As a skier, I've written a bunch of ski and snowboard related posts…
I’ve accused the ski-industry of eco-unfriendly practices, asking how skiers and boarders can possibly schuss down the mountain with a clear conscience as they stomp their expensive mega-carbon footprints all over the environment?
“The ski industry notoriously gets a green thumbs down for being unfriendly to both the environment and our pocketbooks. How ski resorts deal with snow-making guns, high-speed lifts that suck up epic amounts of energy, parking lots that are amass with gas guzzling SUV’s, extravagant ski homes and the exorbitant cost of individual lift tickets over $90 at some areas, are under close scrutiny. The ski industry needs an eco-facelift.”
With that in mind, I offered up 10 Tips For Skiing On A Budget and shared an account of how my family managed to ski without breaking the bank:
“Here’s a true story: Every Saturday afternoon during the winter months for years, my family loaded up the car with ski/snowboard equipment (purchased at ski swaps), food and drink (a lot of it), and kids. Many kids – my own and as many as we could squeeze in (legally). I volunteered to coordinate the school ski program that met every Saturday from 5-9 pm. Classmates and friends descended on a small ski area in the Berkshire Mountains for a few hours of night skiing (the cheapest time to ski). This rewarded my whole family a season pass each year. Yes, it was a bit of work, and one or two of those below zero Saturdays, I would have been more contented staying home by the warm fire with a hot toddy. Still, I wouldn’t have done it differently and we looked forward to it all year.”
I even dug deep into the hip DIY ski and snowboarding world and unearthed an array of ski and snowboarding projects. Did you know you could build your own skis, snowboards and roof racks? I also added a recipe for snowboarding wax, and a few knitting, sewing and woodworking projects to round out the post, 10 DIY Ski and Snowboard Projects.
This was all fun, but until last week I had yet to write about one of the most harrowing skiing experiences I ever encountered – being stuck on a ski lift at Squaw Valley during an avalanche that cut off power to the lifts. To find out how I managed to not scare myself to death for 5 hours high above the freezing Lake Tahoe snow, while waiting to be rescued, read: Rescue Pups Find Adventure And Fun In The Snow. Here’s a teaser from the video that accompanies the post (believe me, it was not nearly as much fun as these pooches are having):
Thank you, John Snyder for sharing this video on Facebook last winter.
After a few days of family and self-imposed unplugged bliss (an absolutely scary state for a blogger) over the holidays, I've now been thrown in the other direction. I'm struggling to find my way back into the prolific writing groove that generally drives me. Maybe it was that exhaustive A-Z DIY Eco-Gift Guide which was so much fun to organize and write - but, it kind of sucked the blogging out of me for a few weeks. Could it be the fresh year awash with newness and all the connotations that accompany that?
Right now, I'm tip-toeing back into the blogosphere with a few new posts and a sprucing up of this blog (coming soon). I'm also moving forward with more careful intention. You can read about that here. This is new for me. I generally catapult myself on pure instinct - then "see where it all lands." The twists and turns have been exhilarating, and continue to allow me to keep singing my Econesting tune. While I could keep truckin' merrily along, I'm also taking in the larger landscape of what's next...
2 things on my mind right now:
1. It would be nice to monetize this blog. Any ideas?
2. I would like to collaborate more. Any ideas?
2 newsy-related items:
1. I will be profiled in the next issue of Where Women Create. This is an absolutely awe-inspiring honor to have 6-8 pages of magazine real estate devoted to…me. I promise to tell you more about that very soon.
As the image above suggests, I'm clearing out and reconstructing for the new year. Will you be learning some new tunes - exercising your pipes differently in 2011?
There is a simplicity to winter when a snowstorm casts a shadowy blanket of calmness onto the woods around our nests. Its quiet stillness is like the insulated caress of living inside a dome of snow. The storm at my home arrived right after the barreling in of far-flung children, presents and all the holiday festivities. In its wake, the storm left us a winter wonderland, but no chance to fulfill our travel plans to drive to my mom's on Sunday. Instead, the four of us unplugged, unwound and reconnected as a family. It is in this calmness that I hope you also had a moment to step back and enjoy the wonderland of your life.
Make and Shake Snow Globes
I had a small childhood collection of souvenir-type snow globes. They are long gone, but those tiny window wonderlands pop into my thoughts each winter.
When I was a teacher, I created snow globes with the school kids for holiday gifts for their parents from this adapted Martha Stewart project. It was my way of sharing everything I love about winter (which you can read more about here, here and here).
Materials:
A jar (baby food or olive jars work well)
Ceramic figurines
Small evergreen tips or flowers from craft shops
Glitter or fake snow
Distilled water
Glycerin (available in drug or health food stores)
Clear drying waterproof epoxy
Small piece of sandpaper
What to do:
1. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough.
2. Adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid with epoxy and let dry.
3. Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water.
4. Add a pinch of glitter–not too much or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it is flipped.
5. Add a dash of glycerin.
6. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine.
7. Shake the jar and watch it snow!
As far as the eye can see everything is white. Viewing the snow this morning, I am reminded of John Steinbeck's, The Pearl:
There is a simplicity to winter when a snowstorm casts a shadowy blanket of calmness onto the woods around our nests. Its quiet stillness is like the insulated caress of living inside a dome of snow. The storm at my home arrived right after the barreling in of far-flung children, presents and all the holiday festivities. In its wake, the storm left us a winter wonderland, but no chance to fulfill our travel plans to drive to my mom's on Sunday. Instead, the four of us 
