Sleet, Obama and Hydrogen dioxide.

As I'm sitting here, sleet is pattering on the windows and the wind is howling about the house. Just listening to these sounds of winter make me want to get on some fuzzy socks since my feet are freeezzzinnngggg! The last leaves of autumn are blowing away, carried by the same winds which are steadily bringing winter closer and closer. The change in seasons is upon us. Bring it on! I'll miss the warm weather, but winter is invigorating, breathtaking and energizing. I'm thankful God created different seasons. :)
OK. Speaking of "change". Obama came to little Boone Monday. The entire town was turned upside down. Police officers were borrowed from a bunch of the surrounding towns to take over blocking the 3 main roads. I think he received a mixed reception...some people lined up on the street shouting loud "BOOOO"s, then your occasional Mama-for-Obama over there hopping up and down cheering. I wasn't there myself; this is only what I've heard from others who were trapped in town. Although I certainly do not agree with Obama's policies or politics, it's very neat the president rolled through my town. The trip cost 37 million dollars. I hope the candy he purchased from the Candy Barrel was realllyyy delicious.
Lately, I've also been hoping I don't morph into a nerd 'cause when I hear the word "water" I start thinking: H20. Covalent compound. Hydrogen dioxide. Cannot conduct electricity. Left side of the periodic chart. Diatomic homo-nuclear atoms... you get the picture.
Later, taters.

"Autumn is the year's last, loveliest smile..."

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."  ~Elizabeth Lawrence
"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."  ~Albert Camus
“Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.” ~William Cullen Bryant
Those poetic folks pretty much sum up what I want to say about fall-time. Basically, it's magnificent, breathtaking, brilliant, gorgeous and amazing. Mi sono innamorato!
We've been able to take advantage of the season by doing some hiking in the past few days, but the view out the windows are quite beautiful themselves. Hopefully, we will be going back-packing on the AT this weekend if Dad gets over a cold. We've never gone back-packing as an entire family so it should (actually WILL) be an adventure. We'll have to filter all of our water with a little filter. That will certainly be a full-time job. I decline from nomination! 


Here are some pictures from the past week or so. 

The new hair...haha

Emma! Hiking on the parkway

Cuteness. I can't get it to rotate though! Oh well.

The camera never captures the real beauty...

Looking out the front window! Ahh

Looking out the back window!

My peeps.

Albino Weather, Karate Chops and Class Warfare.

"The weather is so ALBINO!"

~Hannah. (She meant bi-polar)

As humans, I think diagnosing the weather somehow makes us feel more in control of something we cannot control. 

I don't know if the weather is albino, ADD, bi-polar or just plain confused, but my brain is not enjoying the fluctuating temperatures. Just when my mind transitioned into sweater, slipper and snowflake mode, I have to pull back out the short-sleeved shirts. Yes, I am aware  the weather is a boring thing to talk about, but I must mention that it snowed on Saturday, and today was at least 70 degrees. 

Life has been going well lately. No injuries. Oh wait. William did slice I mean slice, his foot open the other day. And, I was trying to karate chop Dad's knee and I really bruised the tendons on the side of my hand. It was kind of embarrassing... 

I've been hanging out with friends a lot lately, and squeezing in school. It should probably be the other way around...but...

Of course, I'm kinda curious what the outcome will be with all the stock market heckling going on. Class warfare, corporations, taxes... it seems like a big confusing mess to me, and I still haven't completely wrapped my mind around what is exactly going on. I'm gonna figure it out though. Tomorrow. Ah yes, tomorrow is always another day. 

Until later,

I remain,

CMC

P.S.

Our cat's name is Fezzik.

Pictures speak louder than words...and another note of interest to some.

Most have heard the saying, "A picture speaks louder than words." Let me also mention that my quota of intelligent words has been exhausted for the day .Today I am going to show a couple pictures that hopefully will summarize the last few weeks of life.
And, the for a quick randomness: (that word pops up in all my posts, idk why.)
Next time somebody asks you the unoriginal "Whats up?" Dad, and I came up with some new replies instead of the equally non-original "The sky."
1. "Not the stock-market." ~Dad
2. "Not your IQ." ~Me
Dad's is probably better to use.
That's it. Have a happy day! <3

Me after a long day of school. Ava has the wiggles.

 Joiya braided Emma's hair

 After the braids are taken out. Peace, man.

 Will and his buddies

 The new kitty. Doesn't have a name yet. Suggestions?

