Julia had a hankering to come ski at Monarch Mountain. She and Amanda Styles, her girlfriend, decided to drive up to ski and visit with us. They left FW around 10 pm on Thursday evening, 2-7-08 WALLACE’S BIRTHDAY! OH YEAH, and split the driving arriving in Westcliffe at aproximately 8 am Friday morning. They drove into town on fumes and fortunately hit the first gas station in town in time. Since Jewls’ Optima wouldn’t make it to our house, we met at the bowling alley (our home away from home) for breakfast. We arranged to leave her car in the Cliff Lanes lot for the weekend. After breakfast and the drive home, the girls took a nap. In midafternoon, while Jay and I ran errands in town, they and Ted decided to play in the snow and sled down our driveway. They had a good time and it was a good practice run for ski clothes. We took the crew into town for dinner at Poag Mahoney’s Bar. Then Ted took the girls to meet his friends and left Jay and I at the bowling alley where we practiced our bowling to kill time. Jewls and Amanda showed up during the second game and cheered us on through the third game. Then it was supposed to be home to bed so we could hit the slopes Saturday morning. Jewls was just asking Jay how snow chains worked, when we slid into a snow bank on our driveway. I’m sure it was just a coincidence. After attempting to dig out and drive out to no avail, Jay and I decided to walk up the hill to the house and get my car to retrieve the girls. We were concerned that they would find the walk more than usually strenuous, since they had not acclimated to the altitude and their clothing was not as windproof as ours. Fortunately, we had our emergency kit in the back of the Land Rover and in it, a flashlight. It is hard to imagine how dark the road is without any lights but the stars. Fortunately, Jay and I found this treck up the driveway less stressful and easier than the last time we had to walk home in the snow, although it was much, much further. When we would stop to catch our breath, we would turn off the flashlight to save the batteries. The girls were very surprised at how quickly we returned to get them. Unfortunately, no one timed the walk up the hill, so I can’t say how long it took, but all worked out well and we were able to pass by the stuck Land Rover and turn around and get home.

The next morning, we headed for Monarch Mountain and the weather was beautiful. We were imagining the same type of crowd at Monarch that we saw during the week. No way!! It was crowded! duh! After getting suited up with skis and boots, etc. the girls headed for the lifts. I had signed up for another class, and decided to have lunch first with Jay. He met the girls to continue skiing and I went to my class. I was again fortunate to have a private lesson, even though I had paid for group classes. My instructor was terrific, the best I have had, and we actually went up the lifts and I am getting the hang of making turns. As I told the kids, it was “almost” fun. Still a lot of work and concentration, but I can tell I’m relaxing a little bit. The girls and Jay skied together the whole afternoon and had a great time. Julia even went down a “blue” run with Jay, while Amanda and I had coffee on the deck. We were both tuckered out. After turning in their equipment, we headed back to Salida, CO for a visit to a gift shop and dinner at a recommended Mexican restaurant.

Ted had stayed in town Saturday to work with one of his friends who was putting up drywall in a new house under construction. We met up with him so he could say goodbye to the girls, because he was supposed to go do more work on Sunday morning and had an early start in the morning. The girls left town around 10:30 am and got back safely that night. After they left, Jay and I worked on the Land Rover and were able to pull it downhill out of the snow drift and get it back home safely.

Jay and I have purchased our own skis, boots, helmets, and poles. This was the first time to use them and almost everything worked well. Except Jay’s new ski boots, which were killing his feet by the time we got from the car to the ticket sales window. He rented a pair of boots from Monarch for the day and had a good time. We couldn’t imagine what had happened to create such a problem, but after we pulled the car out of the snow, we headed back to the store in Colorado Springs to fix the boot problem. We were amazed to find out that the two liners had been switched somehow, and the right liner was in the left boot, etc. When they were correctly placed, Jay’s foot pain disappeared instantly. We surmise our salesperson had switched the liners accidentally, when she was placing the foot support insert into the boots. Jay can’t wait to try skiing with his own boots now and we hope to go this Tuesday.

Here are a few pictures from Julia’s ski weekend and more can be found at Jewls Ski weekend on picasa. Now it is your turn to come ski Monarch, Hint Hint!

It’s been a while since I have visited with you. Life has been busy here and mostly for the good. You may remember that we have complained about the lack of shower in our bathroom. We were going to just replace the extra large tub with an extra large shower, but that has turned into a total bathroom makeover. The only things being retained are the sinks and toilet. I have been taking pictures of the work in progress, which started January 31st, with the demolition of the current facilities. I’ll post a few pictures here, then the link to the picasa album with more pictures. At this point we have some sheet-rocked walls, and are waiting for the plumber and electrician to do their specific tasks, before we can go further. The plumber was here yesterday and worked on the water tank downstairs in the “mechanical” room, to bring it up to code and to prepare for the plumbing of the new showers. End result is that the water pressure is much improved and it is safe, all good news. We also decided to replace the pink tile in the atrium with a porcelain tile that looks like slate. The contractor, Doug, found wet plywood below the tile. While we haven’t been able to figure out where that came from, he did put down a subflooring that includes a moisture barrier, which should help in the future. So hopefully, by the time we get our next visitors, our bathroom will be complete and ready to show off.

Construction 2008

Jay and I were in Denver last week over Valentine’s Day for a Continuing Legal Education program on Wills and Estate Planning. While we were gone, the Wet Mountains were supposed to get over a foot of snow. Fortunately, it was just about 6 inches. We took the dogs to the vet for boarding while we were gone. The vet said Amber had gotten fat and needed to lose some weight. Our snow plow contractor was to plow the road for us and as we came up the driveway on Friday evening, we found him stuck in a ditch on the drive. He had just finished putting on his chains, and was able to pull himself right out. That never happens to us! The drive is a mix of snow and melted snow/mud. The mud is much worse to drive over than the snow, but we will have this issue to deal with through spring as the snow pack melts.

Our synagogue, B’nai Or, has set up a website on YouTube with recordings of the songs sung at our services, Beginning Hebrew lessons and Reading Torah lessons. You may enjoy hearing the various melodies for some familiar and not so familiar prayers. On Tehillim 136 at the end of the song is a picture from the Saturday morning service. My back is facing the camera on the right, you might recognize my gray hair or my kippah, if you are interested. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts of the melodies sung at B’nai Or.

Just as a reminder that we are in the mountains surrounded by wildlife, I leave you with two pictures of deer crossing the yard on the same day the contractors were taking down the bathroom. Enjoy.