White Thanksgiving in the White Mountains

We spent Thanksgiving at the Chalet in New Hampshire and had a wonderful surprise on Thanksgiving morning.  We awoke to sunny skies and 10" of powder!  We were so pleased we had picked up our Jackson XC ski passes the day before.

We left from the center of Jackson Village, which is a short drive from the Chalet. We skied along the Ellis River on a trail which was mostly untracked. The snow was perfect and we met a few kindred spirits along the way. Some of them kindly set some tracks down for us!  The conditions were superb!

We came home to chicken in the crock-pot which was cooking away while we were on the trail. We enjoyed "roast" chicken, roasted squash, steamed carrots and leeks (from the garden),  and wild rice, followed by gingerbread for dessert.

The rest of the weekend was spent working around the house and garden, trimming some tall trees (trying to improve/maintain our view of the Saco valley).  We even managed a little Christmas shopping in the local outfitters and shops. 

The cats came with us this weekend and seemed to appreciate having some furniture.  This was a big improvement over the last trip they made to the Chalet earlier this year, which offered very little for soft warm places to sit in the sun.

We ended our stay in New Hampshire with a late afternoon ski with a trail headed towards Black and Eagle Mountains.  We consider two days on skis before December 1st a fantastic start to the season.  We have great expectations for the Christmas break!

We have our ski passes...

Let it snow, let it snow...sing with me!

How Are You Celebrating World Toilet Day?

Today is world toilet day (really!).  

If you'd like to learn more see:

http://www.unwater.org/worldtoiletday

How are you celebrating?

Haven't see the sun all weekend...'til now. Worth the wait!

Sheri

Enjoying Fall Color at the Chalet

We closed on our Chalet in New Hampshire on Columbus Day of last year (2013).  The fall colors were well past peak so we didn't have the chance to see fall colors locally.  This year the fall colors have been spectacular.  Photos from the past few weeks capture some of our time enjoying some local trails and color. 

 

Color near Iron Mountain

 

Kokee on a trail near the Chalet

 

Late afternoon color (Kokee's view from her bed)

 

Kokee in her bed (2nd floor) enjoying fall color

 

View from trailhead to Iron Mt

Colors along Dundee Road

Fall /autumn in the White Mountains

It is one year since we purchased our chalet in New Hampshire, and earlier in the month we attended the annual meeting of the homeowners association.  It was a rainy Saturday, so we were happy to spend a few hours meeting our neighbours and figuring out how to ensure that all the houses in the association can rely on having fresh water and clear views for many years to come.

On Saturday afternoon the skies cleared and we set to work creating a drain/soak-away outside the back door to prevent a repeat of the basement flooding that we had last year.  This was duly completed before nightfall and we celebrated with a homecooked meal of stuffed peppers (from the garden at Hangman Hill).  On Sunday the weather was much nicer, so we took a short hike to the top of Iron Mountain to enjoy the views of the New England countryside with the leaves changing color all around us.

 

Hello Freddie, Goodbye Reggie

We recently decided to change our second car for a newer model.  Reggie the red truck was 10 years old and we were sad to see him go after many years of trusty service. Our new addition is Freddie (Mercury) a sharp looking grey truck with a bigger cab especially for Kokee.