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.

 

Home!

Sunday afternoon and we are home. We stopped in Davenport to join in the birthday celebration for Brady, so this added another night on the road, but it was worth it, though the cats might not agree!

 

One Week In Longmont

Today marks one week since we arrived in Longmont. We rolled into town las Saturday shortly after noon. Weather wise we had sun each day until yesterday - though it tried to poke through the clouds over by Denver International Airport while we were there. We had snow Tursday night inbto Friday - per our local retired weather man we had 4.5" here. He also said we unusually got more snow than Boulder. This morning I woke up to heavy fog but the weather forcast says we should have sun by mid day. It is also cold this morning at 18º. I have enjoyed uppper 40º days until Friday. I have to say that for the past week, weather wise Longmont has been good to us.

On my part I have figured out my grocery shopping spots and my house cleaning chores and my cooking. Thursday night we had five guests joiun ujs for dinner. These arfe friends who Sharon met while she was consulting for the Boulder Valley School District. We had a great evening of good convefrsation and food. I made Tamal Azteca, which turned out great, and sangria, and in honor of the Yew Year - black eyed peas. Sharon made a jicima and orange salad and chocolate bread pudding. Our dinner was all vegetarian. The kitties both took to our guests and enjoyed the attention.

Friday afternoon Larry and Dave came in and we picked them up at Denver International Airfport. This was our first drive from Longmont to DIA and even though the roads were a little snowy in Longmont they we pretty clear on the expressway. It took us just under an hour to get there. With clear weather it should be around 45 minutes. If the ExpressToll web site will ever load I will know how much that trip cost. After we dropped the boys luggae off at the house we tried a Longmont Institution for lunch - Cheese Importers. Kind of a funky place but the sandwichs were good.

We went together to look at the townhouse that we saw in October and liked. We still like the plan and the location. The price though has gone up 5% to $420,000. I am not happy with that. If we move to Longmont I think I could be happy with it. Lots of space, a super master bedroom and deck, and a very functional kitchen and living area. Plus a 1,000 square foor basement for my workshop.

For dinner I made my first take on Colorado green chili and pork plus we had left over Tamal Azteca and jicima and orange salad. I think I did a pretty good job on the green chili. I used a recipe I found on The Food Lab. In placed of the traditional Hatch peppers I used a combination of poblano, anaheim, and jalapeno peppers plus some tomatillos.

Today Sharon and Larry are working out at Orange Theory in Boulder and Dave and I are reading and watching TV and blogging while we keep the cats company. The sun is trying to break through the fog. This is going to be a nice day.

 

Longmont

We are settled into our seven week rental in Longmont Colorado after a long but uneventful drive from Glen Ellyn.

We left Friday morning January 1 and headed west. The cats were not pleased with their fate and let us know for about 2 1/2 hours until we stopped in Davenport for a short visit with the Knox crew. Sharon got a couple of kitchen towels from Kathy and we put them in the kennel with the cats. For some reason the towels in the kennel allowed the cats to settle in with them and quiet down. They were fine until we dragged them out of the car in Kearney where we stayed at the pet friendly New Victorian Inn. it was clean and the staff was friendly. Not a fancy place by any means but they only charged us an additional $25 for two cats. It was a long day for us at about 630 miles over about 10 hours, but splitting the driving made it bearable. A few years ago I would have tackled a 12 hour driving day; no more. The good side of doing 630 miles on Friday was that it left only about 5+ hours to drive on Saturday. After Friday, this was easy.

We arrived at our rental house, unloaded the car, and then took stock of what we had and what we needed plus considered what we would fix for dinner. We were hungry so went to Cyclhops Bike Cantina. We've been there before and it did not disappoint this time. A trip to Target, Lucky's Market, and Safeway took care of our shopping needs and we were soon back home to unpack and relax and enjoy an easy dinner at home.

Bed felt wonderful but I was able to rest more than Sharon. I was a bit cold and Sharon was hot and she did not have her favorite pillow. A trip to Macy's in Boulder on Sunday supplied a pillow and a light cotton blanket which should help with the sleep. We also picked up some kitchen essentials which were lacking in the rental - mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and wineglasses. We then walked around downtown Longmont and had a nice lunch at Pumphouse Brewery. The place was packed which told us it was a popular local spot. After walking back to the car we went to check out the new mall, Village at the Peaks, which has a Whole Foods built but not finished. They now plan to open in November of 2016 darn. There was a new liquor store, Wyatt's Wet Goods, and I have declared it a go to! Prices comparable to Binny's and a good selection of everything. Next was a stop at King Soopers which beats Safeway. We picked up a few more needed items and chicken and bread for dinner.

Tomorrow Sharon is scheduled to work all day - from the house and I plan on house cleaning and exploring, and shopping for dinner. Welcome to Longmont!

When Will It End?

