Changes...

Yes, you are hearing the sound of crickets. This blog has been very neglected for the past several months for the obvious reason...we have moved out of Canada. Work has sent us back to the USA and after what seemed like a very long time, we have settled into a new house back in the Chicago area just days before Christmas. Moving back to the USA has come with a sense of reverse transition like we went through four years ago upon moving to Quebec. So much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same.

We've returned with great memories from our time in Canada. A few not-so-great memories, but most of those include petty details and the usual government obstacles we would face just about anywhere. We learned a lot in Quebec, Danielle earned a kick-ass high school education and Louis is a Special Olympics ski champion. Paul experienced working in a new culture (and got to ski a lot) and I left with many dear girlfriends I know I'll have throughout my lifetime. I also left with a new appreciation of speed limits in the USA as they really are more reasonable than Quebec.

Adding to the irony of so many things is moving into the new house right before Christmas and thankfully with decent Chicago weather. As the movers were unloading the truck and bringing in boxes I would have to check off the box number and take note of the box contents to tell them where to place the box -- or what I said most often -- "in the basement." After dozens of boxes were labeled "ornaments"I was confused because it seemed like I must have more ornaments than the White House. It was then that I realized "ornaments" to the French-speaking packers must mean "knick knacks" or what I have come to call "crap."

For the record, we found THE ornaments a couple of days before Christmas and the stockings the day after Christmas.

We are happy to be settled in our new home and Duke is trying to figure out "his" place in the new surroundings.  For those who have moved in the past, you know the packers pack anything, including garbage. While looking through yet another "ornament" box to find THE ornaments, I was unwrapping and unwrapping thinking I would find something really fragile, like an ornament, only to unwrap this...

Two of Duke's tennis balls. We are finding balls in every other box. Duke is enjoying the unpacking process even though we put these balls in some random drawer or cabinet which will likely be packed up in a future move. Or they might stay for a while, since we're hoping to stay for a while.

As for this blog. I'm not certain. While the transition has been interesting and our family is by no means boring, I'm going to evaluate after the first of the year and it may take on a new look or a new theme.

Until then, or as my Quebec friends know I love to say....à la prochaine.

So proud

While training with our Special Olympics group yesterday, I saw something that made me so proud. Danielle volunteers her time as a certified ski instructor, teaching Special Olympians ski techniques, encouraging them, helping them, supporting them, laughing with them. Sometimes it's not easy. Sometimes it's frustrating. Sometimes it's not so fun. But the rewards are priceless.

I was helping at the race course and looked up on the chairlift to see Danielle with our newest skier, a young man with Down Syndrome. This young man would not move his feet forward to even put on skis last week. (Don't ever assume that people with disabilities are not stubborn!) The week prior, he spent time on the "magic carpet" -- an area with barely an incline which is used for new skiers.

So yesterday after a time or two on the magic carpet, Danielle decided this young man was ready for the ski lift and to get skiing. She got him on the lift -- no small accomplishment -- and up they went. (He didn't have a lift ticket -- that's our girl -- plow ahead and ask questions later.) That's where I saw them and I have to admit, I though "oh shit" what is she doing?

She was teaching this young man how to ski.

And ski he did. Was he fast? No. Was it perfect? No. Was he up on skis, trying something for the first time? Yes. Is he a Special Olympian? You bet.

Danielle did it too. She was amazing. And patient. And kind.

Our new skier got tired. He sat down after a while and did not want to get back on his skis. That's okay. Danielle told him it was okay because he tried and he accomplished so much. He was skiing.

The most interesting part of this day? This young man only spoke French and didn't know a word of English. Danielle taught him in French.

It was a good day for everyone and she made her parents proud. Très bon Danielle.

In training

We are in the thick of ski season -- in more ways than one. We actually enjoy the snow...mainly because the ski conditions are great and well, we like it. Ask us again in mid-March though. Ski season for us means Special Olympics training. Each and every weekend we are skiing in the Eastern Townships of Quebec getting ready for upcoming competitions. Louis will compete in the Quebec Provincial games in February...and...in March he will compete in the Quebec WINTER games. The Winter games is a gathering of all the winter sports. They will have an opening and closing ceremony, an athlete's village and more. The athletes all sleep in the "village" which is actually a school gymnasium with cots. What fun (for Louis). Paul, who is now an officially sanctioned Special Olympics coach will be in the village as well. Kish and Danielle will stay in the local motel.

