Sharon, Bourbon Drinker

Sharon has recently shown an interest in trying cocktails other than her old standbys of Cosmopolitans and Margaritas. Recently at a friends house we had a cocktail found in Death & Company Modern Classic Cocktails. Sharon ordered a copy for us and we have tried a few cocktails as well as enjoying reading the book - which is a good read. Last night I suggested that Sharon find a recipe which included grapefruit juice. She came up with several and we made "The Big Texan". Sharon said after tasting "I could become a bourbon drinker."

The Big Texan

1 oz. grapefruit juice

1 1/2 oz. bourbon

1/4 oz. simple syrup

2 basil leaves

 

Shake with ice and pour over 5 ice cubes and serve.

 

After a few sips Sharon suggested we modify it to make it "ours." I added five drops of Cocktail Punk Colorado Cocktail Bitters. Wow, another layer of flavor that worked well.

 

 

Don't Box Jump

On Saturday October 22 while at Orange Theory, Sharon attempted a box jump. It did not end well. She did a fine job breaking her left wrist. She went to Urgent Care in Boulder and learned that she had a break worthy of surgery. The Urgent Care doctor asked her "Do you have an orthopedic surgeon?" As if everyone had one. Apparently in Boulder, lots of people do. She went home with a temporary splint.

On Tuesday we visited Dr. Michael Repine Boulder. He came recommended by the the urgent care doctor and from what we read of him. He told Sharon that she had done a fine job on her wrist, a classic break but a bad one. Never fear though, he deals with about three of those a week and in about 30 minutes of surgery it would be fixed. On Thursday Sharon was in surgery. You can see the results above. She is in less discomfort since the surgery and has adapted well to being right handed. She is down to a few ibuprofens at night and has not needed the oxycodone prescription we filled for her. A couple of weeks in the current cast and they will remove it and her stitches. Then, onto another cast for a couple of weeks, then finally a removable cast and physical therapy.

Basement Progress

The framing is up and the electrical is run. We added a sub-panel with 60 amp service and installed outlets at countertop level around the basement. We also added boxes for additional ceiling lighting. Next step is a visit from a City of Longmont building inspector.

I am working on assembly of the Murphy bed upstairs in the bedroom/office. This keeps me out of the hair of workers in the basement. But on the other hand, as I need tools for working on the Murphy bed, I can't find them in the basement! Where is that caulk gun? I know I've seen it. The bedroom gets pretty darn small when you have it filled with bed parts. Oh, the iron? That's for putting edge veneer on the oak plywood sheets. And, speaking of oak plywood, this stuff from Lowes is terrible. Really poor quality with a very thin veneer of oak and what feels like waves under the veneer. If I am going to do more furniture, I have to find another source.

 

Chicken and Dumplings

This comes from a Food & Wine Cookbook - Best Of The Best Cookbook Recipes Vol. 13. From Real Cajun, Donald Link with Paula Disbrowe

Chicken & Dumplings

Serves 6

Dumplings

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• scant teaspoon ground black pepper
• scant teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 small onion finely minced 
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Chicken Stew 

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 whole chicken cut into serving pieces
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper stemmed, seeded, minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced

Chicken Stew Preparation

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. In another season the chicken with salt, pepper, and cayenne, then toss with the flour until coated. Heat the vegetable oil in a dutch oven until hot but not smoking, add the chicken and brown on all sides.

 

Transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl and pour out and discard half of the oil in the dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, carrot, jalapeño, garlic and thyme to the dutch oven and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the wine then the butter and cook until it melts. Add the leftover dredging flour and stir until the vegetables are evenly coated, then give it a few more minutes. Add the chicken broth, stir gently and bring to a simmer.

 

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the mushrooms until crisp and brown. Add to the dutch oven.

 

Add the chicken to the stew and simmer for about an hour and a half.

 

Preheat the oven to 450°. Use a large spoon to scoop ovals of the dumpling batter onto the stew. Transfer the dutch oven to the oven and bake until the dumplings are lightly golden - about 20 minutes. 

 

Allow the stew to cool slightly then serve in bowls and enjoy.

 

Dumpling Preparation

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, oregano, cayenne, black pepper, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, onion, melted butter, and milk. Using a fork stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just blended. Chill for about 30 minutes. 

