingly bright pain inducing blur. One glance leaves me with irritated itchy and watery eyes.  So not only does it feel like I’m swallowing shards of glass every few moments but as if someone is recycling those shards to stab me in the eye.

I will stick with my word count day and leave this at a blessedly short 100 words.   

Picture Day - For The Love Of Birds

Crafting with my girls is something we all enjoy and although we don't do it as often as when they were younger they still enjoy making something odd or interesting with me.  In light of Valentines day we decided to show our love of birds and make suet.

Of Love and Leap Year

This is the results taken from Sonia Medeiros February writing challenge: of love and leap year. It involved choosing 5 words from a list and including them in a 250 word count challenge. My 5 words are: underwater, idiosyncratic, escaped, disorderly and quip

Why a letter from a bride to her groom on her wedding day seemed to fit this challenge I'm not sure however it did. Of love I suppose.  I'm always suprised to find how these particular challenges seem to prompt me towards such interesting forms of writing.

I was even more surprised however to find that the idea of an underwater wedding is apparently not all that novel and so without further ado the results of this challenge.

To my groom,

A wedding performed underwater could anything else be so unexpected or downright weird?  Well I think we both have some idiosyncratic tendencies so I can’t help think this suits us perfectly. 

I love that we’ve escaped the everyday norm.  It has been admittedly a little disorderly trying to figure this out but I’m so glad we did.

It can only be kismet that we both travelled here to Thailand 4 years ago to get away from the pressure around us to find someone to be with. 

I was all set to just enjoy what life had to give never mind love.  Instead that first trip with our tour group I found you.  I’m so glad we were the only singles so that we were inevitably paired up. 

I thought it would be awkward diving and exploring the ocean with a stranger but once we were introduced and off to explore something began to change.

Perhaps it was the beauty of the ocean all around us or the gentle touches required to show one another things we had spotted, but slowly everything began to fade away and before long all I saw was you.

It may not have been love at first sight but by the time we surfaced I loved you and you me.  I never imagined your little quip “come back here next February 29^th and marry me” would be something we would actually do 4 years later. 

With all my love and affection,

Your Bride

Being Mom

We had a games night with friends on Friday evening which resulted in much laughter and a fun filled evening.  Before that evening could begin however I had one last thing to do, pick up E from the mall.

She had gone to the mall right after school with friends and needed a lift home.  Well when I left the house I didn’t really consider the state I was in.  With a busy day of work and cleaning up I had yet to have a moment to sit and left in a bit of a rush.

I had a few quick items to pick up and so I ran in.  First thing I did was to track her down to see if she was ready to go and if she’d join me grabbing the things I needed.  Well I found her and her friends in Starbucks gabbing away and I suddenly felt rather out of place.

The chatting had instantly stopped and everyone was looking at one another through lowered eyes glancing furtively at E hoping that she would send me along my way. My own daughters comment of “Mom! You didn’t need to come in” made me take a sudden step back.

I’m not a welcome addition anymore.  I’m no longer relevant, just a Mother.

These girls although I still see them as their bright and childish counterparts are no longer small children. They are just beginning to get their first taste of real independence.  They go to the mall to spend their money on their fashions and their tastes.  Mothers are not welcome.

She wasn’t quite ready to go and clearly didn’t want me to stick around while she finished up with her friends and so I told her where I’d be and how long she had left to spend with her friends and left. I’d barely turned away when they returned to their creamy not quite coffee concoctions and began chatting again.

When E had given me that slightly embarrassed look I’m afraid my self-esteem took a sudden nose-dive. As I walked away my slightly mussed hair my lack of makeup and total disregard for fashion caught up to me and I couldn’t help but feel dowdy and just a little down.

It’s an odd feeling, although I have no compunctions about embarrassing the heck out of her and will probably do it without regard many times in the future this is the first time I’d embarrassed her by the simple virtue of being her mother.  

 I think it’s safe to say we are most definitely heading into the teenage years, and I don’t think I’m going to particularly enjoy them.

Different Style

Jiminy Cricket!

