Oh for the love of packing -

Greeting from the forest.

Its been a while since I've taken the time to update you on all the happenings here in the pines...

My sister Deb is officially moved and a resident of Cokedale, Colorado.  Loving her little historic home and happily putting things away and getting it all fixed up.  Unfortunately the cell service is bad (the house backs up to a mountain that blocks service) and she has to go across the street to talk to me.  Yesterday it was snowing and she was out there calling me to tell me it was snowing. lol.  The drive from Arizona to Colorado was uneventful and Tootsie the truck did a fine job.  If I don't have to drive another Uhaul Truck for awhile I'll be happy.

My interview with the hospital board is on Tuesday.  I've picked out my outfit (you know how I stress) and I'm ready to be questioned by 7 or 8 people.  Should be interesting.  I keep telling myself there is no need to be nervous but I have a feeling come Tuesday afternoon I'll have a couple of butterflies.

The weather has been kind of crazy.  A lovely 60 degrees one day and snowing the next.  The Sunday before I left to head to sunny Arizona we got alot of snow (picture below).  Today was cold but sunny until a little while ago when it started snowing again.  And yes, my phone rang and it was Deb telling me it was snowing at her house and that her car had icicles on it. lol.   We got about 3 inches yesterday which melted today and now we're to get a couple more inches.  It is pretty.  I'm told April is a snowy month so we'll see what happens.  So hard to believe it was in the 90's while I was in Arizona.

Max did not want to come in from playing in the snow!

Oliver has this snow thing figured out.

On the food front, the other day I realized I hadn't had chicken in a long time!  So I grilled on the George Foreman a couple of chicken breasts that had been marinated in italian dressing and I topped them with green chilies (whole roasted ones from last year that I bought from the farmers market and had in the freezer) and then topped with cheddar cheese.  I must say it was very yummy and Deb loved it!  So simple.

The big news for this week however is that the Payson house is rented.  My wonderful neighbor in Payson, Barbara, found me a long term renter who wants to move in April 1.  That's awesome news except for one little glitch - he wants it unfurnished.  Hmmmmm.  So, the plan is to leave the forest Wednesday morning early and drive to Arizona, again, and pack up the cabin.  Some of the stuff, like a bed and picnic table and bookcase will come back to Colorado in, yup, you guessed it, Timmy the trailer.  Oh I do love to punish myself. ha ha ha.  Some of the furniture will go to Barbara for use in staging her house which she is putting on the market in a few months.  I am super excited to have my sister Linda helping me as she is going to meet me in Payson Wednesday afternoon.  We will have some girl time and get the stuff packed.  Win win.  The boys will have sister Deb here to house sit so that's a win win also.

On the wildlife front, I saw 4 elk the other day coming home from town.

And of course the deer show up just when I need a message from the forest to slow down and stop stressing!

So until next time -
Love and continued snowflakes

Lanae

Is it done snowing?

Greetings from the forest -

Last Saturday the blizzard warning was all the focus.  Get to the store, make sure you have food, put your car in the garage and bundle up.  Snow was to hit at 1 a.m. Sunday morning.  Nope, didn't happen.  It did however hit with a vengence at about 3 p.m. and snowed until the wee hours of Monday morning.

Max figured out if he picked up his floppy feet the snow would fly and it was such fun to chase it.  Oh boy. As a side note, Max totally cleans the snow off his feet and surrounding floor.  I guess the snow tastes like ice cubes. lol

And you're wondering - where is Oliver? Well since his extreme grooming he likes to stay out of the snow and find a sunny warm spot.

Worked at home Monday.  Went out Tuesday morning driving through 18" drifts and in the afternoon our "less than one inch" of forecasted snow turned into 5 plus inches.  On top of the previous snow this made for some fun driving come Thursday.

Fortunately my dear neighbor plowed my driveway or I'd have gotten stuck for sure.  Rich looked like he was having a blast, grinning ear to ear, flying down the driveway and looking much like Santa with his white beard!

On the food front I made some fun little breakfast pockets.  I took 2 eggs and scrambled them with a couple of slices of salami (chopped) and some cheese.  Then I folded a heaping tablespoon into the middle of a crescent roll.  Folded it up and popped them in the oven.  It made 6 little pockets.  Not bad for only 2 eggs!  It took no time at all and I had breakfast for like 3 days.  It was a fun change.

So, most of you know that Austin has moved on.  His little cabin is for sale, his 4 wheeler is in my garage and he arrived in Hawaii Friday to live near his sister, Cathy and her family.  I will miss him terribly and he knows that.  But, it turned out that small town Trinidad and the mountains were not his cup of tea.  Sometimes in life being near family is what beckons, not to mention the beach, macadamia nuts and pineapples!  I wish him nothing but happiness in his new paradise.

The only other mention for this week is this coming Sunday's conceal carry gun class.  It is a 4 hour class and I'm excited to go.  Not so much so I can legally carry my gun in my purse (most of you know a gun would never fit in my purse) but rather the discussion about wildlife and other ways to deter unwanted bears, mountain lions, etc.  There are quite a few neighbors from the ranch going so it should prove to be fun.  I'll let you know...

So thats it from the forest for this week.  I can feel spring around the corner so now the garden planning begins.

Love and snow drifts,
Lanae