Amazing snow!

How is it that after living here for 5 years I am still so excited by the first big snow of the year? It helps that this is the second biggest storm since we've moved here! I went to work today and just kept looking out the window in wonderment. CSU shut down at 2:00 but I unfortunately have a lot to do, so I was at work till 4. When I got home, Chris and I suited up in our longjohns and snowboarding jackets and walked to Safeway, about a mile away. Along the way, we jumped around in snowdrifts and took pictures of the flaky, powdery stuff clinging to trees in such a beautiful way. You couldn't design a better scene if you had your whole lifetime to do it in!



We picked up some essentials at Safeway - like a baguette, donut, and coffee. Then we called our friends and new neighbors, Matt and Beth, to see if we could stop by and see their new house. Well they were so nice and said they'd cook dinner for us and they had a keg that needed emptying. We're not the kind to refuse help to friends, so we took them up on the offer.

Now we're home and warm. It is still supposed to snow all night and maybe even tomorrow! What fun!



We've been having fun so far in October. My mom came out last weekend to visit. We had a great time on Friday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and on Saturday hiking up to Arthur's Rock and watching college football. It was really nice to spend some quality time with her!

Haute Route - Day 1, Chamonix to Argentiere

I kept a log while Chris and I hiked in Switzerland ... I'll be posting 1 or 2 days at a time over the next week or so. Enjoy!

Our trip so far has been great. Reto and his wife treated us to fabulous hospitality in Bern, Switzerland our first night in Europe. Reto cooked fondue, with gruyere and some other local cheeses, wine, garlic, and maybe something else. It was so good! We ate it with bread and cooked carrots and mushrooms.

I am in love (already) with the European lifestyle. The trains are so easy to take and so far have all gone through gorgeous countryside. It seems there is very little untouched land, and yet the towns are very picturesque and the hillsides are covered in fruit trees and vineyards and some pine forests, and the lowlands are usually filled with corn (at least in S. Germany). Bikes are everywhere, and though I noticed that when I went to Europe the first time with my friend Kristi, I appreciate it so much more now that I am a cyclist.

Reto and Saskia’s apartment was not much smaller than our house and very nicely laid out with an open living room and nice balcony. People walk to the grocery store, where processed foods are far less common than in your average American supermarket. Most stores in Bern were closed this morning (Sunday), and despite being a national capital, the city felt very peaceful. Anyway, I think after 3 weeks on this continent, I will be strongly resolved to find a European post-doc!

Today we left Bern at noon. Our train approached the imposing-looking Alps, then went under them and arrived in Visp. We also transferred in Martigny and Vallercine. The ride between those towns was very scenic and actually went up the mountains.

We started our hike at about 4:00. We wandered around Chamonix before finding our route. It was very crowded because of a 100-mile ultramarathon ending in town today! Just when Chris and I begin to think we are doing something crazy, a few thousand people outdo us! Chamonix has a nice setting, especially because of snow-clad Mont Blanc above it and the Drews (spire-like mountains) lining the valley. Mont Blanc just seems like one humongous glacier that was broadly lifted from the valley.

The hike was confusing – we walked through a golf course and along roads, and when we tried to go our own way on the Petite Balcon Sud, we just ended up back on the original trail. But once we were actually on a trail and away from the road, it was much better. Every now and then we’d get views of the amazing mountains, but mostly we were in a forest. After a bit (around 7:00), we arrived in Argentiere.

The hotel/hostel we are in is nice and has cheap food down the street. Best part is, it’s only 14.50 euros per person (we’re sharing a room with 2 other Americans).Of course, the food has been great. The trip is amazing so far!

P.S. Blogger's not uploading my pictures but check back later to see some of them.

