A Self-Portrait............

Ya gotta have a sense of humor in this particular winter. Such was the case for me this past Tuesday. Lulled by the sun and also by the need to get some exercise, I decided to shovel the couple of inches of snow that had fallen the night before. I was bundled up and actually enjoying myself as the temperature was nearly 20 degrees above zero!! As I was shoveling, my neighbor, Jerry, pulled into his driveway and asked if I was having fun. I answered truthfully, "yes, actually I am because the sun is shining and I need the exercise!" It felt really good. I went back and forth pushing the fluffy layer of snow off to the side of the driveway. I figured I'd shovel most of the driveway and let my husband finish the rest when he got home. I was all finished and headed into the house when I decided to make a couple of "last swishes" along the edge of the driveway. So I stepped forward and there under the fluffy snow was a mound of ice that had been dripping from the edge of the garage roof and I did not know it was there. I went down on my left knee......ouch.......and the right.....again ouch........and as I started to reach out and break my fall with my hands............memories of another fall reminded me not to do that. I relaxed and fell "face first into the snow". I laughed. Really I did. Then I was mad at myself because I should have been more careful. I got up and finished the "couple of swishes" and then went inside. I grabbed some lunch and then I drew a quick "self-portrait" because no papparazzi are waiting around the corner to film my every move. However, my fall was so funny that I thought you should get a laugh out of it, too, because the snow that is hitting most parts of the U.S. and abroad is driving some of us crazy. With a little bit of humor it can be tolerable. So here is my self portrait of my expert dive into the snow............
For those who wish to know the technique that I used to create this masterpiece (I'm being silly here but remember I am trying to look at this with humor).....it was done with a number 2 pencil then traced in ink so I could color it with my Prang crayons. I didn't have time to color it until tonight so I did it while I was watching Robin Hood and his merry men starring Errol Flynn. Notice that I captured my gray hair and my plaid scarf that kept my ears warm. My thick black gloves kept my hands warm as they slid through the snow and my heavy-weight red wool coat provided ample cushion as I slid to the ground as if I was heading for homeplate. I even captured the tread on my tennis shoes that were totally worthless when it came to the challenge of gripping on ice. My wounds were small......I have a black and blue spot on each knee but other than that, I am fine. (Some have wondered and "no, my face never hit the snow", although I don't know how I avoided that.) It was kinda fun to send an e-mail to my husband that said........"help, I've fallen and I can't get up". You see I fell a few years ago and broke my wrist and that's a whole other story that I keep saying I'll share but I never get to. Someday, I'll share.
Anyway, all kidding aside, my fall was funny and it would have made a great shot on one of those video programs but no one was around to see it. What it did for me though, was remind me that in an instant a person can be okay and the next thing you know ......... you have an accident and life changes. So, here's some advice, especially meant for those of us challenged by the snow.........
....walk carefully - ice isn't the only slippery surface, though, you could slip on a banana peel!
....drive defensively, look out for the other guy, don't talk on your cell phone and don't text, etc. etc. etc.
....if you are safe at home, stay there, the snow will melt and the sun will come out tomorrow. Annie says so. :-)
Time to turn out the lights. Goodnight all, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite. Just had to close with that. My dad would have loved the "face in the snow" story and picture. :-)
Sandi

P.S. Photos of some dyeing I did last weekend of wooly fabrics are coming up in my next post. :-)