Lucky Number 9?

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Happy New Year! I had a really quiet New Year’s Eve. However, since then life has been hectic. Today is the first day that hasn’t had me going 9000 miles per hour.

About 15 days ago, one of our chamber board members got given an Ordinance that the City was gong to put into law. #982. That one was all about business license. Biggest issue was that this ordinance was so broken, that if we as the chamber didn’t do something, it would be criminal. They upped the license from $5 in perpetuity to $35 a year. Plus, the way they worded it, you had to have a license if you even thought about being in business. Oh, and the lawyer who “authored” this thing cut and pasted from about five different places. The numbering and bullets were all wrong and some things just did not make sense.

So, we called our “pet city councilman” who happens to be the chairman of the finance committee and a fellow journalist at the Huerfano Journal. It was a general “hey! this is Broken! Want to FIX IT!” call. Larry came over and we talked about it. Lots of good ideas exchanged and some things clarified. I took notes, Larry took notes. All good. We let the general business population know what was going on and that we planned as a board to go to the next finance committee meeting.

In the meantime, we were also made aware of Ordinance 981, which was about the liquor license which is set out in Colorado Revised Statute 12-47-505. Oh was that messed up. It took us most of the weekend to fix our brains on that one. Sunday was one of those “Oh My Gods” epiphany moments when we realized that the City was trying to follow the law as they are a Statutory City, and yet had gotten it horridly wrong.

Monday of course was the Finance meeting. We went along with a lot of the Chamber Board and various business people. Dan got to be spokesman. 🙂

Dan looking serious
Dan looking serious

My cousin Brian Orr took lots of pictures. He also captured Dan looking very “Ben Franklinesque”

Dan and the mob
Dan and the mob

That’s me trying not to look at the camera and Nancy Lave, one of our board members next to Dan. He did a really good job. We got the committee to decide to recommend to the City Council the idea of taking 982 back to committee.

Next day, while getting ready for the City Council meeting, we took another look at 981. I finally got cross eyed enough that I called the Department of Revenue and got the number of a man named Dan Gunter. He is the head of the liquor license division, and the expert on 12-47-501-505. After a 45 minute conversation, I told our Dan that we needed to go talk to the City people again. So, off we went. We spoke to the City Clerk, and the City Manager, and they both said that they would talk to Dan Hyatt, the City Lawyer. (too many Dan’s!) Of course, by this time I have people patting me on the head with the whole “Jaye, you are just out of your depth, and  you don’t know what you are talking about.” grrrrrrrrr!

At the meeting, they discussed the whole thing and when we got to Ordinance 981, the lawyer stood up and admitted that he was wrong!!! That he had made a typo! One Hell of a bloody typo! Overcharging local businesses by nearly 50%! That we didn’t all jump up and cheer is a miracle. However, Dan was a smart arse and mentioned that he’d call off the pitchfork, torch, tar and feather brigade. 🙂 That got everyone’s attention and elicited nervous laughter from the 30+ audience. He also stood up and said that the Chamber of Commerce would support 981 as long as the changes were made. Everyone agreed. Then 982 was legally turned back to committee and the Chamber will work with the Finance committee on that one. Yeeeeehawwwww!!!!!! We were so happy! Best part for me was the councilman who came over and apologized to me for saying that I was wrong! I was right. :):):)

It was very cool too that the Chamber was actually doing what it is meant to do. Help business!

Wednesday was slightly calm. I went to a meeting of the county commissioners and got ready for our chamber meeting. First one of the year and elections.

Thursday… Election day. I had things as ready as I could get. And of course, the screw up fairy hit. Two board members neither called or showed up. So, we started 15 minutes late. I had to run the elections. Wheee…… I am the recording secretary for the board. Mike got the presidency, Nancy the Veep, and Dan is now Treasurer. I have the feeling that Patty, our old treasurer is floating on air with happiness! We got through a very long agenda and then finally got home around 9pm. Nearly 4 hours of meeting. Blahhhh

Oh, and Dan got his picture on the front page of the Huerfano Journal. Not sure what is more fun. Watching him when people recognize him or just watching the people. teehee…

Today was hectic on other levels. I started out the day by taking the two dogs, Brandy and Blanca to the vet for shots. Then it was off to the Chamber. It started snowing at about noon, and is still dumping the white stuff down. argh……

Meanwhile, I have paid the electric bill, water bill, tank rental, bought propane, picked up Morgan from Badito, ran errands for the Chamber and now all I need to do is make some dinner and go to bed!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Oh Where did the week go?

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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!

Where did this week go?

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    I’m not sure, but it went by fast! Monday after the kids learned that they had the day off, I started getting some work done around the office. Dan, Karen and Carlos went off to Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Around 5, I headed out to a set of back to back accountability meetings at the high school. Wheee….. sorta. I think I scared them with the laptop. :>

Tuesday, Carlos left for New Orleans and warmer weather. Dan and I had a client come by for some computer work who looked like Santa! Complete with belly, beard and white curls on his shoulders. Very sweet man. He left, and we started out the door when we got distracted by deer!

deer!

