LEFT IN THE DARK - during power failure

Living on top of a hill has its advantages; we can't get flooded, in case of an earthquake nothing can crumble on top of us and - if so inclined - you can use the terrain to get,-and stay in shape. (It took me five months of solid commitment to run or cycle up our incline. Now I can do it with a smile on my face).

The downside of living high? Our Municipality decided we don't need streetlights or road markings. If you translate this into day to day living it means you will find yourself in a ditch if you get side tracked by deer, coyote or be(e)ar.

Furthermore, our power supplier wanted to save a few bucks and put our power lines above, instead of into the ground. Up here, this causes a problem during stormy weather.



Can you see the lines?

We had one of these days yesterday: At 5.15pm some of the tree branches hit  a power line and just like this, time stood still!

Our boys were in shock when all of a sudden their juice was cut off during their minecraft game. When they realized it wasn't their mother and one of her tricks to get them outside, they came up with their own, fun alternatives:



 Hockey fun during black-out!




Minecraft guys C.Waschko

We had no idea when the power would be back on. Faced with either a one or 10 hour black-out, I wrecked my brain what to do with our half cooked dinner in the oven.



The boys refused to eat raw chicken and planned our meal: "Let's have take-away."

The plan itself was a good one until I wanted to hop into the car: my four wheeler was parked inside our garage. Obviously, our switch didn't work. Could I have opened it manually? I don't know. We have something dangling from the garage ceiling, but I ain't pulling this one!

We had to wait for Dominic to arrive in his car. When I told my ever so clever husband about my cooking dilema, he only looked at me with raised eyebrows: "Why can't you cook dinner? We have a gas stove!" I told you, he is a clever one. Instead of Dominos Pizza it was pan fried chicken with macaroni for us.

Good Gracious me! By force of habit I filled up our garborator with our left overs, like I always do. Again, Dominic watched me: "What did you do this for?. How will you turn it on?" Once again, my beloved husband was right!

Fortunately I stopped myself  before I loaded up our dishwasher with dirty, greasy plates- Who needs a machine if you can do it yourself?


"Quickly boys, finish your homework before it gets too dark. Grab your candles on the way up." 



Instead of our usual evening noises (freezer, TV, music, fridge) we heard laughter and animated chatter. Honestly, I forgot how much our Korean son can talk. I wonder what he will tell me when he discovers I used his chopsticks to light the candles....

All in all, the evening progressed smoothly. The only downside of not being powered up? I missed special agent Jack Bauer. Yes, believe it or not, after months of watching "24" we are still on it.

Instead of dwelling on our missed evening entertainment I checked on the state of our ice cream in the freezer!  Why let a good thing melt away if I can eat it instead?  Sadly, vanilla ice cream is no real substitute for a man (aka, Jack Bauer) but for today it had to do the trick.

With my wonderful banana split in my bowl I starred into our pitch black, quiet neighbourhood - Oh Jack, I miss you so - and scooped myself a second helping!

10.05pm: When was the last time I went to bed this early? I have no idea when the power came back on; It was on when we woke up. But there is one thing I know for sure: magic happened during the black out:

Dominic decided to visit the Fountain of Youth during the night. In the morning he metamorphosed into a cute, soft skinned, blond haired, 10 year old school boy!

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NIGHT SKIING, GROUSE MT.

Vancouver,  the city where you can enjoy snow skiing, ocean sailing and a round of golf in one day!

If you live the affluent way of life here on the west coast it looks like this:  you start your day with a round of golf, hop into your yacht or sailing boat and end the day with night skiing on one of the local mountains, followed by dinner in a five star restaurant.

If you live an active life on a shoestring budget, it looks like this:

A trail run in the morning (free), 50 laps at the local pool ($4.78), a husband who takes you on a date night skiing on Grouse Mt.(free again) and a dinner at Mc Donalds ($9,98 for two, with discount card).

During this winter season our children spent more time on their boards than we have. We figured it's about time we are going on a date night, skiing. Our boys are as happy being home alone, enjoying their freedom as we are enjoying ours. All they need is a pre-cooked dinner and a curfew (yes, I wish), all we need is a car and our gear.



The folks at Mt. Seymour and Cypress have all discounted their lift passes,- but no, Grouse holds on to his normal, pricey self. Bugger, but hey, they are the only ones still open during the week and for night skiing. Plus, they have a gondola which carries you to the top of the mountain.



Two weeks before the end of the season (April 28), they have three lifts running and promise 26 runs. They were right about the lifts, but I am not sure about the 26 runs. Somewhere between run 13 and 14 we lost count.



What I always suspected was confirmed yesterday: I am a 'perfect - conditions'-  kinda-skier. A fine layer of freshly snowed powder will do it for me nicely. Everything else is just torture. Or I am getting too old for that stuff -

Holy Moly, we had 16 degrees during the day. When we started our first run at 6pm the snow had melted and hardened- yeeks! Very icy, hard to ski on and painfull if gravity wins.



Like Mt. Baker, hardly anybody else was on the slopes; from the top to the bottom, free runs, burn, baby burn!



In my opinion, skiing up here is not a priority, you come her to enjoy the views- which are spectacular, breathtaking and magnifique! On a clear day you can see all the way across to Vancouver Island. When you ski down to the bottom, it feels like you are heading straight into the city, literally.



This is what we moved here for, to live the fabulous outdoors - shoestring budget or not! It can be done!

Christina Waschko VS Sheryl Sandberg

These days it is pretty hard for me to stay focused on the task at hand - to keep you updated on our new life here in B.C! There is so much going on in media land which diverts my attention. It started off with 70 year old granddads  (Rolling Stones)  who are out to fill stadiums,- now there is a lady who gets serious press coverage for her book "Lean In".

