Tim was out in the woods hunting today. Believe it or not, someone was walking around bear foot in the woods in the snow!
I sent the picture to my sister across the road. They've seen plenty of bear tracks around their house, but they haven't seen the bear.
I've been struggling a bit this season, and so with supreme effort, I dragged the Christmas tree down from the third floor, the ornaments from the second floor, and I got that tree set up and decorated. That was my mission of the day.
While I was doing that, I watched Pride and Prejudice. I had never seen it, and movies like this are not Tim's cup of tea, so it was a nice couple hours spent unpacking ornaments and their memories and watching a book that I had loved be brought to life. I had wrapped the garland around a book, Laurie's Village Christmas, and it made me smile to see it again. I'll curl up with it once again before the season is over. It's become a Christmas tradition. I can thank Dave for that. It was a pleasant day.
We picked up William and took him to his band performance tonight. I was all ready to film it for his mother who is still sick with covid. It is hard to see percussion way in the back like they are anyway, but to make matters worse, the band teacher pushed her piano right out, directly into the middle of the stage and blocked our view of him entirely! I heard a lot of parents grumbling about that. I faithfully filmed it anyway, knowing that somewhere in the back of the band there was a gong playing, bell ringing grandson, shouting 'Ho Ho NO!' with all his might.
It is a dramatic piece and you could tell that the kids were all very enthusiastic about it.
Luckily, although the piano stayed right where it was for the entire concert, for the last piece, William moved to the other side of the stage to play the drums, and I was able to get a clear shot of him for the final 4 minutes of the concert.
It is raining like crazy right now, and all that snow is gone at this point. But be ye not dismayed. We've got Lake Effect Snow in the forecast again for Wednesday and Thursday and Friday, although it appears we'll get off lightly again. As AC commented, the rapid snow melt has made a some pretty heavy fog...and it has lasted for most of two days now.
Tomorrow, we will work on the rehab. I've got beans soaking for a pot of chili, which will hit the spot tomorrow night. The temperatures will be dropping again. Crazy weather. I need to get some wrapping done too. Life plods on, doesn't it?
Someone needs to say something to the Band Director. Tacky. (I'm an old, old band person.) You didn't mention if Tim got a deer, a bear, or is still out there looking! (Yea, you said "we" picked up William.) Be safe! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI was really quite surprised she did that. I've never seen her do that before. We picked our side of the auditorium based on where William was standing the last concert. We were surprised that he was standing on the opposite side. We rarely get a good shot of him because percussion stands way in the back, but when she moved the piano center stage, that put the kibosh on that. There were many parents grumbling about that.
DeleteTim does not bear hunt. We do not eat bear meat. Some people do. Bear meat can take on a very distinct taste based on the bear's diet. Bears are not 'clean' eaters. They eat anything. Big time garbage eaters. I remember watching on sorting through a dumpster looking for dirty diapers, which he ate with gusto. That did it for me. We stick to the grass fed stuff.
He spent the day in the woods and had many small adventures, and that was good enough for him.
Just looking at that photo of bear tracks in the snow has made me shiver this morning.
ReplyDeleteCold here but no snow...yet...
I need to make it clear that bear are usually very docile and shy. I have personally chased them away with a broom before. I have had two growl at me, and I did not argue. They were the exception to the rule. Bear attacks are extremely rare, and usually happen only when the bear become acclimated to humans. Once they've lost their fear of humans and come in close contact, that is when things get dangerous. There is a man who lives back in the woods and simply opens his door in the evening and the bears walk in for a snack. He enjoys that. I think it is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.
DeleteHunting season does seem to mean you have time to yourself. I look forward to reading about what you did at the rehab.
ReplyDeleteOh Andrew. Drywall. We are doing more drywall work. It adds to the general Christmas joy.
DeleteThank for the mention Debby. I loved Slad and Laurie Lee's local pub. when I went there last year. His books are wonderful. Could the bear tracks be Paddington? I know he recently visited Peru. I would leave him a marmalade sandwich if I was you.😊
ReplyDeleteThe bear tracks are NOT Paddington, although the raincoat would have been quite handy yesterday. I would expect Paddington to politely knock at the door and engage in civil conversation.
DeleteDespite rain, we still have snow. My guess is that it will stick until April. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteWe had two days of heavy rain and near 50 degree weather. The rain hitting all that snow made quite a heavy fog cover. There were 'fog warnings'. I think anyone stepping outside could have figured that out without being told.
DeleteI understand the feeling of getting Christmas done, even when not fully in the spirit. I am struggling to find my usual joy this year, caused I am sure by feeling so tired from disturbed sleep. But, it all shall get done, right?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your description of your day. There are so many movies my husband doesn't like! For him its all Westerns and guns and war, none of which I like. I am a total Brit need when it comes to movies, and he doesn't see the charm. Ah well.
Tim is not a talker, and so movies of endless conversation bore him to death. He likes things like 'Yellowstone' and 'The Mayor of Kingstown'. He likes war movies. I'm not a prude. Hearing a blurted curse from my lips is not a big shock to anyone. But the endless stream of swearing and ugliness really begins to feel like an assault. I find something else to do.
DeleteLife does plod on..... I haven't had any Christmas spirit for a long time, just glimmers of it pop up here and there. But I really am all right with it. It's cold here in Missouri but no snow.
ReplyDeleteI'm grabbing the glimmers.
DeleteI meant to ask…. What do you guys do with the deer skins?
ReplyDeleteWe do not tan them. Tim takes them out with the other things that we don't use, the fat and puts them at the wood line for the carnivores. The crows have been having a regular party down there. Do you tan yours?
