White Friday

Black Friday turned out to be White Friday - the snow kept coming, and the roads were closed.  Although there had been plans for Phoenix, these had to be delayed.  Snow ice cream, Christmas decorating, warm fires, internet shopping, and games - no need to go outside! The final count was somewhere around 20 inches. And we got another 24 hours with family!

Santa's helper

Hmm, is this the best deal?

Resident snow measurer

Thanksgiving

What a fun Thanksgiving we had with family. Lots of good food, fabulous wines, laughter, and fellowship. We have so much to be grateful for this year!

not sure why there is no photo of Bob frying the turkey....

We are Hosting Thanksgiving

We are hosting family at Thanksgiving! We made a list, we shopped, we cooked, and we baked. The house is clean, the food is ready, and family is on the way!

Misgiving

We had our first holiday gathering - a Misgiving party with our small group. Everyone is supposed to bring something. Bob decided that the thing to bring is sugar cookies. It is not a cookie that one generally associates with Thanksgiving, which was part of the purpose - bring food that is unlike Thanksgiving food.  Noah made frosting and decorated - the perfect Misgiving contribution.

Corn Dogs

Corndogs - when the weather is frightful, and it's time for lunch, creativity soars. Noah decided that it was high time to learn how to make corn dogs. With recipe in hand and oil in the pan, he set out to make lunch.

First Snow

The first significant snow of the season has arrived.  Noah is excited as it means time to hit the slopes. It caught us by surprise, just two days prior, we dried the laundry outside. Flagstaff, you never cease to surprise us!

Apple Sampling

We eat a lot of apples and have found a few favorites. This week, while grocery shopping, the store had several for us new kinds of apples on sale. That meant buying two of several apples and go home to do apple sampling. Noah found one new type of apples, Lukas found two, and Mama is happy since it is likely at least one of these apples will be on sale when shopping.

It is Beginning to Look Like Christmas

The Scouts were fortunate to be the recipients of a donation of 20 Christmas trees. Since it is not quite the Christmas tree season, the trees needed to be stored. Fortunately, our back yard gate was wide enough to accommodate this last-minute donation. Now the boys are sorting and tagging trees as people text, call, or email orders. The good news is we could get the first dib on a nice one for our house.

My Wish is Your Command...

I have been longing for a bird feeder for our deck. The one we have in the yard is great, but it is hard to see the birds for afar. I casually mentioned my desire to everyone on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, this is what appeared on the deck. Noah and Bob spent the evening in the shop!

New Career Field?

We thoroughly enjoy our woodburning stove. Now that we have a lot of wood again, it is running most mornings. Just like any appliance, the stove requires maintenance... since we did not call in time, the first available time slot for a chimney sweep was early December.

On Saturday, Bob, Lukas, and Noah decided to do it themselves. Lukas climbed on to the roof, Noah held the ladder, and off came the chimney cap. Using a headlamp, a shop-vac, and our dryer brush, he cleaned the entire stove! It is now burning nice and clean again, and I can cancel the chimney sweep, and we can pocket the money.

Grand Canyon Hike

Lukas and Noah had the opportunity to hike into Grand Canyon last weekend with their Boy Scout Troop. They spent the first night on the rim, where the night temperature dropped to freezing. Early the next morning, they headed down for two days of a more temperate climate and gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. All that they needed, they carried in their backpacks, so with a little less food and water, the ascent was pretty fast. Two tired and dusty young men arrived mid-day Monday with lots of tales to tell.

Tree Trimming

One of our trees in our front yard has lots of new side shoots. Every month or so, we cut off the new growth at the bottom of the tree, yet it comes back quickly. Today was the day to finally do it right, digging up and cutting off the off-shoots at the root. It took the three guys ingenuity, strength, and time but it sure looks good now. The hope is that it was a once and done job - swinging a pickaxe so close to a beautiful tree is not that much fun.

Work and Fun

The nights are getting colder. It is high time to engage the wood-burning stove again. Since we had almost depleted our wood supply, we ordered another delivery which arrived on Saturday. Bob and the boys hauled the entire cord from the driveway to the back and stacked it neatly. The wood holder needed some reinforcement to handle the massive load, so the boys happily pulled out the welder. A little fun amidst the work.