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. 🙂

Autumn

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Life has been a little crazy since I last posted. Most of the Northern part of Colorado flooded. We had a little of that here too. On the 15th, we drove to La Junta to pick up Morgan and celebrate birthdays. Her’s was on the 10th, and Dan’s was the 16th. We were a little concerned about the weather as most of Colorado was rather wet. We watched the clouds, and didn’t worry too much, and drove to Pueblo.

We took Morgan to the Texas Roadhouse for a steak dinner. She’d never been there, and her face after she bit  into her steak were great. After lunch, we did a bit of shopping and then went to see the movie Elysium. Interesting movie.

Around 7pm, we started to head back to La Junta. It started to rain. 15 miles from Pueblo, we hit an area that had about 8 inches of water on the road. When we got to Fowler, the rain was coming down so hard, it was difficult to see. The rain let up and almost stopped by the time we got to Rocky Ford. It was a long 60 mile drive.

After we got her some groceries, we headed home. La Junta is 73 miles from Walsenburg. It had started raining just as we headed out. About mile marker 40, we saw a vehicle flashing their lights. We stopped and the driver warned us that there was water on the road. We thanked her and drove a bit slower, looking for the water.

Just about the time I said “The ditch is full of water”, we hit the first ‘puddle’. It threw water up on the windscreen, but it wasn’t too bad. Then we started watching the ditches. Keep in mind this area is farmland and the road usually sits up high from the fields. At least 1-2 ft higher.

We hadn’t gone a mile before I saw the ditch was full, and we hit deep water before I could even finish the sentence. This spot had water flowing across the road. Active flooding. It threw water up and over the cab of the truck. That was scary!

We almost had our breath back, when we hit one more place where the road was flooded. We warned drivers as we headed west. 15 miles from home, we hit a fog bank. It misted away just before we got to town.

Dan checked the truck, and we bent the license plate back with all the water. Otherwise we were safe, but just rattled. We’ve had more rain in a week than we have in 3/4ths of the entire year. 9.5 inches.

From there, our week was hectic. Wwe have been working on getting the house ready for winter, which means lots of little DIY projects and trips to Pueblo for bits and pieces. Especially when I cut the cord that supplied electricity to the Wendy House. sigh… I felt so stupid when I did that. However, I now have good wiring. We converted the back porch to a workshop which has helped as well. The drill press, miter saw and other bits and pieces now have a home.

It was cold last night and we woke to snow on the Spanish Peaks… Not bad for the first day of Autumn.

Last, but not least, we went to the Ludlow Memorial. 100 years ago today, the miners went on strike. As usual, the service was a good mix of memories, Union, politicians and history.

Ludlow Memorial1 Ludlow Memorial2

May Blizzards…

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Well, nearly. We had snow yesterday and a few flakes today. I know I’ve groused a bit about all the snow, but the weather changes have really caused my parents and Dan pain. The flip flop between the weather cycles plays havoc with their arthritis. Plus, for the first time since we left England nearly 20 years ago, I’ve had pain in my hands. sigh…

The last two days of April were in the 80’s and Dan and I did some major construction work on the back yard. We are getting ready to put a green house in along with a few other bits and pieces. Yes, we are doing more work on the Wendy house. 🙂 I have a ceiling fan to go in for summer breezes and winter heat management. We are going to add a composting toilet to the Wendy house as well.

The weather this year has not been kind to the two houses or the yard either. The winter winds blew down the fence to the point where we had a choice. Trash it or move it. We chose to move it. Now that the stone work is done, it looks like it has always been there. When it warms up, I plan to hit it with some white spray paint and then decorate it. I’m thinking flowers or something sort of art deco. I’m still thinking about it.

