On the Road (4)

Jan. 31: Today is sister No. 3's 60th birthday! As is her perogative, she opted out of the pre-dawn yoga class. Believe it or not, sister No. 1 (eldest), me (#3) and baby sister (#4) actually successfully rose before the dawn and did the yoga class! It was abs-focussed so we're all feeling it. The instructor was young (of course), tremendously fit (she seems to spring to her feet like a gazelle...truly inspiring) and surprisingly honest: "This movement is to improve your inner organs and release gas." Which of course people did according to the sudden change in the room odour (as reported by sister #1; I have a poor sense of smell, thank Heavens).

I had a very hard time controlling my inner laughter (I was supposed to be releasing my inner teacher) as it quickly became apparent that sister #4 breathes like a bull in heat. The entire class was silent as we went about the various postures and poses imposed by the yogi except for sister's heavy breathing which was a tad disconcerting. As all breathing is to be inhaled and exhaled through the nose, flying snot was a concern to all. All said, it was a marvelous experience and we finished just as the sun was awakening. I looked out the window to see Lake Temiskaming in all her icy glory, rimmed on the far shore by pre-Cambrian Shield firs, dappled here and there with multi-coloured fish huts, all under a sky turning all shades of pinky purple. Truly a glorious sight.

Once home, of course, we agreed sister #4 and I would x-country ski and the others (being older and less inclined) would shop. Sister #4 is a skate-skier who graciously accommodates my slower classic style but she insisted on the Blue Trail (aka the Trail From Hell). At least my skis were waxed more appropriately to the weather and I could actually ascend some of the inclines before resorting to the old herringbone approach or what I call doing the clodhopper. Nothing is better for the ego than looking like an old penquin on her last legs, criss-crossing skis and hauling ass to get up each hill. But the downslide was exhiliarating if a tad daunting. I'd pass a sign saying "To avoid steep hill" and an arrow. When I'd query sister about the steepness, I'd get: "Oh, it's not so bad; you can do it!" So, like a fool, I did it, praying the whole time I wouldn't break a leg and have to give up expensive non-refundable air tickets to Florida.

Suffice to say, we survived, spent a few calories which dinner more than replaced. We tried to watch 2 videos: Wild Hogs and Jindabyne, but too much food and wine saw Wild Hogs go by with 3 of us sleeping soundly as John Travolta and his cronies caroused, but I'd highly recommend Jindabyne which we only picked up because I like actress Laura Linney. It's a moral tale and Baby Sister's husband surprised us all when he said he'd do the same thing as the men in the movie. Well, you'll just have to watch this movie to know what decision I'm talking about but we were aghast!

Today: Baby sister and her friends want to see Elton John who is coming to the Sudbury Arena so we were all tasked with getting on the phones and/or internet to reserve tickets. The box office opened at 10am so the pyjama gang is doing their thing while drinking coffee spiked with creamy booze. What a way to live! I fake success just to get the old girls' heart rates up but ultimately no one gets through until the darn thing is all sold out. They'll have to make do, if they're lucky, with scalper's tickets.

The plan today is to dine with one of Baby Sister's best friends, Linda -- yum! Chinese food -- like we need to eat more! Then we'll head to North Bay to visit our Baby Brother and, weather depending, either spend the night or move on to home. We never did make it to Sudbury as we'd originally planned as we couldn't raise the relatives there and didn't want to chance arriving at a house with no one home. Of course, it's also possible the spectre of four pre-and post-menopausal women arriving on your doorstep might be enough to make even the most loving of relatives head for the hills! Ciao, bambinos and bambinas!