A November Stroll

I have been wanting to go on a hike with my camera for over three months now, I think. Our summer weekends got eaten up by gigs, travel, bad weather, and then, when our sailboat was finally ready for the sea, with sailing. And maybe it was good we didn't go when it was hot and humid (Virginia can be unrelenting weather-wise in the summer). So, yesterday, Chris and I went on a 3.5 mile hike around a local reservoir (we had done this hike only once before, right when we moved to town), and the leaves were gorgeous, and the weather was perfect. So I snapped about a hundred pictures. Here are some of the better ones:

Sign at the trailhead.

The trail.

Pretty tree!

Fuschia leaf.

My sister, who is a much better photographer than me, told me that good photos feature interesting angles. I thought this fallen tree might fit that criteria...

Winter is coming...

And now, a series of pictures of Chris balancing on things...

Blanket of color.

The reservoir.

We came upon a series of trees that seemed to have lost their lives to beavers. What a way to go...

Staircase.

The trail takes you across the dam... here's the resevoir from the dam.

The sun was obviously in our faces... this is the same picture we took on this same hike like three years ago!

A picture Chris took of me... no making fun of the backwards baseball cap please! I wore it that way so I could snap pictures easily.

Oh no, which way?

The old dam house, which is now falling to pieces.

An abandoned farmhouse at the end of the trail.

I really liked this tree.

I hope you all had lovely weekends and got to enjoy the weather!

Time to Break Out the Handwarmers...

The weekend before this last one, Chris and I went sailing. Yes, we went sailing on a 53-degree drizzly day. Guess whose idea that was? I'll give you a hint: It wasn't mine. But we had to go, because the season is quickly drawing to a close and because the wind was perfect.

Here's a list of the layers I wore:
Sports bra
Thermal shirt
T-shirt
Sweatshirt
Winter coat
Running tights
Windbreaking pants
Wool socks
Hiking boots
Ski gloves
Beanie

And, even wearing all that, I was chilly. I have this thing called Reynaud's Disease... essentially, I have horrible circulation, which is really bad in my extremities (fingers, toes). If you click on the above link and look the scary-looking pictures of fingers, that's what happens to me.  And I'm just cold-intolerant in general. Winter is like a living hell to me. That's one of the reasons why I bought my new boots... gotta keep them toes warm!

Thank goodness I thought to bring a pack of handwarmers with me when we went sailing. Have you all seen these things? You open up a packet, shake the little pouch so that the various ingrediants mix together, which causes a chemical reaction that produces heat. Beautiful, wonderful heat. Over the years, many of the people I know have given me handwarmers as gifts, so I have this huge stockpile of them, which I'm planning on using all winter long.

Anyways, so I stuck the handwarmers in my gloves, which, I'm sure, was the only reason I could actually make myself useful and pull on ropes and stuff (things like gripping the steering wheel of my car or carrying a bag that is even slightly heavy greatly aggravate this condition in my hands).

It was another very windy day, so we reefed the main sail (which basically means that we made the surface area of the sail smaller) and we managed to explore part of the lake that we had never seen before because we were FLYING. It seriously felt like we were going 60 miles per hour for a minute there (Chris said it was probably more like 10, hahaha). To me, the craziest part was when we were going directly with the wind... it feels like you're barely moving (because you're going with the wind, there's not really any wind blowing against your face or anything)... until you look at the scenery flying by you. Amazing, really.

Oh yeah, did I mention we were the only CRAZIES on the entire lake? No? Hmmm, well, we were.

Then, I started to get pretty chilly and made Chris take us back to the marina (much to his dismay). I'm thinking I'm much more of a Tropical-Sailer-Type... Chris, though, comes from hearty Irish stock, and prefers to freeze his ass off.

Oy. Winter is coming....



I.HATE.COLD.



SAD

Recently, Her Royal Dooceness posted about how hard season changes are for people who are or have been clinically depressed (pretty much no matter how "mild" the case was). The post is here if you'd like to read it. She said her therapist told her that more suicides happen in September and May than any other months. I don't find this to be surprising at all, as I always feel really down when my favorite summer weather starts to retreat and when those short, chilly, grey, rainy, days replace those scrumptiously-wonderful, long, hot, bright days.

Every single seasonal change causes me to look inward (Though, the change from summer to fall is always the hardest one for me). It's like all the change that is swirling around me and is beyond my control reminds me of my own mortality, and my own true lack of control (and control freaks like me have problems dealing with the idea of not having a hold on something). I don't know if this has anything to do with ever having been depressed, but, you'd think I'd get used to the seasons changing every year (you know, because it happens 4 times every damn year!)... and I just can't seem to. I was strolling down the pedestrian mall in town when I took a short break from work (well, when I say I strolled, I really mean I bee-lined for the coffee shop), and I just got this overwhelming sense of sadness- this sense that everything I hold dear will, in varying amounts of time, be taken from me or me from it.

The change in seasons always always always compels me to make some changes in my life- sometimes big, meaningful changes, sometimes small, superficial ones. I almost always want to get my hair cut, buy new clothes, start a new hobby, and recommit myself to health and exercise. Hell, last fall was perhaps the craziest I went after the days starting getting shorter: I quit my job without the prospect of another one, and in the current market (I'm getting so sick of this "current market" shit... but hey, I ended up in a much better place because of that seemingly rash, crazy, season change-fueled decision). I also decided to try to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and, while serving out my two weeks' notice and then some, I wrote half a damn (awful) book.

