When it pours.. it floods.

So the windshield on my car cracked this winter. Sub 0 temps combined with hot air possibly was the cause. I dropped it off yeaterday at 7:30 am. Its still not done. The calibration system wasnt working. I went down this morning and I was provided with a rental. 

I got home to willow trying wash dye out of her hair in shower without hot water and a basement that had flooded out. The bottom of the hot water tank rotted out. An abatement team is on its way and a new hot water heater has been ordered and should be installed tomorrow. I think we will stay at a hotel tonight.

Getting the boot

What can I say about this girl?! She was standing at 8 months, walking by 9, running by 9.5 . Holy Moly this girl has been wanting to be on the go forever. Somewhere along the line - early on and often - she fell. She twisted her ankle again and again and again and again. Injuries never recovered from. Dr.s and a medical system not equiped to help. Add to it that she has the extremely strong genetic predisposition to this arthritis thing where your immune system turns on your joints and starts to take them down and out from the inside. In kids seen most often in the ankles and knees. Most likely a factor for her to. And it has slowed her down. And kept her slow. And she has hated it and she has struggled and then the god awful German Dr. Saying "oh its because shes fat loose weight then come back". Bullshit. Now Finally help. Xrays and a specialist. She may need surgery. If not now it's a guaranteed eventuality and necessity in the future. The amount of immobility in her foot has been such a handicap to her for so long I am so sad she has struggled so long with it. 

And I am so proud that she is such a trooper.  She has the inner fire, tenacity and resilience of an Ox. 

Her appointment is Wednesday.  Fingers crossed for a swift recovery. 

In the still of the night

It is very still outside. Fluffy white powder drifts and dances on light wafts of breeze. Im tucked in bed .. alone .. well not alone. Hello Mr. Keyboard.

I am also waiting for Rosie to decide to join me. She has been keeping watch for Greg and she may not leave her post anytime soon. Night times belong to daddy and he is not here. Her eyes ask questions I can't adequately communicate an answer for.

Greg left today to take care of business in Montreal for a few days. He truly is an Ox plowing powerfully forward making progress even against the strongest headwind.  Although I hope he is using this evening to catch up on on some much needed sleep. The timing of his drive was perfect seeing as tonight a storm is rolling through and expected to drop near a foot on us by morning. The roads should be decent by the time he is heading back.

We already have been notified by the school that there will not be any school tomorrow. And let me tell you they don't cancel school for a meager 3 inches around here. Just in case, I hit the store today and filled the larder. Tonight is odd but welcome. I know tomorrow I will be sleeping in and have no where I have to be but here. Which means I can stay up a little later tonight and Clickity Clackity away.. at least until my battery dies.

Connor came home today with.. food poisoning? the beginnings of the flu? I don't know. His complexion is washed out and he is complaining about stomach and body aches. It could be that he worked himself up over hambuger he ate today which was juicy and pink. Could be it was cooked medium .. or maybe not.  Then again, the flu is going around heavily. It already went through our house.. mildly..  and he isn't showing signs of a fever. Regardless, its a nice thing that he gets to stay home tomorrow. It looks like next week he may be starting some ice skating lessons (assuming he isn't sick) He has his four short lines memorized for the school play and rehearsals are long for four short lines, but he is having fun. The play runs March 16-18 so we are still a little ways away yet.

Willow is also grateful for school being out tomorrow. Beyond being excessively sore from her dancing, she is doing fairly well. She recently had a reaction to some medication that sort of threw her into a tailspin but we got her fairly well evened out. And although we might still be in for a little turbulence, I (fingers crossed) see her learning the controls pretty swiftly. At the end of February she is heading to New York to meet her boy friend's Mom. That is kind of a big deal. 

What else is going on? I have probably half an hour of battery time left and, by golly Mr. Keyboard, I am going to make the most of it with you tonight, even if I am at a loss at what else to say. Hmmm...

March is a crazy busy month. Full of adventure. A trip to Boston. Connors already mentioned play. A trip to a convention that has Cosplay. I am considering the option of participating. Seeing as the theme is gaming I was leaning towards Tetris. Its olds chool and moves rather slow, at least to start.. like me. But then again,  one might see it about paying homage to walls. :/   I could also go the Anime route but I don't know much Anime these days. There was one show I liked, however,  I have much to consider.. like the fact that we will not be staying at the convention hotel but will be staying at a nearby Hilton with a shuttle bus service. It makes financial sense but if we are running back and forth outside, I don't think being dressed as a Japanese Goddess is the way to go.

