A Day of Surprises

 Today has been one surprise after another - some good, some not so good. My first surprise was when I was talking with son, Jamie, this morning (he calls me every morning to be sure I'm still perking!) and he told me the paragliders some of us have been worried about going through the ice are actually a group of people learning the sport with an instructor - and part of that instruction has to do with being safe. They are equipped with wet suits and ice picks, and are learning what to do if they get into trouble (go through the ice). I'd say the instructor picked a remarkably good time to demonstrate when NOT to be on the ice, and they were all incredibly lucky there wasn't a real-life demonstration of how to get out of freezing cold water onto unstable ice. Anyway, that's at least what Jamie got from talking with Jay Chatot one day when they were out there. I'll talk with either Jay or Kate to find out more. Anyway, we can relax, I guess. I am glad to know that this was not  people just being stupid and reckless. It wouldn't be a class I would ever sign up for, but to each is own!

The next surprise was when Ben Ackermann and Shawn, his assistant, showed up to remove the silt fence they had put up when they were digging my pond this summer. I'd resigned myself to having it there until spring. They seemed to have no problem getting it out, and I'm delighted to have it gone. The next surprise was when Ben told me he is probably coming back tomorrow to start on the small lumbering project I asked him to do between Jamie's driveway and mine. I'd figured he wouldn't be here until after New Year's. There are very large, old trees in there that are threatening to topple in every windstorm we have, so it will be good to have them down. Another project Fred and I had planned on doing but that was put aside when he wasn't feeling well. So Ben's arrival was a really good surprise.

Then Mayo's delivered some chairs I have been waiting for since last March. I knew they were coming today; I had been to the store on Sunday to see the chairs and liked them (it had been so long I honestly couldn't remember what they looked like!), but somehow after they were in place in my living room, they didn't look right. Not at all. I switched things around, and still I wasn't happy. That was a not-so-good surprise because I have been looking forward to them all these months. I had decided not to let May's take away the old  chairs - it was a case of a little warning voice telling me to go slowly on that. Fred and I had an agreement that whenever anything new came into the house, the old whatever had to go, but I think he would understand my reluctance to part with these. However, I was not only surprised but pretty upset when I realized they weren't fitting in, so I emailed Mayo's right away about taking at least one back. I guess knowing I could return it had a calming effect. I went on with my busy morning here at the computer, and when I stopped for lunch and walked into the living room, I realized they weren't all that bad. It was probably more me than the new chairs. After spending a day with them, I'm really surprised that I'm ok with keeping both of them.

However, when I went for the mail, mid-afternoon, I was using my favorite walking stick to break up ice at the bottom of the driveway and after happily jabbing at the ice and watching it shatter like panes of glass, my beloved stick broke. It has been my go-to walking companion for at least the past 10 years. I picked it up in the woods one day when Fred and I were struggling through some rough going and I needed something for balance. It was just the right fit and tough as nails, or so I thought. Really bad surprise. I have one other, but it isn't as sturdy or as comfortable as this one was. I have a habit of heading into the woods without a walking stick but then I realize I feel much more secure with one so I  find one on the forest floor, and bring it home to stand in the corner by the garage door. I had quite a collection until I discarded most of them in a fit of tidying up the garage this summer. Now I'll have to begin hunting for the "perfect" walking stick again! 

Some days are like today, with a few surprises here and there; other days are pretty hum-drum. All things considered, this has been a really fun day. A few ups and downs, but I got a lot accomplished without doing any real damage to myself or others. Just to my favorite walking stick.