The Ice Walker Feels No Fear

OMG. I am in the possession of the single greatest invention ever in human history. The Salk vaccine, the wheel, the espresso machine - all pale in comparision to (drumroll please):

Still life with Boots

STABILicers Lite "Studded Snow Tires for your Feet" (or, if you prefer it en Francais: "Des Pneus Cloutes pour vos pieds"). These delightful inventions are simply steel cleats imbedded into stretchy rubber things that fit over one's shoes.

Oh, la la! Mes pieds are so, so HAPPY! And so are my wrists, my elbows, my butt, my head, AND my husband, who no longer has to listen to me sob inconsolably every time I slip and fall on the ice. Because with my new studs I feel no fear. I walk on ice, and I sneer at it. I call it names, and it remains powerless to toss me onto my tush.

The weather, she is a devil lately - first it rained (flood watch levels of torrential downpour) and then it froze, and THEN it snowed. Hooeeeee. It is a lot for this Californian to take in. But fortunately, it is warm and cozy in our straw bale cottage. We sit by the roaring fire, dozing dog at our feet, belligerent cat racing around like the ball of energy that he is, and Kurt reads aloud from our current favorite book Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences by Barbara Holland.

(Don't try to "look inside" - I stole this photo from Amazon. But don't tell them, ok?)

In the preface (just to set the stage for you), she begins:

Subtly, in little ways, joy has been leaking out of our lives...Americans in particular have always been wary of pleasure. When we ponder the great question of life, how shall we spend our days on earth, enjoying ourselves as much as possible is not a respectable answert to come up with. "The pursuit of happiness" isn't expected to mean fun. Indeed, many of our ancestors came over here specifically to escape from all that post-Cromwellian singing and dancing, drinking and wenching, ruffles and ribbons and bows. They hated fun.

Other ancestors came over because they could make more money here than back home, which is perfectly reasonable but not very merry."

And with that, we're off! In the next few days I'll share bits of the sections on, oh, I don't know, coffee, and naps, and bare feet, and books, and.....

Right now, I'm going to go cook breakfast for dinner - it's been a busy day!