Today we spent a lovely few hours with our friends who live on a lake to the north of the city. We went ice fishing under blue skies, amidst fresh snow and in -10C degree temperatures. S & B also invited an English family who are in PG for a year on a teacher exchange. 
Last night we took our "traditional" pre-Christmas tour of the Candy Cane Lane section of town. This is where all the houses on three adjacent streets are overdressed with Christmas decorations. We saw lots of Santas, a few Grinches, many Disney characters and many, many garden reindeer. After this we drove up to Connaught Hill where every year, a more formal series of displays are illuminated. We had a hilarious time trying to work out what some of the displays were depicting. We decided the one above was a group of elves, frogs and/or smurfs playing hockey with a spectator either smoking a pipe or playing a violin. Can you suggest a more plausible scenario?
After a promising amount of snow early last week, it rained on Friday and Saturday. The result was thick, horrible, sticky and heavy snow which was a bear to ski on. The kids bravely soldiered on but it was hard work. I was trying out new skis and my third turn of the day had me in a snow bank flat on my face. After a few more runs, we'd had enough, called it quits and came in early for a hot drink and snack.
Shovelled 10cm off the drive this morning. This is after the 5cm I shovelled yesterday. Another 10cm is forecast today. We had 15cm 2 weeks ago so the total this last month is about 30cm with more to come. I'm going to try and keep a tally this year. The positive skiing karma still outweighs the negative shovelling karma so I'm happy. This may change through the season though. And to snow of a different kind, here's this years gingerbread house effort by V and D. I think the snowman is sledding off the roof in case you were wondering.
It's been a busy week. On Sunday we were out with V's friends for her bowling and pizza 12th Birthday party (photo below). On Monday, D and I went carol singing with the cubs around the neighbourhood. Tuesday evening was spent with my Church housegroup volunteering at the local Salvation Army Food warehouse. Last night, my bowling team enjoyed a night off competitive bowling at the league's Christmas "Fun-bowl" (photo above). We go into the holiday top of the league and clear by 8 points. Tonight I get a night off as K is at her Book Club Christmas party. Friday I am on call, Saturday skiing etc.etc...
D's latest craze is the Angry Birds game. He's slowly building up a plush toy collection of said birds and associated pigs. A friend gave him a catapault (called a slingshot here) earlier in the summer and he is now re-enacting the game in real life around the house. He can even play the theme tune on the piano.
It's turned distinctly chilly of late but the fresh snow does make things look beautiful. Here are a couple of pics taken whilst I was out cross-country skiing yesterday.
This weekend we went to the Festival of Trees, our 4th year in a row. It's a nice way to kick off the festive season. The Conservatory of Music usually gets a slot in the entertainment program and V played a solo on her violin this year.
November is one of those funny transition months here when the seasons are changing. The snow has arrived but there isn't quite enough of it yet to ski on. The lakes are beginning to freeze over but the ice is not yet thick enough to walk on for ice fishing. Halloween has been and gone. The winter clothes are out and daytime temperatures are mostly below zero with the odd thaw day here and there. Outdoor Christmas lights are appearing across the neighbourhood. Bring on December!
The cubs recently had their Autumn camp at Camp Ispah 45 minutes out of town. There was snow on the ground and on the way in, the trail was blocked by a fallen tree but one resourceful parent-helper happened to bring along his chain saw so it was bucked up and removed pretty quickly. The camp is in a lovely spot by Lake Ispah and we had a clear weather. The photos above show cub leader Baloo and the fallen tree, the campfire area and some of the cubs practising their campfire lighting.
The last word I have to say on my trip to California is how terrible Los Angeles International Airport is for flight transfers. I don't often whinge but my two and a half hour lay-over at LAX was almost completely used up by shuttle transfers between terminals and security checks. I can say with almost certainty that if I had checked luggage, it would not have made it to San Diego with me that evening. I have since discovered that LAX rates as the worst US airport for transfers in a recent US-wide passenger survey (Denver was top in case you wondered). To top it off, I didn't even see any movie stars while I was there.
Lectures finished early on the last day in Coronado so I took the opportunity to go sailing. We took out a 22ft Capri from Coronado Harbour. There is a large US Navy presence in San Diego with a large Navy SEAL training facility. While sailing we were continually "buzzed" by SEALs on their watercraft to and from exercises but also got to see pelicans, dolphins and sea lions around and about the harbour. The wind, at 18 gusting to 20 knots, made for quite spirited sailing (I think I broached to starboard at one point).