I had a nagging cold for the better part of December, which dragged me down, but didn't keep me from going out. With all the snow, there were quite a number of cross-country ski days, snow-shoeing days, road-hockey hack and slash, and general running, wrestling and hiking days. My brother and I finally arranged a long-planned vacation up in Haliburton area, where I finally got to know his lovely girlfriend a little. While hiking this one trail, someone mentioned, "too bad there's not a game we could play..." And brother Bob and I looked at each other, yelled "SNOW TAG!!!" and raced into a clearing to make a course. In no time, our merry band was racing madly through the tracks, quickly exhausted, and cheating outrageously.
For New Years, Kate and I took off for some more skiing. On a previous outing, Kate had failed to cover herself in glory with skate-skiing, so this time she went the classic route, and things went much better. If she tells you she went classic so I could keep up, don't you believe it!
The woods were really beautiful, and the trails meandered and climbed, and there was one really nice ridge we followed that had some great views. We chose the expert trails, and at the half-way point, we stopped for sandwiches and some patented rocket-fuel that made us go all the faster.After the skiing, we played some road-hockey with Dallas, which allowed for massive cheating, since Dallas likes to bring me any ball she's scooped up. This tactic, along with a mischevious snow-flicking trick with my hockey-stick earned me a solid bruise on my arm by the end of it. Ah, competitive sports...
At the stroke of midnight, Kate kindly let me in on a family tradition: running around in the snow in your bare feet!! This I did with some reluctance at first, but I think it's impossible to stay grumpy about the idea, because your entire perspective is taken up with "OHMIGOD my feet are COLD!!!" and the rush to get back inside is on. It is quite exhiliarating, and it will also cure you of any sleepiness you were previously experiencing. A perfect way to inaugerate the new year.
...happiness