 

Pink Sunrise

A lovely sunrise today. Over the last few days a new layer of snow has covered the peaks on the front range and it is very clear this morning. When the rising sun hit the tops of the peaks they took on a rose glow. Really beautiful. I love being able to see this mountains from our second floor. This is one of the reasons we moved to Longmont and one of the things that sold us on this particular house. From the two back bedrooms including the master bedroom and the master bath we have a great view of the Rockies. This morning as I was showering I could look out and see Long's Peak.

It is cold here this morning. Our outdoor thermometer showed 28° when I came downstairs at 7:15. You can see a bit of frost on rooftops and objects. I'm glad I drained the back-flow preventer valve and turned off the irrigation system.

Yesterday was basement day for me. I spent the day moving everything around and emptying boxes and storing boxes under the stairs in preparation for major work down there. We are having walls installed around the perimeter and these will be covered with drywall then taped and floated. I am also having a 60 amp sub panel put in the basement and then outlets placed at counter top height every six feet around the basement. We are not doing ceilings or floors initially as the basement is for my workshop and storage. One corner will become the wine and booze room and I will put flooring in there and perhaps add a ceiling. We shall see.

This weekend Pete and Audrey Deckinga came for a visit. We always enjoy our time with them. I put poor Pete to work - he did hand and feet massages and if that was not enough I had him loading plywood onto the Jeep and hauling it to the basement and cutting it and hauling it to the second floor. I was sure glad he was here. We did have some fun together. On Sunday after a great breakfast at our regular spot, City Cafe, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park seeking elk. We did see one elk in Estes park and then a herd in the park close to the exit. In between we saw load of deer and lots of beautiful scenery.

I am building a Murphy bed in the back bedroom which will be a combination guest bedroom and office. It has great views to be enjoyed by guests and by us! Lee built a beautiful Murphy bed in our Glen Ellyn house. I don't have the space to do all that he did , but my goal is to make it half as nice as the one Lee did.

 

FedEx

Overnight is really second day and their customer service isn't.

Chilly and Chili

It is 37° outside this morning - and 60° inside. Yep, summer is over. Today. as yesterday, and one other day recently I put on jeans in the morning rather than shorts. I have worn shorts everyday since I arrived here on June 3 and darn it is hard to give up shorts and sandals for my standard attire. I see signs of fall in the trees and the plants in all of our pots around the yard, they are telling me to get ready for winter but I have been ignoring them.

 

Today I am making chili verde. I've got a bag or roasted Hatch peppers and a few pounds of pork. All I need is a recipe. Off to the internet I go!

Tamal Azteca

TAMAL AZTECA Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours  Yield: 4 servings Sauce: 

• 1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, undrained 
• 1 can (4 ounces) roasted green chilies, undrained, chopped 
• 1/2 tablespoon canola or corn oil 
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped, 1 cup 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 cup defatted chicken stock 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Casserole: 

• 8 corn tortillas 
• 1 medium zucchini, diced 
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, thoroughly drained 
• 8 ounces fat-reduced Monterey jack, grated, 
• 2 cups 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

For sauce, combine tomatoes and chilies in a blender and make a coarse puree. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until lightly browned. Increase heat to medium-high, add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato and chili mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes. Add stock, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Stir in salt, remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Makes 4 cups.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread tortillas out on 2 baking sheets sprayed with non-stick vegetable coating. Lightly spray tops of tortillas and place them in heated oven 10 minutes. Turn over and bake 3 minutes more. Remove from oven and set aside, leaving oven on.

Steam diced zucchini until just crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from steamer and set aside.

To assemble casserole, lightly spray an 11- by 7-inch baking dish with non-stick vegetable oil coating. Spread a thin layer of sauce evenly over bottom. Cover sauce with two of the toasted tortillas. Evenly spread the chopped spinach on top of the tortillas. Top with 1/4 of remaining sauce and 1/4 the cheese. Place two more tortillas on top and press down. Spread the corn on top, cover with 1/3 of remaining sauce and 1/3 of remaining cheese. Top with two more tortillas, again pressing down. Top with zucchini, 1/2 of remaining sauce and 1/2 the cheese. Top with the two remaining tortillas and press down. Spread remaining sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle on remaining cheese. 

