slaves and bulldozers

shopping is very strange, we had to visit the mall yesterday to get some stuff returned for shaubie and some other stuff bought for little b. the people there at the mall made for great people watching. they way thses pseudo-city people get dressed up for the honor shoveling over their cash entertains me to no end. suburban hell is great spectating the people with their fancy shoes and too-tight clothing reassure my own belief in the conspicuous-consumption that is america in the early part of the 21st century. what ever happened to enjoying the beauty of winter, outside? i bet less than 1% of the consumers we gawked at yesterday had enjoyed the winter snow in one way or another, even sliding down the hill would be an improvement b/c then they would see the beauty of nature, not the inside of a department store for their holiday entertainment. i try not to rant but this thought really struck me yesterday as one of those things to write about ot the few people that may read this page occasionally. and then i should say i got to do a bit shopping myself at the apple store, playing on a top-of-line zillion dollar system was almost as much as the people watching we had just done at the mall. nipple boy is pretty funny today. we saw uncle travis for a coffee this morning and he was happy to just sit there quietly and watch the passers-by. not real into participating with our conversation but more of the same from yesterday. he especially likes mirrors when in the chest carrier, we stood in front of quite a few at the mall so he could see me and laugh at the image of the two of us. pretty fun for both father and son. we make quite a sight the two of us, b laughing uncontrollably and me egging him on. this morning we walked around the woods a bit, looking at tree branches (tasting them too for b) the trail was great, we had it all to ourselves, not a snow machine to be heard at all. walking slowly in the woods in winter is so quite and peaceful that you can hear the animals moving about they hear/smell you, b isn't too keen on quiet but he gets the point of walking around out there. over one of the little knolls we ski on there is a lot of construction going on, we saw one of the landmovers the other day that really pissed off shaubie, she couldn't believe a house woruld go where they were digging, too far from a good road and too close to one of our favorite ski hikes...more importantly. at least up here they preserve open space, down in the fort collins/loveland area it seems to less of a priority. the mantra reads "pave the planet." look closely, you'll be surprised