I'm also always SO ready to move somewhere new (whether that means a new house or a new town, I'm not exactly sure) in the fall. Perhaps that drive comes from going off to school in the fall and moving into a new dorm, though I'm not really sure. Perhaps I'm like a goose- I want to move south for the winter (flying would be ok with me), as I certainly have no compulsion to move north... I'd probably never survive in Alaska or one of the Nordic countries (not just because of the cold, also because of the lack of light!), where the sun literally goes away for months at a time.

And maybe all of this is just brought on by the dreaded Quarter-Life Crisis (although, do crises last more than a year?) or something. And can I just say that the Quarter-Life Crisis sucks? We Quarter-Lifers have no money with which to buy sports cars or mansions or breast implants or whatever those Mid-Lifers are buying these days (I mean, really they should be frantically saving for retirement, am I right?) However, I have a feeling that it is more than likely something at least related to Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is, appropriately, known as SAD. Wikipedia says that "Symptoms of SAD may consist of difficulty waking up in the morning, morning sickness, tendency to oversleep and over eat, especially a craving for carbohydrates, which leads to weight gain. Other symptoms include a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating on completing tasks, and withdrawal from friends, family, and social activities. All of this leads to the depression, pessimistic feelings of hopelessness, and lack of pleasure which characterize a person suffering from this disorder." They forgot to include compulsion to cut one's hair, change one's wardrobe, and dive right in to writing the next Great American Novel.

Anyways, if you're currently suffering from this autumnal, ass-kicking SADness, I'm right there with you. Let's get through this together: By drinking coffee, ranting regularly, eating carbs, sleeping in, and writing a book. Ok, fine, jeez, we'll make this the Sesame Street version: By exercising, eating healthy foods, discussing our feelings in a calm, collected way, and by researching and outlining for our book before we start writing (that's the ticket!).

Here's to warm, sunny, summer days filled with FUN instead of SAD!

Happy Feet

An alternate title to this post could be: "How I Justify Spending More Than My Monthly Car Payment on a Pair of Shoes."

Ack!

So, I've been looking for a pair of boots for the fall/winter. And I'm INSANELY picky when it comes to what I wear (that is not to say that I'm fashion-conscious... it's more to say that I know what I DON'T like, which is a lot).

I've essentially been scouring the internet for a pair of lace-up combat(ish)/workboot(ish) brown boots. And again, that's not to say that I knew exactly what I wanted, but I certainly knew what I didn't want. This does not make it easy to find good boots, folks. And I started reading reviews of some that I liked the look of that were reasonably-priced, but most of the reviews said things like "cheaply-made," "the soles starting falling apart after two weeks," etc. Plus, the idea of buying shoes without trying them on makes me want to vomit a little- it's too risky.

The other thing about me is that I expect a lot out of my clothing. I envisioned this pair of boots as wearing many different hats (ha!). I wanted to be able to wear them to work under my flared jeans, and I wanted to be able to wear them with skinny jeans and skirts/dresses for gigs. I also wanted something that would keep my little toes warm when it's cold, and I wanted something that would hold up in inclement weather. I also wanted to be able to try on a pair before taking the plunge. And I wanted all of this for around $50.

Well, I was walking around the shopping area near where I work on Tuesday before dinner with a girlfriend, and then I saw them: THE boots, in the window of a local shoe boutique. They were beautiful, and they looked like the boots of my feet's dreams. But, I was sure the local boutique was expensive (they all are around here), so after several minutes of drooling, I walked on my way, in my boring, cheapy shoes. But, I passed them again on Wednesday, and I contemplated walking in to try them on, but, I knew I needed to get home to workout, shower, and eat before heading to band practice. So, once again, I left them.

On Thursday, while out for a walk on lunch, I meandered my way towards the boutique, and, to my horror, the boots were no longer in the window.

That got my butt through the door. And there, on the shelf, were THE boots. I picked up the one on display and noticed that they were lined with wool (mmmm, toasty toes!), that they were waterproofed (wearable in inclement weather), and that they looked killer. Plus, they were made well (something I'm not always used to, as I'm cheap). I spoke with the sales lady, and she went back to get a pair for me to try on (only two pairs in my size were left!). And I put my foot in the right one and laced it up, and good lord, it was comfortable. And you can either wear them all the way laced up or fold the top part down (apparently, this is stylish). I spoke with the saleswoman about how they would last for years, and then I looked at the (ack!) pricetag. Ack! These boots were worth a pretty penny (although, I noticed that there were boots in the store twice as expensive!). So, I told the woman about how I got paid on Friday and I left the boots there.

Today (Friday), I went by after having asked for my mom's advice (she said to spend the money if I will wear them for at least two seasons), my sister's advice (she reminded me of the Friends episode where Monica HAS to have a pair of boots and then they are so uncomfortable she can barely walk, but then encouraged me to treat myself), and pretty much anyone else who would listen to me (I did not have one person advise me not to buy them!) and bought them! Yay payday! Yay new boots! I'm very happy with my decision, to say the least. Talk about a pick-me-up after a long week! These boots are Scrumtrulescent!

Check 'em out:

So, the top layer folds down and can snap into place...

And the lining can fold down too, if you want!

Did I mention that my feet will be very warm this winter?

On.

I think I may have mentioned this before, too: I'm excited for my new boots!