Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all. We had a lovely, relaxing weekend. It was the kind of Thanksgiving that you don't bother putting the green beans in a fancy serving bowl. Skiing was just enough to get us totally addicted for the year again. Down in the city, it is almost 60 degrees but at the barn we were stoking the fire to stave off the 10 degree temperatures. Here's a few choice pics:
Pulling up to the The Barn after a 5 hour drive. Opening the car door to the freezing cold and dark and being greeted by the yard lights, a cleared path, a cute "Let It Snow" sign and a roaring fire in the kitchen woodstove. The kitchen was toasty, the whole house smelled terrific and we easily unloaded the car in minutes. That is Bill, our neighbor, friend, and general house helper.
Hello. This is Clarke talking. I am blogging today, instead of my mom. As you might have heard, lately it has been icing. The rain is freezing on to everything! We couldn't open the car door, because it was frozen. We heard on NCPR (North Country Public Radio) that it will snow over night. We were very excited. Yesterday, my dad brought up the idea of skiing today. We really wanted it to snow that night. It did, so we decided to go skiing. We left the house with all our equipment at about 9:15. We had to go to Cunningham's Ski Barn to get my brother new snow pants. We left there at about 9:4o(ish). We got at the mountain at 10:00 to find out that the hills might not be open, and if they do open, it will open up a little bit later. We decided to go get some breakfast at Wilmington (the town that Whiteface is in). We found Mel's Diner. It was delicious. I got chocolate chip pancakes with sausage. It was delicious. After having an amazing breakfast, we decided to go to Whiteface to see if any of the runs were open. It turns out that there were a couple runs open. Me and Oscar got our season passes for the year(WOOHOO!), my parents got a bunch of tickets to last them for a while, and we were off to the slopes! When we were getting our boots on, a guy from the Lake Placid News asked if he could interview us on why we like whiteface. Me and my brother said that we like it, because it has nicely kept ski slopes, and that you can go at your own pace (unlike hunter mountain). When we got on the slopes, we were pretty shaky at first (having not skied in 9-10 months) , but me and Oscar got back into the swing of things in 10 minutes. We skied until 2:30, and we just chilled in the lodge until 3:30.
This was a great day
To the barn, of course, for Thanksgiving. We opted for a quiet, "us only" Turkey Day for the first time ever? I think. While I thought I'd miss having time with big family (either williams or mitchell), we decided to make it totally nontraditional by scheduling a 46er climb. This would be our 4th and we think Phelps Mountain is our target. The only conundrum is that it has snowed much more than expected. We all have snow shoes but if it's really rough conditions, we might end up with a Thanksgiving ski instead of a 46er hike. Either way, should be interesting day.
I have been reprimanded by the boys for not keeping up with their favorite feature so today I present.....Doodle! Once again, I'm not sure if this is his official dog name but his owner and our great neighbor Bill calls him "Doodle". If you can picture a gruff, white-haired, extreme skiing guy, driving a John Deere Gator referring to a dog as "Doodle" or even better "Doodle Bug", you can just appreciate our neighbors. Doodle only comes by with Bill, much shyer and truth be told, better behaved then some of our solo dog visitors. His loyalty to Bill is endearing and makes the boys work really hard to win him over. Best of all, he sees our cats and casually yawns.
Holy Smokes. This weekend, serendipitously, a friend from the city needed a ride up to Lake Placid because they had traded their Vermont timeshare for a weekend stay at The Whiteface Lodge. This is one of those places that we had passed thousands of times on our way to the barn and sniffed our noses at these ridiculous fancy resorts and how they are ruining the feel of the Adirondacks. I am certainly glad I had never put those thoughts in writing because wowza, did we have fun. So as guests of our friends, we had full use of the facilities AND our friends were treating us to dinner at the restaurant. The boys ice skated at the private rink. They warmed themselves in the warming yurt with hot chocolate. They played pool and bowled in the private gaming room. They contemplated watching a movie in the...say it with me....private movie theatre. Meanwhile the adults hung by the incredible fireplace in the grandest of rooms and had civilized cocktails. The picture in the post is the outdoor lean-to where you can order cognac and cigars outside, next to the private rink. We then had a terrific dinner with great wine and ended our evening with s'mores (this was after four desserts btw) from one of the dozens of fire pits and bonfires throughout the property. My only regret is we didn't get a chance to swim in the heated, steamy outdoor pool. As my brother in law, Doug is fond of saying, "if rich people do it, chances are it's pretty fun." After our day of luxury and fun, we were still so excited to get back to our own estate, The Barn, with our private bathroom...which currently has a mystery leak. Neighbor Bill (and Doodle) to the rescue!
I mean, honestly.......every time i grab my camera, I am greeted by these faces, and I estimate I've deleted about 75% of them.! Sigh. Do girls do this?
So Clarke and Oscar, now the world can see what truly cherubic children you are. Love, Mom
Not originally mine but I am loyal. You must have a tolerance for spicy.
From Epicurius.com: Although this recipe doesn't produce the familiar-looking red chili--it's more green than red--it does turn out a chili that has become one of our staff favorites.
Servings: Makes about 14 cups, serving 6 to 8.
*available at Hispanic markets, some specialty foods shops, and some supermarkets
In a large heavy kettle cook the onions and 5 of the garlic cloves, minced, in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, add the cumin, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the turkey and cook the mixture, stirring and breaking up the lumps, until the turkey is no longer pink. Add the reserved chipotle purée, the reserved tomatillo purée, the broth, the bay leaf, the orégano, and the salt and simmer the mixture, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep the turkey barely covered, for 1 hour. Stir in the bell pepper, the canned green chilies, and the cornmeal and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Stir in the white beans, the coriander, the remaining 2 garlic cloves, minced, and salt to taste, simmer the chili for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the beans are heated through, and discard the bay leaf. The chili may be frozen or made 3 days in advance, cooled, uncovered, and kept covered and chilled. Serve the chili with the sour cream.
We are going to the barn this weekend...and after this week we really need it. It was the kind of NYC week that exhausts you to your toes. We were out at events almost every night, the business piled up, the homework piled on, sleep was minimal, oh....and we had to call the police to report harassment by the House of Pita....
Ok here's the story: So we live in a ridiculous building in a crazy part of the city (read cheap rent), with just 4 apartments and a restaurant on the bottom floor. It seems the House of Pita is having a dispute with our landlord. Why should we care you ask? Oh, because the restaurant owners decided to retaliate by turning off the water to the entire building....2 days in a row. "Oh no, they di-it." As is my curse, I decided I needed to confront this head on and let's just say the gentleman weren't interested in my impassioned pleas. So, NYC's finest arrived and saved the day, as the boys gleefully watched from our 4th floor window. It was like a scene from the Great Depression.
Bring me the barn please.
PS. There, Jon, you happy? I'm posting regularly again. Have I won you back?
