Just a Few More Flakes...

I keep thinking that just maybe spring is here to stay. There is more brown now, than white on the ground, and each day the patches of snow get smaller and smaller. But for the past week, we've woken up to several days where everything is white again. Just when I think there can't possibly be another flake of snow in the sky, the world is white in the morning.

It's as if Mother Nature is in the sky with a gigantic towel, that is being twisted each morning, a little tighter and tighter, forcing out a few more flakes of snow each day. I keep wondering how there can possibly be anymore, but every morning there is a new little dusting, just enough to make everything white again...enough to make me wonder if spring will ever fully settle in. It's raining today, so perhaps all the snow has finally been squeezed out of the towel!!

Hello Springtime

A blog is a work of art.  And it's not just about the words.  It's about the color, the layout, how it makes you feel when you read it.  How easy it is on the eyes to look at.  How interesting the content is...all of those things need to be considered when having a blog.  I enjoy blogs that look nice.  I must be a very visual person because if a blog bothers my eyes, or isn't laid out in an attractive manner...well, I move onto the next one.  It's not only the words that need to engage me! 

So that brings me to my blog.  I just changed the color scheme and the background photo.  It's the only "springish" photo I have right now.  There is NOTHING green around here yet.  We are in that muddy transitional period where everything is still brown and ugly, or snow is melty, slushy, and dingy looking.  There simply isn't anything beautiful to look at, and while spring has officially arrived, according to the calendar, it will take a few more weeks for us to "see' it here.

I hope the colors of this new look are ok for now!  I like it, good enough anyway to keep it, for now.  I do envision GREEN in the future.

Here are some pictures of our chickens. 

They have officially been moved to the chicken coop, and boy are they happy there!  I am happy too.  The mess is where it belongs now!

 

"Puff Head"

This is one of the Araucana chickens.  He (actually, it better be a "she", but it's an awfully BIG chicken compared to the other two from the same bin)  is especially unique with his/her white feathers and his/her red breast.  I'm eager to see what he/she will turn out like.  I did buy all pullets, so he better be a she!!

We go out there twice a day to check on them, fill their feed and make sure there's enough water.  The ducks have grown so much, they're twice as big as the chickens now.  They are still fluffy, cute, and yellow, but they are starting to get their pin feathers, so I expect they will begin to turn white very soon.

They're so cute in this little bucket!  Once we can let them outside, there will be a kiddie pool for the ducks!


I thought this web was cool!  It's all covered with dust, looks abandoned, but I could only wonder if there was a "Charlotte" somewhere in the coop, keeping my little ducks and chickens company!!

Goodbye Winter

It's official.  The magic date has passed (March 20th), and the first day of Spring has come and gone.  It is still pretty cold at our place.  We are still building daily fires to keep the house warm.  But there are patches of dirt and dead grass showing through now, instead of the beautiful blanket of white that once surrounded our home.  This is the photo that has graced the background of my blog for "winter". 

We enjoy glorious winters here.  They are cold, white, and not always sunny like this photo.  We anticipate the snow, and look forward to it's arrival.  We also anticipate when it will finally leave, and stay gone!!  It's time for spring.  It's time to change the blog to the new season.  I don't have that many springtime pictures just yet from around this place, so I'll use what I have....a picture of the new chickens!  But before I do that, here is a memoir of my blog for Winter, 2011.

Hello Springtime....

Remembering the Details

I opened up Blogger this evening to read my usual blogs and I was stunned with all the new posts I haven't read yet.  Has it been several days since I've been on here?  It's one of my favorite things to do....come here and read...some blogs by people I know....others I haven't met yet in real life.  It relaxes me.  It motivates me to add something to my own blog.

I've been thinking what I could add...what is going on in my life?  My new iPhone has been tons of fun.  I'm trying to figure it all out, trying to utilize the planning calendar App that I bought for it, and trying to get more organized with meals, chores, and especially the dog business and all the details that surround that.  Using such a tiny keyboard for everything is a challenge, but I'm getting faster using the tiny keys (though I believe an iPad is definitely in my future!!).  The calendar can by synced to a Google calendar, so now I'm learning how to do that. 

