Marshmallow Man in the Winter

 I find life fascinating, at times.  There seem to be a lot of twists and turns that can be  both very exciting and confusing.   A couple of weeks ago I was able to go skiing in Mammoth and I was facsinated by my own body..and not in a good way.  The Pandemic was not very kind to my body.  I was blessed with good health throughout but the lack of exercise and a good deal of pity eating took its tole.  A few extra pounds (not a lot but enough) caused me to struggle with exertion required to put on the damn ski boots, puffy jacket, hat, gloves, goggles...The skiing was great.  The dressing was HARD.  Whoever invented ski boots must have taken lessons from Ramsey Bolton (Game of Thrones reference).  I will say I had a blast skiing and the company I was with was absolutely the best. But darn it..I felt almost helpless with putting on all the stuff....out of breath and hugely out of shape. With all that gear I looked the Staypuff Marshmallow man. In the end I had several very nice bruises and blisters on both sides of each ankles..I admire all those snow boarders with the one board and soft boots.  They look so sassy and comfortable. On the slopes they glide along....until they fall on thier butts and lay there in your path or board out of control and knock you for a loop when they hit you. Still...fun was had. 

I was impressed by the beauty of my surroundings.  We had a gentle snowfall Friday night and it brought a comforting silence to the area. In the morning there were critter tracks in the snow and a wonderful air of freshness.  The drive up to the slopes was a little daunting.   The roads had just enough ice on them to be slippery but not quite enough for chains.  I did have a scary moment behind a jeep that was sliding back toward me.  We managed to do a little ice ballet and work it out without remorse on either side. 

The best part of the whole two day trip was our wonderful evenings together.  Five women truely enjoying each others company.  Theres was no TV, no outside distractions, wonderful food, beverages and stimulating conversation.  We laughed so hard.  We came up with podcast ideas.  We exchanged childhood stories, recipes, books we had read, TV show we watched and it was great.  There are not many times when we have that kind of time in todays world.  I look forward to next winter when I can again don the warrior ski outfit and hit the slopes...Hopefully with less natural padding..lol