Blue skies again

Another perfect blue sky day again - it has been years since we have had a week of continuous sunshine and blue skies here in December. 

This morning Luke took my brother up the main mountain, where the skiing is not easy, for a day of ski lessons. Luke qualified as a ski instructor in his gap year after school so he knows how to teach skiing, and apparently he was excellent and very patient. Thomas studied all morning (he has exams when he gets back to university) and only went up late morning for a couple of hours of skiing. Poor Adam was in so much pain with his back he could hardly walk when he woke up. 

I walked Xena along the river, it was cold at -2C but not as cold as yesterday's walk up the shady valley. I decided to let her off the lead and she behaved very well and luckily met some other friendly dogs who played with her. She is very nervous of the horse drawn sleigh that runs along that route, but I kept her away from that. 

I then went to get some groceries and also to the chemist to get Adam some more paracetamol and a heat/ice pack. He has made an appointment with a GP for when he gets home to Cambridge on Saturday and hopefully he will get a referral to an orthopaedic consultant. I also tried to buy a pair of winter hiking trousers - ha, at SFr 450 a pair I thought not!

I took Xena out for a play in the snow later this afternoon (see extra). The snow is melting on the paths and getting icy overnight so it is quite treacherous to walk on it - plus Xena dragging me on the lead does not help. I have to get back to lead training again so she does not pull. I heard yesterday that her sister, aged 6.5 months, has already come into season. Oh boy, something I don't look forward to happening which of course is inevitable.