Dratted Cold Continues

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We did have a few warm weeks. However, Ground Hog’s day saw us plunge back into arctic weather. Snow and COLD. It was -22 Wednesday night. it would have been alright except for the wind rattling the trees and plunging us into wind chill cold. Speaking of wind, we had one tremendous wind storm just over a week ago. Just before it ripped the weather station off of the house, it registered 83mph.

It’s been busy since I posted last. Lots of school board meetings, stacking firewood, trips to Pueblo for all sorts of things, stacking more firewood, trips to Denver, moving more firewood, working on organizing the crafts area, taking care of my parents and their house, working on knitting and nalbinding needles, and trying to stay warm!

I have to admit that I am so glad that we have our little woodstove. It is our sanity saver even if it seems like all I do some times is move, stack, restack and move more firewood. 🙂

We are getting ready to build the closet in the Wendy House. Two weeks ago while it was still warm, we built a small cover for the plumbing and I bricked in part of the patio area next to the Wendy House. The cover worked pretty well, until two nights ago. It was too cold for any plumbing. At least we use Pex, and that is pretty sturdy.

I’m hoping to get the craft area fixed up this week if it is warm enough. I want to finish up a few projects and get going on some that have been burning my brain. 🙂 We have Corazon in about a month, and I want some things done so that we have warm gear! 🙂 I did get my socks done. I only did the first one in August, and didn’t do anything else for nearly 6 months.

Well, off to finish dinner. Italian onion soup. 🙂

Oh what a crazy month!

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This month has been crazy. Chaotic. Dizzying. Now, I thought it was a little crazy, because I spent most of the first week at the CASB Winter Conference. This is the big school board association conference held every year at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. It was a very good, although COLD conference. Average temperature was about 13F outside for most of the week.

I went up on the 4th, as I was presenting at the New Boardmember’s Boot Camp Workshop. 🙂 Five minutes of fame. LOL! Well, it started snowing on Wednesday morning and I was taking a school district vehicle. The VAN. A huge 12 passenger van, which made me feel like a five year old. I nearly needed a step ladder to climb in. Granted, it was nice to have the weight, as I was driving in snow and on ice most of the time.

This was also the first time in almost a year that Dan couldn’t come with me. As it was so cold, he stayed home to keep Brandy from turning into a Pupcicle. We had no one to feed her or dog sit her, so there was no choice but for him to stay.

Thursday was great. I went to my first session about Rural districts and then presented that afternoon. Five minutes on ‘how data is important.’ The rest of the conference was good, and I was very glad to get home on Sunday. Once I got home, we went and picked Morgan up from La Junta. Monday, I spent time with Daniel and Angela. We went shopping in Pueblo and had a great time. I should have gone to a District Accountability meeting, but I didn’t make it.

Tuesday was our board meeting. A long one, but good. Thursday was busy. Two events. A school holiday party and a school district office party. Sort of stacked together, but we managed both. 🙂 Good thing they were next door to each other.

Friday, we drove to Denver. We did a bit of shopping and on Saturday we saw our computer client. Got home late Sunday. The week started out busy. A trip to Pueblo, work for Dan, the holiday program at Gardner on Wednesday, cleaning my parents house and then up to Denver again on Thursday because our computer client was having weird issues. Friday we did shopping and then drove home late.

Saturday was Solstice. Yule. We got up at dawn and enjoyed the sun rise. Then instead of a nice breakfast, we had to check on the school wrestling tournament. Should have been a 10 minute stop. Nope. It wasn’t. At noon, I left to go help my dad stack a cord of firewood. I was done in 90 minutes, and went back to the wrestling tournament. We were there till about 7pm. Afterwards, we grabbed dinner and then collapsed in bed.

We woke up to snow this morning. Today we did odd jobs around the house and tried to relax a bit. Oh, and Dan built a faux satellite transmitter to test his ground station. The rest of the week isn’t looking much calmer.

This is the song that I woke up with on Solstice.

