Jenny's Cabin

Arrived here late yesterday after a 12 drive across Kansas and half of Colorado. It was pouring rain coming up the mountain on US 24 from Colorado Springs. I went through Divide and started up Cedar Mountain Road to the cabin. I thought I'd missed the cabin when I finally saw the last landmark in Jenny's directions and then the turn. As i got out of the car, the rain stopped and there behind me over the mountain was a rainbow.

We are located just a bit northwest of Pike's Peak on the edge of the Pike National Forest. The cabin has this front porch with a drop dead gorgeous view of the next mountain range between here and Aspen and Vale.

After dinner tonight Jenny took Rory and I hiking in the national forest. Rory probably went twice as far as either Jenny or I. It was nice to be able to let him run without his leash. He's worn out now and finally relaxed here at the cabin.

When we got home, the light was fading, the sunset this evening was too good to miss, so here it is for all of you to enjoy.

Summer Again

Well, here it is the third week in July already. Where has the summer gone? I was just looking at some of Jud's pics on his Facebook site and they are leaving their summer retreat in Franklin, ME, heading back to UT on Tuesday. I can't believe they've been there three weeks already. I can only imagine how short the respite has seemed for them. If you’re a friend of Jud's on Facebook and haven't seen the photos, go take a look. They're outstanding.

So, by now, dear reader, you're wondering, "Why all of a sudden is she back on her blog? Surely it's not just to let us know her best boy is posting photos yet again?"

Well, no, it's not just that. I am getting ready to go off on another adventure. This time it's to Colorado to visit my friend Jenny at her cabin in Divide.

View Larger Map

So, dear reader, I am madly getting the house ready, doing laundry, starting the packing, and generally seeing more action than I have since May when I went off to see the kids in UT.

Friday I stopped in the campus computer store, Union Station, to pick up new Airport WiFi routers. The Airport Express that has served so admirably for 6 years routing tunes to the stereo, suddenly quit on me. It said it was online, but no amount of resetting, firmware updating, etc. could get it to connect. So I went for a new Express and came home with new Airport Extreme (802.11n) as well. It occurred to me that if I was getting an 802.11 n Express, then I probably ought to have the Extreme to match, especially since the MacBook Pro I'm using also has 802.11 n WiFi.

WOW! What a difference that made in speed. Took me about a half-hour/ 45 min to unplug all the old stuff, break open the Fort Knox packaging and get everything up and running. Love that Apple product line. They all work together so nicely. So now I can blast my tunes through the stereo---hear it ALL over the house.

Yesterday, I spent the day out with the MoKan LoW's at their campout in Osceola, MO. Had a great time with all the RVing singles---one old gent, one 9-year-old young gent, and a dozen single ladies, mostly retired. We had our Loners on Wheels area director and her grandson with us. It was interesting to hear what she had to say about things at LoW headquarters in Deming, NM. after seeing a copy of our newsletter, she asked me if I wanted to do their national newsletter, too. I respectfully declined, asked her to get back to me in 5 years.

Today the Colorado prep takes on the household chores. Got the laundry running and Ralph the Roomba has finished one of the living room rugs. I'm now moving him to the dining room. Gotta make the guest bed in case Kat is staying and not just dropping by to check on the kitties. Then there is more laundry (durn stuff fornicates in the hamper), prep the crock-pot curried chicken, and work on getting knitting and reading ready to go.

Check back soon, dear reader, to see how the prep is coming.

She's Baaaack!

Yep, it's true, I'm back at the ole blog. Been on FaceBook a bit lately, but didn't want to start a new blog over there and the wall thing is just not a big enough space for vacation ramblings. The semester is over. Wow! What a time with four student teachers and three classes; that's more than a full load. The money is nice even though you get paid only a portion of what one normally gets for the semester. 

Right now I have three weeks to catch my breath, visit the wee ones in Utah and do a camping weekend. Then I have three summer classes in six weeks. By mid-July I will be ready for a jaunt to Jenny's cabin in the Colorado mountains. She's invited me year after year, so this year I am finally gonna pack up the pooch, trek across Kansas, and spend a couple weeks at her place. 

So there ya go. That's the plan for the summer. Check back for pics and prattle. I'll try to keep this linked on FaceBook, too. 

Brrrrr!!!

Okay, so it's not North Dakota or Minnesota and it IS January, but, Good Grief, does it have to be this cold? Got up this morning and it was -4℉. It was so cold that the door to my unheated, detached garage took SIX tries before it would open with the auto opener. I was thinking I might not get the car out, when it finally opened. then I remembered that you can release it so it can be opened with human muscle power. How easily we become dependent on the gadgets and then have to think hard to remember how we used to do it before the automatic toys came along. 

There are other inconveniences with the cold. Yesterday with the 15 mph wind from the NW I had to close the pet door. It kept blowing open and with that little gale racing through the kitchen all I could see was little greenbacks ($$$) blowing out the door. Now I have to remember to let the dog out and back in instead of him helping himself. The cats, fair weather felines (oh, wait, that's redundant) that they are, sometimes use it, too, but they're having no part of the frozen yard right now. That litter box in the basement is looking pretty good to them. 

I put the little foam insulators on the outside faucets last night. Yes, I know it;s a bit late, but I figured this was the coldest of the winter, so, better late than never. I'm not really sure how well they work anyway. 

