Portland's Japanese Garden

I'm needing a flashback to something fun and nice today. It's been a hard week. (Heck, it's been a hard winter, truth be told.) Husband's sick. I'm sick. Again. I'm tired of being sick. Whine, gripe, whimper. I did get some good work done on the church remodel project this week, which is a blessing. One of the advantages of being sick a lot (yes, we are striving to be positive), is that you learn how to ignore pain and fatigue and function anyway. I decided that I would feel better mentally if I just went ahead and got something useful done, and I was right. If you're going to feel lousy physically no matter what you do, you might as well be productive if you can, right? Now, I still feel lousy, but I feel lousy with one more coat of mud on the walls. I can live with that.

Anyway, right now I'm waiting to take some friends to the airport before heading over for one more round of productive enterprise. (Corrective update--never made it to the church. By the time I got back from the airport my temperature was up three degrees. I'm not working on anything for awhile.) I thought now would be a good time to dip into some cheerful memories, and take care of some photographic housekeeping at the same time. It's high time I sorted and posted some of my favorite pics from the Portland Japanese Garden, an authentic Japanese garden near Washington Park and the Oregon Zoo. I took a stroll through this beautiful pleasure-ground (actually five gardens in one) last June with my dear friend Su. Yes, I have been holding on to these pictures for almost a year without actually doing anything with them! Kinda pathetic, eh? Oh well, I've picked out the ones I like now, and am ready to share them with the world. (Heh. Maybe I should narrow that "the world" thing down to a very small subset of the world that will happen to randomly wander by when they Google "feline misspellings," or something equally random.) No matter. Here goes. I don't have a lot to say about many of these, so I'll mostly let the images speak for themselves, okay?

I found this rather interesting. In the midst of all the natural beauty--stone, wood, water, trees, moss and flowers--there is something that looks very much like Plexiglas. Hmmm, how did that get in here? Pretty, though.

There was some official showing going on in the art gallery, to which Su and I lacked an invite, so I had to content myself with peering in from the outside and trying to use the reflections and glass I shot this photo through as an asset as best I could. I kind of like how it turned out, and really think the vase is beautiful and creative. It's not something I would use to decorate my own rather "traditional" American house, but I love to see it in its native habitat.

Here is Su, sketchpad in hand. While I snapped photos, she was happily engaged in drawing whatever took her fancy. Her method took little longer, but her pencil never ran low, whereas my camera battery barely gasped its way through the afternoon. I'd say we both enjoyed our chosen form of artistic expression for the day, which is what counts, right?

How is it the Japanese manage to make something artistic out of plain old ordinary grey boulders, without even adding flowers to brighten up the scene? I don't know--I sure couldn't pull it off--but somehow it works in this setting.

I loved getting the picture of this bee. Isn't this pretty? You can see the cells in the lovely little pollinator's wings! (You can really see the detail if you click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Su sketched this scene for quite a while. (The drawing was beautiful--wish I had a copy.) She drew quite a crowd at one point when a tour group wandered by. One lady was actually rather annoying about it, hovering over Su's shoulder and making comments about what she saw. I was impressed that Su managed to take it in stride and still put out a charming sketch, despite the distraction.

While Su was busily putting pencil to paper, I waited for this bridge to clear so I could snap this photo. It was a very limited opportunity moment. The gardens were busy that day (of course they were busy--have you noticed all that beautiful sunshine?), and this is the only chance I got in about 15 minutes of waiting for the sketch artist to complete her latest vision. Don't know that the picture was worth all that hovering, but now that I've snapped it, by golly, I'm going to post it!!

What would Japanese gardens be without koi? Inconceivable.

Well, there you have it, only ten months after the fact... Don't think of these pictures as being late and out of their proper time. Think of them as getting us in the mood for summer! It certainly brightened my mood to post them. Hope you enjoyed them too.

