Monday, December 6, 2010

Fall to Winter



Fall was incredibly beautiful this year - it made up for last year's non-existent fall season. In fact, I'd put away sandals and summer-type clothes but had to dig them out later in October during a wonderfully warm spell. It took so long for leaves to turn I was beginning to think I'd be in Texas before it happened! Luckily I was able to get a great photo before heading south for my annual birthday trip to Gainesville.

Of course things had changed dramatically by the time I returned! We now have a nice 6-8 inches of snow, and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...



Thursday, September 9, 2010

Beyond Labor Day

Football (and knitting, if you're like me) season is upon us, so it's safe to say summer is over. And the rainy days we've been having would confirm it. I know it will continue to be wet, because the roofing project is still waiting for shingles (they should be arriving Monday) and someone to complete the job! The barn has tar paper, which hopefully will hold up in spite of the wind that has been blowing through. I'm going to be optimistic and think James-Philip will find a friend to help him get that done once the shingles are here. The house could wait for next spring, when all the roofers in town won't be so backed up, dealing with hail storm repairs all over town.

Before Tom began his extended fall journey, we had birthday and Christmas (mine and JP's) so Tom could enjoy our reaction to his gifts. So now I have a great collection of movies to watch (lots of Muppet movies that I don't have on DVD) and a few Wii games (Lego Indiana Jones and Harry Potter). That will keep me busy over the winter in between knitting projects. I tried the Indiana Jones game the other day - I'm going to need a small child to help me get through that!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Almost Labor Day? Really?

It's embarrassing to think the entire summer has gone without adding any news at all here! Perhaps that's a sign that it was just a bit busy...

As the photo on the website showed, we had an incredibly rainy May-June which caused a tree to just fall over. Tom was planning on re-roofing the barn, but the rain interfered with removing the old shingles, and the tree presented a more obvious project - he really wanted to get that cut up and out of the yard!

Mother Nature had some interesting ideas too, in addition to the unusual amount of rain. June 30 saw an incredible hail storm blow through the area - truly golf-ball sized hail! Not much you can do about it, except wait and cross your fingers about what you'll find afterward. I was lucky - at the library, I park in the shade of a building to help keep the sun off the car, which also protected it from the hail. I had only a shattered side-view mirror, and assorted dings on the roof and hood. Other vehicles in the parking lot suffered much more serious damage - rear windows shattered, hoods totally smashed.
Even at home, we only had a broken window in the barn (which was really so dirty it wasn't obvious - the insurance adjuster noticed it) and a few cracked light covers on the motor home. The roof on the house did suffer, and we'll be replacing it - we'd expected to do that next year anyway, so this just moves our plans up a bit.

The rest of the summer was unbelievably hot for our area - lots of over-90 degree days. We're just not used to that kind of heat! But Tom and I did get a few camping trips in to enjoy the outdoors. It's almost time for him to head south, with a side trip to southeast Asia with a group of friends from Mexico. Hopefully the roofing will be done first!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Springtime in the Rockies

Yes, it is spring, which really means beautiful weather, green grass, followed by rain, sleet and snow - sometimes all in the same day! It is also the season of library conferences, meaning I spent early April attending the Montana Library Association conference in Bozeman, and the Mountain Plains Library Association conference in Oklahoma City later that month. In between, I spent a week in Gainesville with Tom, who had just returned from Mexico (he drove back with a friend). We took the Amtrak Heartland Flyer up to OKC - a wonderful way to travel! While there, we visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a very impressive site.

James-Philip is now unemployed, although Tom expects to hire him to help with some roofing projects. There is talk of possible jobs in a few months, but right now he's enjoying the time off.

Jon-Erik is still working on graduate school - there was more to the application process than he realized, so it might take a little longer to get started!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I was so focused on my Knitting Olympics project, and watching the Olympics, I completely neglected posting anything! It was a great challenge and I finished my Olympic socks just as the closing ceremony show began. Whew! So, here are the socks and my Gold Medal, courtesy of the Yarn Harlot and Mr. Franklin Habit. I was part of the Ravelry Socketeers Olympic group, and there are some beautiful socks there too. Now it's time to finish the projects I put aside - another pair of socks, and a sweater for Tom.


Saturday, February 6, 2010

It's still winter

Snow this morning, sunshine this afternoon. We're not having sub-zero temperatures now, and there is a great increase in daylight, we've made it through the worst.

Tom went to Mexico early in January, and is working on installing a kitchen in our house there. We'd really like to sell that, so this should help. He is enjoying the sunshine!

Jon-Erik took the GRE, and is planning on Portland State for graduate school, beginning this summer. We visit on Skype quite a bit.

James-Philip hasn't been laid off yet, and expects to work through April. He is the person with a great flat-screen TV (last year's birthday present) so will have a house full of people for the Super Bowl.

I plan to do some Olympic knitting while watching the Vancouver events - socks, and possibly a sweater. I have one to finish (for Tom), a sock for him too, but really want to do something special during the Olympics. I usually over-plan though, so we'll see!