Michael made the news

On one of our trips up to Sunday River this weekend, Michael and I encountered a channel 8 news crew filming all the people enjoying the multiple feet of new snow we had over the past week. The camera man filmed Michael strapping onto his board and taking off down the mountain, which they used at the beginning of this video http://www.wmtw.com/news/22699870/detail.html

The picture with this post was from February Vacation week, where Michael taught himself to grind a rail. He also taught me to do a land 180, a land 360, an ollie, and to ride a box. I taught myself that my snowboard likes to stay comfortably resting in the snow and not flying through the air. It keeps my head from hitting the ground...

Maple Time!!!

Well, the end of ski season is approaching... how do we know? Well, the sap is starting to run. And seeing as we live in the middle of the woods, I figured Michael and I would have some fun making maple syrup this year. I have 30 spiles, and am working on rounding up jugs to capture the sap. I did spring for 10 used buckets and covers, which I used the other day. I made my first round to the buckets last night to gather sap and poured about 2 gallons into a storage jug. The plan is to get a fire going in the stone stove out on the patio and boil the sap down out there when we're not snowboarding. Hoping to have lots of mapley goodness very soon!

Winter Fun!

Even though we haven't had much

snow up here in northern New England, Charles, Michael, and I have been making the most of it! We have hit the slopes at Sunday River every chance we get, and Saturday was no exception. Charles worked teaching kids to ski all day, Michael had an all day class with David, and I tried to get my mojo back while riding with my glasses on- yikes!

Michael's class started off with a group of 5 or 6 experienced riders (the term used for what you do on a snowboard) that were 7-14 years old. They were evaluated for their abilities and spent the morning working on some technical skills like working on turns, turning on the snowboard on the snow (180's and 360's), and other control techniques. The afternoon was the fun part, with just Michael and one other classmate. They learned to do ollies (jumping off flat ground), buttering (like a wheelie with the front of the board), and riding the box. The box is a large, long wooden platform that you slide across on your board. The trick is that you usually ride your board with one of the edges cutting into the snow- if you do this on the box, you flip over. I got a chance to see his skills after the class and got the picture in this post. After that, we finished the run down the trail by riding across the top of the half pipe. Michael is super excited to take another class, which looks like it will be next Thursday. Wednesday, I might try to ride the box...

Another Sad Farewell

Last weekend, our dear Tinkerbell left us at the ripe old age of pushing 16. Tink was the last of a line of dogs that Charles raised on Frost Hill, and Tink was his favorite. Her sweet disposition and love for anybody or anything made her name so appropriate in spite of her large size. Tink had grown weary in the past year, opting to say goodbye to us at the door instead of coming for rides, but was always happy to see us when we returned. She spent her time speaking to the pups and trying, in her own sweet way, to keep them in line. And she never stopped smiling...

Tink, we hope that peace and love finds you now that you have joined your pack once again. You will forever have a place in the hearts of all who knew you.

Happy Birthday Charles

Well, the title about says it all! Unfortunately, Charles had to work today at Sunday River, but that left me home to cook the cake he really wanted to try this year- a Chocolate Stout cake.

I haven't sampled the finished product yet, although I did try the Sam Adams Cream Stout that I used for the cake... and have affirmed that I am NOT a beer drinker. The rest of the recipe involves a lot of chocolate, a lot of sugar, and a lot of butter, and the batter was quite tastey. So it was baked, it was cooled, and it was frosted and garnished, and I am waiting patiently for the birthday boy to arrive so we can have it for supper!

For those of you who would like to see the recipe, here's the link

http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2009/03/chocolate-stout-cake-revisisted.html

He's home! Off to eat!

Presents!!!

ahhh, favorite gifts! Michael received the Tony Hawk Ride game for Wii, which he can now play where ever he's staying. That kid on the skateboard is Michael, who is going for the skater look this year in a big way. He's got the hair in his eyes, the knit hats, the skater tees, and took to the Tony Hawk game like he'd been playing all his life. I did try it- it's a bit like snowboarding, so the steering wasn't that bad for me... if you see me play games that require steering, you would know that's a major accomplishment! And how did we know this was his favorite gift? He slept with the skate board controller in bed with him... but don't worry- he had his new night vision goggles in there, too, so he could see where it was!

The other picture is of two handmade drop spindles Charles put together for me. With my silly obsession with spinning, this is a great way to throw a small project in my bag for when I'm on the go without having to pack and unpack my spinning wheel. And as you can see, they work!

Holiday news

Well, the crazy month of December is almost over, and I'm sure we are all a little poorer! Christmas day was actually not as crazy as usual for me, and Charles was working at Sunday River. He's attempting to keep the attention of a few bored little kids who just want to strap on skis and go down the mountain. I headed out to do farm chores for tow of our farm sitting clients, and off to town to pick up Michael. Then we headed to work at Petco. The problem with a pet store is that the merchandise needs constant maintenance! We met Renee there at the store and spent about an hour and a half spreading Christmas Cheer to the critters that didn't go to new homes for the holidays. Then off to Grandmas for the traditional holiday pig out. Spiral ham, Delmonico potatoes, Grams rolls, sweet potatoes, and yummy roasted veggies. Followed by lots of desserts, of course! We did practice a little self control by waiting a fair amount of time before digging into the dessert.

After opening gifts, playing games, and Charles arriving for leftovers, we were off to farms again and then home for Christmas at our house. Because Charles celebrates Hanukkah, I get him a gift for his holiday, and he gets me a Christmas present. We have a Hanukkah shrub in the living room, and Santa brings us all stockings. With building the house, we've opted not to go crazy with stuff for ourselves over the holidays, but Michael made out with a Wii and some cozy sweatpants among other things. All in all, not that hectic- can you believe it?