Proof

Here is proof of the snow. I think we got about 5 inches at my house! To make things even more crazy, I ran in the CSU Homecoming 5K Saturday morning. It was freezing cold but kind of fun. It was a good chance to see where I'm at fitness-wise. I ran it in 27:30, although my last mile was in 8:00. So one of my goals for the winter is to get faster! I can't believe how cold it's been. It hasn't been over 30 since Friday afternoon and yesterday's high was in the low 20's! Yikes. Alright, pictures.



And, happy birthday to my husband who is 30 today! I guess we are entering a new era in our lives, who knows what kind of adventures our 30's will bring us.

The sky is falling!

What the heck?? It is snowing outside, the second time this week! This is our sixth winter in Colorado and by far the earliest snow yet, especially considering that 1.5 inches have already fallen at our house and it's supposed to keep up all night! I was really proud of us for not using the AC all summer because it was unusually cool for the most part. But I guess the flip side is that we caved and turned on the heat tonight, since it is already 17 degrees outside and 53 degrees in our bedroom! So I guess our gas bill this winter will make up for our low energy bill over the summer. I am caught off-guard by this weather but I am going to try to have a positive attitude this winter. Snow is really pretty, and I love snowboarding, snowshoeing, wearing hoodies and drinking hot beverages. So ... here's to winter!

In the Mood

I've really been in the mood to cook and bake recently. I think it is partly because we were out of town for so long, and I was craving some home-cooked food by the end of our vacation. And I just really enjoy the act of cooking and trying new things. Chris and I are trying to cut down on processed foods, and he is really good at creating recipes (like the pasta sauce he made last week).

I found a website that I am currently obsessed with. Every recipe on it looks amazing. We are going to make a variation of the chicken pot pie with herbed biscuit topping (http://inncuisine.com) sometime this week. But no Bisquick since it has high fructose corn syrup and I'm pretty sure we can come up with our own biscuit topping.

I'm also on a cornbread kick and just finished making some whole wheat strawberry cornbread muffins. I used the cornbread recipe on the box of cornmeal but did half whole wheat flour and a little extra milk. It was a little like this recipe from another cool website (http://madehealthier.com) I found.

Have you found any good recipes lately?? I know Rachel made some amazing fig-cinnamon swirl bread last weekend, which she shared with Michelle and I after a delectable lunch of taco bell. :)

I love fall!

Well the Rockies are going to the playoffs for the second time in two years! Woohoo! The only sad thing is they beat out the Braves for the wild card spot. I was trying not to cheer against the Braves the last few days, but as they say, I had to root for the home team! Chris and I are in the lottery for tickets to the NLCS (& world series), so hopefully they make it past the division playoffs! Going to the game 2 years ago when they beat the Phillies for the division title was a blast, so I really want to go to another postseason game!

It has been really windy the past few days (gusts up to 60 mph), but today started out calm and beautiful! I went for a run on one of my favorite routes and was just so uplifted by how pretty it was. It was very chilly, about 30 degrees, but sunny. I really love the sunshine, it makes everything better. The leaves are changing in the Fort and there is a crispness in the air that makes me happy.

The other wonderful thing about fall is college football! Chris and I have yet to spend an entire Saturday watching games since we've been gone, but tomorrow we will at least get to watch the Dawgs play LS-who. I hope it is a good game. If Georgia can keep the turnovers and penalties down, I think they will hang in there and maybe even give the Tigers a run for their money.

The bad thing about how cold it was last night is that the garden is done. Last night Chris made pasta sauce with tomatoes, kale, and onions from the garden. He added some garlic, sugar, and red wine and it turned out delicious! We picked a lot more tomatoes and a large bag of zucchini, so hopefully we can make some more sauce and bread this weekend. I wouldn't mind having a few loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer this winter, and if I make my grandfather's baked ziti again for Christmas the sauce will come in handy! Anyway, we didn't get to enjoy the garden as much as usual this year. It never got really hot this summer, so although the plants are big they didn't produce much until the last month or so. The plus is that we never turned on our AC, either! Ok, enough blah-blah-blahing for now. Hope you are enjoying fall too!