We awoke to white! It's going to be a great ski day. Woo hoo.

As my last Flat Denise posting, I wanted to share my birthday with Brady in Cambodia. Her comments still make me laugh.

"I am so glad that we got to hang out on your birthday!!! We left Siem Reap, Cambodia around 8 this morning and headed straight for Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat has over 600 different temples. We could only visit a few (I think we saw 8 or 10) but you loved every minute of it. You were smiling from ear to ear!"
"We left Angkor around 3:30 in the afternoon. When we got back to the hotel in Siem Reap we rented bikes for a dollar. We immediately rode to Pub Street (a popular place for foreigners) and had a draft beer (0.50$/beer) and toasted to your birthday. From there we went to a Vietnamese restaurant on the second floor and had the best food EVER, with a great view."
"What a great birthday you had in Cambodia!! Thank you for spending the day with us. You made the looky-loos crack up all day."
I'm thankful for all the friends who shared their travels and life with me, while I was living in Italy for a year. I enjoyed everyone's efforts with 'Flat Denise'. It made me feel connected to them. What an adventure.

I am a member of the Alpine County Historical Society and in this month's newsletter, their scheduled Quarterly Meeting & Potluck topic was too inciting to miss: How undergarment style has shaped and changed throughout history.

Jan and Chris were totally up for learning about underwear! We began in the darling town of Markleeville for drinks at the Cutthroat Saloon (1862). Drinking in history is always fun.
The presenter was Jan Loverin, the curator of the Marjorie Russell Clothing and Textile Research Center in Carson City. She was a wealth of knowledge and shared in a very entertaining and informative way.
According to Jan, "Dress embodies humanity and it's worthwhile to have a framework to understand that." The use and style of underwear say much about our history and we left knowing way more about this topic than we ever thought possible!

What normally starts at the beginning of January began for me yesterday, with the delay being weather related- lack of snow! Winter Trek is an exciting, snowshoeing, outdoor education program for 5th graders.

As Ranger Denise, I help teach students about our spectacular Lake Tahoe. Each time I seem to learn something new, as well.

Snowshoeing through this unhealthy forest reveals much about the life at over 9,000'. I love seeing animal tracks and bear markings.

And the view is a reward, in of itself. Keep thinking snow!

Our day began with our birding buddies, Bob and Jenny, in the Carson Valley, an area of extensive agricultural fields.

The entire area is good for raptors and waterfowl in winter and is deemed a Nevada Important Bird Area. It was so exciting to see this nesting pair of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, from Greek hali- = sea, aiētos = eagle, leuco- = white, cephalos = head). We were mesmerized.

The eagles are here because of all the new calves being born.

The Carson Valley is one of diverse beauty, only twenty miles away and is one of our favorite places this time of year.
After admiring all the darling cows, it was a tad ironic to end up at our local Fox and Hound Bar & Grill for a burger. It wasn't just any burger. It was the Menu Burger, something we have been wanting to eat (at a cost of $38.99)!
We split this meat monstrosity four ways, but if a person challenges to eat it all himself, the burger is free! The record is just over 14 minutes! Yikes. I can't even imagine. It took us forever to finish it as a group.
Glorious weather, a hoped for eagle sighting, warm sunshine, fun friends and a unique dining experience... it was a pretty great day here in Tahoe.

mem·oir
noun
1.
a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.

I'm taking a memoir writing class and one of our assignments was to write about an object from our past that evokes memories. Being that I have moved nothing from our past, to Lake Tahoe, this was a difficult assignment for me to accomplish, until I saw this 1960's era coffee pot at Jenny's folks' house.

Growing up, coffee was a big part of my parents' lives, from my earliest recollections. This coffee pot seemed to be the common ground that was the catalyst for my mom and dad to sit and talk. Most of their relationship time seemed to occur in the kitchen, cup in hand, mornings and nights.

It was there, in the kitchen, where I could find them if I got up too early or if bad dreams awoke me. There was comfort in knowing they were there, in a private oasis, to be interrupted only if need be. It was this coffee pot that created the bonding opportunity for them. Life wasn't easy for my parents. We were difficult children, work was unrewarding and their health wasn't good, but I always felt there was a calmness when it was coffee time. To see the same coffee pot, 5o years later, uncovered memories so buried. What a gift that sighting was for me and a story needing to be told.

