[stylist] Wintry Tale

Sun Jan 27 19:40:11 UTC 2013

Jackie,
Thanks for good vibes!
Yes, Why?
I had wanted to surprise my husband by taking the dogs out before he had a 
chance to do it - my first trip outside with them since the beginning of the 
month. But, the surprise was really on ME, since my trip out landed me deep 
into the snow bank while he watched the adventure from the window.
My archives project is rolling right along and I am now up to 2003 - 10 more 
years to go yet. I get about 1 year a day finished, sometimes not quite one 
year. This is one of the most FUN things I have done for a long time - 
looking back is something I have never had time to do before now.  It's like 
an archiologocal excavation site as I mine my own history.
Lynda

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2013 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Wintry Tale

> Lynda,
> Your recovery sounds    a bit strenuous! Your project is fascinating and
> will keep your recovery time filled to the brim. But the dog-walking? Why
> not wait for the snow to melt. I would think that boots sunk deep in snow
> could create strain. Just worried a little.
> It is a great story, and your little companions truly come across as
> personalities in your story.
> Good wishes for a return of normalcy.
> Jackie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lynda 
> Lambert
> Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2013 9:32 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Wintry Tale
>
> I continue to recover from surgery I had on January 4th - but have been 
> able
> to sit awhile now and spent the last couple of days writing. The other big
> project I am working on during the entire month of January is to revisit 
> my
> own art history. I have begun the big project of putting my archives in
> order and putting them into chronological order. Since I began a
> professional exhibition career in 1976, this is a very big project with 
> over
> 300 exhibitions to be recorded chronologically. This has needed to be done
> for a long time, but now that I am retired, and also recuperating from
> surgery, I can do this job. Once it is finished, it will be put on CDs and
> sent off to the museums and galleries that archive my career and have my
> work in their permanent collections. I have to say that turning the bend
> this year to my next "0" birthday has been great motivation to get it all
> done NOW.
>
> Here's the little story I wrote yesterday and today:
>
>
> A Canine Snow Story
>
> By Lynda McKinney Lambert
>
> Copyright, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I quickly  opened the kitchen door in the early morning dusky lavender 
> light
> today. It was not quite daylight yet but the dogs were used to getting up
> early. This was our routine since Bob and I are retired and often take 
> them
> out during the night or in the very early morning hours. Mitchell and 
> Rocco,
> our two  dogs,  were anxious to explore the outdoors, as usual.  Rocco is 
> a
> PomSheltie mix and he bounced out with his fluffy tail waving like a flag
> behind him He never had to have a leash on because he understood his
> boundaries and he would stay with me for our morning walk.
>
>
>
> On the other hand, Mitchell was a terrier. I often like to tell people she
> is a TERROR-ier. Mitchell had to wear her red harness and stay on the 
> leash
> because she just never understood that we have boundaries. If she was not 
> on
> the leash, she would be dashing back and forth across the two roads near 
> our
> house, and she would be visiting every other home in sight.  If she 
> happened
> to get loose, and she did on occasion, then all I would see would be quick
> flashes of a white dog darting about in ever widening circles. She moved 
> so
> fast her brown spots were invisible. Once that happened, all I could do 
> was
> to wait her out. She never came when called, and had no clue that she was 
> in
> danger. She ran like a Greyhound on a race track in pursuit of the fake
> rabbit. She dashed through the woods, and at times came back home after
> rolling about in stinky messes left on the floor of the woods by wild
> animals.
>
>
>
> The three of us were a common sight as we walked through the woods and 
> into
> the meadow at the top of the ridge overlooking the creek.
>
>
>
> I must have looked especially strange as we burst forth from the warm 
> house
> into the cold morning today.  I was wearing tall rubber Wellies to keep my
> feet dry from the snow drifts. I had ordered the Wellies from the L. L. 
> Bean
> catalogue last winter for days just like this one. It was very cold and 
> the
> snow was deep. They were just perfect for my winter walks with my dogs.
>
>
>
> But today, in just a few moments, it was too late! Frisky and impulsive,
> Mitchell pulled me into a deep snow drift that was higher than my boot 
> tops.
> My long lavender flannel nightgown caught the snow as we were launched 
> into
> the drift. Snow surrounded me.  With shocking wetness against the bare 
> skin
> above my boot tops.  My dark purple plush bathrobe flapped in the wintry
> coldness that blew up from the creek bed. It felt warm as a winter coat 
> and
> the soft gray wool scarf I had wrapped around my neck warmed my face.
>
>
>
> I tried holding up my snow laden nightgown, but the snow was stuck here 
> all
> around the inside hem of my flannel nightgown. I plunged on down the
> hillside into the meadow on the ridge overlooking the frozen creek.
>
>
>
> Mitchell and Rocco  were excited and sniffing the air. I was busy looking
> around for fresh deer tracks in the snow. Mitchell held a pose that told 
> me
> she was looking for something in the woods. She stood perfectly still, 
> with
> her face pointing towards the bare trees.  This stance always made me a
> little nervous, because I did not want to run into one of the deer. On
> occasion we did, and it would snort and stamp it's feet at us and I would
> quickly turn around and move out of it's domain. Rocco would run after the
> deer, barking and chasing it back deeper into the woods while I would 
> scream
> at him to come back "now." Shortly, is little fluffy black and tan
> long-haired  body would come bouncing back, when he was ready to do it.
>
>
>
> Only a couple of cars drove by on the main road as we stomped through the
> wet snow. Finally, we turned around and headed back up the hill to the
> house. In a short second, I felt my right boot slip beneath the snow, and 
> I
> was thrown down onto my face with my hands extended outward above my head.
> My legs apart, and the toes of my Wellies dug deep into the drift.
>
>
>
> It happened so fast I could never have prevented this fall. It was 
> painless.
> I began to laugh out loud. I hoped my husband, Bob, was not watching out 
> the
> window and I hoped he did not see our morning plunge into the newly fallen
> snow.
>
>
>
> Mitchell, quickly turned around to see what was happening when she felt 
> the
> leash pull her to a stop. Fortunately, I held tight, and was still 
> laughing
> as I staggered back up onto my feet.  Bob  greeted us at the kitchen door
> and we laughed together because he had seen me rolling about deep in the
> morning snow. I was now completely covered with snow and remarked that 
> "Here
> come the snow bunnies."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Here's a little Wintry Tale from an adventure I had yesterday morning.
> Lynda Lambert
> 104 River Road
> Ellwood City, PA 16117
>
> 724 758 4979
>
> My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
> My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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