It’s Thursday…
Wearing #8: my nephew “T” (Lil Sis’ son)
Like his father, T is a dynamo with the soccer ball. This photo is a throwback to May of last year when the boys and I went out to watch his game.
Refrigerator Trees and Rich Kid Camp
YaYa calls these trees “refrigerator trees” because they are cold to touch. For me, they are reminiscent of a camp I attended when I was a teen.
The camp was a rather pricey backpacking camp which only the rich kids could attend. Except, there were a couple of spots open on some sort of scholarship for the less fortunate. Given we were on welfare, we qualified to go. My mom made the arrangements for us.
I don’t know if we knew that we would be the minority. I don’t remember what we were told about the camp or the situation. I just remember having a checklist of items we were to bring. I remember going to the Goodwill with my mom in search of these things. Hiking boots, a rain poncho, sleeping bag, etc. My mom did her best in obtaining these items. Little did she know that our plastic plates and slurpee cups would be ridiculed as they passed hand to hand down the dish wash line.
Yet, in spite of how badly we stood out as different, we made friends and had a good time. And Big Sis kicked all those rich kids arses on the hardest hike offered — because she’s awesome like that.
Ah-wah-nee
In December of 2011, theMAN took me and YaYa to the famed Ahwahnee dinning room for a lovely birthday dinner. The atmosphere, dinner, and service was amazing.
What I remembered most about it was the trio crème brûlée (three little dishes of decadence in 3 different flavors — including pistachio). These little deserts would set the standard for all crème brûlées to come.
When we returned this past weekend, the creme brûlée was a must-order item. Dinner, of course, came first.
I wish I’d taken a photo of my salmon and theMAN’s filet minon. Beautifully presented, perfectly portioned, and AMAZING to eat.
So, when the crème brûlée was not the trio I’d remembered so fondly, I didn’t care. It was still fabulous. This time, however, it will be the meal rather than the desert that I will remember most. Of, and of course my handsome date.
Tunnel Vision
When I was a kid, I used to hold my breath when my parents drove through tunnels such as this. It was good fun to see if we could make it through the entire tunnel before having to gasp for air. For the most part, I didn’t ever make it — although I didn’t always let on my failed attempt.
Whether or not my sisters or brother actually made it the entire was is still unknown to me. For my attention was not on them; I stared at the light with a sort of tunnel vision hoping that one day I would make it to the other side on a single breath.
Upper Falls Trail
This is just one of the many lovely views on our snowy hike up to Yosemite Falls.
A last-minute trip to REI, before we left, for micro-spikes proved to be time-well-spent. As we watched people slipping on the ice and snow around us, we felt good knowing that we had done our part in preparing for a safe trek. [Read more…]