Happy New Year to those that make it!

Back to nature!

After the Xmas indulgence of rich food, excessive drink....please champagne & orange juice for breakfast..such a lush! Not to mention the humungous chocolate overdose, lazy mornings with Sir L's freshly whipped coffee lattes served in bed....none the less! It was time to gulp in the fresh wintry air, stretch those sleepy muscles & hit the ski slopes!

We have had about 24 inches of snow so far this month....it was so time to go & abuse it!

We all went which took approximately 1 1/2 hours to pack & get into the car. Can someone please tell me how a 4 year old can have broken 2 pairs of ski pants in the past 2 days & I did not know??? Oh yes the new ski pants zipper had broken...the spare pair... the buckle had gone missing! Where who knows!!! I was not going to dig up the back garden....all 5 acres of it with 24 inches of deep snow... so a good knot did the trick!

Forty five minutes later we were at the slopes... heavenly!

Now let it be known that I am not a particularly good skier & on average I only go a few times a year which is a disgrace considering where I live!

Today's experience was just magical.

It was "cosily warm" &, sunny with azure blue skies. No queues or lines, great snow with just a little crunch and no ice which I detest! The best part of ski-ing is the peace & quiet & being at one with nature. Not for long. That is until the 4 year old has a temper tantrum as he wants so badly to go on the ski lift.

Eh hello... he has only skied twice in all of his life....he can do the pizza with his ski's but that is it!

After carrying him, ski's a kicking, goggles flying, curse words beng muttered &, dropping hats, I admitted defeat & we went inside.

The peace was nice whilst it lasted!

A Merry & Peaceful Christmas to everyone.

Size does matter in one thing only!

Most things in America are bigger...however thank goodness that English Cadburys can beat the size of the American chocolate bar!

So much snow!

I guess that birds need snow shovels too!

I cannot believe yet another snow day for the kids!

We must have had at least 10 inches today on top of the base of nearly 2 feet!

Definitely a white Xmas!

Da, da,da, da dahhhhhhhh!

After much blood, sweat, tears & multiple bad words it is finished!

Thanks to Mme L for her telephone counselling & encouragement!

Snow, snow, snow!

So far this week we have had 6 inches!

Now we are waiting for a huge Nor'Easter... which is supposed to dump 12-24 inches of snow!

Ginger bread Houses

Today's project was a success!

I have to tell everyone that I bought these gingerbread house kit's from B.J's for $9.99 each. They go together easily, the icing is already made & in a bag... you just squeeze & pipe.

There is tons of candy so there is plenty to eat & use, plus left overs!

What a great evening & happy kids!

I have to say that this is a fun Xmas activity that I did not adopt or even hear of until I came to America!

Now it is a family custom!

I'm going mental!

Oh my goodness everything is going wrong. First of all this darn computer is having surges so sometimes it will connect & sometimes not! I would not mind except for the fact that it is a new PC, so it has no excuses!

Then my new knitting project which is extremely mentally draining so much so that I can only knit in total solitude with no interruptions...as my friends will confirm I will not (well more like I am incapable) of taking calls unless I have finished a row! I have gone seriously wrong & I have had to undo the blasted thing. A whole 3 days worth of work.

I am using the new PC which is a laptop & I am struggling with stroking this little silver square to get the mouse to work. It just seems to be a little pervy to me! Anybody know how long it takes to adapt??

I guess I do not like change which confirms that I am old & grumpy today too!

Oh yes, we put the Christmas tree up yesterday & all the lights would not work so Sir L gave the kids a lesson on how to use a multi meter. The result was to go & buy new lights as it was cheaper than buying replacement bulbs. Now how can that be when we are all becoming so recylingly conscious?

Enough grumbling maybe tomorrow will see me knit the whole hat, mend the PC all by myself...(would take a b...dy miracle) & write a letter to the lights people demanding a breakdown on price, profit etc!

Bye folks from a grumpy Daffodilly!

Snowboarding little'uns!

On a happier note. We had 10 inches of snow today so school etc was cancelled. I had 8 kids in the garden as we have a great sledding hill that ends in dense woods.

I popped my head out of the door to check to see if they were all alive. Then I spot number 3 who is 4 years old whizzing down the hill strapped to a snowboard that is bigger than he his!

Now he has skied only once in his life & has never been on a snowboard.

To my astonishment he stayed upright & glided down ending with a small crash. ... a natural! Watch out for him on Ski Sunday!

Dogs.

Last year we lost our dog Hamlet who died at the ripe old age of 16 years old. We brought him with us from England to USA and he was our first born.

I have been dilly dallying about getting a new dog for quite a while but for some reason I have been holding back. We explained to number 3 child about heaven & that was where Hamlet went when he died.

Well the reason for the background information is that I was just looking at dogs on Pet finder.com & I saw a puppy that looked like Hamlet. Number 3 pipes up from over my shoulder "are you looking at all the dogs in heaven mummy?"

My reply a quick outburst of tears!