Snowboarding

A couple of months ago I bought a snowboard from a friend who wanted a bigger one. I don't know how much this one was used, but it looked like new so it was a good deal. For Christmas J gave me a helmet and ski goggles and Noels gave me a lesson at COP. Yesterday before I went to the hill I bought wrist guards.

So I ran into my friend Doug on Thursday night and learned that he used to be a snowboard instructor so he went with me yesterday and instead of paying some teenager snowboard instructor at COP, I bought Doug a ticket and away we went. He was so awesome and I'm so very glad that I went with him.

It all went so much better than I would have guessed. We began with simply moving the board around with only my lead foot in the bindings and then went up the bunny hill and practiced doing the falling leaf on my heel edge (I don't know how to properly call any of this) and then again down the hill but on my toe edge.

Next we went up the chair lift and down the bigger hill where I learned how to turn both from heel side to toe side and vica versa. It was so much fun despite some falls, but really I was surprised that I did much better than I expected.

After a few hours my legs were so tired coming down the hill that they were shaking! I figured that it would be my legs that would be sore today, but nope - it is my neck and my knees. My knees are sore from falling on them (it is a surface soreness) and my neck is sore from when I fell and whacked my head on the ground - it's pretty much like whiplash. Everyone said that your butt and wrists will be sore after snowboarding but they are fine today.

Anyway, I can hardly wait to not be sore so I can go again. Really, it was the most fun I've had in ages. I was so happy that I liked it since I had already bought all the stuff (probably not the best way to take up a new sport - should really try it and THEN buy the gear!) Thanks to Doug for the lesson and laughs!

Presents from Africa!

Noelene's parents visited Yellowknife for Christmas this year which of course was so great for Noelene. They passed through Calgary both on the way up there and on the return leg towards home. Unfortunately, both times they passed through I was unable to go and see them at the airport, but did speak to them on the phone. They are as nice as you would imagine Noelene's parents to be!

When Noels came to visit last week she came bearing gifts from her parents FOR ME!!! They gave me a little pin with two beaded people dressed in traditional garb. This pin also happened to be made by a person living with AIDS and so was sold to help raise money for that cause. They also gave me a really beautiful black neclkace with a silver elephant on it that was handcrafted in Swaziland. Noelene has a matching blue necklace!

It was so nice of them to think of me all the way in South Africa! I'll post a couple of pictures, but I couldn't get the light quite right to do them proper justice.

Irritating Blog Vent

I just need to vent that I find it irritating when I arrange my writing and pictures in a particular order/format and then when I publish it on the blog it arranges it however it wants..... That is why there are strange gaps and pictures that don't go with the words. I've tried several times to rearrange it but to no avail. I guess I will just have to live with the disorder.

A Northern Visitor

I have had such a great weekend. Noelene arrived in Calgary on Friday night and after picking her up from the airport we went to Moxies for dinner and caught up. Well, I say 'caught up' but we speak several times a week on the phone!

She was here to renew her flight instructor rating out at the CLUB where I used to work. When she wasn't busy doing the things related to that purpose we filled her time with socializing! Saturday night Noels, J, and moi met up with S n' N and Rob for dinner and had lots of laughs as we always do. Then we came back to my place and watched Jackass 2. I'm slightly embarassed of how funny we all found it!!

Sunday, Noels flew with Athenia - the best darn instructor at the club and then J and I met them for lunch (where strangely enough all four of us ordered exactly the same thing!!). It was this very lunch that resulted in a rather lengthy afternoon nap!

Monday night we were treated to a 7 course meal at Rob's place. Rob never does anything small; go big or not at all should be his motto!! I think we counted about 9 types of meat and seafood throughout the evening. We began eating at around 1930 and finished somewhere around 2300!!! T'was Fun and Yummy and Filling!!!

Tuesday, Noelene did her flight test and did well (no big surprise). I went out to the club with her to be her cheering squad and visit some people while she flew. We ran into Suze, who happened to be the very person who first introduced Noelene and I so that was a great surprise! We had lunch and returned home to have coffee with Denis who still seems to beleive that Noelene will be moving back to Calgary any week now (nearly 3 years away hasn't convinced him that she's living rather permanently in Yellowknife now!!)

Then came my least favorite part where we had to take her to the airport to catch her ride on Canadian North back to Yellowknife. The cool part was that one of our friends was the Capt of the flight to Edmonton. Ahhhhh to fly for Canadian North..... Anyway, she made it home to Yellowknife newly re-rated as a flight instructor.