Set the alarm last night for 6:00 a.m., and was actually up after the first push of the snooze button! I figure that my body will have adjusted by the time we leave here… and that I’ll also finally have learned my way around!
The first thing I checked this morning was my email, and guess what? There was an email that came in late last night from our coach. Our game this morning was cancelled! Bummer. The reason given was because the other team couldn’t get any refs, but our coach thinks it's because they're afraid of playing us because they found out how good we were. LOL! Nice thought, but I doubt it. After seeing some of these local teams play -- WHOA! They are soooo good! 'Course, we found out that most of them have at least 2-hour DAILY practices, too!
One of my friends wondered at how in the world I could stand this weather here when I am really a “California” girl. LOL! Well, I just grit my teeth and forge outside the front door, is how I do it! Can't think about it... BUT, Ottawans I think just do the same. TONS of layers, unfashionable hats, WHATEVER it takes to stay warm! We're all a bunch of Pillsbury dough boys walking around! LOL!
It's the driving that gets me... I'm white knuckling it all the way on the roads, even though they're kept very clear. But when I see six-foot high banks of snow along the sides of the road, I'm nervous. And the windshield scraping in the mornings... yuck! And I mean SCRAPING! I'm almost afraid of breaking the windshield! We have to do that in Taos, too, but NOTHING like this! LOL!
It's the people here that make the daily grind in this weather all worthwhile, though. LOVE Canadians!!! And HOCKEY, of course! LOL! Hockey is almost a way of life here. Derek's ready to move here! LOL!
I've kind of come to the conclusion that people can walk on the sidewalks and streets so easily because they all can skate well. I think when you have the confidence to skate, walking on ice is no big deal. Does that make sense? I mean, I'm tiptoeing everywhere. LOL!
So I’m waiting for an email to see if the boys are going to get together to go sledding on one of the “sledding hills” here in Ottawa. Guess it’s a big deal here --- well, gee, of COURSE it would be a big deal with this kind of weather! LOL! Pond hockey tonight in one of the neighborhood parks. The parks here have not only swings and slides, but an ice rink! Cool!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Holiday Travels, Part 5
Today's been a "down" day for us, so we could actually catch up on some things. I'm trying to set up iTunes for Derek right now. "Santa" brought him an iPod and an iTunes gift card, and I'm trying to help him figure it out, but, boy! This new stuff is another language for me! LOL!
Also figured out how to use Derek’s movie camera, and went downstairs and took a few minutes of film of Derek and his friend playing “hall hockey”.
And then I went and found a gas station to fill up the car, and figured out how to enter the underground parking structure for the local grocery store that I walked to the other day. It was interesting to see how the parking tickets worked. Take a ticket (thin paper type), take it in to get validated. The validation was done by the clerk at the register taking the ticket to a machine and punching in the numbers from my ticket. Then when I left the parking structure, I had to manually punch in the code that was now on my ticket. Interesting! (is anyone else fascinated by these little differences like I am?)
FINALLY connected with Mom! My cell phone is iffy at best in getting through to anyone. Mom called here at the hotel (and I happened to be here!). She’s at the river for New Year’s, but had to leave early because the heater went out at the house. *sigh* What else will happen? LOL! …my camera also quit, so it doesn’t look like this “dark cloud” that’s been hanging over us has moved on yet. :( Both Mom and I are just flabbergasted at all the stuff, so we just have to kind of chuckle in spite of the irritations and sadness.
Our last errand was to walk to the bakery and pick up some goodies for our night time TV tonight. I told Derek he needed to bundle up because it was really cold outside (about 17 degrees F.) He poo-pooed it, of course, but I finally got him to wear his heavy coat and big hat we got him before we left. When we stepped outside and started walking, he said to me “it IS cold out here!” LOL! Yup, maybe now he’ll bundle up a bit more before going out, huh?
Also figured out how to use Derek’s movie camera, and went downstairs and took a few minutes of film of Derek and his friend playing “hall hockey”.
