Get into the groove.
The weekend. Saturday we drove up to Mansfield to go Cross Country Skiing. Yes I went skiing again. It was significantly more enjoyable this time. This was our first time to Mansfield. It is a smaller ski park, nothing like Horseshoe Valley. There were various trails you could take, for various skill levels. We started with the most basic course. The snow was wet and slow. Which was both good and bad. On the beginner trail all the nOObs had mangled the tracks so our skis were sliding all over in the loose snow. Gah… So after some prompting from B. we ventured onto an Intermediate course. It was actually a lot better. The tracks were in better shape and there weren’t kids flailing ski poles on this trail. Since the snow was so slow the downhill segments were tolerable. I don’t think I’d want to go too much faster on those skis. I fell a few time on the Intermediate… mostly just bailing on the downhills, being unfamiliar with the trail, I didn’t know what to expect around corners etc.. It was pretty fun and B. is a trooper.
Sunday was the Gold Medal Hockey game. We started the morning rushing over to Newmarket to look for a watch. I’m still trying to locate a watch which B. thoughtfully bought me. We are looking at the battery-less Citizen eco-drive especially those with the titanium band… that really limits the options down to about a dozen. Ideally I was hoping to find a semi-formal watch that is waterproof. So far the search has been unsuccessful. Most of the stores appear to have the same models. I’m going to try one more mall then I’ll keep the watch I originally picked out. It is awesome, just not waterproof. Phew. We had friends Brian and Marnie over for the afternoon. We started with a walk in Palgrave and got home just in time to watch the hockey game. And what a game it was! A nail biter for sure. As soon as the third period started and Canada was in the ‘defensive shell’… each minute felt like an hour… the final few minutes of the game felt like an eternity. Not surprisingly, the U.S. tied the game late. I have to say I wasn’t feeling to confident about Canada’s chances going into Sudden Death. I was surprising to see them attacking so well in OT then Crosby…. SCORES! In addition to that win B. made a super win vegatarian lasagna. It was amazing. Mmmmm.
After that high the closing ceremonies were a woeful low. Seriously, WTF was that? Yes I get the self-deprecating humour but… it was well beyond that into embarrassingly stupid and juvenile. Shatner? Really? Michael J. was okay, as was Neil Young but the rollercoaster derailed dramatically with music. Sweet jesus. I’m a huge music fan and I’ve seen a lot of Canadian bands so why we showcased our worst bubble gum generic crap music to the world I will never understand. Nickelback? Hedley? Simple Plan? Avril? OMG… It made me want to cry. Canadian artists?? No Tragically Hip, Metric, Stompin’ Tom, Metric, 54.40, Alexisonfire, Arcade Fire, Rush, even BNL, Blue Rodeo etc. etc… I was mortified as the show went on… then suddenly it mercifully ended.