We returned from our Oregon trip to a blanket of snow, but luckily we had town deer to entertain us.
They can be a nuisance in the summer eating everything you plant but they do add delight to winter.
This buck was incredible to see on our walk in town near the river.
The lake wasn't frozen yet in November.
Dave, sweet as always, kept us in fresh flower bouquets all winter long.
I tried some new recipes from a Vegan book we liked in Oregon that we ordered.
Our daily walks by the lakeside never disappoint!
Photographed Tiora here when she was just six months old.
I accompanied Dave to New Meadows and checked out this historic railroad building while he worked with our new HOA accountant. Dave is now the Treasurer of our Condo HOA so that we he can help fix our finances and the general state of our building.
We checked on our property and all looked good.
For Thanksgiving we took Shepherd's pie and French white bean tarragon soup over to Em & Sean who were sick with Covid. Our meal for the holiday was NZ Shepherd's pie, a spinach berry salad with homemade smoky dressing and green beans.
Winter always marks a lot of cooking and baking, trying out favorite and new recipes.
I'm still surprised by how many falltime leaves haven't fallen to the ground yet.
The paved walking path to the river and smokejumper base is always a great outing.
The new Vegan cookbook had instructions on sushi, so we tried it. It's easier than we thought and great!
We added our ornaments to the community outdoor Christmas tree at our townhome commons.
Our patio after one of many heavy snowfalls.
Beautiful stormy skies on this day.
We made French onion soup and shared with our condo neighbor Judy who loves soups.
We went to Colin & Delta's house for dinner. We had taken Colin food and visited him during his recovery from knee surgery. He's already back to riding his bike! This is the view from their home of Jug Mountain.
We went walking on the McCall Golf Course path which gets groomed by the City. Gorgeous trees!
Another awesome recipe from the new book that I tried was beet and orange soup, and shared it with our neighbors Les and Michelle because he loves beets and she just had surgery as well.
The snow piles in our towhnome neighborhood and around McCall are tall this year.
The lakefront.
The furniture store downtown always puts up a window Christmas display that has moving parts.
Another of our ornaments on our community Christmas tree.
We tried some recipes from yet another book that we got. This one has all vegan Insta-Pot recipes.
And then the magic of skiing began. We bought midweek season passes in the summer and decided to put them to use, especially since our Atlanta friends Brian and his family were coming for the holidays.
The top of Brundage Resort is chock full of the most beautiful trees around!
Dave back on top!
I made my annual yarn ball toys for the kitties at our local animal shelter for Christmas.
I usually buy the yarn from the shelter's thrift store so they get two gifts that way.
We decorated for Christmas indoors as well.
My vessel coworker's 90 year old aunt made these for us in 2015.
Back for another ski. We've been trying to go twice a week to keep active.
This is the catwalk at the top of the mountain. Absolutely gorgeous views and trees.
I got new ski pants from my parents for Christmas and Dave got running shoes. I'm spending my Christmas gift from Roger on my Birthday dinner. Thank you all for the generous gifts!
More Christmas decor to prepare for our friends' visit.
Our Atlanta friends Brian and Julie brought their three boys to visit us. This was our first outing with them, skiing at Brundage Mountain Resort. These are the three boys, Mercer on skis, Miller in the back and Mason.
We lent them our townhome and moved into our condo for their stay as we did with the Rethingers.
Julie and I didn't go skiing with the guys on the second day as Brian had booked us massages and facials at the spa. We went out for coffee beforehand and then snowshoeing in Ponderosa State Park with Dave.
After two full days of skiing, the kids were excited to try snowshoeing. We took them up Lick Creek Rd.
We snowshoed near the meandering river that pours into Little Payette Lake. This was us enjoying a chocolate and hot cocoa break. The boys were really polite and sweet and called me Miss Ildi, so I always had chocolate bars in my pockets to share.
Dave and I pose for a photo after our snowshoe.
The following day, the snowshoe outing was in Ponderosa State Park where we went with Julie before.
We went around the Meadow Marsh loop trail with them. We also had lunch at Cafe 634 and shopping.
Later that afternoon, we went tubing at the Activity Barn. Dave and I hadn't been since 2008.
The runs were fast and fun. Brian is wearing his new hat from the Sports Exchange from downtown.
We had a ton of laughs.
The following morning their flights got cancelled because of snowstorms. That meant Christmas together in McCall. We did a bit of scrambling getting some presents for the boys to open and some baking goods for a monkey bread Julie makes every Christmas morning. That afternoon, the boys went iceskating and riding bumper cars at the skating rink. We watched lots of Christmas movies together.
