Then the snow fell....

After the nice sunny day...the storm moved in and snow began to fall.
"blanketing" everything
It really wasn't good snow for snowballs...too powdery...but Ian managed to make a few...just in case...haha
After skiing
John cooked up some fresh fish that he had brought along...it was good!

I fell in the powder and kind of twisted my knee...felt something "pop"...luckily NOT a bone...I managed to ski down...but knew that was it for me. Putting weight on my right leg did not feel good.
Snowboarding was much easier than skiing...but Martha and Maris did fine. Marcus actually had to leave earlier than planned in order to beat the storm...because there were expected road closures.I watched a while and made a trip to the store.
We all met up for a good lunch.
When the rest of the gang went back out on the slopes I killed some time making myself a little snowman...which was not easy with the dry snow...but I made a small one. Then I made Martha and Megan pose next to it later that afternoon.

Skiing

Monday was the first day of skiing for John, Marcus and I. The weather was great...cold but clear skies and sunshine. Not all of the slopes were open...because of the amount of snow...but we got to try a few different lifts.
We warmed up on the runs from the #5 lift...then headed over to the Snowkirk Lift. Some of my favorite runs are over there. It wasn't too icy
so that was good. Limited...but fun.
Anne, Ian, (little) Maris, Gannon, Maris and Tony
We tried a few different runs and had fun until lunch time.This is the view from our condo.
After lunch we went up lift #6 to some more advanced (faster) runs. The nice thing about being with a group is that there is always someone to ski with. Martha always beat me down the slopes...Megan followed her...and I brought up the rear. The other kids were faster and more adventurous than I wanted to be. Marcus too...he likes to go fast. The snowboarders found a few little jumps that day...some tried the terrain park...we all had fun. One of the best things NO LINES all day long. we skiied up and down and NEVER waited in line once.
We all went in for lunch and then skiied until the lifts closed. They closed at 4:00pm...we were usually heading up for our final run at 5 or 10 till.
That night we ate dinner and had game time.
We played a few variations of Buzz Word
you had to act out your clues
oops...this one is out of order!


some were better than others

But we all had fun!

The trip - part 1

We flew out of Orlando Saturday March 10th. we actually went over to Orlando the afternoon before...because we had a 7:30am flight and didn't want to have to get up at 4:30am to start our trip. I was surprised that I didn't have to spend too much time talking John into that plan...getting up early is not a problem for him (.Maybe he was willing to give in to that idea..knowing we would have the trip from hell on the way home...hahaha)
The ski areas have been hurting a little this year...not a lot of snow... but we knew if anyone would have snow...Kirkwood, CA would be the place. (elevation, location, etc) Recently there have been a few storms and actually they got some snow right before we went out there.
Getting closer to the Reno airport
When we landed there were partly cloudy skies...and snow was expected in the mountains. We picked up Marcus...who arrived shortly before us (from D.C.) and headed out. We made a stop at the Carson City Super Wal-Mart to get the ever growing list of things we needed..
Once we arrived in Kirkwood, we unloaded our stuff and headed over to the shop to get skis, passes, etc.

We added our gear to the group. Everyone else had just come in from their first full day of skiing.
Our condo that Tony had rented was conveniently located just across the street (and down a little) from Lift 5. A great location...super easy to get to...with out too much walking in the ski boots!

Temperatures were warm...so there was lots of slush! As a kid I remember stomping through slush on the way to/from everywhere...it's great fun until you get your shoes all wet...then your feet are cold, wet and miserable...haha Luckily I still had some boots I bought a few years ago...they served me well. My feet were never wet or cold the entire trip. (and I did my share of stomping in the slush)
After skiing there were always plenty of games to be played. Maris, Martha and Maris were already at it when we arrived.
The condo was great...John and I had one room, this was Martha and Tony's room
Ian had the pull out bed in the loft area
Megan, Marcus, Maris and Gannon had the bunk room.When Marcus left...the other Maris relocated to the bunk room...however Megan and Maris both ended up looking for other places to sleep....because they had a loud snorer in their room...hahah Megan moved a mattress onto our room floor...Maris opted for the couch. Everything was pretty comfortable...and we were ready to go!

another Monday ...

