Boxing Day

rose hips frost, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

A year ago we were combating jet lag to enjoy a good old scottish festive season. I was dismayed at the levels of hoar frost considered normal and also at how short the days were but enjoying being with my family for Christmas for the first time in over a decade.

This year we're all but snowed in as Lower Mainland enjoys (?) record snow accumulation .... but we don't have to go anywhere so life is generally relaxed right now.

This is one of the photographs I took last year (just over a week before I went deaf ... but that's another story) of some rose hips caught by a sudden overnight frost. I eventually got around to making a necklace inspired by the red berries by the next winter. I guess I'll be listing it soon in my new artfire studio so stay tuned!

merry christmas

late evening toboggan run, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

wishing you all a very merry christmas and all the very best for the new year.

ebb xoxo

In case you were wondering ....

it just got snowier, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

.... we did make it home on Friday. It took 10 hours to reach home, which is longer than it takes to fly back to Scotland, and we arrived to find the place covered in that fluffy white stuff we now know is snow. It turns out that our advanced driving course along the snow-pack of the BC interior was good preparation for the nasties around the Tri Cities since it has done nothing but snow heavily since we got back.

A quiet word to the drivers of Lower Mainland - STOP DRIVING LIKE NUTTERS WHEN THERE IS SNOW AND ICE AROUND.

mr ebb made it into work on Monday. I only just made it down the mountain to a chiro appointment. Grocery shopping on Tuesday was essential. Christmas Eve has been completely snowed off but all I ran out of was wrapping paper.

Tomorrow we don't have to be anywhere but home. I think we'll survive.
Merry Christmas to all.

next year mr ebb and i will be ski jumping ...

unfeasible ski feat, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

With our holiday almost over, mr ebb and I are already planning the next getaway. We're thinking of a costumed re-enactment of a ski tragedy in Chamonix as pictured in this period poster extolling the virtues of fresh air and sensible exercise suitably clad.

wtf!!!!!?

With a corset that tight I doubt if the lady pictured has even enough breath to launch, let alone get to the top of the piste. And don't get me started on the skinny wooden skis, voluminous skirt and free heels assembly (or maybe she just parachutes down to land?). Both look like they've had their bottom jaws bandaged tight shut to stifle the protest before they were pushed off down the launch pad. Gee those crazy victorians!

Anyway, it was the last day of our holiday. The Wee Guy got to the top of the mountain on the white knuckle chairlift ride of doom aka the Comet and made it down safely for hot chocolate at the kids' ski hut (thank you Roland! i'll forgive you now for teaching the wee guy that kissing is sissy - we've had an entire evening of discussion about whether that activity is cool or not, who he should kiss and whether kissing girls is yucky or not!) while mr ebb and I got steeper and deeper among the trees off the Alpine Meadows chair.
whew! run on sentence much?

so it's home tomorrow - pray for no snow pls
meanwhile, small video of wee guy skiing and making airplane noises

ebb shredding

ebb shredding
Originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama

oh geez how i hate that term, it makes me feel old and un-rad and v un-gnarly cos i don't go with the lingo (backside 880 aubergine twist front grab anyone?).

but this is me on my snowboarding carving down Whisky Jacks at Silver Star. we spent the morning playing around off the Comet Chair where the snow was fresh and the sun warm (only a balmy -24C today folks!).

..... and the faint squeaking noise in the background is either the Comet chair lift or mr ebb's brain, not my knees!

For a quick peek inside my head, this is what I think I'm doing when I'm riding

STOP PRESS results just in ...
Today's extremely low crotch competition was won by the young dude coming off the Comet Chair in the yellow pants, with the waist band slung nonchalantly mid thigh and crotch at knee level. Darling undies dearie - were you by any chance the young buck who was mooning everyone in the bakery yesterday evening with the sub-hipster designer jeans over jet black thermal long johns? Fashion note - low slung never looks good on stick thin BTW, there isn't enough meat to carry it off KWIM?

the Stig on vacation

the Stig on vacation, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Day 2 - still bl**dy freezing but skin now nicely leathered so not feeling it as much. The snow here is fantastic which amply makes up for the sub-zero-ness of the pistes. We've now become adept at sealing off all access to our skin from the prevailing winds (wind chill in the minus 30's C today) though my nose did go white with a blob of ice after one whizz run down this morning.

