> The ski weekend went well. We left at 7am Friday morning , we were
> picked up by Pat and Charlie, two skiing buddies of HWMBI's. Pat is
> the big boss man for Poma-Leiter ski lifts in western North America so
> he drove us 4 in the work truck that seats 6. It took about an hour
> and a half to get there. We unloaded at the chalet, chose rooms and
> headed for the lift. Baldy is a lot smaller than Big White and not
> open mid week so the guys wanted to "cut fresh tracks". There were
> very few people there that morning, no lines which was great and we
> had some 2 fer tickets so skiing was $20 each for the day. There was
> at least 8 inches of fresh powder and I found some runs to my liking
> and skied on my own , then met up with one of the other woman in our
> group, Sherri, and did a few with her. Unfortunately I thought I was
> doing pretty good until I tried to ski over what I thought was a mogul
> under the powder that turned out to be a small fallen tree. One ski
> went over it and the other went under, I went straight over , face
> first into the deep powder ...Boofff. I hit my forehead and twinged my
> neck a bit but laughed like a very laffy thing as I was covered in
> snow. Snow up my nose, in my goggles...everywhere! And I couldn't
> stand up as one ski was off and that boot kept sinking into the deep
> stuff. Sherri fell at nearly the same time and was having similar
> troubles behind me about 40 feet back and up the slope. We laughed and
> laughed and finally got our shit together and skied down deciding to
> quit for lunch. I felt slightly concussed and decided to end for the
> day and a bottle of wine was waiting for me in the chalet so WTF.
>
> The giant chalet was very cool. Huge larch logs and beams with 4
> floors and a huge vaulted ceiling. It was a large deck with 3 hot
> tubs, a big kitchen with a large propane stove, 2 full bathrooms on
> each floor and a big enclosed wood burner that was kept going all the
> time with plentiful larch logs. The bottom floor is lived in by the
> caretaker/owner and his wife and 2 small kids. In the non-ski season
> they own a Garlic farm in Rock Creek, how cool is that? The top floor
> is the other owner's apartment but it was used by some of our group.
> The whole place was rustic and homey , loads of antique bits of
> furniture and modern conveniences like satellite TV. The company was
> lots of fun, a good mix. There were 3 married couples and 5 single
> guys...well...without their wives and one couple bought their 2
> teenagers plus friends...all nice kids. We all got pretty tdroinked
> Friday night...except HWMBI and the teens OC. At some point Sambuca
> shooters were thought to be a good idea...something about initiation
> into the dish-drying union...YK..... Some of us staggered down to the
> bar that night , which was empty , and annoyed the barmaid who was
> likely hoping to close early. Not like we needed anymore booze but the
> fresh air was good. The walking back , uphill at a high elevation was
> not so good but I spect it sobered us ...slightly. Saturday night was
> much the same but less drinking for some. I was able to maintain a
> controlled level of tdroinkedness by staying with red wine and just a
> couple Sambuca shooters that first night so I was in shape for the
> second round the next night.
>
> Full Canadian breakfast was eggs scrambled, bacon, ham, toast and
> coffee the first day with an addition of pancakes and myrple syrple
> Sunday morning. Everyone brought various meals to share, mine was a
> large pot of chili which we had Saturday lunch. Everyone pitched
> in...mostly. HWMBI didn't wash a dish AFAICS but the other guys
> did....except maybe Old Weird Harold who didn't seem to lift a finger
> or bring any food but there was plenty. The first night dinner was
> Salmon, Halibut, Mussels, Caesar salad, bread and garlicky rice and
> all yum. Only about half of us liked mussels so loads for us ;-)
> Saturday night's dinner was lasagnas, garlic bread, more salad and
> ...well...I forget but it was all good.
> I really had fun and I hope it happens again next year.
>
>
> This weekend I've been mostly entertaining a Japanese student again as
> we did last year. She is 15 and her English is not quite as good as
> the last two girls but we've managed okay. She loves playing with the
> dog and dog listens to any language.....well....he doesn't listen to
> any language really. Today is going to be more shopping and
> sightseeing although fresh snow and coolish weather has made outdoor
> sightseeing a bit difficult. Besides, tea nagers aren't really into
> Views.
>
> Next weak end ....hopefully...I will have nowt to do but rest?
> It'll never happen , the rest bit.
>