Star Wars-Inspired Mosquito Destruction

What's not to like? Frank J. at IMAO calls this the Mosquito Death Star. Being developed in the U.S. as a way to fight malaria, it's a laser which hears that peculiar little annoying whine that mosquitoes make, and then zeros in to blast the little bloodsuckers into a galaxy far, far away. (Does that work as a euphemism for a quick and thorough death?) Okay, so the inspiration was from Star Wars, the missile defense system, and a degree of separation or two away from Star Wars, the generation-shaping science fiction escapist movie icon, but who cares? This technological gift to man and beast can potentially kill millions of evil mosquito warrior clones in just a few minutes. There is no downside here. May the Force be with it!

(Maybe it would help me get my husband to venture outside on warm summer nights...)

Worth A Look

I don't care where you stand politically. This is worth seeing. It's what a trillion dollars looks like.

Hat tip: IMAO

Winlock Takes Fifth In State!!

Hi basketball fans! If you're not a basketball fan, you might as well bail now, because this post is all about how awesome the Winlock boys basketball team is, and how proud I am of my nephew, Jake Brown! The Winlock Cardinals beat the Naches Valley Rangers 56-38 on Saturday morning to take fifth in the Washington 1A Boys Basketball Tournament--their best trophy ever at the state level. According to the Associated Press, they shot 59 percent from the field to get there, and were 11 for 17 in the second half. The quarters in high school ball are only 8 minutes long, so you can imagine what an exciting game it was for them to rack up 58 points in 32 minutes! Jake scored 14 points and hauled down 10 rebounds to cap off a stellar senior year, and Ked and I couldn't be more proud of him.

All the boys showed tremendous grace under pressure, and one of the things which impressed us the most watching them through the season was how focused they were the whole time they were on the court. These kids are not whiners. They don't blame a bad game on bad calls (not that they had many bad games--they ended the year 24-3), and they don't waste energy "acting" to sway the refs. (We did see some of that at the tourney from other teams. Found it pretty sad.) They just play basketball really, really well. The starters on the squad have been playing together since they were tykes, and it shows. They work together and care about the team more than they care about their own glory. Not that there's not glory to be had--as 6'9" Jake wandered conspicuously through the crowd after the game, kids who barely reached his knees were clambering for his notice. Autograph hounds had him signing programs and shirts. One enthusiastic fan, lacking a souvenir at hand, even had Jake sign his chest! It's enough to turn anyone's head, but Winlock's boys seem to have kept theirs on their shoulders. Everyone we've talked to about the squad has said over and over that these are good kids, and good friends who just love playing the game together. That's a joy to watch.

I only wish I got to watch more of this particular game. Ked practiced all day Friday at the tournament with the camera to get the perfect action shots, but at the last minute he got recruited to camcorder duty (this is the result of snagging front row seats), so I was left with the Canon SLR and a big fat zoom lens, neither of which were particularly familiar to me. I did my best. I missed a lot of the action, because I was so focused on following Jake around in the viewfinder, hoping to catch some magic moments, but it was a lot of fun anyway, and I think I snagged a few memories for Jake and the family. Hope you enjoy them. (Click on the photos to enlarge them. I didn't bother to reduce the file size for these pictures, so some of them will be too big for the screen and you'll have to scroll around a bit to catch everything, but some of them really are worth seeing in their bigger versions.)

The game begins. I don't know why Coach Gary Viggers has his head in his hands, but I assure you that didn't last. Viggers had a lot to be happy about in this final game of his coaching career at Winlock. The boys did him proud. Just as a side note, Tyler Hertz walked by my husband and me after the game. He's number three in the Cardinal jersey. Ked noted, "Wow. You look a lot smaller on the court!" That's because Tyler is 6'2". He's something of a tree in his own right, but when the average height of your starting line-up is 6'5", even Tyler starts looking petite!

The guys fought tough right from the beginning. Jake works hard the whole time he's on the court, as this Naches Ranger is finding out.

Those legs may be long, but Jake can get low when he needs to. Look at the concentration on that face!

I'm bummed I cut the top of the ball off in this shot, but look at that form!! Two of his fourteen points are on their way.

