365 Days With Kiddos - #25 - Make A Snowman (or Woman)

January 18th was World Day of Snowmen. The funny thing is that I almost wrote this post on the 18th and it was only today that I found out this tidbit of information while reading about a photographer in Ottawa who is having an exhibition of images of snowmen called Melting.

Making snowmen is something that can only be done when the snow is just right (wet enough to stick together). There can be snow all winter and only a few time when it is perfect for making snowmen. Here in the Canadian Rockies we had one good day in September (which is when these photos were taken) and one just the other day. We seize the opportunity to make snowmen whenever we can as do others we know. I bumped into one mom and her kids at the grocery store the other day and they told me they were buying some "snowman making supplies"...

Kids enjoy making snowmen, especially when there are no rules and they can be creative. There is a classic formula for what is needed for a snowman but I think mixing it up is the best way to go. One of our favorite snowman books is called Sadie and the Snowman. "Sadie can't believe it! For a whole winter, she builds and rebuilds a snowman who becomes her very special friend, but it always melts. At the end of the winter, she manages to save just a little bit of her snowman for next year." If you would like some lesson plans for this book just Google the title.

I hope this post inspires you to make a snowman this winter. The next time the snow is sticky and you think, "hmmmm, this is perfect snow for making a snowman!" grab your kiddos and let your imagination run wild.

365 Days With Kiddos - #24 - Make Snow Angels

We have received over a foot of snow in the past two days. It is the light and fluffy kind, not good for making snow men and women but perfect for making snow angels. Making snow angels is a pretty common activity for kids who have grown up around snow. Even as an adult I like to make a few each winter. I get the same cheesy grin I got as a child while I make one, the same grin my daughter gets when she makes one.

Now because I have a lot of experience with playing in the snow I had to laugh when I read the "technique" for making snow angels on Wikipedia:
"The creation of the snow angel is a simple process. The first step is to find an undisturbed plane of snow. The next step is to lie supine, spread-eagled in the center of the snow. The limbs are then swept back and forth, creating a trough through the snow. When it is finished, the snow angel should have the appearance of an angel, the movement of the arms having formed wings, and that of the legs having formed a gown."

The current world record for the largest number of snow angels made at the same time in one place is 8,962. It was set on February 17th, 2007, on the grounds of the state Capitol building in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Making a snow angel to celebrate a touchdown is not allowed in American football. Wes Welker was fined $10,000 for making one after a touchdown in the Gilette Stadium on December 21st, 2008. I have to say that if I made the salary that a football player does, and I scored a touchdown while playing outdoors in snow, I would make a snow angel, too. Good thing we are not football players and we can go make as many as we like, right now...

New Snow & New Books

First Snow of the Year in Banff September 2010

I grew up in Minnesota where cold and snowy winters are typical and people talk about storms they have weathered with pride. The largest one I can remember was on Halloween in 1992, when 30 inches of snow dumped in one day, just two months before I moved to Phoenix, Arizona for a year and a half. I had had enough of winter. But, I learned while in Arizona that I could not stand to have the sun shine everyday and to not have any seasons to look forward to. I moved back to Minnesota briefly before heading off to Florida for one winter, which really woke me up to the fact that I am from the North and that I love winter. After a few more moves around the Northern US and Canada, I now live in the Canadian Rockies. I love everything about it, well, almost everything...

...everything except winter driving. I used to be good at winter driving. I had nerves of steel and I felt immortal. I didn't know any different. I remember that after that Halloween storm I drove an hour from my house to see a friend. I was the only compact car on the road with a bunch of seasoned truckers. I was young, I was kid free... in fact, the most winter driving I ever did was when I lived in Maine and my future husband lived in Ottawa, Ontario. I drove a 12 hour round trip to see him for 3 years. It was 6 hours on a good day or night. In a winter storm it could be an 8 - 9 hour white knuckled journey through a white out. It started with two lane windy mountain roads, then two lane highways through tiny Quebec towns, then finally a highway. I was in love. I was trying to insure offspring. NOW? You can't get me out the door and into my car if it is snowing.

Silly? Yes! I hate to admit it. With all of my experience I should only gotten better at it. But, I remember every time I have slid into a snow bank, done a 360 degree turn, and narrowly missed accidents. Our family was in a bad one when I was in the second grade. Now my nerves are shot. My family laughs at me. My friends laugh at me. My husband, with his big four wheel drive truck, laughs at me (partially because I am kind of cute when I am throwing a tantrum). He manages a ski hill that just happens to be at the top of seven switch backs on a narrow, crazy road, that only last year had guard rails put in. I do realize that if I would only get over it, it would be better. I am a huge advocate of the phrase "Be Brave". I love the idea of being "Fearless". I pretty much am in every other aspect of my life. I have traveled the world (and I don't mean luxury travel), moved from place to place, started businesses, immigrated to a new country, had a baby in my own home... I know that worrying about something is useless until there is something to worry about. And that if you don't resolve something that you will be faced with it again and again. Hence the reason I must have wound up in the Rockies, why I have to drive my daughter to French preschool in a town that is 30 minutes away three times a week, and why when I am not doing that I am driving her to a ski hill at the top of seven switchbacks. I should really get a grip.

