Family Values

I stopped by an open house this past Sunday afternoon. Nice house. Brick construction. Newer kitchen. Four bedrooms. Two and a half baths.

I wasn't thinking about skiing this day. I had not thought about skiing for quite some time, actually. Until I saw these three sets of kid skis and boots.

Anyone who has skied with a child knows both the joys and the perils of such risky behavior. Kids are unpredictable. Kids have wills of their own. Kids are often a lot like their parents.

Some kids go down the hill way too fast. Some kids make you carry them down the mountain in your arms because they are so afraid. Some kids will go up and down the mountain with you all day long. Provided you have enough candy in your pocket.

I salute you, "Mr. Northwest Evanston Dad with Three Sets of Kid's Skis in the Basement." You have earned my respect. And I share your family values.

What I did NOT do this Winter Break.

No kidding. 

The Obsessive Skier drove to and from Colorado in the past 7 days and did NOT go skiing.

But he did think about it. A lot.

Lake Effect Snow

We enjoyed some lake effect snow this Christmas holiday.

Too bad there's no such thing as "lake effect mountains". :-/

Chicagoland, Y U NO SNOW?

City of the Big Shoulders?
More like, "City of the Big Talk-About-Snow-But-Never-Get-Any-ers".

Where is all the snow that you Chicagolanders told me about before I moved here?
According to the Chicago Tribune, today's un-snowy forecast sets a new record for snowlessness here.

The Obsessive Skier is experiencing serious snow withdrawal symptoms and he's not happy about it.

Mount Trashmore, You Will Be Mine.

The "Big Hill" at Evanston's Mount Trashmore.

Oh yes, you will be mine.

The lid to the recycle bin was frozen shut this morning and that means only one thing. Ski season in Evanston is right around the corner. Soon, I'll be taking the first turns of my new life in Illinois on the biggest hill in our new town: Mount Trashmore.

Evidently, Evanston's Mount Trashmore is known around these parts as "THE BIG HILL".

What's THE BIG HILL? Here's what evanstonpatch.com says:  "If you're uninitiated, it's the nirvana of sledding/snowboarding/tubing and tobogganing.  It's a steep, icy slope, full of moguls -- a straight shot down – notwithstanding the other sledders/snowboarders/tubers and tobogganists.

If you've done THE BIG HILL before, you know it's also refered to as the "E.R. trip waiting to happen."  Or the Nightmare on Oakton Street."  Or the "I-can't-believe-I'm-letting-my-kids-go-down-this-deathtrap."  Or, for the more adventurous of us, the "I-can't-believe-my-kids-talked-me-into-going-down-this-lawsuit-of-a-hill-but-I'll-be-damned-if-I-let-them-go-down-it-alone" hill."

Oh yeah. Bring it on.

How Will I Vote? Like this...

Genius.