December with the Whistler Whitneys

Old fashioned festive fun around our Whistler home during the month of December tends to consist of board games, puzzles, card games, the cooking & eating of festive feasts, and - of course - getting outside to play in the snow. 

Here are some (not all) members of the Whitney family who passed through Whistler during the Christmas period.

Our annual Christmas photo-on-the-deck is missing Toria, who is currently enjoying summer in NZ.

 Our kitchen was designed for feast preparations.  Here is a basket of Charlotte's fresh brioche:

Thanks to Mary, you can view some of the action by going to the clips she has posted on utube:

Catch a glimpse of us in the kitchen by clicking on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RY1O9MR5IQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player 


Unique Whitney crazyness includes stair climbing competitions, performed only by the strongest members of the family.  Watch some stair climbing here:

http://youtu.be/dsN6CN0k6_Y

And which members of this gang invented blow bauble?  It is rather like table tennis but with a tree ornament....and a lot of hot air!   Tournaments can be fierce, and blowing while laughing at the same time is a challenge some of us have not yet mastered.

Watch some blow bauble action here:

http://youtu.be/XC_mdun5QTI

http://youtu.be/d686TmfUfCc

Oh, and don't forget puzzle madness...

Morning storm clouds

Ski season is upon us! Red sky in the morning....sailors take warning! This kind of sky may be ominous for sailors at sea, but it's a welcome sight for skiers because we want storms to bring fresh snow to the mountains. 


Morning light arrives, showing fresh snow on Wedge and Blackcomb.  Time to go skiing!

Vancouver Island, at last!

It was refreshing to wander shorelines,
along trails, and around town....
to linger over home-cooked meals,
to share some tales of our various adventures
to laugh
and to sometimes cry too.

We loved taking the time
to be in this familiar environment
to be among friends
to breath in sea air
and gaze over favourite island horizons.
 

 

 Thanks to all

We came home to Winter conditions,
the beginning of another ski season,
with numerous house guests
and lots of time outdoors.

 First snow fall on our railing and beyond.

Home for winter!

Whitney Winter news is about to begin....if you prefer to be removed from the recipient list (or added to it) please let us know!

During 4 months this summer we were sailing around Scotland. News updates on that were posted on our other blog "Darwin Sound". More news and photos from the summer will be added at some point so you may want to check back there later.

So, here we are back in Whistler where winter is fast approaching.

We came back a earlier than planned because we wanted to be present at the wedding of Anne & Max. It was a wonderful event and we felt honoured to be included. Here is their creative wedding cake.

And a photo of Anne & Max being married by Jenny Villard. The wedding was fun, and touching.


September is a lovely time to be in Whistler. One afternoon we hiked the Flank Trail, which was quite tame after some of the Monroe-bagging in Scotland. Here is a view from the trail. From our house the round trip was over two hours without another hiker in sight!

Canadian Thanksgiving week-end was filled with social gatherings, four consecutive evenings of fine dining and laughter.

We enjoyed a number of hikes among the Autumn leaves....




It hasn't been all about hiking & dining....

We also decided it was time to open up our view by cutting down a few big trees on our property. Al bravely started with the biggest tree, the one that was VERY close to our house...


The tree fell just where he planned it would fall, so he continued to cut down 6 more! This has opened up our view, and provided us with some useful firewood (if we can carry it all uphill before the snow falls).

Much of the time since our return has been spent on outside jobs which we are rushing to complete before the snow falls, and ski season begins. More on that in the next post....

Blizzards in mid-April

Almost every morning lately we have woken up to fresh snow around the house, even though it melts by noon, and winter conditions in the alpine.   Does this look like April to you?  Well, it really is!

Still Winter!

Fresh snow falling again this morning, April 4th!

Still winter....

It's is still wintery here in Whistler, even as we approach the end of March.   Fresh snow filled our driveway last week and snow storms in the alpine brought plenty of fresh powder to the ski slopes.

Of course, we were hosting some ski races and we always get plenty of fresh powder when races are on! 

But things are likely to change quickly.

The clouds are clearing, the sun is beginning to shine through, and the temperature at the valley level is up.  Spring skiing is just around the corner....

Family visit

We have a lot of house guests throughout the winter, mostly friends and sometimes family too. 

This past week-end nephew Bruce and his wife Judy came to ski.  It's been a few years, but that didn't stop us from immediately having an easy and wonderful time together.  We enjoyed lots of fun skiing all over Blackcomb and Whistler, from Crystal Ridge to Harmony Bowl and Symphony Bowl and the super long Peak to Creek.   Best news:  they now have Edge Cards and plan to return this season for more!