I woke up today with a bit of inspiration as to the direction I want my next tattoo to go in. I am of the belief that tattoos are extremely symbolic and special and I literally tend to wear who I am on my sleeve. So I have been considering what animals I have a connection with and one animal emerges again and again.
I have saved one.
I have killed one.
I was gifted some.
I have bestowed some.
I've hatched some.
I have raised some.
I eaten some (not the one I killed, it was sick.)
I have buried some.
I have wrestled one.
And like this animal, I am loyal.
I am migratory and I navigate well.
And according to my children, I can be be quite scary.
I think the Goose may make for a decent totem.
I know that is not the only element that will be incorporated but it is a start.

Speaking of drawings and art and OMG! next week is Valentines. I used to put together these mixed CDs for friends at Valentines.  As I am just realizing this impending deadline.. I don't reasonably think that I can get around to it this year. Oh well, my friends know I love them anyway.

The battery warning light is flashing (Its not really a light, more like an annoying pop up) and telling me that I need to plug in or perish. While I could get up and pad along the cold hardwood floors to retrieve my power cord, my bare feet are asking to stay tucked in and warm. And really I have said all I am needing to say for now.

Sweet dreams and stay warm..which I hear is easy if you are in Nevada right now. I think I would be very uncomfortable and hot at those temps. But then again I took the trash out to the curb this am is a short sleeved dress and slippers and thought it very pleasant out for 27 degrees. 

 

"I will capture nights all over the world and bring them to you" H.R.

This weekend Greg and I drove to Albany New York for a performance by Henry Rollins. 

Albany is the capital of New York and is rich in history. What that history is.. I have yet to learn. I do know we drove over the Eerie Canal in route.  We also took a walk near the hotel and absorbed some of the scenery: the capital building, old world architecture, gilded reliefs, detailing, the sound of angels greeting us (It was Sunday morning and New York is still strongly Catholic and mass spilled out onto the sidewalk as we walked by the cathedral), SUNY and even had a look at the Hudson River. (For more cityscape pics click here.)

So that was Albany but that's not what we went to see. We were there to see Henry Rollins. This was my Christmas present and we had VIP passes. The show was at the Egg. Big open Egg shells have some historical relevance to Albany. I would guess prehistoric but until I go research it is anyone's guess. 

Anyway, Rollins!! So this was a big bucket list sort of thing for me. I have adored him from afar since college when Denise, my skateboarding girlfriend, exposed me to a whole different genre of music.

So, we sit in the pit of this theater which is tucked up in the egg monument. Henry enters stage left and hovers there. Moving slow with a limp, I realize he's old. Not quite the hottie I had once idolized but his voice was as commanding and resonant as ever. And so when we began, it didn't matter that he wasn't as vigorous and viral as I wanted/expected him to be.  The performance turned out to be a "Travel the World with Henry" slideshow. I saw places I will never see through the eyes of an intellectual poet, photographer, historian minded, rockstar.

By the way, Penguin poop is red and they are foul smelling and ill tempered creatures.

So after the show,  the 50 or so of us, were lined up to take photos with Henry. And pretty much we were told we had free reign as to what was permissible. He would accommodate group and single shots. So we could take some liberties. (Do you hear my wheels turning?)

Since Christmas I had been playing out scenarios in my head of what I was going to say and stuff. But I didn't really know what to expect so I didn't really have my plan of attack mapped out until we were moving forward inline.

It was my turn. I walked up to Henry and stop when I am at handshake distance. I say "Henry...  " my arm wants so bad to jut out and have me leap into introductions. But who I am isn't important. I fight the impulse. After a pause that hangs there just almost to long, I cocked my head slightly and finished with  "Thank you for your voice". We smiled sincerely at each other and he turned toward the camera arm stretching out for what I expect to be a standard congenial photo embrace. But before the arm closes around me, I step close, raise up on my tippy toes (Not an easy thing in hiking boots) and give him a sweet kiss on the cheek. He gave a quiet surprised chuckle and then  his arm settled around me (Tightly, warmly, securely.. my mind on the lack of space between. I have completely forgotten about the picture taking). Click Click Click.

So now Greg is up and so I turn and say Henry this is my husband. Greg steps up and they shake hands. After which, Greg goes to line up on Henry's other side for the standard group shot sort of thing. Without warning, I jump between them, grab each of their hands in mine. Henry says "What are we doing?" I look back over my shoulder and say "I'm running away with you!!"  and I turn back at the camera and click click click.