Winlock is always tough on the boards. Here's one of Jake's 10 rebounds. Ked and I watched Naches Valley win their match on Friday and were impressed with how well Naches shot from the outside, especially number 33 (whose name I do not know and am too lazy to Google). We were afraid that hot shooting might give Winlock some trouble, but the Cardinals shut them down pretty effectively. Naches only shot 33 percent for the game, making 13 of 40 attempts at the basket. Winlock cleaned up at the boards in the process.

I don't remember Jake being born with springs in his legs, but they must have been there, because the evidence is all over the place when he's on the court.

Winlock's solid performance included a good showing from the line. Jake made all 4 of his free throws. Here, Jordan Davis takes his best shot, although, I confess, I don't know if this one went down. I was too busy trying to follow Jake with the camera to see if he pulled down a rebound! Sorry, Jordan. You're important, too. Honest!

Nothing particular to say for this one. Just catching a little nice ball handling. Basketball really is a great game.

And the crowd goes wild!! Jake slammed this ball home with authority. I had been listening to the crowd behind me for much of the fourth quarter as the expectant fans kept asking themselves, "When's Jake going to dunk the ball? When's he gonna put on a show?" Well, Jake delivered. Look at those guys in the bleachers. The one in the dark shirt is the fellow who is now walking around with Jake's name written on his chest in sharpie marker! I'd say he looks pretty happy, wouldn't you?

This whole team of boys are so good together. From what I am told, even the young ones get treated like family. You gotta love this. This is why interscholastic sports exist. These boys have spent years together learning hard work, and sportsmanship, and team over self. The whole town of Winlock is proud of them, and rightly so. Way to go Cardinals! Congratulations!!

Being Winlock's tallest player, a high scorer, rebounding machine and general all-around stud, Jake often gets interviewed after a game. This is the first time I've seen the headphones and mic routine, though. Would have liked to have caught this radio interview, but I was 75' away taking pictures with my telephoto lens. Caught a few really good ones, but I'll only show you one. The rest are for his Mom and grandparents. They'll want to seen all 544 of them!! (Kidding. I think there are only 523.)

I did have to throw in one more interview shot. I couldn't resist this one of Jake towering over his coach and the interviewer. I've got to ask Sheila what she feeds this kid!



Here is the moment you've all been waiting for. Sharpie meets flesh. I told Jake if he's ever famous I'm selling this one on EBay.

I'll finish up with a cheerful family photo. That's Ked on the left, and the 6'6" bear of a man with him on the right is Jake's extremely happy brother Josh. Josh played in this same game, at this same tournament, a number of years ago, but his team came up just a little short and took home the eighth place trophy. Josh was thrilled to see his brother win this game. The glow on his face says it all. I don't think a brother or uncle could be prouder than these two. The whole family, in fact, was about as happy as I've ever seen them. We're all sorry it's over for the year, but we're looking forward to seeing where Jake goes to college and learning to love whatever team he becomes a part of. There will probably be some nostalgia for this special hometown team, but if Jake's a part of it, the new one will be special too. Congratulations again Jake. Your family loves you. Congratulations again, too, to the Winlock Cardinals Boys Basketball Team. You guys are awesome!

Down In The Valley

I have a little road trip report for you this evening. Ked and I drove from Portland to the Yakima Valley in central Washington today, so we can watch our nephew Jake play in the Washington State 1A Boys Basketball Tournament. Much of the family is here to cheer our boy on (if you can call a 6'9", 240 lb. rock of a human specimen a boy), and we're all getting a kick out of having someone we love to root for in what would be a fun event even if we didn't have a horse in the race. The whole tournament atmosphere is exciting, and it's always a pleasure to see athletes who have worked their way to the top of their divisions go at it, knowing that this is the moment they have been working towards all year. We all love basketball anyway, and it's even more enjoyable when family and hometown both get a bit of an ego-stroking. Jake plays for the same Winlock Cardinals that Ked and his brother played for 25 years ago. They got to see their nephew help lead that school to its first ever district championship last week, and now we get to see them give it their all at State.

We didn't get to be here for the first couple days of the tourney, so we missed the Cards first two games--one a loss, and the other a victory. The loss means they won't be playing for the State title, but the victory means they're still in it for fifth, so we're happy to still have the chance to watch 'em play and hope to cheer them on to more Winlock wins over the next two days. Ked's caught the fever something fierce, and the only prescription (besides more cowbell) is more basketball!! He's talking about coming back next year, when Jake's off playing college ball, just so he can revel in the joy of high-level high school hoops. We'll see what happens then, but being the sports fan that I am, I won't be the one to discourage him...

This is a basketball flashback for Ked, but it's a bit of a trip down memory lane for me too. When I was in fourth and fifth grade I lived in the Yakima Valley, in a little town called Granger (also represented in this year's tournament). My Mom bought a farm that she had lived on years before, but kept the house in Portland, where my step-dad continued to live, since his job was based in town. We made that four hour drive more times than I can count, and it is always nostalgic for me now, on those few occasions when I travel the same path as an adult. If we take the I-84 route, past The Dalles on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge, we pass many a childhood memory. There's Spooky's, the pizza parlor where we always begged Mom to stop if we had time, and were annoyingly persistent about it even if we didn't--still open 35 years later. There's Biggs Junction, the tiny little hamlet that we always called "Dinty's Town" because so many businesses were named after someone with that moniker. I didn't learn its official name until many years into adulthood. In my heart, I still like Dinty's Town better. There is also the climb up towards Goldendale, on the Washington side, stark and bare, and oddly beautiful, although I never appreciated it properly as a child impatient to be home.

Now, of course, there have been some changes, new things built, and old things fallen down along that old familiar path. It's nice to pass that way again, just to glimpse the passage of time in the imagery of the landscape. I have just a few pictures to share with you from the journey. I didn't plan on taking them, but the scenes called out to me. So, here they are... (Click to enlarge.)



This is the Washington side of the Columbia River, after the crossing at Biggs Junction, right before Highway 97 turns north off the road that leads to the Maryhill Museum. I loved the way the shadows from the clouds danced across the windy hills, and the river played in the sunlight that insisted that winter not be gloomy. A little farther down the road the clouds got thicker, and even offered us a little snow to make the drive interesting, but here it was all shining clouds, dancing shadows and the beautiful ribbon of bright blue river.

Those windy hills are taking on a new purpose, as windmills have begun to dot the landscape throughout the region. We thought that seeing these windmills-in-the-making was pretty cool. I couldn't believe the size of those blades that are laying at the base of the tower in the center of the photo. If you take a look at the crane on the left, you can get a sense of how big it is. That crane was tall, and the blades looked awfully large behind it as we drove by. (Definitely click on this one.)

Well, the windmills are new, but here is something definitely old. The field has been plowed, but, unless they are awfully hardy souls, I don't think it was by residents of this house. Needs a bit of repair work, wouldn't you say?

I couldn't resist taking a closer look--with my camera at least. The place just looks so desolate, that for some reason it made me think of the Great Depression, and the Oklahoma Dust-bowl. Hmm, that's not really the place I want my mind going these days. Moving on...

Here's another of the local relics. We called this one The Skeleton Barn. Looks very wild west to me.

Once we got to Yakima we sought out a little color and life. We met Ked's folks at El Mirador for some terrific Mexican food. I know this shot of Ked is a little grainy, but I thought it was such a nice picture of him that I'm willing to put up with the flaws in photography.

Here are Mom and Pop, cheerful after a fine meal, and the recent Winlock victory, ready to head back to the Sun Dome for the last game of the evening. Ked and I were not so ambitious. We headed back to our hotel to check our email, download pictures and get some rest. Ked is snoozing even as I type, and I'll be joining him soon. We've got basketball to watch in the morning. Winlock plays at 11! Go Cards!!

