Skiing with Adam

Skiing with my brother Adam is an adventure. His form is so graceful, and he has a real knack for the sport. He's also fearless. Recently, the two of us hit the slopes. We lost each other halfway down the mountain. Waiting for him at the bottom near the chairlift, I finally saw him emerge from the trees, covered from head to toe in white snow, a huge grin on his face. "I found the double blacks," he said.

Years ago we were skiing in Vail. "Jenny! Let's ski through the trees." Zoom. He took off and I followed him. Forty-five minutes later, lost among the pines, we began to wonder if we'd ever make it out of the forest. "I have a bottle of water and half a Snickers to get us through the night," he offered. (Thankfully, we found the trail and didn't have to sleep in the snow.)

Now, we ride up the chairlift and exit to the left. "Jenny! Let's go find the powder." Zoom. He takes off. And I follow.

Deadlines

Every year I feel compelled to escape the east coast's blah winters, so a few weeks ago I drove to Colorado. Magnificent mountains, gorgeous green pines, crisp clean air, and lots of sunshine. When I first arrived, I was on vacation, so my writing time was crammed into a few hours here and there. When Ron returned to Virginia, I had the entire retreat to myself. I stocked up on food and made zero plans to leave the cabin, so excited to write, write, write.

Alone that first day, I settled into my desk/table. Twenty minutes later -- merrily typing away -- my laptop died. No warnings, no beeps, no flashing lights. And no sign of life. As I looked at the blizzard out the window, I tried not to panic about the fact I had a major magazine article due the next day.

I had the interview transcripts and e-mails on a portable thumb drive, but not the actual article. I pondered my choices: A) drive an hour through the mountains in a snowstorm, locate a computer guy, wait for him to diagnose (and hopefully remedy) the problem, check into a hotel and finish the article; B) start the entire article from scratch -- as in, write 4,000 words by hand with pen and notebook -- then drive to town at daybreak and re-type it on the public computer at the library; or C) call the editor, let her know what happened, and ask for an extension.

I picked C. And honestly? I'm sort of amazed. Maybe it was all those final exams in law school and court filing deadlines as a lawyer, but there was a time in my life I would've picked A (with B as my backup). C was a good choice. The editor was super understanding, my computer was a simple fix (once Fed Ex sent a new part), and I was able to retrieve my article and finish it a couple hours later.

Still, part of me worries I won't "make it" as a writer unless I push myself like crazy. I burned out practicing law and don't want to make a similar mistake in this career. At the same time, I don't want to go to the other extreme and be too casual.

Anyway, I learned good lessons from the experience, got to know the town's local computer guru, and was able to spend the rest of the week writing to my heart's content.

Green Cells

Years ago I read about the potential link between cell phones and brain tumors. Since I'm in the market for a cell phone, I decided to write about the topic for today's Green Scene column.

Healing Hearts

My laptop went KaBoom! (more on that later), and I'm exhausted (more on that later, too), but I still managed to come up with a book recommendation for March. Healing Hearts: A Memoir of a Female Heart Surgeon. Medical careers fascinate me in a half-gross/half-admirable way. This book is worth the read -- not only for the health info, but for the author's personal insights on family, kids, and making her way in a male dominated profession.

My New Favorite Sport

Ron and I have a new favorite sport: snowshoeing.

White. Green. Fluffy. Callie loves it too. She has to hop through the powder like a bunny in order to keep up.


One of the many things I love about writing is covering a variety of topics. I think I need to add eco-adventures to the mix.

Spring Cleaning

I'm not ready to think about spring cleaning. Aside from the fact that I spent the afternoon snowshoeing through four feet of fluffy snow, March is still over a week away. But if you're the type that plans ahead and you want inspiration for spring cleaning, read the book Dirt. Or read my article about the book Dirt in this weekend's issue of USAW magazine.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

First, I have to start this blog post on the topic of neighbors by giving a huge shout out to my awesome neighbors in Colorado. The other week, I arrived in the mountains in the middle of a crazy snowstorm. My neighbors plowed my long drive not once, not twice, but three times over the course of a couple days to make sure I could get to town if I needed food. And when I did go to town -- and got stuck on the way home -- they came to the rescue and pulled my car out of the snow with their tractor. Not to mention they've given me lamps, a rocking chair, and lots o' homemade food. Thanks a Bunch, neighbors!

My parents were visiting last week, and my mom said this place "inspired her to be creative." It's true. Maybe it's the hushed sound of the wind blowing through the pines, the beauty of snowcapped mountains, or the rustic simplicity of settling into a place with no TV or other distractions. Whatever the reason, I love to write here. And I was thinking . . . won't you be my neighbor? There's an eco-dome for sale down the way. There are a few empty lots to build a cabin. We could create a mini writers' community out here in the wild wild west.