Yes, it’s the middle of January and you have not seen any goals or intentions from me. Or any thought at all of what I’m planning for the new year. I’m still thinking about it, and I guess I’m not really making resolutions. Mostly, I’m continuing to do what I’ve already been doing. Like skiing.
Last Monday, I was skiing at Sunshine in cold weather. Normally, I like skiing. It makes the winter enjoyable. But on this particular day, I needed my mask and I didn’t think to bring it.
Yes, mask. When it’s really cold, we wear these neoprene masks. Combined with your goggles and helmet, your whole face is protected from the elements. So, no mask, but I did have mitt warmers. I always carry a package of disposable mitt warmers in my jacket.
Those of you from southern climes probably wonder what mitt warmers are.
They are made of iron, water, cellulose, vermiculite, activated carbon and salt, and they come sealed in plastic. Once you open the package, exposing them to air, they make heat. I don’t know why, they just do. Drop one in each mitt and soon your hands are warm.
As well as being cold, it was also misty, so the visibility was not that great. By lunchtime, my toes were cold and I was feeling tired.
After lunch, it was a different story. We rode up the new high-speed quad chairlift, the Tee Pee town chair. Here, we are enclosed in orange bubble covers and have heated seats. At the top of the lift, we schuss* over to the Divide chair, which takes us to the top of the mountain.
(*a straight high-speed run on skis)

above the inversion
Look down there at all that fog!
Up here, it was beautiful and sunny and, compared to the bottom, warm! Normally, the air temperature decreases as altitude increases. On this day, Sunshine was experiencing a temperature inversion, so the temperature increased as we rode up the Divide chair.
Other resolutions/goals/plans/intentions for this year
- Each morning on waking, I want to take a few moments to think about what I am grateful for. I will name three things, and treasure them. And then get out of bed.
- I will keep line dancing.
- I will drink lattes and create new worlds and publish at least one new book this year. Maybe two.
- In the summer, I will fly east to Ontario. And later in the summer, I will drive west to Whistler.
And I will enjoy being a new grandmother and loving this little guy.
I think it’s going to be a great year.
Pen from istockphoto.com #000014549265
Teddy bear from bigstockphoto.com #112866962
Sounds like a lot to look forward to.
Your skiing pictures are beautiful. I have a friend who loves to ski but gets cold really easily. She puts those hand warmers in her boots and her underwear! Says it works to keep her going. I like to make fun of her about it.
That baby is soooo sweet.
I’m impressed with your friend! That’s a lot of handwarmers!
And yes, this baby really is a sweetie. I expect he’ll be skiing soon. 🙂
Beautiful skiing photos; enjoy being a grandmother; this year I decided to do something different; am making an emotional quilt; my center block is buttons of all different color fabric; my pattern is the log cabin quilt; I took 8 emotions and 8 color fabrics; I felt describe me; each day on the calendar I mark how I was feeling; at the end of the week what ever emotion has the most written down is the color I add to the block; at the end of the year I will have a beautiful quilt and one that will show me how my emotions were over the year. Happy 2016
An emotion quilt! That’s a very unique project!
Enjoy the process each week of following feelings. I hope you have a happy 2016 with lots of bright colours showing up in your pattern.