the things we do for love
December 31, 2005, 6:10 P.M.
When you are 42 years old, and 250 lbs, how do you celebrate New Years Eve?
By going ice skating.
The Niece came to spend the weekend, as everyone in her family had New Years Eve plans and she didn't want to be home all by herself. So her stepdad dropped her off at about nine this morning, and she accompanied us on our shopping and various errands. And after a barbecue sandwich at Famous Dave's, we headed over to our local ice palace--a brand-new facility in nearby Pleasant Prairie called the Ice Plex.
Where I rented a pair of skates, paid my admission, and proceeded to enjoy the hell out of making a fool of myself.
Seriously--despite my various bad bits, and my size, and the fact that it's probably been 24 years or so since I've laced up a pair of skates--I really had fun. Niece, for whom this was only her third time skating, ever, looked like a pro. Great control and agility, spinning and skating backwards and even up on one leg! That kid is an amazing natural athlete, and never ceases to flabbergast me.
As for me, I managed to get around the rink a few times. I fell down three times, laughed, stumbled, hugged the wall, and eventually managed to get back some of my ancient talent. By the time my ankles gave out, I was doing pretty well.
After a couple of hours, Niece and I were whipped, Spouse was cold, and the rink was very crowded, so we came home for some real homemade hot cocoa. On tonight's agenda are homemade pizza, some fizzy white grape juice in lieu of champagne, and maybe a game of Uno or two. All in all, I think it will be a pleasant evening.
My second in a row, actually. Spouse and I actually did something social last night--we got together with some friends at the lodge for drinks, dinner and dancing. And had a blast. T and J are a lot of fun, and we even got to spend some time with the Bullet, an old friend who was in town from Sheboygan for the holidays. I played some slots, and some raffles--I won a bottle of Sambuca, and J won a bottle of Bacardi Limon, and we just spent the evening laughing and talking. We didn't stay out late, though--came home about ten, because Spouse and the Bullet had both been up since the day before. We hit the sack about 11:00.Spouse is planning on making pancakes in the morning, and has been making noises like he wants to take the train down to the city tomorrow. We'll see. He may feel differently if I am (as I suspect will be the case) unable to move tomorrow.
Reading: �Speaker of Mandarin�, by Ruth Rendell
Listening: to Spouse and niece bicker over what to watch on TV.
Beading: Dark amber carnival DNA spiral necklace .
One Year Ago, I didn't post.
At Random: click here
|