Truth Spoken by a Real Mountain Woman

I know that folks love to complain about the weather, especially this time of year when winter has a firm grip on the world around us.  But I've come to really love this season.  When winter hits, with all of it's bitter limitations, God has a way of  using it to slow our family down for a much needed rest.

Last week started as a hectic jumble of activity for us.  My husband was working out of town, and the kids and I shuffled back and forth between  4-H meetings, baseball practice, ballet, church, and our usual extra-curricular activities.  One by one, we each battled a flu bug to make things even more complicated.

Just as I began to wonder how we were going to get "it" all done, a winter storm came our way, and cleared all of the unnecessary things out of our weekend schedule.  It was a welcome relief.  We loaded up the family and went to take care of the cows on Saturday morning, and then we watched the storm roll in from the comfort of my in-law's house.

There's nothing quite so lovely as watching a storm build in the mountains.  Here is a picture looking north, over the high plains.  The sun is still shining on the cured grass in the distance, making it look a brilliant hue of gold.  But in the foreground, the clouds are building overhead, and things are getting dark very quickly.

In the picture below, I'm standing in the exact same spot, but now I'm looking South at the base of the mountains where the storm is approaching.

It's starting to look more ominous.

You can barely see the big beautiful mountains in the background.

We spent the afternoon watching an old black and white movie, and talking with family as the rain drizzled outside the window.

Later that evening, we went to our beloved "Booga Reds" for some dinner.  That restaurant has some delicious green chili that will make you sweat.  It will also clear your sinuses, which is just what the doctor ordered after my week with the flu bug.

Between the good conversation, the spicy green-chili burrito, and the delicious ice they put in their drinks, I think I downed at least 3 big glasses of iced- tea over the course of the evening.  I'm a social iced-tea drinker.  When the conversation's good, I tell the waitress to keep pouring.  Plus the little ice nuggets are the size of  tiny B-B's and they're amazing to crunch on.  Do you know what I mean about good ice?

 Anyway, I digress.

After dinner it was getting dark, and we started heading home.  Soon after we left town, the rain turned to snow, and the snow turned into a blinding, sideways blizzard.  There were 55 miles of blinding, sideways blizzard, to be exact.

55 miles with no civilization in between. (Read: No bathrooms to stop at.)

55 miles with a bladder full of approximately 96 ounces of iced- tea and little ice B-B's floating around in it.

55 miles of 4 wheel drive, and creeping ahead at a snail's pace.

55 miles of the death-grip on the seat belt as I prayed we wouldn't slide off the highway.

21.6 miles of doing what I refer to as the "Pee- pee dance" before whispering, "Pull over at the nearest tree."

I know this is not proper to say, and it's going to make some people blush, but....

You know you're a real mountain woman when you can tinkle behind a tree in a blinding, sideways blizzard in the dead of winter....

or  maybe you've given birth to 3 children and you have no bladder left...or maybe you just drank 96 ounces of iced tea with delicious B-B pellet ice...or maybe you have an iced tea addiction...

or maybe the answer is "all of the above".

(Raising my hand.)

Thanks to my husband, who graciously pulled off the road, I then had...

 33.4 miles of being able to sit more comfortably.

(This blog just went right off into a ditch, didn't it?)

Anyway, the Lord brought us home safely, and because it was such a warm storm, the snow is melting off quickly.

Here's a shot of the lake near our house, as it looked this morning on my way to church.

It's really a beautiful sight.... even in winter.



Your truthful friend who occasionally shares too much information,

Nell