Sharon M. Himsl - Shells, Tales and Sails: winter

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Winter Entertainment: TV, Exercise & Popcorn

Well, winter is upon us and television viewing just went up a notch in my home. It's cheap entertainment and with down streaming we can watch a commercial-free series on our schedule, and many of us are on Christmas vacation right now. I love what writers and actors do in these series. You can learn so much about character development and scenes. But mostly I watch for pleasure or to relax, and also for daily exercise. At around forty-five minutes an episode, you can get a good workout on the treadmill.

So replace the TV remote's batteries, lower the shades, add a large bowl of low fat popcorn and sparkling water, pull out the ottoman for your feet or jump on the treadmill and go! Here are the series I watch and recommend.

Currently watching: (update 12/23/13)

Heartland

Continuum

Once

Alphas

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Dollhouse

Saving Grace
Lilyhammer
H20 Just Add Water
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones
Glee

1/3 cup popcorn, 1 TB peanut oil in
popper. Season with (fine) popcorn
salt. Servings: 2 large bowls.
(WW 2.5 points)
Sparkling water (selser) 0 points

Waiting for a new season

Hart of Dixie
The Lying Game

Doc Martin

The Walking Dead

Downton Abbey

Warehouse 13

Dance Academy

Watched in the past:

Flying Wild Alaska

Life Unexpected

A Gifted Man

Bramwell

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Heroes

Eureka

Jericho

Survivors

Lost

So what do you watch in your spare time? Also, do you have a favorite Christmas movie you like to watch? My husband and I happen to like While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher.

Or maybe . . . you are one of those 'rare birds' who never succumbed to watching television (or even movies). Can you recommend a good book instead, or another activity?

Years ago, when first married, I suggested to Vince that we never buy a television and take advantage of the local library instead. I fantasized reading my heart out and wandering through tall aisles of books like a kid in a candy store. His fantasies were a bit different from mine back then, to say the least. His mouth dropped . . . he was speechless beyond compare. Who was this 19-year old girl he had just married? Had he missed something? We laugh about it now, and you can see who won the argument . . . but no regrets. If not for television (and favorite movies), our dialogue today would lack a certain spark. We can quote lines from movies and TV series that sometimes only resonate with us. It happens when you have been married thirty plus years.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Pining for Ski Days Past

Snow was abundant for a while here in the Pacific Northwest. To the south of us in Utah, my daughter said they were buried up to their hips a week and a half ago. It's melting now, but part of me misses it. There is something serene and centering about the snow when it falls. I love the feel of snowflakes melting on my face and the crispness of the air. And despite the lure of spring gardening (seed catalogs are already filling my mailbox), I find myself pining for ski days past, wishing for one more time on the slopes.

Postcard from Ragnar in Norway sent to Karl in Tacoma, WA (ca. 1918)

I wish I had a photo of me in the 60s, flying down the slopes of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington state, with my pig tails flapping in the breeze. Those were the days when ski boots were laced tight around the ankles and ski clothing went on in layers: jeans, double socks and gloves, long underwear, sweaters, turtle necks, hat and parka. I did fork out money for bibs later, becoming more stylish, but in the beginning, paying for a ski pass and gas was all I could afford. A day on the slope in the late 1960s was $5.00. It sounds cheap now, but with wages at only $1.10 an hour (my first job), it isn't a whole lot different from today's cost.

Vince - 1971 (Germany)

I received my first pair of downhill skis in the ninth grade. My parents had never learned how to ski, so transportation to the slopes meant trips on the KJR ski bus, rides in the back of a neighbor's car, or cramming into a high school friend's VW bug. When I later married, my husband and I also skied.

This was a new sport for Vince and he had his first lesson in Germany, while on military leave. We took a ski train to the highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze (near Garmisch), and spent one incredible day. The lesson was challenging. Vince's knees were too stiff from a previous injury and wouldn't bend enough for the standard "snow plow" stop. He was a scary sight going full board down the hill trying to stop.

Zugspitze - highest mountain in Germany

Sharon - 1971
(Germany)

We continued to ski with our two children, but stopped when the budget grew too tight. We paid for their downhill passes and stayed home. I have regretted that decision, and have been campaigning to resurrect this sport ever since--even cross country skiing. Big hint to "you know who." I MISS it.

I can honestly say that skiing is in my blood. Most of my family in Norway are skiers, which hardly comes as a surprise. Wasn't skiing invented in Norway? I have received more than one photo of the family cross country skiing somewhere. Maybe I can join them someday . . .