Frro Frro Frrozen!

Posted on by

Since Yule, we have had a lot of snow. Probably a foot all total, maybe a little more. We’ve also had really LOW temperatures. One night was -27C. Brrrr! Most nights have been -15C. On New Year’s Eve, the truck door froze, and Dan broke the handle trying to open the door.

Our pipes have been freezing every night, and today Dan ran an errand and left the tap open. He came back to find the Wendy House bathroom flooding out into the front porch area. Luckily, it was only about 25-30 gallons of water. I just laughed, and Brandy kept running up to me and barking as if to say, “Dad messed up! Dad made a mess!”

It’s also been cold enough that we’ve had both RedTom and Brandy in at night. We’ve had a furbaby detente,  with minimum growling and hissing. What made this really “fun” was that the first morning, we woke with about 8 inches between the dog and cat. Dan was the separator. This morning, Brandy had her head over Dan’s leg, so they were about 4 inches apart. Gaaah!

At least heat has not been an issue in the main part of the Wendy House. We replaced the two tin can lids with three brand new mica windows. The stove works so much better.

In the mean time, we’ve been catching up on reports for work, and a few other projects. I finished a pair of socks and on New Years Eve, we watched Longmire until the clock turned.

Plus, 2015 so far has been the year of meetings! I have 6 in the next week. Aieee! The pictures below are of the two snow storms, RedTom, and Brandy.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Okay, it’s been like FOREVER since I last posted.

Posted on by

It’s been busy. Never Ever let anyone tell you that taking care of your elderly parents is easier than babies. Nope. Not even gonna believe that. It’s been three months of adjustment and reorganizing. Between shopping, drives, housecleaning and just everyday things, my life has been HECTIC.

Plus, it’s been busy. Usually our lives slow down around the end of the Celtic Music Festival. Not this year! Our one client in Denver moved, and we’ve been doing a lot of work getting their new home tech ready. On top of that, having new admin in the school district has been interesting. We’ve gotten more done in the last few months than we have in the last few years. Oh, and Morgan goes off to College in January.

So, now for some highlights.

Sunday Drives. In trying to meld my parent’s schedule in with ours means that we try to take Sunday drives. We saw some brilliant aspen in October. November and December brought sunny but cold days with snow. We also try and have breakfast at this little diner in Trinidad, called Bob and Earl’s. It’s the kind of place you walk into and everyone knows each other. Good food too.

Along with this is the Wednesday shopping in Pueblo which has been fun and yet eaten my life!

The Spanish Peaks Community Foundation Gala.  A night to dress up and honor people in the community. It was a very nice evening and lovely to dress up!

Skunked! We were woken up out of a dead sleep around 3am. Our dog Brandy got skunked on the front porch of the Wendy House. We had to open all the doors and windows, and I sat up until nearly 6am, trying to breathe. Ugh…

So, instead of working on some of our various projects, we will be washing Brandy and her area along with bedding, curtains, etc. I hate skunks.

Halloween. Dan and I handed out candy on my parent’s front porch. We must have seen over 300 kids. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was so nice!

Outlander Yes, I’m a fan. The series was fantastic. And… All the costume work. So much of it that a group formed on Facebook with all sorts of knitting, sewing, crocheting, etc. I have knitted two shawls and a cowl. 🙂 One man put out a survivor’s guide.

School stuff Our new superintendent is great. We’ve worked out a lot of the issues that the district has had problems with in the last 6 months. We have a lot of new staff as well, and it seems to be going well. Plus, we took a big chance. We bought iPads for every student in the district. It’s been interesting. We’ve also started a clothing bank. Too many kids without coats or basics. We are running out of a class room. 🙂 I went to the CASB Winter Conference at the beginning of December as well. It was a really good conference. Lots of info, ideas and connections.

We’ve had a Veteran’s Day celebration which honored Vets from our community, and local nursing home, and some creative literary nights. Night at the Museum was a lot of fun. The One Room Schoolhouse was great too. We also had a holiday dinner at La Plaza. More dressing up. 🙂

Weather November had some bitter cold and snow. Brrr! December has had it’s surprises as well. We are having a white Christmas as there was about 6 inches of snow on the 22nd. Oh, and it’s going to snow on Boxing Day as well. (26th) Lots of deer in the yard too, eating everything.

