It seems so long since I've posted. I'll have to backtrack ...let's see, chili ....

Oh right, on Saturday, January 24th, a bunch of us planned a trip to Dagmar for some cross-country skiing followed by dinner at Karen and Kevin's, hence the chili.

I had arranged to meet Dray at the club in the morning to find out about paddle pool for wics. I tried to time it so I got there when everyone would be out running but the midget boys were sitting on the front stairs. When I asked if they'd already run, they said no, it was too cold and that they never run if it's colder than minus 6. Weird. Man, we were never allowed to use that excuse (the infamous Robbie Burns run when the temp was minus 38 comes to mind). Granted we never liked running when it was freezing but there was a certain satisfaction after saturday morning practices. I really felt like I'd done something and when I got home would light the fireplace and sleep in front of it for an hour. Actually, I would pretty much be bagged for the rest of the day so maybe it's not such a great thing.

Dray was in a meeting so I wandered around the club. I haven't been there all winter and it's funny how a couple of months changes things. Aside from the fact that all the bantams and midgets have grown a foot, there are two brand new Schwinn spin bikes in the breakfast room (there may be more, I just stuck my head in the door) and someone has contributed a Nike 'Wings' poster for the weight room. You know the one - it shows the full wingspan of a young Michael Jordon. It's hung up behind the chin up bars and looks so good! Being down there reminded me of how much I miss the days of training with the kids. No one complains about mortgages or rush hour or bad relationships. It's just laughs and posing in front of the mirror the whole time. Oh well, I'm hoping to be around more this summer so it's all good!

After I left the club, Chanda met me at my place and we picked Marisha up on our way to Karen's. It was a pretty cold day - minus 26 - but the sun was shining and some of the trails are protected from the wind. In the chalet we ran into Scott Madill and Jill and a few other east enders. I haven't seen Jill since she started her chemo and almost didn't recognize her with super-short hair. She looks great! She's through the treatments now and just waiting for the all-clear.

I haven't been skate-skiing for a couple of years. What a gong show! My first loop around the Meadow was pretty heavy going but I got a laugh and some inspiration from Boogh and J.R. as they flew by me in the opposite direction. Was all of Frenchman's Bay on the trails? On my second loop a guy just yelled as he went past, "Stay over your skis and get your nose over the tips". I had to laugh. That's what Eve and the guys would do when I first took it up - passing lane coaching. It doesn't matter who it comes from - it helped me ski better and things went smoother from then on.

Back at Mr. & Mrs. Chief's we warmed up with some wine, chili, crusty bread and minstrone soup. I was reminded of what a great bond we've all forged over the years. I'm not sure exactly when we went from being teammates to family but that's what it felt like as we passed around the food, refilled glasses and talked about everything and anything. We literally had to force ourselves to go home, we were having such a great time.

I dropped Marisha up the street from her bf's place. She staggered a little but I'm not sure if it was exhaustion or wine.

I helped Chanda load her gear into her car and then ran inside. I was freezing and realized how rarely I've been outside this winter. I'll have to make more of an effort, especially since we've had soooo much snow this year. I've complained about not being able to skate-ski for the past couple of years due to lack of snow (which is a crock since last year had heavy snowfall too) and should be thrilled with what we have this year.