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| Keeping warm by the fire |
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| That's my stick! No, it's mine! |
Then: January 2010
New Year's Day and it is a blue moon. Don't know if that is a very auspicious way to start out the year, as in "once in a. . ." Hmmm. It started snowing late morning and we ended up with about 3" with the ever-present fog.
JB used the snow blower to clear the paths and generally around the house the next day. We really need to save up for a more powerful blower for next winter. This one just was not made for mountain snow and terrain. It is not self-propelled and takes a lot of effort. JB really gets a workout. After lunch we rode MAX down our road. It was getting windy and that always makes us concerned about drifting snow. Have not had a problem with it so far.
I did something delicious on Sunday, January 3. We got up and had our big Sunday breakfast, then I went back to bed at 10:00 a.m. and slept til noon! It was really foggy outside and that always makes me foggy inside. The extra sleep helped to clear out my head. But on Monday, we got another 6" of snow by 2 p.m., so we spent most of the day snow blowing and shoveling. Received another 2" on Tuesday, so we all drove down our road in MAX. Of course, you know that really means that JB and I rode on MAX and the dogs gleefully ran back and forth along the road near us.
JB is going Down There on the 7th, so we double check all our supply records in order to make an accurate shopping list for him. It is 12 degrees when he leaves at 9:30 a.m. It is overcast but bright and thus so is my mood. I get busy cleaning and organizing while he is gone. He complains that whenever he is gone for the day, he always comes back to something changed. I can't help it. I love nesting, and in this small of a house every bit of space has to be used as efficiently as possible. I just keep seeing little things can be moved for a better use of the area. There is really no room to rearrange the furniture, just the little items. My own form of feng shuei.
Coming home, JB got the Jeep stuck in the short driveway at Larry and Elsie's that he drives up to the parking place. So on the 8th, JB went down early in the morning to help Larry pull it out and took a couple bottles of wine for them.
The dogs and I have been hiking almost every day. As much as I dislike the fog, it makes for some great photos. We hike the same places as we do during other seasons, but everything looks so very different in the winter. Each season has its own special colors and lighting, but I have never enjoyed snow as much as I do Up Here. As I mentioned previously, it is so much fun to see the prints of the different birds and animals. During one hike, a large, brown owl flew up the slope into a branch barely 10' away from me. It didn't even stop to fold its wings. Just touched the branch. Looked at me. Then flew off again. No time for a photo, just a mental picture.
About once a week during the month we enjoyed sitting around a fire in the tipi. We chose our model of wood stove for the house because it has a glass window through which you can see the flames, but there is nothing like sitting around an open fire. And the tipi provides the perfect shelter in which to do just that. There is something magical in a primitive sort of way about the fire in the tipi.
The second full moon of the month is on January 30. It is a clear night, so we hike up to the south ridge to experience the moonlight. It is so bright that the mountains are lit up almost like daytime. Talk about magic!
January certainly is not a boring month for us Up Here, but it isn't very exciting to write about. Mainly snow, fog, sleet, hiking, snow blowing, baking, eating, riding MAX, reading, crafting, baking, eating. Other than the snow, my second favorite thing about January is that it is becoming obvious that the sun is beginning to move north again. The long, dark nights are becoming shorter. Down There January was always my least favorite month. The holidays were over. It was still dark and dreary, and Spring was still a few months away. Very different Up Here, especially now that we are retired. I wish I could have retired right out of college!
Now: July 18, 2011
Busy day yesterday, and today looks to be the same. RJ came to breakfast and I made a big German oven pancake for us. Put peaches and brown sugar on it, and there's just no better meal. After he left, my BFF called and we chatted for the usual hour or so. Big dark clouds threatened rain that never materialized. I walked down to say, "Hi," to our 206er neighbors who were up for the weekend. Finally, after lunch, I got busy and, with my trusty little chainsaw, cut five wheelbarrow loads of branch wood. I stacked four of them in the wood shed, and took the fifth load of large pieces to the splitter. Feels so good to be physically active with such useful results.
Larry and Elsie have another chicken that is "brooding", and they are allowing her to hatch her eggs. If we can get a chicken coup built by Spring, they will give us the chickens we need. We have picked out the place for it and planned how we want to build it. It is just a matter of having the time, what with having to finish the deck/shop and get the winter wood in. And finishing the walls inside our house. Don't remember being quite this busy before we retired.
A few days ago I had noticed signs that we had another resident pack rat, so, cute or not, I immediately put the poison out. When I mentioned this to Larry and Elsie, they both gave me a verbal pat on the back. Getting further and further out of my City Mind.
JB is anxious to get back to Rose Camp. Two weeks Down There is a little more stressful than he had counted on. That being said, he is really enjoying the time with his Mom, and being able to see his brother, nephews and grandnephews (boys are predominant in his family). He also has time to check out all the new kitchen and other gadgets in the stores. We don't really spend a lot of time shopping. Just go in and get what we need, then leave. Sounds like he will be more than ready to jump in and get to work when he returns on Thursday.
