Brrrrr-October 30, 2013

This is our third day without sunshine. Yesterday's official high was 39°. We still have feeling in our extremities and are showing no signs of frost bite! Just kidding. We are warm enough. Today is predicted to be 48° so we are dragging out shorts and sandals. Just kidding again. However, there is ice on the ground right now. It is a good day to stay indoors which means Jerry can get to work on his assigned task of putting child safety locks on all of the cabinet doors. Hannah is not just mobile now, but she is very curious and is not afraid to open any door or any drawer. I have completed my assigned task of sewing Hannah's clothes to fit her skinny little body. We are told that it is still very warm in the South, so we hear something or somebody calling our names. We're still watching the weather in order to select a good day to pull out of here. Will keep you posted.  

Things-October 26, 2013

Today is an absolutely beautiful day ahead of another snow storm in a few days. The trees in Derrick's front yard will loose all of their leaves with the next storm so I thought I'd better get one last shot of them.

Though they look the same, the tree on the left is an Aspen but the

one on the right is actually a Birch. The leaves are almost identical.

 

This was Hannah's first year to play in the leaves.

Next year we'll teach her to rake them!

 

 

The dishwasher was installed yesterday, a bit ahead of schedule. However, it is defective. So, today Jerry and I returned to the store and requested they order a new one. It should be here next Thursday. This one will not quit running so power had to be completely shut off to the machine. That's ridiculous for what that thing cost. However, Hannah did well with the new dishwasher because she got the box.

 

Here Hannah is instructing her daddy on the proper construction of her

dishwasher-box house. She knew exactly what she wanted. She has an eye for style.

 



After the house was trimmed with duct tape, it was quite cute

and very habitable. She will have lots of fun with it.

 

 

 

Here's wishing everyone a beautiful and restful Sunday.

 

 

 

A drive to work-October 22, 2013

While having coffee this morning, we decided to drive to Derrick's new office. Neither of us has ever been in that part of Colorado. It is extremely different from the rest of the state. In fact it is rugged like south eastern Wyoming. Lots of bluffs and cliffs and of course, those 397 wind turbines. We did find the place but declined to travel the 10 mile dirt road to his actual office. The Cute Red Vehicle is clean and we wanted to keep it that way. We did the math and found that 32,000 acres is 50 legal sections of land. And it takes a long time to drive around that much land. We were astonished at the size of those turbines. We are used to seeing the ones that are 80 feet long. These are 150 feet long. And the sound is much louder than the little ones. Wind turbines are not quiet. It was a fun drive but we are too old to drive it to work.

Rugged landscape. It is typical Colorado brown.

 

One of Derrick's upcoming new toys. You cannot imagine how big that engine is. Access is gained through an elevator that goes up through the center of the base. I think I'd be claustrophobic.

 

I added this one for two reasons. 1) What are the odds I'd catch the third blade being

hidden behind the base? I couldn't do that again if I tried. 2) The sky is gorgeous!

 

Lots of toys! And the dirt road to the office.

 

I think I had the name wrong. It is the Cedar Creek wind farm on the Pawnee National Grasslands. I have a feeling we will all be learning along with Derrick. It should be very interesting. 

 

 

You can already guess-October 21, 2013

You can already guess what I am about to say. Yes, we are staying longer. We had both started packing up and were close to being prepared to pull out tomorrow when Derrick came out and shared wonderful news with us. Before I get to that I will say that they are having a new dishwasher installed next week. Derrick will not be here so we are needed to be around for the installation. So why will Derrick not be here? He just got a job that we are all excited about. He will be managing a 32,000 acre wind farm. Jokingly we are saying he is returning to his farming roots. Red Cedar wind farm only has 397 turbines but they are the super gigantic ones. Derrick will be going to Jonesboro, Arkansas for training next Monday. He will, on this training trip, will be learning what the people he will be supervising are doing. Makes sense he needs to know what they are doing. This job will not require him to climb on towers like IT work does. It is more of an office/managerial job. The pay/benefit package is wonderful and we are as thrilled for him as he is himself. This will make a huge difference in his life and the life of his family. We are happy for him and pleased that his life will be easier. So, we are here. We are starting to view ourselves more as Colorado residents than the gypsies we used to be! The weather should cooperate for a while so we can survive. If we are going to be here that much longer we are going to have to plan some fun things to do. Unfortunately we cannot go to Estes Park because the road was washed away in the September floods. It really is pretty there and we'd love to help the business owners, but we can't.

It goes without saying that all of this means more time with Hannah and we just love that idea.

Nice day-October 19, 2013

It was extremely cold last night. We really felt it and actually had a hard time getting warm enough to sleep soundly. Tonight should be a couple of degrees warmer as if you can feel the difference between 26 and 28 degrees. It cleared up so we were able to head to Denver about noon. While there is no snow on the ground except on north facing surfaces, there is fresh snow on the mountains. Here's what we saw on our way to Denver.

This is Longs Peak with clouds behind and above it. The entire west side of our house looked directly at these peaks when we lived here. It was never a boring view in the winter.

 

Have a wonderful and blessed day tomorrow.

Yes, it snowed-October 18, 2013

The inch of snow predicted for last night actually ended up being closer to 3 inches. It is 32 degrees as I post this blog and share some pictures. We are warm and contemplating going out around noon. By then a great deal of the snow will be gone, hopefully. I will say that when the snow is fresh and untouched it is really pretty. And the silence created by the snow falling is heavenly. It cannot be described. So, for all of you on the coast and those who are still swimming in pools (you know who you are), here's a look at our reality today. Some of the pictures are blue because they are taken through heavily tinted windows.

No words needed.

 

The sun is starting to peep through on the horizon.

 

No birds feeding on this Russian olive tree this morning.

 

This is how much snow we have on the coach. Therefore we have no satellite signal this morning. For some reason Jerry is not willing to go up on the roof and sweep the snow off the dish. So we are having coffee in peace and quiet. Not bad at all.

 

 

 

Checking in-October 17, 2013

My, my it is cold here. It is supposed to snow tonight, maybe only an inch, with a little snow more snow in the morning. But as is typical with Colorado weather it should be clear for us to leave on Monday. It made it to the mid 50s yesterday so we bundled Hannah up and went shopping. She's actually pretty good in stores. She liked the bright colored winter jackets and wanted to touch them. Every store that had music she bounced up and down and waved her arms. She loves music. I hope that's a good sign. I will confess that if you had told me two years ago, or even a year ago, that I would know the characters on the shows on Nick Jr channel, I would have said you were nuts. But low and behold, I do. I know songs for each show, too. Hannah knows the music but is not singing the words. My personal favorites are Peppa Pig and Bubble Guppies. How I wish all of this had been available to Derrick when he was growing up. All we had then was Sesame Street and it bored him silly. I am so glad Hannah is not stuck watching Sesame Street. On dark dreary upcoming winter days I might have to watch Peppa Pig to brighten my day. We are still kicking and having fun.

Cold!!-October 15, 2013

Last night and tonight both we had to disconnect the hoses from the coach and drain the water out. Then we left two heaters running inside. We stayed in Derrick's house. When it was time for us to go to Twinkle Babies this morning it was only 30 degrees with a cold north wind blowing. We decided today would be a great day to stay indoors. Hannah does not wear shoes. That is the new thing for kids now. We are of the old school and think in this weather little ones need shoes. So, to make the most of the day we gave her one of her Christmas gifts to play with. She is still too young to understand Christmas. It is a parade car. It has music, sounds, horns plus there is a starter just like a car and she can rev the engine. She took to it like a duck to water. We had so much fun watching her enjoy this car.

The seat has storage under it. She can use the green handle in the back to push it.

 

It is the perfect size.

 

The one thing her parents will not care for is that it does not have an on/off switch!

 

 

Not a surprise-October 12, 2013

I woke up this morning with "sunshine in my soul". You know, one of those days that despite the clouds outside the sun is still shining in my heart and mind. Those are wonderful days when they do occur. It's a day when you know nothing will go wrong. And it certainly held true. We were able to get our flu shots (still didn't ruin my day!) and then have lunch at the Cactus Grill in Loveland. Such a terrific place. Two gentlemen came in and were seated in the booth behind us. One man was overheard to say "When I was in my eighties..........", so we may assume he is now in his nineties. He was obviously hard of hearing. The stories he told had us laughing so hard we did not want to leave. Driving back was the first time we noticed that the rivers are finally back in their banks and also that the trees are putting on their colorful fall leaves. It was spectacular. It was a brisk day but not cold, just the way we like it. Hannah was outside when we came home and that little girl actually recognized the Cute Red Vehicle. She was jumping up and down, waving her arms and squealing. There's nothing like seeing and hearing that reaction to warm our hearts. It goes without saying that you will not be at all surprised that little Hannah's parents are going out of town again this next week. That means we will be staying with Hannah fulltime for 4 or 5 days. You know they had to twist our arms to get us to say yes!! However, I think it means another week of Twinkle Babies. Oh joy, I can hardly wait to sit on the floor and sing. Maybe we can get some pictures of Hannah dancing this week. You will not be seeing pictures of me dancing!