We are wrapping up selling raffle tickets to benefit Quebec Special Olympics. The $5 tickets makes you eligible to win a bunch of great prizes...including a trip for two to Greece and a weekend in Quebec City. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, email us. We have a limited number left. Thanks so much to everyone who has purchased tickets. We sold a lot and the proceeds will benefit Quebec Special Olympics and our ski team.

Enjoy the snow or the sunshine wherever you are.

Bonne Année

Happy New Year! A few days late. We've spent the last week or so at a rental cottage near our ski hill enjoying a wood stove, being somewhat unplugged, watching movies, playing games (the kids actually played Monopoly!) and skiing of course. Danielle and Paul spent four days in a class to become certified ski instructors. They spent the four days, seven hours a day, in ski boots. After the four days of instruction, skiing and testing, they are both Certified Canadian Ski Instructors! It's a huge accomplishment. Both will use their new skills this winter in the Special Olympics ski program and they can both earn some extra cash if they want teaching lessons down the road. Always good to have a back-up plan, eh?

Paul's new word of the year is "Peeee-vot" as in pivot which is what his French instructor kept saying about his skiing..."Peeee-vot."

In the middle of all that, we celebrated our 20th anniversary...it's been a wild ride.

Ready for football...and skiing

We're enjoying some time in the Eastern Townships of Quebec skiing and hanging out. Louis was dressed appropriately for skiing and of couse tonight's Saints game.

About this Curling

Oh my rocks. Those things are called rocks you know. Or more formally, stones. And they are made from granite. Imagine all those countertops.

Curling was entertaining. It was amusing. Now it's annoying. Every time we turn on the TV, it's more curling. Our Canadian friends keep telling us it's one of the most popular "sports" in the world, just not in the U.S. Really? It's like shuffleboard. It's on television in Canada ALL DAY LONG. There's nothing like turning on the television in the middle of the day to enjoy a bit of Oprah, the news, and finding curling on AGAIN. The thing is -- it's somewhat addicting. It's like flipping through the channels looking for something educational and the remote happens to stop on Bravo and before you know it you get sucked into watching the full episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County. And then you realize you wasted an entire hour where you could have been out shoveling the driveway. That's what happens when you start watching curling. Kish was hoping that all that yelling about sweeping would motivate her to...well...sweep something.

We believe that sports where you can play and enjoy a beer (or two) at the same time should not be considered Olympic sports. Ooops. That rules out skiing as Kish enjoys a glass of red before skiing, and certainly after skiing. Après-ski, but pre-ski we like to call it. Now....Ski Cross...that's some crazy shi stuff.

The following is from the Montreal Gazette's Bluffer's Guide column...

CURLING
Curling? That's the bedpan and house brush sport, right?
Stone and broom, if you please. The stones are made from Scottish granite and weigh almost
20 kilograms each. The brooms have synthetic bristles, unlike the old style, which were made with straw.


20 kilograms? So the winners are always the strongest?
Not necessarily. The idea is to get the stone as close to the centre (tee) of a circle as possible. A point is awarded for each stone closer to the tee than the opponents' best, provided that the stone is within 1.83 metres of the tee. This area is the house. Accuracy and timing are key rather than brawn.


Like all winter sports, the gold medal favourites will come from the coldest countries?
Mostly, but Great Britain's men's team won the first curling gold at Chamonix in France in 1924 and are the world champions. The sport disappeared off the Olympic radar until 1998, when Switzerland took the men's gold while Canada won the women's event. In 2002, the women's gold went to Britain.


Doesn't sound like the most gripping of sports. Any storylines I should know?
Sandra Schmirler skipped the 1998 Canada gold medal team, but died two years later at the age of 36 from cancer. In Turin in 2006, Denmark's women's team needed extra security following outrage in the Muslim world after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.


What should I watch for in Vancouver?
Dumping. Sounds unsavoury, but it's when a player lifts his broom to leave debris on the ice, slowing down the stones of an opponent. Canadian teammates Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert and Richard Hart were recently at loggerheads over the issue in a club game.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Bluffer+Guide/2595439/story.html#ixzz0gT9wAcSc

or here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling