snow and ice

It is winter here and we have snow and ice to prove it. As most kids do, I enjoy a little sledding and other snow activities. I do not have a sled at my house, but I did have an icy driveway. On Tuesday morning, when I went out to start my pickup so I could go to work, I noticed the icy hill and enjoyed a few moments of skiing. Only problem, there were spots of thin (or nonexistant) ice which would catch my feet as I skied the driveway. A quick little hop and I was back to sliding. Thursday night after I got home from work, I noticed there was just a little of the ice left (about 12 feet) and I figured I should take advantage of it before it was all gone. So back to skiing I went. There were now more spots where the ice is melted and the concrete which shows through is not nearly as slick. I had a few moments of joy once again, but it was chilly outside so I had to put my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. Then, on what I decided was an encore run (because the time before I told myself was the last run), I hit a small spot where there was no ice. My hands are stuck in my pockets as I am plummeting to the concrete. (Now, who reading this did not expect this to happen eventually?) I apparently managed to free my hands just before contact, because they had a couple rocks in them that weren't there before. My biggest concern however, was the thought that I had torn my jacket when I bounced on my side. On inspection, I was relieved to see no hole, then my arm started to hurt a little. After a few minutes I was able to go inside, face Mary, and explain to her why my arm hurt (I tried to hide it but she caught me rubbing it and questioned me). For some reason, she seems to think that I am prone to injury.

With the new year comes ...

With the new year comes new resolutions, or the old ones revised to seem more desirable and attainable. This year I didn't go with a societal standard resolution like exercising more or losing 15 pounds, although both are things that I should attempt. This year I came to the conclusion that my goal should be to try to finish the projects that I have in progress and fix the things around the house that are not working. I was gung-ho and got an early start, on Dec. 31 of last year (2010) I fixed the light to the basement and put up another light in the basement so Mary wouldn't have to walk to the washer and dryer in the dark. By the time the new year came around, my ambition for finishing and fixing things was greatly diminished. To re-energize the resolution ambition, I started a new project - a chest of drawers to go in our bedroom which is tall enough that I can lay in bed and watch the tv (which is set on top). I suppose it is worth noting that one of the projects that is in progress is a chest of drawers that my dad and I started building about 6 years ago (just need to stain and finish it). This plan worked, I was re-energized. After a week I had the chest ready to install the drawers and realized that it was slightly out of square. No problem, just a little tug here and tap there and it would be straight. Well, the tug didn't help and neither did the hand tap. But the hammer did wonders and made it fall apart. I'm not sure, but it seems that my design and skill were both faulty. I was not a happy camper and pretty much lost the desire to work on projects. I have always wanted to learn the piano, so I got my first lesson yesterday afternoon and practiced for a while before going to bed. I'll hopefully be able to stick with learning piano, for at least a few more days. I have no committment issues.