Merry Christmas!

Just a little something to get you in the festive spirit...some photos from snowy Crested Butte...we skied last weekend and here are some of the photos we took...here I am at the top of the Paradise lift..it was a bit steep, but I got down pretty much in tact...most of the time!!! The views from the lift and the top were amazing!





This photo is from the lift in an area where they were blowing snow (cos we really need it after we only got 81 inches a couple of weeks ago) and the one on the right is after they blew snow up by the Ice House where I work. The tree still looks the same a week later!









oh yeah, we went for Apres ski in town afterwards too, so some of them are from a little later in the evening!!! (We love Happy Hour!)
The town itself looks lovely, especially as it starts to get dark...we are going out for dinner Christmas Eve to really get in the mood and enjoy the lights..







Here is the tree from "happening" down town Crested Butte...




We are having fun...working too much..but getting to ski some too...















I do think the tree we bought is a little big for the space we have though! We are dealing with it however, and it now looks lovely since it finally dropped enough for us to decorate it!...the living room looks really small and bare - it isn't, the tree is just very big!!! Well, I guess it is bare since we haven't had chance to put any pictures up yet...or find them!



We're getting there though...! I am happy to report that the condo looks less like a moving station a week on. Far fewer boxes laying around now we have finally had some time to sort it out a bit...just think, by the time we leave for Europe, we might have opened all those boxes!!! It was worth the move though, we do like the condo, and we certainly have more space!



Merry Christmas...I'm off to light a roaring fire, settle down, drink a rather large eggnog and brandy and look forward to the white Christmas they have forecast for Colorado - cheers!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Well, the snow definitely arrived - 81 inches in less than 7 days - the majority of it in two!!! We were a little snowed in for a while, and certainly had a hard time digging the car and truck out...the mound on the left is my car - it took me about 5 days to dig it out!!!



Here are a few more shots of the snow...it is certainly adding a festive feel despite the fact that it is harder to get around...!








The skiing has been great though, and it's just as easy to get the shuttle from town up to the resort...it takes about 5 mins and drops you off right near the lifts....it's very handy, especially since we now have a locker with all out gear in so we don't have to haul skis and boots up there...just get into town jump on the bus, change and hit the lifts...


To take advantage of our winter up here, Nick and I both decided to get jobs with the resort. The bonus is that you get an associate ski pass for free, meaning you can ski whenever the lifts are open. So if we are early arriving or finishing, it's no big deal to get ready and ski a few runs...guess there'll be no excuse for not improving our skills this year...especially since we both have to actually ski to get to work! Nick is working at Rustica in the Paradise Warming House. They serve lunch and also dinner...guests are driven up on a sleigh for the evening meal...I am working at the Ice House . We also serve lunch and dinner...the difference is that our guests have to ski in (for dinner too), and I have to ski down after dinner has been served - yep, in the dark! Nick is fortunate in that he can go down on the snow cat or a snow mobile...not sure how my skiing in the dark skills are, but I guess they had better be good...or get that way quickly!!! This is my commute, and a couple of photos taken from the restaurant deck.









We are also in the process of moving to the larger condo we own. It sometimes seems our lives never slow down enough for us to just relax and enjoy them...what's that? Oh, yeah, Lisbon and England were fun...yes, yes, so were the Bahamas...ok we don't have it that rough!!!:) ...Anyway, we thought we would now have plenty of space after living in a 450 square foot studio for 6 months or so...WRONG!!!! I think we have far too much furniture and "stuff" for that ...but in our defense, it is kind of hard to move from a 2100 square foot house with two large bedrooms, large open plan kitchen/dining/living room and study, to a small, two bedroom 950 square foot condo!!! Guess we will be sorting through and getting ready for a yard sale!!!

We do think it will be worth it though - these photos are some views from the deck this afternoon...the large mountain is Whetstone; the one we climbed this summer. And two minutes away is the Slate river..Nick is just upset that it's frozen and he can't go and throw a fly in at the moment...sure there'll be plenty of time for that next summer though!!!


If I don't have time to update this before Christmas because we are skiing...ahem, working too much...

We wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season, full of warmth, love and laughter...and keep your fingers crossed that it snows for us on Christmas day when we are skiing!!!

The snow has finally arrived!

A quick note from Crested Butte.

Ski season is officially here and I have managed to get out twice so far. The first day was mainly man made blown snow, but yesterday it had already started dumping and the skiing was a lot of fun! So far CBMR, the resort is reporting 15 inches of snow in the last 24 hours and it's still coming down...probably explains why it took me over an hour to dig my car out this afternoon!


Here were the conditions when I went out for a walk at lunch time....






by the time I was heading back, it was a blizzard and there had to have been an extra couple of inches...




The snow is pretty wet this time around...not sure if these photos are very clear, but you can see that the snow is actually blue inside there is so much moisture in it...







And just as an aside, here is a photo we took of a bald eagle last week. There were five of them hanging out in the area at the time just north of Almont on the East River. Nick said he sees them on a regular basis when he is driving to and from Gunnison...it must be a good fishing spot...I'll see if they are still there in the next week or so with the snow...pretty impressive to see them up so close though...

Devon

After London, Nick and I headed to Devon in the south west of England to visit my brother, Stephen and his family, Sarah, Isabella, Givit the old dog (on the left), DeeBee the cat and JackBob the rescued cat! We had managed to find really cheap tickets on http://megabus.com/uk/. Apparently it works like Easy Jet: the earlier you buy your tickets, the cheaper they are. So we bought three tickets for about $15 (7 pound fifty). Two train tickets to Exeter, and a bus ticket from Exeter back to London for Nick. Very cheap! Even the conductor on the train commented on how cheaply we had managed to buy them! Definitely an option if you are ever traveling in a Megabus area (they operate in the US as well).

