Stairs ~ They trip me up!

I have a love/hate relationship with stairs.

They are certainly good exercise! I can remember running up and down the three flights of stairs in our high school for basketball conditioning. I remember falling down cement stairs at a restaurant a couple years ago which resulted in a broken ankle. Just as it was getting better, I overused it and strained other parts of my foot. That led to tarsal tunnel foot surgery a year ago. I have tripped on our steps--fallen to the bottom only a couple of times. I usually catch myself because I have learned that I MUST hang on to the bannister. The whole Christmas season is rough because we decorate the banisters with lighted greenery and I then must hang onto the spindles. I have not broken a spindle yet.

Tuesday I received my new glasses! Yahoo!! I don't have to look over the top of my reading glasses anymore. I now have progressives! Clear on the top ~ middle section for computer work ~ and the bottom for reading! I was warned that it takes two weeks to get used to them and be careful with depth perception-especially on stairs. I have clung to our bannister for these two days and have not stumbled or tripped.

Yesterday, I threw caution to the wind (OK, I just forgot) and started walking swiftly down the bleachers at the school. Can you picture what happens next? I looked down and the steps got all fuzzy, but my momentum was moving forward and down! And so although I could not see where the next step was, my body kept moving in that forward, down motion. I grabbed for the railing and held much of my body weight off of the ankle turning at a funny angle under me and managed to get the other midair foot onto a flat surface.

I am really quite well for such a feat! My neck and right shoulder hurt a bit from the wrenching they received and the front of the foot that was turned under me is a bit sore. A few other sore spots from strain or stretching, but all in all, great disaster averted! Thank you Lord!

When I got home I had a phone message from a friend who fell down 13 steps at her home yesterday, broke her ankle in three places and is having surgery this morning. I am even more thankful. That could have been me! My ibuprofen size pain is nothing compared to her surgery recovery! (Feel free to pray for Janice as you read this!)

Snow, snow, snow

Another two inches came down overnight and blanketed our street and the golf course greens!
We took off snow shoe-ing. Did you know it is hard to run in snowshoes, turn and smile before the self timer runs down? Any guesses on how many "takes" we had?

Fun framing with downed trees and snow covered branches.

New Year's Celebration

Christmas Day blessed us with a boatload of snow and I-84 was pretty dicey, so we decided we would have to forgo the family gathering in Portland. Instead the two of us had a low key day and played in the snow and kept warm in our home. Then today, New Year's Day, we met up with the family for a belated celebration and were joined by some cousins and kids from Washington and California. Here are all the children and teenagers.

Then we added in all the adults. The two matriarchs of the family who married the Conan brothers are in the center back. My mom had all three of her children, their spouses and five grandchildren at this gathering. My aunt had one of her three kids and three of her four grandkiddos in attendance.

Outtakes

From little Luke's perspective, the first day we met him . . . "Who are these people? Are they going to drop me?"

From Shane . . . "Slow down for a picture? Are you crazy? I am on the roof and I can run, run, run!"

Two cameras! Which one do we look at . . .the one on the left or the one on the right? How about two of us look at one camera and two of us look at the other camera?

What's up with the small helmet? Can't we afford one that's my size? Shane is not going to grow into this one for many years!

Enough already of the family pictures! I want down!

The Best Toys

Some of the best toys are made from cardboard boxes.

12 days of snow

Twelve days of snow and below freezing temperatures have created beautiful icicles hanging all around our home. These, four deep icicles, are what I see out my kitchen window.

Twelve days of snow create many opportunities, daily, for shoveling snow. Bob has pathways to the hot tub, the bird feeder and out to the road. Our neighbor has been snow blowing our driveway.

Each day Bob has been knocking down the icicles on our front porch. And 24 hours later they are back again!

Our neighbor sent over this picture of our home. The view from their front porch.

Here's a view from our front porch.

Grandpa's helper

When we were in India, Bob had a list of chores to complete and one was pruning this guava tree in the front of Ben and Libby's home.
The ever present helper, held the ladder.

Shane really wanted to be part of the action and when he wasn't allowed to climb the ladder, well, he hung out on the bottom rung

with his stick.