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

Is anybody out there

Good morning from the forest

This week was great!  Got tons of work done, got the dining room blinds installed thanks to a friend/neighbor, had a lovely dinner for said friend/neighbor and was basically a busy girl all week.  Here are the blinds - my gosh they make an incredible difference in the temperature of the downstairs.  Somedays it was 80 in the house when it was 40 outside.  No heat on just the good ol sun coming in the windows.  They also finish off the space.  They are wood look verticals and I like them so much and Steve's Blinds . com that I'm going to order the same thing, I think, for the upstairs windows.



In other news, I sent my application and resume to the Mt. San Rafael Hospital Board of Directors applying for a vacancy on the board.  Although its not a paying position, it will be great experience, it will allow me to meet many business people in the community and it will be a step toward achieving my community service goal.  I think I'll have to interview with the board so we'll see what happens (oh dear what to wear! lol).  The president of the board along with one of the other board members have given me glowing recommendation so that good.  I'll keep you posted.

There were other business related opportunities this week which most of you who read this already know so I won't be redundant, I'll just say it is nice to have your abilities acknowledged and apparently there are few people here with Master's degrees. lol.  Who knew.

We watched the Westminster Dog Show this week.  Max was totally into it - he didn't like the Portuguese water dog's hair cut.  Just sayin...
























A very interesting thing happened the other day.  When my friend/neighbor was over helping hang the blinds he commented on a box I have that was my adopted grandmother's.  I'd never paid much attention to it other than I liked it because it was unusual and because Granny put wheels on everything including this box.  So I opened it and found this metal tag!  How fun is this.  Trinidad Creamery Co.  Boy I have some research to do.

Thank you sister Deb for sharing my blog with your friend Connie.  I hope she enjoys it.  I would be great if when you get my blog on email if you could pop over to the website and comment on there.  Have you ever wondered why some peoples blog have advertisers and tons of people following?  Well its because of the comments.  The more people following you on the blogspot sight the more chance of advertisers paying you to advertise on your blog.  Now I'm certainly not expecting to get rich with this little hobby but it would be nice to know who is reading.  Also to those who are, please let me know if you want to see more pictures, recipes, stories, what would interest you and how may I entertain you? Please let me know you're out there...

Love and snow flurries,
Lanae

Its going to snow!

The weather forecast is for snow several days this coming week.  I'm glad.  Our forest is so dry and we need the moisture.  Last week it snowed one night but it wasn't much.  So I'm looking forward to snow days this week!!

It was a busy week, as always.  A bit quiet with Austin in Hawaii visiting family.  I had lunch with friends one day and yesterday was the Women's Group meeting.  I took the snacks which consisted of mini-quiches, fruit kabobs, salami/olive kabobs and a bundt cake.  Everything turned out good but I thought the fruit was especially picture worthy.

I took a quick trip to Pueblo on Thursday and picked up my window blinds for my french doors.  I love them.  Did a Sam's run (yes I miss Costco) and then returned home in record breaking time.  As I was turning the corner on my road I saw the deer family sans the daddy.  There were 2 does and 2 babies.  Stopped in the middle of the road, you can do that on the ranch, and took a couple of pictures.




















The big news for the week is that we've narrowed down the move date for sister Deb to relocate to Colorado.  I will be coming to get her and her haul truck in March.  The current plan is for me to arrive on the 13th, work at the office the 14th and 15th and the movers will load her truck the 16th and we'll hit the road.  Deb is moving into the Cokedale house and I think she'll love it.  Its such an eclectic community with nice people, some retired, some working.  She will be able to get a little dog, have room for her sewing and I am hoping she'll be happy there.

Well thats about it for this week.  I'll leave you with one photo of Max after his run in the woods which obviously takes a lot out of you!

Love and smiles,
Lanae

Can you believe its February?!

Well time does fly when you're having fun.  Actually, time flies as you get older.  Remember back when some days just creeped by, slow as molasses, with the thought that the weekend would never get here?  Now, before you know it, before you blink, its Sunday afternoon and the weekend not only arrived, it too flew by.

The forest was quiet this week.  Having been in Arizona the week before with doctors, tests, chemo, work, friends and family this last week was so very quiet.  Which was great because I've been sick.  Me, the one who never gets sick, has a nasty sinus infection and a voice that comes and goes like a teenage boy going through puberty!  When I talk I sound like a bad phone connection with soundless words just coming out of my mouth. I am truly breaking up. lol

While at Linda and Greg's in Prescott at the end of my Arizona week, their yard was finally finished.  Rock not only in but also the doggie grass.  That is some really cool stuff!  Can't wait to get some for Colorado.  Here are a couple of pics, Maggie on her new grass and Penny obviously enjoying it!  Oh wait, was she just wanting a tummy rub?