And then I went and found a gas station to fill up the car, and figured out how to enter the underground parking structure for the local grocery store that I walked to the other day. It was interesting to see how the parking tickets worked. Take a ticket (thin paper type), take it in to get validated. The validation was done by the clerk at the register taking the ticket to a machine and punching in the numbers from my ticket. Then when I left the parking structure, I had to manually punch in the code that was now on my ticket. Interesting! (is anyone else fascinated by these little differences like I am?)
FINALLY connected with Mom! My cell phone is iffy at best in getting through to anyone. Mom called here at the hotel (and I happened to be here!). She’s at the river for New Year’s, but had to leave early because the heater went out at the house. *sigh* What else will happen? LOL! …my camera also quit, so it doesn’t look like this “dark cloud” that’s been hanging over us has moved on yet. :( Both Mom and I are just flabbergasted at all the stuff, so we just have to kind of chuckle in spite of the irritations and sadness.
Our last errand was to walk to the bakery and pick up some goodies for our night time TV tonight. I told Derek he needed to bundle up because it was really cold outside (about 17 degrees F.) He poo-pooed it, of course, but I finally got him to wear his heavy coat and big hat we got him before we left. When we stepped outside and started walking, he said to me “it IS cold out here!” LOL! Yup, maybe now he’ll bundle up a bit more before going out, huh?
Monday, December 29, 2008
Holiday Travels, Part 4
Last night we went and watched one of the International Junior Championship games – U.S.A. vs. the Czech Republic. U.S. won! It was played where the Ottawa Senators play (ScotiaBank Place), and the place was PACKED!! Over 20,000 people there to watch! These are kids just out or almost out of high school and hopefully on their way to either the Olympics or the NHL. And the games are ongoing, playing one game right after the other, with people filing in and out with no time to clean up the stadium. It was a mess there! It’s been the only time we’ve really seen trash anywhere.
We had a game this morning across the Rideau River and won, making it two games we’ve won! Then we went to Maryanne’s (the coach’s wife and our team manager) mom’s house where her mom had TONS of food for the boys! Pete’s (our coach) parents were there, too, and it was interesting to hear some of the stories they told about Pete in his early hockey years.
Then we went to our third game, and lost... boo hoo! The Canadian people we’ve talked to seem surprised we’re good, though! (ha ha!). But if you saw some of the other teams – whoa. Some are REALLY exceptionally good!!! But like people reminded us, most of the kids here in Canada have practice two hours EVERY DAY. Wow.
Tomorrow we have a skills competition, and then I think another exhibition game, and another exhibition game on Wednesday, with a pizza party and pond skating/hockey over at Maryanne’s mom’s house for New Year’s Eve. They have a park across the street with slides and swings and also an ice rink (they call it a pond)!! I guess it’s common here… cool!
With the unusual warm weather here, the canals are not frozen hard enough to skate on yet, so the New Year’s festivities that the town had planned have been canceled until it freezes harder – which could happen in a couple of days, as it’s supposed to turn really cold by tomorrow, I think. Maybe a little snow, too.
Oh! I forgot – on our drive to this morning’s game, we went past the Parliament buildings and the American Embassy! Huge. AND the Prime Minister was at our second game watching his own boy play hockey on the other rink! There were only four secret service guys with him, too. Interesting!
Well, Derek’s back from the hot tub with his friends. And I need to look up maps for tomorrow to write down directions. So I’ll try to write more of our adventures tomorrow!
We had a game this morning across the Rideau River and won, making it two games we’ve won! Then we went to Maryanne’s (the coach’s wife and our team manager) mom’s house where her mom had TONS of food for the boys! Pete’s (our coach) parents were there, too, and it was interesting to hear some of the stories they told about Pete in his early hockey years.
Then we went to our third game, and lost... boo hoo! The Canadian people we’ve talked to seem surprised we’re good, though! (ha ha!). But if you saw some of the other teams – whoa. Some are REALLY exceptionally good!!! But like people reminded us, most of the kids here in Canada have practice two hours EVERY DAY. Wow.
Tomorrow we have a skills competition, and then I think another exhibition game, and another exhibition game on Wednesday, with a pizza party and pond skating/hockey over at Maryanne’s mom’s house for New Year’s Eve. They have a park across the street with slides and swings and also an ice rink (they call it a pond)!! I guess it’s common here… cool!
