First Day of Ski Season

Yesterday was opening day at White Pass (our local ski area), so Matt, Pat and myself met-up for a day in the snow.  We opted for a half day since the snow conditions were only going to be so-so.  By the time we got there we had to park about a quarter mile away, I have never seen it so busy. 

It was pretty entertaining to watch the fiasco that was the chairlift. Most every time we went to get on there was an issue that ended with people flailing about. Matt was lucky enough to get ejected by some snowboarded that couldn't quite figure out how to sit down.  While that was funny the best part was the ski patroler that proceeded to rant and rave about the idiots that don't know what they are doing. It ended with him yelling at some poor guy to "take your damn skis off, you will be better of not wearing anything". 

Yurt

Today was an easy day,  I went for a short 6 mile jaunt and lazed around the house.  Tomorrow back to work...

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Snow Bike

We didn't make it mountain biking yesterday, we woke-up a bit late allow for us to go and still get to our friends on time.  So, today we loaded up our bikes (the Epic arrived Wednesday) and headed to Capitol Forest.  We were not quite sure what we were going to find when we got there.  Well, it was a pretty sweet mix of snow/slush/ice/mud that made for some interesting riding. 

I thought that I had planned my biking apparel to deal with the weather (cold, rain/snow mix), as it turns out I didn't.  My fingers froze and my feet were sopping wet. By the time we were done with the ride I was nauseous from my tender digits freezing.  There are a lot of things that I can deal with, cold fingers are not one of them.  It is a deal breaker for me... I have a new and improved plan for next time.  A plan that if all things go correctly will leave me warm and happy from start to finish.  

Freezing fingers aside we had a great time.  Matt is satisfied with his new bike and I still love mine. 

Oh baby!  I love me some sweet chest hair.

Matt

Oompa loompa

Mel

Weeeee!!!

Turkey Day!

I used to claim Halloween as my favorite holiday, however, I am now rethinking my selection.  Halloween just isn't as fun as it used to be, maybe someday it will regain some of its glitz and glamor, for now though I am re-selecting my favorite holiday.  The winner is - Thanksgiving with Halloween in a very close second.

This year for Thanksgiving we went to our friends Pat and Jenn's for a turkey day feast.  It was fantastic, a great day spent with great friends eating wonderful food. 

Green bean casserole with homemade wild mushroom soup

Apple pie with cheddar cheese crust

Hard at work

Snow and Ice

Since moving west winter has not been the same for me.  Olympia winters consist of relatively mild weather with a lot of rain.  Truth be told, I am not sure how much I like it.  I feel like something is missing from from my seasonal rotation.  On the up side I can be in the mountains with an hour of driving, which is really nice!

Currently we are experiencing uncommon weather for our area - cold punctuated by snow and ice.  I finally stuck my nose outside today to go for a run, I was in heaven.  Instead of being met by overcast drizzle I enjoyed a wonderfully brisk moonlight jaunt.  As much as I would love to see this weather to stick around, I know it isn't in the cards. 

I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention how our current weather patterns have affected travel in the area.  Traffic is AWFUL!  Commutes that generally take 45 minutes are now taking 6+ hours.  So, while I would love to have the snow stick around, the Puget Sound area is not equipped to deal with it.  I suppose the sooner it passes the better for everyone.

In other news Matt's bike should be arriving tomorrow!  If so we are planning to get out for a pre-eating Turkey Day ride.

Mossy Oak Dog Bed

I am not much for sewing, however, there is one thing that I am capable of making - dog beds.  See pictures of my newest creation, a mossy oak camo waterproof dog bed. 

Homely Crisp, Chum and Sunday Dinner

This weekend didn't bring with it any crazy adventures.  The seasons are changing so we are in a bit of a waiting pattern.  Matt did hit a milestone Saturday, he went for a 10 mile trail run - his longest to date!  We are both trying to motivate ourselves to get or stay in shape for an upcoming fat ass.

This morning we went to the Olympia Farmers Market to get ingredients for our turkey day dishes.  Our biggest take was a 30# box of homely crisps.  You may be wondering what homely crisps are, let me educate you...  Homely crisps are the smaller, sweeter, not so pretty but cheaper version of the honey crisp apple.  Looks like we have apple pie, apple sauce and other appley goods in our future!

After finishing up at the market we went to Kennedy Creek to check out the tail end of chum salmon spawning season.  I should mention that it is snowing in Olympia right now!  It isn't very often that we get snow, so I am pretty excited about it - it makes the dreary so much prettier.

Can you see the purple and green?

Snow!

Last but certainly not least - Sunday Dinner. 

