Belle Isle Afternoon

Ugh! Too much Thanksgiving turkey! We had to be sure not to offend anyone, so we ate with both families this year. One dinner started at 2pm, the other at 4pm. Not much time to digest in between. All fun and good though!

Since my ankle injury, I haven't been able to get on the water or go hiking. After eating so much Thanksgiving turkey, we decided to take a walk to loosen up my stiff ankle which would help it heal and help our tummies get over that stuffed feeling. We took my chocolate lab, Oso ("bear" in Spanish) to Belle Isle. It's a wonderful park in the middle of downtown. It is an island that you access using a serpentine footbridge suspended by cables under the Lee Bridge, a four-lane bridge connecting the North and South sides of the city. You can see it in the photo above. Belle Isle has had a very interesting history. It was used as prisoner of war camp during the Civil War, where prisoners from the Union Army were held. It was also at one time the city's "red light" district where gambling and prostitutes could be found. Eventually, it became a part of the James River park system and until the footbridge was built, could only be accessed by most during periods of low river levels.

Bell Isle is located at the fall line of the James River. Here, paddlers have access to a Class IV-V "urban" whitewater run...the only one of its kind in the United States! Belle Isle also offers challenging mountain bike trails, rappelling and climbing opportunities, and the island is a birdwatchers delight! When you go, it's hard to believe that you are in the middle of a city.

Of course the "Class" of whitewater run depends upon river level. When we decided to take our walk, we could tell the river was high. From the look of it, we were guessing over nine feet. Twelve feet is considered flood stage. If you want to run the river and it is 9ft or above, the city requires you to obtain a high water permit in which you attest that you have the appropriate skills to run the river at dangerous levels. Not having a permit can cost you thousands of dollars if you get into trouble and River Rescue is dispatched to rescue you. They show up with their rafts (some of them motorized), a full rescue crew and helicopters. Without a permit, you must pay for the rescue and are fined and have to appear in court.

The city offers a phone number where the river level is updated three times per day; 6am, 12 Noon and 6pm. Even though I couldn't make the run, we called to check the level. I was able to catch this very "Eddie Bauer" looking moment as the river level was being checked. It was 9.2ft and rising! My chocolate lab was whining to get in the water. Heck, I was whining to get in the water too. It would be a great run if it wasn't for my ankle. But we would all just have to be satisfied with a walk around the park.

Oso just turned 2 November 18.

My Young Ladies

The highlight of my weekend was visiting my daughters. They are ages 16 and 14 and are currently living with their father 150 miles away from me. I miss them terribly. They are supposed to visit with me every other weekend. They take the train back and forth between my house and their dad's which makes it very convenient. Now that they are teenagers though trying to get visits in between all of their activities is tough. So since Mohammad couldn't get to the mountain, the mountain cam to Mohammad, or however that saying goes.

I find it interesting that in our society people still jump to conclusions when a child does not live with her mother. People think "What's wrong? Her mother must be a real loser otherwise the girls would be with their mother."

I feel like I should wear a button that proclaims that I'm not a loser. My girls are lucky people. They have two parents who love them and have made very good homes for them. Their father and I are both very responsible people. Years ago in an effort to be more fair to fathers, the courts put the girls on a two-year rotation. Every two years, they would live with the other parent. There have been a couple of instances where the girls didn't want to move from their current situation and we didn't make them, but by and large they have stuck to that. Fortunately, their dad and I have been able to work things out without warring one another.

I realize this setup might not seem "normal" but it must be working. Their grades are great (one is an A/B student, the other is a straigth A student in a gifted program.) They have tons of friends, they are very active and excell in what ever activity they choose from drama to sports. They are smart, funny, intelligent, compassionate and beautiful girls.

We had fun playing together this weekend. I miss my girls.

Review

After a 2 hour annual performance review, I walked away with some challenging projects for the upcoming year and a 5% raise. Most folks here are only receiving 3%. I feel great! So after my review, I'm ready to review the the Albrect Dürer exhibit. My cousin beat me there. She went the weekend I went hiking and stress fractured my ankle. She said it was great and the museum even provides each person a looking glass so one can really inspect the detail of his work. The mailer I received about the exhibit is kind of funny. In case you can't read the small print at the bottom of the mailer, it says, "Everyone wants to blame the snake. But don't forget the billy goat. No one ever suspects the billy goat." In 1498 using a new invention called the printing press, Dürer changed art forever. He realized that a print could be a serious piece of art. Little did he know that over 600 years later, he'd be partially responsible for my 5% raise! Thanks Al! Read more about Albrect Dürer Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibit

Catching Up

Today is hard. I was out sick yesterday, spent most of it in the bathroom. I'm blaming it on running into my X husband. :o(

So now I'm catching up here at work. I found out I have a performance review tomorrow, so I am also trying to prepare for that.