With the unusual warm weather here, the canals are not frozen hard enough to skate on yet, so the New Year’s festivities that the town had planned have been canceled until it freezes harder – which could happen in a couple of days, as it’s supposed to turn really cold by tomorrow, I think. Maybe a little snow, too.
Oh! I forgot – on our drive to this morning’s game, we went past the Parliament buildings and the American Embassy! Huge. AND the Prime Minister was at our second game watching his own boy play hockey on the other rink! There were only four secret service guys with him, too. Interesting!
Well, Derek’s back from the hot tub with his friends. And I need to look up maps for tomorrow to write down directions. So I’ll try to write more of our adventures tomorrow!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Holiday Travels, Part 3
Morning…
We just woke up -- 9:30 here, 5:30 California time!! My body is not used to the time difference. Have to leave in about a half hour, and Derek is already pacing. Have to find a quick breakfast on the way or something. He went up to his friend's room, but his friend is still asleep, too! LOL! But his mom (a good German woman) is already out walking and looking for food to bring back to feed her son and hubby. *sigh* She has too much energy and dedication for me! Plus, the ice outside makes me really hesitant...
Afternoon…
Ottawa is just FILLED with hockey!! There are banners all over everywhere we’ve gone advertising all the tournaments and games going on. The TV is FILLED with hockey, and we see kids and people everywhere with sticks and bags. It’s awesome! There are dedicated hockey channels on TV here. The local TV channel for Ottawa is called “Rogers” and has televised some of our games! And, yes, some of the major hockey channels are televising some of the games going on here, but I don’t think OUR games. I think it’s the International Junior Championship games (IIHA) that Steve (my brother) is seeing in California.
This city is HUGE. Freeways everywhere, of course, with all the little streets just like downtown L.A. I’m LOST. I am SO GLAD I printed out a bunch of maps to some of the rinks before we left (there’s something like 200 rinks here in the Ottawa area!!!), as I have been the lead car for some of us to get to games. BUT – I never thought about how to get BACK. Hahahah! It’s not like we can just reverse the instructions, as the freeway ramps are NOT at every exit on both sides, one-way streets, etc. So we’ve been following one other person who has a nav system to get us all back home. And then with some of our side trip games and visiting, it’s like we have a long caravan so we can all get there.
Canadians are funny drivers! They’re a little “loose” about the rules – speeding like crazy on ice, in rain and fog, and probably do so in snow, too. Lines for lanes are loosely followed, too, weaving around slow cars, parked cars, or cars turning without a hint of slowing. Red lights are met with cars easing into the middle of intersections to wait for the light to change. Except for the speeding in bad weather, I’m finding it rather comfortable!
And they’re CLEAN! Oh, my gosh, EVERY single person I’ve seen go to the restroom washes their hands – and so thoroughly, too!!! The men I’ve seen come out of the restroom are still shaking their hands dry, too. Hardly any trash anywhere, either. Friendly, polite, and easy-going. But the French language rules here – it’s probably more prevalent than Spanish in So. Calif.! Most people speak English, though, so no problem.
We haven't explored the canal yet, but after our game in Quebec, another mom (who’s German) and I walked to the grocery store ("oh, it's just right down the street"). Ha! I should know better than to interpret “down the street” from a European as meaning a couple of blocks. It was probably ten blocks!! Ugh. She's a stout woman with boundless energy and I was huffing and puffing just trying to jog to stay up with her. LOL! Hauling four bags of food back was not an easy chore for me, especially over ice. But I did it without falling or dropping any bags! Yay!
Plus, we stopped at the bakery around the corner (really around the corner) on the way back, and we got a couple of freshly baked rolls to go with our dinner. ‘Course, it was obvious we were not from here, because we had no clue what the system was – we both asked for a bag to put our stuff in, when we were supposed to grab a tray and tongs and load the tray up and then take it to the counter to be bagged. LOL! I just find these little differences too fun!
