Yet another "snow" day yesterday

Except, it was actually warm winds and rain that SNAFUed the roads, turning them into ice rinks and luge runs.  At least that was the story here in my town, but not so much in Anchorage where Willa goes to school.  While Willa's school stayed open, our area schools closed.  So we stayed home and enjoyed the day together.  Willa wanted to play dress-up...the kitchen and her room NEEDED to be cleaned.  So we donned our fancy cocktail dresses and shoes and did housework in style! 

We ended up unearthing the floor of her room once again and tidied the kitchen for some brownie making.  We also brainstormed a list of chores that Willa "enjoys" doing.  We feel it's time that Willa had a little more structure when it comes to helping around the house.  And, with MY brain and TERRIBLE housekeeping skills the structure is needed.  I want chores to go as smoothly as possible in that Willa develops an intrinsic desire to be a helpful member of the family as well as find some semblance of grace and community in it.  "Many hands make light work" is the adage they teach in Waldorf communities.  I figure we'll start with tasks that Willa seems to enjoy..helping chop veggies, feeding pets, squeegeeing the windows, folding laundry, etc. When done in tandem, she's a delight!  We'll see how this goes...  I admit I have been the WORST teacher in this respect....I need to adjust and find a rhythm and consistency in this just as much as Willa does!

Always creating, this kid.  Brownie making turned into Let's Make Egg Boats!!!

HEAR:  What the....?  Burt Bacharach?!?!  My dad's CD.....

SEE:  My little girl, stalled in her cleaning,with her head in her books.....

SMELL:  Warm brownies, of course.

TASTE:  A comforting warm milk and honey before bed...

FEEL:  Hot bloaty feet that need to be elevated and cooled off.  What's THAT about?  Note to self: NO MORE wearing high heals to clean.....

Night skiing

Chased by the moon!

After weeks of cancellations due to sub zero temps, I've been enjoying taking Willa to her Junior Nordic ski class.  She goes 2 nights a week.  One night I volunteer to help with her group and the other night I ski off on my own...hard and exhilarated...covering lots of trail.  Miles is able to join sometimes and it's wonderful....  The trails are lighted, but I love the feeling of being ....enveloped..in the dark trees around me.  The moon was HUGE and bright last night, following us on the trails.

HEAR:  Acoustic Stephen Stills weaving in and out of the bustle of the Middle Way Cafe......LOVE

SEE:  Unnervingly bare cafe walls ...devoid of the usual art...needing to be filled...giving me vertigo...call me, Keren, I have work to hang!

SMELL:  The strong organic Ethiopian coffee in my warm mug...

TASTE:  My chocolate chip, coconut, sour cream Middle Way scone....my new love.

FEEL:  ALIVE due to many aches from wiping out on these last few skis!

Denied....but SUPPLIED

After doing a few skis off the beaten path(i.e., well groomed trails) and gaining a newfound confidence in my technique this winter, I thought I would head out on the local trail up our valley to see if anyone had been skiing it. My improbable dream was that perhaps some hardcore cross country folk had established a nice trail back out to the lakes. What a glorious 5 miles trek that would be! Planting me out there at the base of those white mountains in the magnificent sun! But in the real world? It was an awkward semi-trail set higgledy-piggledy for about a mile at the most. Then the tracks just mysteriously ended. NOT conducive to my level of backcountry skiing(I've never done any) or my lack of appropriate gear(simple x-country ski package). It was a bumpy, deep, crusty,  hazardous on the downhill, SHORT attempt.  But what a fabulous place to be! Full glorious sun, blasting me in the face...inundating my retinas with much needed circadian rhythm altering light....

SOUL filling.......

Time to bring out the deck chairs for some sun sitting!

The following is based on a meditation that Willa and I have enjoyed doing for the last 3 years when we are outside.  At some point, we’ll take a break, sit together quietly…breathing…and then take turns stating the five senses and what we are observing for each.  i.e., “SMELL:  The pine trees warming in the spring sun”.  I believe I found this meditation from LittleAcorn Learning.  Today, I discovered a new blog-Bohemian Twilight- whos writer ends each post with something similar.  I think it’s a great idea to succinctly sum up a day, so I think I will incorporate this little meditation into my own posts.  Here’s today’s:


HEAR:  QUIET but for the sweet chirps of some hidden birds in the pines I skied through…

SEE:  A sea of windblown snow….waves stretching out before me into the sun...

SMELL:  The aroma of my favorite soap, “Tango” from Ogleby Sisters, wafting up as I sweat…

TASTE:  A lunch of soft tilapia taco with lettuce, tomato, and a Greek yogurt-salsa-lime juice-garlic dressing.  Wish I was tasting a beer as well!

FEEL:  An owie of a bruise forming on my bum cheek from falling today!