The Holiday Buzz

The holiday rush has come and gone in Crested Butte. Lone Star State suburbans and oversized trucks occupied downtown. Bagels were sold by the dozens and carafes of coffee hit hard. Most resident’s days consisted of a double work shift. For me, that meant opening the bakery at 6:30 AM and closing the Italian eatery at 10:30 PM. For JT, that meant collecting tips from Ski School parents by day and Sushi Bar guests by night. There was money to be made in Crested Butte over those two weeks. For some, their livelihood depends on it.

Somehow, both of us had Christmas day off. We were able to catch up on rest, open our collection of USPS boxes from the motherland, and make a few x-mas turns. Christmas night was spent among excellent company at Toad Hall, the home of a friend, notorious for hosting large and delicious potlucks. Our contribution was an almond, cranberry, butternut squash bake. Yum.

Our next free night was the following Thursday, which meant, time to cook our ham. Five bites into our belated holiday meal the carbon monoxide alarm sounded. A quick call to dispatch (across the street to the Fire/EMS Station) was followed by an alley gathering with half of the CB fire department. Their readings of 45 parts per million pointed straight to our 4 hour roast of ham. This is not an uncommon winter occurrence in a tightly insulated, poorly ventilated, 500 square foot house. All was well after a through airing out of the bungalow. So then we had seconds. 

On New Years Eve, I wore an old school prom dress to work, along with the rest of the female wait staff. After serving many a margaritas I scooted out of work before midnight to catch JT for Champaign at his place of work. Our night concluded at the Talk of The Town, a bar that will some day leave everyone with a story. It was a great scene and a wonderful reminder of our yesteryears spent on Church Street.   

More recently, we picked up a new five inches of snow- the most we’ve seen since November. While the snow flew last Saturday we shared turns and lots of laughs with two Nepalese that we work with: Neema and Dawaa.  They moved here with their families two years ago in search of work and education. Their simple enjoyment for skiing was contagious and made for an unforgettable afternoon.