Time Away

 While our winter routine has been pretty solid this year (thank you ski pass and lake ice!), it has also been rather...routine. So we decided to shake it up a bit with a quick getaway weekend.  It was definitely worth the drive.

We took advantage of our Ohio Pass access to Mad River resort, near Dayton.  Just far enough to warrant an overnight stay and making a weekend of it.  Our little AirBnB was just right, complete with bunk beds and TV's everywhere and a pool table, and we were blessed with not one but two sunny, crystalline days to be out on the slopes. Long lines on Saturday took the shine off of the trip temporarily, but we rallied with cookie baking and pizza and pool, and a nearly perfect day of skiing on Sunday.  

Taken out of their preferred natural habitats (the yellow chair and his computer desk, respectively), Ivy and Jack opened up and relaxed a bit into their screen-free personas. They even played a game of pool together, just the two of them! 

Sunday was a perfect ski day, with warm sunshine and lovely snow.  By comparison to Saturday the lines weren't bad, and we were able to really sink in and enjoy the skiing.  We rode the quad chair together all day, choosing our own adventures down the slopes and meeting at the lift.  The sun was shining, music was blasting from the lodge, the insanely long line of people waiting for lift tickets and rentals (so very grateful for our privelege of having our own equiment and season pass...!) were all in remarkably good spirits, with a very high percentage happily enjoying White Claw at 10 in the morning, there was ski racing going on (complete with cowbell)... just an all around festive atmosphere.  The lift operators were friendly and full of personality -- our favorite was an older gentleman who had a stuffed squirrel (wearing a mask of course) attached to his helmet.  Everyone there was out to have the most fun possible and it was infectious.  

We skiied til 1:00 and then decided to leave while we were still having fun.  Also we had a couple of important stops to make on the way home.  

Stop One:  IKEA of course.  Our first time since the pandemic started, and it felt pretty normal in there.  We needed some batteries and lightbulbs and left with a blue bag full of randomness, which is the way of IKEA.  It was like visiting an old friend...

Stop Two:  PUPPIES!  Winter's babies are 3 weeks old and ready for visitors.  We detoured to Granville to snuggle them and see our girl.  Win was so worked up to see us-- which is nice because we are never certain she misses us, what with her love for everyone she meets.  It seemed like she could not decide whether to be a mama or a pet while we were there, and she would get up at random times to come see us, forgetting that her puppies were nursing, and not appearing to notice them dangling off her belly.  Silly girl.  The pups are just little potatoes of warmth and snuggle.  They have just opened their eyes but can't yet really use their legs, so they scootch around and burrow into each other, or Winter, or our necks when we held them.  So much cuteness!  We love them all and its a good thing we're not keeping one because how would we choose??

And now we are home and almost to the end of February somehow.  We've had a major warmup this week and have watched the snow disappear with great sadness.  We are still skiing!  And there is something to be said for not being painfully cold all the time...But the snow and conditions have reverted back to their Ohio-normal-- cornmeal mush and corduroy with a glaze of ice crystals- so we've had to adjust our technique.  Hoping for at least 2 more weeks out on the slopes...  

Photo time... 

A night out for Nat and I at the Botanical Garden.  We dressed up and made an event of it.  The Orchid Mania show was very much diminished from years past, like most things in this Covid era.  But it was still lovely and the glasshouses at night, lit and magical, were worth the price of admission alone.  (Which was free because membership is the way to go.)

Mad River....

We stayed near Indian Lake, which was charming. There were tons of little islands, all fully populated with cottages.  The smaller the island, the fewer cottages, all the way down to one cottage on one tiny island...  

The kids were so excited about the bunk beds and having a TV in their room.  They did a great job sharing a room.  Brought back memories of all those years Ivy chose to sleep on Jack's bottom bunk instead of her own room.  

Ahh, IKEA.... 

Joy and snuggles...

Look how tiny!

Not to be left out, this girl continues to enjoy being top mammal in the house.  While we were away she had care from a neighbor girl who texted us photo updates.  Here Sunny demonstrates her ability to put all of her appendages in one spot. 

And a different kind of time away...  This week brought Jack's turn to go back to school in person. He will attend two days a week (Thursdays and Fridays) with the rest of the time remote.  He's not thrilled by this development but he really needs the structure of being WITH his teachers.  Fingers crossed he can turn some of his grades and motivation around...

(He actually let Nat use product in his mane of hair... look how handsome!!)

Land of Ice and Snow and Valentines

Happy Valentine's day from the land of ice and snow... you know, Cleveland in February.  With not one but two winter storms this week alone, our arctic surroundings seem to be here to stay.  This week's storms pummelled most of the US, and hit Texas especially hard, with below-zero temps that have been straining the power grid and water supply there. Closer to home, many of my friends are feeling sthe strain of pandemic isolation, job loss, the lack of sunlight. Life continues to be difficult for so many, because it is February, because it is 2021, because of climate change, because America is dysfunctional.  Yet!  There is sweetness to be found in the midst of it all.  Cookies and heart shaped cards and the magic of ice and the joy of soaring downhill on skis.  All is well with our ship in the storm just now, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful for snow plows and salt trucks and warm coats and radiators.  

February fun so far:

A 2nd Birthday party for sweet Empress!  Ellie hosted a small (masked) gathering at her apartment and was so proud of the cake she ordered.  We love this little girl.

Ice!  And more ice!  What do you do when the world freezes over?  Go out and enjoy it!  There is magic in the lake ice, the frozen waves and ice caves, shining shards and smooth, bubbled darkness. We've been visitng our beaches several times a week to see the changes.