So nice to have FOOD in our hotel room! Derek was STARVED. We have a full kitchen so I can cook and save money by not eating out. He only had part of a hot dog at the rink this morning (cooked the "French" way, of course) that I was worried he wouldn't even take a bite of. At least he ate some of it. LOL! We had pasta and crab and veggies and fresh-baked rolls from the bakery for dinner. Spent $56 CD for the week so far -- meals and snacks. So much cheaper than eating out!
We were in KEH BECK (Quebec) this morning. Hardly anyone spoke English, including the referees. Derek told me after the game that he had no clue what the refs were telling him on the ice because it was all some "foreign" language. LOL! And the girl at the concession stand didn’t know English, and we both finally realized we were both saying “hot dog” but we couldn’t understand each other. So funny!
Yes, this IS the Hockey Capital of the World! I have never seen so many types of noise makers for hockey, either! Bought one for about $7 CD.
Oh, BTW, our team beat the Quebec team. We have to win three games to go on to play-offs. For some reason, I don't get nervous until it looks like they go to championship games. Then I fall apart and get scared I'm going to "jinx" them by not doing the same things I have been doing! LOL!
Well, off to another hockey game -- not ours this time. It's the World Junior Championship game. I think the kids are high school or just out. Anyway, it's about 2 levels below the NHL I think and is supposed to be a big deal (clueless here; my hockey education doesn't go that far! LOL!) Maps... yikes! Gotta go look up how to get there.
We just woke up -- 9:30 here, 5:30 California time!! My body is not used to the time difference. Have to leave in about a half hour, and Derek is already pacing. Have to find a quick breakfast on the way or something. He went up to his friend's room, but his friend is still asleep, too! LOL! But his mom (a good German woman) is already out walking and looking for food to bring back to feed her son and hubby. *sigh* She has too much energy and dedication for me! Plus, the ice outside makes me really hesitant...
Afternoon…
Ottawa is just FILLED with hockey!! There are banners all over everywhere we’ve gone advertising all the tournaments and games going on. The TV is FILLED with hockey, and we see kids and people everywhere with sticks and bags. It’s awesome! There are dedicated hockey channels on TV here. The local TV channel for Ottawa is called “Rogers” and has televised some of our games! And, yes, some of the major hockey channels are televising some of the games going on here, but I don’t think OUR games. I think it’s the International Junior Championship games (IIHA) that Steve (my brother) is seeing in California.
This city is HUGE. Freeways everywhere, of course, with all the little streets just like downtown L.A. I’m LOST. I am SO GLAD I printed out a bunch of maps to some of the rinks before we left (there’s something like 200 rinks here in the Ottawa area!!!), as I have been the lead car for some of us to get to games. BUT – I never thought about how to get BACK. Hahahah! It’s not like we can just reverse the instructions, as the freeway ramps are NOT at every exit on both sides, one-way streets, etc. So we’ve been following one other person who has a nav system to get us all back home. And then with some of our side trip games and visiting, it’s like we have a long caravan so we can all get there.
Canadians are funny drivers! They’re a little “loose” about the rules – speeding like crazy on ice, in rain and fog, and probably do so in snow, too. Lines for lanes are loosely followed, too, weaving around slow cars, parked cars, or cars turning without a hint of slowing. Red lights are met with cars easing into the middle of intersections to wait for the light to change. Except for the speeding in bad weather, I’m finding it rather comfortable!
And they’re CLEAN! Oh, my gosh, EVERY single person I’ve seen go to the restroom washes their hands – and so thoroughly, too!!! The men I’ve seen come out of the restroom are still shaking their hands dry, too. Hardly any trash anywhere, either. Friendly, polite, and easy-going. But the French language rules here – it’s probably more prevalent than Spanish in So. Calif.! Most people speak English, though, so no problem.
We haven't explored the canal yet, but after our game in Quebec, another mom (who’s German) and I walked to the grocery store ("oh, it's just right down the street"). Ha! I should know better than to interpret “down the street” from a European as meaning a couple of blocks. It was probably ten blocks!! Ugh. She's a stout woman with boundless energy and I was huffing and puffing just trying to jog to stay up with her. LOL! Hauling four bags of food back was not an easy chore for me, especially over ice. But I did it without falling or dropping any bags! Yay!
