Sunday, March 1, 2009

Leeks and daffodils

Was trying hard to remember what the 1st of March signified ..... of course, it's St David's Day. Shame Wales got trounced by France in the 6 Nations on Friday - no, not really, it's about time they were beaten. And Scotland won, hoorah! I haven't really just been a couch potato watching sport, honest. But you have to lie on the sofa with a cup of tea some of the time.
Yesterday was just the most glorious weather, we have had some wonderful spring-like sunshine this week, and I had myself organised to finish work early and go for a ski. Was v brave and decided to go back to do a run that I had cried in terror all the way down the last time I did it. Slightly nervous, and it took me a while to get down, but I got there in the end! Well, once you have started there really isn't a lot of choice - though there was one bail out option of a button lift that would take me back to the top and the telecabine back down to safety (which is what I did last time). I have discovered what it is that makes some runs terrifying for me - it's not even necessarily the steepness, it's the view! If I can't see the run bottoming out, if it is a convex slope and you are looking straight down to the valley floor a looooong way down, then I go to pieces and have to start taking deep breaths and closing my eyes! 






This is scary!













And this.











This is not.








It's all in the head. And partly in the legs. Have discovered that now I can ski a bit it is really hard work, a couple of hours, even minutes sometimes, and my thighs are jelly! It has been a good year or so since I have done much sustained exercise, so am pretty wibbly and weak.

A new group are arriving today and tomorrow, am just about to commence lengthy session in the kitchen  - planning to make creme caramels for the first time (prob a mistake not to have practised, will end up eating them all myself), meringues, lasagne, maybe a sticky toffee pudding, have already done a couple of cakes...... it gives me an excuse not to go skiing again! 

1 comment:

Jess said...

Hello Helen, hope the creme caramel turned out well it would have been a shame to eat them all!
Just been away skiing & exploring the W coast of Canada with Tess & Frank when the cables started coming in from Les Alpes.
Bet you are whizzing down those black runs by now...if not I shall have to send out ski mentor fearless Frank to sort you out....kept telling Tess & I to stop dithering and just point the tips down hill and the rest follows....which to some extent works. Actually my biggest fear was crashign into someone else, causing GBH & gettign sued (we skied in the USA too this trip) so I hired a crash hat in the end, but I know you dont believe in those....???
A cooking tip....one of my girlfriends worked as a chalet girl a couple of seasons back & had real problems with cakes rising until someone told her to use cakemix in the base...somethign to do with the altitude...
Keep warm & have fun in the snow.
Jessx