Do You HooDoo?

Friday night we went up to HooDoo Ski Resort. It's just over the Santiam pass on Highway 20 towards Eugene; about 25 miles from us. We met some friends for sledding and pot-luck in the lodge. The kids had a blast sledding on their groomed slope. They also have an "autobahn" where they have up to 16 (or 20 depending on which page of their web site you are reading) lanes set up for inner tubing. There's a rope-tow to get you back to the top, but if you're willing to walk up you get extra runs for your money. Unfortunately, it isn't open at night.

David and I are going to try to get back up there some time soon; they have "Tightwad Tuesdays" all season. A $19 lift ticket seems like a reasonable price for a couple who haven't skied in a decade. We'll test it out, then see about ski lessons for the kids. Although maybe not: the daughter of a friend of ours just broke her wrist in three places while skiing.

You can check out HooDoo at http://www.hoodoo.com/

Science Project goes Terrrrrribly Wrong!

Sisters, Oregon -- It was bound to happen....Doug drank some of the "Safe" microwaved water. Who'da thunk? It certainly didn't mutate the plants?

See other monstrosities at: http://gallery.mac.com/hunifamily#100016

Major Scientific Breakthrough

Today, researcher, child prodigy, Douglas Huni shocked the world by debunking internet denizens and their hoax claim that microwaved water harmed (stunted or killed) plant life. In a scientifically executed study, Master Huni proved his case. The following pictures show the results: Group A - Plain Tap Water, Group B - Microwaved Water, and Group C - Boiled Water.

In the end, it appears, microwaved and boiled water are virtually well suited to nourishing the plants. Tap water fared less well...perhaps water borne microbes/sediments are responsible for the differences.

Slow Start to New Year

Go figure, the weather and the kid's school break conspired to get us off to a slow start for the new year. Just today we are taking down Christmas stuff and getting ready to mail the first of our newsletter-style holiday greetings. I know it is supposed to be downtime, but I feel like we did accomplish a few things over the two weeks of Christmas--we kept Doug working on his science and social studies projects (even if he had done his research on the wrong topic), and we got our claim filed on the damage done to our household goods during the move here (a fairly monumental task now that, for our convenience, the whole thing is done online). Anyway, you get the idea. Lots of snow to play in with more coming. We've been shoveling the whole driveway by hand to get some cardio and fresh air. Today, it's into town to the library for a few more books and to check mail, then back out to our winter wonderland. Here's some recent pics of the digs: