It's All Sarah's Fault

A friend of ours, Sarah - who used to work on the farm - cuts hair for fun. She's never taken classes but she does a good job and does it for free or for trade. Several weeks ago I got up the nerve to let her have a go at my grown-out hair. Last week, Cameron decided to go even shorter. If you're needing to know what's "hot" in hairstyles this spring, take a tip from the Sides' house and get a sassy bob.  
 

Too Good To Be True

Unbelievably a different pond froze several weeks later. This one is on Steve Norris and Kendal Hale's property in Fairview. It's smaller but any skating is good skating. All four of these photos show a bit of the action. Jake is in a green shirt and Walker in a purple-looking shirt (and he has a topknot). See if you can spot them.  
 
 
 

Ice Skating - Finally

It's been maybe five years since there's been ice skating in Fairview but this year, the call finally came. When the weather looks right, people start checking the ponds and usually, Doug Clarke makes the final call when he thinks the ice is thick enough. After several COLD nights (twice we had 5 degrees), the phones started ringing. Everyone was called, the boxes of skates were rounded up from the basements and attics, Doug loaded the hockey sticks and pucks, snacks and thermoses were stuffed on top of extra hats and scarves and within a half hour, a peaceful pond in Gerton became the center the community. Here Walker shows his true love by lacing up Cameron's skates - a labor of love if there ever was one.  
A good view of most of the pond with full-blown action.
 
Cameron and Jake do dance around the hockey puck.
 
Walker hangs out in the wings where he can receive the puck, un-challenged -- at least for a few seconds.
 

Christmas with Cameron & Walker's 22nd Birthday

When Cameron returned from Christmas in Greensboro with her family, we had a second Christmas with her. Here she's opening Jake's gift - a deck of cards with hologram-type sharks on one side. Now that may not seem funny to you but we have a private joke around here concerning Cameron and sharks. It seems theres a short clip on the internet where a toothy shark is swimming towards the camera while laughing like Goofy. She's almost immune to it now but it has the potential to send her into short-of-breath laughing fits. While using the playing cards, the sharks look like they're swimming, biting, jumping and the joker is a shark eating a swimmer. Sides humor. What can I say. 
Here Cameron opens Walker's gift - a tree trunk cut across the grain to reveal a heart shape. He found it this summer at Tuckaseegee and cut and bleached it for her. When she opened it she said, "Oh, it's a "C" for Cameron." Walker replied, "And it's also a heart!!!" 
We celebrated Walker's 22nd birthday on January 12th with the family he works for on Hickory Nut Gap Farm. Jamie and Amy Ager are the owners and their boys, Cyrus (4) and Nolin (1 1/2) came to help us down chicken-n-dumplings, 8-layer cake, blackberry pie, pumpkin pie and apple gallette.  
Walker shares an after-dinner romp with Nolin who has a set "camera face" and THIS is it.  

At Least it Snows Somewhere

A "Cold Mountain". It actually snowed quite a bit while they were out there. Today's Jake's first day back at UNCA. I'm sure he's dreaming of this view.  
Jake facing the camera
 
Jake, happy to be at the top.
 
Someone going off a "kicker".
 

Bachelors in Utah

A few more shots of Mark, Jake and Austin at their time-share in Utah. These were taken in the few hours they weren't on the slopes.  
 
 

Utah Teaser

Here's a teaser of the guy's trip to Utah and specifically, Park City. I'll send more in a few days. Today is Walker's birthday so I'll be baking the rest of the day. Jake (left), Mark and Austin in the gondola.  
Mark and Jake (on right) on a lift.
 
The trio on top of the hightest peak they had to climb to after they got off the lift.
 
Red sky at night - sailor's delight.