Bourbon Sangria

Bourbon Sangria

 

Makes one quart

 

10 ounces red wine

2 ounces bourbon

2 ounces orange juice

1 ounce orange Liqueur

 

 

slice of orange 

slice of lemon 

slice of lime

A few berries

 

stir with ice serve

 

 

More House Stuff

A damp, cloudy, cool Longmont morning. This is what I saw as I looked out the bedroom window. No mountains to be seen but the pond looks good.

Today I am working on a project for the back porch - a "grilling station". To me it is a rolling cabinet I can use for grilling item storage and a top for holding things as I grill. All cedar and it should look good. The plans I am using call for an open back and front, but I am closing the back and will add a door on the front.

Wednesday, finished except for a door and stain. Got the lumber, got the hinges, got the stain. Tomorrow! Let's hear it for my helpers.

Finished. Door on, jalapeño knob on, stained. The top is two pieces of 12" x 24" tile. They can stand up to heat and dirt and are removable. Now, back to kitchen cabinet slide out shelves. Only two to go. Then on to jewelry drawers for the master bedroom closet, a corner shelf for the half bath, kitchen drawer dividers, bathroom drawer dividers, a murphy bed, and the big one - cabinets and shelves in the office. 

 

Trump Tower Chicago

Living In Longmont

Some random thoughts on living in Longmont.

Utility expenses are much lower here than in Glen Ellyn. I just looked at our combined water, wastewater, trash and recycling, and electric bill for mid-July through mid-August. $148.00. We would have paid that just for water and trash in Glen Ellyn. Our gas bill was about $16.00. Granted, this time of year we are only using the water heater and stove, but this is very reasonable.

On the other had, how about getting cars registered? The Miata was under $100 - license and fees and new title. Not too bad. The new Jeep however was almost $750. The clerk at Boulder County said they stick it to you on new cars for about the first four years.

Weather? I have certainly enjoyed the weather here. I see the sun almost every day. This past week has given us clouds in the morning but then sunshine the rest of the day. Right now we can sit outside in the late afternoon and enjoy sun and cooling breezes at the same time. We have had one big rainstorm since we arrived, and a couple of smaller storms. Generally though, warm during the day, comfortable or cool at night and almost always sunny.

Longmont is easy to get around and Boulder is a short drive down the road. I would be happier if Whole Foods was open in Longmont now instead of in a few months. My shopping is spread between Sprouts, Natural Foods, and occasional trips to Safeway during the week. Whole Foods is a weekend trip.

We are finding restaurants we enjoy in Longmont, Loveland, Boulder and beyond.

Then yard looks good with our low maintenence rock and pots and pond. The interior is comfy in the living area and our designer bedroom. Our bedroom with a new bed and sidetables and comfy chairs looks and feels like a hotel room. I find it very nice. I've got art on the walls in the living area, the upstairs hallway, and the guest bedroom. Everything else is bare for now.

My workshop is a hodgepodge right now but I am getting things done. My first project of pull out shelves for the kitchen cabinets is moving along. And should be done in a couple of weeks. Then I move on to my other jobs.

All in all I would say we are settling in. 

 

Cats Etc.

o

Espresso Brownie Tart

Espresso Brownie Tart

 A recipe from: From The Earth To The Table, John Ash

Makes one 8-inch tart  

• Butter and cocoa powder for dusting the tart pan
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1/4 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup chopped walnuts 
• 1/4 cup instant expresso powder
• 3 large eggs
• Optional garnish: powdered sugar, unsweetened whipped cream, and chocolate shavings

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and lightly dust with cocoa powder an 8-inch tart pan; save any excess for the ½ cup needed. Melt the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler and stir in the cocoa powder and expresso powder until smooth. Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a regular electric mixer; at low speed, mix the eggs one at a time, alternating with the sugar. Continue mixing at medium speed for 6 to 8 minutes.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and slat. Fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture along with the nuts. Pour into the prepared tart pan and bake for 25 minutes. The tart will be very soft when it comes out of the oven.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Even chilled it will still have a chewy center.

Serve the tart cut into wedges and topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, unsweetened whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.

Birds At Our Feeder

Mourning Dove

Eurasian Collared Dove

Blue Jay

American Goldfinch

House Finch

House Sparrow

Brewer's Blackbird

Red Winged Blackbird

Northern Flicker - seen November 4, 2016

European Starling

Chickadee

Common Grackle

 

 

Online you can see these and more front range birds at Audubon Birds of Boulder County 

Moving Recipes Is Work!