There can only be one of The Stig, and I think he's here on vacation with us (or at least a shorter, female, cowl-wearing version of him).

Sadly no rad videos of ebb or mr ebb ripping it up, but here's one of Terrific Man aka The Wee Guy ascending. Enjoy!


More Silver Star pics in this set.

brass monkey weather

ice around the hot tub, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Oh yes indeed! Running at a cool minus 20C for most of today, extremities were in mortal peril.

However, the snow here in Silver Star is amazing. The runs are well groomed and I'm having a blast remembering how to snowboard. When I added up how long it has been since I was last on my board I nearly fell off (OK I did have a pretty good wipe out on the first chair lift) - it's been about 3 years since I was last on any of my boards (right - boards. I have a super cute Freedom 51 = ancient freeride board, a little like the Supermodel, a beautiful old asymmetric PJ 4.9 and an awesome Burton Factory Prime).
I had a great day out with Mr ebb (the wee guy was in ski school all day!!!) remembering to bend the knees, not handbag with my trailing arm, upweight my turns and even had a go riding switch.


Odd facts you might not know about ebbandflo - I have both CASI Basic Level One and level one race coach qualifications!

But all in all, it was a freezing day, necessitating buying extra warm layers (not needed since our days of riding in Tremblant) and eating high calorie snacks frequently (sadly not including the fine dining we used to 'come home' to at Auberge la Porte Rouge).

And freezing days on snow must always end up in the hot tub, where I acquired some new grey streaks (ice, not peroxide).

leaving Hope

leaving Hope, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

The holiday shipping season is over so we're taking a pre-christmas break in one of BC's interior ski resorts. What should have taken, by DH's estimate, approximately 5 hours found us arriving a staggering nine hours after leaving home.
Most of the journey was over packed or drifting snow thru two high mountain passes with the final stretch on ice up to Silver Star from Vernon. At times I didn't believe the car would make it and even now I'm not a great fan of traction control.
But we did make it ... and there is wireless internet in the room ..... and The Wee Guy is booked in for a full day of ski school tomorrow!

check out the flickr photo set of our holiday so far

to enable artisans to make a living from their craft?

I'm totally amazed at the delusional hallucination that this chap is obviously suffering, Etsy is not facilitating artisans making a living from their work! Etsy is encouraging rock bottom pricing, contributing to the myth of handmade being on par with cheap and moreover is shoehorning sellers into frequent re-listing to stay on top of an inadequate search function. I nearly fell off my chair at the global marketplace analogies having witnessed the struggle to get Etsy to denote all prices are in USD (rather than the ten or more non US-dollar currencies around the world) and been completely gobsmacked at an employee recommending priority worldwide shipping for late purchases from Canadian sellers as an answer (see comments here) to the late timing of promotional efforts onsite (FWIW priority mailing costs more than 6 times the $15 price of an average item on Etsy). Let's not even touch the inability to comprehend different time zones outside of Brooklyn.

In addition, this incredible community visualised is not materialising because it is not being fostered.

sigh

Keep taking the happy tablets!

studio time

studio time, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Hard at work threading up the sewing machine. It's been transplanted (like me) from the UK and therefore has to run off a transformer ( wish I had one too!). I submitted some of my felted bags for jurying at a local christmas craft boutique and they were accepted so here's me quickly adding linings to the remaining three bags/baskets.

Here's one of the bags. It's lined with some scrumptious cream raw silk I found at a local thrift store for 50c.

.. and when did that double chin arrive on the scene?

oxidised fine silver pendant

oxidised fine silve pendant, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Playing around with fine silver and eggs = great result!

inverno cluster pendant #2
fine silver press moulded ACS with glass, pear and crystal cluster on oxidised sterling loop and satin cord

will be available at http://gotcraft.ca on sunday!
shop early for christmas

furious fibre felting in progress

furious fibre felting in progress, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Yesterday's in tray on the desk - a very satisfactory morning of fluff, fibre, felting and embroidery.

They'll be on sale at the got craft craft fair on sunday.

oxidation in progress

oxidation in progress, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

.... and then it made a great snack!