As soon as the ground is dry-ish, we will be re-digging the trench and laying water pipes. We are planning to run water for the Wendy house and the green house which will be to the SW of the Wendy house by about ten feet if that. Once the pipes are in place, we will begin to level the ground for the first keyhole garden and green house. We spent half a day playing with various layouts. That of course was after Dan loaded up Visio. 🙂

We have been discussing reusing anything and everything we can in the yard. We have lots of building materials and there is a cabinet that I’m going to turn into a potting bench. It has drawers and shelves. We are going to use one of the old doors for one side, old curtain rods and a shelf for a bench and some corrugated roofing from the shed for a roof. Then I think I am going to apply liberal amounts of paint in loud colours. 🙂

Here are some pictures of how things have changed over the last eight years. Yes, progress has been slow, but the budget has been $0.00. The last pics are of RedTom, our cat and Brandy our dog, irises, etc.

I Spy with my eye, something beginning with Y…

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Yet another Snow Storm. I woke up to 2 inches on the cold surfaces and lots of mud where it had melted. Ugh. Over the day it has snowed, snowed lighter, harder and been sunny for seconds. At one point I couldn’t see the house.

Yesterday, on Earth Day, the clouds were so low that we could see nothing beyond about 50 yards. It was strange. I wanted to go out and play in the yard, but that wasn’t possible. I looked at seed catalogues  instead.

We are planning to do a keyhole garden for this summer. I want to plant radishes, lettuces, carrots and squash.

Well, must put more wood on the fire.

 

It’s the snow storm that never ends…

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Well once again, Mother Nature played chicken with us and we lost. After horrid winds on Sunday, warmth up to about 70 yesterday, we woke to clouds and damp this morning. I thought it would be rain. Smelled like rain. Looked like rain. Hoped it would be rain.

So, I went off to the County Commissioners meeting to hear the proclamation of Ludlow Centennial Year. This Saturday, April 20th is the 99th anniversary of that horrid day. So, the state has decided to have a year long event. Our three commissioners signed the proclamation and handed it to our local UMW representative. In June there is usually a memorial service out at Ludlow. I’ve written about this event before. Here and here. I will be writing more about it as the year goes on.

Once that was done, I did my usual Wednesday thing. Vacuumed my mom’s house and did laundry. I was just getting ready to leave when I realized that it was SNOWING! Oh My was it snowing. Big Fat Flakes. Instead of heading to the Laundromat to dry my clothes, I picked up Dan. We headed out to George’s and had lunch. We celebrated our 9th anniversary with pie. 🙂

Afterwards we stopped by my parents as they had just returned from Colorado Springs and Pueblo. They brought us fried cinnamon rolls. Yum! We went to the grocery, then to the Laundromat and dried clothes.

Now we are home and curled up next to the wood stove keeping warm and working on our computers. Oh, and watching snow fall on top of the 5-6 inches we have from this storm already.

Colorado, the Menopausal State

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Last Tuesday, we went from warm to freezing snow storm. Probably 2 inches of the stuff. Then it got warm. 70’s. We had a couple of cool nights, but nothing dire. I even packed away most of the winter clothes. And before you laugh and tell me it’s all my fault for packing away the clothes, keep in mind it has been Hot! Warm! Sunny! In fact, today it has been as high as 74F. (9% humidity and 20-25mph gusts)

However, wait… hold on… Tonight the temps are due to drop to the mid 30’s and we are suppose to have snow again by 5am.  (humidity 45%) If we are lucky, we might have as much as 4 to 8 inches of snow accompanied by 50 mph winds. Yes, a blizzard. Akkkk!

So, I am hauling wood into the house. The stove is ready to lite and we will be going over to my parents to chop wood. Such fun. I am wondering if this year will be like the one we had in 1993, where May 1st was greeted with 5 inches of snow. Brr….

Tomorrow’s school board meeting will be fun. Ugh.

Maybe by June the weather will be nice.

PS…. Sunday evening

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We took Morgan back to La Junta so that she could start school after spring break. Half way home it started snowing. Yes, Snowing. We drove home slowly as I read the book we’ve been working on. The closer we got to Walsenburg, the harder it snowed. We got nearly a 1/4 of an inch in just the time it took for me to grab the wood basket and my gloves.

So, ten minutes later, we have a fire going in the wood stove and almost an inch of snow on the ground. ah… Springtime in Colorado.