A few posts ago I said I was working to move recipes from the old Jordan Recipes page to this blog. It turns out it is difficult to get them moved over. Formatting issues are a real problem.  If you don't want to wait, just go visit the old Jordan Recipe Pages

Margaret Lobbes Cookies

Sharon's mother was a wonderful cook. The following cookie recipes came from her family-famous recipe box.  

 

Aunt Caroline's Cookies

• 1/2 pound butter
• 1/2 cup xxxx sugar 
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

 Form into roll and slice. Bake at 350 degrees 10 to 12 minutes.  

 

Margaret's Scotch Shortbread

• 1 lb butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups sifted flour
• 1 cup corn starch

Cream butter and sugar. Sift flour and corn starch together and add by tablespoon into butter. Put the mixture into an ungreased oblong cake pan. Pat down firmly with hand. Put in refrigerator over noght or at least seven hours. Put into a cold oven and set at 300 degrees. Bake 1 1/2 hours. Cool and sprinkle with fine sugar. Cut into cubes.    

 

Scotch Shortbread

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup confectioner sugar
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Makes 20, two-inch cookies Cream butter. Add sugar and mix well. Sift together flour and nutmeg. Add to first mixture and stir well. Stir in lemon juice. Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/3 inch. Cut into stars or other fancy shape. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.      

 

Aunt Teen's Butter Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

  Cream all ingredients and form into balls. Press down with fingers. Bake in 325 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.      

 

Dutch Cookies

• 3/4 pound butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients. Roll into rolls. Refrigerate for a while. Slice and bake at 350 degrees.  

Beef Stroganoff

I am pulling recipes from the old Jordan's Recipe pages on the old web site.

An unusual cookbook in Sharon's collection is "A Collection Of The Very Finest Recipes Ever Assembled Into One Cookbook" published by Cookbook Publishers, Hayward, California in 1979. If you want good, standard recipes. this is a sure place to find them.

In this recipe for Beef Stroganoff I questioned Sharon on the use of catsup when I first put this dish together. But, the catsup works! 

• 2 pounds beef, a tender cut works well
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
• 3 tablespoon flour
• 2 teaspoon meat-extract paste
• 1 tablespoon catsup
• 1 can beef broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Trim the beef and cut into bite size cubes. Use heavy, deep pot, heat over high heat and add the olive oil. Quickly sear the beef until it browned. Remove from the pot and set aside. Reduce heat slightly and add the butter to the pot. Sauté the onion, then add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are done. Remove from heat and stir in flour, meat extract paste, and catsup and blend into onion and mushrooms. Place back on heat and gradually add beef broth and bring to a boil while stirring. reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the beef, wine, dill, and sour cream. Simmer until beef is hot, about 10 minutes. salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles or rice. Serves about 6.

Try This!

Try this recipe! Easy and delicious sole in onion crust with anchovy butter.  

Whew!

What's that in my driveway you say? One ton of Colorado flat cobble 4"-12" delivered in the morning. I have been dreading this, but decided the weather would be a little milder this Tuesday. I started moving rock at 8:30am and had moved all of them to the back and placed most of them by noon. By 1:30pm I had placed all of the rocks and had a beer. Mission accomplished. The pond is now cloudy with dust and dirt from the rocks and it looks like it will take a few days to clear, but the project looks good and I think I am done. I placed the rocks without anything to "glue" them together so I have to be careful until the settle in a bit. I did try some foam designed for use in waterfalls thinking it would allow me to set rock on the edge of the pond. No such luck that stuff may work for directing the flow of water in waterfalls but it is not adhesive (except on fingers). All of the pots and plants around the pond now have irrigation in place and hooked to the rest of the back yard irrigation. The plants get about 40 minutes of water every other day and everything looks to be thriving. Sharon planted lettuce and beets. The lettuce is sprouting and looking good. No beets sighted yet. (A complaint here. I have recently noted online that more and more people are using "site" in place of "sight". They are different words with different meanings.)

Pond fish update. Once the waterfall was rearranged, the Shubunkins were unable to jump out. Did I write about that earlier? We now have four Shubunkins and all seem happy. I've got a couple of water lettuce which are growing and multiplying and once the water clears I should have a lovely pond. 

