Snow and Cousin O

First Snow of the Year

Cousin O, Sister H, Brother A and dog Boeffie

First snow of the year. And so we go for our annual sledding pilgrimage to the snow. It’s too early to ski yet, but we need to touch the snow. The idea was to go to Qannat Bakish, a quiet area near Faqra, but the traffic has been absolutely horrendous the past two weeks, so by the time I got to Antelias, I had been in a constant traffic jam, and opted for Zaarour instead, a ski resort about 45 kilometers outside Beirut.

Cousin O still looks a litl subdued due to the crash

Lebanon officially has 6 ski resorts, but only 3 offer decent skiing (Ceders, Laqlouq and Feraya). The others are either too low and the snow is always slushy, or the place looks positively run-down. But they’re good for sleighing.

Two Snow Angels

Cousin O
This will probably be the last time that my sister in-law entrusts her son into my care. Mind you, nothing happened to him this time. I mean, he’s still alive. Okay, a few bruises maybe. I do not know, but cousin O should become a stunt man later in life. My son never really got into disastrous accidents. Yes, he skied into a few people, fell off the bike head first and closed car doors on his fingers. But nothing to the extent of what cousin O manages to pull off. This guy, with his 6 years, falls head first into deep crevasses. I should have know; last sleighing expedition ended up with cousin O being brushed all over his chin and neck. This time, he did not see the end of the slope coming (how could he not? There was a fence!), ducked to sleigh under the fence (10 centimeters high) and then off the wall. Due to the snowfall, he only fell about a meter or so. Head first, Of course, cousin O wouldn’t have it any other way. And so he’s got this bruise all on the left side of his face. I delivered him as the night fell, and in the poor light of the street lamps, I was rather relieved that his parents did not notice the bruise right away.

His mom will, however, as soon as she gets him into the tub. And then she will – once again – make a vouch never to send her son along with this dangerous and reckless aunt of his from Holland.

A view of the snowcapped Lebanon Mountains as the sun sets