A Technological Ray Of Sunshine

Couldn't we all use some nice, cheerful, sci-fi-quality tech news to remind us that, unlike our profit sharing accounts and 401(k)s, some things are actually moving forward and not backward these days? Some things are, in fact, getting better, stronger, faster and cooler! While financial turmoil shakes the foundations of our economic empires, science is still making amazing progress. Retirement funds and college savings plans may be shrinking, but technology is shrinking, too, both in size and in price, and that is a very good thing. I'll pass you over now to this little piece at Gizmag, which will show you a cutting edge, "affordable" (no amounts given here) almost credit-card-small, flexible electronic touchscreen display. This "electronic paper" uses very little power, is ultra portable, can send or store the information written on it, and can take a serious beating to boot. (Watch the video for evidence of the latter.)

On a side note, this is the kind of thing that gives me hope that the current shaking of our financial foundations doesn't mean the whole building will come crashing down. The things that sparked the general prosperity of the last century--creativity and hard work--haven't crumbled yet (despite the best efforts of our political classes). Humans are an inventive lot, and many of the societal problems we face can be addressed successfully with the right technological advancements. They won't fix the human nature problem--people are still going to do stupid things in the name of blatant self-interest--but they can improve the human condition, feed people, provide clean and affordable energy, extend communication, fight disease, and provide information to the masses. I can't say that I'm at all positive about what the powerful people are doing these days, but the fact that the inventors and scientists keep plugging away is a technological ray of sunshine in a cloudy and difficult time.

I've Got An Idea!

So, I'm on the treadmill, cooling down after a run, thinking random thoughts, when it hits me. Let's fix education in America!! Everyone agrees that our educational system is failing a high percentage of students, right? I read a statistic recently (if I remember correctly, it's from the mayor of Portland, Sam Adams', office) that about 40% of the kids in Portland Public Schools will not graduate high school. I've also read that the rate is even higher in other large cities. Seriously, is that even possible? That is just plain scary. This hits home pretty hard with me. I have two nephews who fell through the cracks and dropped out at the end of their sophomore years, and they are both suffering the consequences of the extremely limited options this lack of education leaves them.

I know a lot of factors influence the effectiveness of a child's education, from home life to culture, to teachers and unions, and many of these factors are not things that government can control. However, some of them are things over which government could have more effective influence than it does. Take teachers, for example. (No, I am not saying that government can control teachers.) There are good ones and there are bad ones. Some are engaged, talented and energetic, and some are putting in their time, tired, and counting the days until retirement. (By the way, I don't think that has anything to do with age. I've had great older teachers and lousy young ones. Some teachers are just better than others.) Is it possible for these gifted teachers to be encouraged to stay, while the less effective are encouraged to find employment that is better suited to their abilities? What, if anything, can or should the federal government do to foster that end? Would the teachers union even brook the slightest interference to their hold on power and seniority? No chance, you say? What if internal pressure gave them no choice?

Here's my proposal: Congress passes a law that says that the households of teachers and teaching assistants will pay no income taxes. None--not even at the state level. I'm not talking just the teachers themselves, but anyone who brings home a paycheck in that household (dependants up to a certain age, say 21). Many teachers salaries are low enough that they probably don't pay federal income tax anyway, but you throw in the income from hubby or wife, and you are talking some significant tax savings. Add on the kids' summer job and they've got a tax free college savings plan!! How's that for incentive for the best and brightest to go into education, and their spouses to be supportive of the endeavor?

Here's the condition: Retention of position is completely dependant upon classroom outcomes. If the kids learn to read, write, do math, etc., then that teacher is kept on the payroll, and off the tax rolls. If they do not, then some of the eager talents waiting in the wings get their shot at improving the situation. How many of the teachers currently in the union would not clamber to have this law enacted? Probably just the bad ones who are currently only protected by seniority from getting the boot. The rest of them would find the reward to be high. This isn't a way to break the union (if the union works for the benefit of its members), but a way to benefit both teachers and students so that everyone comes out ahead. Win, win. The union stays intact, but with purer motives, and the future of American education is dramatically improved.

