Our gift to you

Let me set the scene:  Julia and I are coming down out of one of the upper bowls at Ski Bowl, plowing our way through the powder.  There was a lot of falling down, a lot of screaming and even more laughing.  B shot some video of us while he, Geoff and Dave waited at the bottom.  I'm toward the right of the screen, Julia is on the left side.  Make sure you turn your volume up.

Enjoy!

All I want for Christmas is more powder.

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?  I did.  Health, happiness, family who loves me and a fantastic day skiing on Christmas Eve!

Please forgive the ridiculous amount of photos you are about to see, I was just a wee bit giddy about all of the fresh tracks and powdery falls we got yesterday.  Skiing on Christmas Eve has become a Hoybook/Lodge tradition so we headed up to Ski Bowl yesterday with our friend Dave.  Ski Bowl is the smaller of the three Mt. Hood resorts and is not technically on the mountain, but the terrain is steep and deep and the lift tickets are cheap.  It was marvelous.  Buttery smooth slopes, big flakes falling all day, good friends laughing.  Pretty much the best time.

Julia and me, the cutest snowbunnies this side of the Rockies.

B, Geoff and Dave, knee-deep in powder in some upper bowl.
Geoff and B rip it up on the way down.
Dave rips it up.  That guy is an animal on the slopes.  Good luck keeping up with him.

Geoff, Julia and me at the top of one of the upper bowls.  Again, knee-deep in snow.  Are you seeing a trend here?

Julia, B and I ponder our current snow situation.  "Hmmm," we ask, "should we go down this powdery slope with no other skiers on it or that one?"  Guess we'll just have to do both.

Back at the lodge after another tiring day, shredding up the mountain.

Christmas Eve is best spent with friends:  Dave, B, me, Julia and Geoff.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  And, we hope the powder gods bless a ski slope near you very soon.

Hey Portland, it's called winter.

Well, the Arctic Blast is over.  I think.  Last weekend, it was a little bit of snow that turned the streets to ice.  Then, it was temps below freezing for a week until this past weekend when things really got going.  Snow, snow, freezing rain, snow and some more snow.  We probably had six inches of snow, layered with an inch of ice, topped with another six inches of snow.  In a word, awesome.

By Tuesday, I had worked six ridiculous days in a row (crazed Portlanders who had been snowbound in their homes for days finally made it out for their holiday shopping) and it was time for some winter fun.  B and I went for a walk on Monday night to scope out the neighborhood for some good ski slopes and on Tuesday morning, hit the Murrayhill ski resort for our first runs of the season.

Snow + Portland = chaos!

Well, I got what I wished for.  Next time, I should be a wee bit more specific.  

It snowed in Portland yesterday.  Winter Armageddon.  We spent the day warm and cozy at Travis and Jody's helping them get ready for their move to California this week.  Today, the whole city is in a state of paralysis, all of the local news stations are on "24 hr. extended team coverage" and I took a snow day from work! 

Next time, I need to say, "Snow in the mountains please.  Here in Portland, we're all set, thank you very much."  

Friends don't let friends move to California

Jody and Travis are packing it up this week and moving to Sacramento.  I miss them already.

Those who can't do, teach.

Those who can't ski, bike.

It's not that we can't ski, because let me tell you, we can, it's just that it HASN'T SNOWED YET! Snow is fairly vital to the whole skiing thing.  I checked out the Mt. Hood Meadows website today and every part of the "mountain conditions" link was depressing.  A six inch base?  We're going to need about two more feet to actually get things going.  *sigh.*

Well, in the meantime, B and I have been on our bikes.  Last weekend, we biked the Sauvie Island loop with our friend Dave and this past Sunday, we rode a loop from the REI parking lot before I went to work.  It's definitely not skiing, but we'll take it I guess.

A Christmas Movie

Behold, the tree!

It hasn't rained for about a week I'd say.  There is approximately 2.5 inches of snow in the Cascades right now.  The ski resorts haven't even opened yet.  It's looking fairly grim around these parts.  Like Julia, I haven't quite gotten into the Christmas mood yet.  I think it's the weather-- December usually means dark, rainy days, skiing at least once by now.  Since the sun has been out for days now, it kinda feels like October all over again.

Well, to pull me out of the snow-craving blues, we ventured out into the sunshine today to pick out our Christmas tree.  In traditional Hoybook style, we ventured several miles out into Christmas tree country to Glendora Farms, owned by one of my co-workers.  But the trek was worth it, our little tree is just perfect.  And that Christmas spirit?  Well, I'm getting there.

If you need me, I'll be waiting by the phone

There is a huge tree farm along I-84 in eastern Oregon, with miles upon miles of straight rows of Albus trees.  B and I always drive by and comment on how great it would be as a background for a photo shoot.  Well, this time, as we drove by on our way to the cabin, we were prepared.

Here are some of my favorites from my photo shoot.  If you know a modeling agent, feel free to pass my phone number along.  Yes, I'd be OK with that.

I have to say, it's great to have a husband who enjoys photography.  He sure can make a girl feel pretty.

Stuck between a movie and a hard place

Oh, Netflix.  I think you have finally done it.  I think we are finally going to bow to your movie renting ways.

So, here's the thing.  A couple of years ago, I swore off Blockbuster.  Jen and I rented some movies from our friendly neighborhood Blockbuster and we returned them (I swear we did) and those busters kept telling us we owed them "late fees."  Yeah, whatever.  So, I switched my loyalties to Hollywood Video.  And I really enjoyed it there.  It was convenient, close to the apartment and we really liked how whenever we walked in, everyone at the counter (everyone!) would say, "Hi!"  It was so warm and fuzzy there....

