Fun in the Sun (and the Wind)

The intermittent rain of early May dried up this past weekend.  In its place the wind has figures prominently.  Saturday morning I got to work caulking - a good solitary work project that didn't put me in danger of falling off the roof, nailing my hand to the house, or anything else like that.  I gave Pop a hand with some of the work on the water line trench, which he finished trenching today.  And of course there was laundry and more housecleaning before the girls arrived.

Tom arrived home!!!  Hooray - I was very happy to see him.  And about two and a half hours later, Mary & Jennifer arrived!  More hoorays!!!  It was terrific to have a full house (and clean), and the laughter and stories really made it an awesome weekend.  The girls spoiled us with produce and treats not typically found around here - delicious.  Tom also treated us to a recent favorite of ours - pupu platter night...

crystal rolls, seaweed rolls, seared tuna, and potstickers...

And while eating and drinking consumed part of our time, these two came down and worked!  They helped so much, and we really appreciated it.  I love working by Tom's side, but another pair of hands made it go even faster.  And there was more laughing and joking (not at my expense, either).

Jennifer guarding the pile of lumber that continues to diminish as the walls go up.

After all the work on the siding during the day Sunday, the wind picked up, and it was time to move inside.  Thomas approved my drawing for the basement wall that separates the east corner room, aka the crafting corner, from the TV room.  Then he watched Mary, Jennifer, and I build it.  It was fun working with the girls cutting the boards and putting it all together.  Gratefully, we had a nail gun for what I think of as the hard part.  And Thomas gave up his supervisory position to help us secure it in place.



Girl power!!

Sunday we "finished" this side of the siding

(we'll wait to do the last couple rows when we have the soffets in, I think)

We'd already started on this side Sunday, but "finished" it on Monday.



Guess who was tired?!?!  All of us - and definitely the good kind of tired that means we've worked hard and had fun!  Monday the girls headed home in the early afternoon, but we didn't toss in the towel yet.  Pop delivered a truck bed of manure for the garden, which I scooped with him.  Tom worked on a new control panel for the pump on an old wildland truck at the firehouse.  Phew - tired doesn't even begin to describe it.  We've got to rest up this week because there is always more work next week!

Hazardous to My Health

Talking to my girlfriends last night, I laughed.  I laughed for many reasons, but universally I laughed when they asked, "How are you?"  Everyone has had the conversation at some point about what that question even means, right?  (Has it become synonymous with "hello" or do people really want to know - you know that conversation about it?)  I laughed because I am falling apart.

Just yesterday morning an older woman in the dentist's waiting room struck up a conversation about the aches and pains of getting older.  So what's my excuse?  I decided I might be hazardous to my health - particularly the version of me that doesn't have Thomas around.  In the first four days of his absence, I dealt with

- my big toe was sore.  Unbeknownst to me, I had a sliver in the end of my big toe.  I thought it was a bruise from dropping a piece of conduit on it.  Not being flexible enough to get up close and personal, I mess with it, finding not only the sliver, but a bit of an infection.  I'll live.

- Wednesday I get home from work just before 9 o'clock and am hungry.  I fry an egg with some focaccia and wolf it down.  A chunk of bread goes the wrong way, and I can't breathe.  As I try to get my wits about me, my body volunteers the right response, and the air in my belly forcibly exhales the bread in an arc out of my gaping mouth.  Phew!  I'll live, but I'm going to finish my dinner more slowly.

- Thursday I kick/catch my middle toe on a piece of wall board leaning in the hall (formerly my puzzle board).  I mutter, "That's gonna hurt," and hobble to the couch.  It's already discoloring and swelling.  Maybe it's a sprain, maybe it's broken.  Same difference to me - buddy tape it.  I'll live (in sandals).  I painted my toes, since my feet will be naked for a while.

Crazy one thing after the next!  Hopefully the last of the vacuuming and housecleaning won't be my demise before Tom gets home.