Plus, we stopped at the bakery around the corner (really around the corner) on the way back, and we got a couple of freshly baked rolls to go with our dinner. ‘Course, it was obvious we were not from here, because we had no clue what the system was – we both asked for a bag to put our stuff in, when we were supposed to grab a tray and tongs and load the tray up and then take it to the counter to be bagged. LOL! I just find these little differences too fun!
So nice to have FOOD in our hotel room! Derek was STARVED. We have a full kitchen so I can cook and save money by not eating out. He only had part of a hot dog at the rink this morning (cooked the "French" way, of course) that I was worried he wouldn't even take a bite of. At least he ate some of it. LOL! We had pasta and crab and veggies and fresh-baked rolls from the bakery for dinner. Spent $56 CD for the week so far -- meals and snacks. So much cheaper than eating out!
We were in KEH BECK (Quebec) this morning. Hardly anyone spoke English, including the referees. Derek told me after the game that he had no clue what the refs were telling him on the ice because it was all some "foreign" language. LOL! And the girl at the concession stand didn’t know English, and we both finally realized we were both saying “hot dog” but we couldn’t understand each other. So funny!
Yes, this IS the Hockey Capital of the World! I have never seen so many types of noise makers for hockey, either! Bought one for about $7 CD.
Oh, BTW, our team beat the Quebec team. We have to win three games to go on to play-offs. For some reason, I don't get nervous until it looks like they go to championship games. Then I fall apart and get scared I'm going to "jinx" them by not doing the same things I have been doing! LOL!
Well, off to another hockey game -- not ours this time. It's the World Junior Championship game. I think the kids are high school or just out. Anyway, it's about 2 levels below the NHL I think and is supposed to be a big deal (clueless here; my hockey education doesn't go that far! LOL!) Maps... yikes! Gotta go look up how to get there.
Holiday Travels, Part 2
The day after Christmas Derek and I were scheduled to take off to Canada for the Bell Capital Cup World Tournament.
It's a week-long tournament, with about 500 teams from all over the world coming to compete. Team New Mexico was entered! It's only PeeWees, too. And it's held in Ottawa, Ontario. Our itinerary was to fly into Buffalo, New York, rent a car, drive to Niagara Falls for the first night, then drive on in to Ottawa for the tournament.
My trip so far has had some really weird MAJOR glitches...
At 5:00 a.m. the day after Christmas the Super Shuttle was at the door to pick us up to take us to the airport. Okay, fine. The next passengers we picked up turned out to be con artists, trying to get out of paying the full fare. *groan* Cops were called at the airport. Really felt sorry for our driver. Kind of rattles a person to have all this going on before you've had your first cup of coffee!
Sat next to an old guy on the plane who farted the whole way!!! ...was blaming Derek at first, of course...
At the Buffalo airport... wellllll... *sigh* Went to pick up my rental car...
Now, before I continue, when anyone leaves on a long trip, on your list of things to do for a trip, do you ever check when your driver's license expires??? Well, do you?
Ha! *I* don't. And guess what? My license expired last friggin week!!!!! We don't get notification in New Mexico. BUT we also have 30 days to renew it, too... and we can't renew online, either.
So they wouldn't give me my rental car without a current driver's license.
The next four hours I spent crying -- no -- SOBBING -- on the phone to my mom, my brother, every single "info" person and ticket agent in the entire airport, while Derek sat with all our luggage ready to just turn around and go home.
The airport literally shut down, so no planes out for the rest of the night, no buses for the rest of the night, etc. etc. etc.
Lots of ideas and NOTHING panning out.
*&%@^%*&%$#!! along with Excedrin Headache #401.
Then a girl came running up to me. "My brother can't get across the border to pick me up and I understand you need to get across!"
Uh...
"I have a license! You can use my license if you'll drive me to Niagara!"
Uh... *blink blink* well, yeah, sure, okay...
(uh, God? May I have a word with you?)
So we used her license to get the car (and I had to pay another big amount for stupid insurance since they wouldn't let us go without insuring her because they "knew" she wasn't on my insurance), and she drove us to Niagara in my rental car, where I dropped her off with her brother.