DeleteI’m a city mouse; no wild game around here! I read up on how one processes a deer and I just wondered if the skins are usable for anything…
DeleteOh, they absolutely are. Hide tanning requires a 'set up' and specialized equipment. We don't have have that and don't see the sense to spend the money on something like that for all the deer we get. There are people who will buy the hides from deer processers and tan lots of hides. It's not practical on a small scale.
DeleteYou would use it to make leather goods. We have a tanned deer hide upstairs. It was tanned by one of Tim's uncles.
DeleteCall me a curmudgeon but I intensely dislike school concerts these days. Instead of the school just making a nice video free for everyone to download later at their leisure, our auditoriums are full of people holding up their intensely backlit cellphones trying to jockey for clear view of their child while blinding/blocking/distracting those behind them who just want to enjoy the concert. It has gotten quite out of hand. I miss those days of my youth when there was just the occasional flashless picture taken and the one rich dad with his VCR recorder the size of a bazooka mounted to a tripod in the very back of the auditorium.
ReplyDeleteTo add to that, there was one girl who did nothing but mug, flashing peace signs and making faces (the ubiquitous tongue out, duck lips, mock outrage at some affront). She was in constant motion for what I presume was the camera. She paid little attention to the choir director, but I'm sure that her parents were pleased with their video as they consider whether or not to send it to World's Funniest Home Videos. The cell phones don't bother me. I've never recorded a concert before, but even then, the auditorium is dark, but the stage is bright enough that the phones don't distract my attention at all.
DeleteMy son has brought the Christmas bins up from the basement and so I will work on putting everything out for the next couple of days. How nice that you got to go to William's concert. I love having two of my grandkids near as most are farther away.
ReplyDeleteI winnowed things down to just one old steamer trunk in the second floor hall. I used to have totes and totes of the stuff. It just became too much. One year, a woman on a local helping hands site said that her children were transfixed by those lighted Christmas villages. I had quite a collection of them. Quite on the spur of the moment I messaged her to come and get them. She was thrilled. The kids were thrilled. That seemed to loosen something. I gave away the outside blow mold Christmas lights. The large nativity went to my daughter to make her own memories. Now it all fits into one steamer trunk. I didn't even hang all the ornaments this year. I didn't put the strings of bubble lights on. I will set out Tim's favorite, the bubble light candelabra, and three figurines. It's enough.
DeleteI’m sorry you’ve been struggling…. Hope your blahs pass soon!
ReplyDeleteGetting the knee fixed will go a long way, I think.
DeleteFingers crossed for you!!
DeleteIt's not unusual at all for Glen to get videos of bears at the deer feeders. They come and they go. I've seen a few in the wild, mostly crossing a road I'm driving down. I know they are not aggressive but damn if I want to encounter one in the woods on a walk. Down by the coast here they are extremely bothersome to homeowners but hell- that is THEIR territory. The bears, not the homeowners.
ReplyDeleteOh school concerts. They can be fun and they can be agony. That's a pretty dramatic piece, isn't it?
This teacher does a really good job. The concerts are always done in an hour. The orchestra plays two or three selections. The band plays two or three selections. The choir sings two or three songs. (This year included a Justin Bieber song that required her to explain what a 'shawty' was.) Then at the end, the choir and the band performed together in a final number. It's not awful, and they are so proud and excited to do their show. I enjoy them.
DeleteSounds ideal!
DeleteDuring Covid, my grandson's band teacher had each student submit a video of themselves playing a special song. I want to say we saw a zoom of the group, but I might be imagining that. I think another family had each child perform for us individually and taped it for the teacher. Those will be our favorite grandchild concerts of all time! (viewed from our recliners).
ReplyDeleteMy grandson plays the trombone which is in the back of the band/orchestra where we can't see him. There are parents backstage who sneak photos and occasionally we get a glimpse. That piano move was not good. We could care less what they sound like - we just want to see them! LOL.
I just couldn't get into decorating this year. Good for you for putting up a tree!!! I am either going to get an attitude adjustment, start in November or cull the decorations for next year.
Miss Merry, how you DO make me laugh. I saw your house. My gosh. You even decorated your doll house. "Couldn't get into decorating, my foot!
DeleteWe went to Jack's first Christmas concert yesterday at school and it was so well done. It was 21 kindergarteners and only lasted fifteen minutes. Nobody cried and nobody got into trouble, and I clapped so hard.
ReplyDeleteChristmas always kind of sucks but with a five year old in the house, it sucks less. Jack's excited about the tree and Santa.
I didn't realize how much your knee bothered you. That sucks the fun out of day to day life.
It really have been kind of aggravated by the heavy lifting. Walking in snow was a bit of an issue too. It's time. I was waiting to get in with the new practice. They use a different hospital. Our local hospital is pretty disorganized. It makes me feel bad to say that because I've got relatives who work there, but things get lost or overlooked. A blood draw resulted in three return visits. I have an appointment tomorrow with the new practice. We'll find out more then, I guess.
DeleteYou’re definitely doing the right thing to wait for a better crew! Medical mistakes are no small problem…
DeleteBear foot in the snow! Hahahaha. It's been three or four years since my ten years of school band concerts. I well remember Santa the Barbarian.
ReplyDeleteStandridge is quite creative. I was looking at some of his other arrangements.
DeleteThat sounds music to enjoy making and hearing!!
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of Santa the Barbarian and his Pirates.
OK, Dave is a band director, so I know a little about this -- and I am very surprised the teacher put herself front and center. She should be off to the side.
ReplyDelete(Unless she's conducting, obviously.)
DeleteBut how can someone play the piano AND direct? Ask Dave for me.
DeleteI tried to open your video link but it just didn't work. I'm so glad you were able to get a good view at last.
ReplyDelete