Oh boy, I thought as I was reading to my 4-year-old daughter, this is going to be bad. Pook was about to be killed. We were on chapter 12 and Pook had become her favorite character. He was crystallized, turned into a gemstone, by the...
Spring is the busiest time of year at my job, so when everyone else in Telluride flies off to the beach in Mexico or Hawaii, I get to stay here and wallow in self-pity. This year seemed especially bad, with the bipolar weather alternating between...
Parenting is a pretty selfless endeavor. Most of the time. But there are days, when it’s sunny and warm, and I just need to get out and put my skis on, that I actually force my kids to ski. They are only four and two...
If you ski or snowboard, you have probably witnessed the powder frenzy that ensues anytime the snow gods dump a foot or more of snow from the sky. Elbow to elbow, people line up for the chairlifts or stampede through the rope drops, hoping to...
My friend is spending the winter in Telluride, trying to improve her skiing, she says. To this end she has prevailed upon all of her friends and even her brother-in-law to ski slowly with her and give her some pointers. But not her husband. There is...
I should preface this column by saying that I am a really awful liar—I just don’t have the acting chops or the skills to pull off a lie. I never have. I am utterly unconvincing, I stammer, and my face always gives me away. So being...
It was probably the most meaningful gift I gave anyone over the holidays. I spent days putting together pictures of my husband and kids, rounding up photos of my brothers and their families, and it took hours to match all the faces to the birthdays...
[youtube]http://youtu.be/_-QN8F0gnvM[/youtube] The only people in Telluride who were not completely thrilled about the snow falling Friday and Saturday were the snowboarders competing in the World Cup Snowboardcross races. Snow does one thing to a race course—it makes it slower, which is exactly the opposite of what...
The holidays are stressful enough, but when there is a birthday thrown in the mix it can be overwhelming. This week my daughter turned 4, and she almost had to do it without cupcakes. Cupcakes are a crucial part of childhood birthdays, and the last...
I had this romantic notion about gathering wood for the winter, our first winter with a wood stove. I envisioned us traipsing through the forest, the kids in wool mittens, picking up freshly cut rounds of aspen and oak and piñon, breathing in the scent...
