Golden spring bud

Tua and I went for a walk this morning...buds are out!

Passing time

I am a keen knitter, and over the last year my mum has slowly spent time teaching me all her many tricks. After cooking you can usually find me sitting with a cup of tea and a pile of wool. Scarves seem to be my favorite, mostly because they are easy to travel with and versatile, plus they are back in style and very retro... These are some of my latest projects. There is something about pulling soft wool over needles in the evening helps me go to sleep...call me weird. Thanks for all your patience Mum.

First you start with a ball of wool and sticks of your choice.

Next you need a cup of Roger tea...lol.

Popsicle Mobius

The Sea Wave

Blue Bubbles w/ Dragonfly Pin

Candied Floss

Roger's ski scarf (current project and unnamed)
Right now is the size of a small handtowel....

The Shrinking Dinner Table

March 21st has come and gone, and the week that preceded it was full of excitement for sure. We started the week with a weather delay and only half of the group made it in. But true to form Don at Alpine had the remaining guests in by 9:30 a.m. sunday morning.

Sweet..let's go skiing and we did. Tuesday afternoon though brought Don back to fly Antoine home to Isabelle, and Helmut and Kat home to their children. Thank you Kat for the wonderful chocolates and next time you and Helmut must stay longer! As the week pushed on the weather system did not, and views were few and far between. Dan and John though were just happy to be able to get their skis into Canada from the U.S. , and have a few days making great turns together. Susie, Eric, Mikey and myself got to spend thursday touring with Roger down the Danube, along the valley bottom and up the 'grizzly trot'. One of the highlights was watching Roger carry and ski his sweetheart Tua down onto the lower flats (ears flapping and all), as she was struggling to keep up with all the deep snow.

Lee Johnston our assistant guide and guest Heather Armitage continued to explore new lines all week, but sadly on friday we had to call Don back in with a machine to take Lee into Golden with a broken fibula. Even though his ski exam is in four weeks his spirit was not dampened and was greatly missed at the dinner table for sure. So by friday night my place settings were down three guests and an assistant guide. Nonetheless the week was a success and despite spooky snow conditions everyone left the Abbey enriched with new experiences.

I feel guides at the Abbey and surrounding operations are such a vital key to our enjoyment in the back country. They keep us safe every day and do it unwillingly. Conditions this season have been challenging to say the least, and the responsibility the guides take on each day is immense. I strongly believe it is important to "hug your guide at the end of the day"....I know I do. Over the last three weeks the mountains have tossed and taken a lot of close friends. I am sure that on behalf of all the guests this season at the Abbey everyone is wishing a speedy recovery to Robson, Lee, Tom and Matt.

Touring around Butter's Creek

Lee

Susie

 

Berries and Brandy

A window with flare

Roasted veggies for dinner

Eric

Mr. Mike

Healthy starters

Life in between weeks!

Grocery shopping in between weeks at the Abbey...

Save your fork as there is pie...

March 7th to the 14th at Battle Abbey proved to be an awesome week. The guest list was jam packed with a swack of Calgarians, TomDog from the States and Ken Lawrence, who flew over from Holland. Unfortunately Barb Gunn and Jean Woeller had to bow out of the trip, but their replacement Don Findlay...aka 'Head Plant Hank' kept us in stitches. Steve and Gail provided the music and entertainment, Peter jumped in for trail breaking duty, and Paul Grey kept the conversations alive and active.

Roger and Sylvia worked their magic each day providing safe and awesome skiing, and Kim Aube always seemed to be at the right place to provide endless hours of help in the house. After great days of skiing the evenings were then full of excitement, laughter and limericks...and the kitchen even managed to produce an 'explosive apple pie'. Despite the cold temperatures the Abbey was a warm and happy place, and many thanks to Dave and Carolyn Cousins for organizing a fantastic week.

The smell of spring in the house

Dumper waiting for coffee and apple pie

Fresh tracks

My ride to the office

Tasty treats for touring

The view out the back door of the kitchen

Din Putty

The season opened at Battle Abbey in late January. Friends came from everywhere to help with opening week. Jeff, Pascale, Robson, Roger, Rick, Chrissy, Scott and Hima. We skied, drank on the deck and played endless hours of a card game Hima introduced called "Din Putty". The house was ready for another season and the help was appreciated. Tragically March 7th we lost Hima in a slide at Kicking Horse ski resort. Some things are not meant to happen and losing him is nothing short of wrong on all angles. Hima loved being at the Abbey with Robson and enriched all of our lives. His spirit will forever remain in the house and on the slopes.

Please meet my family

My family consists of my wonderful partner of three years now Roger Laurilla. Best of friends we have like interests and work closely together during both the summer and winter months. We live up on the south bench in Golden B.C. and enjoy being at home with our dog Tua.

The rest of my family lives in Calgary and surrounding area. Both my parents are retired and enjoy golfing and traveling. My sister Shannon has two girls Kailin and Mikayla.

My grandmother lives along side Bowness park and Great Grandmother will celebrate her 101th birthday this coming fall.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my blog "Alpine Apron String's".
I am hoping to be able to keep it updated with fun adventures which includes photos, stories and videos. Please feel free to post on this blog as I would love to hear from you.