Who is she? Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook.

Her message: For "women to lean in to the opportunities and challenges of becoming a boss"  (Times, March 18, 2013, page 36). In other words,: Ueber ambitious ladies, don't get side tracked by family commitments or other nonsense, focus on reaching the top of a corporation!

Her connections: She is most likely the best connected woman in the whole world and probably the most powerful woman in America (Times, March 18).

Her education: Two (!) Harvard degrees

Married: To a very wealthy man.

Her target audience: The selected few, women who are on a serious power trip already or who are planning of doing so.

Her industry: Something we didn't have 20 years ago!

On dreams: I have no idea if she ever had any!

Why it sucks: She is preaching to the converted. A woman who really wants, does!

Who am I?

Christina Waschko: CEO of household operastions in the Waschko family.



My message: To ignite the spark in every woman's heart! "Stop making excuses and pursue your dream- let it be personal or business related!"

My connections: 138 Facebook friends, 124 LinkedIn connections plus my parents; They can't be found on any IT hook-up , but I hope they still count- or not?

My education: University of Life and a degree in Common Sense.  The only way I will ever see an Ivy League School, or Harvard for this matter, is while sitting on top of the double-decker tour bus.

Married: To a very - nice - man.

My industry: Something we had forever, a good ol'fashioned, personal contact business: Running a coffee lounge!

On dreams: I have plenty!  So far, many of them came true!

On why the book bothers me: It is written for a few - but will be read by the masses.

Whereas my book is written for the masses and have been read by few - so far!

My thoughts on female High Flyers: I will bet, most women don't really care about the whole corporate, power game. Given a choice, most of us would rather live the happy, fun life with a loving husband, kids  and working a job of our choice (which makes us enough money) than running a billion Dollar company. Please correct me if you feel I am stuck in Yesterdayworld.

The few who prefer careers over happy family life don't need a whole book devoted to their course. They will suppress the urges of their biological clock to do what it takes to get them to the top of anything (oops, don't read anything into that one).

If they can't suppress their desire to become a mother, they will manage to squeeze in a baby or two in between negotiating and signing contracts. All that in turn relates to a few more neglected, spoilt, emotionally unstable children who see more of their nanny than their mother. Each to their own!

Appeal: The world needs to read about "VERRY BERRY EXTRA-ORDINARY", written by an ordinary woman who made one of her dreams come true.

And less about jobs in higher places, written by an extra-ordinary woman who doesn't need to dream!

Life as a -still - unknown author can be challenging at times, especially in the beginning phase. I know I can't beat her, therefore I will join her! With this, I will lean in and get connected to people who I really should connect with: Sheryl, I will call you later...

ROADTRIP to Mt. BAKER

Part of our European spring break was going skiing in Austria. We invested our time, energy (!) and money to make our boys fall in love with snow covered mountains and the equipment to get downhill safe and fast - or better, fast and furious!

During this spring break we decided to drive across the border for some serious skiing on the other side. Mt. Baker is only a skip and jump (110 km)  from our front door; which makes it even closer than driving to Whistler.



Upon arrival we picked up the key to our rented condo.  Our friendly, local agent warned us about the coming weekend: "Tomorrow will be very busy, we are having our annual Easter egg hunt on the mountain, and everybody wants to find the golden egg!"

Yeah, great!



Skiing in Austria during school holidays can leave a somewhat bitter taste in your mouth. It goes something like this: 10 minutes to get down the hill, 25 minutes waiting time at the bottom of the lift to get back up again! It is crazy busy with anybody and everybody who can afford a lift ticket. If you find yourself stuck in the midst of other parents, there is only one thing to do,- in Germany we call it "huettenschwung"!

In good old English it translates to skiing from hut to hut to drown your frustration with a gluewein (mulled wine) or jagertea (tea plus rum) and hope for a clear run all the way home! You will never get where you want to ski without stopping. During your time on the slopes you are in active danger of being run into, or worse, run over by some random boarder who hasn't discovered his break on his snowboard. yet. Yes, skiing in Austria during the height of the season can seriously damage your body!



Anyway, small, free standing refueling stations (huts) can be found everywhere, on every mountain, in every region across Austria.  They make part of the Austrian charm. They welcome you with loud brass music and a wide selection of hot and cold beverages. Their drinks make you forget your sorrows and most of all, your inhibitions. In regards to your skiing ability it translates into starting off as a beginner and makes you finish in a league of your own. Forget about looking good, after two gluewein all you want to do is 'let it rip'.

With memories of crowds and massive queues to wait in line with, it was no wonder we were slightly peed off about the egg hunt.

Wonder oh wonder! The busiest day of the season is upon us and we had no problem finding a parking spot. Wait, it gets even better: No line in front of the ticket booth either! Believe it or not, the coast was clear all day long! The longest we had to wait for at the bottom of any lift were five guys in front of us. If this is what the locals call busy, I want to ski here during their  quiet days. No awkward turnstiles either to check your lift pass. It was wide, open slopes as far as the eye can see!



The huts on American soil are function build, they are good for eating and drinking,not for cosiness. And, one beer allowed per ID only. I am not much of a beer drinker, and gluewein can't be found anywhere.. But then, you don't really need gluewein or schnaps here.

There is no immediate danger of being run over and I found my inner goddess on the wide, open slopes!

How amazing is skiing here in Washington State. No wonder the guy at Glaciers Ski Rental swore me to secrecy - I should keep my mouth shut about this gem!  But if I do,  how will he make money with his ski rentals? How will the condo owners rent out their homes if nobody knows about them?

But even with my post out there I don't believe it would make a difference. Back at the apartment I found a guidebook, published in 1979. Everything written then still applies today- Mt. Baker, Washington's best kept secret? A place where time stood still?