It is the trek to preschool today that started this rant. I usually look out the window when my husband wakes me up, but today I didn't. I just got up and ready and it was only after he had put both kids in my car that I looked out the window and saw the snow. I only had the same amount of time I have on a good day to get to school but for some reason, I was feeling brave. And for the most part, things went well (when 18 wheelers weren't passing me and turning the drifting snow into zero visibility). We made it to preschool, almost on time! And after dropping Quin off, Emmanuelle and I were treated to these elk, up on a hill, enjoying the snow. I am not a wildlife photographer but I am in awe EVERY TIME is see wildlife (which is pretty much everyday) and I wanted to share it with you.

Around here it can be one thing to get where you are going but another thing to get home. The snow continued to fall for two and a half hours before we headed back. The drive went faster than I expected, Emmanuelle fell asleep, Quin & I had a nice lunch, and two packages from Amazon were waiting! If you know me, you know I am a book worm. I am just as happy with used books as with new ones and I rarely splurge but when I get holiday money I do. I have been waiting for these books and it was such a nice reward to have made it through a stressful morning to be able to find these lovelies waiting for me. I will share my opinions on these books soon... off to read!

It IS Almost Spring BUT...

... I just found these images in a photo folder from earlier this year and thought I should post them before old Jack Frost goes a packing...

This Says It All...

I recently picked up this postcard at our local bookstore, which sadly went out of business... such a bummer! I will rant on this later... anyway, for those of you who know me, you know my husband manages a ski resort in Banff. I had to smile when I saw this, as he will love it!

Hot Chocolate in Vintage Tea Cups

It just happens to have been -20 degrees all weekend. But it doesn't have to be cold outside for my daughter is ask me if I will make her homemade hot chocolate...


Images copyright Tiffany Teske

A Perfect Day for Skiing

Today, Quin & Daddy, went skiing at Norquay, for the first time this year. She is 2 1/2, and she did go one other time, on the last day of the season last year, when she was about 22 months. We know it is young, but she is just such a darn cute ski bunny!



And when you dad is the general manager of a ski area, and is in love with skiing, well, you have to give it a try. For the most part, Q enjoys skiing with daddy, but she is not ready to try even a small slant on her own. Which is fine with mommy, and daddy, too, wants to make sure she had fun and is not stressed. And since daddy learned to ski before he can even remember and he loves it, and mommy learned as a teen and is generally more scared than thrilled, I think is awesome she is starting young!

Ahhhhh, the Weekend....

So, as an artist, who has been self employed for almost 10 years, the weekend is not normally seen as a big deal. My schedule can be all over the board so I don't live for the weekend like someone who works Monday to Friday. My husband, Andre, works pretty much 7 days a week from November to April, as the GM of Norquay, a ski resort. This is the first weekend they are closed. SOOOOOOO, Andre, also known as Daddy/Papa has his first weekend off in months! YEAH!

Currently, until the beginning of May, we have our friends, Mariana & Sylvain, staying with us. They were working at Norquay, so they also have the weekend off. Everyone slept in, we had a big breakfast of eggs with the works, and then Andre took Quin to Motoring Munchkins for the first time since October. We had planned to make a snowman this afternoon, but the snow is too powdery. After a short while outside we came in and made homemade hot chocolate with on the stovetop with milk and some almond chocolate I bought in Mexico in January.

Enjoy my little photo essay of a perfect snowy weekend day apres outdoor fun.

Winter AGAIN!!

Ok, so I have lived in winter climates for all of my life (aside from one winter in Florida and one in Arizona), yet I still always think that just because the calendar says it is spring, that it actually is. And mind you, I love winter, it is my favorite season, so if I am ready for spring, my least favorite season (due to all the trash that suddenly appears when all the snow has melted), then everyone must be ready. After a beautiful weekend, last weekend, I figured it would not be snowing again. HA! I live in BANFF. Why would I think this? So I did, so Monday I woke up to a blizzard. But, it stopped by noon and the snow melted away by 2 PM. Then, it was nice for three days. Then, today, we woke up to a blizzard, AGAIN. Only this time, it lasted all day. And it left behind a foot of snow, that is still here. And I have a smile on my face from ear to ear...

Snow Day?!

Ok, so after a very springy day yesterday, 16C/60F, we were a bit surprised to wake up to a bit of a morning blizzard. Not that it would be unheard of to have snow in mid April, but at about 1 AM it was POURING outside. And at 9 AM, well, there was about 4 inches of snow stuck to everything. A winter wonderland. And once I got over my annoyance that it is still winter, which by the way IS my favorite season, I was a bit overjoyed by the beauty. And Quin was of course happy to don her snowsuit for a bit of a frolick on the back deck...





The craziest part is that we needed to go to Canmore in the afternoon and about an hour before we needed to leave I thought about staying home. Then, all of the sudden, it warmed up and everything melted just like that! I was really glad I had taken the time to capture this fleeting morning gift.

Sunflower Daydream

"A lot of what fascinates me about photography is its ability to act as both the document and fiction, to be both true to life and completely removed from it." Ri Anderson

Well said! I was planning to post this image today and just happened to pick up one of many notebooks kicking around in the studio and found this quote which I wrote down ages ago. I love serendipity!! Here is a double exposure Spectra Polaroid print, one of a kind, that I made at the Calgary Zoo in late February. It is both reality and fantasy. And it is one of my favorite double exposures I have ever made. It has inspired me to start making prints of my originals and to hold onto the originals for the time being...