Ace!

Tatum is in the middle of her first season playing this sport and having a great time. And, I'm having a great time watching her develop an interest in my favorite sport to watch and play.

I taught Tatum how to float an underhand serve and her serve has been difficult for other teams to return. She does well passing from the back row, but is a bit hesitant to return the ball while in the front row. She is afriad of getting tangled in the net.

The league is small, comprised of a handful of elementary schools and games are played one night a week, right after school. Many of the rules are modified. They can serve from 5 feet inside the service line, but must remain in the traditional service area. They only pass (bump)the ball. An individual player can only deliver 5 serves and then the team must rotate. Until all the players on the team can serve overhand serve, they all must serve underhand. Aggressive play at the net is discouraged because it is intimidating. We cheer for both teams equally.

I understand the ideas of fairness and wanting to encourage all the girls. However, I do not like the precidence it sets. In life there are losers and there are winners. Some must work hard, even struggle, to achieve goals, for some it comes naturally.There are people who take advantage of opportunities while others choose not to. Every person has a different set of abilities, interests and challenges. Why aren't we teaching our children that they can lose graciously and excell at another challenge or at the same challenge another day? Why are we turning our backs on opportunities to challenge children to be better, to improve themselves? Why are we teaching them that adequacy or being average is best?

Hay, You!

With the snow visible on the mountains to the north and east (maybe there is some skiing in our future) we are preparing for winter. The order of the day was hay. So, while the kids learned to climb the big stacks...

...Rick packed a couple of tons onto the trailer and we headed for home. Where, of course, Rick had to unload it from the trailer and stack it in the shop. I helped a bit. I helped load the trailer with two tons the day before and drove it home (do you believe he trusted me with his truck and trailer?). Oh, I also wrote both checks. I'm good at that.

Slow commuting

Usually I hit the road headed to work and home, sharing the two-lane highway with fellow work- and home-bound people, a couple pick-up trucks filled with firewood and the occassional logging truck. Last week I shared the road - at a much slower pace - with a horse-drawn wagon.

The first time I passed the wagon we near the Idaho-Washington border near Newport, Wash. Two days later I passed him while he was *refueling* (photo above) near Riverside High School along Highway 2. A distance that usually take me about 25 minutes took him two days.
This weekend we found him camped at the local Big R store. We were all interested in knowing more about him and saw him on the news when we got home. You can learn more about him at www.leehorselogger.com.

My shoes

I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly, uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.
~Author unknown

Audrea Makenzie Holestine would have turned 12 today.

Mmmmm, salsa

It was a late night in the kitchen making salsa. I have spent a few years perfecting a salsa recipe that is just right for our needs.

This salsa contains tomatoes, onions, green and yellow bell pepper, banana peppers, garlic and jalepeno pepper. I usually make one batch that has habanero peppers. Spice it up! It is a fairly plain recipe, which makes it more versatile for cooking and enjoying straight out of the jar.

Most of this will get used straight out of the jar and onto chips or quesadillas. I usually add fresh cilantro. Sometimes I add avacado or shrimp just to change it up. I can also use this in recipes were I need to add other spices, herbs or seasonings without the salsa overpowering everything else. Like salsa baked chicken, Spanish rice or to spice up meatballs.