The Wendy House. We painted! We trimmed! We built another raised bed and oh have we gathered, chopped, split and burned firewood! We got permission to trim up two dead trees and were given two loads of wood. Wow. Morgan teased us that we love Halloween so much that we live in a pumpkin. Oh, and we got a bathtub and on demand water heater for the bathroom! 

Family. My Great Uncle Richard Ridge passed away on Halloween. He was 91. My Great Aunt Ann Sudar had her 100th birthday on December 13th. That was a wonderful party with 75 friends and family present. I got to see a lot of Sudars I hadn’t seen in years.

The Great Experiment Dan and I have been looking into hydroponics and aquaponics. So, we tried a small inside experiment. There will be more on that on this blog. We learned some lessons and will be trying it again in the spring.

Thanksgiving. My sister and her family, my aunt and her family, my parents and my family all got together for Thanksgiving dinner. Eleven people for three days. Wow! It was really nice.

And now for some pictures. 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Mr. Harper goes to Washington…

Posted on by

All I could think of this morning as Dan got dressed was of the 1939 movie, Mr. Smith goes to Washington. Now, I sort of doubt that Dan will be naive enough to try and change the world in one conference, but… He certainly will do his best to be heard when needed. LOL!

Last night we headed up to Colorado Springs so that we could make sure Dan caught his flight on time. He is off to the National Association of Workforce Boards Conference. It is in DC, so we got him some nice clothes a few weeks ago. Can’t have him heading off in flannel lined blue jeans and hiking boots. Although, that would probably make a real impact on people. Hmmm…

However, he got dressed in nice clothes and the new socks I made him. Brown Fair Isle patterned socks which he got to show off every time he had to board a plane. LOL… I can see it now, all the ladies he’s traveling with are going to want socks. He looked very nice though. Beard and hair all trimmed up, suit coat and trews as well as a wool great coat. I need to get pictures of him and the socks. 🙂

I dropped him off at the airport and then drove home. Made it home by 8:50am and had a nice visit with my Mom. Dad brought me home and I got busy around the house. I let Brandy out and brought in firewood. Then I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Then I made myself some lunch and plowed through most of the email. After that, I decided I needed a treat. So, I made popcorn, got the sock out that I am working on, and watched Peter Pan. This was the version made in 2003. I hadn’t seen it and totally enjoyed myself.

While Dan’s away, I’m relaxing. Movies, writing, knitting and books. I pick Dan up on Tuesday. It’s suppose to snow, so I’ll leave early and drive slow. At least it is only to Colorado Springs. Hmmm… I think I hear a movie calling my name!

Anyone have an anchor?

Posted on by

I swear that someone put speed in the water for the last two weeks of October. Last week was just crazy. Between work, school and other obligations, I felt like I was on a bullet train.

Wednesday, Spike got one of the cats. Didn’t know which one, as we couldn’t find it.

Thursday was suppose to be a day off. Ha! I went to KnitWits, my knitting group. We went to Pueblo on a field trip to visit Colorado Fiber Arts, a really cool yarn store. Then we had lunch at a place called Bingo Burger. I had a lamb burger and it was heavenly!!! Oh, and sweet potato fries with curry ketchup. Yummm… However, when we got home, Dan and I had to take the little gray kitten to the vet. Spike had ripped her lower lip off. Nothing to do for it, so we had her put to sleep. Dan also got a call from our one client in Denver. We wanted to borrow my parent’s truck. Not a problem except that Dad went to change the oil and couldn’t get the filter off. So after we put the cat to sleep, we went over to help Dad. Wheee…

Friday, we left right after I got done with work. Drove to Denver after a stop for lunch at Bingo Burger. More lamb burgers were consumed. Yumm!!! We arrived 10 minutes past when we said we’d be there. Not bad for city traffic. Four hours later we were done. Spent the night in a hotel and oh…. it was so nice to soak in a tub!!!

The next morning, we got candy at Target and then headed over to my sister Lori’s house. We visited for about an hour and I harvested 10 pounds of concord grapes. Yummm….. The smell was heavenly. Then we dropped books off at Isis and headed home. A stop in Pueblo for…. yeah, more lamb burgers. LOL… Only one down side of the day. We forgot to call my parents and tell them we were spending the night. They worried and were not happy with us, as should be expected. We apologized, and promised that next time we would call. Felt so stupid. Had to go do laundry as well.

