Things I'd Like to Learn

Here's a random list for today:

How to eat just one cookie.

How to design my own website.

• What the "phenomenological method" is. It came up in my reading for school this week and I'm not quite getting it.

How to sew in a zipper. I've done it once but I'm pretty sure it was an accident.

Where my retirement money is invested. This is embarassing, but I give my money to my retirement fund every month and I'm not sure what happens to it after that.

What eating pasta in Italy tastes like.

If the Pope ever wears jeans under those robes. Or wears jeans at all.

How child development progresses through the toddler years. Because there's got to be a rational explanation for my nephew's behavior.

Mr. Pouty Face

My nephew will be 3 in March. He'd been making this pouty face for a while but it was difficult to catch on camera. He was at our house just before Christmas and I had the perfect opportunity--he and I were arguing over whether or not he was going to eat breakfast (I won, but barely) and I just kept taking pictures. It took almost 40 shots, but I finally captured the look.

My sister's a little bit scared of what three will look like...

Fish Creek Falls

These are Quaking Aspen, known as "Quakies" by every Colorado native except

The Mister, who had never heard the term. The two non-natives in the group (Little Sister and I) gave him a hard time about that.

This is skunk cabbage. It really does smell like skunk, which is too bad,

because it's a very pretty plant.

This little fellow had no fear. We were within 4' of him and he was not phased at all.

On Friday we picked up Nephew from his sitter's house and drove into town to meet Little Sister and BIL for dinner. BIL was delayed (always) so we had some time to kill. Little Sister had never been to Fish Creek Falls so we grabbed a snack and drove over. Nephew has just learned to walk so we needed a short trail--he gets heavy to carry and we didn't have a stroller with us. It was just as well that we had to take it slowly, because the scenery was worth the extra time.

Weekend

We're in Steamboat this weekend with Nephew, Little Sister, and BIL. Pictures and stories to come! Hope you all have a delightful weekend.

Thinking in Bullet Points

• Class was awesome. Students were a real joy. Second half at the end of this month.
• Bought a new sewing machine. Aaaiiiiyyy! Very excited. More to come...
• Headed to Steamboat this weekend to see Little Sister, BIL, and Nephew. Weather should be gorgeous, hoping to hike Service Creek.

Big Boy

A few days old and seven weeks premature, then one year later with his great-grandma.

From His Party

Nephew is a one-year old now, and I can tell he's already developed a keen interest in cake. Auntie didn't have anything to do with that at all. Not at all.

St. Patty's In Review

Nephew turned one--he's officially a big boy now! We'll be seeing him this weekend at his big boy birthday party that he'll be sharing with my grandmother, who turns 85 on Friday.

My cousin, her husband, and their four children were in town for the night. They live in Mozambique so it was a rare treat to see them. We had our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner followed up with a viewing of The Incredibles while the adults got caught up. It was such a fun evening! The Mister and I need to plan a trip to Africa. Their descriptions of Cape Town, in particular, were intriguing.

Image via UpNorth Memories

Weekend In Review

Still mulling over the school problem, but I'm feeling much better about it. Spent some quality time with Nephew this weekend and his drooly grin makes me feel better instantly. It's exciting seeing all of the developmental changes that happen almost overnight. He's crawling, feeding himself Cheerios, and pulling things off shelves.

This weekend I posted my final grades for the Methods class I taught, and it feels good. Taking teaching contracts on top of my full-time job is rewarding but very time consuming. Time to relax a little bit more and enjoy my weekends again! I'm not on the calendar to teach until May/June.

The Mister and I discussed our vegetable garden last night--what we want to plant, when to get started, etc. We marked off an area in the back third of the yard (known as "The Dead Zone") last fall and put down layers of newspaper and mulch so the soil can be easily amended this spring. It's a trick I learned from Martha. So far the only plants we've agreed on are pole beans, tomatoes, and squash. In addition I will be planting a couple of rose bushes, dahlias, and perennials that have not yet been picked out. It's an ambitious plan, but if you've seen our backyard you'll understand our sense of urgency--we have an area known as "The Dead Zone"! The soil back there is like concrete; even the weeds find it unwelcoming.

What spring/summer projects are other people planning, garden or otherwise?

Steamboat in the Winter

We went to Phippsburg/Steamboat Springs this weekend to visit Sister, BIL, and Nephew. On Sunday the Mister and I went snow shoeing and stopped at the ranch to take a few pictures.

The cows in the meadow.
This colt was born 2 weeks ago.

One of the many old cabins on the property.

The schoolhouse - BIL's mother attended school in this schoolhouse (when it was on the other side of the valley) until the 8th grade. When the district stopped using it they sold the building to the ranch. It is now storage for the oldest, most decrepit white pickup you have ever seen. It's literally held together with baling twine. Photos of that may never be posted!

Further up the canyon, from our snowshoeing adventure.

Holidays Abbreviated

We're leaving on Wednesday so we're trying to fit in as much family and friend time as possible before Christmas. Last night was quality time with the Nephew (and his parents, but they're just the vehicle by which Nephew is transported for quality time with Auntie), today with Best Friend and In-Laws, tomorrow night with some folks from church. Getting together with Mom and Middle Sister when we return in January. The to do list is getting shorter and the suitcase is getting heavier--almost time to leave!

The photo is from Paddington, the neighborhood with Sister-In-Law lives.

Photo by aschmidt1978

Great Pumpkin

Who's the cutest Halloween baby? Why, Nephew is, of course! Love, love, love this picture.

Good News

My nephew was born last Monday, on St. Patrick's Day! Little Sister gave birth 7 weeks early, so Nephew took us all by surprise. The Mister and I were able to go visit him in Steamboat on Friday. He's very small, 4 lbs. 10 oz., but he's making progress in leaps and bounds. We're so blessed!