The cost to the federal coffers would be minimal, but the gain to society could be enormous. We'd have a better educated populace, a well-rewarded class of teachers, and future income for the government based on the fact that an educated country is a productive, creative and revenue-generating country. Imagine the day when teaching would become a coveted position in society, only the gifted could get into teaching programs, and only the best teachers fill our public schools. Imagine.

So what do you think? Pipe dream? Too full of impracticalities? Too naive? (Already been thought and tried? It's new to me, but that doesn't mean much.) I like it, but then I was pretty tired when I thought it up. Maybe it was the endorphins talking... Hey, if this works we could do it with police and firefighters, doctors, nurses; the list goes on. Who would be left to pay taxes you ask? How about all the rest of that well-educated populace that chooses not to go into service sector employment? Better yet, how about only the politicians pay taxes? That would ensure that people had a disincentive to commit politics and we might end up with some purer motives there, as well.

You'd Think We'd Have Had Enough Snow By Now...

...but you'd be wrong!! Yes, we strapped on the snow shoes and tramped about town during the Big Snow Event of 2008. Yes, we sat in the window and watched a gazillion flakes fall. Yes, we had all of our holiday events and deliveries cancelled and juggled and otherwise messed with by the first real winter we've had in years, but we never got to go sledding!! Ked and I needed to go sledding! The town snow only whetted our appetite, making us long for the mountain. So, driven by primal urges to ascend to the heights of Mount Hood and hurl ourselves head first down the slopes, we cancelled what little remained of our holiday schedule and made it happen!! Okay, in all honesty, we had the sledding trip scheduled with friends for weeks before the valley snow flew, but we weren't dissuaded from the trip by the fact we'd been rolling in the white stuff for two weeks. Snow is still fun!! (We are so going skiing soon.)

Before I get to the pictures, let me wish you a very Happy New Year and tell you just a bit about our Christmas. Christmas was, in keeping with the spirit of the winter of 2008, postponed due to weather and family health issues. However, being the flexible group that we are, we simply decided that Christmas would be on December 27th this year, kept the prime rib in the fridge for a couple of extra days and stocked up on a little extra eggnog to get us through 'til the feast could begin. This Christmas was the first time since I was a toddler that all of my sisters and I had been together with my mom for Christmas, so we wanted to go all out to make it special. Along with the absolutely divine prime rib, I made Yorkshire pudding, creamed spinach, sweet potato casserole (a Tasina and Sioux Lady recipe-to-die-for), and as a special treat, Ked whipped up some mocha pots de creme--a coffee and chocolate custard, which was impossibly good. It all turned out wonderfully, in fact. I was quite relieved. I had never made prime rib and Yorkshire pudding before, but had a couple of splendid recipes, and it all came off without a hitch. The family was also extremely well-behaved for the occasion--another blessing for which to be thankful! We had a wonderful family celebration, well worth the delay and fuss, and digging out of cars which the snow engendered. I hope yours was equally lovely. On to the pics... (As usual, click on the pictures to make 'em bigger.)


We were feeling a trifle unsure when we arrived at the trail-head to find a foot of unpacked snow in the parking lot, and not another car in sight!! It was snowing hard, in a pretty stiff wind, and we weren't entirely certain that everyone else who stayed away didn't have the right idea. Mind you, we weren't averse to having the mountain to ourselves, just not particularly interested in getting stranded or frozen. Our Expedition handled the Great Portland Snow-In Of '08 like a champ, though, so we hooked on the ever-useful snowshoes and tramped on up the hill, leaving the suv all on its lonesome.

We trudged down the trail and crested the sledding hill just about the time the weather decided to completely change her tune. By the time we had gotten settled in for a slide or two, it turned into a rather pleasant day. The sky even flashed a bit of blue every now and then, just to keep us cheerful! Our friend (I'll call her M until she tells me she can have at least a first name here on the blog) provided the blue, in her cap, the rest of the time.

