IndoIan: January 2019

January CHILLY 2019

I am able to get all this in on a Wednesday as school has been canceled for today and tomorrow due to extremely cold weather. It is the coldest it has been at least since an arctic blast we had in the 1990's which I remember well as I had to jump my car in the morning to get the battery going - which sucked. The high was predicted to be around -14 and the low in the -20's and then of course there is the wind chill. I took the girls out this a.m. for a forced march which they were not all that excited about and it was -18. So we are kind of hunkered down today inside doing inside stuff.

The kittens are always trying to get outside so we accommodated that desire this a.m. to see how they would react.

Po did not make it beyond the porch and was scratching at the door within a minute or so.

Neko on the other hand figured he would warm up in the spot of sun.

So here the girls are ready for another one of my forced marches to get out and experience the world! My poor children - but at least they do it. Emmerson was definitely not into this one which reminded me of one of my other forced marches in rather completely opposite conditions.

This was on our last trip to Bali. I had rented a scooter for the day and the girls and I were going to tool around the Ubud area exploring. My first destination was a trek to the rice terraces I had seen in one of my previous trips to Bali. We embarked from the parking lot of a school/temple where I parked the scooter and ventured up a path to where I remembered the terraces to be. It was hot and steamy - tropical hot and steamy and the girls were wilting fast. I spurned them on saying the fields were just up over the next hill or around the next corner. Finally I realized I was being ridiculous as the girls were on the edge of tears. I went on a run the next day to find the terraces and they were a few miles beyond where I called off the forced march!

One the March. It was cold to say the least.

At the end of the march with rosy cheeks and a grumpy Emmerson. We just went around the block but even that was enough to get any exposed skin feeling rather off.

Ada had put out a measuring cup of water to see if it would freeze by the time we returned and indeed it did.

What the girls did for the afternoon - good choice for a chilly day.

And what the kittens did after surviving their venture out of doors!

January Skiing 2019

I have been skiing more this year due to it being quite cold so the resorts have been making lots of snow. Additionally, Emmerson is really into it so we are skiing partners which I very much enjoy. Also, I am one of the co-sponsors of the NT ski and snowboard club and we have been out several times this year. On our first outing we had a rather ominous event perhaps foreshadowing and interesting season. One of the boys was trying out snowboarding for the first time and broke his FEMUR. He had the old rod and screws operation the following day and should be back at it soon enough. I finally broke down and bought a new pair of skis - first since my Atomic Arcs I bought in 1982 when I was 16! I started snow boarding a while back once I realized I was going to be based in the Midwest for a bit. I didn't have any ski equipment any more and figured I'll give it a shot. Then a few years ago my friend gave me his skis and boots as he had bought a new kit. I used them for a year or two but blew out of the bindings last year. So this year I purchased a pair of Atomic all mountain skis - Vantage 90's maybe?? It is amazing how much skis have changed from when I skied a lot back in the day. My Atomic Arcs were 200 cm. as to maintain stability at speed. But now with the parabola shapes they can be skied much shorter which enables better turning but still stable. I am skiing 184 cm. and am amazed at the stability and how well they turn. I am very much enjoying putting them on edge for some bi gs turns - good times and glad I made the purchase.

Clown again - has become kind of a thing with Emmerson and I ...

Emmerson somewhere in there behind her gear. She is doing great! So glad that she has picked it up and I have someone to go with.

My stupid knee is a mess - after a day of skiing.

We have been in the midst of some rather epic cold weather which I will detail more in the next post. Our first overnight ski trip with the school club just so happened to fall as the arctic front was beginning to make its self known. The forecast for place in Wisconsin, Granite Peak, where we had made arrangements to go was below 0 temperatures for both days. We had to go thru all sorts of rigmarole as to whether we should cancel or not as the parent phone calls started flying in about canceling the trip and refunds and blah. Several kids withdrew but we ended up going with 24 students. We left around 6 am on Saturday morning and ended up skiing a little more than a half day. It was cold and partly cloudy which didn't help with the feeling of the temp. We had the kids check in with us every hour at the lodge to make sure all was OK. It was pretty uncrowded so no lift lines so we all got in plenty of skiing even with the breaks. Snow was OK and the place is decent, especially for the midwest. The kids were troopers and it ended up being a good trip.

Day 2 - colder than day 1 but sunny which makes a bit of a difference - especially when on the lift.

Steam from a power plant on the Wisconsin River we passed on the way home.

January Random 2019

Did not put in enough thought to come up with some sort of theme to tie these together so another random post.

Aftermath of New Years Eve pie in the face game that Emmerson, Ada and friends seem to enjoy on this special occasion. Definitely more than whip cream involved. We had two canisters of whip cream in the fridge and for several days of the New Year i would here Emmerson's foot steps into the kitchen followed by the unmistakable sound of a shot of whip cream being consumed.

So have been skiing quite a bit this year with the school club of which I am a sponsor and Emmerson. This was a trip to Alpine Valley where we spotted this clown at the ski school. We kept seeing him throughout the day lurking around doing clown stuff - basically creeping people out.

Ada fast asleep under her "polar bear".

I have finally gotten back into an exercising routine mostly involving the elliptical we have in our basement. Once the weather gets suitable will get back outside with running and biking but now working thru all the shows I have recorded and never watched. Here is Po blasting her quads ....

January Interesting Faces 2019

There's been quite a few of these sightings in the household lately from all the girls and they are equally creepy. I believe it is due to a Christmas haul.