New York choc exchange

I led a snowshoeing lesson at Five Rivers this morning, for a group of good-natured 7th graders (12-13 year olds).  They were somewhat interested in the tracking aspect of things, but had the most fun gallumphing around in the deep snow of the meadow.

We were out for nearly two hours and walked about a mile and half, stopping to observe signs of animal life as we went along.  Towards the end of the hike we were seeking out shady areas to stand in, to cool down.  Today has been the closest thing to hot a day we've seen for...well, it seems like months.   No point hoping to get used to that though, we're heading down below freezing again for tonight and tomorrow.

In the afternoon I dropped into the Girl's classroom to see her and her classmates enjoy their Valentine's Day party.  Just another excuse for lots of candy, as far as I could see.  The Boy also came home with a small sackload of lollies etc.  Sigh.  But then again, the Man and I (who don't always bother marking this Hallmark Holiday) have exchanged enough fair trade chocolate today to last us until Easter - 2012.

Musical Chairs

I was surprised and quite excited the other day when I received an invitation via email to a "Musical Chairs meeting".  It's a long time since I played Musical Chairs, but it can be kind of fun...

In reality, the meeting was a little more prosaic.  In a rash moment a few weeks ago I'd signed up to chair the publicity committee for the school's annual Fifth Grade theatrical extravaganza.  Hence the invitation to join the other chairs - in charge of organizing set, props, costumes etc etc - to discuss the logistics of the event.  Because only the 5th Grade take part there's no continuity of parent volunteers from one year to the next, so everyone comes to the project fresh and a bit daunted.  On the other hand, because they've staged a musical at the school every year for the past thirty, there is a bumper file of how-to notes - no-one has to reinvent the wheel.  Nevertheless I take my hat off to the two women who have stepped up to be the Co-Chairs of Chairs.  They'll have their work cut out keeping everything on track.

Speaking of tracks, we were making them in the snow again all afternoon up at Willard Mountain.  Both kids made it down black runs today - the hardest available.  Not me, though.  I stuck mainly with the Bunny Hop today, "honing my skills" (that's my story, anyway). 

Scared?  Me?  Umm...

Edge of reason

The roadside snow in particular soon gets to looking a bit grubby and past its best.  This afternoon we had a couple of intense snow flurries, lasting only a few minutes each, which didn't add much inch-age but left everything looking freshly white again, as if dredged with sugar.

Today's skating lesson was also quite intense.  I'm really struggling with something called back edges, where you have to describe a series of curves, switching from one foot to the other, all while skating backwards.  "Edge" refers to the edge of the skate blade - the curve is achieved by your weight being either on the outside or inside edge.  You also have to hold your arms in a certain position, switching arms as you make the curve, and you have to make sure your shoulder doesn't drop, or your hip, as that throws you off - remember, all the time you're balancing on one foot.  And head up, head up! 

Sorry to get so detailed about it, but I'm trying to give you a feel for what a challenge it is to hold every part of yourself in just the right place at the right moment - and move at the same time!  I'm doing better than I was a few weeks ago when I started to learn this manoeuvre, but progress is maddeningly slow.  Only four more lessons in which to try and nail it...

Winter wonderful

When you wake up and see that it's minus 8F (-22C) outside, your first thought tends to be "Brrr," followed by, "Are any pipes frozen?"  Today, alas, yes one was (though it unfroze itself later, phew).

It was still below zero by going-to-school time, yet the Boy insisted on walking.  I'm glad he did.  The sky was a slicing blue, and the air as sharp as the shadows criss-crossing all the snowy front yards.  But by bundling up like a toddler (snowboots, snowpants, a down jacket over three other layers, mittens over gloves, and various other woolly accessories) it's possible to keep quite toasty even on such a chilly morning - you just have to avoid falling over because with all that padding on there's a serious risk you'll never get up again.

In the afternoon I walked into town (to buy my sweetheart a Valentine's gift - shh, don't tell) and enjoyed more crisp blue skies, and sunshine reflecting off snowy rooftops, and sparkling icicles hanging from eaves.  I know that it can cause all sorts of danger and damage, that it's too damn long and I'll be moaning about it this time next month... but winter here is really quite a wonderful season.

Snowshoe shuffle

Previous years when I've tried snowshoeing, and even when I've taught it to school groups at Five Rivers, I've secretly wondered what all the fuss was about.  With only a shallow covering of snow on the ground, straightforward snowboots really seem to be just as useful and a lot less hassle.

But this year snowshoeing is starting to make sense to me.  When the alternative is to sink up to your knees in cold wet stuff with every exhausting step, strapping a pair of tennis racketty things on your feet is suddenly a very attractive solution.  By helping redistribute your weight the snowshoes keep you safely on the surface so you can enjoy your wintery hike with relative ease.

I went on an excellent hour-and-a-half-long hike around my favourite nature preserve today with my Japanese friend.  She enjoyed it so much that when we got back to the visitor centre she immediately signed up to become a Friend of Five Rivers - totally unprompted by me - so that she and her family can enjoy the benefit of free snowshoe hire for the rest of the season.

Arch-itecture

It was the Boy's turn tonight to attend a science fair.  There was fun to be had making Mobius strips, and there were also cool experiments and puzzles involving ink and water, electricity, matchsticks, candies-in-a-box and - most dramatically - building (then demolishing) an arch:

Loadsamoney

Since Saturday we've had a family game of Albany Monopoly going on, in fits and starts between other activities.

It became obvious a couple of days ago who was going to win.  I was bankrupted yesterday, and the Girl (seeing which way the wind blew) let me take over from her this evening so that I could be bankrupted all over again.  Not many minutes ago the Boy's joyful crowing announced that he was, as we had all foreseen, victorious. 

As the Man points out, there's not a lot of fun in Monopoly if you don't win.  This, I learnt recently, is entirely the original point of the game, which was invented by a Quaker to instruct people about the evils of unregulated capitalism. 

Of course winners, like our Boy, don't necessarily get that point.