Late Night Visitor

I like to pretend I don't scare easily, but ask Thomas about my hysteria around spiders, and you'll know what really sets me off.

(In the past week alone - after a shower I thought I felt a head hair on my wrist, but it was a little yellow spider; I shook madly, losing it and not stepping on it - unloading the dishwasher I was trying to get a water bottle lid closed without looking, but it wasn't going on, and when I look at it, I see a little yellow spider on the neck of the bottle; I shook madly, losing it and not stepping on it - last night I see a daddy long legs with legs over 2 inches long in the tub, so I go for a long handled something to get it; when I come back, it is nowhere to be found in the bathroom....errrr, those darn spiders make me nervous!)

Last night we say goodnight; I'm headed to bed.  About forty-five minutes later, I hear a knock on the window, then a knock on a different window, and then another, and so on.  I'm wondering who's out there, mentally skipping the axe murderer and assuming it is the cat jumping on the screens.  How she's going from window to window so fast is beyond me.  It's too dark, and I don't see anything or anyone.  Then a flash.  Then more flashes.  Then knocking all over.  Then the house is being pelted, and my ears are roaring.  A big storm moved in - hail, rain, lighting, wind.  It was magnificent.  It was loud!  Then the hail tapered off, leaving behind the luscious sound of rain falling on the roof.  What a wonderful sound!

I really wasn't scared.  I did get a flashlight, just in case, not that I would need one if the power went out in my sleep.  But I was worried we might get toned out if the lightning struck a dry tree.  Thank you, God, for rain!  Next time, you don't have to knock on the window to get my attention.

Long-Distance Love

This is not a post about how Tom and I call each other every night to say "good night" and "I love you" and "I miss you."  It is true, though, as a training has temporarily separated us.  It happens, and absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?  I do look forward to our reunion, quickly followed by the arrival of a couple Columbine Girls to help on the house during the long weekend.  These long-distance loves are important.

But what is melting my heart - really "who" - is my godson.  Check out this post by his parents about his love for pumpkin bread, which I subtly confuse for his love of his long-distance tia.  So precious!  He's about to become a big brother, so I thought a special batch of pumpkin bread to help him through the transition might be good.  What with the long weekend, his family's plans, and the mail not working for a couple days, he's just going to have to wait until next week for his tia.....and for the real thing, probably a little longer.

a long time coming....

Thomas has had a lot to do.  He grumbles a lot that all he ever does is fix things, though I can attest to some of the other things that occupy his time.  His motorcycle has been sitting under the horse barn for a very long time. 

In Denver Thomas and I would get out on his motorcycle now and then, mostly just for long rides.  When we moved to New Mexico (three years ago at the the end of this month), I think it was brought down on the trailer and then parked.  He did put a windshield on it, in the hopes he might get to take it to work.  But he carpooled to Raton for a very long time, and somehow I just can't picture him and Chris riding it together.  He's gotten it running the past couple summers, but has done little more than that. 

Last night he got it running again, and he invited me to hop on as he took it up and down the highway through town.  We couldn't have gone more than two miles, but I whooped it up when we got back.  That was my first ride as a married woman.  And my first ride in New Mexico.  And hopefully not my last!

(I keep asking if we can take the bike to church.   Maybe this weekend...)

etiquette

Driving etiquette around here is to wave to oncoming traffic, and that is about it. 

It seems you don't always have to stay on your side of the yellow line, and I am not talking about changing lanes to pass.  Especially if there aren't any other vehicles in sight ahead or behind, the pot holes and dips in the highway are such that it even feels safer to drive in the middle.  And with some of the turns, you can maintain a higher speed by adjusting those angles a bit.  Of course, it makes one a bit nervous coming around a corner, say, about the time a parent will be late to the bus stop to pick up kids unless speeding really fast.