Girlie here found going down the hill a breeze. Coming up was something more of a challenge! The man in the background was a stranger we met when some other people finally decided that the weather had turned about for keeps. He and his pregnant wife, and another couple, came wading through the snow--midway up their thighs at points--only to arrive at this very tempting hill with no way to slide down it. Ked and I were back at the car getting the camera at the time, so our friends loaned the unprepared ones our sleds for a few rides. Mom-to-be called it baby's first sled ride! It was funny; in chatting with her a bit, we discovered she's a nurse in the cancer ward where my mom has been getting treatments for the last several weeks. I'm heading there tomorrow with Mom for her next round of platelets. I wonder if we'll see her again... Wouldn't that be an odd turn of events?

The boy had a blast from the get-go. Last year when we did this he wasn't as brave as this time around, or as sensible. He kept taking off his gloves and felt the cold something fierce. This year's outing saw him a little wiser, and a little warmer, too. The gloves stayed on. The hat found itself straying from its moorings now and then, but this didn't seem to dampen his spirits, even if it did dampen his hair a bit.

Ked was in fine humor, too, and even a tumble or two didn't wipe the smile from his twice-bespectacled face.

...and there was, indeed, a tumble or two. Even the snowshoes couldn't keep us upright part of the time. The snow was so deep and unevenly packed that what seemed like solid ground occasionally and unpredictably wasn't. I fell at one point, put my hands out to steady myself, and ended up with my arms buried up to my armpits! Made for a tricky landing. My face came an inch or so from intimate acquaintance with the powder, and getting out of the situation took some careful maneuvering. I couldn't help but think what it would be like to be buried, even temporarily, in the snow. It was actually a little scary--just a very little.

Girlie isn't scared here, just cold and tired of being so. If only we could have convinced her to stop sitting in the snow and chomping it down like a snow cone in August...

This one didn't even bother reaching down to scoop his snow cone up off the ground. He just waited until enough ice had gathered near his chin and started licking.

How's this for bringing color to a stark white world? All the primaries, and even a few secondary shades made it onto a few square yards of mountain. Those bright, rosy little faces are the nicest part of the picture, though, wouldn't you say?

Speaking of bright, rosy little faces, here's our friend "S" hiding his as usual. S and I have an ongoing ritual, which involves me wielding my ubiquitous camera, and him ducking behind whatever is convenient to avoid it. It's a fun little game we play. At least I caught his eyes this time. Usually it's not much more than an ear or a chin.

Ked's not nearly so camera shy as S is, as long as he can be a goofball! His neck was hurting from a hard smack on the ground by this point, but you'd never know it from pictorial evidence!

Can't get much cuter than this! A little hot cocoa was all it took to melt all that snow that Girlie had consumed, and warm her up from the inside. See the glow?

Once we made it down off the mountain we spent some time in the evening playing with M&S's family Christmas present. We had a great time golfing and boxing and playing tennis with their new Wii. I'll tell you, though, that boxing'll wear you out! I couldn't wait for round three to be over!! Isn't M looking strong and stylish, though? I can't decide whether she looks more like a boxer, or a contestant on American Idol.

The competition got pretty heated. When M started directing her controller toward S, instead of the TV sensor, we could tell things were getting serious!

Can you guess who won?

Eventually the kids took over and we finished off the evening, all of us worn out and ready for a rest from all our trudging in the snow and punching each other's lights out. A couple days later we tried Wii bowling. Now that was right up my alley!! Much less of a fatigue factor with bowling, and the beauty of doing it with Wii is that you don't have to rent the shoes. Heck, next time I think I'll try it without shoes!!

So there you have the story of our quest for snow, after the snow. It was very satisfying. The weather reports are saying we may be getting a little more snowfall here in town in the coming few days. Apparently this oddly winterish winter continues. I'll spare you the photos if it comes. You've got to be tired of the snow by now, even if I'm not. They're also talking flooding, though. Can't promise that I won't show you pictures of that...

Happy New Year to you, wherever you may be.