It's another Monday here...but this has been a little out of the ordinary. We just spent the last 10 days on vacation...and got home from Tahoe this morning. We started the week in Kirkwood ,Ca with my sister Martha, Tony and Ian, Tony's sister Maris and her daughter Maris and her friend Gannon. Megan and Marcus joined us too. They all left for home on Friday...while John and I drove to Incline Village, Nevada recommended by a friend) for the last two nights of out trip.However...our trip home from Nevada began yesterday afternoon at 1:00 pm. We checked out of our condo we had rented for two days and started the trip over the mountain into Reno. Snow tires or chains were mandatory...so John got those on, we packed up and drove up the mountain into a winter wonderland..( we had gotten about 10 inches of snow the night before...and more snow was falling). We took it slow and easy and finally got into Reno....where our trip home began. We flew from Reno to Salt Lake City, Utah. which I have to say...from the air...why do people want to live in that gray, brown, bleak place????...but back to the story .
From Salt Lake City we had to fly to Los Angeles, CA.....sort of like one step forward, two steps back that saved us approx $800.00!...then finally at 11:55pm...we boarded our flight to Orlando! I did manage to doze off a few times..(.and the medicine I got from my Dr makes this kind of travel so much better for me...no anxiety!)...but we landed in Orlando at 7:30 am...and felt like I was in a time warp. Not to mention the cold I picked up somewhere along the way...felt fine the whole trip...yesterday morning the sneezing started, stuffy, then runny nose...lovely! The descent into STL City and then again into Orlando...was very hard on my left ear...I felt like one of those little babies...but I didn't cry...I just put pressure on it and counted the minutes till we landed. Mark M picked us up and drove us home...where we both promptly tried to go to sleep! John closed the windows and doors...he fell asleep in one room. I unpacked a few things, took and Alka Seltzer Plus and soaked in a hot Epsom salt Bath! and then fell asleep myself.....tonight we are both going to bed early!...and when I am more with it...I'll share some photos and stories from the trip. We had a great time!

Monday Morning

In case any one wonders what we do when we are not dealing with crazy patrons...haha we empty the book drop. On Monday mornings it looks like this....here's my half of the pile. Susan actually filled up one cart before I got there...to get a head start. We had almost everything checked in by opening time...but more kept coming.... *Once we pick up the pile as shown...we roll the cart back into the space...We only move it out on weekends or holidays...because the regular book holder would fill up.

She called back

When I got to work yesterday...I found a note from a co-worker telling me the crazy lady I dealt with on Thursday called Friday (after I left) to apologize. She was very embarrassed about the way she had acted overreacted!. So...I give her credit for that...but I hope I'm not there next time she comes in....I will head for the back! haha

All In A Day's Work....

Every so often some one asks me "How stressful can it be working at a Library?" and to answer that question I will tell you about a patron I dealt with yesterday. But first...my day started out great with my usual Story Time program. I had some of my regular little friends and then we had a visit from a local pre-school. Sometimes when a big (17 kids and 5 adults) come to visit...my regular kiddies don't know how to react...they are kind of used to our little group...but yesterday they did great! No one seemed to mind all the extra folks...which was a good thing...because we were celebrating Dr. Seuss. I love his wacky books...but most of them are a little long and I didn't want the kids to get restless. I finally settled on 3 titles..."Happy Birthday to You", "A Wocket In My Pocket" and "I Wish I Had Duck Feet". I only read part of the first book...but enough to get the story and reading Duck Feet last was PERFECT!...they all sat quietly and they even clapped when I was done. we watched "Green Eggs and Ham" and then we made little blue"hats" with Seuss-like fish on them.
After ST it was out to the front desk where things were going along just fine for most of the day and then my LAST patron of the day (thank goodness) was a woman a few years older than me. She came to pick up a book she had requested...however she could not find her card. I asked for her Driver's license...
OK but it's from out of state. (just a little side not...as she's getting out her DL I notice her 1 1/2 inch nails painted black...sort of like talons...they were awful!)
No problem...as long as you're in the system I should be able to find your card #.
Ooops...looks like your card has expired. I can't check anything out to you until we update the card.
What do you need?
Looks like last time you brought in a lease agreement, we can use that, unless of course you own the property.
Why didn't anyone tell me that??????
Ma'am I'm not sure who you talked to
They told me to bring in my driver's license, if I knew I needed that lease I would've brought it. (note...she's getting a little worked up at this point)
Well, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do..
What...you mean I can't have the book!!!!????
No, I'm sorry...(showed her the brochure again that explains what we need). I'm really sorry...I don't know who you talked to...
EITHER do I...I wish I did...because if I did I would like to strangle her...I would like to strangle her and cut her up into 24,000 pieces!
(to myself...okay this lady is definitely nuts)
(to her) Ma'am I'm really sorry..
This is ridiculous...I'm leaving and I am never coming back here...I don't even want the stupid book.
well, I'm sorry...but remember if you decide to go to another library, keep in mind we all have the same requirements.

Okay...glad she left the building...wasn't looking for anyone to strangle......

Next gal came to the desk...smiled at me and said "How are you doing today?"
"Oh I'm doing just great"
to myself
(Thank God I am getting out of here!)
...mainly because a person like that just throws your whole day off...and it's hard to get back on track and concentrate...since I was leaving I could call people and vent a little, turn the music on and UP, roll the windows down and remember what a lovely day it was)

So just remember...98% of our patrons are normal happy people...but DO we have our share of weirdos!