Thanks you Disney for the full dozen previews on the DVD I just put in the player.  Just to point out the obvious there is a reason DVD remotes come with a skip feature or main menu button.  Sometimes, and I know this must be hard to understand, people don’t want to watch the previews.

I’m must be grateful though that you reminded me of all the great movies that you were releasing or promoting 5 years ago.  You know all the ones which are now either back in your damn vault or long ago relegated to the discount bin at my local Zellers.

Guess what Disney forcing me to agonizingly fast forward through each of these previews in absolutely no way makes me want to go out and buy another of your movies, even if they were still available.

Having seen “this operation is not available at this time”  for the tenth or eleventh time I was quite prepared to chuck the entire DVD player out the window along with any and all DVDs which have the lovely feature of un-skip-able previews.   

Oh and the 2 anti-piracy message displayed for 30 seconds each in English and in French, yeah your telling the wrong person because guess what I bought the movie and all your message is doing is encouraging me to never do that again.  

Maybe then I could watch my damn movie.

5x50

Pottery cube mouse committee printer

My pottery project is a cube series all interconnected; I’m presenting it to the art committee today.  It’s such a complex design I drew it on the computer, so complex in fact I probably made the mouse dizzy.  Problem is now I can’t find it. Wait in the printer tray!

I haven't done one of these in what feels like ages, I forgot how difficult it was to do coherently.

Picture Day

We've had some interesting weather in the past week with several consecutive nights of deep fog and days with horfrost coating the trees. Fog and horfrost are not seen all that often around here and it was a nice change from the everyday, and it sure looks pretty.

UFO

Cpt. Mark Reynolds (C):“What in the world is that?”

Officer Dave McCormack(O): “What?”

C:“That big thing glowing between us and the runway.”

O:“I don’t know, Tower this is SW4 Perimeter is there another craft on our path?”

Tower (T):“Negative Perimeter, you’re the only incoming at this time.”

C:“We’re going to have to go back around”

O:“So we’re going to tell the tower we can’t come in on this pass because of what exactly?  There’s a UFO in our landing trajectory?”

C:“Um I guess”

O:“Ok you’re the boss, but you can deal with the psyche committee, Tower this is SW4 Perimeter we’re going to need to come back around”

T:“Negative SW4 Perimeter, you are cleared for landing”

O:“Well there’s something in our way”

T:“Can you be more specific Perimeter?”

O:“Unable to identify the object”

T:“One moment perimeter”

O:“I feel like an idiot”

C:“Well we need to pull up or were going to hit it”

O:“Tower this is Perimeter…”

T:“Perimeter you are cleared for a second pass return to 2,000 ft and come back around”

O:“Perimeter returning to 2,000 ft”

T:“Perimeter can you attempt to identify the object”

O:“Oh lovely…….Tower unable to identify it’s an umm glowing ball of light directly in the landing path approximately 4 KMs out along the landing path”

 T:“Perimeter we’re going to return you to the pattern while we clear this up, climb to 2,700 please”

O:“Umm tower we’re running a little low on fuel cannot sit in holding for long”

T:“Acknowledged”

O:“You know some ones calling for a pysch consult right now”

C:“What would you have me do Dave? Hit whatever the hell that was? Oh crap was that a fighter”

O:“Yep congrats Mark we just scrambled the freaking air force”

Last summer I bought several wishing lanterns the kind that you light a burner under and let float into the sky.  We never found the time to do it and they still sit in our garage awaiting use. We never seemed to be able to head out to light them on a calm night and we are unable to use them from our yard as we are almost directly under a flight path.

Something tells me, besides the warning on the package that releasing a glowing orb directly into the path of a 747 may not be the best of ideas.  This is just an imagining of what could result if I had not read the product label, or ignored basic common-sense for that matter.

Insomniac Ramblings

No coffee, no time and no sleep not the best way to start a week.

I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night unable to fall back to sleep.  It’s not every night but enough nights to leave me in a constant state of tiredness, not exhausted but low on energy.

 It would seem I’ve got monsters under the bed.