Anyway.... we caught a black cab from the City to Waterloo and were on our way again!

We arrived in Totnes on the Thursday afternoon. Totnes is a pretty English market town in the South Hams in Devon, halfway between Exeter and Plymouth (where the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from). It's a lovely little town which runs down a hill to the River Dart.


http://www.devon-online.com/towns/totnes/Welcome.html.

Stephen lives pretty much in the centre of town close to the High St and near the old Leech Wells, which we took Isabella to visit one morning. The Dart is only a fifteen minute walk as well and it's a lovely area with a walking trail along the river and lots of yachts...we spent a lot of time looking at the yachts and deciding which one we wanted to buy!!!


On the Friday morning, we took Isabella out for a walk down to the river. She was joined by a family of ducklings who obviously took a shine to her...who can blame them? She is so cute!!! Her favourite catch phrase at the moment is "not yet". So when Daddy asked if she wanted to go to nursery Friday afternoon, she said "Not yet daddy". Once she got there though, we didn't see her for dust...think she likes it there!


Friday evening we took a drive out to the coast to Babbacombe Bay near Torquay I think. It was lovely to walk along the beach and smell the salt air...something I really miss. Isabella had fun watching her Dad skimming stones and trying to join in.




Saturday was a big sporting day, so we couldn't go far...! In the afternoon, the England football team was playing (the REAL football to all you Yanks out there...the one where you actually use your feet to control the ball...novel idea, eh, for a game called FOOTball...). Then the evening was the turn of the England Rugby Union team. They were in the semi finals of the World Cup against France...so to accommodate the sporting timetable, we went to Bigbury on Sea.












Bigbury is a lovely beach, and when the tide is out, you can walk across to the island...Fortunately is was a very low tide, so we wandered over and had a look around the island before stopping for a swift one in the local. The ruin in these photos is the old hut on top of the island from where the locals used to watch for the pilchard run arriving for the fishermen...
...the local just happens to be called The pilchard, and dates from 1336...pretty old place to drink your pint...the crisps were expensive though!!! A pound a pack ($2)...I think the beers were expensive too, but luckily it was Stephen's round!!!






And yes, I have to say it...doesn't she look cute in her Crested Butte fleece top?!!!




After the successful semi final appearance by the England rugby team (we won't mention the football team anymore...) Sunday dawned bright and clear and with Nick itching to eat a real English Sunday lunch with roast beef, veggies, potatoes, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. We ended up at the Seven Stars in Totnes and it was lovely...something we still something we miss every week here in the US....


In the late afternoon, Mum and Dad arrived and so we had a little bit of a family reunion with curry and lots of wine...doesn't sound like the Manchesters, does it????


Monday was a lovely day, and as Isabella had nursery in the afternoon, we decided to head to Dartmouth with Mum and Dad for lunch.














I had no idea how lovely this whole area was. Dartmouth is a very pretty and very old town (one of the five Devon towns mentioned in the Doomsday book which dates from the 1080s or so...) which was which sits at the entrance of the Dart estuary. We had a lovely time wandering around the old streets and looking at the buildings and the estuary. I don't think we have ever seen so many yachts. Nick was especially partial to the teak and wood ones, and I have about 50 photos to prove it!




Mum and Dad drove back to Totnes, and Nick and I took the ferry. We managed to get grounded before we arrived in Totnes, but the tides were so low and coming in so fast that we were only stuck for a few minutes...certainly added to the amusement of the ferry ride though - we also saw a couple of seals in the estuary and a kingfisher and had a narrated tour all the way back about the history of the area. Next time we come we will definitely spend a day in Dartmouth exploring the old streets and both sides of the estuary. We also didn't make it out to the castle - add it to the list for next time!!!
http://www.devon-online.com/towns/dartmouth

The weather was absolutely atrocious the next day: torrential rain and mist. Since it was Nick's last day, we had planned to go up on Dartmoor as neither of us had ever been before.


The weather was so bad though, that we only managed to see Buckfastleigh Abbey and then found a nice pub for lunch called the Tavistock Arms where we stayed for a while...



From there, there wasn't a lot we could do. Sarah headed back home and we took Isabella on a drive and entertained her singing nursery rhymes all the way back...we did manage to see a few of the famous Dartmoor ponies, but that was as the mist raised and shortly thereafter it was back down and we sloshed our way home through the rain!
Isn't she starting to look all grown up?!





Nick left the next morning from Exeter and as Stephen and Sarah were both busy for the day I went out with Mum and Dad. We covered a good amount of the South Hams coast including visits to Inner and Outer Hope, both of which still have numerous thatched cottages set around old squares. It is easy to get lost in time and imagine that you are standing there in the 1500s or something. I especially liked the carved owls and pheasants that were attached to the thatched roofs...they were very realistic, and obviouosly worked in keeping the birds away.


They were beautiful little villages, and the coastal path looks absolutely gorgeous - another long distance hike to put on our list - but only when we have managed to buy an awful lot of very waterproof gear!!!



After the Hopes, we went to Salcombe which was absolutely lovely. The drive there was gorgeous and the town was in such a pretty location..it must be mobbed in the summer! Apparently it's also the most expensive place to live in England..I can see why...!

Mum, Dad and I left everyone in Totnes the next day to drive to Hull as Nick was flying back to Denver...we were very sad to leave but I had been able to spend a lovely week with them all. Isabella was such a good little girl the whole time. She was happy to go out for a walk, or paint, or just sit and play...what a treasure! She is so much fun to be around.

And just for good measure, here are some of the photos of Isabella that we took while we were here...thanks again for letting us stay guys...we had a great time...