Then on Christmas Day, after presents, we took them to Riggins to hike on the fish hatchery trail.
It was awesome to get a clear path and be able to hike and chat while enjoying the views.
After hiking, we drove them along the Salmon River for a bit to see the elk and one of the beaches.
The stones were incredibly colorful and the beach was a hit!
Poinsettia from Trader Joe's.
A stormy cold day skiing.
Then a gorgeous day skiing.
Beautiful sky over the now frozen Payette Lake.
Dave and I went snowshoeing on top of the non-motorized side of Lake Cascade near our property.
It was sunny and beautiful, so we also flew our drone. My friend Jenny made my hat for me.
The view of frozen Cascade Lake and Jughandle mountain in the background.
I never get tired of downtown McCall. Such a quaint, gorgeous little place.
We walked on the paved trail on a snowy day and wound up looking like snow-people.
This was one of the most picturesque days we've had all year. Hence, Dave's two thumbs up.
The mountain was empty so we skied on freshly groomed runs! First tracks!
The unforgettable view from the top of the mountain.
Dave giving a town deer a stick with moss on it to nibble on. We donated clothes to Toby's thrift shop.
The snow piles around town are truly funny tall.
On a more stormy skiing day.
Dave designed and made this beautiful patch and I sewed it on a hat for my friend Julie. I used regular thread and also some bathymetric survey copper wire that I saved from being trashed from the LMG.
We cleaned for our friends Julie & Adam's visit from Boise. They joined us for the holiday weekend.
Ready to host.
Julie & Adam surprised us with an evening at the Blue Moon Yurt. You get to snowshoe in by tiki light on groomed trails on the Jughandle golf course.
The yurt hosts 5 course incredibly delicious meal. Here's Dave and Adam before appetizers.
The Blue Moon Yurt.
The following day we went for a long walk on the McCall Golf Course and then had beers on their outdoor lamp heated patio. It had a beautiful view of the grounds and mountains.
Our Rosalia is blossoming again already!
We went for another snowshoe off Lick Creek Road, but this time near Roland's Pond.
The skies were beautiful and it was fun to wander all over the place without having to follow a trail.
Beautiful trees at the ski resort. So awesome that we keep going regularly!
I made wool hats for Sara who visited us with her family in the fall. I asked her husband to chose which one looks more like her (he picked the dark grey one). She had been wearing the one I made for our wedding in 2015 and it had begun to be too worn out.
Another beautiful walk on the golf course. We both love this old Ponderosa pine.
Dave made dough from scratch for dinner and a sweet potato and rosemary sauce. It was awesome!
A cold day on the mountain but a great one because there was almost nobody there.
Beautiful views from the top!
Winter Carnival always adds cheer to winter! We drove and walked by some of the snow sculptures.
Another incredible day on the mountain. This time we tried the Lakeview Bowl runs.
Dave at the top fastened his bindings and gives the thumbs up to go down the mountain.
This one of the Bigfoot family won 1st place and is at Cafe 634 around the corner from our townhome.
The dog was behind the apartment building where we first lived in McCall across from the Hotel McCall.
This one by the Fogglifter Cafe was made by middle school art students.
Rapunzel near Bella Kitchen.
Statue on top of the Salmon River Brewery's newest building.
I loved this skiing Yeti! Close to Gravity Sports.
This one won people's choice and is by the Hunt Lodge/Holiday Inn,
Cinderella's ride.
And her shoes at the Best Western.
The whole winning scene at Cafe 634.
McCall had fireworks two weekends in a row to celebrate the Carnival.
Across from the Shore Lodge.
By Lardo's restaurant.
In front of the Albertsons market.
On an open lot where the Sticky Rice Thai food truck parks in the summer months.
In front of the Mill Restaurant.
This one was in the Hotel McCall and Bistro 45 courtyard.
These ones were in the Ludwig Terrace at the Ponderosa Center where we watch live music often.
I loved the crescent wrench and conch shell there!
Mushroom and on the left side a tarantula. And below an oyster shell at Toby's Place thrift store.
Although the winter months are always challenging with their cold temps, short days and epic snow storms, we made it a point to get outside a lot this year. We tried to ski at least twice a week and go for walks around town and on the golf course everyday. The town deer and later on, the snow sculptures, made the walks a lot more interesting. We had the Moore family and the Fogerson-Chitwoods visit, which also added a lot of joy and outings into the mix. Otherwise, we cooked and baked a lot and kept busy with physical therapy, crafts and working with an architect for our property.