First Real Snow of the Season

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Tuesday night, on the way back from a candidates forum, we stepped outside into a gentle snow storm! Wet heavy flakes. We lit our first fire of the season in the wood stove and enjoyed the warmth as the world turned white.

We woke up on Wednesday morning to 4 inches of thick, wet snow. Gardner got 14 inches and lost power, so there was no school. I took some pictures. By the time we left for work, it was warm enough to not need a jacket. By the afternoon, you could barely tell it had snowed in town, although the Spanish Peaks were glorious.

We are suppose to get more snow tomorrow morning. I’m hoping it is light as we have construction work to do on Saturday.

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CASB

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Thursday night we headed for Denver for the Fall Conference and Delegate assembly. There was a lot of good information, and the assembly was short and sweet. There were good conversations and I got to see people that I enjoy talking with about school board and education issues. As usual, I took Dan with me. 🙂 He enjoys the conferences as well and participates which is great. It’s like having an extra board member with me.

Friday night we had planned to drive down to LoDo to have dinner at the Rio Grande. We were both too tired, so we ate at the Modmarket. Yum! I had a lovely salad. Oh that there was one in Pueblo!

Saturday, we finished the conference and then headed to a computer client’s house. We got to have our appointment a week early. 🙂 This means we can go visit Morgan on the 18th. Then it was off to IKEA.

Yeah, we’ve been there a lot lately. This time we picked up the light fixtures for the Wendy House. We got these cool lamps. I also found some cheap rugs for entranceways, light bulbs, a couple of holiday candle lamps, and fabric out of the discount area. 🙂 Once the fabric is washed, I’ll be making adjustments and will have curtains in the kitchen!

Sunday, we should have been doing work on the house. Instead, we went to Pueblo and went to Target and Home Depot. We were too tired and brain dead to do any actual construction. That will happen this weekend. Just in time too, as it is getting cold There was snow on the Spanish Peaks this morning. We had a cold slushy rain in town last night.

Exhausted…

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Literally.

The last five days have been fantastic, fun, elating, overwhelming and exhausting. What am I talking about? Oh yeah… The Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival.  Every year, we help with the festival. We do Lights and Sound, and a thousand other little bits and pieces. 🙂 Plus we get to hear some of the best Celtic musicians in the world. This year’s theme was Celtic and All That Jazz!

I realized yesterday at the last concert that I didn’t take a single picture. We were just crazy busy. So, Instead of pictures, I will do my best to paint with words. Keep in mind too, that there were other concerts going on that we didn’t work as well as workshops and classes in all sorts of instruments.

Wednesday. The Festival did outreach to the schools. Dancing, music and storytelling. That evening, there was a pot luck in La Veta with many of the festival musicians and workers. It was a blast.

Thursday. First real day of the festival. I didn’t get to help with any of this as I had a school board meeting in the afternoon/evening. Dan and Doug were up in Cuchara, and La Veta most of the day. That evening there was the “Taste of things to come” Ceilidh in Gardner. Dan said it was fantastic.

Friday. My first full day. Wow. We were all over the place providing sound. Best part was at UpTop. We have a free concert up there where all sorts of musicians play. It was cold and it rained/snowed on us, but the music was wonderful.

After that, we drove down to Walsenburg for the 6th Street Hooley. Once again, a free concert outside. Only real issue was the wind! 50mph gusts at times made things difficult. People still had a good time though.

After that, the main concert… The Tannahill Weavers. It was great. Wonderful. Funny and just pure magic. Ah….

Saturday. Busy once more getting sound to various venues. We got to listen to Duncan Wickel, a jazz violinist. Then we were off to get ready for a Celtic Mix of Mairtin De Cogain and the Macdonald sisters, Cassie and Maggie. Following that was a Scottish Dance workshop.

Then we drove up to the Timbers in Cuchara and set up for Leslie Anne Harrison and Frederic Pouille, Folk Ragout. It was a very nice little concert. When we were done, it was a quick trip to Walsenburg and the evening concert at the Fox.

