Don't

lick your lips when it is cold out; that is why they are chapped.

This was one of the things I remember from my childhood. Even though I know there is very little truth to this, I find myself still struggling to make sure I don't do it. Have you noticed how hard it is to breath through your nose when it is twenty degrees out? I wonder if our nasal passages would become chapped if we could. I'm pretty sure that our noses would quickly become glued shut and we would all walk around looking a bit odd, not to mention the interesting voices we would have. I know the problem might be solved if we could somehow stop our respiration from having any moisture, but that could lead to some interesting after effects as well. So I wander the fields in the now lightly falling snow trying hard not to breath very much. I use chapstick, but it seems to do little. (I just want to make it through the concert tonight.) It is interesting, the things we carry from little comments made in childhood. Another: Don't lick where that baby tooth was...if you can keep from touching your tongue there the new tooth will grow in gold. Yep, my uncle fed me that one. I tried so hard, but none of my teeth grew in gold. He, of course, said that I must have touched it when I was sleeping. Think of the money the rappers could have saved, had they only known Uncle Harry. I remember my little six year old brain trying to devise an apparatus that would keep my tongue away from my gums while I slept. Then, of course, we have all heard "zip up your coat; it's cold out." I tell my grand kids "Zip your coat up; Grandma is cold." More to the point, don't you think? It's funny; the older I get the more I hear my mother's voice in mine as I repeat the little things she would say. The rebellious one that I am, whenever I hear it I try to rephrase it a bit more to the point, as that coat thing aforementioned. Or I try to make them REALLY crazy. The gold tooth thing can quickly morph to a gold foil wrapped chocolate tooth. I don't want their developing brains to grab on to some silly little thing and taking it as pure truth, and holding on to it for fifty years. I'd much prefer "My crazy Grandma once told me..." and lots of laughter.

Yes, indeedy, the things that go through my head as I wander the frozen tundra that is my pasture. Small tomatoes.

Yesterday was the day I took my youngest child to the annual motorcycle show. We have done it almost every year for about twenty. I think we missed twice. One year he pushed me around in a wheelchair and I had IV tubing hanging out. This year we put all that bad past to rest. My stamina was back and I walked for hours with no need to rest. It was wonderful! We were up and down stairs and in and out of booths. He talked, I talked. It was nice. The economy, which of course is to blame for everything, reared its head here as well. No where near the vendors, and only two custom bike builders. There were also less people wandering, which was odd for a Saturday afternoon, but since I hate crowds I was just fine with that. I guess we have committed to doing this every year for the rest of my life...or the rest of the show's life. No exciting new bikes this year. A lot of scooters. A couple of pretty cool paint jobs. A nice tall bald man to chat with. I hadn't seen him in a year and a half; I vaguely recall whacking him with my left leg for not checking road reports prior to heading up a ride that had twenty or thirty bikes, and bikers from all over the country, stranded on Hurricane Ridge...but he does get a lot of mileage on just one tank of gas! (Great to see you, G.) Big tomatoes.

I missed my wake up call to get over to Seattle for the Jingle Bell Dash. This time of year events pile on top of events. Some end up smooshed. I guess the Jingle Bell Dash is one such thing. The logistics of the ever increasing ferry rides and fares can be very wearing. While I enjoy the ride, I dread the time involved and the dollars that are drained from my checking account. Now the dear Governor has decided that we need to start paying a fuel surcharge. The fares go up each year during peak season, but never go down. The state ferry system is supposedly part of the state highway system. It would be interesting to hear the roar if tolls were put on the Interstate that cost drivers even a small percentage of what I pay for those five miles...with my discount over $20 round trip. The fact that our wages are frozen and the cost of living continues to climb is not an issue with dear Gov G. How is it that we were left unaware of how bad the budget shortfall was until AFTER the election? There will be plenty of changes with the next election, and I suspect there will be a lot of unhappy folks. T'will be interesting. Stewed tomatoes.

Oh well. Life hands you tomatoes, make salsa, eh? Nothing better to go with celery sticks.

G2