We spent our Valentine's night grooving to local boy done good, Sean Pawling. When I told my friend, Jan, a 32 year Tahoe resident, that we were seeing Sean, she wrote, "Sean was a whiz in Jr high and high school and inspired a lot of kids to play music!" How cool that he is back home from L.A. for this special performance.
Multi-level tracks, emotionally relevant lyrics, a smooth voice and a trombone... what more could you want in an evening of music?!

In October, I wrote, excitedly, about a new soup place opening in the Stand Up Paddle building. The clever name (made by adding an O to SUP) tickled me, so we had to go to the grand opening of SoUP Tahoe.

SoUP Tahoe is owned by Kim and Eddie, who were gracious hosts. We all loved our soup (Chicken Tortilla) and sandwiches. The ingredients are fresh with selections for all diet restrictions (gluten free/ vegan). We're excited for this new place in town.

Flat Denise made it to the beach a few times while I was in Italy. Mark and Carol took me to Hawaii.

Mark's comments were as funny as the photos. "Denise- I probably shouldn't show you this one, since you downed so many mai tais. But when you just jumped up and stuck to this guy's chest... I couldn't resist it. You'd have a much better time, if you could remember some of your antics!!!"

Leslie and Barbara took me to Huntington Beach for a half marathon. While I was pressured to run, I sat that one out.

Annie's comment for this photo was, "Hope you are loving every minute of your adventure so far. We stole away to Laguna for Friday and Saturday so I took Flat Denise with me...here you go!"

The best Flat Denise from Annie however, is the one without a photo, "Yes, threw an Italian dinner party...Flat Denise was there, but after a few sangria's forgot to take a picture. Next time!" My friends know how to have fun with me, even though I'm not there.

How fun to spend an entire day getting WILD. Okay, not in a way most would expect. Project Wildlife in Learning Design is an incredible wildlife-focused conservation education program for K-12 educators and their students.

Several times a year, I volunteer with the USFS in a variety of ways so I thought this training would be super beneficial for me. I was right!
The program is based on the premise that young people and educators have a vital interest in learning about our natural world and what better place to do that than Lake Tahoe. Almost 30 of us spent 8.5 hours gaining knowledge, getting to know one another and having a blast doing it all.

The day was three-fold: Project WILD, Aquatic WILD, and Science and Civics: Sustaining Wildlife. We were introduced to the materials, activities, and strategies through very hands-on practice. Kel even became a tree, teaching us all the parts of a pine!
I spent the day with some very dedicated and enthusiastic educators who really inspired. I walked away with great tools for sharing our environment with everyone, not just students. I love a day where I feel I bettered myself. Today certainly was one of those days.

My mother-in-law, Betty, has recently joined the Tahoe Art League and tonight we went with her to the monthly meeting and demonstration.

The amazingly talented water colorist, Lady Jill Mueller, created a work of art, right before our eyes.
Her seemingly effortless painting was projected on a large screen. It was interesting to hear her describe brush strokes, paint choices and various techniques while we observed.


I've always loved water colors. There is something very fluid and free about this art medium. Seeing Lady Jill make a finished piece in such a short amount of time impressed me greatly and I'm eager to get out my paints.

With the recent outbreak of measles making the news and an upcoming visit to Disneyland scheduled, Steve and I got our Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccines.

According to the Center for Disease Control, from January 1 to February 6, 2015, 121 people from 17 states got the measles. Most of these cases [103 cases (85%)] are part of a large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to the "Happiest Place on Earth".
I did my research and it turns out, generally, anyone born after 1956 should get at least one dose of the MMR vaccine, unless they can show that they have either been vaccinated or had all three of the diseases. Interestingly, most people born in or before 1956 were infected with measles, mumps and rubella in childhood and are presumed to be immune.
The CDC offers a simple, informative vaccine quiz that I hope everyone takes. Consider this a public service announcement, not just for those going to Disneyland but for all of us of a certain age.