Happy New Year

I have been too busy living life to report on all of it. I have enough to do with my life without adding Twitter to the mix. I think Facebook is out for the moment as well. Somewhere I have a MySpace page that I have ignored for a long time. I removed Skype from my computer after it hijacked every phone number on every website I visited. I use the internet to find phone numbers, and I could not see them or get Skype to leave them alone. If I find a fix for that, I may reinstall the program. For the moment, I still check my email and answer my cell phone when I have service. I even reply to text messages on occasion.

I am not sure everyone needs to know about each shovelful of snow I move. Off the street. Over my head. Onto the pile. Thanks for asking. According to the local paper, at least 28 roofs have collapsed. Many of the local "Big Box" stores have closed temporarily for snow removal from the roof, including my favorite Walmart and Costco. No home roofs have fallen yet. We have left our snow alone, because it keeps dripping off the edge to lighten the load.

I have been spending lots of time sitting in the ski lodge, watching kids ski, and wandering around on the ski hill to see how they are doing.Snow load is an issue for more than just buildings. The gap between the snow on top of this one and the snow on the ground is the bottom of the windows. I could actually see through it.I am not sure what the load capacity is for these, but my vehicle suggests no more than 200 pounds be carried on the roof. The local estimate is about 20PSF of snow, and I am guessing the roof on this little one is more than 10 square feet. We will see what comes out of cold storage in the spring.We took a walk in the snow through the forest on New Year's Day. Two nice people with snowshoes made a decent trail to follow. It is probably full of snow again.My Shadow joined us on our walk. She is sitting on a sidewalk here.
I also walk from one lodge to the other and back for exercise. Today the lift line was long here, because one of the other lifts was not working. There usually is no line for this lift.My girl hard at work on her new job by the other lodge. The job comes with the spiffy jacket, which she will return at the end of the season.Inside out boy.Not really snowing, just a few flakes on the car.I drive by these guys on my way home from the ski hill, which is about their dinner time every day.

Oops

I had considered joining this gym to use their pool. It is conveniently located across the street from my son's school. Now I am glad I found other pools to use. That might have been me in there.

Has it stopped snowing yet?

What a white Christmas looks like. Those ruts are deeper than the bottom of my car is tall. Driving over them is as exciting as navigating a shallow harbor at low tide. The pile by the mailbox is higher in this picture than it was last January after the big snow. It is even taller now. The street has been plowed again, and at least 8 inches have fallen since that. Our next door neighbor came home with a snowblower yesterday and cleaned up all of what fell in front of our house as well as in front of his.

My car at 10:15 yesterday morning.The same at 2:00 yesterday afternoon. Note that it is impossible to see under the car.Before I shoveled out the new ski instructor's car yesterday afternoon around 2:00. There was no snow piled next to the car when she parked. After. Notice I made her a path through the berm from the plow behind the car. Then the plow came by and made another one.

Following the plow on the way home yesterday. At least the road was clear. This plow is not the one that I was following behind my daughter's car, but it looks just the same. We also followed a pair of deer down the road for about a half mile before they decided to jump back over the bank. They were in front of the lead car, so no pictures, but it was funny.Why we want to come home after skiing.

Two children who want to play with each other now.
Twilight time.

What I meant to say was . . .

Twas the night before Christmas and everyone was blogging. This video would not upload, so it comes to you in time for the post Christmas shopping rush. I have only received four email messages from folks in a hurry for me to go out in the snow and spend money today. Well, two of them wanted me to shop online, but the idea is the same. I do not remember being bombarded with ads in the email last year.

I started my Christmas Eve on skis with my son. We took the trail through the forest, and it was not until we reached the city streets on the other side that he remembered the hill we needed to climb on the way home. It is not the steepness that is an issue, as much as the traffic. We managed to ski home safely.In the evening, we attended a service at church. They have some impressive icicles.Child in picture for scale.

At home again, we found more snow falling and a dog with more white to her fur than usual.

My sister

Kangamoo is now available here.