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!

Facebook and more

I've been on Facebook for about a year; I joined as part of a Web 2.0 course from the State Library, designed to teach lots of the new technologies out there. So it's been fun, mostly because many of my library friends are there. But sometimes long-lost people show up - that's what makes it interesting. An old high school friend found me, along with my brother, of all people! Not like we had to find each other, but we seldom visit. On Facebook we can keep in contact a lot more. His wife is also on, so I get to hear more about what she's doing than I would otherwise. We've even gotten Mom interested, although she's still trying to figure it all out. Now we need to get our other brother (the younger one - you'd think he'd be the one trying to get us on!). 

It's easy to get carried away, of course. I'm also on Twitter (what are you doing in 140 characters or less). A cousin is also on there, although most of his posts are work-related. You can  follow anyone, unlike Facebook where you need to "confirm" the friendship connection. In this way, Twitter has a higher creepiness factor - I'm following people I've never met but only know from their professional work. You can block people, though, so it's not quite the stalking network you might think. The professional folk usually want a high number of followers, and tend to invite everyone. I'm even following the Library of Congress! Pres. Obama used it very effectively during his campaign to keep people informed of events.

Not all the younger generation is as excited: Jon-Erik is mortified that I'm using some of these social networking sites (he only made a Facebook page to humor me) and James-Philip didn't know what Facebook was until Sunday. So I guess I still know a little more than my kids.

February already

I finally put away the Christmas CDs although it was snowing nicely this morning. Is it too early for Backburner's Might As Well Be Spring? I still have a yard that is mostly white, but enough areas around the house have melted off that I'm afraid the peony bushes we planted last fall might start sprouting. That could be bad.

I've finally gotten a Ravelry invite and have joined. Now I have to get going on posting photos of completed projects and my yarn stash (which is a scary thought - that means I have to admit I have one!). There is a Bozeman group on there, which was nice to discover. A high school friend was the one who suggested I join, and she has a nice collection of completed projects - impressive since she hasn't been knitting that long.

Tom is having lots of work done on the Mexico house - he promises pictures when he returns to Texas. We had a great chat on Skype today. Technology is wonderful! We often talk about the years when he was stationed somewhere remotely, and all we had was mail that seemed to go by slow boat. When he and the boys went to Alaska (1998) we thought it was great to have email! And now we can IM, and chat on Skype with video.

Movies: I had to buy Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa yesterday. Those are some clever movies. I also watched Transsiberian - slow to start but very tense by the end. Married Life was interesting, with some twists. I'm not sure the setting of the late 40's was critical, but the costumes and props were fun. The story could probably be set in any time and still work. I'm still working through the first season of Lost - the treadmill broke this week, so I'm stuck with the exercise bike, and not sure Lost is compelling enough to make me want to pedal that long! I may switch to Dexter for my TV episode exercise workouts.

Another Leftie!

Lucky me - I had to take a day off to make up the Martin Luther King holiday (which fell on a regular day off for me) so chose Inauguration Day. It's been wonderful to watch all the events from my warm house. Washington DC is a fabulous place, but today, with all the crowds and chilly temperatures, I'm glad to be home. Just like with a football game, I think the view on TV is much better!

One of my favorite moments from the oath of office ceremony: the Chief Justice improvising just a bit, rearranging the words at the start, which caused some hesitation on the part of President Obama (and he was already President - the ceremony was after the official noon transfer of power specified in the Constitution). This link will change, but it immediately became updated. Someone was prepared.

Another interesting item: he's left-handed too!

Almost time for the parade. The luncheon is running late, Sen. Kennedy had a medical emergency, Dick Cheney was in a wheelchair from an injury from moving boxes yesterday, former President Bush 41 had hip trouble and could have used a wheelchair - it all makes the entire event seem more normal and human.

Movies and other thoughts

Made it through Momma Mia - Pierce Brosnan singing ABBA was quite the experience! Cute movie, but not one I'll need to revisit, I'm pretty sure. Son of Rambow was cute, too; sweet in a Napoleon Dynamite sort of way. Next up: Get Smart, Burn After Reading and some Batman - Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I'm not usually a Batman fan, but I've heard good things about these. James-Philip will probably come over to watch them with me.

Although the NYGiants have finished their season, we'll still be watching the playoffs, cheering on the Eagles. Philly and Pittsburg would be an interesting Super Bowl - we'll see what happens this Sunday.

My 3-day weekend begins Sunday - I took Tuesday for my MLK holiday, so I can watch all the inaugural events. The library will have a big screen TV on in a meeting room, too; this is the first big event since the TV was installed. It's a little early for Montana - we don't open until 10 a.m. which is right when the ceremony takes place in D.C. but I'm sure there will be lots of news coverage before and after. As with football, I think this is an event where it's much better NOT to be there!