I seem to have had writers block ever since the Pandemic began, but today I am going to try to write up an update on what has been happening with the Schneider-Farris family. It seems like our lives have been moving at a rapid rate and it is really hard to keep up with all that is happening.
In November, 2020, around Thanksgiving Day, I wrote up an update, but so much has happened since!
I am writing this with my feet elevated since I broke my ankle Telemark skiing in Winter Park on May 12, 2021. That has been a bummer since there has been no scootering and biking for me, but I have been able to kayak and use the knee scooter we saved after my daughter Rebekah broke her ankle in 2008 just before the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships. The knee scooter has given me the mobility and freedom I need, but of course having two good legs is way better than this.
Anyway, Joel and my dad and I took off for Sun Valley right on the Saturday after Thanksgiving 2020 and settled into life in Sun Valley. Life became a bit like Groundhog Day there....it involved getting up, getting dressed, eating something, checking the mail and then skiing! Joel enjoyed his job teaching skiing (mostly teaching little kids on Dollar Mountain) so very much.
On the days he was off or sometimes even after work, we’d ice skate. It was really cold, but if we timed things right we could skate also on the two outdoor ice rinks that were free to use (one in Ketchum and one in Hailey) in addition to Sun Valley’s famous outdoor ice rink. We also of course did cross country skiing and sledding. Life in Sun Valley really is like a very good dream.
Annabelle drove out in late December. We downhill skied together three times (one time Baldy, one time Dollar, and one time Rotarun) and did cross country skiing together three times (one time Galena, one time Sun Valley, and one time Quigley Nordic in Hailey). We also tried to cross country ski in Elkhorn in very packed snow but our dog didn’t like that, but we did it anyway.
I cried when Annabelle drove away on New Years Day, but it wasn’t horrible since she left our dog Duchess with us. Having Duchess with us in Sun Valley was the best!
Rebekah drove out just a week or two later and bought herself a ski pass. She skied every day, but also skated. We found a gymnastics place, so she did tumbling too. We did some cross country skiing together and Rebekah even joined the YMCA so she could swim.
We all skied together. One day, Rebekah and I skinned to the top of Elkhorn and skied down. One evening we even went night skiing!
“Eat, sleep, and ski” really became our family’s motto. We ate out a lot since eating out is good for my dad. We had Chinese food on Christmas Eve, took my dad to Shorty’s Diner in Hailey at least once or twice a week, enjoyed Perry’s and The Kneadery in Ketchum, KB’s Burritos in both Ketchum and Hailey, and of course ate at the Sun Valley Hotel and at Pioneer Saloon in Ketchum. I think by the time we left Sun Valley in late April, I’d taken my dad to almost every restaurant in the area.
Joel left for rehearsals for Disney On Ice on February 16 and Rebekah left on March 8. After they left, my life turned into one big Groundhog Day experience. I would wake up, feed the dog, make my bed and get dressed, wake up my dad, help my dad get dressed and fed, take the dog out, check the mail, and then SKI! Very rarely did I skip a day of skiing, but once in awhile, I would skate or cross country ski instead.
Dan came out in mid-March and stayed for about two weeks. The snow had begun to melt so we scootered from the top of Sun Valley Road down into Ketchum one day. We parked one car at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom and had a blast scootering down even though Dan’s hip hurt a lot. We did a virtual family Passover Seder while Dan was in Idaho.
Our family discovered the wonderful Magic Lantern movie theater in Ketchum and began seeing movies every week. I’d never sat through all of Casablanca and taking my dad to see the free showing of Casablanca there was a delight.
When the mountain closed on April 12, I was there skiing until the last lift closed. I skinned up Baldy a week later and skied down. I went cross country skiing in Galena and in the National Forest on the Prairie Creek Trail. I did some bike riding and scootering with my dog Duchess. I skated a bit more at Sun Valley’s outdoor ice rink.
We took my dad out to eat at Gretchen’s at the Sun Valley Lodge for his 92nd birthday on March 24, 2021.
During the time we were in Idaho, we took a few trips to Twin Falls. We got my dad’s COVID vaccinations there. I ended up getting vaccinated right at St. Luke’s Wood River Hospital in Ketchum, but had to wait a month between vaccinations, so I couldn’t leave the area until after my Thursday, April 22, 2021 second Moderna vaccination.