New Year's Day and it is a blue moon. Don't know if that is a very auspicious way to start out the year, as in "once in a. . ." Hmmm. It started snowing late morning and we ended up with about 3" with the ever-present fog.
JB used the snow blower to clear the paths and generally around the house the next day. We really need to save up for a more powerful blower for next winter. This one just was not made for mountain snow and terrain. It is not self-propelled and takes a lot of effort. JB really gets a workout. After lunch we rode MAX down our road. It was getting windy and that always makes us concerned about drifting snow. Have not had a problem with it so far.
I did something delicious on Sunday, January 3. We got up and had our big Sunday breakfast, then I went back to bed at 10:00 a.m. and slept til noon! It was really foggy outside and that always makes me foggy inside. The extra sleep helped to clear out my head. But on Monday, we got another 6" of snow by 2 p.m., so we spent most of the day snow blowing and shoveling. Received another 2" on Tuesday, so we all drove down our road in MAX. Of course, you know that really means that JB and I rode on MAX and the dogs gleefully ran back and forth along the road near us.
JB is going Down There on the 7th, so we double check all our supply records in order to make an accurate shopping list for him. It is 12 degrees when he leaves at 9:30 a.m. It is overcast but bright and thus so is my mood. I get busy cleaning and organizing while he is gone. He complains that whenever he is gone for the day, he always comes back to something changed. I can't help it. I love nesting, and in this small of a house every bit of space has to be used as efficiently as possible. I just keep seeing little things can be moved for a better use of the area. There is really no room to rearrange the furniture, just the little items. My own form of feng shuei.
Coming home, JB got the Jeep stuck in the short driveway at Larry and Elsie's that he drives up to the parking place. So on the 8th, JB went down early in the morning to help Larry pull it out and took a couple bottles of wine for them.
The dogs and I have been hiking almost every day. As much as I dislike the fog, it makes for some great photos. We hike the same places as we do during other seasons, but everything looks so very different in the winter. Each season has its own special colors and lighting, but I have never enjoyed snow as much as I do Up Here. As I mentioned previously, it is so much fun to see the prints of the different birds and animals. During one hike, a large, brown owl flew up the slope into a branch barely 10' away from me. It didn't even stop to fold its wings. Just touched the branch. Looked at me. Then flew off again. No time for a photo, just a mental picture.
About once a week during the month we enjoyed sitting around a fire in the tipi. We chose our model of wood stove for the house because it has a glass window through which you can see the flames, but there is nothing like sitting around an open fire. And the tipi provides the perfect shelter in which to do just that. There is something magical in a primitive sort of way about the fire in the tipi.
The second full moon of the month is on January 30. It is a clear night, so we hike up to the south ridge to experience the moonlight. It is so bright that the mountains are lit up almost like daytime. Talk about magic!
January certainly is not a boring month for us Up Here, but it isn't very exciting to write about. Mainly snow, fog, sleet, hiking, snow blowing, baking, eating, riding MAX, reading, crafting, baking, eating. Other than the snow, my second favorite thing about January is that it is becoming obvious that the sun is beginning to move north again. The long, dark nights are becoming shorter. Down There January was always my least favorite month. The holidays were over. It was still dark and dreary, and Spring was still a few months away. Very different Up Here, especially now that we are retired. I wish I could have retired right out of college!
Now: July 18, 2011
Busy day yesterday, and today looks to be the same. RJ came to breakfast and I made a big German oven pancake for us. Put peaches and brown sugar on it, and there's just no better meal. After he left, my BFF called and we chatted for the usual hour or so. Big dark clouds threatened rain that never materialized. I walked down to say, "Hi," to our 206er neighbors who were up for the weekend. Finally, after lunch, I got busy and, with my trusty little chainsaw, cut five wheelbarrow loads of branch wood. I stacked four of them in the wood shed, and took the fifth load of large pieces to the splitter. Feels so good to be physically active with such useful results.
Larry and Elsie have another chicken that is "brooding", and they are allowing her to hatch her eggs. If we can get a chicken coup built by Spring, they will give us the chickens we need. We have picked out the place for it and planned how we want to build it. It is just a matter of having the time, what with having to finish the deck/shop and get the winter wood in. And finishing the walls inside our house. Don't remember being quite this busy before we retired.
A few days ago I had noticed signs that we had another resident pack rat, so, cute or not, I immediately put the poison out. When I mentioned this to Larry and Elsie, they both gave me a verbal pat on the back. Getting further and further out of my City Mind.
JB is anxious to get back to Rose Camp. Two weeks Down There is a little more stressful than he had counted on. That being said, he is really enjoying the time with his Mom, and being able to see his brother, nephews and grandnephews (boys are predominant in his family). He also has time to check out all the new kitchen and other gadgets in the stores. We don't really spend a lot of time shopping. Just go in and get what we need, then leave. Sounds like he will be more than ready to jump in and get to work when he returns on Thursday.
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