At least it's only supposed to last a couple of days. Today is Thursday and by Saturday they are forecasting highs in the mid-40's again. This up and down roller coaster temps can't be good for man nor beast nor vegetation. 

iChat Video Fun

Tonight we finally got cameras going in both directions to initiate a video chat session with daughter M and her family in Salt Lake City. My new 'puter has a built-in camera, so I took my iSight camera to M at Christmas. She hooked it up with their Mac and we set up a time to talk. Both ER and V were still up, so I got to see all of them. we played with the video effects, made faces at each other, and sang silly kid songs (Eensy Weensy Spider and The Wheels on the Bus). 

Eventually hubby S joined M and they all sat on the floor far enough away so they all fit into the screen. Both M and I were surprised at how long V stuck with it. A half-hour is a long time for a two-year-old. One thing we did decide was that they need better light so it's not so yellow. I have a couple of three-way bulbs in my living room where I was online and you can see what a difference that makes. 

Last week I did a video chat with a colleague on campus. Now I'm wondering who else has these capabilities? 

Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let It Snow!

OMG, so much snow! I had planned to drive down to St. George to visit the other set of grandkids, but with I-15 closed overnight and over 30 crashes reported in Salt Lake County, I called it off. West Jordan, right next to M's, reported 14" of snow; that's a lot for road crews to keep cleared. I looked at the webcam down towards Beaver, UT, and the road was open late this morning, but in no way would I call it clear. S went to work to clear sidewalks at the E Center in West Valley and M went to her office downtown. She had the '99 Lexus RS with 4-wheel drive, but only one of her clients made it a half-hour late for her appointment, so she was home early. 

When he got home at 11 a.m. S went out and shoveled sidewalks, driveway, and paths for the dog. Then he took V and they went in the hot tub. It sure was bizarre to see them in the hot tub with snow coming down. I didn't bring a swimsuit. Dumb me just couldn't imagine that folks would be doing that in this kind of snow. They do have nice thick towels and fluffy terry robes for afterwards. 

Well, there is the weatherman on TV with another band of snow right now and they are forecasting another 1"-2" on Sunday. In the meantime, home in Warrensburg it's 63º and they have a severe thunderstorm warning with TORNADO and flash flood watches until 5 a.m. Tornados in December!?! What crazy weather! 

Wherever you are, stay warm and dry as you visit friends and family this holiday season. 

Winter Solstice or Yule Celebration

M and her family celebrate Yule on Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and, in some cultures the middle of winter, usually the 21 or 22 of December. I arrived at M's in SLC on 20 December and Winter Solstice was on Sunday, Dec. 21st this year. We got up early to open the gifts "Santa" had left. V (2.5 yrs) was entranced by her new red Classic Radio Flier dual-deck tricycle. (Wow! So many different kinds of trykes made by Radio Flyer.) It's been the hit of the season. Santa also brought her a couple of new dresses and "long socks" (tights) to match, a Lego DUPLO set, a child-size guitar to match Daddy S's, and assorted other little goodies. I had three books and the Disney Tinker Bell video for V. For ER I had a bottle warmer that Daddy S also liked. (Although he is still breastfed full time, when M goes to work, S feeds him breast milk that has been pumped, saved, and needs warming.) S got a Gorilla Pod tripod for his camera. I ordered it and didn't realize they came in different sizes. This one was the short one. Maybe the birthday faerie (Jan 9) will find one of the bigger ones for him. For M I got a classic Parcheesi game. 

Earlier I had received at home in MO a HUGE cooler on wheels to add to my camping gear. Here I got a battery operated tent fan, something small to open and easy to pack and carry home on the plane. 

M used to have three cats, Beansie, Ladie Bird (Bird for short), and Sassie. This fall Sassie disappeared and has not been seen since. M has asked around the neighborhood, but no one has seen her. What's amazing is that now the other two cats, Beansie and Bird, are much more friendly. They come out whenever and pay no attention to the dog. I could go for a whole week's visit and never see Bird, but this time I have seen bird several times already. Beansie comes out all the time, sits in laps, and asks to be petted. M thinks Sassie may have been bullying the others so they wouldn't come out from hiding. 

So, Sunday afternoon M had a Yule party. It was a pot luck dinner after the Broncos football game that really made S angry. (Broncos lost when they really should have played better and won.) M made a ham and a turkey. I made mulled cider with brandy in it. Put it in a crock pot and let it sit all afternoon on low. Folks raved about it and there was none left at the end of the night. We had quite a feast: mashed potatoes, ham, turkey, cookies, pies, salad, macaroni salad, and more. Pot luck is always so much fun when you have lots of folks brining lots of food. 

There were also lots of drinks. Plenty of beer and so much pop that some who brought 2-liter bottles took them home again. The beer was amazing: the later it got, the more beer consumed, the louder they got. There were stories about incidents with vicious dogs, and more. Got to be a contest of my-dog-bite-story-is-bigger-and-badder-than-yours. I've never heard so much one-ups-man/woman-ships in quite some time. Amazing what alcohol does to tongues. 

Today is Christmas eve and we'll be going to S's dad's house for more feasting. He loves to cook and was planning quite a spread when he was at M's on Sunday. His current live-in woman was planning on making an assortment of candies. She loves to make deserts, my favorite thing and where I think all meals should begin. Yummy!