On Sunday, April 25, I drove away from the Sun Valley paradise I’d been at for five months and arrived back in Colorado on Monday, April 26.
My husband Dan had his second hip replaced on Tuesday, May 4, so my daughter Annabelle flew out on May 2 from New York State to help out.
All went smoothly, so Annabelle and I went skiing on my birthday on May 7. I also went skiing in Arapahoe Basin with my friends Maureen and Jim and Dan took me to Loveland to ski. I was amazed I could ski in May!
We did some scooter and bike rides in Larkspur and just enjoyed being together as a family.
We had planned to ski on Mother’s Day 2021, but the weather wasn’t agreeable, so we waited until Wednesday, May 12 (which would have been my mother’s 99th birthday). Annabelle and I decided to try Winter Park out. What we didn’t know that only Blue runs were open in Winter Park, but we did okay and had a blast skiing all day. Around 2:30-45, I switched to my Telemark skis which I had done in Loveland on my birthday. Unfortunately, I just fell the wrong way as we were skiing down and as I was attempting a Tele turn and my right ankle twisted around 360 degrees. I really didn’t believe I was hurt and tried to ski down, but it just hurt too much, so Annabelle called the ski patrol who got us to our car. We stopped at the Urgent Care in Castle Rock and after an x-ray we learned I broke my ankle. Such a bummer, but I’ll be okay by the end of June I think. At least I got a good ski season in and skied most of the day on May 12!
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| Enjoying Drew’s Rowing Machine In Long Beach |
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| Drew, Grandpa, Lynnellen |
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| Dan “working out” on Drew’s Rowing Machine in Long Beach |
I had planned to go to Long Beach with my dad from May 17 to May 31, but due to the broken ankle, I shortened the trip. I really wanted my dad to see my sister since her had not seen her since before the Pandemic and now that we are all fully vaccinated, I decided going was essential, so we traveled to Long Beach on May 20 and flew back on May 27. It was the first time my dad and I had been on a plane since March 3, 2020.
Wow...was it difficult to travel through the Denver airport with a knee scooter and crutches and my 92 year old dad though. It didn’t help that Dan just was recovering from a hip replacement. At least I got my wish...I can legitimately scooter in restaurants, grocery stores, and other public places!
During our trip to California we were notified of the sad news that our dear friend Hellene Anderson passed away. She was only 60 years old and she was so close to us....like family. We’ve been mourning off and on.
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| Hellene Orenstein Anderson |
It was wonderful to be in sunny California again and I especially enjoyed knee scootering on the beach bike path with my friend Rhonda and doing the bike path at El Dorado Park with my husband Dan. It was also great going kayaking with my friend Bernadette. With Dan’s and Bernadette’s help that was possible.
We also took a trip to Woodland Hills to see our friends Lisa and Mike Cohen. When we were there, we went by the house I lived in when I was five to eight years old. We also saw our good friends Josh and Gina Moss at their home in Irvine and shared a meal with them there. We realized how the Pandemic had kept us away from seeing people, so now it is nice to be vaccinated so we can visit friends again.
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It was so nice for Dan to be able to see 97 year old mother and his brother and sister.
My dad got to see my sister Lynnellen and also my nephew Drew so the trip was well worth it even though it was difficult traveling with my broken ankle, a new hip for Dan, and my 92 year old father.
When we returned home to Colorado we jumped right back in to kayaking since Annabelle and her boyfriend Ben did all the work and got me into Monument Lake. Ben’s parents were visiting Colorado so we had a really nice time at the lake with them and also for Shabbat.
As I finish this blog post, it is after a wonderful Memorial Day holiday day with our dear friends Paul and Judy Steiner who we haven’t seen face to face since 4th of July 2020. Unfortunately in December, both Paul and Judy had Covid, but everyone is better now and we are all vaccinated so we can be together.
More changes are in store as the summer approaches. Annabelle and Ben will work at Ramah in the Rockies summer adventure camp, Rebekah will be in Colorado for a month and then go back on another Disney On Ice tour. Joel and I and my dad and our dog Duchess will go back to Sun Valley so that Joel can pass his gold dance test. Dan will hold down the fort in Colorado.
To those reading this, we are thinking of you and hope you may be able to be out and about after this strange year and a half. It looks like the world may be turning back to being somewhat normal!
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