Another beautiful day

As I adjust to a temporary life in Pacifica, CA. I am very greatful for the opportunity to visit a new town. Ordinarily, this would be a place I would just past through on the way to somewhere's else. Not this time, I actually get to have a forced vacation, Certainly, as a caregiver, your schedule is always close to those you are taking care of. This isn't my first time at this role, what I've learned is that you will never find enough time for yourself. Not complaining, its wonderful to see Anne recovering from her bout with Plasma Cell Leukemia/multi myeloma. On monday, I get a break so I can go home and back to work. I'm going to use every extra moment to get caught up.

Pacifica Pier, December 13, 2014

Its winter in the Sierra, it took its time but its here to stay

I don't know what to think, its december 12, the mountain just opened and I can't get there. Life is like that, it throws all kinds of challenges at you along with trials and tribulations. I am going to have a great winter season, it just hasn't started yet and when it does I'm going to enjoy every moment. In the meantime I am inspired by my daughter, she decided to move to Tahoe for the winter of her 20th year, she is the same age as I was when I decided to move to Aspen, Colorado. She is smarter than me, she actually found an apartment, a job and planned it all out. I just got a one way ticket, a bus fare and was dropped off on main street to fend for myself. So many years later, it was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I am so proud of her and just know it is going to be one of the winters we all remember.

Its raining here at home, time to go to the mountains and test some boards

This has been a punishing fall season, with Anne sick and in the hospital, work, managing home life, a 20 year old daughter and trying to build Grellboards's, all things considered I'm doing great. The boards I've build over the past several months are amongst the best I've ever made. The have ptex bases, 3 dimensional design and are build with carbon fibers, epoxy, a variety of fiberglass weaves, vacuum bagged and heated. The finished product comes off the mold like as a unique individual, from that point I get to shape and be creative. The wall street journal just recognized "Snurfing" the article is available online but I'm posting it here. In the future, if you want the best go to www.grellboards.com. If you want to talk Snurfing, I bought my first board in 1968. Snowboards for the Sledding Hill Ditch the stiff boots—and lift tickets—with a back-to-basics, binding-free board, like the Snurfer, Burton Throwback or Jones Mountain Surfer POWDER RANGERS | From left: Burton’s limited-edition Throwback, based on a 1981 rope-steered model; a recent reissue of the Snurfer, a 1965 proto-snowboard; and the Jones Mountain Surfer, which lacks bindings but has small metal cleats that riders can push their boots into for greater control. ENLARGE POWDER RANGERS | From left: Burton’s limited-edition Throwback, based on a 1981 rope-steered model; a recent reissue of the Snurfer, a 1965 proto-snowboard; and the Jones Mountain Surfer, which lacks bindings but has small metal cleats that riders can push their boots into for greater control. By JESSE WILL Nov. 28, 2014 12:40 p.m. ET 4 COMMENTS SNOWBOARDING IS a relatively young sport, but some riders are still pining for its humble roots. “There’s an interest now in returning to a place where you don’t need to dress like an astronaut and take a chair lift,” said pro-snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones. Indeed, in the sport’s earliest days, riders would “snow surf” down backyard inclines and sledding hills, not ticketed resort slopes. The equipment was more rudimentary, too. One classic will make a comeback next week, when the venerable Vermont-based snowboard maker Burton releases its Throwback Snowboard ($120, burton.com)—a plywood model based on the brand’s Backhill, from 1981, which was one of the sport’s most popular boards at the time. Like other early snowboards, the Throwback has no bindings to lock boots to it. Instead, you stand on a grippy polymer footpad and hang on via the handle attached to the nose by a rope (kind of like standing on a sled). That rope serves two purposes: It allows you to steer (just lean back in the direction you want to turn) and prevents the board from becoming a projectile when you spill. The Throwback isn’t meant for use at resorts, since it lacks the metal edges that make for tidy turns on hard-packed snow. It’s also missing the polyethylene base that gives modern snowboards their glide. But it’s perfect for absolute beginners to use at the park (Mr. Jones himself learned on a Burton Backhill—a Christmas present—in his backyard when he was a child) as well as powder junkies who want to snag a hillside run without getting fully geared up. The Throwback will be available in two sizes—100 cm for kids, 130 cm adults—and limited to an edition of 800. It’s being joined by another blast-from-the-past: the Snurfer, a proto-snowboard first sold in 1965 that has been out of production for 30 years. Vermont-based Vew-Do recently attained Snurfer’s license and is just beginning to ship hardwood remakes of the original as well as an updated model, called the Nomad, which has a wider, more forgiving nose ($120 and $140, snurferboards.com). Mr. Jones’s eponymous snowboard brand—now a Burton rival—is getting in on the retro act, too, with the binding-free Jones Mountain Surfer ($349, jonessnowboards.com)—a model aimed at more experienced riders that is less of a toy than the Throwback or Snurfer. “Raising kids and teaching them how to snowboard was really a reminder to me that you don’t need a bunch of fancy gear to have a lot of fun,” said Mr. Jones.