Homegrown Texan

Born and raised in Texas, I've found the home of my heart and soul in the Pacific Northwest. I love trees, cool weather, and rain. I'm a back to basics kind of gal just trying to raise my family and find a bit of time to slow down in this hectic life.

I spent last week with my family and some close friends in Fairmont Hot Springs, B.C. It was my first time out of the country. Ok, that's not entirely true...I have walked over the border into Nogales a couple of times. But this was my first time to go through customs and actually spend time in another country. It was great fun, and I did learn that if/when I go somewhere again, to make sure I understand what items can be brought out of/back into the country. I didn't run into any problems, but had I decided to buy the Canadian beef jerky that I contemplated getting for my dad, I would have had to give it up. Things like that are good to know ahead of time.

Anyway, we flew into Calgary (which always makes me think of one of my favorite movies, The Cutting Edge), and then drove across the Rockies into Fairmont Hot Springs. I always love driving through the mountains, so this was a great treat for me. Something about the forest just calls to me. If I believed in reincarnation (which I might, I'm just not sure), I would be convinced that I was a forest dweller in another life. I feel so at peace in the forest, like I'm where I'm supposed to be. Someday I will live there.

I didn't get to ski, which I was kind of bummed about. Especially since I was the only person who actually brought skis with me. Go figure. Anyway, Michael could only get 1 hour ski lessons and someone had to watch him. I didn't see the point in buying a lift ticket for myself only to ski for an hour. I am glad that Michael got to take 3 ski lessons (on 3 different days). He's stopping and turning, and staying upright in general much better now. He gets tired easily; by the end of an hour he's wiped. His teacher says his legs just aren't that strong yet. But, progress is progress. Someday we'll be able to take him skiing with us. I tried to coach him a bit before his first lesson, but I'm just not a good teacher. I'm patient enough, but I don't know how to get the ideas across to him.

In any case, I did get to spend one night at the hot springs, which was fabulous. And just opening the curtain every morning to catch a view of the surrounding mountains was wonderful. And I wasn't hot *once*. Those who know me know how much I hate being hot. It was cold, but nothing that couldn't be solved by wearing a jacket and gloves. People often think I like being cold. Quite the contrary. I love to snuggle up all cuddly warm under a blanket or inside of a nice sweater. I just need cold weather to accomodate that.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our friends: Karen, her sons Joey and Jonny, and her other son Richard and his new wife, Debbie, and their daughters Lindsay and Stephanie. I had never met Debbie or the girls before. I felt like I clicked with Debbie right away and the girls are awesome. I hadn't spent so much time with Joey before, so that was nice...I loved having a tea buddy. :) And Jonny as usual was fun to be with.

Anyway, all this was difficult to come home from. I'm still in a bit of a daze. I'm sure I'm a bit tired, too. I'm getting back into the swing of work. I just started a new release of our PTT (Push To Talk, i.e., cell-phone walkie-talkies) product. Right now I'm reading requirements and translating them into what code needs to be modified. This isn't my favorite phase of the project. Lots of reading makes Lisa a sleepy girl. But, I'm getting through it.

Tomorrow I have lunch with the work gang at a Greek restaurant in Phoenix. The place is called Greekfest; I've never been there before, but it's supposed to be really good. That should be a treat.

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