So Derek and I cruised Niagara at night, seeing the Festival of Lights and the Falls at night, and then went and collapsed in our hotel room.
Now, in Niagara the next morning when we woke up it was pouring rain and very foggy. It took us a good hour to find our way out of there and to the highway heading to Toronto. But we did manage to go up the Skyliner (humongous tower) that overlooks the Falls, and got to really see them! BEAUTIFUL!!
Now, that rain and fog followed us ALL THE WAY to Ottawa. Took us 8 hours instead of 5, so we missed our "exhibition" games and pizza party that first night. Which I didn't really mind, because it was like an ice rink outside from all the rain. Plus I was physically and emotionally exhausted with huge puffy eyes from all the crying I did at the Buffalo airport.
And then our hotel here in Ottawa charged me for parking and internet. Pooey.
And then my credit card was declined for the room. Pooey again.
Have an email in to Mom. HELP! ...again...
It's a week-long tournament, with about 500 teams from all over the world coming to compete. Team New Mexico was entered! It's only PeeWees, too. And it's held in Ottawa, Ontario. Our itinerary was to fly into Buffalo, New York, rent a car, drive to Niagara Falls for the first night, then drive on in to Ottawa for the tournament.
My trip so far has had some really weird MAJOR glitches...
At 5:00 a.m. the day after Christmas the Super Shuttle was at the door to pick us up to take us to the airport. Okay, fine. The next passengers we picked up turned out to be con artists, trying to get out of paying the full fare. *groan* Cops were called at the airport. Really felt sorry for our driver. Kind of rattles a person to have all this going on before you've had your first cup of coffee!
Sat next to an old guy on the plane who farted the whole way!!! ...was blaming Derek at first, of course...
At the Buffalo airport... wellllll... *sigh* Went to pick up my rental car...
Now, before I continue, when anyone leaves on a long trip, on your list of things to do for a trip, do you ever check when your driver's license expires??? Well, do you?
Ha! *I* don't. And guess what? My license expired last friggin week!!!!! We don't get notification in New Mexico. BUT we also have 30 days to renew it, too... and we can't renew online, either.
So they wouldn't give me my rental car without a current driver's license.
The next four hours I spent crying -- no -- SOBBING -- on the phone to my mom, my brother, every single "info" person and ticket agent in the entire airport, while Derek sat with all our luggage ready to just turn around and go home.
The airport literally shut down, so no planes out for the rest of the night, no buses for the rest of the night, etc. etc. etc.
Lots of ideas and NOTHING panning out.
*&%@^%*&%$#!! along with Excedrin Headache #401.
Then a girl came running up to me. "My brother can't get across the border to pick me up and I understand you need to get across!"
Uh...
"I have a license! You can use my license if you'll drive me to Niagara!"
Uh... *blink blink* well, yeah, sure, okay...
(uh, God? May I have a word with you?)
So we used her license to get the car (and I had to pay another big amount for stupid insurance since they wouldn't let us go without insuring her because they "knew" she wasn't on my insurance), and she drove us to Niagara in my rental car, where I dropped her off with her brother.
So Derek and I cruised Niagara at night, seeing the Festival of Lights and the Falls at night, and then went and collapsed in our hotel room.
Now, in Niagara the next morning when we woke up it was pouring rain and very foggy. It took us a good hour to find our way out of there and to the highway heading to Toronto. But we did manage to go up the Skyliner (humongous tower) that overlooks the Falls, and got to really see them! BEAUTIFUL!!
Now, that rain and fog followed us ALL THE WAY to Ottawa. Took us 8 hours instead of 5, so we missed our "exhibition" games and pizza party that first night. Which I didn't really mind, because it was like an ice rink outside from all the rain. Plus I was physically and emotionally exhausted with huge puffy eyes from all the crying I did at the Buffalo airport.
And then our hotel here in Ottawa charged me for parking and internet. Pooey.
And then my credit card was declined for the room. Pooey again.
Have an email in to Mom. HELP! ...again...