Sunday was sort of a weird day. Tried to get things done. Handed out lots of Halloween candy, cooked down the grapes into syrup and worked on the computer.

Monday I went to work only to find out that my hours have been cut yet again. sigh…. It rained and slushed. Brrr!!! Then I had a ton of paperwork to process at the court house. And, Stefan’s house taxes are paid! Wheeee!!! By the time everything was done, all I really wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep for a week. Instead, Morgan, Dan and I watched the Bounty Hunter. It was a riot.

Today was another run around like crazy day. Dan helped Dad unload and stack 2 cords of wood. Then we went and voted. After that, we did some errands around town. By the time we got home, about all I could do is make dinner. Tamale pie!!!! Lovely comfort food for a cool day. We ate dinner while watching Wolfman. It was a pretty good movie. Now we are watching the election results. The bad trio of amendments 60, 61 and proposition 101 did NOT pass. (phew!) The rest of the stuff is up in the air.

-23degrees is COLD!!!

Posted on by

After a week of snowy cold weather where I thought it couldn’t get colder, it did. BRRRRR!!!! I’m sitting between the fire and the heater and I’m still cold. Next summer, we WILL do insulation! Oh, and on top of everything else, the pipes are frozen. Argh…..

Only good (?) thing is that it is just Morgan and I tonight. Dan is up in Pueblo for a Colorado Workforce conference. Three days of central heat and lots of running water. Damn.

Let’s see… since Thanksgiving,… what has happened? Hm…. Oh. snow. Lots of it. Last Thursday, we had our friend Curtis down from Buena Vista. Of course it snowed. However, we had a good time. Lots of funny CW McCall music including Four Wheel Cowboy. In it is a stanza that says…

Well, Texaco’s open in Trindad
I didn’t stop for gas but I wished I had
‘Cause I could use some
They’s a bunch a’ wild women in Walsenburg
They all make love like a buffalo herd
I wish I knew one

ROFLOL!!!!!!

He might come back down on the 17th if the weather isn’t too terrible. We want to run around Pueblo. 🙂 You know, lure of the big city… movies, bookstores, food. 🙂 He is a ham radio operator, which makes Dan pleased. They chic-chat away.

I have Knit-Wits tomorrow. That should be fun. I enjoy my knitting time with the ladies. Dan gets home Friday and we have the Christmas train again Friday and Saturday night.

Saturday we also have a holiday party with Sangre De Cristo Volunteers for Change. Not sure if we will make that for more than an hour, but we will see. We also have to start digging up the water pipe to re-insulate it if the weather is warm enough. Oh, and one other thing. We have to repair my car. It is still in pieces due to the super cold weather. sigh….

I am looking forward to warmer weather. You know, something in the 40’s! 😛

Have you seen a week floating around here?

Posted on by

I’m missing one. I know that one went on, as it is over seven days since I last posted, but… where did the time go? Gads. Somewhere along the lines, I have:

  • Sent Matt to join El Fandango-a dance class/troupe/cultural thingy run by my cousin Gretchen
  • Been to parent teacher conferences with Morgan
  • Gone to work for at least 4 hours a day, M-F.
  • Totally rearranged the Workforce office and my storage area at work
  • Dealt with volunteers/board members/tourists
  • printed, collated, folded, stuffed, labeled and mailed 80+ renewal packets for the chamber
  • Gone to Pueblo for car parts for Divot
  • Cleaned out the guest house for a workspace
  • went through 2 years of microfilm searching for stories
  • seen my parents
  • sewn curtains, Yule prezzies and knitted
  • and did the whole Halloween thing last night.

Yesterday was fun. I dressed up for work. Or should that be dressed normally…??? Long black velvet dress, B&W striped socks, black shoes, pointy witch hat, pentacle and my hair going any way it wanted. I even had candy at the chamber to hand out.

After work, I had lots of errands to run. I didn’t bother to change, so I went to the bank, post office, San Isabel Electrics, Edla’s and Mountain Harmony (the local health food shop) in costume.