I find Facebook to be very useful to get information from my friends on how to do these technical types of things.  I have a wide range of friends, from many walks of life, and I am grateful for how willing they are to help me and answer my questions!  I also utilize Google frequently when I have questions about something, and often am able to find the answer there, tucked away in some obscure blog post, but somehow Google finds it for me!  It makes me happy when I can figure out and solve the "problem", whatever it may be!

My oldest two children are away this week on Spring Break.  They're with Pathfinders, on the Teen Mission Adventure, doing a building project at a camp, renovating some cabins.  Darien went last year and really enjoyed it.  He actually enjoyed it so much, that he specifically said it was important to him, to go again this year, so that is in part, how we decided on UCA for his schooling, instead of one in California, near Grandma's house.  Kaelyn didn't really want to go on the mission trip, but she called and said she was having fun, so I'm glad for that.  I insisted that she go, even though she wasn't overly thrilled with the idea at first.

Kendrick is home with me, taking on everyone else's chores, devising games to play with me (we're currently playing Monopoly), and enjoying his week off from school.  We went skiing yesterday, and will go again Friday.  Thursday we're taking some dogs to Pullman to get heart checks, and tomorrow (Wednesday) night is Pathfinders, after a trip to get a Health Certificate at the vet.  The week is very full, yet I feel like not much has been accomplished.  I have to bathe 3 adult dogs tomorrow, trim them, and do their nails, to have them ready for Thursday.  I also need to buy crates, if Walmart has them (they didn't have the right size the last time I was there), for them to travel in. 

Daryl comes home late tomorrow night, and Thursday he heads to Seattle, to ship a puppy on Friday.  I also have to bathe that puppy, and get the leash/collar, crate, food, Health Certificate, shot record, etc. ready for shipping.  My head is spinning, trying to remember everything, and that is why I'm trying to learn this Google calendar thing that can sync to my iPhone.  A week this full is typical in our lives, and I have to keep track of everything, and not forget any of the details.  My life seems like one long "To-Do" list, but I guess that would be typical for the mom in a family.

I do like it better when Daryl is home...the house is a lot warmer, and it's just good to know there is a man around the place!  I do like, not having to share the computer, though! 

I took pictures of two different litters of puppies today.  These are the Mal-Shi pups!

Cooking

I am not a cook, but I know how to cook.  Have I said that before?  I have been on a cooking spree the past few days.  I've made Split Pea Soup with Y2K peas, homemade gluten steaks, and Pumpkin Pie!  Before that, I had made Cabbage Pockets, which were all devoured very quickly by everyone here!  I did take a couple pictures of the Cabbage Pockets, and hope to make some more soon. 

These are a lot of fun to make, and not too difficult.  This time I used pizza dough crust instead of the sweeter crust in the recipe.  I want to try some with a tofu & spinach filling next.  The kids really enjoy forming these into little pockets and I can't blame them.  All of us want to have a part in folding up the little bundles and putting them on the cookie sheet to bake.  They often get very creative with their designs!

Horse and "Sponge Bob"

Here is the pie!

I'm discovering that there is a real art to photographing food.  This will be good practice, trying to make it look yummy to eat in the photos!



My Besties

The older I get, the more I realize that good relationships must be treasured.  And even with those, life has a way of making changes, bringing people in and out, changing the dynamics, the time spent, and the overall flavor of a relationship or friendship. 

When we moved to WA, I didn't expect to find actual friends here.  We knew it would be beautiful.  We knew it would be different.  We knew we had to take the chance and make the move.  But we didn't know who we would meet.  And we didn't know they would be such fantastic people.

These are my friends, my "besties", and they have made my life better here in WA.  They are true country girls.  I'm the wannabe!  They have helped me shovel snow, invited me and my family over for meals, had picnics at the lake, chatted at the poolside, sat in the jacuzzi, changed a flat tired, given me rides, taught my daughter about horses, gone snow skiing, gone boating and water skiing, gone camping, played games, watched movies, weeded in my garden, shopped with me in town, labored over how to homeschool teen boys, taken care of my dogs, washed my dishes, watched my kids, taught me how to drive in snow, and taught me how to chill and relax.

