Your weekend edition of The Lamp Post has arrived.
How nice that you don't have to run out to your mailbox to retrieve it!
It's cold!
The outdoor temperatures aren't as frigid as they have been though.
33 degrees felt like a heat wave this morning.
These are the frosty ice patterns left on my window from our friend, Polar Vortex.
It returned for the sequel!
Oh, Brother!
Oh, Brother!
Reports out of Pennsylvania tell us the falling water of the Falling Waters house has frozen.
Portions of Niagara Falls have also been touched by Cold Miser's finger.
Everyone is talking about the weather, it seems.
Winter is always good for jokes.
\
Erie after Christmas:
A cold, gray, bucket of suck just about sums it up.
Erie area schools had another one of these this week.
Seeing your school's name run from right to left in the blue bar at the bottom of your TV screen always causes excitement. No matter how old you are, or if you have kids in school or not, it brings you back to your childhood. That unexpected day off for a kid is like an extra Christmas present arriving in January. They pay no mind to the fact that a make up day will be around to bite them later in the school year. Children don't often think about the future. They live in The Now and celebrate each moment as it comes. There are lots of lessons to be learned from children. My students teach me countless things every week.
By the however-manyeth school delay of this season, parents often have a different reaction.
Everyone has an opinion over the school cancellation policies. Everyone pays taxes. Everyone feels they have a say. My favorite facebook comment I found was a local guy who was worried we were raising a generation of pussies and called for parents to stick a hat on Junior's head and send him out the door to school no matter how low the thermometer dips.
Eloise is just glad I don't have to make the call. In support of those I know who have to make that important determination, Eloise will say this: a great deal of thought is behind each decision to cancel or delay school. It is not a resolution easily reached. School administrators fully understand the impact an unexpected change in a school schedule has on families and a community. Safety of children is always the first concern. Road conditions, school buses starting, and wind chills are also factors. And there always is that matter of children not having adequate head coverings, too.
Eloise is just glad I don't have to make the call. In support of those I know who have to make that important determination, Eloise will say this: a great deal of thought is behind each decision to cancel or delay school. It is not a resolution easily reached. School administrators fully understand the impact an unexpected change in a school schedule has on families and a community. Safety of children is always the first concern. Road conditions, school buses starting, and wind chills are also factors. And there always is that matter of children not having adequate head coverings, too.
As a result of the Polar Vortex 2, I was grounded on Tuesday,
so I took the opportunity to snap this photo as the sun was rising.
so I took the opportunity to snap this photo as the sun was rising.
It was -3 at the Lamp Post when I awoke.
I let the temperature climb to 2 before I took Josie out.
We weren't out long,
We weren't out long,
but time enough to snap a few pretty ones.
I don't know how those winter Olympians do it, training out in the cold like that day after day.
It takes a certain kind of person to be an Olympian, and of that subset of ultra driven athletes, someone extra special to be a WINTER Olympian.
Eloise is getting so excited for the games to begin. I love sports and love cheering for my team all the more. I can't wait to show you my hat, but I'm waiting until next week.
Click the link below for a great pep rally video for the winter games. Danielle Bradbery sings My Day with clips of all the different sports fed in. Enjoy.
I can't wait to see how LoLo Jones does on the bobsled,
and how this little cutie, perfectly named Gracie Gold, does in figure skating.
Ralph Lauren got another shot to design the US Olympic Team uniform.
He took heat in the last Olympics because he had the uniforms made in China.
I love this look. Two thumbs up from Eloise.
I'd trade some of my best Pez dispensers and two rocks from my collection
for one of those hats.
He took heat in the last Olympics because he had the uniforms made in China.
I love this look. Two thumbs up from Eloise.
I'd trade some of my best Pez dispensers and two rocks from my collection
for one of those hats.
But the sweater?
Oh, Brother!
Not so sure, Ralphie.
It does look better from a bit of a distance.
Safe travels, Team and stay alert.
While we are on the topic of wardrobes, I must comment on the recent Grammy Awards. There were some really memorable performances, but the attire of the music stars has left permanent marks on my brain. Ellen commented that she felt like Effie Trinket was going to come out and announce the picks for the 75th Hunger Games when Daft Punk accepted their award. If you'd like a chuckle, here are some clever observations someone put together. Thanks for sharing it, Jan. Madonna was my favorite.
Onto some other clothing capers of the week:
Here is my stocky son Sam, who happens to be the World's Pickiest Eater.
As finicky as he is, you'd think the boy would be a string bean, but he's not. My broad shouldered boy already is packing 90 pounds on his frame held up by size 4 feet. Sam's been wearing size 10 pants but has hit another growth spurt. 12's are out of the question--way too long and just too big yet, but his current size is hard to hike up around his butt.
My boy has the butt of a linebacker.
