Showing posts with label skiing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skiing. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

What's Black and Blue and Stings All Over?

Let us begin by saying...."Ow."

Our flight took off on Wednesday night landing us in Colorado. Thursday night was just lovely with Valentine's dinner at Zengo. The mouthwatering Kobe beef was to die for, both as an appetizer and a dinner entree. Hey, when it's a pre-fix menu, you can't go wrong with Kobe beef, so why not order it twice? And what better way to end the perfect meal than with caramel flan. Yum. I would go on and on about the meal, but the hubby will likely have a more colorful account of our Valentine's feast on his blog, to which I will link.

The rest of the weekend, my friends, went downhill from there. The hubby and I joined the in-laws for a weekend trip to the ski lodge. Having only skied four times before, about five years ago, I very much considered myself a newbie. I was set on taking a lesson, but wanted to get a feel for the skis and the snow. You know, just to jog the old memory.

"Skiing is like riding a bike", they all told me. Yeah, okay.

So, in my efforts to recall my skiing instructions from five years ago, the hubby suggested we go on the lift and work in some practice on a run called "Galloping Goose". Sounds harmless enough. Geese are fun. Geese are cute, especially when they're galloping. It's not like the run was called "Python of Destruction". So, I gave it a whirl.


I miraculously hopped off the lift unharmed. That in itself boosted my confidence. I started heading down the run. I was a little nervous because I began to pick up speed and in the middle of the rush, I realized I forgot how to stop. In theory, I knew I had to bring the tips of my skis together, but since I had not practiced the actual motion in a dog's age, theory goes RIGHT out the window. At the very bottom of the run was this massive mound of snow. It was a mountain in and of itself! Why? Why would anyone purposely put that there? What happened to my little galloping goose? My little, safe galloping goose?

My skis were aimed straight at the ginormous mound. As I got closer, the mound got bigger. As it stretched in height, a mouth slowly took shape and exposed its long hideous teeth. My eyes popped open as a demonic, "Muaaahahaha" resounded the slopes. In all the madness with the teeth, the snow and the "Muaaahahaha", I lost all control. My skis slipped from under me, my body was lifted slightly off the ground and BAM! Landed right on my left hip. Oh, the agony.


For the rest of the weekend, I was left in the lodge with my books, my knitting and a nasty, nasty bruise. That's okay, though. The weekend wasn't a total loss. The food at the lodge was exquisite. It's been three days and I still can't stop thinking about the ribs. Also, I had a chance to finished my hat and got started on a matching scarf. See! Not so bad after all.

Here's a snapshot of my hat. A huge improvement over the first one. Not as many slip-ups. Believe it or not, it's something that I might actually wear in public. The scarf is coming along nicely. I'll add pics as soon as it's complete. Until then, I'll be relaxing at home with my knitting needles and an ice pack.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Presidents' Day Hat and eBay Wars

So, the plan is to go skiing on Presidents' Day weekend. At the moment, I have no hat appropriate for skiing. Currently, I have a Yankees cap given to me for free at The Stadium with a big ol' Verizon logo slapped on the back and another hat that's one size too big. Not a very impressive inventory.

With that said, I have two weeks to knit something up. I'm sure I can do it. I think. Let's see, what do we know? I can knit in the round. I can knit green yarn. I can make pointy hats for tiny heads. Not much to go on. I should get a move on it, then.

Wasn't sure if I should settle for a warm headband or a full on hat. Seeing as I have two weeks, I'll go for the hat. If there's time, maybe the band.

I'm excited to get started on my project(s).


In other knitting news, I just bid on a set of 13 nine-inch bamboo needles. There were 0 bids until six minutes before the auction was over. Man, I thought for sure no one would bid. Then I figured I would wait until the last 15 seconds. Two minutes left, no additional bidders. One minute left, nothing. The countdown began. 30 seconds, 25 seconds, 20 seconds. I was getting nervous. Heart was pumping, blood was rushing, hands were sweaty. eBay does this to me every time. One day I'll find out that I have congestive heart failure due to incessant eBay use. I have to learn to relax. Maybe put on some Enya.

Anyway, at 16 seconds I put in the bid, hit the button and was the top bidder with 8 seconds left. I bit the corner of my lower lip, hit the refresh button and BAM! The item was mine! In your FACE brnzgirl88!*

So now I'm the happy owner of 13 bamboo knitting needles. Just got confirmation that they were shipped out today. Woo-hoo!


*Identity has been changed to protect the weak and the sloooow.