After I got home, I took off the hat and added my reading glasses as I was working on the computer. big surprise! We had treats waiting for the trick or treaters. Not too many at first, and then there was a rush around 7:30pm that went on for at least an hour. One little girl, probably about 3 came up to the door all dressed as a witch. I answered the door, and said Happy Halloween. She looked up… and then looked me up and down really well. Then looked at her own costume and then back at me. I smiled at her, gave her the candy and said bye! She was still giving me “the look”, with her eyes wide. Her mom, who has noticed none of this says “lets go” and starts to move the little girl down the stairs. The little girl is still giving me “the look” that says “she’s a real witch” the whole time. Steps down a step, looks back, steps, looks back all the way down the stairs. Mom still hasn’t noticed, and is nudging her down the stairs. I wave, close the door and start giggling. Dan asked me what I was giggling about and I explained. Dan started lauging and said, “No, she wasn’t expecting Aunt Jet to hand out candy.” I laughed. It’s true.

Today has been very warm. I think it was nearly 70! I ran around in a teeshirt and jeans most of the day. Beautiful Indian Summer weather.

I’d love to sleep in tomorrow, but I hope that we will be going to Pueblo for some grocery shopping. John is suppose to borrow Erin’s car as mine are still out of commission. sigh…

Oh Where did the week go?

Posted on by

Really! Where did it disappear to? And while we’re at it, where did April go? It’s the 5th of May for goodness sake! Typical May of course. Denver got 3 inches of snow on the 1st, and we had a cold day. No Beltaine nudity in this state! At least not outside! brrrrrrr!!

Life as usual has run over me, leaving it’s footprints across my back. Monday was my 30th wedding anniversary. Didn’t feel much like celebrating. Not exactly sure why, but it didn’t help that I had a Strategic planning meeting to go to. Not much choice to avoid it either. John has something going as well, so it ended up being one of those days when neither one of us saw much of the other.

The rest of the week seemed to scream by. Totally lost Tuesday. Wednesday Dan and I met with Gaye Davis and discussed grants and the USDA. Wednesday night was Family Math and literacy Night at Gardner School. We made hand puppets, did puzzles, and had lots of fun.  Work has been busy because we are getting more customers by the day. wheeeee! Of course that means more paperwork and such, but I knew it was coming. Thursday we had lunch with this insurance agent. He was just creepy. Friday I had lunch with Pauline. We caught up one what we both were doing. It has been way too long since I’ve seen her and she lives in town! gads… Friday Daniel also went to Canon City with some friends for the weekend. Saturday was spent trying to catch up on various bits and bobs.

By the time I got home most evenings, I was too tired to do much, but I did get some sewing done. I’ve been working on a fleece blanket for John. Bears of course. I’ve had the patchwork and fleece pinned for probably three months. This week, I finally had a chance to do some quilting work. I did sort of a freehand bit. Followed the stronger lines in the panel print and did some stitch-in-the-ditch around the edges. Hope to get the binding on it later. I also did some repair work on the autumn quilt that Dan has on his bed. Oscar chewed it last winter and it needed some major repairs. I have some fabric that matches what is in the quilt and have been doing freehand cut leaves to scatter across the quilt where there are holes. I probably have 10-15 more leaves to add to it before all the tears are covered. However, it is whole enough to use again. Last but not least, I’ve been knitting on my bed shawl and started playing with a wild yarn that’s all slubby and multi-coloured. I’m making a scarf out of it.

Sunday was our grocery trip to Pueblo. John and I headed up around noon. On the way up, we decided to go see a movie. No idea what was playing, but… we checked out the marquee. We decided on Ironman. Grabbed a quick bit of lunch at SouperSalad and then headed to the theater. Umteen gillion previews and then finally the movie. I have to admit that I was ready to be disappointed. Wrong! It was fantastic! Lots of computer geek stuff in it and I was having a wonderful time looking at it. Especially when I realized I really understood exactly what the programs were and where CGI fit in, etc. At one point the main character is being fitted into this robotic exoskeleton and I sat there thinking that that was the sexiest “robot” I had ever seen. Then I started giggling, because I had that realization of just how g33ky a statement that was. John turned to me and asked what on earth I was giggling about as it was not a funny part of the movie. I explained, and then he was giggling. Oh gods I’m turning into a 1st class geek! When I told Dan about this geek epiphany, I thought he was going to split his sides laughing.

