Catching up...

Here are some pics of things we've got up to recently.

I learned to ski! Well...let's just say I can get down a not-too steep hill with skis on my feet. No points for style, that's for sure. But it's a start. I went to Seymour Mountain with my friend Helen (who kindly lent me some of her ski stuff and guided me through the process). It was a lot of fun. If I'd realised just how much fun it was, I would have done it years (and years) ago.

On the 'slopes'...the flat bit

 I went once again on my own to Grouse Mountain. Quite scary, but I was proud of myself for going. When I first moved to Vancouver I would look across at the mountains; in particular at Grouse Mountain and the ski run that is most visible called, 'The Cut'. It felt great to actually ski down the hill. The scenery was absolutely fantastic. A breathtakingly beautiful day that completely showed the  mountains and the coastline at its best. When I say 'ski', I use that term loosely. Mostly, I was going down with not much clue as to what I was doing, but trying to do it a lot slower. Still a lot of fun and I felt proud of myself for going.

The beautiful view from "The Cut"

From the chair life...spectacular!

Then last week Mark took the day off and we went back up to Grouse. Not quite the same. Blizzard conditions; wind and snow whipping across our faces. The fresh snow was built up so that I found it difficult to do anything at first and was quite dismayed. I kept getting stuck and spent quite a bit of the first part of the trip inspecting the snow up close. Eventually the middle section flattened out a bit and I was able to get in some practice. Mark is a good skier...but was very patient!

View from the chair lift...a week later

 

Mark on 'The Cut"...no view this time

We had a couple of snowy days in the city, but it quickly melted. It is always beautiful while it lasts; the city and beaches transformed by the white blanket and the sunshine.

A snowy walk to school

A trip to the Museum of Anthropology on a rainy Sunday is something I really enjoy doing. The kids love it and, aside from trying to pull River out of the displays, it works out well for us. And it is wonderful to be immersed in all of the Native Art. There was a reel-to-reel recording of an old, perhaps no longer spoken, Native language. River was transfixed by it, as he is all recording devices.

Listening

I went to the symphony with my sister; Mahler #2 (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra). It was very moving and beautiful, but by far the most beautiful part comes at the end when the choir joins in. We had to ward off a giggle-fit; you know, the ones you get in places where you know that you CAN NOT possibly have a giggle fit. My shoulders shook as I silently tried to think of terrible things that would distract me from the quiet joke Trini had made. Not easy. Also, for the first time in years, I went to a real, actual play...an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot". I accompanied our friend, Kyle, to the Fredrick Wood Theatre at UBC. I was a bit worried at first when I saw on the programme that the play was 3 and a half hours long...but it really moved along and was incredibly entertaining. I miss going to plays.

River got an attack of bloody headlice. More combing and laundry...(the laundry...the laundry!). I think we have killed them, until the next outbreak.

Oh...a great weekend in Whistler with my Wendy and other writing buddies. Wendy has a great condo there and invited us to join her...thanks Wendy! We didn't get as much writing done as we planned (I was only there overnight), but it was great to meet up. The plan is to go for longer next year and actually get some stuff done. I took the greyhound bus up to Whistler. It was a beautiful clear day and I thoroughly enjoyed the bus ride; relaxed and lost in thought. I think I'd do the bus-ride again...just go there and back and sit and stare out the window. Write-ins with Wendy are continuing and I think it is well worth doing.

Beautiful views just near Wendy's place in Whistler Creekside

 Also...I have been working on a knitting/dyeing project with Helen. I tried different home-based dyes but the results have not been very satisfactory. Got to try it out again.

Oh yeah...I almost forgot. I GOT A JOB!!! I am going to be working part-time at the preschool located at Bronwyn's school. It is not particularly well paid, but there are a lot of fringe benefits, including not needing childcare. Childcare is an issue; expensive and also River needs extra support in any childcare situation. I know that eventually I will have to cross that bridge, but for now I think this job will work out well. It is a bridge between being a stay-at-home-mum and whatever it is that I do next. I am excited to start working again.

So there we are...a bit of catch up. A bit boring, I know. But sometimes it is all you can do to try and get stuff down.