by Armand Gutierrez, President

The ski season is well under way with copious amount of snow up in Tahoe. Have you been up yet? If not, why not? Whether you have an Ikon Pass or an Epic Pass, this is the month to take advantage of the great snow conditions. This month is also that time of year to express your amorous intentions for Valentine’s Day with the traditional roses and chocolate.

Five Resorts with the Worst Parking

It would be easy to list the five resorts with the best parking but that would be too wearisome and boring. Instead, lets fill your mind with the five resorts with the worst parking:

1. Alta and Snowbird, UT – both traffic and parking are the biggest issues at these famous resorts. And, before heading out the door you better have a parking reservation, aka pre-paid parking.
2. Vail Mountain, CO – Vail is the Mecca for great skiing, but paid parking is expensive and free parking is very limited and also a long walk to the slopes.
3. Palisades Tahoe, CA – Yes, a Cal resort made the list! Beware that traffic and parking can be problematic on powder and weekend days (so what else is new?). Palisades has 4,200 parking spots and another 1,825 at Alpine Meadows.
4. Stowe Mountain, VT – Let’s see, parking is free on non-holiday weekdays (Mon-Thu), and 30 clams a day on weekends (Fri-Sun) and holidays. Or, you can opt for a $450 parking pass, but that doesn’t guarantee a parking spot.
5. Park City, UT – Parking here can resemble a tailgate party at a football game, that is, arrive extra early, snag a parking spot, and have breakfast.
6. Northstar, CA – This wasn’t on the original list provided by the Resort Guide 2023 produced by Ski magazine, but I added it because this past weekend the powder hounds and racers came out of the woodworks and the main lots filled quickly, and additional parking was at the Truckee Airport and Golf Course.

2023 NSC Ski Week in Breckenridge

The Breckenridge Warriors are in Breckenridge enjoying fresh powder and great ski conditions. Yes, it’s on the cold side, mid-teens and low twenties, but that is what is keeping the snow in great condition. Look for eyewitness reports in the March Newsletter.

QotM:  Doing the right thing starts at the beginning of the day, not after you’ve been caught.

by Jeanne Katsuro, Vice President

Hi Nisei Ski Club Members!

Happy 2023!

The Nisei Ski Club Board is looking forward to presenting you with many new activities for this year.This is the basic activity schedule (subject to change as we confirm the dates).

April 

Golfing Activity – Lead by David Schultz (Board Member)

June 10, Saturday 

Mah Jong Classes – Learn the rules and play Mah Jong Plus Potluck at Judy Hom’s backyard

Lead by Judy Hom and Janet Gee (Former Board Members and Current Nisei Members)

July, Saturday / Nisei Ski Club Picnic – Las Palmas Park, Sunnyvale 

Lead by Karen Soo (Newsletter Editor) and Curtis Otaguro (Board Member)

August 26 or 27 Saturday or Sunday

                  Bowling at 4th Street Bowl & Meal

                  Lead by Frank Chang ( Treasurer)

September  / Car Rally & Meal

                  Lead by Carolyn Wong (Current Nisei Member) (Porsche Club Member)

October / 65th Anniversary Dinner Lead by Jeanne Katsuro (Vice President)

                       TBA Golden Palace Restaurant

                       1148 S De Anza Blvd

                       San Jose, CA  (Borders Cupertino)

Month to be Announced

2nd Bocce Ball Activity & Meal Lead by Hoyt Nelson (Board Member)

Each of  these events have limited capacity so if there is a favorite activity you like

SIGN UP EARLY!

      Example: We had people on the waiting list for Pickleball this past October!

For members, who are only interested in eating and socializing, we are providing potlucks or meals with each event so you can still join us!

Let’s Get Going!

Ask your Friends to Join Nisei Ski Club and Join in all our Fun and Activities

There will be Member Prices which will always be lower than Non Member Prices at each activity.

Nisei Skl Club Membership is still only $25 before May 31 and $30 after June 1st.

Nisei Ski Club Fiscal Year is June 1 to May 31.

Our Membership Fees are still super low.  These fees are the same as when I was President in 1986-1987!

This is the New Rule!

    First Come, First Serve!

    When Sign up forms and Checks are received on the same day and we hit capacity for the event.

    Registration Forms that are received on the same day.  A Nisei Member will take precedence over a Non Member to fulfill the sign ups for the event.

Please send the following Nisei Ski Club Registration Form to your Friends!

Let’s Build Our Nisei Ski Club Membership!

Nisei Ski Club Membership Form – CLICK HERE

Thank you so much!

Jeanne Katsuro

Vice President

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

During the Christmas holiday, I went over to my sister’s house. Trying to be the cool aunt, spending quality time with my niece and nephews. I did a lot of baking to pass the time there. I made my usual Italian rainbow cookies, my chocolate, pistachios biscotti’s, Dutch apple pie and a peach cobbler. The professional 6 cup Kitchen Aid was getting a good work out. I was baking to give away as gifts. One of my nephew’s girl friend is VEGAN. Vegan; a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal products. That means no eggs, no dairy, no meat. OMG my sister and I spent 2 hours googling and finding the right recipe that uses the ingredients that we already had on hand.  I hate to spend all that money for a ¼ cup of coconut flour or and paying $6.00 for a bag of vegan chocolate chips that does not contain milk. What a challenge… all this one person.