(This was Thanksgiving night after I told Sam to "pose"--
yes, he did get in trouble for the moon).
Oh, Brother!
Oh, Brother!
Sam is thick through the legs and be-hind and I thank God every day that He didn't make him a girl. Poor thing would never find clothes.
Sam puts that butt to good use aside from the mooning. He packs a powerful kick and is explosive on a run. My boy doesn't want a thing to do with carrying the ball across the goal line, though. He's a natural defender. All he wants to do is tackle. "No one is getting through me" is his favorite line to use when we are playing.
"Let's practice our tackles, Mom," said Sam the other evening.
"Since when are they OUR tackles," I pondered seconds before being flattened.
Pants are posing a problem because the 10 Husky of the regular cuts are still too wide. But last week, I had a revelation and took a shot. I bought these:
Size 10 Husky, but in a SKINNY JEAN.
The girls and I have been laughing all week at the thought of Sam in Skinny Jeans.
They fit and that is all that matters.
Plus, Sam thinks he's cool.
Onto shirts:
They fit and that is all that matters.
Plus, Sam thinks he's cool.
Onto shirts:
Natalie's traveling shirt has been to Las Vegas!
My friend Patty, also a t-shirt recipient, liked the idea so much she's taking hers along on some future trips.
Patty That's an awesome idea! Can't wait to see where else Natalie's " shiny, happy people" travel! Mine will be hitting FL and NC later this year!
Lamp Post menu themes have continued this week. Only two more weeks to go and the Doc's Detox will be complete and my body will thank me for my dedication to something I believe in. Periodically cleansing your system entirely of processed foods, chemicals, and extras like caffeine, sugar, and alcohol is good for you. But it is very difficult. The theme weeks helped me keep things new , fun, and interesting. We worked together as a family to think of foods to match the week, and ate together most nights.
Our theme during the heart of the second Polar Vortex:
Luau Week!
I bought every piece of fruit that looked like it was grown in a tropical climate.
The new fruits made for some much needed sweet treats on the cold winter nights.
This star fruit was my favorite. It tastes like a grape and an apple combined.
Plus it is so pretty!
We ate ham and pineapple and rice and fish and lots of fruit all week long.
For the finale night, Grandma and Grandpa provided dinner for us.
When I came home from work, Grandma surprised us and decorated the house.
She claims my Travelocity gnome collected all the stuff for her.
Grandma blamed him for burying my snowman in a grass hula skirt.
Grandma provided a menu,
Although the Polynesian-German potato salad was a bit of a stretch,
it was delicious. She even included our Lamp Post standard--mac and cheese for Sam.
I am surprised my son's skin does not have an orange-yellow hue.
The kids loved it,
and even the dog got involved.
"Hey, Eloise! How's that recipe book coming along?"
I signed up to write my still untitled work last November for National Novel writing month.
It is a collection of my favorite recipes, mixed in with family history, and some of my pictures:
Food, Photos, and Folk Lore.
10,000 words into my latest creation, I realized the following:
- A recipe/family history narrative is not a novel
- It takes much longer to write precise directions on a recipe than it does to put to words a story in my head
- Putting family history into writing is an important job--I have to be as accurate as possible and check with several sources. From this I've determined that my older set of relatives are all getting senile. No two retellings of the same event were ever the same.
- Fact checking takes awhile
- On November 20th, with 40,000 words left to successfully complete the challenge, I had to throw in the towel.
- Most importantly from that experience of surrender, I learned it's okay to set a goal and fall short. I didn't FAIL--my timeline just needed readjusted.
My new goal is to finish the book by September. Relatives, look for your copy under my 2014 Christmas tree.
The typewriter logo for National Novel Writing Month reminds me of this typewriter,
which is from my favorite new book, S.
If my teaser last week didn't grab you, see the "movie trailer" posted below.
LOST fans--you'll see the old, familiar Bad Robot.
If you purchase the book like Wendy and Gracie did last week, let me know.
I am starting a private facebook page for S. readers. I'll add you and we can help each other figure out the mystery.
LOST fans--you'll see the old, familiar Bad Robot.
If you purchase the book like Wendy and Gracie did last week, let me know.
I am starting a private facebook page for S. readers. I'll add you and we can help each other figure out the mystery.
Oh Brother, am I tired! Dark. Cold. No coffee. No beer. No sugar. I'd call this Friday night one cold, gray bucket of suck, but I am far too positive of a person to do that. Instead, I'll listen to my body rhythms and get some sleep. I'm headed to bed with my S. book, most likely to fall asleep with it, and wake up with all the $h!t it comes with it spread all about.
Here are the photos from the week, set to the tune Hey, Brother by Avicii.
I just yawned. Oh, Brother! Time to count sheep.
Eloise
