This blog is intended to keep our kids and friends connected with our life. However, I can't pass up this quote that appeared in today's Wall Street Journal in an article about the Societe Generale SA fraudulent trader and related $7.2 billion dollar loss -- Honore de Balzac's dictum -- "Behind every great fortune is a great crime"-- from La Comedie Humaine. In a related NPR story, visit How the Rich Get Richer, an interview with Pultizer-winning journalist, David Cay Johnson, author of Free Lunch, How the wealthiest Americans enrich themselves at Government expense (and stick you with the bill). Listen to the interview on NPR at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17808622&sc=nl&cc=es-20070120.

Winter on a mountaintop

We've had exceptionally cold and clear weather, so Tom and I did made the most of it with a trip to the North Cascades mountains to a wonderful remote cross-country skiing and snowshoe destination -- Scottish Lakes. Our experience began with a trip in a 4-wheeler with snow chains and it brought us to mid-mountain where we got onto a large Yamaha snow mobile that brought us the remaining 4 mile ascent to over 5,000 feet. A "village" of cabins perched along the mountainside waited for us. Friendly staff showed us to our small cabin which had a large wood stove, a bed, 2 burners, a kerosene lamp, and a cooler of water. There is no plumbing at Scottish Lakes which sits on a mountaintop and on a clear day or moonlit night, you can see "forever." There is a hot tub set in the snow that is heated with firewood. At 4-degrees Farenheit it was a quick run into and then out of the hot tub. Tiki lamps light the paths. And there is a candle lit at night in the a-frame outhouses. Skiing and snowshoeing occupied our time, with a card game, or a moonlit ski or walk mixed in. When our stay was over, we skied down. It was spectacular. I would highly recommend Scottish Lakes for the adventurous among you (and also those who are not wed to comfort, warmth and convenience). Visit their website for more information - www.scottishlakes.com.