Winter Fun!

Since the last post which chronicled our driveway woes (ie, lots of snow and no snow-plower) we've had but a few flakes. I guess the serendiptious part of that saga meant we verbally contracted with a guy for our plowing needs before really major snowfalls set in. We've had so little fluffy white stuff that the ski hill behind our house remains only partially open. The lower, bunny hill (where they do have snow-making equipment) is routinely occupied, but few other hardy souls venture to the top as rocks, grassy patches and other potential crash sites remain visible on the slopes.

The lack of snow hasn't meant we've abandoned all outdoor activity, though. At one point about two weeks ago (the above picture of Meg and Miles was taken January 3) snow shoeing out our backdoor was possible. The very northeast corner of our five-acre lot abuts farm fields, and they share boundaries with national forest. Consequently, we can literally shoe off our garage's concrete pad for miles (or with Miles!) if we like.

On this day, Meghan, Miles and I took off for about an hour and a half. Meghan's trek included the additional 25 pounds of Miles on her back; mine the additional 25 years on my joints!

This past week Meghan was out-of-town from Monday through Thursday evenings. She participated in training for her upcoming (mid-March) business trip to Antwerp, Belgium where she will be part of the safety assessment team headed to the Monsanto installation there. Her recent trip took her to St. Louis, MO for two days of meetings plus two days of travel.

Fortunately for us, the weather was warmer this week; on Thursday, January 14 at 12 noon it was 35 degrees at our house. We have seen a good bit of sun, too.

Sooo. . . we broke out one of the Jurgen's snow saucers and spent about an hour each day outside with Miles. As I've mentioned in previous entries, our home sits on a sloped lot. The neighbors asked permission to use our driveway to access the fields mentioned above. Consequently, they create a nice little sledding area for us as well as Miles. He and Grandpa have lots of fun sledding down our hill! Although Grandpa likes to ride with Miley-Guy, if we start him (Miles) out a little bit further down the hilll, he rides alone -- laughing all the way!

Glenn and Miles saucer down from the 'top' of our lot; the post in the upper right corner is the northeastern most point on our lot and is contiguous with acres and acres of farm fields!

Aside from getting outdoors daily with Miles and having Josh for dinner four nights this week . . . nice to have him pause in his daily routine while Meg was out of town . . . the past seven days have been pretty much uneventful.

Glenn continues to play racquetball with friend, Barry and reports he's "getting better." I'm still walking daily, despite my friend Dixie having flown off to Denver on Thursday to await the birth of her fourth grandchild. It's much harder to maintain the mental motivation for walking without a pal waiting for me!

Last night we met the Jurgens at a local restaurant we'd not visited before, the "Sand Trap" near one of the two golf courses in Pocatello, for dinner. Nice little bar/restaurant with good food and reasonable prices. Unlike in Michigan, hosts/hostesses never ask "smoking or non?" In Idaho, an establishment must declare itself either a bar or restaurant. Bars automatically allow smoking, but no minors are permitted. Restaurants are automatically non-smoking and minors allowed in. I like this system better.

Today's plan includes some light housework and a snowshoe. Tomorrow, Devil Creek Reservoir calls us for a little ice fishing and Monday Meg and I are on for "beautification" (as Glenn calls it); we're off for hair appointments.