A sad situation

A blog without recent posts is a sad situation indeed! And embarrassing...I'd like to think it's because we have been so incredibly busy there was just no time to write, but even that isn't an acceptable excuse - it takes no time at all to enter a few random thoughts.

After the April library conference in Billings, Tom and I met up in Washington DC for a fun spring vacation. The cherry blossoms were just about done, but we had a wonderful time doing all the usual tourist activities. I experimented with traveling with only a carry-on, and gate-checking that, which worked out really well! I also learned to verify airport codes on my itinerary, when I showed up at DFW (Dallas-FtWorth) for a flight that left from DAL (Dallas-Love Field). Luckily this was on a Sunday afternoon, with no traffic, and we were able to get to the proper airport with just minutes to spare.

When Tom returned to Bozeman in May, he found grass ready to cut, but constant rain prevented that activity. Things have finally dried out, but the wet spring has encouraged a heavy crop of mosquitoes! We're still waiting for the roof to be replaced (but should have a crew lined up to do it soon). James-Philip was waiting for work, so was able to help Tom quite a bit with the remaining projects (tree-trimming, etc).

Tom and I had planned a cruise in November, as a kind of birthday celebration for my 55th (to Rio!), but it soon became problematic: the flight connections were inconvenient, we needed to get our own Brazilian visas, it just didn't seem worth the trouble. So we found a much less expensive alternative, on a different cruise line, through the Panama Canal. We've done the Canal before but this will be San Francisco to New York. The biggest problem now is getting Tom's passport, which he left in Texas...He'll be making a long detour before our trip begins.

I'll take bets on when I get around to doing the next post. Anyone want to guess?

February!

Good thing I didn't make a New Year's resolution to keep our blog up to date - that would have failed miserably! I always expect January to be slow and quiet, after the holidays, but suddenly January is gone and February is over half gone too.

Back in December a co-worker (Katy, far right in the photo) mentioned the Scarves for Special Olympics project, so we decided to see how many we could get made before our state deadline. People at work, several of my other knitting friends, even a vendor at the mall got involved - we ended up with 28 scarves! The local UPS store graciously offered to ship them for free. We're anxious to find out the colors for next year's project so we can get started. More time will allow more people to contribute - we're aiming for 50 scarves!

Tom and I have planned a get-away to Washington DC in April, once he returns from Mexico. It's been several years since we've been there, so we're looking forward to exploring the new places we haven't seen yet. Cherry blossom season will probably be done, but the weather should be pleasant.

And hopefully I'll have posted a few more entries before then!

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...

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!

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!

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!

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.