These women are capable, determined, talented, and hard working.  I am proud to know them, and proud to be their friend!

 

Jennifer, Kristy (me), Lori

Enjoying a rare moment when we didn't smell like dogs, didn't have on blue jeans, and didn't have our hair in a ponytail!

I never noticed before, but our names are in alphabetical order.  Is that somehow significant?

A Slap in the Face

"...and Mrs. Plata, don't even get me started on that." 

Those words have pierced right through my heart, and landed in my mouth where I have been chewing on them all day long since I heard them.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised because I was warned.  But I chose to believe.  I chose to invest my time, my friendship, my life experience, hoping it might make a difference.

I feel the fool.  I feel sad.  I feel used.  The old saying goes..."when life hands you lemons, make lemonaid."  What if I am tired of drinking lemonaid?  I've been making an awful lot of lemonaid in the recent past, and right now, I'd like to toss that lemonaid at someone and just say a few words of my own. 

Of course that wouldn't help.  Of course, I won't do that.  I'd like to just get away and forget about the stress of life.  I invested my self and got a slap in the face in return.  It just kind of stings.

Saying Goodbye to "Zoe"

There is a wonderful family in Connecticut that owns one of our Cavachon puppies.  We negotiated a deal a couple years ago where I kept the dog until it was spayed, and did some basic training with her, and then finally sent her home.  The people were so pleased that they wanted another dog a year later.  Even though it is a tremendous amount of work to keep a puppy until it's 6-8 months old, we took the plunge again, and trained Zoe for them. 

She was supposed to go home in January, after the holidays, but I hit a deer and was unable to make the trip to Seattle for several weeks in my damaged car.  Then, the east was hit with blizzards this winter, and the family was unable to get Zoe due to the snow being so high, there wasn't much fence showing over the top of it, and they were afraid Zoe might get out and run away.  So we had to wait till the snow melted.  In the meantime, they also had a couple trips planned, and wanted to get Zoe once they were back, so after several extra months, the day finally came last Sunday for Zoe to go home.

I usually don't get attached to the puppies, but once you've had a dog for almost 10 months, they are kind of like one of your family, so saying goodbye to Zoe was more difficult than with the younger puppies.  I know she went to a fabulous home, and is already being loved and spoiled there, so that helps a lot!  She was a wonderful dog and we now have a "brother" of hers, Calvin!  He isn't from her litter, but from the same parents, so even though we don't have Zoe, we will have a different, just as wonderful pup of our very own!

Here are our last pictures of Zoe!!  Enjoy!

Last Belly Rub!

Last Kisses!

Last Hugs!

In her crate, ready to head to her flight in Seattle!

City Girl

It's the end of another week and I'm tired.  I have definitely been a city girl this week, having been to town almost every single day.  Sunday was only 6 days ago, but I can't remember what I spent my day doing.  I think I was home on Monday.  Tuesday, I went skiing.  Wednesday, we all went to town, Daryl to get his teeth worked on, the kids went to Pathfinders, and I bought some groceries.  Thursday, I spent the entire day with Kaelyn in the "big" town, hoping to find a formal dress for her, but we came home empty handed, and finally today, Friday, I found myself back in town to get the forgotten clothing for the boys.  It seems I spent more time in town this week than at home, and that's not the way I want it to be.

But I did get something exciting in town today!  I finally took the plunge and bought an iPhone!  It's so pretty, in it's red case, sleek design, and amazing features!  I even have a flashlight on it, something I know I will use many times, if I remember it's there.  I can hardly wait to talk to friends and family about which applications are their favorite.  It seems endless, what this phone can do, and I'm really excited to keep learning more and more.

Springtime, Where Art Thou?

I wish I had something compelling and profound to write about.  I wish I had something insightful and amazing to say.  I don't.  It's snowing outside.  It's March 9th, and it looks like January outside.  It's beautiful.  I always love the trees when they are covered in white and I love seeing fields perfectly blanketed in snow, with no footprints of any kind.  But I like it more in January, not in March.