Nat decided the lookout towers on the frozen breakwalls at Euclid Beach made it look like we were on the ice planet Hoth.  You will see the shenanigans this inspired, later in the post...

Skiing, of course.  As of last count, we've used our passes 19 times this year so far.  Not every time out has been the most amazing.  There was the night Nat and I BOTH managed to forget our ski pants, and got in 5 frozen-bottomed runs in before heading home.  Some nights have been full of snowblowers or harsh temperatures, some days have had long lines or mushy snow or ice.  

But then there was last Tuesday.  We'd booked that day to take advantage of short lines, but then Nat had several meetings and could not go.  I decided, against their apathetic opposition, to take the kids on my own.  Jack was set to meet a friend, and Ivy needs to get out of the house.  So off we went, car full of skis and sulky children.  As it always does, fresh air revived them.  Jack went off with his friend and Ivy chose to ski with me instead of on her own.  She wanted to go down "through the trees" under the lift, which is not my cup of tea as a skiier.  But I decided to join her  anyways and we had a blast, bumping along the treacherous little path.  Luckily nothing at Alpine is actually steep, so we were confident enough to have fun.  She loved it, and was so animated and joyful about her accomplishment.  Then Jack texted that his friend was leaving and he was coming to join us.  I figured he'd want to head home but surprisingly enough the three of us got quite a few more runs in, all together.  Jack even convinced his sister to try the Terrain park for the first time, since the slopes were virtually empty.  We skiied all the way to close and we were among the last few people out and it was wonderful. 

This photo is from when we tried to go to Alpine super early on Friday, which we all had off, and got there significantly before they openend.  Oops.  Jack is camped out waiting for the lifts to start.

Valentine's Day:  Yet another pandemic holiday in the books.  With this one, we've come full circle and have had every. single. holiday of the year in isolation.  You'd think it'd get easier but I feel the loss of people and parties and gathering, over and over.  It's not even like Valentine's Day is a major holiday-- but over the years we've embraced it and made more of the day, with a huge Valentine party, or making cards together with friends.  As has been the case, without a party to plan for I struggled to find the motivation to decorate the house, make cookies, and make the day special for just our little crew.  As has been the case, I pushed myself to do it anyways, and as has been the case, I did not regret it.  I even made MORE cookies than usual so I could take 65 of them (individually frosted and bagged) in to work as a group valentine for my new coworkers.  The cookies were much appreciated and I had the satisfaction of baking for others.  Then I made another big batch just for us. :)  (We delivered some to my mom, to Ellie, and to Mr. Drotleff, who'd seen me frosting the first batch during our board meeting this week and hinted that he liked cookies...)

We celebrated the day snuggled in as the snow fell, with a spectacular special day breakfast and plenty of gifts, then did a movie day at Gram's house, and it felt like a proper holiday.  

Return to Hoth.  With lightsabers, of course. 

A visit to Edgewater to see the ice there, and apparently everyone else had the same idea.  The beach ice was the place to be, with dogs running about and people playing hockey and everyone smiling. Just needed some music and a beer truck and it would be a festival.  It was lovely.

Sledding with our friends at Kendall Hills.  Such a fun spot.  Again, just super festive, full of people throwing themselves down the slopes with glee.  The trudging back up was slightly less gleeful- but it did warm us up, to the extent that we had a hot cocoa picnic sitting on our sleds, chatting while the kids made snow castles using their plastic cups.  Summer in February! 

And then- the REAL magic!-- a snow day to make the long weekend even longer!  What a treat of a day.  Coming off a long weekend meant I was already caught up around the house (as much as I ever am, anyways...) so sitting and reading for a while was guilt free.  Ivy and I tromped about in the snow, making snow paths since it was too cold for a snowman....

... and, because it was a Tuesday and we are intrepid, we went skiing!  The gale force winds and frigid temps of the still-going-strong winter storm sent us home after about 8 runs but that's ok.  Can't close the ski area EVERY night. 

Other events of note:  

This week Ivy had her first day of school!  First day of in-person this year, that is.  She's going back hybrid, 4 mornings a week in person, and the rest from her usual spot on her bed.  I am so grateful to see her getting back in the swing of real school.  These kids need their teachers.  She's not been super excited... I mean, there are some real silver linings to learning from home, in your PJ's, with your cat...  but I think she will be a happier young lady given this time with her teachers and peers in real life.  Jack starts next week and he is likewise not enthusiastic... but I daresay he needs that time with his teachers in person, even more than his sister...  

And to cap off her first day back, we went skiing again (of course). The snow was perfection.  I can't remember a year with conditions like these in OHIO.  Land of ice and snow it is... and it makes for great skiing.    One way that 2021 is working out well!  Ivy was thrilled to meet up with her friend Vio there, and to help her friend learn to ski.  V took to it right away and the girls were off exploring in no time.  Love these two together. 

(oh and we finally got Ivy a helmet, you will be pleased to know. We DO care about her...)

 And-- I got my first dose of the Covid vaccine!  I am so very grateful to my district for making the process easy and convenient.  Now to get this vaccine show on the road for my mom and Nat and maybe even the kids so that we can go back to our "real" lives.... if we even remember what those are!  Hoping against hope that Valentine's Day was the last of our isolation-holidays....

And I just had to share this cuteness-- Shaker Rocks got in on the valentine action, too.  The girlst had to work together to climb the heart.  There's some metaphor for life going on here somewhere...  

Be well and stay warm, dear ones.  We love you.