Jim's Notes: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Cooper in the snow

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"Ok, I enjoyed the walk, now LET ME IN!!!"
(taken at 13 White Pines Dr, Mammoth, CA)

Chained

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"Chained. "
(taken at Tamarack Lodge)

Friday, February 24, 2012

I tried to upload these videos before from my phone and they didn't work. So I am trying again. The internet is so slow where I am. It wouldn't take the video that is 45 seconds long. It gave up after 24 hours of "processing". So here's the one that is 10 seconds long.

Brew Bro

Mr Cooper says, "Won't you join me for a drink?"

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Green Acres we are here!

This is what my friends all think of my life.

To catch you up to speed if you aren't already in the loop, we've moved. We are living full time in Mammoth Lakes, CA until June 1st. When I have tried to explain where this little slice of ski heaven is to those who don't know, I run into trouble.

It's in the middle of nowhere.
"What the closest airport?"
It has it's own airport.
"The Closest BIG airport?"
Uh, Los Angeles or Reno. From LA it's 4 and half hours north. From Reno it's 4 hours south.
"What's to the east and west of it?"
Flat land and a mountain peak.
"Why the hell are you there!?!
Okay, valid question....

Last fall things in Los Angeles starting shifting. Slightly. But on the heels of other shifts in our world if was that small chink in the armor that suddenly let in a rush of light and air. I AM IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE.

My uncle Ed passed away almost 2 years ago. I didn't think he led as full and glamorous a life as he could have. He told my brother he had only one regret, he wished he hadn't sold his last boat. How odd it seemed to me that he was so content with his life. I spend hours and days driving in a panic to find the right pair of shoes, at the right price, from the right designer to wear to the grocery store. Hmmmm.....

Our little dog Lola passed away a year and half ago. We loved her so much and we were mired in grief for a year. Just going through the motions. Get up, work, eat, go to bed. She was so full of life and here we were so empty. Hmmmm.....

A number of years ago we got the wake up call that our parents may not outlive us. We've watched as our friends have lost their parents and we have taken the lesson to heart. We appreciate that our parents are still here. We have made it our habit to see our parents at least twice a year if not more. Thank you Universe, I got the memo. I have taken it to heart. But then in the past year a new lesson started to break on the horizon. People our own age with health issues. People in our peer group passing away. Well shit. I am not ready for this memo. But since taking notice of our last lesson has actually worked out well for us, I started taking stock of the new memo. Life isn't guaranteed no matter your age. Hmmmm.....

And then came our tiny shift in the fall. "What if?"

What if you could do whatever you wanted.
What if you weren't anchored?
What if the "rules" didn't apply?

And Lyle and I started asking this question and coming up with surprising answers. One of the questions was, What if we didn't have to live in LA (and pay the extreme costs of living there)? And we opened our horizons to the possibility of living somewhere else. And Lyle said, "I wish I could ski more."

That night, as he was falling asleep, I said to him, "I could live in Mammoth for 3 months if you wanted. As long as I knew it wasn't forever, I could be cold for 3 months if it meant you were happy." He didn't say much, just rolled over and went to sleep.

The next morning he found me in the kitchen making coffee and said to me, "Did I have a dream last night, or did you actually offer to move to Mammoth?" Not a dream, I offered. And BAM! He was out of that kitchen and onto the Internet to see what it would cost to live on a ski hill.

Details. Many, many details are being skipped over right here. To bring you up to speed. (One thing to note, somehow my offer of 3 months turned into 4. That one I did not see coming.)

We are in Mammoth Lakes, CA, living at 8500 feet above sea level. Lyle is skiing to his hearts content and I am only slightly stir crazy. I don't ski. I don't snowboard. I barely walked outside in Los Angeles except to go between the valet parking and the mall.

I had to buy boots. Serious winter boots. And my idea of serious winter boots is Cole Haan boots with pretty red laces and Nike air technology. No one else thinks they are serious enough.

At least they are more sensible than my Gucci winter boots.

My world is upside down and I am not complaining. It was time for a shake up. Actually about 5 years ago it was time for a "shake up". We waited so long it was time to flip our universe on its head and let the pieces fly!

On our first winter weekend outing together, we went snowshoeing.
There goes Lyle on his winter trek (I always have the camera).

From an anonymous life in a city of 4 million people, to a "hi neighbor" existence in a city of 8,000 people. There is one drug store, one hardware store, one grocery store. There is no Trader Joe's. I joke that I am living out my own version of "Little House on the Prairie" but as I mentioned at the beginning, all my friends think it's more Green Acres. You'll never guess who they expect to find wandering the mountain in pink marabou slippers.

Those aren't pink slippers, they're SNOWSHOES!

Stick around. I'm slowing my life pace. I'm testing this idea of going "outside". It's a stunning location and I've only got 3 months to capture it all.