These monsters are all the little thoughts that I ignore (or attempt to ignore) throughout the days as I find myself aware of more and more things that I just don’t get, have given up on getting and realize that perhaps  sometimes you’re just not supposed to get it.

 It’s funny looking back on the days of childhood remembering how I would think about how nice it would be to grow up and just get things.  How someday I would just know everything you’d ever need to know.

Well I grew up and yes I “get” a great deal more things than I did as a child but I’ve learnt two important points. Sometimes “getting it” doesn’t make it any easier and secondly I got a lot more things to “get”.

I think we all grow up and at some point realize that the grass really is no greener on the other side.  It even has a few rather distinct spots of brown here and there and eventually you realize that no matter how carefully you tread it’s inevitable that sooner or later you’ll step in one.   

I just try to look at it as spreading the fertilizer around.  If you step in a brown patch just keep walking along because spread all out, in the end it will all come out a little bit greener.

The Hunt is On

Plans have been laid out and a few pools days are in my near future which means time to check out the swimwear hiding away at the bottom of my privies drawer.  

Well it seems chlorine has eaten a hole through the bottom of one in much to friendly a spot, another bottom has gone completely sheer, elastic gone on yet another and the remaining mix seems to either no longer or perhaps it never did fit quite right and so……and so *big breath* it is time for that most loved activity of women the world over, swimsuit shopping.

I’m not a fan of shopping in the first place but make it swimsuit shopping and boy do I wish I were doing anything else. Cleaning the bathroom ranks about 100 spaces higher than swimsuit shopping and it is my most hated household chore.  To add to my joy I cannot wear a one-piece no matter how many I’ve tried on, with the exception of a maternity one (yes I was pregnant at the time, no smart-ass comments) I’ve never found one I could wear.  I’m also beginning to reach an age where I’m no longer sure if I can pull that look off.

One piece suits either squish my chest into a singular lung crushing breast whilst crawl up my backside or fitting top side and dropping of my bottom neither of which is a good/comfortable look. I’m what one might call top-heavy and although many women may consider that a plus I assure you it is not, as my upper back continually reminds me.    

I do believe I have a fairly good body image and most of the time I’m comfortable in a bathing suit once I’m at the beach or poolside. Perhaps not quite as comfortable as when I was 18 (man I miss that body) but enough to always enjoy myself and not care who may be looking. While it remains at a store however every flaw and doubt leaps to the surface and it is an entirely different matter.  

I like every other woman out there has her issues with swimsuits but I don’t really believe that anyone can look good under the particular set of circumstance that comes about when trying on swimwear.  Let us consider; florescent lighting, really whose bright idea was that one? Warped plastic mirrors, hrmmm a not so fun house.  The need to tuck your underwear into the edges in the hopes of finding out what said suit will actually look like without the extra layer, and last but not least the shade of blinding white skin that comes from being a Caucasian woman in the midst of a Canadian winter.

Really who can possibly look good under that particular circumstance?

No one that’s who.

Really short story

Her claws sunk into my shoulders as she struggled for purchase scratching my skin and leaving little punctures along the way.  I screamed and threw her from my back. Maggie stared at me a hint of laughter on her face.  “I guess you really aren’t a cat person”

“You think?!”

50 word story prompt, the picture is a random pull from wikimedia commons.

Quinzhee

Each year I make the girls a quinzhee. I enjoy making it not just for the girls but because I still get a kick out of playing around in the snow.  It's also one of the things left that will bring out the kid in my "I'm not a little kid anymore" 12 year old.

It wasn't such an easy task this year seeing as we have had very little snow and much of what we have had has melted away on one of our many warm days.  I do it every year though and so I had to try. The pile of snow to make our quinzhee this year makes up about 90% of the snow in our backyard. In many places I've cleared the snow all the way to the grass in order to get a big enough pile to build with.

I guess this is one of those things I got from my Dad, he used to build great forts and tunnels when I was a little girl that I recall as being wonderful snow palaces and intricate sculptures.  Imagination and the wonderment of being a little girl may be exaggerating reality a little but they're good memories.

I hope my forts and sculptures are remembered with as much fondness.