Cold and more cold. Spring officially arrived last week and it snowed. We had a hint of spring the next two days and then it turned colder again. I saw my gold fish when the ice melted and no longer covered the top of the pond, but then yesterday morning and this morning there was a new layer of ice on the pond. Yes, it was thin, but still ICE.

We are now expecting snow tonight and the temperature dropping to 16° and then warming all the way to 29° on Tuesday then slowly warming to the 40s and perhaps as high as the 60s on Sunday. Can you see how I am tired of this? Update March 26, 2014. The pond has been ice covered for three days now and yesterday morning we woke to one inch of snow. It is now 11:00am in Glen Ellyn and the temperature is a balmy 25°.

Cat pictures of the day. Every morning Shelby has to lick water from the shower by pushing his head around the corner of the shower curtain. He usually manages to get both his head and his tail wet which he then shares with us but rubbing up against us. He also has to be on the sink when we are using. LC will sit on the edge of the sink occasionally, and will drink from the water glass placed on the sink for them, but she is much nicer about the whole bathroom water issue. Other cat owners will understand the cat/human bathroom interactions. You are never alone in the bathroom with a cat or a toddler.

Shelby in the tub

Shelby behaving

Brady and Kathy visited last weekend. Kathy was here for the Shamrock Shuffle walk/run. We got to spend some time with Brady while Kathy was in the city. We had a nice, though sort visit.

Sun through the snow

Sometimes snow can be pretty. One of our last snows came down wet and clung to the trees. Then after the snow the sky cleared and the sun and blue sky was beautiful against the snow. Our official snow totals this year indicate just over 80 inches of snow for the season. this is the second or third most snow since Chicago record keeping started in 1885. This has also been one of the coldest winters on record. Brrrr.

I smoked ribs today - this first time using the smoker since last fall. There is still snow on the patio but I can get to the grills and smoker. If I've done this right, this You Tube video shows you my secrets. I haven't done anything like this, except for some short ukulele and kazoo videos. This is a long one and was a learning experience! All done with my iPad.

 

Sharon's Home!

Sharon did her ususal Monday to Thursday in Fairlawn, Ohio but then had to tack on three nights in Atlanta. Her brother passed away on Monday and Sharon joined with his family for a service. Sharon had not planned to go, but one of her nieces requested and Sharon, forever the good aunt and friend, said yes. I missed her and was thrilled when I got to pick her up at O'Hare this morning. I am a new man this afternoon with her in the kitchen with me. I can deal with her gone Monday through Thursday but adding a Friday and Saturday was too much.

What is that in the photo you ask? Sweet potatoes grown in a container on our patio. I use sweet potato plants on the patio because they provide beautiful foliage displays in planters. Little did I know I was also farming sweet potatoes. We will cook them and see how home grown sweet potatoes taste.

The photo above is our cranberry liqueur in process. The cranberries have been in the vodka for a week and today I am straining and bottling. After straining I will add some simple syrup and then bottle it.

• Want the recipe?
• 1 pound cranberries
• 1 cup sugar

Add a little water and cook the mixture, stirring, until the cranberries begn to pop. Take off the heat and let this cool for a while.

Put the cooked cranberries in an large glass jar and add:

1.75 Litre bottle of vodka

Zest of 1 orange

Cover and let it sit for a week.

Strain and add simple syrup to taste. Bottle and enjoy.

Required Cat Photo

 

Caught Me!

Sharon commented the other day that I had not blogged in a while. My reply, "Yep, not since October 6th." I am past due.

Random thoughts. This summer has been the best for my pond. The water lillies have bloomed more than in the past and have produced more leave. Also, the balance in the water between nutrients and waster, and bacteria, and plants, and fish must have been just right. I have not had to clean the filter as much as usual and have had little or no algae. Everything just kind of came together. Next spring I will learn if and baby goldfish survived their parents appetites.

The house and yard are another matter. I was on top of the yard through the spring and early summer but slowly let it get the best of me. I suppose I just do not enjoy yard work as I once did. (Did I ever?) There are also house projects that have languished. I am back to doing laminate right now and hope to finish the laundry room in a couple of weeks. Perhaps then I can take on the front room. In the meantime, there are winter preparations to do - putting down the storm windows, checking gutters, pondering the state of the chimney, firing up the snow blower and moving everything around in the garage.

I've been practicing the ukulele quite a bit but, I have not been good at practicing my singing. Shame on me. I do better singing in the car, perhaps I should drive more so that I can sing more. I got my old clarinet refurbed. My mother bought it for me in 1960. We went to a music store in downtown Houston to pick it out. I can still play - but it will take me a while to get up to speed and beyond just scales. A Benny Goodman I am not.

On the neuropathy front, I had been improving quite a bit but for the last few days. My fingers are really bothering me and my feet are not far behind. My new symptoms of soreness in my arms is bothersome also. The soreness is in the muscles and tendons above and bellow my elbows. Melody, my Naturopath recommended castor oil wraps and heat. Have I done it? No. I do have the castor oil so I am part way there, and I did get out the heating pad this evening.