Wednesday (Friday) Hodgpoge

This week has been a little bit exhausting.  I thought I'd take yet another page out of Nonnie's blog-book and post a Friday version of the Wednesday hodgepodge. Just so you know, Nonnie is a friend of my sweet MIL and she took the Hodgepoge from "Joyce From This Side of The Pond "  So there you go.

Feel free to read and comment- and if you re-blog, just give credit to the original poster, Joyce.

1.  According to Oxford Dictionaries, the 2013 word of the year is 'selfie'. Your thoughts? When did you last take a selfie? Do you post them online somewhere? Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind the lens?

I take selfie's mostly to see if my makeup/hair/clothing looks ok.  It's my 21st century mirror.  I post them infrequently, but I do post them. Mostly on my Instagram.  I'm way more comfortable behind the camera, though I'm sure people get tired of my landscape/cat/handsome husband pictures. 

My sister and I last summer, out on the boat. I just noticed we have the same crookedness to our smiles! 

2.  Will you send out Christmas Cards this year? If so, are they ready to go? If not, are you glad or sad about leaving that tradition behind?

I hope to get my ducks in a row and send more Christmas cards this year.  My problem is that school gets cra-zzzy until the end of the term, then it's all over.  However, it's all over around December 19th.  Cum-see, cum-saw.  

3.  Do you trust easily?

That would be no. Not at all.  It's probably just my nature.  I didn't grow up with a whole lot of cushion and while I like to be trustworthy,  it's not something I bestow lightly.  That said, if I trust you, I trust you with everything.  Lots of people are trustworthy; some just aren't. 

4. Pine-cinnamon-peppermint-vanilla (as in sugar cookie)...of those listed, which one is your favorite December scent?

Pine. I love pine trees.  They're not just for Christmas in our neck of the woods! I remember these pine trees my grandpa planted when I was little.  My cousin Ryan was just a bit taller than the tree when she was 6.  They had to cut both of them down 25 years later because of the roots growing under the house.  The trees had grown to over 30 feet tall.

Pine trees AND G! 

Pine trees + sunshine

The top of the world

Meandering canyon

5.  Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday?  Was that by choice or by necessity?

I did a lot more listening than talking.  It was a non-teaching day yesterday.  It's almost always my choice to not talk overly much.  Talking too much to others makes me tired. Especially in groups.  Man, I must sound like an old grumpy lady, but I promise I do like people. Just not in groups. 

6.  What's the last song that got stuck in your head?  Sorry if it's back there now :  )

Something by MIA.  I love the Arabic sounds mixed with rap.  I'm not a rap fan; I'm an MIA fan. 

7.  Which world explorer (in the whole history of the world) would you most like to have traveled with, and why?

I think I'd like to travel with the Vikings.  I guess they ate pretty well.  For me, good travel is all about good food. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's been a rough week.  G and I just have a lot going on and some realities we don't like dealing with. I'm really glad it's Friday and we can spend the very windy and cold weekend snuggled in our little house.  Maybe we'll write out some Christmas cards or finish our Christmas shopping!  Tonight we're heading out to see a movie- Catching Fire.  Something you may not know about me: I was given a 35# recurve bow when I was 11 years old.  I used that thing for a long, long time, bruising the snot out of my left arm, shooting into hay bales and generally being wild.  I don't know what happened to it but it was a good part of my childhood.  Also, I'm glad I never had to enter a Hunger Games. :) If I did, I'd win. 

Wish It Would Snow

It's so hot. There are honey bees out pollinating things and that's cool. I guess. I like bees. They do important bee things, like make the world go 'round.

For that, sunshine is important. And heat and bright sunny days.

But man, I moved north because I get underboob sweat when I walk outdoors in Oklahoma from March-November. Sorry for crossing the too much information line, but it had to be said; nothing conveys feeling like discussing sweat in uncomfortable places. It runs over my ribs and hits my hip bones and generally bothers me.  That also means that I'm burning my pale skin and exposing myself to the sun's harmful rays.
Yes, that's really why I moved back to Washington state.  I was melting.  Now? I'm melting.

Yes, it's in the 90s every day right now. I hate it. Mostly I hate it because we don't have air conditioning in our house, much like every other person in this part of the state. We bought a little window unit for our bedroom, but Eleanor the kitty stays downstairs all day (I thought she was smart?) and ceiling fans and box fans only do so much.  The sweat is unimaginable, squirting from my armpits and dehydrating my poor body. On top of that, I'm working out twice a day because I'm training a person I work with and I'm doing my regular stuff with G at night.

So my life is about cold, fizzy hydration.  Thank goodness we have a Sodastream.

Rather than keep complaining about the big hot ball of gas in the sky, I'm going to remind myself of the things I love about winter.  Once March rolled around in Oklahoma, I'd start becoming anxious about the heat.  By May it would be 100 degrees outside in the afternoon and from June through September, it wouldn't get below 90 at night.  I'd say "I miss winter" and my friends would say "wait until winter, then you'll miss this".  But they were wrong.

I don't miss summer, ever. I love spring and I love fall best of all, but I'm not a summer girl.

So, some things I love about winter:

Vibrant Colors

Dormancy 

Warm houses on cold days!

Frozen Vistas

A reason to stay home and snuggle 

And everything moves at a slower pace. 

I can't wait! Oh, fall, get here fast. 

I guess in the meantime, I can settle for this: 

Outside the Fence

I drive through Byars, Oklahoma
Every day,
on my way to work.
The back roads are the fastest
unless you get behind farmer Dan.

I slow to 35,
glide past Gigi's grocery store and bar/restaurant.
Note the red dirt on the side of the road,
and play my favorite game.

What's outside of the fence today?

The dogs, laying in the street, catch rays
of sun that just don't feel the same from the safety of the porch.
And a bald-face calf, lowing for his mamma,
sprints up Main street on his way to nowhere.

One day a horse was out, with two ponies and a donkey
(My friend Greg says that whenever they would pass a donkey, his children would roll down the windows and holler "You ass!"),
not doing much, just seeing what was on the other side and if the grass was greener.

Once I saw a deer hung up on the porch,
tongue lolling, eyes dark,
lifeless and ready to become dinner.
I shuddered as I passed, crossed myself
(I'm not Catholic but it seemed an appropriate gesture)
and thought of small town horror movies.

I hit a bump and realize that I am past the town,
out with the roadrunners and armadillos
and sometimes the sly red dirt fox drifting through at sunrise,
Pull the wheel to make the curve
like a demented Speedracer on the track,
hoping I don't crash and bite my tongue.

I speed on for another day and hope
that when I come back
that only living things will greet me.