Last Thursday, August 11, I visited my new oncologist at the University of Colorado Hospital Anshutz Cancer Pavilion Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic. Wow that is a mouthful! The drive took about an hour and I avoided the worst of Denver traffic by taking the tollway north of Denver and then coming back to Aurora on The road to the airport and then I70. Quite an adventure. The University of Colorado Hospital Campus is HUGE! But, following instructions they sent me, I went to valet parking, was asked if I could walk or not and was directed to the proper area to turn in my car and keys. Then it was a short walk to the hospital entrance, a stop at the information desk, a walk to an elevator, another stop for directions, then down a long hallway to the clinic door. After lots of paperwork I headed back for labs. I knew I was in trouble when the technician did not like my suggestion of using my hand for the blood draw. She attempted my left hand over my right and had failure #1. She could not hit the vein. Then she got a device that allows you to view veins. With that she finally went to my suggested vein but had issues getting into it, finally blood flowed but eventually stopped resulting in her trying another vein and failure #2. So we are up to three attempts, she has not bandaged any of them, and she calls in help. This technician looks at my arms, picks a spot, inserts a needle, gets a good blood flow, and finishes. Four holes, one capable technician, one who needs more experience and should not be in the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic. I finally got to see the oncologist. She was up on my diagnosis, knew my history, explained lymphomas from top to bottom, described my options, poked around my lymph nodes, determined a course of action, and told me to come back in four months. I liked her,. She is a straight shooter. I've since made an appointment with an internal medicine doctor who will hopefully become my general doctor here. Dr. Kamdar, the oncologist, is going to make me finally have a colonoscopy.

Now more fun stuff! After my workout on Tuesday moving and placing 21 wheelbarrow loads of rock (207 rocks) I took the day off on Wednesday. I ran a couple of errands then wen t to our local fly shop to get a fishing license. I was excited to be getting a resident fishing license for $1. Foiled. It seems I have to be a resident for six months to get a resident fishing license. Damn. With that news I headed for the mountains. I went west on 66 to Lyons and then onto 7 toward Estes Park. It was a very nice drive along the St. Vrain River - the north fork I think - and I ended up in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. I had to put my top up because of dust rising from traffic on the road and headed to the parking area. It was full. I went back about 1/2 mile of so and found a parking spot. It was right along the river and I walked downstream along the river for about 1/2 mile. Very relaxing. Sharon and Peg hiked here two years ago, and I suspect Sharon would like to come back.

 

Keeping Busy

The yard is done, for now. Sharon and I have been buying pots and perennials to fill them. I have been running drip irrigation lines to all of the pots. This week I went to a tropical fish store in Boulder and bought three Shubunkin goldfish. Two remain as one jumped out and rolled down the hill and dried out and died. A second has attempted to kill himself two times, once while I was watching and once he was lucky enough for me to find him before he was finished. My guess is that these guys like playing in the stream from the waterfall and jump into it. I have made a couple of adjustments to make it less likely they will jump out. Time will tell. I still have to place more rock around the pond - need to order one ton, but I want it to be a bit cooler before I tackle the job. I suppose there is no hurry to get this done.

A little excitement in the neighborhood this week as a hot air balloon flew over the neighborhood and landed at the end of the block. Neighbor Lindsay got some good shots of it going past our house. Also, the Miata is now an official Colorado car with Colorado tags, emissions inspection, and a title on the way.

I need to get back into the basement and make more pull out shelves for the kitchen. Next week! Today we have furniture delivered - chairs and night stands for the bedroom. This afternoon I meet a new oncologist. I'll report later!

 

 

 

 

And More!

Yesterday I worked on the waterfall and am pretty happy with the results. I also spent a bit more time on irrigation and now all pots in the back are covered. I am learning a lot about installing drip irrigation. Fish? Done and gone. I took a water sample to Petco and they declared the water to be good. However, they told me that their feeder fish come in with nothing to normalize the water temperatures. In the summer especially the feed fish have been terribly stressed and have little chance of surviving. I am going to let the pond rest for a while. I put in some more beneficial bacteria and added additional filer media to the filer falls. This will hopefully help stabilize the pond water. This weekend Sharon and I will look for pots and plants and next week I will order more rock. The pond continues to be a work in process.

Yesterday I watched a male house finch on the bird feeder and a male goldfinch on the nyjer sack. I know that at least a couple of birds know we are here. Perhaps they will spread the word. Today I built and filled a bird dust bath. I will now wait and see if birds will use it. I have not seen any birds using my bird bath area of the pond. I just have to be patient.

