Piracy in my pool. Arrrrgh!

This morning, dark and cold and early, like many other Friday mornings, I pulled on my swimsuit and sandals for a hike to the nearest swimming hole to take a plunge. For the shivering masses out there, I added sweats, a hat, a face warmer, a jacket and socks to my outfit. As I wandered across the frozen fields, my way was lit by the lights of town reflecting off the clouds. In addition I noticed a veritable parade of lights screaming down the driveway to the parking lot. There are regulars at the pool (most of whom never find the water, only the exercise equipment rumored to live upstairs.) There are the New Year's resolution types who have been around for the last week, but never in these numbers at this hour. As I escaped the cold into the warm lighted building, the extras on the scene all seemed to be Pirates from the local University. Unfortunately for me, they all seemed to be interested in the pool, all at the same time.

Two summers ago, when I was new in town, I tried out several pools. One was at the local University. It is a very nice pool. They maintain a cool enough temperature for lap swimming without feeling too cold. It is a 25 meter pool, rather than the shorter 25 yard pool I use now. I tried lots of other pools too, but they are not part of this story. During the summer, which the University seems to think of as the off season for swimming, they decided to do some maintenance on the pool which involved closing it for a couple of months, to the great inconvenience of the local population of swimmers. When it reopened, we discovered that they used a very slippery paint on the entire deck. To remedy the problem, they found some mats to spread on the entire deck. These mats seem to be made of loosely connected strings which wander all over the place and jump up and grab unsuspecting swimmers' toes from time to time. Now it seems that these mats also harbor black mold. Until someone cleans this scurvy mold from the mats, we will be sharing our pool with the Pirates. They make lots of waves, even with the lane lines that are supposed to stop the waves. It felt like swimming in a short lake. I hope their pool is fixed soon, since it is swimming season for them now, and they should have their own pool to use after their parents spent all that money on tuition.

The sun goes to sleep
far too early for my taste
on a winter day

Pogonip morning
trombone player off to band
foggy doggy walk

Merry Christmas

Yesterday, we spent a quiet day at home unwrapping a few things early in the morning.Something a boy always wanted.

I am sure this is something every boy needs. His sister said she bought it for him since she no longer lives at home to hear it.

Perhaps there is something over there for a little dog?

Dad bought exactly the thing daughter admired in the store. Clever Dad. Mom found down slippers and an electronic gizmo for the girl.

Shadow does not understand the fascination with cameras at all.

My girl turns the camera on herself.

Then she shoots her mother. I need a little less flash on my hair.

Visiting family

Yesterday, before settling in to watch the Nutcracker, while it was still light, we visited our friends at Rusty Cock Ridge, where we found fun ways to flip hair. We found a new way to fly.

We tried some rock and roll.

After the Nutcracker, we all visited the stage to take pictures with our favorite member of the cast. There are many ways to be the tallest one. Dancers like to pointe that out.

The dance of the two veils?

Rumor has it that days will be growing longer now, so we can fit more in while the sun shines.