Festivities

The Canmore Winter Carnival was in full swing this past weekend, and even though it was chilly, we managed to get outside and enjoy it!

 

There was an ice carving competition, a log-sawing competition, and there was skiing and mini-dogsled races. We also added to the mix a bit of shopping, and some random wine tasting, and a trip up the Sulphur Mountain gondola (in Banff). It was quite the day!

Can you tell these two are siblings!!?

Not a cloud as far as you could see!

Chris's sister joined us and we had tons of laughs! She's a lot of fun and I look forward to her visiting again soon - I owe her a decent breakfast (long story!), not to mention that she probably wants to redeem herself at cribbage.... heh heh heh....

Well tomorrow, I'm back on shift for a day, then I have a couple of days of training, and then... I have a week off! So stoked!

Cheers!

Be Kind

Sometimes, the smallest gestures can make the largest impact.

Like earlier this week, when I received two fantastic micro-bursts of sunshine... one from a complete stranger, and one from someone very close to me. Both were surprises, and both made my day!



Exerpt from a message from one of my blog readers!! How exciting!




It was so fun to get this in the mail - and I must say, the rest
of the note was pretty great too!



I don't know if most people realize the value of making another person feel valued, even if it is just by taking a few minutes to make a phone call or to send a quick email or to write a simple little love note. I know that I was certainly reminded of the value - and I am so grateful for being on the receiving end of these random acts of kindness. I will be sure to pay it forward!

Cheers!

Chillin' in the chilliness.....

Brrrrrrr. What a weekend. That's pretty much all I have to say about that!! LOL! It's been such strange weather as of late - extreme cold temps and a ton of snow, then we were teased with a brief stretch of summer-like days, and now it's wind, wind and more wind.... and of course back to harsh chilliness but this time without any snow. Oy.

Anyway, in the spirit of making the best of things, we had a chill weekend (no pun intended!). It consisted of staying up late, sleeping late, leisurely wandering around Banff and Lake Louise, eating out every day (now that's lazy - but I loved it!!), and even watching some of that horrid thrashing of a game called the Super Bowl.



Chris took this one.... catching Cascade's reflection in
the hood was not his intention, but I thought it was cool!

Distracted driving??!

Lake Louise

We did manage to get out for a short hike on Sunday, around the Upper K Lake. The skies were clear and there wasn't much wind along the lakeshore, but we could still feel winter biting through the layers. The fresh air and exercise did feel really good however!

Almost looks like a postcard!

I think we'd both rather be skiing.... and I've secretly been doing a snow dance daily, in hopes of fresh white stuff for the hills.... LOL.... but you can't do much about Mother Nature. She's got her plan, and we have no choice but to roll with it.

This week I officially start back onto shift within my operating unit, so it will be nothing but working and sleeping for me from now until Friday. The good news is, only four more sleeps til we get to be back on mountain time! I can handle that!!

Cheers!

Old is New

Here I sit, at 3:00am, desperately trying to stay awake. Why on earth?? you ask.... Well, I only have a few more hours to go and I'll be finished my second nightshift. That's right - nightshift.  As I've mentioned, I am returning to my operating job very shortly, and this week my fellow Ops were kind enough to call me out for some overtime. You know.... to help "ease me back into it"....  LOL!



 

My work space for the past three years.



Surprisingly chipper (and alert!) for the middle of the night!


I'm happy to be doing something new.... er, I mean old.... er, I guess just different. It will be a great change, getting back on the tools, and even though I'll miss having my very own office, there is something to be said for showing up for a shift, doing what needs to be done, and going home.... and not taking any of it with you when you leave! The biggest challenge is definitely going to be getting accustomed to nightshifts again. But I'm sure I will manage!

Cheers!

 

Nothing but blue skies!

**SIGH**  More of the same....  Just hangin' out in the mountains....  Life's rough, hey!!

Haven't seen a cloud in days!

Dog park fun with Neve!

An ice carving, of a snowboarder, carving! Clever.

Two of my very good friends....

..... who are 'in heart' with each other! Woot!!

Blue is becoming my favorite color!

Well, it's back to reality tomorrow. And by reality, I mean work. But it has been a fantastic long weekend - thanks again to Jody, Megan, Caroline and Tim!! It's hard to believe with this fabulous weather that it is January - wow - so get out and enjoy it while you can!!

Cheers!

Greatness

It's been a great couple of days, with some incredibly great friends, in a most fantastically great place!

'Nuff said.

 

 

Cheers!

Winter....

This past one was a pretty chill weekend. Didn't do a whole lot, but still got to spend a bit of time in my happy place!

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again.... I am so lucky that all of this is right in my own back yard. Yeah!!

Cheers!

Happy 2014!

What a great holiday season! I worked a bit, and played ALOT, but best of all, I spent time with the most important people in my life!! It's been a fantastic couple of weeks and an especially awesome start to 2014.

 

Skiing! Chilly but fun!

Winter hiking!

New Year's Eve fireworks in Canmore!

I stayed awake til midnight! LOL!

I got to hang out with my parents, and with many of my close friends, plus I skied, I partied, and in general had a fabulous time on "stay-cation".

And, after demo'ing SEVERAL pairs of skiis, I finally settled on these beauties:

 

Volkl Auras - 163cm

Yup, I bit the bullet, and I bought pretty much a whole new downhill kit, including boots. The gorgeous pink set of sticks saw a few hours underfoot at Kicking Horse last week, however it wasn't a true christening. Needless to say, I am itching to really get out on them!

So. Life is good. Darn good. I hope everyone feels as fortunate as I do, and I wish you all nothing but peace and prosperity in the New Year!

All the best to you in 2014!

Cheers!