Ski Report - Week 2

No, I haven't miscounted. It has been 2 weeks since "Ski Report - Week 1" but skiing was cancelled for January 22, so our second week was actually this past Friday.

Would you like to guess why skiing was cancelled?

The gondola broke down!!

Can you believe it? After we were so concerned about the possibility of the gondola being stopped because of the wind, with people still on the mountain! Well, it wasn't because of the wind... and no, it didn't crash or wreck or anything catastrophic like that. Apparently it was a bearing or something that just needed to be replaced. They must have had to build a part for it because it was down a full week, I think. I heard there were still people on the mountain when it stopped and they had to shuttle them down on the old road. I bet that was interesting! Nobody was on the gondola itself. I really don't want to think about what their contingency plan is in a situation like that.

It was a much better day for skiing than it had been two weeks ago. There was no wind this time, so that made for a more enjoyable gondola ride, as well as just being out in it for skiing. I'm not sure what the temp was on the mountain but I believe it was above freezing because the eaves on the building were dripping.

 

The kids got so warm that they took their heavy coats off! Seemed a little strange to be snow skiing in just a regular hoody, but they claimed they were hot! They did keep hats and gloves on, though, so I guess they were warm enough.

With such warm temperatures and little snowfall, we're beginning to wonder if we'll get our full 8 weeks in before the snow is gone. I guess we'll see!

Lotsa Books!

Here's the list of books I've read in January  for the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge (not counting several that I have started but not yet finished... yeah, I usually have several books going at once):

1. Raising a Modern-Day Princess by Pam Farrel and Doreen Hanna
   
2. Thicker Than Blood by C.J. Darlington
   
3. The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhan
   
4. The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher
   
5. Life on the Underground Railroad by Sally Senzell Isaacs
6. Freedom Struggle by Ann Rossi
7. The Civil War by Scott Marquette
8.  Jenna's Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater
9. Daily Life on a Southern Plantation by Paul Erickson
10. Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray by Opal Wheeler
11. Too Much Stuff: Decluttering Your Heart and Home by Kathryn Porter
12. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson
13. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by C.B. Weatherford
14. Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux

And in my mailbox this week I received:

For review:
Abigail by Jill Eileen Smith
Yesterday's Promise by Vanessa Miller
One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda
Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren
Songbird Under a German Moon by Tricia Goyer

From Paperback Swap:
The Mary Frances Knitting and Crocheting Book by Jane Eayre Fryer

Homemade Ice Cream (sugar-free)

In my quest for healthier eating for my family I've been pleasantly surprised to find that our regular grocery store has quite a few organic options to the foods we are used to eating. Yes, it's usually a little more expensive, but I've decided that it's worth it. Our grocery store even has organic ice cream!

The only thing is, I've also been trying to eat "low-glycemic" to try to eliminate my migraines. And the only sugar-free ice cream I've found has the nasty artificial sweeteners. We even have a really extensive natural foods supermarket in our area. I was sure they would have a sugar-free ice cream with a natural sugar substitute such as xylitol or stevia. But they didn't! So I decided I would just have to make my own.

After reading several recipes (some calling for sugar, some for other sweeteners) I came up with my own concoction using granulated xylitol and real vanilla. My family declared it delicious. We honestly could not tell that it was not sweetened with sugar. Well, not by taste anyway. Cost-wise, xylitol is significantly more expensive than cane sugar. So this will have to be a special treat!

I also want to try tweaking the recipe. For homemade ice cream it was good! But  you know how homemade ice cream is usually a little "grainy" compared to commercial ice cream? I want to try to see if I can get it to come out creamier. I'm thinking if I cooked it first into a kind of custard before freezing it, that might work.

I think I might wait until the weather warms up a bit, though. January is just not the best time for homemade ice cream!

In My Mailbox

Here are the goodies I received In My Mailbox this week:

For Review:
Swinging on a Star by Janice Thompson
Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl
Spring Breakdown by Melody Carlson
Katy's New World by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Beehive Reader 1 by Marie Rippel
The Madsen Method curriculum

From Paperback Swap:
Skirts! (crochet pattern book)
Violet's Foreign Intrigue by Martha Finley

From Swap-a-DVD:
Trigger, Jr.
Along the Navajo Trail

Ordered from Amazon:
McGraw-Hill's GED
Too Much Stuff by Kathryn Porter

Vintage Walking Doll

Here's another sweet "treasure" that I brought home from my parent's house at Christmas. I'm not even sure why she was there. I thought she was packed away somewhere at my house.

This is Matil (pronounced like Matilda without the "duh")! She's a "walkin' doll" that I received for Christmas when I was 3 years old. She has a battery compartment in her back and a little switch at the back of her neck that used to make her walk.She doesn't work any more, but I still think she's cute.

And I love this picture of me watching her walk for the first time, with Grandmother and Uncle David appearing to be as interested in her as I was!

My dollie's name is Matil because she was made by Mattel toy company. I'm pretty sure I didn't name her, because I wouldn't have been aware of the brand name. My grandma's name was Matil, and apparently that sounds enough like Mattel that my parents "helped" me decide that's what her name was!

I did a little research online to see if I could discover what her commercial name was. And I found her! She was originally called  "Baby Small Walk." I don't know why she was called "Baby". She was a toddler, not a baby! But I did find a picture of her with her original dress... and all of her hair, looks like!

Her hair is so silky (like a Barbie's) that it was ideal for combing. Good thing my mother kept her put away most of the time. Otherwise she would have probably been completely bald by the time I was 10!

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