Halleluiah, we came across the prefect recipe that used ingredients that we have around the house.

These Vegan Thumbprint Cookies are insanely addictive and perfect for the holiday season. With a buttery shortbread cookie base, a sweet raspberry filling and a drizzle of almond flavored glaze, just try to stop at one!

If you’re ever in a bind and need a vegan dessert recipe This is it.

If you’re are going to make them, send me a picture and let me know how they taste to you?
Back to my regular recipes next month.

Bon Appetite – Julia Child and Karen Soo shares the same birthday

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Chilling time: 10 mins

Total: 40 mins

Servings: 26 cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegan butter, softened, you can use margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• If Butter is unsalted, add a tiny pinch of salt
• 1/2 Cup Seedless raspberry jam or any jam of your choice
• Simple Almond Glaze
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2-3 teaspoon water, as needed

INGREDIENTS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir the flour and powdered sugar together. Now add the softened butter and almond extract and mix with a hand mixer on low-medium speed until combined. The dough will look crumbly and soft but should smush together when squeezed in your hands. If it looks really crumbly, that means your butter was too cold. Use your hands to mush the dough together, the warmth from your hands will help it come together.

3. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, about a tablespoon each, and place on baking sheets. 

4. Make a small indentation with your thumb or finger in the center of each cookie, then fill with about a teaspoon of jam. For flatter cookies, flatten the balls a bit first, then make the indentation.

5. Place the baking sheet with the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking, then place in the preheated oven and bake for 15-16 minutes. This helps the cookies bake perfectly and not spread or flatten. The cookies will still be light in color and appear a bit underdone when you take them out of the oven, but they firm up as they cool.

6. Let cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: 

Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth, adding water as needed to thin the icing. You want it to be pretty thick and not too thin. Add the glaze to a small bag, cut a small tip from a corner and drizzle over the cooled cookies. Let them set, then store cookies in an airtight container.

https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-thumbprint-cookies/

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Happy Valentines Day!!

Just a friendly reminder Valentine’s Day is February 14th, don’t forget to get your sweetheart flowers, chocolates and a Valentine’s card.

Here are some of my favorite “Love” tunes to get you into that romantic mood.

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

From Pickler – Can this be the next NSC event??

Nude pickleball is … er, um … busting out all over.

Naturist resorts from coast to coast are finding out that nudists want more pickleball – just like the majority of people who don’t do their dinking in the raw.

Nude pickleball is beating the pants off its competition.

Clothing-optional resorts are advertising their pickleball facilities, holding tournaments, and putting in more courts to meet the demand.

Mike Sullivan is a USA Pickleball ambassador and a resident of Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Kissimmee, Florida.

“Pickleball is the biggest sport here by five times,” Sullivan said.

Pickleball at Cypress Cove began modestly 14 years ago when a couple visiting from England drew chalk lines on the two tennis courts there.

Five years later, the resort had its first two pickleball-dedicated courts. Five years ago, those two courts multiplied into six, and today pickleball is the most popular recreational pursuit at Cypress Cove, with 172 dues-paying nudists playing there seven days a week.

Nothing else comes close,” Sullivan said. “Tennis is dying. Most of them have died off or hurt their knees. I think they have eight people left.”

The only recreational pursuit other than pickleball that is holding its own at Cypress Cove is cornhole, a bean-bag tossing game that is similar to horseshoes.

“That’s just a drinking game,” Sullivan said. “They play four hours a week, and it’s scheduled around happy hour. We play pickleball all the time.”

Sullivan is arranging home-and-away pickleball matches with other Florida nudist resorts and getting ready for his community’s July 4th pickleball tournament, which is called the “Clothing Independence Day Tournament.”

The nudist resort keeps cultivating new players with ball machines to practice drills, lessons and encouragement.

“We tell people, just bring your tennis shoes. We provide the paddles and the balls,” Sullivan said

People who play pickleball in the nude say that it’s much more comfortable than playing while clothed. There’s no sweaty, clinging clothing to deal with, and it’s easier to cool down after playing a few games.

“As with anything nude vs. clothed, it’s the feeling of the sun and the wind on your body and the freedom of it,” said Larry Ford, who owns the Clothing Optional Home Network, and operates from the Alpenglow Ranch, a nudist bed-and-breakfast resort in Bend, Oregon.

Alpenglow Ranch put a pickleball court in the middle of its 50 secluded acres about five years ago. The resort has a gated entrance and a quarter-mile driveway to afford nude pickleballers an extra measure of privacy.

“It’s very recreational play here,” Ford said. “The host couple plays 4.0 pickleball, but it’s not competitive play. And our guests love to be able to play nude.

“A lot of people book here just to play nude pickleball.”

Back in Florida at the Eden RV Resort, a nudist camping spot in the Pasco County community of Hudson, about 30 people play clothing-optional pickleball every day, said general manager Tracy Pangburn.

The resort’s one pickleball court isn’t enough, Pangburn said.

“We’re putting in a second court,” she said. “I had to get rid of the shuffleboard to make room for pickleball.”

Original Post – Thepickler.com