We now have all of our solar shades up in the house and on the patio. As summer comes to a close we are ready for summer. Our house is coming together. We still have unpacking to do in the office/bedroom upstairs and I have to rebuild the desk. I built it for the attic in Glen Elllyn and designed to to hold two full size PCs and monitors. It is way to big now and needs to be shorter and shallower. I also have to build the murphy bed for that room. We are waiting for nightstands for the master bedroom and our comfy chairs for that room. Then there is the big job in Sharon's office of book shelves and cabinets. With those we can unpack all the boxes in there.

 

More Pond Progress

This is what .28 tons of Rocky Mountain Flat Cobble looks like. I should have ordered a full ton - and I think I will order a ton to add to what I have. I think the rock was a good choice and looks good, I just need more of it. Looks like another trip to Colorado materials. This pond is getting expensive but we will enjoy it. One fish did not survive, the night and I have seen seven or eight today. Some of them seem to have taken to their new home quickly, others have not.

Yesterday evening Peg and I went to the Left Hand Brewing tasting room. We each got a different sampler and enjoyed our choices. I was very pleasant sitting outside under the trees. I am likely to go back, but I don't know if Sharon will join me. I wonder if they have wine? 

I am still trying to figure out this blogging editor. I lost an entry earlier. I am not quite sure how it happened. It does have a spelling checker which is a big step forward from Blogsy that I used to use.

Today we have solar shades going up on our patio, mounted on the pergola. Thus will keep our house cooler and make our back patio more useable in the afternoons. Currently the sun is just too intense out there. We have both west and north exposure in the afternoon and the Colorado sun is fierce. Pictures to follow!

Pond Progress

Today fish joined the pond. A dozen $0.35 small feeder goldfish are now swimming around. I added a strawberry pot so they would have shelter from the sun and from critters. I also bought and had delivered .28 tons of Rocky Mountain Flat Cobble. I thought this would be enough to complete naturalizing around the pond. It turns out a quarter ton of rock is not that much. I think I can use about two times that much more. We shall see when I get them installed. I also picked up a preformed "stream". My initial idea on the pond included a stream on the north end, but it turns out mother nature combined with the grading of the lot conspired against me and the slope in the yard went the wrong way. WIth the preformed stream I should be able to support it underneath and get it to flow south. LIttle did Peg know when she came to visit that I would have her moving rocks from the driveway to the pond.

 

 

New Pond New iPad New Blog Tool

I got a new iPad yesterday - an iPad Pro - because my old iPad is now possessed. So far so good on the new iPad except I learned that the blogging editor I have been using for at least four years is no longer available. Therefore I am trying something new. Darn I hate change that I have not planned.

Second time using this. Yesterday we went to Rock Mountain National Park. I dropped the girls off at a trailhead and then found a comfortable spot tio relax, lean back, and read. It is a rough life. They had a good two hour hike and I read and snoozed and took some photos.

 

 

 

Landscaping!

Our landscapers are finished. All that remains is pond construction (they did the hard work, the hole) and large pots/planters which we have to purchase and fill with soil. I like the look. Mostly 1 1/2" river rock with on clump of river birch and a half a dozen mugo pines and a few boxwoods. Everything else I want in planters. We have drip irrigation to the plants and I can hook into the irrigation lines to water the planters as we add them.

While the hole for pond is there, much work remains. I am working first on the whole for the skimmer, then I will figure the shape and place e t of the stream. The filter and falls will go at the beginning of that. Then, underlayment, rubber lining, and then rock and planters for the edges. A couple of weeks I think.

This past week I was in Redmond with the family. Not much excitement there but it was good to see John, Kristie, Avery, and Anika.

A couple of weeks ago we traded in our 11 year old, 183,000 mile trusty Volvo on a Cherokee. We call this our Colorado car. Brady named it Snow.

 

Shorts

Shorts. I've worn nothing but shorts since I have been in Longmont. Shorts, short sleeve shirts or tshirts, sandals. That has been my uniform and I am spoiled!

Today our landscapers are here to begin on our basic landscaping plan. For the past couple of hours they have been cleaning up the yard of its collection of weeds, natural vegetation, and erosion control barriers. There is a lot of work involved in just this prep work and I am glad they are doing it. They are going to dig my pond, and that is most of the work. I will add the liner and the skimmer and the filter and decoration.

