I spent the morning helping to clear out the basement of a 104 year old church. I am now convinced that, once the school closed and the nuns left, the clutter was without foes and took over. Clutter? Did I say clutter? We are talking about uber clutter, clutter of collosal proporations! Broken flower pots, boxes of empty tuna cans, foam from floral arrangements from the ice age--unbelievable! Rooms full of this stuff, rooms and rooms! Speaking as a clutter queen, I must say that I left inspired to repent and restart my FLY lady ways. Or maybe I'll just start by taking a nap.

Tante Grace just got a microwave-her first ever. She invited us over for dinner last night and in conversation the following occurred:

TG: I’m thinking of writing a book about the best uses for a microwave.

M(1): So you’re enjoying it? What are your favorites? Popcorn? Baked potatoes?

TG: [With a merry dismissive wave of her hand] No, why would I use it for those things?! The microwave makes great milkshakes!

M(1): [confused] Milkshakes? Like with ice cream?

TG: [In amazement ] Duh! Of course with ice cream!

Whatever. She is, after all, the talented food professional.

http://www.jade-leaves.com/journal/97/12/journal_december10.shtml

Today is one of those “I hate the law” days. The fax started whirring at 8:15 am spitting out crabby missives and God only knows what the mail will bring. This does not bode well. I think I need a vacation. I KNOW I need a vacation but fat chance of that. My current options appear to be limited to escapist literature, downloading the sound of ocean breezes and/or plastering posters of Tuscany over my office windows. Maybe I will just go to see The Return of the King…again.

Since The Flash and are in our post holiday working around the clock like demons mode, we decided to take the day off yesterday and do some cross country skiing en famille. We were also able to recruit Tante Grace to come along. It has been many years since I have last been cross country skiing but my memories were sharp and clear of fresh air, whispering pines and good clean fun. The day dawned clear and a warm 24 degrees, a veritable heat wave compared to recent single digit temperatures. Our chosen venue was Byrncliff—a location we have passed countless times on trips to Elmira and taking Mona Lisa to and from camp. This is a class operation. They have rentals, several restaurants and a cheerful and helpful staff. Once outfitted, we headed onto the trail. Let’s just say that this was the first time Mona Lisa and the Sprite have ever been on cross country skis. In retrospect, I take full responsibility for the initial stream of wails, G rated curses and invective that followed, albeit muffled by their emanation from various snow drifts and thickets of trees. The Flash later pointed out that my MO is flawed. “You never explain anything! You just assume that people will know what to do!” In my defense, this system has resulted in people who begin skiing with my total lack of guidance system end up, inevitably, much better skiers than I. This level of proficiency is admittedly not hard to achieve but the result is rewarding nonetheless. Yesterday was no exception as this system again proved successful--they caught on quickly and actually had fun. Go figure.