We spent last week skiing at Panorama. It was AWESOME!!! It has been an annual event in my family for almost 20 years. We miss the odd year here and there, but my husband and I are committed to making it a tradition for our kids, too.
Both kids are now officially skiers. My daughter, 8 years old, can ski any green or blue runs, plus a few black diamond runs, too. Her favourite thing is to go as fast as possible, and to find every bump and jump along the way. Thank God for helmets!!! She is completely fearless and blasts like a rocket all over the mountain. My son, age 5, took about 4 days to figure out how to ski. By the end of the fifth day, he was done with the bunny hill and took to the chairlifts. On the sixth day, we got him onto the big quad chair, which he rode 4 times and skied all the way down. He is a much calmer skier than his sister, and doesn’t seem to be addicted to speed the way she is (at least not yet). Most of the time, he likes to grab handfuls of snow and much thoughtfully while skiing down the hill. So cute! I am so proud of both of them.
I wonder about the environmental impact of skiing. We have to drive there, the chairlifts, chalets, the grooming equipment and the hot tubs all operate on electricity. My ski equipment is almost 20 years old and I really need to invest in new stuff soon. I am concerned about what to do with my existing equipment. It is so old that it can’t be traded to someone else. I also doubt that there are environmentally-sensitive ski boots out there. As much as I am trying to stop buying and using plastic, I don’t think there is any other kind of ski boot.
Despite all that, I am absolutely NOT willing to give up skiing. I LOVE skiing. I grew up skiing. My husband grew up skiing. We met each other on a ski trip. We decided to start a family while on a ski trip. I put my daughter on skis at age 3, and my son at age 4. We are a skiing family. I can seriously see myself becoming a ski instructor in retirement. To me, skiing means mountains, trees, fresh air, exercise, peacefulness, hanging out with friends, and having fun. It’s what life is really all about. It makes life worth living.
Speaking of life worth living, I am feeling much, much better than I was a few weeks ago. I have found myself getting excited about planting my garden, trying new recipes, getting a puppy this spring, and spring cleaning in the house. These are all very good signs. It is such a puzzle, though, how I can feel so good now, and remember how dark everything looked just a short time ago. It’s a reminder that what is going on externally isn’t really the “truth,” it’s simply a reflection of what is going on internally. I mean, the world didn’t radically change in the last 3 weeks, but something inside of me did, so the world looks completely different now.
I have a few more positive things to report in the sustainable-living department.
I am planning to get a dog this spring, but I have been worried about how best to handle his “droppings.” I don’t want to use plastic bags, and I don’t want to put them into the landfill. One website suggested using flushable plastic bags and flushing them, but I’m not crazy about fouling up our water system. (I’m still trying to talk my husband into trying a composting toilet for our own “droppings.” He’s not too keen.) Finally, I found some great information on how to compost your dog’s poop. The website is here:
http://www.cityfarmer.org/petwaste.html
It looks extremely simple. Just dig a hole, put a bottomless garbage can in there, line it with rocks, and toss the poop in. Every once in a while, sprinkle in some septic starter stuff, and let it naturally decompose. The only issue I can see is that the compost pile would get buried in snow in the wintertime. I’ll have to choose a corner of my yard that is fairly sheltered, and just keep it clear of snow. Oh, and when we go for walks, I can use compostable plastic bags (made of corn) to hold the stuff, and toss it right into the pile.
I have joined together with a local group of homeschoolers to purchase organic groceries in bulk. Most of the people in the group are looking for organic, local, and cheap. My personal emphasis is on local, but with all that I have learned about how the oceans are being altered by the use of fertilizers and other chemicals, the more I think that I need to focus on organic, even if it isn’t local. I am also trying to reduce packaging and avoid plastic, so it becomes incredibly difficult to buy ANYTHING. Since this is a case where I feel paralyzed with indecision, perhaps any improvement is a step in the right direction. If a product is local OR organic OR bulk OR plastic-free, it’s a good start. If I can get 2 or 3 of those criteria, then it's great.
I am very excited about starting my garden this year. My goal is to grow everything I need for making my own salsa: tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic. We purchase a large plastic container of salsa at the grocery store every month, so if I can make 24 large jars of salsa from my own garden this year, then that will be one major food item that is entirely, 100% local, with no plastic and no waste.
I will also plant some raspberry bushes, some sweet potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. I’m not planting lettuce, because for some reason, I don’t like garden lettuce. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of lettuce at all. The only kind that I actually enjoy is iceberg lettuce, which isn’t really all that good for you anyway, and probably doesn't grow here.
This will be our fourth summer in this house. I’ve planted a garden every year, and it never did well. I have finally figured out that the garden location set up by the previous owners doesn’t get enough sun. The sunniest spot is taken up with a large rose garden, so I don’t want to destroy that. I really didn’t know what to do until I started reading about container gardens and self-watering containers. There are several places on my deck and on the south side of my house that get VERY warm that would be great for those heat-loving tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers, so I’m just going to put some self-watering containers there. I am also cutting down a couple of shrubs and putting in a new garden plot for the potatoes, carrots, and onions.
I am so excited! I want the snow to melt NOW so that I can start digging!
