Siege

Another One of Those Summary Posts

So, it's the new year.  Thank the goddess.  While it hasn't been a terrible year, it certainly could have been better.  I do believe that 2008 will be a good year.

I want to take just a moment and detail the things I've been able to cross of my Life List:

1. I've visited 2 new states in the US.  I spent almost a week in Oklahoma City for business (the best beef I've ever had).  We also took a road trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to see a friend get married.  I was surprised at how gorgeous the Duke campus is.  (My state rule is that I have to have spent at least 1 night to be able to cross the state off the list.)
2. Began taking singing lessons in August.  While I won't be on American Idol any time soon, I have gained an appreciation for how much fun it is to sing and discovered that I'm not half bad.  Scheduling conflicts stopped the lessons in November, but we'll be starting up again in January.
3. Set foot on the Appalachian Trail (part of the road trip to NC).  We hiked almost a mile and it seemed like it was all uphill.  We're already planning a longer trip for next fall when Hub returns from Alaska.  He wants to hike for 4 days - which means I have to sleep outside for 3 nights.  Truly, this will be a test for me.  It also means that I need to hit the elliptical machine so that I'll be able to keep up.
4. Managed to read 54 books last year.  Granted, I did a lot of reading while laid up with a broken leg, but I did read a ton after I healed.  Some highlights:  Laurie King's Sherlock mysteries, Jaqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, the last Harry Potter, Rosemary Mahoney's writings, graphic novels, and Tales from a Female Nomad, by Rita Golden Gelman.

What's up for this year?  I'm not really sure.  I know I'll be reading, knitting, and spinning.  Here's the preliminary list:

• Reading:  I'll begin reading Shakespeare's plays this year with a goal of one per month.  There are 37 plays, so this Life List item will take a little over 2 years.  I've just started the Elizabeth Peters Egypt mysteries (19 books), so those will continue.
• Knitting:  I joined IndiAmy's Year of Lace.  The kits begin arriving in March, so I'll be all set to knit me some serious lace.  I joined a knit-a-long on Ravelry to knit Bombshell from Big Girl Knits starting this month.  We have plans in the works to visit my friend Lynne in Tennessee and pick her brain for dying, spinning, and knitting projects.
• I'd like to become proficient in reading tarot cards this year.
• Find a yoga class and just get started already.
• I need to pick a state to visit.  I'd like to be able to cross at least one state off the list each year.  There's a chance I'll be going to San Diego on business next fall and we may start our AT excursion in Georgia.  A couple of good possibilities there.
• I'd also like to find a beginning drawing class in the area.

Those are my preliminary thoughts, but I'm sure I'll be expanding on them in the coming months.  I sat with a work friend at our holiday party and talked about having quarterly dinners to discuss our lists.  Her idea was to create a group, rather like a book club, where everyone could compare lists and offer encouragement and a place to talk about what you're doing or planning on doing.   I really like the idea of gathering a couple times a year to see what's in the works for everyone else.  Way more fun than a book club.

Appalachian Trail

We had a wedding in North Carolina last weekend.  One of the medical students who used to work for me is doing his residency down there.  I've never been to North Carolina, so it seemed like killing 2 birds with one stone - go to the wedding of someone I genuinely like and cross NC off my WTF list.  I convinced Hub that we should go by mentioning that the Appalachian Trail goes through the state and maybe we could sneak in a day hike.

We drove to Tennessee and stayed in Gatlinburg (note to self, never again).  The next morning, up bright and early, we set out for North Carolina.  The plan was to stop at the TN/NC border and take a few pictures and then head for Clingman's Dome for a short hike.  Somehow, we passed the spot where we wanted to stop and Hub said, "Pull out the map, I think that was where we wanted to go."  {As a small aside, let me say that driving with Hub has always been an adventure.  He refuses to turn around for anything, preferring to plan an alternate route instead.}  When I discovered we had indeed passed the spot, he pulled over to the side of the road, checked the map himself, and made a U-turn to go back.  I was stunned.

We pulled into the parking area and made our way over to the head of the trail.  I sidled up to the sign and made him take a picture.  When I actually looked at the sign and saw that it said "Sweat Heifer Creek Trail", I turned to Hub and said, "This is where we're hiking."  He laughed at me and we set off. 

This part of the trail is uphill - all the way.  I'm pretty good with uphill, my ankle works fine that way.  The further we went, the more I worried about the downhill portion of the hike - the ankle doesn't bend that way.  We stopped every so often to look around and smell the woods.  The silence was very welcome after driving through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg the day before.  At a couple of spots, Hub had to hold my hand climbing over the rocks in the trail.  It wasn't difficult, but I was a bit nervous about where to put my feet and unsure about moving from one place to another.

We encountered a few other day hikers, but for the most part, we were alone.  Hub has done a fair bit of hiking and kept up a running commentary about back packs, food, hiking boots, etc.  We stepped aside for some serious thru-hikers (both women).  I wanted to pick their brains, but Hub said that they probably didn't want to be distracted and that we should leave them alone.  The woman in the lead looked at my shoes and said, "Those are great!"  For some reason, that made me insanely happy.  She was an AT rock star and she liked my shoes.

As expected, the downhill was trickier, but not unbearable.  At one point I stopped and made Hub look at my face.  He got really close and said, "Do you have something in your eye?", totally confused about what I was pointing to.  "Nope - it's sweat.  I'm sweating on Sweat Heifer Creek Trail.  I'm hiking on the AT!"

We did stop at Clingman's Dome, but found that it was swamped with people and the "trails" were covered in asphalt.  The views were gorgeous, so we snapped a few pictures and got back in the truck.  We made a good snap decision to hike where we did.  I grinned like a mad woman for the rest of the day.