Remembering

Our anniversary was on July 1 - we have been marriend for 27 years now. It seems pretty amazing. When I am remembering our anniversary I also remember Sharon's mom who passed away a year and a day after we were married. She was a wonderful person and mother who took me in without question. She seemed to alway be smiling and everyone seemed to love her.

A year after Sharon and I were married her mom was in the hospital with heart issues. She died during an angiogram. The night before her procedure I was sitting at her side in her hospital room and we were holding hands and chatting. During that conversation I said, "I have a confession, I don't like Christine." Her response? "I don't like her either, but she is my daughter and I love her. We all have to love her." That's the kind of special person she was. We should always be so loving.

Is It July Already?

Wow. Time flies - or is it Time Flys?  So many projects so little time. What have I accomplished since our last visit? Three ceiling fans are up and a fourth is ready to go. More boxes are unpacked and I feel some organization has hit the basement but there is much more to go. Sharon and I both got new bicycles this weekend and most importantly, she is happy with hers and will hopefully ride it more. Mine is a mountain bike and will supplement my pavement bike. I am happy. Our window coverings are almost all up. We are still missing one in the living area and one in the downstairs office. We have one for the powder room but it is not yet up. We have ordered solar shades for the back deck they will really help with the afternoon sun and are motorized for ease of use. We have selected a landscaper and should be on their schedule for the first week of August. We will have some mugo pines and some boxwoods and a birch tree. Most of the back yard will be river rock with a pathway from the garage to the porch and from the porch to a flagstone patio. They will dig a pond for me about 8 feet long and 3 feet wide and 18" deep. I am ordering a new skimmer and filer falls plus liner. I've got a pump already. It should be easy to get the pond in, but I still have to decide how to surround it. I bought wood for the kitchen pull outs and have all of the drawer slides - self closing, but have not started on the project.

Another Week!

Just over a week since my last entry and it is time for an update.

Sharon is at the end of her second week of commuting to Green Bay from Longmont. She leaves early Monday morning and returns early Thursday evening. All flying and no driving which makes her happy. Going out to dinner on Thursday evening in Longmont can be an issue with restaurants closing at 8:30 or 9:00 when Sharon's flight is delayed. If she arrives on time we should be able to make it to Longmont by 8:15. But, why am I complaining?

This week I have built and started using my new table saw and dust control system. Sweet. This Rigid saw is a major improvement over what I have been using. It is quieter, has a bigger table, and a better fence. And, combined with the dust control system, I don't have sawdust flying everywhere. Before I can go into production on kitchen pullouts, I need to build a worktable or two and move boxes around in the basement. I also need better lighting. It is dim down there!

I am now a volunteer on the Architectural Control Committee for the home owners association. This could be interesting. I interviewed with them last Saturday and they told me my yard was not in compliance. Huh? I just moved here. 

We have ordered window coverings and I have met with two landscapers, and bought furniture, and rugs, and ceiling fans, and odds and ends and I feel we are bleeding cash. But, as Sharon says "Do it right." It is expensive to move and perhaps more so to move into a new house that needs window coverings and landscaping and a bot of new furniture, and ceiling fans, and other things. We are making it ours.

We have been to the Longmont farmers market the past two weeks. So far our finds were heirloom tomatoes, a rosemary plant, and some zucchini. With a trip to Lowes for soil and trips to two nurseries, we have herbs growing on the front a back porches. Nice.

Coming Together

We are unpacking and arranging and putting away and disposing. The house is coming together. We were spoiled with storage on Montclair and didn't know it. Figuring out where things go here is a challenge. We have already taken six boxes to Goodwill and another is ready to go. Plus, we have a box for a local consignment shop. But, the house is coming together.

I've got many projects lined up - the first of which is cabinet pull outs and a pantry pull out in the kitchen. Then, pull outs in the bath. The big project is wall to wall cabinets and shelves in the office for cookbooks and some kitchen overflow. We already purchased and installed two cabinets in the garage for cleaning supplies and tools.

Unstressed

I am amazed at how easily our cats adapted to new surroundings. We pulled them from their home and drove them from Glen Ellyn to Davenport, to Longmont and put them in a completely new environment and they simply took it on. 1527 Otis Dr is now their domain.