Enjoy your Sunday. May you have a day of sunshine in your soul, too.

It cannot be raining-October 10, 2013

First, today was my last day at Twinkle Babies. My legs and back are so happy. Today I was not the only grandmother sitting on the floor with a toddler. Hannah's parents arrived home tonight. We really enjoyed our time with her this week. It is raining cats and dogs and has been for quite some time. It was predicted. Then it was changed to Friday, then moved to Monday. They should have left the original forecast on the books. Now it is supposed to snow on Monday. If we do not float away tonight, we might have to figure out how to get out of here on Sunday. We do not like to travel on Sunday but if we keep on dealing with this insane weather we will have to find a condo to live in for the winter. You know I will keep you posted.

Still not traveling-October 9, 2013

Today was a day off from Twinkle Babies, thank goodness. Since I can't post anything about our travels, I'll share another adventure. We were told Hannah did not like mashed potatoes. We think she does.

Either she likes them, hates them or thinks the facial mask of potatoes will keep her young!

Either way she put away quite a large amount of the potatoes.

 

 

We really must get on the road by Monday. We fear we will get stranded if we do not. And we have to get the recalls done on this coach before it is too late. After the recalls are completed we have plans to see friends and family in Alabama. Then we hope to meet up with friends in Louisiana. After that we will be on the road and able to post a true travel blog. I cannot believe we have been parked for nearly half of this calendar year. And we could easily park another month getting the recalls done. I guess we need to look at it that we are not spending money on fuel this way. And we are certainly having a blast with little Hannah. How that girl loves to laugh and play. We are really going to miss her.

You Won't Believe It-October 7, 2013

Hannah's parents headed out of state around 7:15 this morning. The activity woke Hannah up way too early. Nevertheless, we took her to a Twinkle Babies class at 10:00. We had no idea what that meant. I ended up sitting Indian style on the floor with Hannah on my legs. She was so tired that she didn't want to dance too much, but she did enjoy clapping her hands to some of the songs. And she really got into making horse sounds when they put up a picture of a horse pulling a carriage. At the end of the class they blow bubbles from a wonderful material that makes them last forever. I want some of that stuff. The bubbles we have here pop immediately upon touching anything. Then they roll out balls and the free for all begins. Every kid wants the ball that belongs to another one. It was bedlam. I was ready to go by then. I feel like Hannah and I both need to be sanitized! However, it was the pinnacle of my time with Hannah. We survived a Twinkle Babies class together. She is sound asleep and all my bones hurt! Oh, the joy of being a grandparent.

Proof that we were there!!

Not again-October 5, 2013

I'm almost embarrassed to type that we are possibly on the verge of delaying out departure yet again.
Derrick is going out of town again for work and will be gone Monday through Thursday. So, we may be recruited to stay with little Hannah. We would be absolutely delighted to do so though we have never stayed with her 24/7. We somehow managed to get Derrick raised so we think we can handle Hannah for a few days. She is so much fun and we just delight in her laughter. We'll know more tomorrow. If our services are not needed, then we will move on down the road probably on Monday or Tuesday.

I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow. I wish you a peaceful day. Relax and enjoy it.

Snow?-October 4, 2013

The answer is yes. It is snowing as I type this. It is 34° and very gray and dismal. However, we are still warm and dry. The ground is too warm for the snow to be a problem. The cold will be tonight. Then tomorrow a warming trend starts. As of last night's news the high on Tuesday should be back in the 80s so we'll be fine. Unfortunately this is not the kind of weather to go to a sculpture park. That is one thing we do want to do before too long.

Good luck to our friends on the Gulf coast. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Perhaps Karen will change her mind and fizzle out in the Gulf before she gets to the coast.

Have a wonderful day!

One More Delay-October 1, 2013

Today was going to be our departure day, but we put it off another week. Derrick convinced us it will only rain on Friday, not snow. We believed him. Hope we don't regret that decision. We know we are taking a big chance on the weather remaining good but it gives us more time with Hannah. We can find plenty to do and can be ready to go in a very short length of time. We did all of our deep cleaning, inside and out, yesterday so we are actually ready to pull out. Leaving here is going to be one of the hardest things we have had to do in recent memory. However, we cannot perform the recalls on this coach ourselves. We must get to the manufacturer in Red Bay, AL. We shall do that eventually.

It was a beautiful day today. When it's like this we don't want to leave. But we know snow and cold is just over the horizon.

You know I will keep you posted.