Earlier, they had been being stalked by the little orange tomcat that lives next door. He had been doing the “I’m a sabor tooth on my grandma’s side!”. They finally got tired of him and headbutted him off to one side. It was a riot.

Tuesday night, Dan and I went to Trinidad to do the Ostara shopping. We also got the kids some clothes as they both said that they were being squished by their undies, etc. It was a riot watching the little old ladies watch Dan and I shop for Little Morgan’s bras.

Wednesday, the Ostara Bunny came for the kids with candies. Wednesday afternoon, we went to go talk to the City about a contract for wireless connections in town. Whee… Plus, Logan got sick and his parents ended up taking him all the way to Colorado Springs to be told that he had some sort of infectin and a bottle of amoxicillan.

Thursday, we got bits and pieces done around the office. Daniel came by and worked on the yard, so it would be Oscar or Brandy proof. He fixed two gates and started on the third. Then we headed out to Gardner School for parent teacher conferences. Matt is doing alright, but not the best. He needs to apply himself to his work. Oh, and turn it in.  Morgan is doing very well, especially since she started applying herself better. She is very happy with herself and it shows in her work. Afterwards, we went to Andy’s for dinner. It was a small riot as Dan was being as big a cut-up as the kids. After we dropped the kids off, we were off to Carl Holzhauer’s to do some computer work. He is an older gentleman who has computer troubles as well as just wanting company. So, he really enjoys Dan’s company. We were out there for about 3 hours. I had a nice chat with his wife while Dan did the work. Even got invited out for dinner. :>  By the time I got home though, I had the headache from hell. I crawled into bed and slept till nearly 8am.

Today has been a series of small bursts of productivity. I was a bubble head this morning from the aftermath of the headache. We went out to Mike’s house to see if we could put a tower out there for Wireless service. We saw some good spots, but need to plot them on the maps. Then it was lunch and back to the office to work on the city proposal. Wheee…..

Tomorrow won’t be much better, as we have to go work on the NOC in Aguilar in the morning and wire Aguilar Town Hall in the afternoon.  Wheeeeeeee………… gads… When are we going to get a day off???

Snow!!!!

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Monday morning we woke to about 2 inches of snow. Most of it melted rather quickly, and it was a fairly nice day.

Later, we got a storm warning, but there was nothing but blue sky. I ran some errands, made a heavenly pork roast, rice and black beans with green chiles. Then it was off to a District accountability meeting. At the meeting, I got talked into being part of a new committee for designing a strategic plan for the district. Ah well,… I was involved with the one planned 12-14 years ago, so why not.

I came home, had dinner since I didn’t get to eat before the meeting and sat down to talk with Dan about his afternoon. He’d gone out to a client and then stopped at the Amato truck stop on the way home. While he was there, the Army group headed for Pinon Canyon Exercise grounds pulled in. In talking to a Lieutenant, he made the realization that all 1200 men were headed into the canyon just ahead of a severe winter storm warning, and that they had no clue. Most of them were fresh from Iraq or leave, and had no clue of what Southern Colorado could do to them in a snow storm.

To say that he was a little irate over the whole thing was an understatement. So, he talked to the Lt. and the Major in charge. Dan let them know the kinds of things that they were in for, and what they could do. From what Dan said, these guys were equipped for sunny weather, and not below zero temps. He gave them some advice, and they actually pulled some of the other officers in to listen. Talked about all sorts of things. Then Dan headed home, and worried.

He told me all of this and it only reinforced some thoughts I’d had earlier in the week. That the military was trying to force the hand of Congress to expand Pinon Canyon by hook or by crook. If there was a disaster out there at this time of year, no one would think twice about allowing the expansion, because it would be to “protect our troops”. grrr….. So, I wrote my congressmen. Told them what I thought of the whole thing. I am still waiting to see what becomes of that.

However, in the meantime, it SNOWED! We have a good foot of the stuff. In fact, it started snowing around 9pm last night and didn’t stop till nearly noon today. I chickened out and didn’t take the kids to school. No way I was going to drive all the way to Gardner and back twice in this weather. Didn’t matter either that Gardner has maybe a 10th of the snow. I wasn’t going to drive in my little light Neon in the snow. Guess I’d better get Dan to fix Blue. (the pick-um-up truck)

Snow on front porch

Snowy tree

We reorganized the work we needed to do for the day, and Dan didn’t go out until about 15 minutes ago. He had to dig the truck out! Dan digs out the truck!

The sun is trying to shine, which means that the clouds are breaking up. If it does clear off, it will be bitterly cold tonight. Not looking forward to that. Nor, the trip to the school bus in the morning.

Oh, we also got an email from the Lt. They’d survived the night in spite of the storm. Even got some supplies dropped to them via a buddy. (Mwahahaha!) Now here’s hoping that they go home in one piece soon!