Holiday Travels, Part 1
As many of you already know, I make it a point to spend Christmas with my mom in Anaheim. With Derek’s rigorous hockey schedule this year, our time with Mom this year was shortened – or adjusted, you might say.
Derek is on three hockey teams this year: for our local recreational hockey, he is on the team for his age (PeeWee), and also the team one level up (Bantam). Practices are twice a week here in town, with games nearly every weekend. This puts him at playing two to three games a weekend, depending upon his endurance.
He is also on New Mexico’s state competitive team, Team New Mexico. This is the team he has to try out for and be good enough to make – which he did! But the parents have to make the commitment just like the player by making sure their child makes all practices and tournaments. Practices are two to three times a week, and all out of town, with the nearest practice a 1 ½ hour drive one way, most being a 2 ½ hour drive one way. He has at least one tournament a month, all out of state. These are usually three-day tournaments, requiring a lot of driving to another state, plus a hotel room and eating out. Not cheap, by far!
So for our Christmas travels this year, we couldn’t leave until the weekend before Christmas, cutting our shopping time to the three days before Christmas. We left Sunday, December 21 early in the morning, stopped in Santa Fe for Derek to play two Bantam games, then continued on to Albuquerque where he did comp practice. Then we hit I-40 for California, arriving at Mom’s Monday just after noon, where I madly started shopping for Christmas!
It was so great to be with Mom! We did a lot of wrapping and baking in preparation for Christmas, catching up on talk. We didn’t make it to Church Christmas Eve (we were just too tired!) but did after opening our presents on Christmas Day. After coming home from Church, we baked our last dishes for our family get-together, Mom napped, and then we were off to my brother Steve’s for our family dinner.
Now, I have to tell you why Steve was hosting our dinner. First of all, it’s too much work for Mom at her house. Second, we couldn’t have it at my sister’s because she was still trying to clean up the mess the fires caused. Did I write about the fires? Her house is one of three houses left on her street – the rest burned down in wild fires. She has soot everywhere, lost all her food in her freezers because of the electric being turned off during the fires, the pool is black from ashes, etc. etc. etc. They were able to move back in just last week after installing new air conditioners, hepa filters, and new ducts throughout the house. Still a lot of work to do! But at least her house didn’t burn down with all their stuff in it!!
So we all decided to travel down to Steve and Barbara’s this year. Yeah, it’s a long way (45 minute drive for us, longer for Jeny), but worth it! One thing I absolutely love about our get-togethers is the FOOD! We have such great cooks in our family! My contribution? I made sour dough “hockey pucks”. Yeah, I sometimes wonder why my genes didn’t include the cooking genes the rest of us got! LOL! *sigh*
Anyway, I drove my truck instead of riding with Mom and Cal (my little brother) because Derek and I probably would be leaving early to finish packing for our hockey trip the next morning (more about that later). It was raining the whole way down. But it was nice to have my truck because we could easily put all the presents for everyone in the back! Plus, I could “mark” Steve’s house on my nav system… I NEVER remember how to get to his house! So that was nice…
My adventures took a down-turn at Christmas dinner. *sigh* 'Course, they're funny, but of course not at THE TIME. Since I was in my Church clothes still for dinner, I didn't have a place to put my truck keys, so clipped them to my purse (usually clip them to my Levis belt loop). After I had helped to unload all the presents and food, but before I could get back to the truck to get my purse in the truck, Derek, like a good kid, LOCKED the truck for me. AAAGGGGHHHHH! So there sat my keys on my purse locked in the truck on the front seat.
Okay, I have a Tundra. The guy who came out from Auto Club took one look at my truck and said "no can do". Tundras you just can't get into! Well, great; comforting thought that no one can break in, but how do *I* get in, huh?
It's pouring rain by now. The Auto Club guy and I were literally soaked to the skin trying to get SOMEthing inside the cab to reach the keys to push the button on them to unlock the truck. In the meantime, in my brother's quiet, upscale neighborhood on this festive holiday, as soon as the wire breached the air inside the cab, my truck went majorly ballistic. *sigh* so embarrassing...