This is what it looks like outside today.  It's another one of those two palate colored days.

White and dreary.

Everybody is ready for spring.  Even as we all wait for spring, I know the transition is not that fun either.  Mud, brown sticky gunk will come into my house.  It will be a battle to keep the dirt and rocks out, that stick to the bottom of mud boots.  I know it's coming, and want it to come, but even the process of spring breaking through the snow is trying and character building. 

The bird feeder.  I'm sure the birds can't wait for springtime either!

We've already been talking about the garden.  It's nice to think of green things when all we can still see is white!  I've been looking into greenhouses, tomato plants that have a very, very short growing cycle, and sweet corn!  We've talked about where we'll plant the beans this year, and what type of supports we'll have for them.  We've talked about a new watering system of drip hose instead of sprinklers, so the pathways won't be watered, and we'd have less weeds as a result.  We've ordered sweet corn seeds, and will take an inventory of the seeds we already have.  We've looked at microgreens and have talked about getting some seeds started under grow lights.  And, we've talked about leaving the entire garden fallow, but decided that probably wasn't a good plan. 

We're doing everything possible to get our minds off the snow that is falling outside.  It's March and we're all ready for springtime!!

Amazing Day At 49

It was one of those days that you look outside and think, "Man, I HAVE to go skiing today".  It looked like a cold and miserable day.  It looked overcast and foggy.  It did not look like a nice day to be skiing.  But today was one of my scheduled days, so dutifully, I got the kids going, and we headed up to the ski hill.

The parking lot was relatively empty, not uncommon for a Tuesday, so we were able to park close on the upper level.  We each carried our skis or boards and methodically parked them in our usual places in front of the lodge.  I went down to sign in while the kids settled at a table, and the day began.  I spent my first 30 minutes working the parking lot, saying hello to people, answering a few questions, but mostly just standing there, shielding my face from the snow that was falling somewhat diagonally from the gentle wind.

By 9:30 a.m., I was ready to put my skis on, so left the parking lot, knowing that the stragglers would find their way to the chair lift just fine without my help!  I knew a fellow Host would be waiting at 10a.m. for a possible tour, so I made an effort to be there myself so we could ski together.  We rode the chair lift together up the hill, passing the time with small talk, commenting on the falling snow and what the conditions would be like today.  It wasn't too cold, and besides being a bit foggy, the snow looked good and the day seemed to have some promise.

At the top of the hill, we exited the chair and slid down to the Family Ski Zone sign.  The other two Hosts were already there, and we made plans for where we wanted to ski first.  Then, a couple older men skied up and wanted a tour, one of the easy ways down.  I volunteered to give the tour, so left my group, and took him down the hill.

The snow was amazing!  I kept looking behind me to be sure he wasn't too far behind, and finally stopped to take a rest.  When he stopped he exclaimed "I wondered when you'd ever stop.  My legs are burning!!"  My legs were burning too, so we both gladly stood there resting, watching the snow gently fall, and we discussed whether this run would be appropriate for his friend.  Since the friend had recently injured his wrist, this gentleman decided this run was a little too steep, so we skied down the rest of the way to Chair 1, and went our separate ways.

I headed up the hill again, this time riding alone, and spending most of the time shielding my face from the blowing snow.  Once at the top, I met up again with my fellow Hosts, only to be approached again by a woman also wanting a tour.  She wanted the easy way down, so I volunteered again, leaving my colleagues, and taking advantage of her slow speed to work on my form!  We took a leisurely ride down the hill, cutting across Beaver Slide to head back to midway, taking Chair 1 to the top again.  This time she wanted to go all the way to the bottom, so we again took the easy run down the mountain, this time going down a green run I had never been down myself.

It was fun, stopping to wait for her, chatting a little, then continuing down the mountain.  The snow was soft and light, and skiing was effortless, like being on cruise control while driving the car!  I found myself singing as I skied, putting my arms out like a bird, feeling like I was flying lightly down the hill, the light powder spraying up behind each turn like a water skier on the water.  I had visions of Warren Miller ski movies, and wondered if I looked anything like those in his films!!