This concert was Irish to the Core. John Doyle, Duncan Wickel, Robbie O’Connell, Adam Agee, Jon Sousa, Sean McComiskey and Ashley Davis. Oh My what a concert. Doyle and Wickel amazed us. Ashley sang sweetly. Robbie charmed us and when they all played, our breath went away. The building shook with the applause. The encore was just as amazing. All I could think of when it was all done was a line out of Much Ado About Nothing where Benedict says…  “Is is not strange that sheeps’ guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies?”

Sunday. Up EARLY. We were in La Veta at the 4H barn by 7:30am. Why? Well, it was an oatcake and tea breakfast with the Tannahill Weavers. I made and served tea. Jack Yule made oatcakes. Yummm! So, for 90 minutes, we ate, drank and listened. They talked about how the Tannahill Weavers evolved and played a bit.

Then we had Cassie and Maggie giving a demo on step dancing. After that we headed off to the La Veta Inn to do sound for Robbie O’Connell. He is a nephew of the Clancy Brothers. He gave a talk about them and his involvement in the music that really started the modern revival of Irish Music. It was wonderful.

Last, but not least… The final concert…  Celtic and All That Jazz. First up were Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman. Next was Park Stickney and friends. This year I got to know Park just a little. He is a fantastic musician and a very impish and funny man. I love his warped sense of humor. He also managed something that no other harper has done. I really like his music. To be honest, before harps have always been sort of “Oh, that’s nice.” Park’s playing was so wonderful that I bought a CD. 🙂

The concert was finished off with the Tannies playing Just One More (last) Chorus with everyone singing. It was a good end to a fantastic week.

When we were done, we fed my mom’s cat. (who we’ve been babysitting all week as well) Then we had dinner and crawled into bed by 8:30pm. I think it will take a week to recover. 🙂

Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival!!!

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Yes, it is that time of year again. Bagpipes, harps and drums echo in the mountains and towns of Huerfano County. The festival is one of our favourite events. It is also a very hectic time for all of us. Dan and I do lights and sound as well as anything else Barbara Yule has in mind for us.

Dan was off early to pick u sound equipment. Today the festival musicians and performers are in our schools. 🙂 So, Dan will be setting up various venues in Peakview and John Mall. Tonight is the artists pot luck up in La Veta.

Unfortunately,  I will miss the Ceilidh up in Gardner for the first time in years. I have a regional school board meeting up in Pueblo. sigh… pout… However, I am the only member of my board going and so I can’t miss it.

I’ll be posting pictures of the festival. Hope if you’re close enough that you can come and visit. There are some free events that are wonderful. Friday from noon until 2:30pm, there is a free concert up on old La Veta Pass and another one from 3:45 till 5pm, there is a street concert, downtown Walsenburg.

Plus, there are free harp, whistle, and drum classes on various days. In the evenings are the concerts with The Tannahill Weavers, John Doyle, Duncan Wickel & Friends, and many others. I hope you come visit. If you do, stop by the sound and lights and say hello.

Cool Weather

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We have had cool, cloudy, rainy weather for the last three days. Dan puts it down to the fact that I cleared the dam across the sidewalk that we built to keep water out of the house. Plus, I finally got the tent and tarpaulin out to rinse off and dry. It almost got dry. Now it has been rinsed off by at least three or four good rain showers.

My squash plants have been loving the damp weather. I have a couple of zucchini that you could hollow out and use for canoes. 🙂 I foresee zucchini bread in my future.

After our crazy trip up and back to Denver, I went up on Tuesday to interview for a position on the CASB board. I didn’t get it, but asked an interesting question… Why didn’t they have a TECH committee? Matt Cook, the board president just sort of stuttered and said they’d have to look into that. 🙂

I went from that meeting and the drive home to a board workshop where we discussed the upcoming elections. We have two candidates running in one district, and we are trying to move to a district wide representation system. For too many years, we have had issues finding people to run for those seats. We end up appointing people who sometimes run for the seat after they’ve been doing it a few years. Other times, we end up having to appoint some one yet again. If we don’t do this, we will end up having to spend money to reapportion our districts. We’ve lost a lot of the population in some of them while other districts have gained. I just hope we can make the voting public understand.

