I finally got around to downloading my camera, relieving it of the last week or so's photos. I am afraid I should have taken more. I'll show you what I've been up to.

One day during the string of gray and damp days, the weather let up and we took a good walk with the dog. I had my camera in my pocket, and caught this rainbow as we headed up the last hill. This is rainbow season around here. It's good to keep a camera handy. You never know when you'll need to locate that pot of gold. It might be just around the bend!

Last Saturday was the annual Chili Cookoff at Wind River Cellars. Last year the weather limited the field to 5 or 6. This year, the Goodwillies shifted the event to afternoon, and it was SO nice we held festivities out on the back deck. There were 11 chilis to taste. All of them fantastic. It was hard to vote for just one. Yours truly didn't make the top 3, but I did have a great time. Joel has some more photos on his blog. Word of warning: don't taste 11 different chilis at one sitting. I was up from 1-4 am watching missed episodes of Grey's Anatomy. The abc affiliate in the nw is fighting with our satellite provider so we've had no abc since the first of the year...no big...the two shows I occasionally watch on abc, I catch online...so there!

Sunday was the super Super Bowl. We were lucky to have been part of the local gang at Hooba's. Marc outdid himself, both in the provisions department, and in entertainment value. Those who were there know what I'm talking about. Joel put a sign on the tasting room door and moved his wine samples to Hooba's for the day. We didn't have any winning numbers for the pool, but we did have a fantastic time. We're loving you, Husum.

Finally, yesterday was the Mt Adams and ONC Gorge Nordic Clubs' annual potluck and moonlight ski at Atkinsson Sno Park. Nine of us met up at 1 for a pre-event ski. Three decided to snowshoe instead, due to the rather crusty condition of the old and rapidly shrinking snow. The rest of us headed up the trail past the Ice Caves to the Natural Bridges. Lloyd and I hiked there last fall. It looked beautiful with snow. We skied across the first (and widest) bridge. Not being a fan of narrow crossings with rocky boulders below, I had to take a couple of deep breaths, head my skis into the tracks made by Elliot, Yolanda, Lloyd and Randy, and give a rousing "Cowabunga" to get across. Obviously, I was successful because I'm writing this from my home and not the hospital. We ended up doing a 6.5 mile trek, and got back to the warming hut just as the rest of the group was arriving WITH FOOD. And boy were we hungry. The moon was beautiful in a clear sky, but the trail was icier than I like. My night vision is terrible. So when I had a chance to leave with Jan and Jo, I did. It was a wise decision. When Lloyd and Fred got back to the house, they regaled us with details of their up close and personal meetings with mother earth. Maybe if we get some fresh, I'll go back up while the moon is still bright.

So today, we rest. And blog. And go to the matinee of Slumdog Millionaire at Andrew's Pizza and Starlight Theater. I'm too tired to do anything else.