OK, hopefully this will be the only time this winter we encounter serious snow! But if you must have snow, then you must go sledding. It's an all-American sport that is great exercise, fun for the family, and free.

... except for the fancy Hammerhead Sleds that my brother Steve, and Guy, took down Mt Philo today. Those are $289 (available through EMS, Snow Leopard, REI, Neiman-Marcus, FAO Schwartz, and other stores, and factory-direct through the Hammerhead website).

[Please forgive the shameless promotion -- my brother runs the company.]

We had a blast! The road down Mt Philo was covered with a nice packed base of 1-2", and we were bombing down it. There were lots of families out for sledding, too, who we had to avoid carefully. Good thing the Hammerhead steers.

No injuries, either among us or the bystanders!

Emma and Eleanor stayed back with Katie to make cookies -- another nice thing to do on a snowy Sunday. And now it's nearly 4 pm, the sun is setting, and my thoughts are turning to the sunshine of Santa Cruz. ...