Once at the bottom, we took a quick, break at the lodge, and I took my skis to the ski shop to get them waxed.  I had noticed on the flat that my skis seemed very slow, and wondered if they needed some TLC since I know nothing about ski maintenance.  They did need waxing, and it was fascinating to go into the back room and watch the process.  Being a Host has some unexpected perks, and this was one of them!

Once my skis were done, we hit the chair again, this time heading for Lost Dutchman, the green run on the other side of the mountain.  By this time of the day, my legs were warmed up and ready to do some serious skiing, but I was still with this older woman, and as we passed run after run, all of them black diamonds, I found myself longing to be freed of my tour giving responsibilities so I could fly through the trees in the deep powder.

Lost Dutchman was just beautiful, almost like cross country skiing, since there were so few people on the mountain.  There was simply nobody else around, and the snow was mostly untouched in the east Basin.  it was difficult to be content skiing with an almost beginner, but I tried to just see the beauty that was all around me.  There were many spots of completely untouched snow, and I took every opportunity to glide through those areas, watching the snow cascade over the tips of my skis like water flowing over the rocks in a river.  It was silky smooth, like satin ribbon waving in the wind, and it felt so light and airy, like walking on clouds.  I had never seen snow do that before, and it was just incredible to see!

We made our way to the top of the mountain one last time, but this time my "tour' person went down the mountain on her own, and I was able to head down with my colleagues, down the double black diamond runs, through the deep powder in the trees.  It was such a fun day, and turned out to be one of the best days ever!!

The Clock Is Ticking...

...for the chickens!!  I've reached my limit for having them inside the house.  They're starting to smell.  They're growing fast, and can fly out of the container now.  The space is too small for their growing bodies, and they go through the water several times per day. 

I gave them cabbage and bread today, their first table scraps, and even those tiny little chicks devoured all of it!  I'm ready to begin composting again because I have a little group that is a scrap eating machine now!!

 We spent about an hour today cleaning out the chicken coop.  We loaded all the pine shavings mixed with chicken manure into the trailer and Daryl drove it up to the garden.  Once the snow melts, we'll add it to our 40 ft long compost pile and start turning it.  It was actually very easy to move because it was all super dry, airy, and lightweight.  We tidied up the horse barn, cleaned off the porch, and Kaelyn hung her horseshoe chime that she got for Christmas. 

Tomorrow's project is getting electricity down there so I can plug in the heat lamp and the platform for the water jug.  We can't let the water freeze, and it's still cold enough that I think it could freeze.  I *hope* it isn't too cold to put them out there, in spite of the heat lamp.  I may read up on that to be sure they can survive.  But the clock is ticking, and I want them OUT of my house!  They're in the way, they stink, and that's that!!

It is difficult to be upset though, when they're so stinkin (pun intended) cute!!

Amish Haircut

I was looking at old pictures this evening on my computer and found this wonderful little video clip of Kaelyn giving Daryl a haircut!  It was her first haircut that she's ever given, and besides it looking a little "Amish", she really did a pretty good job! 

The video makes me laugh because she's so pleased with herself, that she didn't cut herself.  And of course, Kendrick on the sidelines is always a clown show!  I don't know what time of day it was, but guessing mid-morning, because Kendrick is still in his PJ's.  And it must have been taken shortly before we moved to WA, so my guess is about April, 2007!

Both happy as a lark!!

Cold Storage

Daryl took it upon himself to re-do the shelves in our cold storage.  He designed it specifically to hold canning jars, and it's so nice to be able to see what we have!  There is also plenty of space for empty jars, and a bin on the floor for rings and lids, so now there is a specific place for empty jars and all the parts that go with them.  So nice!!

There's also lots of extra space now, and I love having some empty areas on the shelves.  It really is a huge improvement on how it looked before, and there is a LOT more space!  Thanks Daryl!

I missed the real "before" pictures, but this is what the room looked like right after he tore out all the old shelves.

