Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Me and My Desk Top...

Well, I'm sitting here writing this blog and looking at my messy desk. I can see only about three square inches of actual desk top. Oddly, I can still find what I need, when I need it, but the look of my desk and therefore my office really bothers me. It's not like I've never cleaned it before; I have, but somehow it always ends up like this. All of the important papers (that I consider important anyway) end up on top of the desk. Certainly, some of this could be tossed.

The rest of my house is not messy. I hate a messy kitchen, and make sure I get all of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher before relaxing in front of the t.v. for the evening. I do have a few books scattered around the living room, but not many, so it's pretty organized too. And my bathrooms are clean, sink shiny, bathtub and toilet pretty decent too. When they start looking in the least grim, I have to grab the cleanser and do something about it. I've often thought it would be great to hire a house cleaner to come in once in a while, since vacuuming is one chore I could do without, but I know I would have to vacuum beforehand anyway (can't let anyone see it with cat fur on the rug or crud in the corners). I would hate to have anyone see my closet too, especially before I've done my spring cleaning and bagged the clothes I inevitably give to one of the charities. I usually have a bag or two and one or two of my daughter's bags. She always offers to let me dig through her stuff before giving it away. She has nice taste, and usually gets tired of her clothes long before they wear out.

So, I don't know why I don't clean up my desk more often. It would probably not take that long to organize. I even bought some new folders just for that purpose, plus I have room in a file drawer. Maybe psychologically it feels as if I am accomplishing something with all these papers in front of me, even when deep down I know I'm not.

Hmm, maybe this dissatifaction with my desk top is actually about a deeper issue. Guess I should make the effort to clean it up and see what happens... But maybe not today.

Visit my website to read a FREE EXCERPT of my mystery romantic-suspense novel, Her Last Letter.

http://www.nancy-cjohnson.com/

Books are available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and can be ordered thought most bookstores.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Jackson Hole Skiing - Record Snowfall Year

Just got back from a vacation in Jackson Hole a couple days ago. Whoa, I've never seen so much snow! Never. One night we got thirty inches, another night sixteen, and on and on. Avalanche guns went off almost every morning ... booming, triggering avalanches so we wouldn't end up in one. I brought the same skis I usually use up at Boyne, knowing I would likely demo skis depending on the conditions. I expected to be renting "all mountain" skis, but decided instead in favor of "powder" skis, the type most of the locals were using. I'd never tried a pair of fats, but was glad I did. My own skis threw me all over the place, and I couldn't bring the skis to a stop easily. It wore me out. The powder skis, on the other hand, seemed to float down the mountain. I used a lot less energy. Unfortunately, by the time I rented the skis, three days in, I was almost too exhausted to enjoy them. But that's me, trying to save a few dollars. Silly. The whole idea is to enjoy the vacation.

I don't consider myself a powder hound. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that in Michigan we don't get much powder. I actually was hoping more for sun and groomed slopes and maybe some soft forgiving moguls. I love to ride chairlifts on a thirty or forty degree day, relaxing and soaking up the warmth. Makes me feel like singing John Denver tunes about Rocky Mountain highs. But it wasn't to be. I knew this, after all it is Jackson Hole, famous for sub zero temps. Fortunately, I was spared the coldest temperatures. For Jackson, it was somewhat balmy, cold in the early morning (I think one or two degrees) but warming up to twenty or thirty most days. The problem was the flat light and sometimes blizzard conditions. At one point I could see about two feet in front of me, and only the pines on either side of the slope kept me on course. On two of the days they closed the chairlifts on the upper parts of the mountain because of dangerously high winds. Since it was also windy on the lower slopes, I didn't venture over there on those days. I have experienced chairlifts during high winds, not fun at all, especially when the lift stops and you're blown horizontal, your feet dangling over the tree tops, the wind sounding a lot like a locomotive.

I did enjoy the vacation though because a lot of my friends were on the trip, and really, how many times do I get a chance to ski that much powder? It was a record snowfall year for Jackson Hole, over five hundred and seventy-five inches, and I was there to see it happen. Think I'll be talking about this trip for a while...

Visit my website to read a FREE EXCERPT of my mystery romantic-suspense novel, Her Last Letter.

http://www.nancy-cjohnson.com/

Books are available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and can be ordered through most bookstores.

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