Round two and New' Year's Eve

 

 

Round two of the snow didn't hit us as hard as it could have.  Debbie posted some pictures in her journal of the piles of snow at her altitude.  She is about 2000 feet lower than I am.  The storm is moving east and should dump rain on Time Square just after midnight, January 1st.  (For Ellen, Vicky and Marina, I watch channel 2 on the satellite)  The mayor, Chris was nice enough to plow out our driveway and parking lot this morning.  We are hosting the first part of the progressive dinner on New Year's Eve.  Cocktails will be served at the Wheeler bar,  Dinner at Steve and Dee's  and the final celebration will be at Steve and Lisa's. (I understand the Hot Tub will be ready).   The band will be playing at Steve and Dee's, which may be interesting.  I'm sure Dee (the flute player) will want to keep and eye on her kitchen.

 

 

 

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Colorado is Closed

 

Milo is ready for a walk in any weather

Colorado, from the Wyoming border south to Colorado Springs and from the foothills to the Kansas is closed!  We are looking at 24" of beautiful, white snow.  Milo and I had an interesting walk this morning.  It took us a while to walk down to the school house and put the flag up.  Milo romped and jumped and almost smiled.  He had fun playing.  I thought I was going to have a heart attack!

The news is showing the traffic reports.  There aren't any cars out at all.  The only vehicles on the roads are the snow plows and the national guard HUMV's. We are going to enjoy the white Christmas.

For those into the science of weather, a strong low pressure system slowly moved over the panhandle of Texas.  The counterclockwise spin pulled moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and slammed it up against the mountains.  The moisture could not move over the mountains so it just dumped snow on top of the front range.  So far, we have had 29 hours of non-stop snow.  This condition is called an "upslope" and is responsible for most of our heavy spring snow storms.  The spring storms are usually followed by several days of very warm weather, something that is lacking with this one.  This snow will be on the ground for some time to come.

For more pictures, visit Deb at Frosty Thoughts.

Here's a couple of more pictures.

 

My poor car!

 

Anybody for lunch on the deck?

 

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We're going to have a white Christmas

 

It's hard to tell by the bird feeder but it is really snowing in the area.  I-70 eastbound and I-25 southbound are closed due to blowing and drifting snow.  The snow started about 6:30 this morning and is expected to continue until tomorrow afternoon.  Predicted accumulation is 1-3 feet.  We're definitely going to have a white Christmas!  I'll try to post another picture after the storm passes.

Milo and I left the house just as it was beginning to snow.  We went across the valley to visit my girlfriend, Chili.  I have assumed responsibility for her this week while her owner is diving in the Caribbean.  She has plenty of food and shelter.  As usual, she was happy to see me.  I arrived with breakfast!

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Activities in Sunshine and Milo's miffed!

 

Milo's a little miffed at me today.  My friend Hollie is off diving in the Caribbean for a week.  I am overjoyed because I get to take care of her horse, Chili while she is gone.  I get up at 5:30 and drive over to her corral.  I mix her feed, give her some lovin (after all, she is my girlfriend) and make sure she has plenty of hay.  I have to be careful not to bring Milo with me.  Chili is getting along in age and I don't want to spook her.  It is still dark when I tend to Chile and the head lamp I wear is bad enough.  Milo has to stay in the house when I leave or he will follow me the mile and a half to the corral. 

When I returned home this morning, Milo and I took our walk.  He was so happy, he was jumping up and down.  The sun was breaking over the horizon and it was beautiful.  The clouds are gathering for our next winter storm.  Sorry Debbie, but I think we are in for a good one.

There has been a lot going on in Sunshine this month.  Don and Marty sponsored their annual tree cutting party on the 5th.  We had a Friday Afternoon Club (FAC) last Friday.  Mary had her annual Christmas cookie exchange (must have been 40 women there) and, of course, we are planning the New Years Eve, progressive dinner.  Cocktails will begin the festivities at our house.  Dinner will be at Steve and Dee's (the band is going to play) and desserts and the New Year will be at Steve and Lisa's.

For those following the reconstruction of the old fire house, the footing have been poured. 

Milo and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

 

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Why is the moon so bright?

