Saturday, July 18, 2009

So, what do you do when faced with disappointment? Apparently I start a new hobby. We were all set for a weekend of fishing on Lake Michigan with some friends (and I was REALLY looking forward to it) when Randy came down with a nasty bug Thursday night. I was hoping it was just a little cold...but NO - he ended up flat on his back on the couch with a fever all day Friday. So, needless to say we had to call our friends and back out of our trip at the last minute. I was bummed...although we will be going again in a few weeks. With a sick husband on the couch watching TV, I decided to learn to knit. Why? I still have unfinished projects in other mediums that are just sitting there taunting me. I find myself easily sucked in to trying to make pretty things, and my friend Jessi keeps posting about her knitting, so there I go teaching myself to knit. It's slow going really, but that's because I keep getting wrapped up looking at beautiful projects on ravelry.com. The other problem with a new hobby is the expense. I have the tools and supplies for my other hobbies, so why should I go out and buy more stuff? I practically had to hog-tie myself to the house to keep from going out to buy yarn...I have a whole tub of leftovers from crochet projects so I shouldn't buy more (at least until I know what I'm doing), right? Hopefully I will be able to make something that is not horrible and at least somewhat cute.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Summer Road Trip (part 2)

After recovering for five days at home, we hit the road again...this time to Denver. This was an even longer drive...12 hours, not including the necessary stops every 2 hours for the dog. After leaving in the pouring rain at 4 am, and driving with limited visibility (while pulling dad's dog trailer) for numerous hours, we finally made it to Denver. Oh what a beautiful place to be...the mountains were spectacular! I almost forgot just how much I miss seeing mountains, let alone hiking in them! After spending a couple of days driving around the area, and walking around in the mountains above Boulder as well as Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, we fell in love with the area and realized that this is where we want to be.

Up in the mountain above Boulder, CO.


Hiking outside of Colorado Springs - luckily we
didn't see or hear any mountain lions!


Randy's folks even made the trip over from Nevada to pick up the trailer, so we got the added bonus of spending some time with family. It was a wonderful time, even with problems at the hotel (lost our reservation, overbooked the folks' room, major water main break - no water for 12+ hours) and a minor fender bender (really, the car came out of nowhere!!!). Since we brought our golf clubs, we decided to cut our stay just a little short to make the trip home over two days instead of one...this allowed us to play 9 holes in Colorado AND Nebraska - what a great way to end the trip!

All in all, the road trips this summer have proved successful - we have decided to move to the Denver area in the spring! YAY - we finally made a decision! LOL I guess my question is this: Can we still be Cowboy fans in Bronco territory?!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Summer Road Trip (part 1)

Wow...the last couple of weeks have been crazy. Road trips are NOT a relaxing way to travel...I much prefer airplanes. The end of June began the road trip season with a drive to Columbus Ohio. In our research of places to move, Ohio kept appearing on the list. Not because it's somewhere we wanted to go, but business opportunities and demographics kept putting it on the list. So, when Randy's dad said he found a trailer he wanted in Ohio that was a perfect excuse for us to go and scope out the area. Columbus is an 8 hour drive - longer when you bring your dog and have to stop every 2 hours. We did get to stay and enjoy the area for one day, driving around town and spending time at the reservoir with Gunny. Columbus has a lot going for it and we were impressed with the area. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to just relax - we had to head home the next day towing dad's trailer.