You Gotta Do More than Read

It’s Presidents Day here in the states, so I spent most of the day cross country skiing with Leslie and my daughter’s family. Turns out not all of the 40 pounds I lost in the last two months was fat. I was having trouble keeping up with my daugher who was carrying a 35 pound Gavin, which means I have a lot of conditioning in the next few weeks if I’m going to be backpacking this summer. But it felt great to get back to the mountains for the first time. I’m ready to go again this week, providing the rain backs off.

I would have had some great photos today if I hadn’t forgotten the digital camera that I recharged last night. There’s something about the first ski trip of the year; last year I left my raincoat home the first day, not a good thing in the Pacific Northwest. Still, it’s not as bad as the day I forgot my hiking boots on a trip and had to hike half way up Mt . Hood with my sandals. People looked at me a little wierdly, but I said if the Romans could conquer Europe with sandals I ought to be able to pull off a hike up Mt. Hood. Some people tell me this forgetfulness is a sign of old age, but I prefer that to being accused of being an absent-minded professor. Personally, I think forgetting little things is just a sign of trying to do more than most people.

I should have time for a short entry on Yeats tomorrow, then I’ll be back on schedule Wednesday when my daughter’s family leaves for home.