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!

Merry Christmas!

It was a Wii Christmas around the family: not just Mom and Dad, but Greg and a cousin all got systems! We spent the afternoon setting it up and helping Mom and Dad learn how to use the controllers. They enjoyed bowling, and Mom was the champ! We're giving them a day to practice, then we'll get them started on the WiiFit (the main purpose of our gift!).

Jon-Erik is home and has gone through most of the activities on my WiiFit, setting high scores that will take me awhile to reach. We've also played a lot of Animal Crossing, although it's more fun when we can be playing together online - at home we can only be in our town, one at a time.

The big news: he will actually graduate! He passed his final class at Portland State, and we were concerned UW (Wyoming) wouldn't give him the credits he needed, since there is a difference between trimesters and semesters. But it's all good now, and he should receive his diploma in February. I know he's relieved; 8 years and 4 schools is a long time. He found out he can take the GRE anytime at a convenient location near Beaverton, so he will do that when he returns home. We're not placing bets on how long a graduate degree will take, or what his major will actually be. But at least he will be starting something new!

James-Philip expects to be out of work when the current project ends, but I'm hoping we'll be able to use him as a volunteer at the library. We're getting ready to upgrade to RFID - placing radio-frequency tags on all items (over 100,000!). That could be a fun activity for him and a big help to us.

Tom is freezing in Gainesville - they had a big snowstorm just before Christmas. Montana isn't looking so bad now!

Yes It's Fall

Today was the typical Montana weather experience people usually talk about: 55 degrees at 6 a.m., beautiful sunny morning, clouds rolling in around noon and rain for a few hours. But sunny again later, although a bit cooler. Good thing I went with shoes today instead of the sandals I've been wearing all week!

Tom's Habitat for Humanity project was quite an adventure. We realized a few days before he was due to fly out that Manila was having the worst flooding in 40 years, from a typhoon. Typhoons aren't unusual, so it was surprising to have it cause such a disaster. Things were somewhat improved by the time his flight left, and he was able to stay in the hotel he'd planned on, but had hoped to take a few days for sight-seeing, and that wasn't possible. He spent the time helping out with disaster relief until the Habitat project was ready. Luckily that was in an area farther south, so it wasn't as affected.

He was heading to Texas when he returned to the States, so I'd booked his flight, and arranged a flight for James-Philip too that would have them arriving in Dallas at almost the same time. JP was laid off for October, so we thought this would be a good time for him to take a vacation too! Tom didn't have the flight info, but I figured he'd have internet access once he got to his friend in California. He did find an internet cafe in Manila, and I kept getting emails from - even after he was supposed to be flying! He said the airline just canceled the flight, and put him on the next one (24 hours later!). I was concerned he'd miss his flight to Texas, but in the end it all worked out.

He and James-Philip had a great visit, JP is back to work now, and I'll be heading there for my birthday and Thanksgiving. Then Tom goes to Mexico in January to work on that house and hopefully get it ready to sell.

Jon-Erik will be visiting for Christmas, after his class at Portland State U. finishes and before he takes the GRE next year. We visit often on Skype and using the Wii Speak as part of Animal Crossing, but it will be fun to have him around for a bit.

August Already

The weather seems to be saying it's fall, and we're just not ready! Tom had a camping trip to Big Fork in July, but I had a meeting in Denver and couldn't join him. Hopefully we can find a few days next month, before he leaves for the Philippines and the Habitat for Humanity project.

He's in Houston now, for the wedding of a close friend who was recently diagnosed with oral cancer. That was a shock to everyone - no history of tobacco use at all. But it makes me grateful for all the examination my dental hygienist does when I get a cleaning - I'd like to think we would catch anything unusual early.

Mom and Dad are preparing to move to the condo below their present location. The idea first came up last fall when Dad had his aneurysm surgery and climbing stairs became a bit difficult. Not such a problem now, but the opportunity came up and seems like a good idea.

