Live Out Loud

Calle sent me this card for my birthday.  I love the colors and the message.  I also want to say, Calle, that I don't really understand the the big font/little font thing, but I'm prepared to embrace it!

PS - Can't wait to see you again in New Zealand!  Soon!

Attack of the Viscous Floor Lamp

Usually our dog, Akela, jumps up on the bed after we stop reading and turn out the lights.  She'll nose her way in between us to lie down.

2 people and 1 dog fit on the bed.

After our cat, Ariel, is sure that the dogs are asleep she will come in and lay down next to my arm on the non-Akela side.

2 people, 1 cat and 1 dog fit on the bed.

Our other dog, Tasha, likes to sleep on her mat at the foot of the bed.  So as long as we all lay relatively still this configuration works.  If you move too much the animals will let you know that this is unacceptable verbally.

Around 3 AM, Tasha must’ve had an active dream chasing a big rabbit.  She knocked over the floor lamp that is in the vicinity of her mat, scared herself silly and went running around.  The ruckus woke me up, so I turned on the overhead light and it was pretty obvious (even at 3 AM) that I just needed to stand the lamp up.  During my 10 seconds out of bed, Tasha had come back into the room and firmly lodged herself into my spot on the bed.  Apparently, as a dog, after you have been through a life or death struggle with a floor lamp, you’re not willing to budge from your spot on the bed.  All my coaxing only got her to move over a little bit -- Tasha would have nothing to do with her mat.  I tried artfully arranging myself between the various animals, but since Akela didn't want to be next to Tasha, she kept nosing me over to the edge of the bed, which left Ariel less room than she liked.  If it had not been 3 AM, I might've been able to come up with a logical solution, but as it was I found out that: 

2 people, 2 dogs and 1 cat do not fit on the bed.

At least the cat was willing to make the sacrifice and sleep elsewhere so I didn't have to sleep on the couch.

This is from an old letter I found today.  I had written it to my mom back in the days when I was married, but when we were down from 2 cats/2 dogs to just 1 cat/2 dogs -- so probably around summer/fall 2003.  Thought it was vaguely funny and since I haven't been too inspired to writing anything, thought I'd post it.

Hoping for a Hat Trick

I asked Calle if it might be possible to have a "hat trick" day while in New Zealand:

1. talk to a Kiwi (person)
2. see a Kiwi (bird)
3. eat a Kiwi (fruit)

She said, "I might have to send you to the zoo...and the fruit may not be in season, but we'll see what we can do." ;-)

Calle also said she might take me on a flight! She got her private pilot's license and I haven't had the chance to fly with her yet. That would be soooo cool. (No pressure, Calle, if you read this...I just think it's cool you have a pilot's license at all. My "M" on my driver's license pales in comparison...and I'm out of practice at piloting a motorcycle too...sigh)

Note to self: check out the Napier wine region in NZ -- apparently it's what the locals talk about!

Shimmers and Aoraki

I'm reading a book called Straying from the Flock by Alexander Elder to get some background on New Zealand before I head out on my trip. I like this (p.37):

I realized that Shimmers [the cat] was a hard-working animal with an important role in the house. Klaus and Micha brought back carpets from the many countries that they visited and Shimmers made sure those carpets stayed in place. He moved from one carpet to another, following the sun throughout the day, and at night he held down the carpet in front of the fireplace.

I never knew my cat (Ariel) was doing such important work all day!

In an earlier post on my Kiwi Project, I mentioned that "Aoraki means Cloud Piercer in Maori" and that Mt. Aoraki was buffeted by fierce winds called the "Roaring Forties". I found an interesting legend about both those things. Here's a quick summary:

Aoraki and his 3 brothers were sailing their canoe when it struck a reef and capsized. The 4 men climbed onto the reef and sat down. They were caught by the wind and frozen in place. As they turned to stone, they became the South Island of New Zealand. Aoraki was seated the highest on the reef and became the tallest mountain.

In thinking about Mt. Aoraki/Mt. Cook, I think it will be even more awe-inspiring than our mountains here in Colorado. Sure it's a couple thousand feet shorter. But it starts from SEA LEVEL! Our mountains start from a mile high or so... In a couple places in the book (so far) the author mentions going from 'glacier to rain forest' or from 'palm trees to snow' in a few hundred feet!

Additional info:

Mount Aoraki Legend:
http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/HeManawa/LegendAoraki.asp
http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/newzealand/a/aorakilegend.htm
Straying from the Flock by Alexander Elder, p. 81

The Sparkly Ones, Please

I always love the things you learn about yourself on chair lifts. I spent the last weekend skiing at Winter Park. I typically go with my friends Tori and Mikaela - both women from my hockey team. They both have condos up near the ski area, so it makes it easier to ski all weekend because we can stay overnight at one of the condos and avoid the long "commute" back to town.

Over Thanksgiving Tori was out of town and she agreed to let me use her condo. Mikaela was also out of town so I was skiing solo. On one of my lift rides up during that stay, the guy next to me asks "Who are you skiing with?" I tell him basically that I'm solo because my friend Tori is out of town but she was still kind enough to let me stay at her place. "Where is she?" I say she's gone to the Caribbean with her family for the holiday. "How rude! Your girlfriend goes on a tropical vacation and leaves you behind!"

I date women?
I would prefer to be laying on a beach instead of skiing?

This past weekend, Tori and I are up skiing - Mikaela is again busy. On my first lift ride, I rode up with a man, a woman, and a young girl. I politely ask how their ski day is going. The little girl is a riot. She apparently took lessons the day before and wants to show her mom how to "catch air" and "go off jumps". "Hey look - there's a good jump!" she says as pointing to a mound of snow that is easily 2 feet taller than she is. I ask what grade she's in. "Kindergarten!" Her mom mentions that Friday was a teacher in-service day. I say it seems like kids these days have more non-school days than I did. The mom says "Where do you go to school?"

At 38, I look young enough in my ski gear to be in school? (fantastic news!)

Twice as Tori and I are getting off the lift together, I'm approached by random people who ask me to take their picture "and make sure you get the mountain in the background." Tori wonders why they never ask her. I assume it's because I look young enough to be in school (and she doesn't) - and tell her that. Tori jokingly calls me a lesbian high school photographer.

Later that night Tori and I run by the grocery store. I have long hair, so while I have somewhere near a billion hair bands, I never have one with me. I've forgotten mine (again) on this trip. The only blemish on our day is that my hair is driving me nuts. We're looking for hair bands and discussing the relative merits of the many choices. I say "Ooooh - I want the sparkly ones!" Tori thinks this might have something to do with why I might be mistaken for someone younger.

So, I say, "bring on the sparkly ones!"