Missing Karate and the New Year

I haven't made it to karate in three weeks, and I worry that Master Hammond is going to be pissed and want to kick my ass when I go back. In all fairness, I showed up two weeks ago and class was canceled without my knowledge, but what does that mean, in the end. I've been practicing, but it's never enough, and my original goal, which I haven't kept, was to practice drills and katas every day so when I did go back I'd be sharp as nails. So much for that one, but I do have two days.

One thing about living up here is that life really does slow down and change when Winter hits, and that suits me just fine, though the irony of it all is that there is still a lot of hard work to be done. The snow has stopped and the temps have warmed up considerably to a balmy 45 degrees. Consequently, the snow is melting and becoming crunchy, though I am glad that I raked that roof, for a number of reason. I believe that it will get cold again, so once again we get to enjoy the treachery of extreme icy conditions. Bummer.

We haven't done as much XC skiing as we'd wanted, but we've gotten a few good days in, and that's good enough, for now. The beauty of having your equipment before the season starts is that once the snow falls, you can hit the trails. Speaking of which, we've had considerable winds the past day or two, and the trails are littered with debris, though the snow is surprisingly good condition.

I haven't been so inspired to snowboard, though. I was so looking forward to Winter to hit the slopes, but when I went last week, the snow and wind made it way too difficult for a wimp like me. I couldn't see a thing, and man was it cold and miserable. To aggravate the situation, all of my friends, with the exception of Jake and Tammy, have left the slopes, and Jake is next. It's good for all of them to move on with their lives, but sad to see them gone.

We went skating last night at the Woodstock family skate and Audrey and Nicholas have come a long way in their skating. It's so great to see, and we had a lot of fun.

Looking to New Year's Eve as a quiet, family evening. We need to plan our meal, and I'm not sure what's on the menu. We were invited, once again, to Marie's, and I feel bad for bailing out, but it's just so hard dragging Audrey and Nicholas to a party that goes so late, so we'll see. I'd like to stop by, at least, but again, we'll see.

Sorry for being absent, lots going on but not much to report. My name is Fred Lee, and until the next time, thanks for reading.