We had friends from Texas visit. Christi was a trooper, joining the Library Drill Team in the Sweet Pea parade as banner carrier. We had fun and heard from lots of people, glad to see us back in the parade after a few years absent. So it may have to continue...

We must have been really busy!

Once Tom comes home, I don't have nearly the spare time for posting as I do in the winter months! I don't know why things would be any different, but we end up watching movies, playing Wii Golf or Animal Crossing:City Folk in our free time, or I'm knitting or reading. Pretty much the same things I do when he's away. Now that it seems to be almost summer, we really want to plan some camping trips too.

We took a quick trip to Las Vegas right after Memorial Day (guess that's why there were good deals - it was pretty hot!). We stayed at the Wynn Resort, which was nice but for a luxury place seemed to do a lot of nickel-diming. The snack tray and bar are weighted so removing anything for more than 10 seconds automatically charges your room (or perhaps adding things - they specify asking Housekeeping for a refrigerator for personal items you want to keep cold, and I suspect there would be a charge for that too). We decided not to touch anything! The wi-fi was an additional charge ($15/day, more or less). The brunch was good but the most expensive we saw. The slot machines didn't even pay off that well! And, it was quite a hike to the monorail station (their website was a little annoying too). But now we've been there and can cross it off our list. Next time: Venetian or Bellagio. Mandalay Bay is still my favorite so far.

Jon-Erik is still job-hunting. I'm not sure how long we wait until he comes up with a new plan. He's talked about returning to school (to finish the undergraduate degree, which might be helpful in finding work!) and starting some kind of Master's program. He's pretty sure he won't be returning to Bozeman, regardless of his future plans.

James-Philip is surviving well without a driver's license (an unfortunate incident last August resulted in that being taken away) He's just now working through the punishment-consequences phase: 2 days' jail time, work-release, fines, classes, etc. Last summer he blamed the girl he was with (and said he was giving up women) but now admits he probably should take some responsibility. So far he hasn't seen any lost work due to the economy.

Tom has plans to do a Habitat for Humanity project in the Philippines in September. If it's a wonderful trip, we hope to continue once I retire. He's the advance scouting party!

We Must Be Busy

Since I haven't posted anything all month, I think that means we've been really busy! I spent the end of March in Gainesville (they didn't really have spring yet either) then on to a library conference in Wichita early in April (Mountain Plains Library Association jointly with the Kansas Library Association). Tom drove on home, with blizzards all the way, and I flew.

We had our annual winter getaway at Chico Hot Springs - an anniversary celebration (31 years!). When I find the photos, I'll post some!

Montana also had a library conference this month, in Kalispell - still no spring weather! But May is coming, and I think the snow will end soon. Tom vows to not return so early next year...

March - ready or not

March is the month I dread the most: I'm ready for spring, and sometimes there is a hint that it will arrive, but then things turn and we're back to winter. Today is gorgeous and the snow is melting. Tomorrow? We could have snow again. But I keep reminding myself it won't last...

We had a blizzard March 5 - if I could have found a reason to take the day off, I would have. Instead, I braved the highway at 7:30 in the morning (not as treacherous as I'd feared - people have perfected their winter driving at last!). I had the thought that we should consider a weather delay for library hours on days like this - 2 hours later to arrive at work, and open 2 hours later (noon instead of 10 a.m.). The weather turned out to be a good thing: at 8:12 downtown Bozeman had an incredible explosion. (the link is to the TV station story - I don't know how long it will be good). The library shook and rattled, and power went off. We finally learned what it was: Boodles, a favorite restaurant, had blown up. There is a gaping hole in that block now, and 5 businesses are gone. The weather kept most people away - one fatality, unfortunately, but much less than what could have happened if it had been a normal day. James-Philip has a close friend who works as the pastry chef there - she is usually in by that time.

A gas leak was the cause. After the fact lots of people claim to have smelled gas but no one reported it. That's disturbing: do people think leaks report themselves? I thought that was something everyone knew, like don't touch downed power lines - call the gas company if you smell gas!