 

On Tuesday after I returned it snowed and boy was it beautiful.  Big giant snowflakes.  The dogs loved it!  Max, of course, left his keys in the yard and and to retrieve them from the snow.  Oliver just seemed intrigued.

The absolute highlight of the week, next to the lovely snow, was making and sharing dinner with Deb and Marilyn on Saturday night.  I made a new recipe.  Improvised a bit as the grocery choices here in Trinidad are dismal but it came out great with the girls saying "take a picture" as it came out of the oven.  I know you're dying to know what "it" is aren't you.  It was baked pasta with eggplant.  Actually the recipe calls for eggplant, turkey sausage, pasta and cheese but mine ended up with mushrooms and eggplant because the eggplant was very difficult to come by.  Its all cooked and put into a filo lined spring form pan and baked.  Cut like a pie and devoured with smiles.  I have to admit, it was so much fun to take it out of the oven and have it turn out so good.  Whew. Truly a pasta pie!

I returned to the forest with a huge "to-do" list from work so I best get at it.  Please let me know if you want the recipe for this amazing dish.

Love from the happy cook,
Lanae

Its been too long

I know its been a long time since I've written.  I had a friend tell me a week or two between posts is just too long. lol.  Well I have been busy ya know...

I'm currently in Arizona and have been since Sunday.  Working, doctors appointments, pet scan (which is clean by the way!) visits with a few friends and great quality time with my sister Deb. As I sit here getting chemo I'm super tired (not sleeping) and missing my furry boys.  I plan to go see Linda and Greg when I'm done here.  A quick drive to Prescott and then hang out until the crack of OMG Sunday morning when I hit the road.

The garage has been completed or at least the major stuff done.  When I get back I'm going to focus on unloading the extra bedroom.  I'm leaving with a very long to-do list from work so its going to be a crazy couple of weeks until the dust settles but that's ok.  Busy is good.

I guess the really cold snap is over for my neck of the woods. We are supposed to get snow this next week and I'm glad.  The forest is dry!  Last week it was clear as a bell at my house but yet 20 miles away in Raton, NM it snowed 8 inches!!

Over the last couple of weeks I've seen many deer.  There is an area off the drive way by the house that they like.  Seems its the same 8 that are hanging out. Glad they feel safe to do that near my house

Did I mention that I made apple butter.  I forgot to peel the apples but I scooped a bunch out and it turned out really good!!  Next time I'll peel the apples.  I was disappointed that 12 apples only made 2 pints of butter.  I might make a double batch next time.  It was easy peasy- 12 apples peeled and cored cut up into small pieces, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, a dash or two of nutmeg and some honey to taste.  Cook the heck out of it for like 8 hours, blends and wa la you have apple butter.  You can add additional spice to taste.

Austin has been staying with the boys.  Thank you Austin.  When I return I need to find a groomer.  Max is filthy and Oliver is not only in need of a bath, his fur makes him look like a scowling little old man! lol.  According to Austin, both boys miss me.  Ahhhhh.



Well the Benedryl has kicked in so I'm going to sign off.

Love from the big city -

Lanae

Another week of busy

Its Saturday morning in the forest and it is cold today!  Thanks to Linda and Greg's gift for Christmas I have this snazzy thermometer that is wireless so I can see inside how cold it is outside.  This morning, like many, I am grateful I get to tinkle inside!  This morning it was 2 when I let the boys out.  When its that cold they can go fast. lol.  The high today is supposed to get to 25.  Bundle up buttercup.

Once again, it was another busy week. Yesterday I got internet hooked up to the house.  Its nice to not have to plug in my phone to the computer but I always have that as a back up.  I had lunch with my dear friend Carolynn on Thursday.  

I went to the Pierian Women's meeting on Tuesday.  What the heck is that you're asking, well The Pierian Club is known to be the oldest women's club in Colorado and was formed in 1893.  The name Pierian was adopted from an Alexander Pope essay which, in part, reads, "A little learning is a dangerous thing, drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring".  In Greek mythology the Pierian Spring was reputed to impart wisdom to those who drank from it.  This was my second meeting and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Austin helped me cut off the table legs, Marilyn stopped by to give moral support and it turned out fabulous!!

Today is the Santa Fe Trail Ranch Women's Group Meeting of which I am the new treasurer.  The Women's Group exists for camaraderie and fund raising for the benefit of Santa Fe Trail Ranch.

I also went to Pueblo with Austin on Wednesday and bought a new mattress.  The hope was it would help my back but it hasn't so its back to Kristy the chiropractor this week. FYI Max got a new bed too and Oliver a new pillow but this photo is not of his new pillow.  He wanted to sit on the floor and look handsome for the picture.

So I'll leave you with -

Love and shivers,

Lanae