Spring in the air? well... it is starting to look like it anway

The days are getting longer, the grass is starting turn green, the ladies are laying more regularly and the rain is.... well it is still falling and it is still cold, but it is starting to look like spring around here so maybe it will start feeling more like it sometime soon!! I can hardly wait for a bit warmer temperatures to get the garden planted. Actually, I did put some broccoli in the ground along with some carrot seeds and peas. I figure they can brave the colder temperatures just fine. I have added 2 more beds in the front yard for more growing room. I will put raspberries in one and tomatoes in the other...

Skiing!!

Believe it or not, it has not been a great ski season on the mountain. Yes, back in December, there were buckets of snow and cold temps but temperatures warmed up at the higher elevations and the snow melted off. It has actually been a drier than usual winter and the mountains have not been receiving all the normal snow fall for this time of year.

So needless to say, we had been itching to get out and ski this year. I got new goggles and a helmet for Christmas and Russ has a new Fridgieware suit, so we were both anxious to get out and use our new gear.

The past few weeks, it has been wetter in the city and colder in the mountains, which means the ski areas are getting some good snow base building and the lifts were open so we decided we'd head up the mountain to find some decent skiing. We have been skiing Cooper Spur a great deal the past few seasons so we decided to try a new place this year. We were looking for some for some new slopes, still on the easy-not-too-steep side, just longer and different. So we stooped at Ski Bowl a popular skiing area on Mt. Hood and an hour out of Portland. It was a sleet snow mix, on our arrival but it was cold and there was plenty of snow on the ground. So up we went on the chair lift... Well it sounds that easy, but it isn't in my case. You have to go down a hill then up a little slope to get to the line to get on the ski lift. It had been a year since I had these long boards strapped to my feet. I got the down hill part okay but I didn't get the momentum to get back up the hill to the line. So I got half way there then stopped and proceeded to go backwards down the hill again. I am sure it looked pretty comical. Luckily, I remembered the fail safe method to stopping when all is going wrong on skis; fall over. So I did. and that stopped me. I decided to take my skis off, walk up the hill to the ski lift line and then put my skis on. It worked out much better.

So after the crash course refresher in skiing, I felt pretty confident about going down the big hill with skis. After all, I can always just fall down if it wasn't going well, right? So up Russ and I went on the lift. This was a higher and longer lift than I had ever been on, it followed the contour of the mountain and the mountain got steep really quick, I had to admit, I was getting pretty nervous, would this be too much slope for me? I can always take my skis off and walk down...

Russ was very helpful though he kept reminding me of all I new and helped me take one step at a time. We got off the lift and I actually made it over to the slopes edge without falling over, so far so good! There was a short slope down to a warming hut and then another lift to go up to a higher-steeper black diamond run. I looked around for the green circles; the easy runs. There were several to be found. Though they still looked steep to me. But Russ couched me and back and forth I went down the small slope and I realised I remembered I knew more than I thought! So it was down the slope next slope I went and I had completed the run, before I knew it! I started really slow at first, but I figured out I could control my speed pretty well and got more adventures with putting my skis in "french fry" mode and going fast. We made many passes down the hill that day. The temperature dropped and the sleet turned to snow, I had to switch over to my fridgeware suit too, as it was much warmer. Jade and Lucky had some good runs too. It was a fun time on the mountain!

Upgrades

There were several contributing factors to the reconfiguration of our entertainment unit set up that happened over the past few weeks. 1) we are on rabbit ears, no cable, satellite or any other fancy channels for us; which also means we need either a converter box or a TV that can handle the new digital broadcast. 2) we don't have a TV that can handle digital broadcast. 3) (which was the final straw) our 14+ year old TV was finally on the fritz, it was starting to require "being warmed up" to get the correct screen size...I remember a TV like that when we were growing up... ya had to turn it on 30 mins ahead of time to have color.


At any rate, Russ found a bargain price on a new fancy flat screen TV. We have to admit, the clarity is quite impressive. Though of course, it didn't stop there. The new TV required new cables, a new receiver to get the clearer sound, a new DVD player that could speak the same language as the TV, and so on. Technology sure has gotten considerably smaller, all these new components take up 2/3 less space, it is amazing!!

Tea Party

There was a major deal on airline tickets from Portland to Atlanta right after Christmas so I took advantage of the sale. I wanted to spend some time with the family. I really had no agenda while I was visiting, mostly the plan was to just hang out with the family. However, one thing I did want to do was get Molly, my American Girl Doll, out and play with her. Then I got to thinking more and decided why not just have a tea party with all the dolls and family! Mom and I started prepping a menu, and I sent out invitations and before we knew it, we had a full blown tea party in our sights. Friday, Mom and I made the highly esteemed Raspberry bars and then Danielle and I figured out how to put the frosting on the pound cake for Petties Fours. We had a marvelous time in the kitchen! Saturday morning Danielle made tasty cucumber sandwiches and by that afternoon, we were ready for tea!

One by one our guests arrived with their dolls and childhood memories in store ready for an afternoon tea. We had a marvelous time snacking, chatting and sipping tea. Kay shared a story about the local swimming hole in her childhood neighborhood and how her poodle would "tattle" on her whereabouts when she was going for a swim. Honey shared a fun story about her disappointment as a youngster when she learned about the arrival of her new baby brother when all she really wanted was a bicycle. The plate of cucumber sandwiches made many trips around the table and soon they were gone. The strawberries, Raspberry bars and fudge were a close second in being cleaned up too. All the food was wonderful and the gathering was quite enjoyable!

Tuned In

With all the hubbub about broadcasts switching to digital, Russ got a "box" for our antenna receiving TV. (We are one of the few households that has the basic network channels coming to our house, we have no dish and no cable). Reception was pretty good but on a windy day instead of static we'd get annoying mosaic screen and broken record type sound instead of the general static and lines in the screen. So Russ decided to make a new antenna. He figured out which direction all the broadcasts were coming from and made a custom antenna for our TV. Now we get all of our stations loud and clear, no matter what the weather!

Rock Crawling

On his way back from the gun range, Russ met some fellas playing with their curious looking RC vehicles on the rock outcroppings around the old quarry. So he stopped to see what they were up to. It turns out they are remote control rock crawlers! Just like R/C cars, but these micro trucks are are built to crawl over boulders, mounts and anything else that happens to get in the way. Of course, Russ was completely fascinated with the engineering and the technology that goes into theses little machines. So after a week of researching and meeting people involved with the hobby, Russ purchased a crawler of his own. He assured me that he will not get into it like some of the other enthusiasts who compete and have a myriad of tools, accessories and parts all over their house. In the few days he has had it, the crawler has driven countless miles and over numerous obstacles. Rock piles beware, Russ is always on the prowl for a new challenge to climb over! I have even taken the truck for a spin, it is pretty fun figuring out how to turn the wheels and angel the approaches so you don't flip the truck or get high centred.

Looking back at 2008 and Forward into 2009

It seems like every year about this time I reflect on the past year and think "golly, where did the time go!?" It seems like it has flown by. The beginning of the year we were wedding planning, which turned into a lovely garden party in the Sautee Valley in April. The summer was slow in arriving but finally brought the typical beautiful Northwest weather and lots of fun eventing opportunities with Warren. The ladies, Fern Hazel and Scratch also came to live with us. And I created more garden space in the front yard! The fall lasted a long while into October, we had sunshine and warm temperatures to make up for the slow coming Summer. It was also back to Georgia for Ben and Danielle's wedding on the coast. How fun was that!? And then the winter months brought the crazy "arctic blast" with record low temperatures and snowfall on the valley floor. Now here we are and 2009 looking forward to the New Year and waiting to see what will be in store...... Welcome 2009!