3rd edition- Favorite Things

Originally from Wisconsin, our family was relocated to S. Carolina, which means no snow in the winter, at least not normally.   (This year we actually had TWO significant snow falls and the snow lasted for a few days.)  So we have been going every year to North Carolina for my snow fix, and downhill skiing of course.

Downhill skiing is definately in my favorite things category.  Prior to downhill, I did cross country with my family, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.  We would go out at night, in the moonlight, and ski through the woods.  It brings back memories of gentle snowflakes and hot chocolate afterwards.

I started downhill for the first time when I was 16, and I hated it because I didn't get it, and none of my lovely friends stuck around to help.  But after dating someone on ski patrol over the summer, and being convinced by others to give it another shot, my dad and I went skiing together and he paid for lessons for me.  It was one of those -30 degree wind chill days and we were the only crazy enough people out there, but my instructor, a middle aged lady, taught me the basics and the rest is history.  I not only got it, but I LOVED it!

Since then I've skied Sugarloaf in Maine, Killington in Vermont, Jackson Hole in Wyoming, and now the Appalachian area in Boone, N.C.  I also did a few years of ski patrol myself.  Now I've passed on the ski genes to my 10 year old, who has been skiing since she was five, and next year I'll start teaching my youngest.

So next week we'll be heading north for our annual ski trip, and I'm getting excited!  It's my favorite trip of the year, and it always gets me wishing I still lived close to a ski area, but then summer comes and we have the beach, so it's the best of both worlds I guess, since we only have a four hour drive to Boone.

I had originally started this blog to chronicle my experiences with volunteering at the animal shelter, but last week took a turn for the worse there.  Seeing some very depressing things, plus little Annie the puppie was terribly sick so I took her out of there, kept her overnight, and then brought her to the vet in the morning, where she's been since.  I guess she's doing better but she got our other foster dog sick, and then we had a scare with exposing our kids to the sick animals, which I felt horribly guilty about, but all's well now and I think we will be okay.  I promised my husband no more fostering animals, after he was stuck cleaning up the mess while I was at work.  It was a bad week, and sad too.  Our shelter is overwhelmed and underfunded, and the community doesn't care.  The mentality down here about animals is different then up north as most of the pets are kept outside all the time, and so it's common to see them abused and neglected or roaming loose, especially cats.  I'm still passionate about these abandoned animals, but I will be more careful in the future, as my children come first.