The last year that I lived in Lansing a tradition was started - Sunday Dinner.  Every Sunday I would get together with Dave and Mary for dinner.  Each week we rotated who was in charge of cooking, the idea was to try fun new dishes.  Dinners ranged from simple delicious dishes to extravagant multi-course meals.    If things went south we agreed to go to Leo's Lodge for pizza.  In all the dinners we shared together we didn't have one that sent us in search of pizza, pretty impressive if you ask me! 

As much as I love living in Washington I really miss Sunday dinners.  It was a great opportunity to get together with wonderful friends and share some great food and drink.  The other day I mentioned to Matt how much I missed this.  His response, why don't we do it - we can rotate Sunday cooking and vow to try new dishes.  Sold!  Sure, it is missing a very important aspect - Dave and Mary.  However, it is a good reason to set Sunday's aside to try new recipes. 

Without further ado I present you with our first Sunday dinner (mels turn), which was made almost entirely with stuff we have received from our CSA.

Delicita Squash stuffed with Wild Rice Cranberry Stuffing and Flax and Sunflower Seed Bread with Brie

Welcome Home Juliana

It is official, I am back in mountain biking business!!  While in Bend 2 weekends ago Matt and I stopped at a local bike shop to see if they carried a bike I was interested in so we could determine what size I needed.  To our surprise not only did they have the bike, but it was a demo version that they were selling at a pretty good discount.  Needless to say, it came home with us.  Without further ado I present you with Juliana:

Isn't she beautiful?!?  I got her out on the trails on Sunday.  As you can see, they were a bit muddy..

I am looking forward to a fun winter of riding!

Dear Winter

Dear Winter-

It is official, I am ready for you to start.  I am not talking about the cold, dreary, endless rain that constitutes an Olympia winter.  No, I am talking about mountain pounding snows that occur at the higher altitudes that make winter fun.  Sure, it is only early November, however, I have been tantalized recently by not one but two ski films. Therefore, I am am good and ready to put my paltry ski skills to the test -  the sooner the better.  Heck, I am even willing to hike miles in my boots to hit the snowline, just give me something to work with. 

In closing, this is a La Nina year - get to it!

Yours Truly,
Melissa

Smith Rock

New gear!

This past weekend Matt and I headed to Bend, OR to meet-up with some friends for climbing at Smith Rock.  Matt has climbed there on several occasions, however, this was my first time.  I was super excited to check the place out - I have heard so many good things about it!

We hit the road around 1pm Thursday afternoon to begin our 5 hour drive.  Matt was kind enough to do all the driving as I had to get some work done while we traveled.  We made a stop somewhere in the Mt. Hood area and Matt acquired a new fly rod for our upcoming Hawaii trip.

We made it to Redmond a few hours later and stopped in to see our friends that had come down from Saskatoon.  They were the real reason we were in Bend.  They are here for a conference in Portland and showed up a few days early to get some climbing in at Smith.  We said a few quick hello's determined the plan for the following day and headed into Bend to meet up with Matt and Cheryl at Deshutes for some tasty food and drink.  They were kind enough to let us crash at their home that evening and the following morning Matt, Matt and myself headed out to the crag to meet-up with the group for a day of climbing. 

The climbing at Smith is AMAZING, I love it there.  I am pretty sure I would love it even more if I had been in better shape.  As it was I felt rather intimidated by climbs that I felt should have been well within my capability.  Oh well, what can I expect after months of not climbing??  It was just great to get outside and spend time doing something I love. 

Matt and Matt

Matt and Eric

Monkey Face



Fancy digs

 Matt and I had intended to camp while we were at Smith.  We brought the dogs with us and figured this would be easiest.  However, a very kind offer from the Canada group had us staying with them at their super fancy resort house.  How can you turn down a hot tub?!?  I have to admit, I felt really spoiled staying with them. 

All in all it was a great trip!  It was nice to be able to catch-up with friends and it felt good to get out and actually touch rock.  Hopefully there won't be such a long stretch before we are able to do either of those activities again.

Halloween Tricks

Halloween is my (Mels) favorite holiday.  Costumes, candy and scary movies - what more could a person ask for!?!  However, this year the Klungle household did not experience any treats for Halloween.  Instead we got a rather unpleasant trick - our mountain bikes were stolen.   We had gone for a ride, it is currently pretty muddy out so they were locked up in the back of our truck waiting to be washed before being put back into our apartment. 

Someone decided that they are a worthless enough person to break the locks and steal our bikes.  I really hope we find out who did it, the joke would be on them.  I would be willing to bet they are totally unaware that they stole goods exceeding the $2,000 limit to be charged for a felony.  Nothing would make me happier than seeing the look on their face when they find that out!  Unfortunately, I doubt that will ever happen.  The chances of ever seeing our bikes again is slim to nil. Ugh...

On a more positive note below are some pictures I took with my camera during my Halloween trail run.  I suppose a better description would be a trail picture safari.

Even the trail was festive!

Water over the trail