Everyone was done eating by the time I re-entered, sopping wet, but jubilant with my purse in hand!
Okay, so that was Christmas... on to our trip...
Derek is on three hockey teams this year: for our local recreational hockey, he is on the team for his age (PeeWee), and also the team one level up (Bantam). Practices are twice a week here in town, with games nearly every weekend. This puts him at playing two to three games a weekend, depending upon his endurance.
He is also on New Mexico’s state competitive team, Team New Mexico. This is the team he has to try out for and be good enough to make – which he did! But the parents have to make the commitment just like the player by making sure their child makes all practices and tournaments. Practices are two to three times a week, and all out of town, with the nearest practice a 1 ½ hour drive one way, most being a 2 ½ hour drive one way. He has at least one tournament a month, all out of state. These are usually three-day tournaments, requiring a lot of driving to another state, plus a hotel room and eating out. Not cheap, by far!
So for our Christmas travels this year, we couldn’t leave until the weekend before Christmas, cutting our shopping time to the three days before Christmas. We left Sunday, December 21 early in the morning, stopped in Santa Fe for Derek to play two Bantam games, then continued on to Albuquerque where he did comp practice. Then we hit I-40 for California, arriving at Mom’s Monday just after noon, where I madly started shopping for Christmas!
It was so great to be with Mom! We did a lot of wrapping and baking in preparation for Christmas, catching up on talk. We didn’t make it to Church Christmas Eve (we were just too tired!) but did after opening our presents on Christmas Day. After coming home from Church, we baked our last dishes for our family get-together, Mom napped, and then we were off to my brother Steve’s for our family dinner.
Now, I have to tell you why Steve was hosting our dinner. First of all, it’s too much work for Mom at her house. Second, we couldn’t have it at my sister’s because she was still trying to clean up the mess the fires caused. Did I write about the fires? Her house is one of three houses left on her street – the rest burned down in wild fires. She has soot everywhere, lost all her food in her freezers because of the electric being turned off during the fires, the pool is black from ashes, etc. etc. etc. They were able to move back in just last week after installing new air conditioners, hepa filters, and new ducts throughout the house. Still a lot of work to do! But at least her house didn’t burn down with all their stuff in it!!
So we all decided to travel down to Steve and Barbara’s this year. Yeah, it’s a long way (45 minute drive for us, longer for Jeny), but worth it! One thing I absolutely love about our get-togethers is the FOOD! We have such great cooks in our family! My contribution? I made sour dough “hockey pucks”. Yeah, I sometimes wonder why my genes didn’t include the cooking genes the rest of us got! LOL! *sigh*
Anyway, I drove my truck instead of riding with Mom and Cal (my little brother) because Derek and I probably would be leaving early to finish packing for our hockey trip the next morning (more about that later). It was raining the whole way down. But it was nice to have my truck because we could easily put all the presents for everyone in the back! Plus, I could “mark” Steve’s house on my nav system… I NEVER remember how to get to his house! So that was nice…
My adventures took a down-turn at Christmas dinner. *sigh* 'Course, they're funny, but of course not at THE TIME. Since I was in my Church clothes still for dinner, I didn't have a place to put my truck keys, so clipped them to my purse (usually clip them to my Levis belt loop). After I had helped to unload all the presents and food, but before I could get back to the truck to get my purse in the truck, Derek, like a good kid, LOCKED the truck for me. AAAGGGGHHHHH! So there sat my keys on my purse locked in the truck on the front seat.
Okay, I have a Tundra. The guy who came out from Auto Club took one look at my truck and said "no can do". Tundras you just can't get into! Well, great; comforting thought that no one can break in, but how do *I* get in, huh?
It's pouring rain by now. The Auto Club guy and I were literally soaked to the skin trying to get SOMEthing inside the cab to reach the keys to push the button on them to unlock the truck. In the meantime, in my brother's quiet, upscale neighborhood on this festive holiday, as soon as the wire breached the air inside the cab, my truck went majorly ballistic. *sigh* so embarrassing...
Everyone was done eating by the time I re-entered, sopping wet, but jubilant with my purse in hand!
Okay, so that was Christmas... on to our trip...
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