The beginnings of the shelves.  I bought these can organizers from Costco...but I'm not ending up using them because we can get more in the space by just lining them up on the shelves.  The concept of these is great, but they just take up too much space.

There is still a little space for the cleaning type tools. 

 All the stuff off the shelves!  We had a lot more canned goods than I realized.  And this is only a part of the stuff.  The rest was stacked in another part of the room!

Shelves are lined with oak trim.

Home canned apple juice and raspberries.  Mmmmmmmm!  It's amazing to have juice for "free", and the raspberries are always heavenly on waffles and pancakes!

So pretty!

The way of life here is so different from CA.  We buy everything in bulk because town is at least a 30 min. drive away, if not 1 1/2 hours to the real stores like Costco, Target, and Home Depot!  This little room is tucked in the corner of our basement and stays cool all the time.  When we looked at the house to buy it, the family served us watermelon from out of the cold storage.  It was refreshingly cold, like it had come out of the fridge.  I also have buckets of bulk storage on the floor, which are not pictured, and it's nice to have supplies at hand, even though I have to go downstairs to get them.

Quack, Quack.....Peep, Peep.....

We moved to WA in May of 2007.  The following spring, we were delighted to see all the baby chicks at the feed store and the kids and I instantly fell in love!  We wanted chicks right then, but Daryl thought it would be best to wait a year since we had other more pressing projects that needed his attention.  So, the following year, we took the plunge.  That was spring, 2009. 

I think I got a little over excited about chicks.  I researched and learned and placed my order at the feed store.  I wanted to be sure we had plenty of chickens, so in case some of the babies died, I added a couple of each type onto the order, just in case.  When I arrived to pick up my chick order, there were a couple more in the chick bins that I couldn't go home without, and when it was all said and done, I think I came home with about 32 chicks. 

We also were quite ambitious and borrowed a friend's incubator, and hatched out 14 banty chicks, so we had well over 40 chickens once all the excitement was over.  We didn't have a real place to keep them all yet, and finally, we actually ended up giving away all the banties.  That still left us with close to 30 chickens, 2 of which ended up being roosters.

Well, to make a long story short, we enjoyed a plentiful amount of eggs, enough to sell to friends and neighbors, with excess left over, and the fun little hobby/project was more work than any of us wanted to do.  Then, over the summer and fall of last year, something began to kill the chickens, and we weren't sure what it was.

We ended up giving way our last chickens to a friend this past fall, and have had no chickens at all over the winter.  Until now.

I guess March begins springtime, even though around here, things are still under 2 ft of snow, but the feed store had their little and big bins full of cute, fluffy, peeping chicks, and I was sucked in again, and yesterday, we brought home 16 fluffy little birds.

I feel I did much better this time, not getting too overly extended, and having just enough to keep fresh eggs in our fridge, and perhaps a dozen here or there to sell.  We got 3 Buff Orphingtons, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 3 Barred Rock, 3 Araucanas, 2 puff heads (I don't remember their names, but they are black with a white puff of feathers on their head), and 2 adorable little yellow ducks (that should be white as adults). 

Kaelyn has promised to be the caretaker of the chickens, since she has to go out to the barn anyway to take care of her horses.  We have a beautiful 10 x 12 ft chicken coop, complete with 12 nesting boxes, a flap door, little ramp, and a chain linked yard for them to scratch around in, so the infrastructure is already in place.  For now though, they are IN.THE.HOUSE. 

Believe me, they are NOT going to be in here very long, maybe a week, and then they are going out to the coop.  Chickens are the dustiest things, and our entire downstairs was covered in a fine layer of dust last time, and it was horrible.  We have a nice warming light, and once they get a few more real feathers, out they go. 

They are the cutest little things, peeping, scratching, drinking with their tiny little beaks, and generally staying busy in their little container.  I can't wait for the eggs.  We won't have any white eggs this time, but should have a variety of red/brownish eggs as well as some blue/green eggs.  I'm not sure what the ducks are going to contribute!

The ducks are so cute!

Rhode Island Red on left, Buff Orphington, Araucana, and "fluff head" on the right!

 Quack!!

Puff Head eating out of Kaelyn's hand.

