Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas was fantastic! Of course we missed all of our family and friends back home and hope you all had a great Christmas as well. We truly feel fortunate for all the blessings we have and our great friends and wonderful family. Always, Chritmas seems to make us think about that more and feel grateful. Our day started out early, around 7:00 with good coffee, Christmas music and the lights on the tree. Santa Rich passed out presents and it seems we were both very good this year as Santa (the many Santas in our lives) were awfully generous this year! Opening presents brought new skis for Karen so she can carve in that Utah Powder even better, a leather jacket and opera tickets for Rich , as well as an assortment of awesome clothing for outdoor adventure and indoor style, awesome cookware, comfy flannel sheets, homemade artisan pieces, some neat toys for the Vanagon, and much more. Rich, always happy with his Dunkin' Donuts coffee and pure Connecticut maple syrup! Thanks to everyone for all the perfect and wonderful gifts! After opening presents, we had a quick, but yummy breakfast and headed out for the slopes - see the blog entry after this one for details on that! After skiing we had a fantastic dinner with our good friends, who we call family here, and celebrated the day. Jeff and Amy, Tammy and Ian (also from MI), and Andy (also from MI!) came over to share the evening with us. Rich cooked up an amazing rib roast (think prime rib) and we had potatoes - sweet and mashed, spinach salad, green bean caserole, brought by Tammy, a staple for all holiday dinners! Yummy cornbread and apple stuffing made by Andy, and delicious cheesecake brought by Amy and Jeff. Awesome!! Before eating, we all cracked open our "crackers" - these are an English holiday tradition that Rich's family has always partaken in. The crackers (sitting on the plates in the table picture) contain fun little toys and crowns, to be worn during dinner! After we all ate, everyone at the table got a little gift from Santa, and we all went home and went to bed feeling fat and happy. What a great day!

Christmas Ski Day

What would Christmas Day in Utah be without skiing? Our new tradition, started by Rich when I went home for the holiday. :-) His tales of endless powder and no crowds on Christmas day prove true year after year and this year was no exception. Perhaps one of the most fun days on the slopes ever. A foot of fresh powder, the company of good friends and a blue sky day, doesnt get any better. IF there are any of you out there who have never skiied Utah powder, you cant imagine what you are missing. The snow here is so light and fluffy and soft it's just so much fun, I cant ski very well in it, but I'm learning, and it's a blast because it doesnt hurt to fall! :-) We met up with Jeff and Amy for the morning and then at 12:30 met up with Ian and Tammy and Andy, took a break together, our usuall Snickers and a coke, and hit the slopes again. We skied until about 3:00 at which time, exhausted, we came home for a soak in the hot tub, and dinner preparations. Today, another snow storm bringing about two more feet of snow in the mountains and Thursday - another blue bird day to ski. C'mon out and ski with us! We're waiting!! PS, check out the video of Rich skiing!

It's Been Awhile!

No posts since Thanksgiving, I guess that is just par for the course during a busy holiday season. A lot has been going on since then. First of all, we spent some days finishing our foyer area in the house. We had an awful border around the ceiling which I totally hated - it made it dark and seemingly low in there, plus, it was just ugly. So... I decided one day, it just had to go, now. :-) Of course, it's never just that easy. We got the border off, with much struggle, I think they put it up with superglue, and then knew we had to repaint. We absolutely needed a new light fixture as well, and a new curtain rod and drapes, too. Then, after we put up the new light we realized it was giving off a lot of light so we would need reinforcement in the shape of a table lamp, which, naturally would need a new table to put it on! WHew! Well, it's done and it looks great! A lot brighter and prettier. All that while planning for our annual wine and dessert party. We ordered a new sideboard for the dining room - we've had the space for one but have not found one we liked until now. It's BEAUTIFUL. So, back to the party. It was great, although a wicked snowstorm kept many away. We invited about 50 people and had probably 30 or so stop by. It was lots of fun. Other than that, many holiday parties between work and friends. Finally got to ski a day last weekend, and am going again today. Not much snow, until Thursday when they got over 3 feet over night. Just in time for the holidays. Rich and I will be staying here for the holidays, relaxing and playing. Kathy has a friend visiting and she will be vacationing down south for a few days with her. Kathy and I will road trip, probably to CA after New Year's when Rich is working. Hope the holiday season is treating you all well!!