I didn't tell Greg because I wanted him to be surprised.. but maybe I should have so he could have played along more. I think he has come to expect the unexpected from me. Anyway, that was our moment with Henry.

After all the pictures were taken, Henry answered some questions and told an extra story or two. It was a wonderful evening that wont soon be forgotten.

If you would like to hear me tell this tale you can listen here:

Carving, grinding and falling down

January is in full gear. This weekend Willow took a dance class and quite enjoyed it. And despite the day of much needed recovery she wants to go back. I will be happily signing her up for more.

Connor celebrated his 15th birthday with a great little group of friends.

First they went ice skating.  

I got on the ice and made it around a few times myself. Thank goodness no video clips exists of me wildly flaying around.

Greg fell on his knee and ended up keeping me company in the players box.

After that, there were movies, nachos and cake at home. 

I have been busily bustling around in the background. As part of my development as a writer and generally putting myself out there, I have made myself an official website:

www.viccivoight.com 

The blog part doesn't have a link to email like this blog does so I will post here when it gets updated. Take a look and feel free to offer constructive criticism.

Tonight starts the Moth Storytelling. I will have more to say about that later.

I am going to end this here for now. It is finals week and so the kids schedules are not normal and already I have to think about getting on the road to pick them up.

This one is for you!

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

I hope this letter reaches you on a bright sunny and warm winter day. We are not getting many of those here but the temperatures are on the rise. Our run of - degree days has passed (for now) and we are hovering at about 36 degrees. There is speculation that tomorrow or Thursday we may even hit 50 degrees. I may need to break out the sundress .. if it is sunny that is. However, I suspect we will be hit with rain. And then the temperatures drop and we will have an ice storm or two. While I do enjoy the crisp white beauty and being nicely bundled up, I think the winters here will help me appreciate the spring even more than I typically have. Well… After we make it through the mud season. I have given up on trying to keep the floors spic and span for the time being.

We have loved getting your letters. They put a smile on all our faces. I am sorry that I have been so terrible at writing back. Now that our first year here is over, I do plan to be better about it. It takes a lot to move and settle in and I am glad we are through all of that!

The Holiday break was relatively uneventful. We curled up in the house and rested and played. Enjoyed our White Christmas. Thank heavens we have a snowblower for managing the driveway. I started with a shovel and quickly felt it in my rotator cuff.

After I write this, finish up some desk work, and spend some time working on building my “Professional” website I will be off to wrap up a few loose ends on this weekends birthday party for Connor. He and four friends will be going ice skating then they will have nachos and watch movies. I will be giving him your card then. (Speaking of gifts, The kids say thank you for the beautiful crosses. I will send a picture of them soon!)

Connor is back to his play rehearsals for an end of March performance. He will be adding some comic relief to “Death.”  

Skating and theater are his biggest passions. I could see him having a career doing theater on ice. It does exist and it would be a pretty perfect fit for him. He just doesn’t know it yet. Grooving to music is also something he enjoys so I am working on setting him up with figure skating lessons. Fingers crossed.

Willow is doing well. This weekend she will be trying a dance class out. And then next week she and I are taking a Moth Style storytelling class. I don’t really know what moth style is. We will find out. I must admit that I am a bit nervous.  Here is the description of the class:

What’s your story? In this six-week class, learn and practice the art of live, first-person, Moth-style storytelling. Learn how to structure, edit, and perform your own story with a master storyteller and Moth producer and share your work at a live Story Slam on a date to be determined. A class field trip to the Moth Story Slam in Burlington takes place on Tuesday, February 13.

We will see how that goes.

I am going to cut this off here and redirect my attention to the chores. I will post again soon!  Love you!

Cold Snaps break eventually..

Holy Cow! Here we are on the precipice of a New Year?!

We made it through 2017, Mother Truckers!

(I originally wrote a word other than "truckers" but seeing as even my grandparents read this I am subject to temper some of my wording... Keep it respectful and all...)

2017 made a valent attempt of kicking our aa... ahem. But we faced it all in strong fashion.

Anyway, 2018 is starting out with a deep sigh of relief. We are planted, settled and have taken root. Finally.  And now we will flourish.

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I started lifting again. Just the other day. I had forgotten how energizing it is and while I knew I enjoyed it, I had also forgotten how much. Ima get swole this year! (translation: Im beefing up this year for the sheer love and joy of it.)

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The temps have been chilly. The sort of cold that you can get frostbite in 15 minutes. Gotta love layers! We are keeping warm (And frostbite free)
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