Fidget

This week was Spring Break - or, as the Canadians do, we should call it March Break. This year we didn’t go out of town, rather we just took a day trip on Thursday. Even here in Eugene, we’ve had snow flurries all week (nothing that stuck around, but still! Hello, chilly! Where is spring and what have you done to it?). So, we packed our snow gear and tire chains and went cross-country skiing at Hoodoo.

It was a lovely day. The snow was much fresher than our X-C day last year, the trails were groomed, and the sun was out. Cross country skiing is so much easier to become competent in than downhill. But it is an intense workout - it feels less “impactful” than running, but you are in constant motion and your muscles get worked. I’m still a bit sore 4 days later.

We didn’t bring the camera on the trails but here’s a picture of us back at the car. My face looks like it was sunburned but I think it’s just the red Honda reflecting the intense sunlight.

Then, we went to Belknap Hot Springs. It’s a mountain resort along the McKenzie river and they have a swimming pool fed from a hot spring. It was nice to go in the hot water after our day of snow exertion. It wasn’t too, too hot. Just like a nice hot bath. Here’s the view from across the river, where the actual hot spring bubbles up. Apparently they pipe it across the river. All that steam rising from the pool is quite impressive, I guess the day was pretty cold!

Recently BN and I were made aware of a book-lovers website, GoodReads.com. Your free sign-up will allow you to keep lists of books you have read, are reading, and want to read. You can rate books with a simple five-star scale and go more in-depth by writing a review. You can read other people’s reviews of books, and add comments in discussion threads. Neat! I found the site somewhat clunky to use, but the concept is useful and the visuals are clean.

by Betty Smith

I found this book really enjoyable. As you may suppose, it’s about a girl growing up in Brooklyn, during the early 1900’s. It’s semi-autobiographical, since the author grew up in the same area around the same time, in a poor family just like Francie in the story. Smith has a way of letting you just see how it must have been, how they had to pinch every penny just to scrape by. There are moments of beauty and passages of sorrow; lots of humor and some terrifying scenes. The characters are memorable and their relationships complex. I’m such a fast reader that I usually expect “fun” engrossing books to speed by way too fast. But this one, while very easy to get into, is a sizeable story and I found it lasted a good long time. It has a richness to it, but without any fluff. You’ll like it.

My friend CG found out earlier this year that she has breast cancer. She’s in her second week of chemo, now, and about a month ago she asked me to make her a hat or two. She wanted something with a brim to frame the face, and she wears mostly primary colors and neutrals. She’s very pleased with this hat, especially the detachable flower - I’m going to make her a few more in different colors.

I’m going to make one of these hats for myself next!