We all took a day off from work and went up to Kenosha Pass for Bobbi’s birthday, and it was the best birthday party ever. The day included snowshoeing, wine-tasting, cupcakes, music, and authentic Swiss fondue. We had no cellphone service, which I consider fortunate since the Internet was blowing up over the president’s ban on refugees, as we discovered when we got back down the hill. Ignorance is wine-soaked, high-calorie bliss.
Our party was hosted by the cheerful, friendly folks at Aspen Peak Cellars. Last summer their mountain winery was hit by a runaway semi-truck, resulting in a total loss for their business. (To put things in perspective, their building, their equipment, and 25,000 bottles of wine were destroyed.) Most people would be devastated, but Marcel and Julie are already back on their feet, rebuilding their lives. Fortunately, the good people at the nearby North Fork Ranch stepped in to help their neighbors, enabling the winery to host events with some of its surviving wines. Community is a good thing.
Marcel, the Swiss owner, makes a very fine fondue, and his wines–especially the Conifer Red–seem very tasty. But what do I know about wine? We had a quiz where we tried to match the wines from the flight with various flavors from the tasting menu, and I got only one out of six pairings correct, which means I don’t have any kind of future as a sommelier.
Kenny, our talented snowshoe guide, sang a full set, and I joined him for a Foo Fighters song, pounding on the bongo drums and thus fulfilling my dream of performing live music in a fly-fishing lodge at 8,000 ft.
When we got home from our adventure, I finished reading Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark. I’d been feeling guilty about having eaten cupcakes in the mountains while the world was burning down, but then I paused over this quote:
Joy doesn’t betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine act of insurrection.
Joy and fellowship are literally sources of sustenance, so we need to do what we can to build community and lift our spirits. My colleague Monica Valentinelli has been hosting a “Make Art Not War” challenge, and her post today reaffirms that the art we create matters, as does our sense of personal power. Connecting with loved ones, sending birthday cards, spending time in nature–for Valentinelli, these are all little things that can uplift us. They might not change the world, she says, but they will change our world.
P.S. Over on Instagram, I’ve joined a frivolous February fiber challenge, which has me posting daily all month long. It’s hardly world-changing, but it’s a lot of fun.
