White October in Steamboat

Martha and Rich were great hosts last night, and topped it off with breakfast by Rich--delicious omelettes with chillies and cheese.

At noon we started off for Steamboat Springs. The drive was beautiful, with lots of yellow aspens, and green pines. About 45 minutes from Steamboat the snow started in earnest. We drove very slowly through the packed snow, and gingerly passed a jack-knifed semi off the side of the road.

When we checked into our condo we found a good 8 inches of snow on the patio table! Not to worry, however, tomorrow and Sunday promise to be sunny and beautiful.

We had enough time to do a little shopping at some of our favorite stores in Steamboat. Sheryl already had the hat, but I love it. Martha looked pretty good after being our brave driver all afternoon!

We all enjoyed the dinner at the Cantina on Main street. We went there last time we were here and have had a hankering for it for three years! Diane ordered the mole, which was to die for! We're planning on hunkering down by the fire in our condo and talking till we can't keep our eyes open any more!

Crystal and Colorado

Crystal picked me up at the airport in Denver yesterday and I took her to dinner. It was fun seeing her cute apartment. They finally put pictures on the wall--after only 10 months of living there. We had dinner at Mimi's, where I bought some muffins to take to my Literary Sojourn in Steamboat springs this weekend. We got some extras for her, as she's feeding the missionaries and a few other friends tonight and she thought they would be great with her breakfast casserole. I helped her cut the onions (which make her cry) before Martha dropped by and picked me up to take me to Centennial to get ready for our big Bookies weekend in the mountains!

You Can Count on the County!

The county took out our fallen tree in July, and today they came back, as promised,  to fix up the damage caused by the heavy machinery.

They left a fresh layer or re-graded dirt, topped with the Maryland specialty: grass seed mixed with straw. Hopefully, they will have arrived early enough in the season for some of that grass to take root before winter arrives!

Home Invasion

This is our largest stink bug infestation ever! They're trying to get into every nook and cranny of the house! They're everywhere on the deck and porch. I can't wait till winter! The weather has just been way to nice!

I ran over to Home Depot and bought some spray to kill them. Don't waste your money on the bright yellow jug! It made no difference. I didn't see it kill a single bug! We're just going to have to hunker down and wait it out!

Bishop's Storehouse

Ed and I spent all day Saturday at the Bishop's Storehouse in Washington, DC. I had never worked there before. It was interesting and enjoyable work. We filled orders for food as people came in, and also restocked shelves as necessary. They only carry a small range of items, so they need re-stocking frequently as people take items. It gave you new respect for supermarkets and the work they do to keep the shelves looking great.

We didn't think to bring a lunch, but they gave us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which really hit the spot. They also had some slices of bruised fruit and tomatoes to top it off! My favorite thing was filling an order in Spanish. I also filled an order for a French speaking woman from Ivory Coast. Thank heavens the missionaries accompanied her and translated for us!

Mum's the Word!

We're enjoying fall so much. Look at how beautiful our mums are! We planted them before the fall festival, and since then they've become even more beautiful.

Ed moved the lawnmower and snow blower into the shed. I thought they would fill it up right away, but the shed is much bigger than I expected. Now we have to decide which items to leave in the garage and which items to move to the shed. I even cleaned off a set of shelves from the basement and moved to the shed so we can put fertilizer and other lawn items out there. It's going to be great to reclaim the garage!

Swan Song from Roberto

My contractors finished our "Cadillac of Sheds" today. Roberto sang me one last song as he tried out my backpacker guitar.

Then, he and Nelson posed in front of their handiwork. It turned out really nice. We'll now wait for the first rain to check and make sure it's water-tight, as well!

We had them build two doors, the one on the left is one large one, and the one on the right folds into two so it can open wider-as there is a wall that juts out on that side. This weekend we'll move the lawnmower into its new home, and I'll finally be able to access the cabinets in the garage. I can't wait!