score one for the Craigslist!

We got a new bar & hutch for the basement. We weren't looking for a matching hutch, but when we saw the advertisement for a knotty alder (the same wood that is in the rest of our house) bar, barstools & matching hutch -- we considered ourselves extremely lucky. We figure we paid about 1/4 of what we would have if we had bought new, and of course, we feel good about recycling! Tonight we had our neighbors over to christen the bar -- it was awesome.

close-ups

We ended up skiing about 5 miles, which wore us out. (Turns out, skiing above 9,000 feet is a bit harder than skiing at at Tahoe -- which is generally going to be 6,000-7,000 feet.) But we didn't have to feel the least bit guilty about splurging at Q's later on that evening (a very tasty restaurant at the Boulderado, the oldest hotel in CO).

action shots

Happily, the following day we were rewarded with excellent weather. Little/no wind, sun, and about 20 degrees warmer. We all had a great day.

admitting defeat

We made a valiant effort on the trail. Ultimately, we decided to enjoy a different past-time: the Wild Mountain Brewery & Smokehouse. Buddha was pleased with our choice.

ooh, brrrr!

My parents came to visit -- and wanted to enjoy some winter sports. Our first attempt to go skiing was met with frigid conditions. We gave up on skiing (among other things, the chair lifts weren't even running, due to the gusty winds), but tried to go snow-shoeing.
In general, if you can get into the trees -- you'll have enough shelter from the wind to make the day pleasant enough. Not so much! We had to give up after about 30 min. However, while we were out on the trail, I thought my mom was a dead-ringer for the snow-shoe-trail-marker-guy.....

yay, Lanie!

Happily for me & Tom, Lanie had a 3-hour layover in Denver (on her return from an East Coast tour). We met her at the airport, and had lunch together. Do you think Lanie was a bit frazzled by her trip??

walkin' in our winter wonderland

Of course, Tom and I loved having a chance to go out walking in our neighborhood last week during the cold-snap. I'm still not tired of the view!

last week's arctic blast

Last week we had several days of very cold weather and a few inches of snow. It's unusual that the snow didn't disappear immediately. Of course, this week it's back up to 65 and sunny....