Have you noticed how bright this full moon is?  On December the first, the moon hit it's perigee, that is the closest it gets to Earth on it's orbit around us.  I guess it needs more space and starts to move toward its apogee.  During a sales training meeting many years ago, the trainer was trying to make a point on how different most men and women think.  He asked us to describe the moon.  Most of the men described a small planet-like object (a rock), orbiting the earth, going through phases (new, 1st quarter, full and last quarter).  The women described something totally different.  Most described watching the moon rise on a romantic summer evening, with a warm gentle breeze.  They talked about it's orange glow that turned white as it rose in the sky.   The object of the lesson was to teach the new sales people to open their minds and to remember that different people observe different things.

We are seeing some progress on the rebuild of fire station #1.  At least that was until the snow and cold moved in.  Here is a recent picture.  That is as high as the cinder block wall is going to go.  The rest will be siding.  I'm sure Steve and Julie across the road will enjoy the view once it is finished.

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Snowy Morning

Milo and I arose early this morning.  We knew we had to climb out of the nice warm bed.  The snowstorm that started just after dark yesterday was still going this morning.  There was work to be done before we could start down the driveway.  Eight inches of beautiful white snow greeted us as we opened the front door.  I grabbed the snow shovel as Milo bounced off the porch.  I shoveled a path to the car, opened the drivers side door and started the engine.  As the car warmed up, I scraped the ice from the windows and swept the snow from the bright red finish of my wife's car. 

Just as I was moving the car the the front door, Jan opened the front door, purse, bag and lunch all in hand.  She was followed by Mike. The snow was a big change for Mike.  He spent the Thanksgiving holiday on the big island of Hawaii and just returned home yesterday.  Jan gave me a good-bye kiss and hopped in the warm automobile.  A few seconds later she and Mike took off down the driveway, leaving Milo and I in the middle of the parking lot.

Milo and I worked our way down the snow covered driveway and out onto the freshly plowed road.  We made it to the flag pole and raised the flag to the top.  The school bus approached but did not stop as usual.  Bob, our normal driver will be off work for the rest of the calendar year.  He is having prostrate surgery today.  Damn cancer!  Our prayers are with him.  Milo and I returned to the house.  Safely inside, we put another log on the fire and fixed breakfast.  There is nothing like a warm fire, hot chocolate and oat meal on a cold, snowy winter day.

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The Mayor Goes Gambling

Sunday morning, after Milo and I took our walk, I loaded up the car with the comforter from our bed and headed down to the Laundromat.  My favorite place to be on a Sunday morning. (yea...right!)  Donna was working.  She is a beautiful, mature woman in her 70's with well kept gray hair.  She takes in laundry, cleans up the messes and keeps us all in conversation.  There is always room for a laugh at the Laundromat.

As our conversation moved from topic to topic, she asked where I lived.  I told her "up in Sunshine".  Somehow I knew the next question was coming. 

"I know someone up there, do you know Chris?" 

I replied, "Of course I know Chris, he's our Mayor"!  We both laughed because there is no real mayor, we just call him that. 

Donna continued "Well I saw him up at Central City in one of the casinos.  He came over and sat down next to me.  He told me he knew the secret of winning on the slot machines". 

She smiled and continued," He took me over to a different machine and put in one quarter and pushed the button.....a loser.  He did the same thing two more times.  Then (her voice when up a notch in both volume and pitch) he said 'here's the secret'.....He put in 9 quarters and hit the button.....He WON!!!!!! Not only did he win but he won $75!"

Donna and I had a big laugh over that.  I would only happen to Chris.

 

This morning, Milo and I took our walk at the normal time (7AM).  We passed by the old, burnt out firehouse.  They are starting to rebuild.  As we reached the fork, we heard the sound of Chris's white Ford mustang coming down the road.  Chris stopped in the middle of the road and handed Milo a treat.  I asked him about Donna's story.  Typical Chris, he looked at me with a very serious look and denied that he gambled.  He started to chuckle.  "Do you believe in luck?"  He started to laugh, and said "I sure do, because it was pure luck that I hit on that machine"!   He drove off toward Boulder, still laughing. 

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