I did some catching up over the weekend too. We ran into one of my cousins recently at the Highland Games and Celtic Festival. My cousin and I hadn't seen each other in about 15 years which is a shame because we used to be really close and always had fun. We started emailing each other and decided to meet the local microbrew here in town. What a great time! We giggled and giggled and I'm sure the guys thought, "What the heck?" Her husband wore a kilt which was great since I've been trying to talk my guy in to buying one.

The only spoiler of the day was that my X husband showed up to meet some of his friends at the same place. What a downer. He was a total crab. Any way, later Sunday night, I developed a headache, fever, nausea and diarrhea. Yep, sounds like my X.

Somersault

(About the Artist)

I purchased two albums by Zero 7 last week on iTunes, "Simple Things" and "When It Falls." . I got tired of listening to the news on my drive to work, so I popped in the When It Falls cd. I hadn't paid much attention much to lyrics since purchasing the albums. Well this song struck me this morning. Maybe because it was cold and grey and I needed a little lift. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have a special someone that can even make an akle injury fun!

I'm placing the lyrics below and a link to the Audio/Video from MTV. MTV will launch a player for you and you will need to select the speed. Personally, I was a little disappointed with the video. This is something I've noticed before. A person has the ability to build her own imagery, fill in the gaps, divine individual meaning from a song. A music video can often change that by making one conform to the director's vision. So here's my suggestion for the first time you hear it...minimize the player window so you can't see it and follow the lyrics. After that go back and watch it if you like.

Oh and... designgrrrl, mel829 and Ash, the tune also made me think of you and your lucky fellows.

(Link to Audio/Video Player)

Somersault

You're the prince to my ballerina

You feed other people's parking meters

You encourage the eating of ice cream

You would somersault in sand with me



You talk to loners, you ask how's your week

You give love to all and give love to me

You're obsessed with hiding the sticks and stones

When I feel the unknown

You feel like home, you feel like home



You put my feet back on the ground

Did you know you brought me around

You were sweet, and you were sound

You saved me



You're the warmth in my summer breeze

You're the ivory to my ebony keys

You would share your last jelly bean

You would somersault in sand with me



You put my feet back on the ground

Did you know you brought me around

You were sweet and you were sound

You saved me



You put my feet back on the ground

Did you know you brought me around

You were sweet and you were sound

See I had shrunk yet still you wore me around

And 'round and 'round

Toys for Guys that Think Size Matters

Driving home from work yesterday, I had to do a double take.

This truck pulled up next to me at the traffic light.

It had huge tires and had been jacked up.

It was BIG and TOWERED over my car.

As it pulled ahead of me, I looked closer.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Well, I've only got one, "Why?"

Not Your Usual Saturday Walk in the Park

November 6, 2004-Madison County, VA. Please visit our online photo album, because I had a surprise ending. We decided to get out of the water this weekend and do some hiking. I had never had the pleasure of hiking Old Rag Mountain, a popular destination for hikers in Shenandoah National Park. "Old Rag" is short for Old Raggedy, so named because of several prominent step-like ledges that give the mountain its distinctive serrated appearance. The mountain is composed of billion-year old granite, some of the oldest rocks in the Blue Ridge, that was later intruded by lava flows of basalt. Because the basalt, changed by heat and pressure into greenstone, is more resistant to weathering than the granite, the basalt weathers into steep cliffs or ledges to form the stair-like appearance. Here is a description written by Linda Fravel: Old Rag Mountain, located in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, boasts to having one of the best and most popular hikes in the area. It is a challenging 7.2-mile hike and rock scramble culminating in a 360-degree view of the Shenandoah. You will climb Old Rag via the Ridge Trail, across the summit and descend via the Saddle Trail, Old Rag Fire Road and the Weakley Hollow Fire Road. Start across the road from the parking area on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road. After an initial, steady climb of three-quarters of a mile, the trail becomes steeper and you will soon find yourself on exposed, granite rocks. In simple, this is a rock scramble to get across. Do look up, though, for the gorgeous views of Shenandoah National Park and rural Virginia. After another hour, several false summits (the real summit has a concrete marker on it), and legs like jelly, you will reach your destination - the Old Rag Summit and a breathtaking, 360-degree view of the Shenandoah. To the north and west is Shenandoah National Park nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and to the south and east is rural Virginia farmland. While atop, spread out on the large boulders, relax the legs and enjoy a picnic or snack.It is all downhill from here. You can head back via the way you came on the Ridge Trail, but you will incur an awful climb back over boulders. An easier and safer, but longer route, is the Saddle Trail to the Old Rag Fire Road to Weakley Hollow Fire Road. If you do a little reading before your visit, you are not only treated to spectatular views, but a wonderful introduction to geological history. Old Rag Mountain tells a marvelous tale of plate tectonic actiity and earth history that is over a billion years old. A good read prior to your visit is a presentation in pdf format written by Paul Hackley. Print this file and take it with you. It will serve as a valuable reference as you make your journey. The link to the file can be found by visiting the USGS web site. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-263/