40 Cents?!?

I really have to start paying cash.

Winter Fun

Sarge and I went to the Ice Sculpture Festival again this past weekend. The sculptures are cool, but they’re not what took my eye this year.
The tools:



**************************************The retailers had fun welcoming guests in from the cold. Here’s a hot chocolate stand in one of the stores.


Women had fun dodging in and out of a boutique. The men made the best of it.

Returned!

Today, this class ring is being mailed to its rightful owner!
It was left on a city bus over a dozen years ago; I rescued it from the charity box after its max hold time in the Lost & Found. I always hoped to find the owner, but didn’t know where to start without even a school. Only the year, first name, and initials are inscribed on it.
Luckily, the lady has an unusual first name which, when paired with “Toledo” in a Google search, brought up a woman the right age with the right initials.
I wish I could see her face when she opens her mail!

Food Processing

Do you remember the first time you used a food processor? Can you recall how amazed you were by the speed? You couldn't believe how much more quickly you could tackle a big dicing job, remember?
Well, I used one for the first time over the weekend and experienced all that amazement. I've had a second-hand Little Oscar for about 10 years, but never used it. Of course, I wonder why I waited so long. My mom says I'm just stubborn, but I really do believe that mankind may be doing itself a disservice by making everything so easy. Effort, I think, is good for a person, physically and psychologically.
Yet, it's so much easier! Sigh . . . again, the duality issue.
It's a good time to start using it, since I think I've finally got the perfect recipe for the Turkish Carrot Balls (which I turned into bars).

Muddy Boots

Oddly, winter hasn’t come to my section of the country yet and I have really been enjoying it. I have kayaked and hiked well into the winter months, a first for me. I know the snow will come, but to put up with it for 8 weeks instead of 12 or 16 will make it a relatively easy season.
To clarify, I am not a hiker; they are in shape and know what they’re doing. I am just an old fat lady who likes to tromp through the woods. Someday, I would like to tromp the 220-mile length of Michigan’s Shore-To-Shore Trail, so I keep plodding towards that goal.


Yesterday, I drove to Ohio’s Firelands area and hiked at Findley State Park. What a fun trip! It used to be a state forest and has a good-sized lake, a disc golf course and a 9-mile mountain biking trail. Best of all for me, Ohio’s 1,400-mile Buckeye Trail runs through the park; I can finally say that I’ve been on it!

I’ve never seen such muddy trails! The mud even pulled one of my (low-rise) hiking boots off my foot! I got lost, thanks to the signs for an organized hike to be held next month which used the same color arrows as the Buckeye Trail’s blue blazes. (What in blue blazes were they thinking?!?)
Of course, I fell in the mud, while trying to avoid it by walking the length of a fallen tree. Luckily, I didn’t get covered in mud, because my back and rear were perched on the tree. My shoulder blades, though, were on the ground. Now, work up a mental picture of that, and then imagine an overweight, middle-aged woman trying to get up from that position, all while trying not to touch too much of the mud-covered ground . . . Utterly hysterical!
When you’re in the woods and something is moving quickly at a distance, your eyes play tricks on you. You think you see something moving, but you’re not certain. This kept happening, and finally I just stopped to stare in the same space between trees. 16 deer passed! I later met a park employee who said they have a population of 75 – 100.
I was covered in mud and had to strip down to my long johns when I got back to the car. Dirty and tired = the best measure of how good a time you had . . .

Renewal

Here’s a shot into my community’s YMCA the night of January 3rd. You can't find a place to park! I love to see so many people renewing their commitment to themselves at the same time. The energy is contagious!
I love this time of year. It’s good to reconsider my direction and refocus myself, and New Year’s is the perfect time.
I make a lot of resolutions, big and small. I don’t worry about the ones that fall to the wayside; if they remain important to me, I can include them again later. Either way, I have made many changes through the years that make me happy.
I don’t start seriously considering my yearly goals until the first of the year, so I take the month of January to let them twirl around in my head. But the end of the month, I usually have a pretty firm list.

Stone Schoolhouse

Check out this cool old schoolhouse I found with a friend on a New Year's Day excursion. I love stone buildings. My hubby was a brick mason and always said that laying stone required a lot of skill.
Be sure to notice the HUGE header stone over the door. This place is over 160 years old!
One of my favorite pastimes is to go out exploring, just to see what I can find.