What is it lately with being sick on the weekends? I went to bed last night with a headache and woke up this morning congested, achy, and sore throaty, sleeping for a good portion of the day. I even missed farmers market; snark had to go without me. He says there's a new vegetable vendor from Patagonia with a large variety of veggies and fruits and he almost felt like he was back in California because of all the options. For such a small town, it's pretty amazing how large our farmers market is.

So, I'm up for a short while. I'm making tea. Well, actually it's hot water, fresh lemon juice, and blueberry honey. But it's in a mug, hot, and not coffee, so in my world I guess that makes it tea. Vdog is on the dinner hunt.

This week I've been reading a book called, The Butterfly Hunter: Adventures of People who Found Their True Calling Way Off the Beaten Path. Last night I tagged a page that had an interesting comment by the woman being showcased in the chapter. Penny Halvorson is a lady lumberjack, also sometimes called a lumberjill. She is 5ft 8 in and her immense strength and ability to accurately and skillfully cut lumber is directly related to her weight, "which she prefers to keep at 245 or so" (90). She says,

"'I don't care if they say that I'd do better if I lost weight, it's not who I am. . . .' In fact, she tends to worry more about losing too much weight than gaining it. A couple of years ago, she got down to 190 pounds. 'I might have looked fabulous,' she said, almost disdainfully, 'but I couldn't control the saw. It controlled me.' No, she said, she prefers to stay north of 225 pounds. Then she chuckled at the folly of skinny girls. 'You can't be a tiny woman and run the hot saw,' she said. 'Besides, I want to be healthy and not worry about being a size zero. If I'm strong and fit enough, that will make me self-confident. I tell some of the young girls who ask me for tips: if you feel like you need to put on twenty pounds for strength, then do it'" (90).

Now, this is a perspective I would love women to hear regularly. Not that I want to be a lumberjill or gain 20 pounds to feel strong or to be in control of heavy machinery. But, I think it is rare that young women and older women hear (and see and believe) that confidence is directly related to being healthy and being strong, and not about what clothing-size you are or how slim your belly is.

This makes me think of mema who is in her 50s and has gorgeous, strong, powerful arms. Nonetheless, she is embarrassed to wear sleeveless shirts because it shows how big her upper arms are. If we had more Penny Halvorsons on the covers of magazines and on billboards, maybe mema (and all the other women) would feel differently about our arms and bellies and thighs, about what we think is sexy and beautiful, and what we're proud or embarrassed to show. Maybe I'd be embarrassed to walk around in tank tops, since my arms aren't particularly strong. How's that for a thought?

This afternoon, Snark and I went over to our friends' house to let their dogs out and give them some love (the mama and papa were in Sierra Vista for the day). This is the first time I've met the 4 dogs and 3 cats. What cuddle-bugs they all were. The three older dogs are big, about the size of a golden retriever (which one of them was) or a little bigger. They are happy dogs, wanting to be near you to get in as much rub-time as possible.

The oldest dog is blind and deaf. The youngest dog is only about 9 months old and was born with only three legs. It gets around just fine, though; it's quite quick! It's a tiny dog, about the size of a cat, but it's the boss of the bunch: biting at the legs of the big dogs; stealing toys from them by standing up on its back legs to grab the toys out of the dogs' mouths; attacking the dogs' wagging tails as they sweep back and forth on the wood floors; and nipping the ears of the cats. None of the animals seem to mind, and only seem to give the baby pup more licks and attention when she does this.

The oldest cat is 23 years old. She's a purry, meowing, lover of a cat, skinny, with shedding, dandruffy back hair. She didn't mind at all when baby dog nipped her neck and ears; she seemed to even enjoy it! And the old blind/deaf dog just licked his big wet tongue all over baby dog's face when baby dog tried to bite his legs. Very cute!

I think Vdog would transform into her alter ego Snarly Crotch if she ever meets baby dog with all of her bouncy, in-your-face, attention-seeking, littleness. All the other dogs Vdog would love, though, for sure.