And the turn signal is just another stick off the wheel to hang hair bands.  I can't shake the use of it myself, but maybe people already know which trucks turn on which roads/driveways, so it's not such a big deal.  Half the time there isn't a car in sight on the road, so using a turn signal isn't really a signal to anyone but myself, and ultimately, it's not signaling me anything I don't already know.  The other half of the time Tom is with me making fun of me for signaling when there isn't another car in sight.

So I head to Denver last week and did my darnedest not to lift a finger off that wheel.  Highway driving and busy streets are usually no big deal, but it's on the side streets that I catch myself.  When Tom is with me, I sometimes try to play it off like I'm suddenly Italian and talk with these big hand gestures.  Surely, I am not fooling Tom.  But then being alone this trip, I'm not sure which makes me look crazier - waving to another driver or gesturing my hands as I talk to myself.

The part that is more embarrassing to me is coming home and doing stupid stuff that the neighbors might see.  Drivers around here know the car and driver, so it's not as anonymous on Highway 21.  After a few days in Denver, I'm unconsciously hyper-vigilant with my turn signal.  My typical driving in a day leads me out the driveway onto our road for 30 yards maybe before turning onto the highway.  I wind back and forth and across straight-aways until I reach Cimarron - north and west of home.  I make a left turn off the highway to the office and park.  I reverse the route home.  Yesterday I hadn't even gone forty feet when I realized I had signaled out of the driveway onto the road.  This safety precaution seems most ridiculous, but it happens.  Aware of the foolishness, I pay better attention, but find myself forgetting on the way home.  There are numerous "tight" turns - practically 90 degree turns - along the highway, though I never actually stray from the highway, nor does it fork.  So when I caught myself hit the signal before making the turn around the Sweetwater turnoff, I felt like a moron!  I quickly flicked it off, relieved there was nobody ahead or behind me to see it. 

When will I ever learn!?!?

No Moping for Me! Pt II

Saturday morning I awoke with the sun coming in the window.  I had a little extra time to visit with Betty before heading out for family brunch.  The girls always play hostess when I am in town, but this time I came prepared to help out.  I brought some green chiles and made a green chile and cheese egg bake that turned out perfect!  I also had a loaf of pumpkin bread to contribute.  There were more eggs and french toast and fruit salad and Oren's beer and great, great company!

The weather was in our favor to lounge around Jennifer's yard filling our plates over and over again: Niffer, her parents Kathy-Davis, Andrea-Shaun-Mackenzie, Mary, Sarah-Lauren, Ahna-Oren-Ezra-Elia, and me!

Elia was in a great mood and happily bounced from lap to lap as we fought for our turns.

These two looked wistfully after the ice cream truck that stopped and moved on without any parents giving in.

How quickly they forgot their woes!

We lazed around as long as possible, but it was time to push on.  I ran a couple errands on my way back across town to meet Minerva and Isabella.  Minerva's mom joined us, too, for a visit to the City Park playground and a walk around the lake.  What a beautiful trio of ladies!  I especially enjoyed Isabella's distracted attempts to walk the ledge along the path - she's so full of energy and joy, it was hard to focus on one foot in front of the other.  It wasn't so long ago Minerva and I were walking around that lake in the Colfax half-marathon.

How I see her momma's joy in that smile!

Happy to be together!

Saturday evening was just for Betty and I.  We were spoiled by a generous dinner at the Wynkoop Brewery by her son-in-law.  After a quick trip to Sam's Club, we walked down to dinner and amused ourselves with the drunken buffoonery of the Derby, Cinco de Mayo, and Rockies crowds.  There were big sun hats and sombreros all over the place, and more than a few ill-looking people.  On our walk home, a young man wrapped his arms around our shoulders and told Betty she looked marvelous.  Not sure why she thought I knew him, but all the same she rolled her eyes, and we pressed on.  We watched a movie when we got back and then crashed.