After the movie we did the shopping in record time. Well,… until we got to Walmart. It went a little slower because John cruised through the CD’s and DVD’s. Then I went through the clothes. Found a pair of Mutts sleep pants and a Tink top. Found Dan 4 teeshirts and a pair of black cargo pants. John and I found him a cool tropical print shirt.

We headed home around 9pm. It had been a good day all in all. I did some laundry and actually hung it outside! Then off to bed.

Of course, the alarm went off way too early. I got up, showered and out the door with Matt and Morgan in record time. Got petrol, picked up Nadia, drove to Badito and dropped them off for the school bus. When I got back, Daniel was actually ready to go and met me outside. Good thing! After I dropped him off, I picked up my mom and we headed over to 520. Dan was trying to get a bath, and so we got the groceries in out of the truck while we waited for him. Then we went off to breakfast. After breakfast, Dan went off to Aguilar with the new antenna Dad picked up for us on Friday. Mom and I went to Safeway, Family Dollar and then I dropped her off.

Now it’s nearly 2pm, and I’ve managed to do my ‘morning commute’, write this journal entry and answer the phone. Tonight we have Mom coming over for dinner, a late meeting with the partners and then I’m crawling into bed before the damned alarm rings at 6am!

WOW!

Posted on by

    What a week, and it isn’t even over yet. Sunday night I was leaving the office and had just gotten to my car when I felt like someone was looking at me. I looked over the hood of my car and straight into the eyes of a six point buck! He and his buddy, another 6 pointer, were standing on the side of my car like I was suppose to let them in! I opened my door and they just slowly walked off!

I also got a bit of knitting done Sunday night. I made a kitty pie. This is a knitted and felted cat bed that is pie shaped. Very cool, and it is up on my Ravelry account in the projects section.

Monday morning it was so icy and foggy that I could barely see 100 yards ahead of me on the way to school with the kids. Good thing I was going slow, as there were 3 elk cows in the middle of the highway! Gads! They were each bigger than my car!  Tuesday morning was also icy, but there was only one elk by the side of the road. This afternoon there was a deer on the road by the house that I had to wait for. She crossed and then I headed off to get the kids.

We also got hacked at the office this week. It sparked a story that I am writing in blog style. Don’t know where I’ll post it. Maybe here when it’s done.

I also took Daniel over with Oscar to Karen’s house. We re-introduced the two dogs, Oscar and Stormy and saw how they got along. Karen is going to train Oscar to be a better dog. Yeah!

Well, I’m off to bed to read my book! Dates from Hell!

Tempset Fugit!

Posted on by

    Must be the wind or something, because every time I think I have five minutes to sit down and write, ***POOF*** it’s gone.  We’ve been trying to gear up for the T-1 coming into Aguilar for the WISP. Lots of antennas, computer bits and the like all arriving on the doorstep.  Trying to keep up with the paperwork is a bit daunting too. I have one big pile of receipts to deal with and I keep avoiding it. (sigh)

It’s also heading into the holiday season, and I am just not with it this year. Most things I think of that people want, they need now. Not it two-three weeks. Like Little Morgan. We took her to the drs. yesterday and then to the Mall in Pueblo. She needed a couple of pairs of jeans. Now, I could have gotten them without her knowing and not given them to her until Yule, but… she needs them now! Same way with the pair of sleep pants I made Dan. I have to re-hem them, but… I didn’t see the logic in making him wait.

I have stuff for Big Morgan, Erin, Logan, Little Morgan and that is about it. Stymied on the rest of the clan.  sigh…. Guess I’ll go looking on Friday when Dan and I head to the Springs. My mom’s fabric is in and we need to pick it up.

It snowed on the peaks and it looke beautiful this morning. Smelled nice too. Living in a desert, you notice the smell of moisture so acutely. We also had deer in the yard the other morning. Dan got pictures.

Deer next door!

We have also been dealing with a skunk under the house. Dan went under to do some wiring and came up so fast you’d have thought he was shot from a cannon.  He came almost nose to nose with a big skunk. We called Animal control and checked out a trap. So far the skunk is smart enough to leave it alone. sigh..

I’ve been working on knitting too when I have a chance. One sock to go before Yule. Hope I make it. Been reading some good books too. A Lick of Frost by L. K. Hamilton, and am working on Hood by Lawless. Very good. I have two more on hold at the library and am trying to find time to read. In fact, that’s what I really want to do today instead of working. Oh well…