saturday scattered thoughts

The weather may say Winter, but my work calendar says Spring

- it's pure craziness here in collegiate budget land...

So for this week - a few scattered thoughts from my thoroughly scattered brain

I am excited for:

Summer - I'd be happy to skip Spring

 I'm looking forward to the relaxed, laid-back feel that comes with summer -

Bring it on!

I am happy when:

I get messages and phone calls from my wayward daughter on the Appalachian Trail -

she is having a blast and has met so many great people on the trail, including the daughter of one of my blogger friends. They enjoyed a few days of hiking together, and hope to meet up, again, a little farther down the trail. I have to admit, I didn't understand what was motivating her to take this trip.
Now, I think I get it.

I am tired of:

Living in Boston - but lacking a viable escape plan,

I need to suck it up, Buttercup.

I am working on:

A new photography challenge. Perusing my Pinterest boards, I found lots of different challenges I had forgotten about. I'm randomly combining a few for my own weekly challenge.

I am indulging in:

A massage this weekend. Sitting at a computer all day is wreaking havoc on my neck.

I am not looking forward to:
Staying home this weekend to Spring clean.
Yes - thanks to all the many posts I've seen over the past week, dedicated to cleaning and organizing -
I'm feeling duly shamed - so yeah - thanks a bunch!
:-)

What do you have going on this weekend?

spring fling - bromley mountain style

Last Saturday was the annual Spring Fling at Bromley mountain -

it didn't feel much like Spring

- but the Fling was definitely on!

After a lazy morning and a late start, Greg and I decided to forgo the skiing -

and join in the fun with some barbecue and beer near the fire pit.
(Yeah - he pretends to be texting - but I saw the photo on Facebook...)

Costumes not required - but much more fun!

There were lots of events - the crowd favorite -

Pond Skimming

yep, skiing across a pond

decked out for Spring regardless of what Mother Nature says

The lucky few who made it across

and those not quite so lucky

brrrrrrrrrr!!!

There was much excitement when Sponge Bob skied down the hill

good thing he lives in a pineapple under the sea...

Yipee - unicorns! Good luck x 4!

This was a great family day

 with one of our favorite families!

So - this is what Spring looks like in northern New England

Yeah - we'll have sun and flowers, too - eventually - in a few days weeks months or so...

How do you celebrate Spring in your neck of the woods?

random favs

I'm running a little late this week...

which get's me thinking - I'm just not very good at keeping schedules -

well, other than my regular alarm-gym-shower-work-home-dinner-sleep schedule

you know, the one that rules most of my life...

-and this probably explains my aversion to them.

Anyway ,

on a more positive note - how about a few random favorites?

 - old train depots

I found this one in Chester, Vermont.

When I see an old train depot, my mind fills with images of excited greetings, teary farewells, waiting, 

 the promise of adventure...

Lazy Saturday mornings - a warm cup of coffee, watching the birds outside my window, 

catching up on my blog reading and pinterest boards.

Warm summer evenings - a glass of wine, an Adirondack chair, dinner on the grill

Farmer's markets - can't wait!

Outdoor adventure - snowshoeing in the peaceful forest, kayaking, cycling, hiking...

Snowy winter days - curled up with a book near a roaring fire

How about you - I'd love to hear what some of your favorite things are!

grafton covered bridge

Did I hear somewhere that tomorrow is the first day of Spring?

Hmmmm

I found this little bridge in Grafton, VT -

home of Grafton Village Cheese,

and a very quaint place to visit...

It doesn't look much like Spring here,

but truth be told - I'm hoping for one more weekend on the ski slopes

Then...

70 degrees and sunny - all the time 

But the reflection in this puddle reminds me -

 in Vermont, Mud Season comes before Spring

- no matter what the calendar says.

Has Spring sprung where you are?

random 5 - going mobile

I'm always saying or thinking "I should try this" or "I should learn that"... So this week I'm tackling "I should learn how to mobile blog." All words, photos and editing done on my iPhone.

And - It's Friday - so time for a little randomness with Nancy

1) wow- my iPhone has a camera! - not that I ever use it - it mostly leaves me thinking that I need stronger glasses. But we had a good time clowning around - and the Waterlogue app is fun!

2) Last week I ran across an old quote from Steve Jobs  - 

"for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' and whenever the answer has been 'no' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something..."

Hmmmm

3) the blogging world never stops surprising me. Two weeks ago when I posted about Maggie's adventure on the AT, one of my blog friends (thank you Dorothy) contacted one of her blog friends who also has a daughter on the trail. Imagine my surprise when I was texted a photo of the two of them together!

4) we've adopted Maggie's cat, Johnny Bananas, for the next few months. The little pest prefers to drink straight from the faucet. - and then there's his need for adoration at 4am...

5) for family and friends following Maggie's adventures - she sent me this photo earlier this week from somewhere in North Carolina. Can't argue with that scenery!

That's it for me this week - and I won't even preview this post on the computer (the control freak in me is cringing!) let's hope it's not a garbled mess!

How about you - do you use a smartphone for photos, blogging - everything / nothing?

As always, I wish you a wonderful weekend!

Update - partial fail on the mobile blogging - my links didn't take. Should be all set now.

rural graffiti

 Weekdays in the city - I'm accustomed to all sorts of graffiti

But - I confess, I'm not up on the latest gang lingo -

and rarely have a clue what the message is supposed to mean.

I assume it's something uplifting like - "Our turf - keep out or you'll be shot"

I could be wrong...

Anyway - when I saw this message painted on the side of an old shed in the 

tiny village of Chester, Vermont -

I thought - Finally, something I understand!

I'm thinking Facebook might be a more effective way of letting everyone know that you were 

"green before green was cool" -

but I'm glad they chose this method.

I'm joining Madge at the View from Right Here for Rurality Blog Hop

random five from a random week

Happy Friday - and you know what that means

- time for some randomness at A Rural Journal

:-)

1) Fortunately for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, this spot at the top of Bromley mountain will be much prettier (and warmer) when they start hiking through in July and August.

2) I made it through week #1 of this whole Appalachian Trail shin-dig.

Whew - this worrying thing is pretty darned tiring!

Maggie's latest text from somewhere in Georgia - "I'm having an amazing time"

That's good - right?

3) Completely random -

Everything is better with peanut butter...

Just putting it out there

4) Right now, I'm reading Wally Lamb's latest - We Are Water

I'm enjoying it so far - and am always looking for suggestions.

Have you read anything awesome lately?

5) So... Yeah... Candy Crush...

As if I needed one more thing to completely suck up my time.

Anyone else addicted to this incredibly obnoxious game?

I'm going on a Candy Crush detox...

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!