Well, recently, Hollywood Video has turned into Mark's Video.  We were lured in by the promise of $.99 movies.  Any movie, 99 cents!  Completely unheard of in the suburban movie store market.  Little did we know that the 99 cent thing is a weird program with lots of rules and the woman behind the counter?  Didn't say "Hi!" when we came in.  She was all, "the movies have to be back by 7pm.  No more of that midnight business, got it?"

Yeah, I got it.  I'm out.

Netflix?  You're in.

Cabin Fever

Your step-by-step guide to catching a serious case of cabinous feveralis a.k.a. "cabin fever."

1.  Eat a ridiculous amount of Thanksgiving dinner.  Make sure when you are trying to decide if we want pie "now or later", to always choose "later."  (This tactic always gets the card playing going quicker than usual.)

2.  Play a fast and furious game of Cantelope to work up your appetite for pie.  If your name is Gayle, hand your family members a memorable defeat.

3.  The next day, go for a gorgeous hike up Hurricane Creek into the Wallowa Mtns.  Eat some more on the trail.  Come back to the cabin and eat more pie.

4.  Be thankful for family, friends, warm cabins in the mountains, wine, pie, and turkey.

To cure the most severe cases of cabinous feveralis, ridiculous amounts of leftover turkey and pie are needed.  Most cases are a lost cause.  More Thanksgivings at the cabin are the only reliable remedy...

Blue Mountain Vortex

If you are driving along I-84 toward eastern Oregon, you have to drive through the Blue Mountains.  The Blue Mountains are a small little mountain chain in between Pendleton and LaGrande and they top out around 4,000 feet or so at the highest point on the freeway.

Every time we drive through the Blue Mountains, we experience a serious weather phenomenon. Two years ago, on our way back from rock climbing in Utah, we drove through hail about an inch thick.  Later that same fall, on the way back from Thanksgiving at the cabin, it was a snowstorm where we crawled along with the 20 m.p.h. traffic.  This past summer, as we drove back from ABQ, there wasn't any precipitation, but it was a blazing hot inferno.  But, that had nothing on this year's experience.

We're talking about driving up a 6% grade with guardrails on both sides into fog where you could only about 50 feet in front of you.  Seriously, 50 feet.  Cars would pass us and then disappear.

Into the Blue Mountains, never to return!  

Watch your kneecaps!

Remember in the early 90's, there was this ice skater who hired some henchmen to attack her rival with a crowbar?  That ice skater is actually a Portland native and used to practice at the ice rink at the mall.  

We took our girls from Girls Inc. ice skating at the mall last week and it was weird to think that an Olympic competitor would have practiced at the mall.  With the Cinnabon right there, how could you get anything done?

Tyler and I show off our mad ice skills.

Get Dirty!

Fall is the perfect time of year to volunteer in your community!  

I feel very lucky to work for a company that values community work so much that we decided to add it to our mission:  To outfit, educate and inspire for a lifetime of outdoor adventure AND STEWARDSHIP.  My store has been sponsoring some service projects lately so I've been gettin' dirty for the outdoors for a couple of weeks now.

  

Here is a group of new REI employees after we planted 1,000 bulbs in a local wetland.

On Friday, a small group from my store trekked out to Stub Stewart State Park, Oregon's newest State Park, west of Portland.  Steve, our fearless trail coordinator, had recruited us to help redirect a trail that was turning into one big puddle.  We got to plot the new course and then start clearing the big logs, sticks and other brush so the wood chipper could come through. It was so cool to be able to see progress as we made our way through the woods.  Here is a shot of the group about to clear two huge trees.

This is a shot I got early in the morning at the park.  The woods were so still and mysterious.

Some people help out their local non-profits with monetary donations, but for those of you that can't financially make it happen, there are hundreds of ways to give back.  Check out VolunteerMatch and search for your community.  It will list opportunities to get involved, make difference, do some good.

Halloween 2008

Jedi mind tricks

Monday in Portland was gorgeous.  GORGEOUS.  Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, warm enough to go without a jacket.  A stunning day.  We spent the morning out shooting with Geoff and Julia and then I conned B into driving into the Columbia gorge for a stroll up the Herman Creek Trail.  He has a lot of photos to process and I keep distracting him on my days off work.  Well, I gave him Saturday in exchange for Monday and judging by the weather forecast for Saturday, I made one great deal.

Don't quit your day job.

When B shoots a wedding on his own, he needs to have someone assist and be his second shooter.  Sometimes, that second shooter is me.  Well, there was only one time that second shooter was me, but you get my point.  He usually takes our friend Alyson with him who may I say is fantastic.  Not only does she know where to hold the flash and the reflector and such, but she takes great photos.   

Our good friends, the Lodges, wanted some updated photos of them so B took them out for a portrait session on Monday.  Well, I had the day off and they were our friends so I got to go along as the "photo assistant."  And, I think I now know why I usually don't get "hired" for the job.  I have a slight problem focusing on the task at hand.  Yeah, I can hold a flash and reflector and all, but I seem to have the attention span of a rabbit and eventually start wandering off doing my own thing.  It drives B nuts and I don't blame him, a photographer needs good light!  He needs his eyes shaded!  Seriously though, had I been an employee, I'm not so sure I'd still have a job.  Ha!

Well, the day was gorgeous and I had our little digital camera in my pocket so of-course, I was off doing my thing, clicking away.

And this?  Well, this is classic Gayle.  Get out of the car, climb on something and then tell B to take your picture while you almost break your neck jumping on it.  

Despite the shoddy help, he got some really cool, beautiful shots of Geoff and Julia.  Check out the site in the next couple of weeks:  www.bryanhoybook.com.