What I did over the holidays

I humbly apologize to anyone who tries to read my blog. I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly, and that December has gone. I really have been knitting ...

Much as I love my children, and Doug's, this year they decided it was the year for them all to visit the parents on the other side. There was some commentary about needing to be fair and hoping we'd understand and all. And so we agreed that it would be fair to the other parents and in-laws if the dear children did, indeed, visit elsewhere this year.

Inside, however, we were actually rather pleased. The shop was going to be closed for Christmas and Boxing Days. Adding my regular Sunday and Monday days off meant that I was the proud owner of a Four-Day-Weekend. Rather an event to be celebrated in my opinion--especially since we would be child-free.

Doug researched and finally we decided to try a stay at the Nordic Inn. The B&B had rooms available for the necessary days; unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to provide breakfast for two of the days. This wasn't a problem for us, because we had planned on taking our breakfast and dinners with us and using the microwave in the room.

We checked in, and learned that Jane, the owner, was a knitter. She was quite pleased to show me her afghans and look at my works in process. And at breakfast the next morning? She showed me a Llama hat that a previous guest had prepared.

I personally think the hat is priceless. And why would someone knit her a Llama hat? That remains to be seen.

The room we selected for our get-away was the deluxe suite. We had a king-size bed, a jacuzzi tub, a stone fireplace and a dining nook. It was delightful.
And now for the answer as to why someone would knit her a llama hat. You see, at the Nordic Inn there are llamas. Friendly llamas. Ones that like carrots. Oh yes. There's a horse there too. We immediately went to the nearest grocery store and bought carrots.

The critters were quite friendly when tempted by carrots.

Finally, the only question remaining is why we would go to the Nordic Inn for Christmas. Well, the answer is that the Nordic Inn is minutes from the Frost Centre, where there is some wonderful cross-country skiing.

Doug is quite an avid cross-country ski aficionado. Several years ago, he took me out on a trail that was far above my abilities. Since then, I've been greatly reluctant to venture back out onto the trails. This was an attempt for me to learn to enjoy skiing again. The Frost Centre has a multitude of trails, ranging from easy to more difficult, short to long. We were able to select a route for us to ski that would be short enough for my endurance as well as not beyond my technical skills.

We went skiing on Monday, after the big rain. Fortunately, we had some rain overnight which helped, as did the cooling temperatures. The conditions were slightly better than OK, and we did fairly well. Actually, I was more than a little vertically challenged (which means that I fell down ... a lot). Then we returned to the room and soaked our weary bones in the jacuzzi.

Tuesday we went skiing again. This time ... Well, they always say that a photo is worth a thousand words.
That one says a lot, eh?

On Wednesday, Doug deicded to attempt a ski on the trails at the Nordic. Turns out that the Nordic Inn was previously a training centre for the Canadian ski teams. The trails were ... um ... challenging. Doug reports that the word "challenging" is somewhat like the Chinese curse of living in interesting times. Challenging was an understatement.

The first two water hazards were intimidating. Which means that he managed to get past them without incident. The third water hazard, however, was daunting. Which means that he turned around and came back.

The verdict? The holiday get-away up north was an unqualified success. We will do it again, the first chance we get. After all, we DID purchase the family membership to the Frost Centre ski trails.

We returned home on Wednesday afternoon, to prepare for the impending visit of my second son and the return of my daughter. More on that later!