Dad and Mom! Looking good. :)

 Studying ancient Egypt

Nose, goat and airplane. (and some other stuff)

First of all, thanks to all the people who prayed for Will's nose. Let me say, he is no longer Chief Big nose. He has resumed his earlier Indian name, Otter Tail. Watch out world, Otter Tail is back on the warpath. All other Curtis noses are doing fine as well, with the exception of a few stuffy ones. Now that the CN (Curtis Nose) situation is covered, let us move on.
I can't really remember what happened this week...I remember random stuff like Mom chasing the goat around the yard yelling, that was humorous. I've come to the conclusion: chasing goats is even more character building than chasing chickens. In other words, it is VERY annoying. On thing I know about last this week...it rained and rained and rained. All the locals are glad to be "outta that drought" but I'm like, "Helloooo people! It rained like a week ago! Don't you dare wish the sun away!" 
Today though was absolutely positively gorgeous. You know, one of those lovely days without a drop of humidity, the sun shining brilliantly and a few puffy clouds drift lazily along the sky. We, along with a group of other church people, hiked on the parkway. It is about a 6 mile hike, and a favorite for big groups due to the wide path. At the top is a 50 ft. tall fire tower which sports a panoramic view. Although you could easily fall off and die, the view is totally worth it. While we were up at the top, this little plane flew right by us. As Dad stated, "You coulda spit on it, it was so close!" We all waved enthusiastically and he came back around and did a loopty-loop spin in the air right above us. The response was animated whoops, hollers, big smiles and lots of waving. The pilot laughed, waved then zooooommed away. Within a couple minutes he was a white dot over by Mt. Jefferson in Wilkes County. Little moments like that create lasting memories. 

Photos and quick (and random, duh) update.

In the full swing of school, our crazy days are starting to find somewhat of a routine.  I've never had so much school to do in my life, but it's mostly interesting and I'm enjoying getting new wrinkles in my brain.
Today we went hiking and Will had a bad fall. His is poor nose is the size of Texas and black and blue, and he also has cuts and scrapes all over his face. He looks ferocious and extremely tough.
Here are some random photos of our past few days to end this completely random post.

 Harvesting squash!

 Bread-making buddies

 Ava is the bomb.

 Hannah and I: The unstoppable chicken wing clippers. This one IS alive.

 Poor Will. He is making a funny face FYI.

 "Oh yeah! We were supposed to knead the bread!"

Fierce Indian warrior: Chief of tribe Big Nose.

School, accidents and the year of the bee-stings.

Beestings, burns, near paralysis...there is never a dull moment at the Curtis house, but I'll attempt to sum up the past few days without rambling on forever.
School has officially started. Academically, I'll be very busy this year, but I'm excited to take on some new challenges and work some different areas of my brain. Our co-op met for the first time today, and I must say it is very educational. My brain felt slightly fried after discussing ancient literature, religion and philosophy; however, there is absolutely nothing wrong with brain stimulation x100 if I enjoy the topic. Oh and as far as math and chemistry...well...let's hope that goes OK.
Now. For the story of near paralysis. Saturday my family went down to the park. (I stayed home since I was really wanting some quiet time...like it was the first quiet time in a years for me) Mom was playing tag with the kids on the play-set and walking on top of the monkey bars attempting to escape from William, the tagger. You know where this is going. She fell. On her head/neck/back on sharp, hard playground equipment. Dad ran over and all the sudden Mom flopped over and started acting extremely drowsy and wanting to fall asleep. Her arms were tingling and she couldn't walk. Dad got her to the truck and drove her home. As the evening went on, she was doing better so they decided not to go to the hospital. (It's a general policy in our family to have a 106 fever or cut off a finger before going to the hospital :) haha well not always but we don't go very often) Sunday morning, I drove Mom to the E.R. Although she was feeling a little better, she was still in a lot of pain and did not want take risks if her neck was fractured. (If that was the case, her risks of being possibly paralyzed were high) Apparently, the Dr.'s were really worried when they heard her explain what happened and promptly helped her to a wheel-chair, fitted her with a neck-brace and ordered a CAT scan. Thankfully, everything came out fine. Mom thinks it was a miracle due to her wacky feelings of tingling and drowsiness right after the accident. All's well that ends well. Thank you everyone for prayers.
Other minor accidents in the past few days include: Emma spraining ankle (she was just reading over my shoulder and she wants me to specify her tendon not ankle), me burning my foot really bad (don't ask how haha it's kind of embarrassing) Hannah and William getting attacked by yellow-jackets (are we just bee-magnets of has it been the year of the bee-stings????) and of course Dad (bless his heart) is always limping for some reason. 
That's it for now.