Sunday morning, I woke up earlier than my body wanted.  Mass was at 7:30 am by an old friend, Fr. Tom, and with the company of friends Nikki, Russ, and their son Henry.  After church we had french toast and my last loaf of pumpkin bread, which Henry is a big fan of like my nephew Ollie.  After breakfast Henry showed off his bike riding skills until the sound of the lawn mower ended it all.  He's a big fan of helping Dad with the mowing. 

Notice the ear muffs - this guy couldn't wait to do his part.

What a team - blowing the clippings is a two-man job.

How quickly the weekend slipped away!  So many friends and such good times...but home beckoned.  I hit the road and after a couple last grocery stops, arrived home about 5:15 pm.  I surprised Tom with some crab legs and artichokes for a special dinner.  It was good to be home.  I could have just hugged Tom for the rest of the evening.  Home again, home again, jiggety jog!

No Moping for Me! Pt I

Tom and I stay busy for work.  Often times when we have trainings or conferences, they become overnight affairs (using definition 1.a. plural : commercial, professional, public, or personal business - not 3.a.).  We talk on the phone in the evening, but otherwise just bide our time till our reunion.  With Tom's new job, there are quite a few multi-day meetings and seminars that he will be away for, as in last week when he went to Las Cruces for several days.  I chose not to sit around and wait, and the poor guy arrived home Saturday evening to a cold, empty house.  (At his insistence I didn't come home until Sunday, so he could sleep late and have a day of rest without the slave driver to keep him busy, I mean, so I could see all my friends.)  "/

I left later than I hoped after work on Thursday - an ordeal with a non-functioning cell phone.  Betty welcomed me home again with open arms.  Hard to believe it's been almost five years since my surgery, when I recuperated on the third floor with Betty taking excellent care of my hot cocoa, grilled cheese, and movie needs.  (Actually, when I arrived at nine o'clock on Thursday, she got out the griddle and made me a grilled cheese sandwich and mug of hot cocoa!)

Friday morning I headed out for the first of many visits:

I met Anna Belle down south to catch up over breakfast, a favorite tradition of ours.

After breakfast I made my way up to the NW and caught up with Britta and Kiri.  Britta suggested Indian for lunch, which was delicious, though Kiri found the rice more fun to rub into the table.  Kiri just turned one, and though she was a bit shy at first, warmed right up and showed off her sweet personality.  Such a wonderful age!

I caught Kiri being cute.

From lunch I headed back downtown to visit some friends at Denver Urban Gardens.  We got to check out the building they are moving into this summer.  I look forward to visiting again when they are all settled in.



After a quick stop at an Asian market for some much needed (and not so available in our neighborhood) ingredients, I headed out for my first massage work from Cathy in over a year.  Not that it isn't an indulgence of luxurious proportions, a year was a long time to wait.  Cathy's so in demand, I just haven't been able to get an appointment any other time we've been in town.  It helps so much with my shoulder and low back stuff.  Afterwards, we went out for a Lebanese/Mediterranean dinner and got to catch up.  I was so relaxed when I got back to Betty's that I didn't think my brain would work fast enough for a game of dominoes, but I got lucky.  No question - I slept soundly that night.

April Progress

I just posted a whole bunch of pictures of our March and April progress, but I really was excited about how much more the house looks like a house (from the outside) as the siding continued to go up this past weekend.

Our south wall is framed because of all the windows.  To boost the R-value, we are putting a layer of 1.5" foil-faced foam on the outside of the sheeting. But because we need something to nail the siding into, we put up nailing strips at least every two feet first and then cut the foam to fit.  Finally, that gets covered in Tyvek, and the wall is ready for siding.  With the nail gun, those strips go up fast!

Saturday we got up all the nailing strips and then the siding to the west (left) of the sliding door, including the trim it butts up against.

After church and lunch on Sunday, we got all the siding up to east (right) of the sliding door, plus trim.

These pictures make me happy, especially the reflection of the mesa in the windows.  May will bring us more siding, more siding, and more siding - three walls to go after this.