snowshoeing for stress relief!

Doug, Amalia, and Justin made it out for an excellent night snowshoe hike after their last day of finals. It was so much fun. There is really nothing like snowshoeing at night; it's beautiful, a bit creepy at times, and of course one falls far more often than during the day. Amalia took some classic dumps that were quite impressive. I thought one time she was running for the heck of it and landed on her face, but it turned out that she had just tripped and was trying to catch herself. But really, most impressive!

(On a side note, should you decide to go snowshoeing with Kirsti, make sure you take lots of vitamin C before hand. She scared the living daylights out of me a few times, screaming because the shadows from the headlamp looked like little beasts running up to attack us. Then there was the time we were on the road and she thought a car was right behind us. She hollered, we threw ourselves into a ditch, and ended up with a face full of snow. I don't think my heart has ever jumped so many times in one night. (Did you know every time you get scared you lose vitamin C?) Plus it was like negative 8 outside, so it was quite the rush!)

Anyway, it was great having everyone here last night--thanks, guys, for coming!

Justin and Shady:



I just spent the last half hour trying to get the first row of stitches onto my knitting needles. This might take a while, especially because I barely got 50 on there. At this rate, I'll be happy if I get half a scarf done by the time the kids arrive, let alone kid sweaters! My hands feel like bulls in a china shop--it's a strange feeling. I am far more comfortable holding a hammer than I am a couple of skinny needles, but I can't help but think that knitting is one of the most useful skills ever. I found out Amalia is also a good knitter, so maybe there is hope for me. At least I have some people I can get help from.

Meanwhile, I've had enough of the knitting, and will start figuring out what I'll do this break. I'm thinking that tiling the chimney would be a good project to get out of the way. Next time I run to town I'll see if the local tile shops have any broken pcs. they want to get rid of. It should be fun!

Think I'll snowshoe, first, though!