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The tea fields of Africa one day. A tasting room in London the next. You never know where Tea Master Barry W. Cooper will be tomorrow! Check here frequently to read Barry’s latest entry in his travel blog—or send us an email with “Barry’s Blog” in the subject line and we’ll alert you when a new entry is posted. Sign Up |
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Vail = Snow = Skiing= = Wrapping up, because it gets cold up there. At base camp it was warm and sunny but at the top (see pic 2) it was anything but! Its been a strange year in the mountains. The general economy world-wide has meant that there is a dearth of skiers from overseas, but a lot of locals. I am not sure how the slopes are going to do this year…they depend upon those foreign currencies to fill the coffers…locals are good skiers but not such big spenders……
It has been a GOOD year for snow…at least 4 feet has fallen in the last two weeks. The slopes are groomed but just take a look at how many people are out there skiing…..not many! And this is Christmas week…normally a big week for the ski industry. You can get an unlimited pass for the entire season with NO blackout dates for just $500, a year ago the same thing would have cost you more like $1400…..it just shows what deals are out there…..
So halfway through the evening we notice that youngest son is no longer with us. We look around and find that he has found company that he found far more enchanting than his Dads friends. To tell you the truth I cannot blame him at all!!
The days between Christmas and New Years eve always feel like a sort of “dead zone” to me. One celebration is over, another one looms, but you have a week in-between to recover from on and prepare for the other. No work gets done, everybody, everywhere is off doing something or other so actually it’s a great time to catch up on things….read a book..get together with friends and that’s exactly what I did. Here are the friends…up in Vail, getting ready for New Year, Texans, Cruzans, Floridians, Coloradians, and my youngest son Rory on the extreme right….are we having a good time or what?
And this is what Santa left under the tree. Amazingly it was all assembled by the elves and Santa’s helpers. It brought a gasp from LB and then utter quiet apart from the Choo Choo as the trains were racing around the track…the expression on his face was worth the price of admission…it was a great Christmas morning….
Its Christmas Eve and Santa is on the prowl. He comes to our house and finds little Barry in the kitchen. I don’t know if you can see the expression, but it is one of the widest grins you will ever see on a three year old. And the big day has not even arrived yet…..He has made it clear to all who would listen that he has been GOOD this year. He is learning the rules of the game early…..
Oh the excitement! The tree is laden, its base covered with presents. The Angel on top beams down on all of us and it is almost a white Christmas outside. This has been a relaxed year for Xmas in many respects. The crowds were not overwhelming in the malls, Sandy started preparations well before their due date, and the Christmas party (normally a scene of Ok food) this year was catered by a friend and was a STUNNING success. So we enter the final run up to Christmas relaxed, laid back and confident that no matter what, little Barry’s joy is going to be our best Christmas present anyway.
We are edging ever closer to the magic of the 24th. We are also going through one of those cold, frigid spells when the temperature is a steady ZERO with the wind chill. On such days, this sight really appeals to me. It must have something to do with the ancient instinct to retreat deep into caves in bad weather, wrap ourselves up in furs and stay warm until spring.
Times are hard. You have to work hard to get a sale. This work seems harder than most, as it was a windy (look at his trousers blowing) and cold day (he’s wearing gloves) You have to hand it to him though. If advertising is the art of getting someone’s attention, then he certainly got mine!
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