Well, I’ve got to go find a heavier shirt to put on. It’s cold! 🙂 19C, or about 68F.

And then Denver

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No sooner did we get back on our feet from Battlemoor, then we had a trip to Denver. Our computer client needed us. 🙂 So, we went up on Thursday and stayed in a hotel with a huge bed and bigger bathtub. I swear it was as big as our bed at home. It was a lovely soak!

Friday… After we dealt with the client, we headed to the Denver Art Museum and we saw the Spun Exhibits. They were good, but I wish there had been more quilting stuff.

Saturday… We had one last soak in the tub and then headed to IKEA. 🙂 I finally got my rugs for the Wendy House! A big one for the main area and a runner for the side of the bed. No cold floor this winter! We got a bunch of little stuff and a shelf unit for Dan. After that, we headed for Pueblo where we had a few things to pick up. We were home by 8pm, and I was so tired. I think I hit the pillow and the next thing it was Sunday.

Sunday… Dan was sick. Something he ate. ughhhh. So, while he tried to not turn green, I cleaned bits and pieces of the house. Hung the new curtains we got at IKEA for the spare bedroom and I finally had time to air the tent and tarp from Battlemoor. It was still wet from the rain a week before!

Today I caught up on some other bits and pieces and I am off to Denver tomorrow morning for an interview with CASB. I’m interviewing for a place on their board. Region 6.

Wow! What is that blue stuff?

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Oh yeah… The sky. We’ve had a couple of short rain showers, but for the most part, we’ve had lovely sunny weather. Dan says it is because I’m working on coats for Battlemoor. 🙂 All the sun has allowed us to finally mow our weeds out front. They were hip tall on me! Maybe next week we will attack the back yard. Right now, our dog plays hide and seek in the weeds.

Also over the last few weeks, Dan has worked for the school district as a contractor. Since we only have the one truck, sometimes it means we have to shuffle schedules. It’s been a long week. A really long week.

Monday: Teacher inservice breakfast meet and greet.
Tuesday: Take Mom to Dorcas and a school board meeting. Also first day of school
Wednesday: Cleaned parents house, did laundry. School district IT interviews in the evening.
Thursday: Did not feel well.
Friday: Ran errands in Pueblo and got the oil changed on the truck.
Saturday: Breakfast with parents, did yard work for parents.

Along with all of that, I’ve taken Dan to work, run my own errands, worked on SCA clothing for Battlemoor, and tried to keep up with all the “Regular” stuff.

Tomorrow, we take Morgan back to college.

I am so ready for our vacation in 9 days!!!

That long weekend…

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Memorial Day.

Where everyone thinks summer begins. For me it is a quiet day. The last two weeks have been hectic and the rest of this week will be much of the same. Last week saw two retirement parties. Three teachers and one staff member. Oh, and contracts to sign. Lots of contracts. On Wednesday, we have two 8th grade graduations and the last days of school. Then just a modicum of quiet.

On the home front, we made a little progress on the garden. Dan hasn’t been feeling well, so I wasn’t able to accomplish as much as I’d like. Maybe next weekend. We did do some changes in the house though. Dan moved his ‘office’ back into the ‘lab’. He just wasn’t getting enough work done. He was getting distracted and spent more time watching things with Morgan or disturbing Morgan with “Look at this jet engine run!” than he did work. There are days I am so happy that my office is out in the Wendy House. 🙂

I’ve been doing some sewing as well. I’m working through the repair-tailor pile and then it will be on to the Battlemoor clothes! Only three more months! 🙂 I’ll share photos as I get things done.

Oh, and we are cat sitting. My parents are off to Denver for a few days. Zoe is such a sweetie. 🙂

Now back to that quiet…