Something new.

Last Monday I drove to Grand Rapids and spent some time with my grandparents, sisters, and mother. Twas a good time. We watched Anne of Green Gables, which I hadn't seen in far too long. Next Anne of Avonlea?

Wednesday I made it safely to Ontario after the easiest border crossing of my life. I spent a day and half unpacking and such and began work on Friday. I even got my first paycheck already. They spelled my name "Carmilla". I still had to fill out an application yesterday... It's hard to take the application seriously when you not only got the job already, but have worked 3 days too.

We have a long weekend this weekend so I'm going to take a trip to Newmarket to see some relatives.

So far Dee and I have gone out with some of her friends, seen Robin Hood on the big screen, seen Where the Wild Things Are on a smaller big screen, ridden a lawn mower, and gone to church twice. I feel so accomplished. :)

Next on my list is laundry, shopping, and finishing that blanket...

Joanna Newsom here I come!

That was a close one, Nena!

Saturday the wind blew ferociously, knocking tree branches together and causing them to drop large pieces of icy branches on people and cars below. Coming down fourth ave in my car, I was hit by a spurt of ice droppings, sounding like hail. When I emerged on the other side of the tree, I looked it my rear-view mirror just in time to see a large branch fall right where I had just been moments ago. Yikes!

What do you get when you cross a blanket of snow on the fields and a thick fog in the air? No horizon. This was my experience on the way to and from Granville last Friday. When there were no cars in front of me and none behind and all I could see anywhere around me was a small stretch of road that disappeared into a white haze, it felt like I was the only being on the planet. But even the planet did not feel like a planet at all. Rather than being a speck on the surface of a giant sphere, it felt more like I was a speck in the very center of a vast expanse of pure whiteness that could have gone on forever and ever.

Ever have that?

and maybe more

A few days ago Lisa was telling me a story about a guy who knew he was close to dying, so he wrote down his top ten memories ever. We decided limiting our favorite memories of a lifetime to just ten would be a trying task, but perhaps we could handle choosing our top five (or maybe 10) memories of the last year. So here's my best 2009 memories, in chronological order.

Nearly driving to Santa Fe after missing the Sandia Mountain exit with Morgan - January
The 75th birthday bash - February
Making construction paper masks on the way to the Kroeze wedding - March
Road trip to the west coast with Lisa and Ross - March
Campfire'n, beer sackin, pencil boxin, star gazin atop the garage, and snuffin - April?
Final Cotton Bonnets concert - May
Bike/camping trip to Oak Grove with Lisa, which included a hammock, soggy sandwiches, and two distinct, but equally important, swimming excursions - July
Yo La Tengo and the diner - October
The failed attempt to fly homemade kites with Dee - November

Salsa dancing at a club in GR with Yolanda - November

I forgot one - pushing Evan's face into the snow after building a snow fort in the backyard - December

Last night seemed to belong in a Tim Burton film. The clouds overhead, the snow on the ground, and the moisture in the air reflected the "city" lights, creating an orange glow on a night that might otherwise have been completely dark. Why the light is orange? On cloudy nights in the summer, is the glow not white? Perhaps all the Christmas decor is casting reds and greens and yellows into the air. Wherever it comes from, though, the amber haze is lovely, especially as a backdrop for the dark bare trees all around.

And as though that were not enough, I woke up this morning to find the world looking like a big beautiful frosted flake. Everything around - houses, cars, streets, trees - everything, dusted with a thin layer of sparkling snow flakes which fell lightly and then froze. Nights and days like these can melt away my winter tension.

My wife is gone for the next three weeks. I miss her already, but at least my mistress is coming back soon. ;)

A friend of mine contracted a strange disease. His skin turns red and then cracks up and eventually falls right off wherever he is touched. It's highly contagious. He gave it to me. Suddenly there are people everywhere and I know them all and they all greet me with a pat on the shoulder or arm. It hurts a lot. My skin turns red, dries up, and cracks open everywhere. My arms and legs are bleeding profusely all over the carpet. So much red, which is bright compared to the pale green of all of our healthy skin. I can't wait to wake up and tell Dee about this crazy, but awesome dream I'm having. It's funny. But jeeze, I wish people would stop touching me, it hurts so bad. STOP IT!
And then I go crazy and start trying to choke little children to death because they are touching my bleeding legs. And then I wake up. I'm terrified! What a horrible nightmare. I've never tried to kill people in my dreams before, except those who deserved it. And why is it that so many of my dreams have something to do with work? The green "healthy" skin was the exact same color that was recently painted onto the walls of the office at work.
I'm a little creeped out.

recent and upcoming happenings.

Christmas eve I will be flying to El Paso. (By the way, if anyone wants to drive me to Omaha...) Before the new year I will be driving back with my parents and two youngest sisters. To LeMars we go. We thought up until this week that just my dad would be coming, but once again the Lord had mercy and now they can all come together. Hooray!

My little sister got a new email and when she first told me about it she said it was blone chick. I was pretty sure that was a typo, but I just had to make sure... She's 13.

I talked to my brother last night until 2am, trying to discourage him from joining the military.

Before this week we have only had one brief snowfall this winter, for which I'm grateful. And then the dam broke and it all came crashing down in a hurry these last couple days. Like God was saying, "Hold it, hold it, steady.... Okay, GO!" But it's not so bad, really. Some people got a snow day out of it, the plowers only have to plow once or twice instead of at regular intervals spread out over days, people only have to shovel the walk once or twice instead of many times over, and the snow drifts are so pretty. Even though I spent a good share of the morning shoveling walks and digging my car out of a drift, I did not mind it. Perhaps my snow boots are the winter equivalent of my summer rubber boots. Perhaps all that exercise made me high on endorphins. Either way, with a good shove from a few good friends, my car was freed with minimum hassle and I'm no worse for it.

On Monday I went to the Hatchery with a small crowd and Dee and I ordered hot chocolate with Bailey's. It was quite tasty so tonight we plan to have another go at it in our own home while we snuggle on the couch eating ice cream and watching a movie. With Kun Dog.

I love this stuff.