Kaelyn with "Donald Duck" and the other is "Doodles"

Egg laying machines in about 6 months!!

Winter Evening

Daryl took this photo 2 weeks ago.  Sometimes I have to just STOP, take a deep breath, and realize how beautiful it is where we live.  This is a normal scene, run of the mill, a basic everyday view.  I have to remind myself that it is also SPECTACULAR!   

The Sound of Spring!!

I couldn't resist capturing the melting snow.  We had a chinook today and there was water everywhere from the drip, drip, drip of the snow melting!!  Yay!  Maybe winter really will come to an end.

Can YOU count to 10?

This is what my daughter does with her pretzels while eating lunch!!



Ski Host

Last spring the kids and I took advantage of our local ski hill and bought season passes so we could ski then, and also this winter!  During all the time we spent on the mountain last year, a friend of mine started asking around regarding the people wearing the blue jackets that said "Ski Host" on them.  We found out that it was a volunteer program on the mountain, and in return, each Ski Host receives a FREE season pass for the year they are volunteering.

A Ski Host is simply someone who is present on the mountain, gives tours on the mountain for the appropriate level of skier wanting a tour, answers questions, helps people find the easiest way down the mountain if necessary, and helps Ski Patrol in the event of an accident by clearing the area, keeping witnesses nearby and escorting them down to the office so they can provide information on what happened.  We are kind of a "jack of all trades" on the mountain and just assist wherever we can.

Last year, there were 18 people that applied for 6 Ski Host positions, and I made the cut!!  I was really happy and have had a great time being a Host this year.  At the beginning of the season, I submitted a schedule of days I could NOT work, and have been scheduled to work just 16 days to fill my requirement.  Of course, we can come up any other time and ski if we want to just for fun, which we have done several times.

Last Monday I worked, and though the day looked kind of miserable at first, it turned out to be one of the best days ever!!  The powder was deep and a little heavy, but there were a couple runs where you felt like you were floating on clouds with nobody around!  I felt like I was in a Warren Miller Ski Movie, cutting fresh tracks in the powder, snow flying up behind me on each turn, and the beauty of deep powder is that when you fall, it doesn't hurt at all!

It was quite a foggy day on Monday, but it wasn't too cold, and we could see far enough ahead we didn't have to slow down too much.

I spent the day giving 2 different tours.  The first was with an older man and woman who wanted an Intermediate/Advanced tour, and an Advanced/Expert tour.  I called my fellow Host to assist me by taking the man through the steep trees and deep powder, while I took the woman down an easier run.  The four of us had a great time, and skied together all morning. 

This is what you look like when you don't want any wind hitting your face, or when it's snowing while you're skiing and you want to keep the snow off your face! 

Our ski hill is very family oriented, and has something for everyone!  We have great tree skiing, some moguls, an incredible terrain park for the snowboarders, and many what I call "cruise control" runs, where you can just ski down the hill with no effort and enjoy the fresh air, wind blowing on your face, and nicely groomed runs!

Last Monday was very foggy though, so visibility wasn't the best, but it didn't stop us from having fun.  I spent the 2nd half of the day skiing with a 26 year old guy that was interested in the Ski Host program.  We did the trees, we did the black diamond runs, and the double black diamond runs, and since our level was pretty much exactly the same, we had a great time on the mountain!

I told Daryl that as long as we're living up here, I plan to be a Ski Host each winter.  The wonderful thing is that with each season, I'll earn an additional Season Pass, so after doing this for 5 years, our entire family will be able to ski for FREE!!  It doesn't get much better than that!

March Misery

March is my most difficult month living in the northwest.  Winter should be over, but it's not.  The sun should be shining, but it isn't.  The temperature should be in the 70's, but it's still below freezing.  Shorts should be tantalizing my wardrobe, but snow boots are still a main staple.  Winter seems to drag on, and on, and on here. 

While I love having 4 seasons, they are not distributed evenly.  Winter is about 4-5 months, and summer is a mere 2 months max.  It's out of balance and I don't like it.  Spring, where are you??  Please hurry up and get here so I can smile again.