A better first day on the mountain we could never have asked for… OK, I could’ve been spared the Fidgey whine & cheese, but over all, a mahhhhvelous day!

When the whining gets tough, the Fidge gets…. Hot Chocolate!!  

Ready to kick some butt!          

Pooped and rosy!

Blue.  Blue.  Sky.  The sun shone all day and the temps hung around zero.  Spring skiing at its best.  So, it happens to be January?!? The boys did fantastic in their race program and Coral successfully skiied 5 runs, top to bottom,on the bunny slope, ’leashed’.  The whining didn’t start until after, for some reason known only by the Gods of Precious Little Drama Queens.

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Well, while Miss HoneyBear was downright beside herself with unadulterated glee to go for a walk this evening, the conditions were no less than treacherous.

I made a point of getting out before dark, knowing that the roads were coated in ice.  This warm weather has been slowly melting our snow.  The temp drops just to the freezing point at night- enough to freeze all the melt from the day.  As well, given that it’s such a slow process, adding to the mess, is a resultant layer of water on top of the ice.

Ass Over Teakettle:  (thanks for apropos quote, Granny) Myself, almost.  Too many times to count.  Walk aborted after a harrowing 25 minutes. 

Good Chuckle:  sturdy and freakishly athletic black lab careening, out of control, across icy road, mindlessly chasing ball, a la Bambi.  Splayed.  No matter.  Will not be deterred.  Must get ball.  Must get ball. 

Life Lesson:  sheer will, determination, persistence and unwavering focus… results in ball recovered from bushes in snow and darkness. 

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…and that be from the south, my friend.  It’s only the first days of January and those Chinook winds, they are a-blowin’.   It’s after 7pm and it’s only getting warmer. 

Another season of spring skiing in January…

The kid-a-roos are off at the poppops and nanny’s.  Sleepover.  We will enjoy Filipes special:  BBQ pizza.  With whole wheat crust and many hot, spicy, veggie things.  Mmmmmmmmmmm…  feel the fibre.  Hear me, WeightWatchers?!  I said it… fibre.  After long last.  After too many weeks.  A taste of whole grains.  A vegetable- several in fact. 

So its pizza.  You hide a dog’s meds in ground beef, don’cha? 

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We picked the boys up from the bus yesterday and headed up to get The Christmas Tree.  We don’t have to go far as there is a partially retired Christmas Tree Farm about 5 minutes away.  Drive a couple of kilometres up into the bush, off the highway, and the tree farm is quite obvious.  Perfect pine trees, once meticulously groomed, growing off the tops of spindly, bare trunks, as if they’d all dropped their drawers.  These tree farms aren’t unusual to our area, so the sight of pantless trees isn’t a rare one.

After careful analysis of several potential victims, here’s Manly Man taking down the Chosen One.

Conquerers of Tree!

No dummy, Fidge. Girl child wasn’t getting out of warm Jeep to kill some tree! 

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And now we’re getting it.  It’s been snowing since early, early this morning.  Light, airy, dry, perfectly formed snowflakes.  We’re not expecting a whole lot of accumulation but it sure looks purdy!  A not even close to adequate example on snowpants:

After depositing Sally Bean on cheesewagon, Beast and I went for our walk in the snow.  40 minutes of peaceful, winterwonderland, loveliness.

We returned to girl child screeching, like a nasty, angry, freakishly scary, though surprisingly beautiful (given the noise made) bird, from her perch upon heirloom bench at foot of my bed, watching her shows, “I’m waiting for my poooorrrrriiiiidge!” 

Whose child is this, for God’s sake?!?!

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A gorgeous morning!  It is clear and cooooold.  -15C.  But….. fresh snow!  Not a lot, about an inch.  Enough to make a picture postcard of the neighborhood.  I got Sally up to the bus stop with a couple of minutes to spare and then Beast and I were off. 

I ran today.  30 minutes.  Good thing I was wearin’ me longjohns.  My knees were frosty.  Kicked the ball for Honey.  She loves it…

For those keeping me honest, I did go out yesterday, in the afternoon.  45 minutes. 

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Just a little rant in Mother Nature’s general direction. At the beginning of last week, the kids weren’t able to get to school, cars were in the ditch and a semi loaded with two backhoes jackknifed into and destroyed a local bridge (driver fine; our only route to town). The silver lining: WinterWonderland and X-country skiing. I was ready to ski, man! Skis unpacked. Boots at front door. Gators hangin’. However, I leave with the kids to Calgary for a couple of days and what is left? Nuttin’! Not a speck of snow! What do we return to: unfortunate flag-people directing one-way traffic over said bridge, 24/7, until it is replaced. Makes for a twenty minute trip to town, one way(formerly 8 minutes), I might add. Insult to the injured: not even the consolation of snow. Gonzo! Nada! Nil! But it’s coooold!
Countdown to Christmas. Let the fickle heavens give way. Snow, snow, snow…..

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I’m not sure what day I am for the Challenge.  This past week, with kids home for bad roads and the second half spent in Calgary, my daily physical activity was replaced by Tim Horton’s and lots of pizza.  A little Noodle House thrown in to make me feel not as bad.

I manage to squeak in a short yoga practice yesterday and left the walk with HoneyBeast for last night.  What a treat!  Certainly it was cold(I think -15C), but the sky was downright startling!  It was clear, maybe a few wisps of cloud and the stars were absolutely perfect!  So many.  The sky was filled, lit with star bits.  We walked most of the way without flashlight.  Absolutely perfect! The Bear was just joyful to be out.

Fantastic evening (kicked off with absolutely fantastic buffalo steak-rare) that we finished snugged in bed with popcorn and Shrek the Third.  Despite wrapped in kiddie limbs, almost finished scarf for mother-in-law.  Perfect Saturday night!

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It was a great drive home from Calgary.  Uneventful. Through the park and home before dark.  Near Canmore heading west:

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A very rare day, indeed!  While not officially a school closing, the buses are not running.  After last night’s snow, and with no plows yet out on the roads, the buses aren’t driving today.  I was hoping for an idyllic snowy day, but it is not to be.  The wind is blowing and it is warming up.  All this adds up to wet, slippery mush!  No school!  No skiing.  Happy Monday…

Maybe a snowball fight with this unusual sticky snow before it all melts!

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