Other than politics, which I try to avoid in these posts even though we follow events closely, it has been a ho-hum week. Here is an update from the past week on several topics.

We have decided to hold off scheduling a visit to the last Cedaredge house I mentioned in my last post; perhaps we can arrange to look at a few “potentials” in one trip instead of just driving to look at a singe place. (145 N. Grand Mesa Drive) The realtor did send us info on the cost of utilities which appear to be high: $182.00 per month (average) for electric and natural gas. That seems to indicate the place has little or no insulation, a factor to consider if we would consider remodeling such a place. So, while not eliminated, we don’t feel there is a great hurry to look this one over.

A recent ATV ride in Wild Horse Mesa yielded a couple photos; the roads are muddy due to melting snow (daytime temps once again above freezing). I spotted an “antique” oil pumping rig, now out of service, that originally ran an internal combustion engine on natural gas. The old rigs are being removed and few remain in this area.

Muddy roads on Wild Horse mesa

Natural-gas powered oil rig is now an antique

The trip was not long, a couple hours, but it was good to be out in the sunshine again!

As mentioned above, the weather has improved and we are now looking forward to a spell of  weather featuring above-average temperatures. We did have some single-digit low temps this past week, a reminder that winter is a long way from being over, but the warmer temps are welcomed by us and our critters.

And speaking of critters…here is a photo of Pam – with KitKat and Auburn Jo – sitting on our glider:

Pam with KitKat and Auburn Jo

KitKat is mellowing out; she would not let herself be petted for over a year but now likes to have Pam (but not me) pet her on occasion.

I can’t end without visiting the political events of the past week. My grandparents were immigrants who came to this country for a variety of reasons, including political ones. Religion was never an issue and, in my opinion, never should be. The US Constitution, First Amendment, reads, in part:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Mr. Trump claims his 7-country immigration ban is about keeping the US safe from terror but not one individual who has committed an act of terror in the US, going back to 9-11, originated from one of those countries. The countries where terrorists have come from, including Saudi Arabia (15 of the 9-11 hijackers had Saudi passports) are not on the list. This executive order is clearly a ban on immigration based on a specific religion.

The Constitution also includes Article 6, which reads in part:

…but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Which further strengthens the argument that banning immigration based on religion is unconstitutional. I hope the courts, where challenges to this order will be heard, put a check on the President’s [God-like] power to issue executive orders, orders that must pass constitutional muster. This is not a given. If the courts decide the President’s power is absolute then our democracy is worthless; the idea of checks and balances in a democratic system will cease to exist and the President would be free to act as a tyrant.

Regarding the Executive Branch’s contention that the inauguration was better attended than it was, and the photos by the National Park Service verifying otherwise, I’ll close with the following graphic:

Let’s hear it for the good guys!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Geez, I look like my Aunt Angela in that photo. Time to color my hair again, I see.

Yes indeed, every day this week has been a political education. The country surely is in buyer’s remorse over the results of the last election; Executive and Congressional branches both are filled with alarming and disappointing “representatives.”  Felicity marched in the Portland Women’s March on January 21st.  She reports it rained and she was wet and cold, but the turnout was $70,000 +/- and she would do it again.

Happy Trails.

The unusual weather pattern continues. Last Sunday I was able to take my motorcycle out for the first time in 2017. Temperatures rose into the low and mid-40 degree range and most of the snow melted away. It was nice to get out on the bike – but – I knew the warmer weather would not last.

Here’s a photo of the Roan Plateau taken during this ride:

Roan Plateau, 1-15-2017

True to form, we had another snow storm this past week. I woke up Friday, January 20th, to a new white world of winter.

New snow, 1-20-17

I had already cleaned the drive and sidewalks of 3 – 4 inches of snow  before I took this shot. More snow is in the forecast for the next few days but daytime temps will be slightly above freezing; the snow should melt off (mostly) during daylight hours. (It is snowing again as I compose this post.)

You can tell the snow was heavy and wet by the way it stuck to the fence lines and tree branches.

White World of Winter

Commuting was not bad; the roads were wet but not slippery. I have taken to keeping a jug of water in the car to clean the windows before we head home as the road spray really mucks them up during the inward-bound commute. Such is life in the winter!

A new president has been sworn in; lets hope he governs better than he campaigned.

Pam has identified a new home listing that may be of interest; the address is 145 N. Grand Mesa Drive in Cedaredge. Although it is directly on main street, the lot is about an acre and there are several outbuildings that could be used as storage for my toys. The kitchen is a mess but the rest of the house looks “OK” although dated. (Green carpet?) I will be contacting the realtor to arrange a visit. More on this as we continue our house hunt.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Snow is romantic before Christmas, now it’s mainly a nuisance.

The Cedaredge house is intriguing because of it’s potential history.  As is the case with most old houses, the integrity of the original structure has been lost with multiple “updates” and additions.  I mostly regret the loss of all that lovely baseboard-and-door-surround woodwork. This particular address may have been [most recently] a real estate office.  But, plenty of outside storage for Fields.

I personally think our future lies on the Front Range, but I’m itching to “house hunt” again.

Happy Trails.

Weather has been the main focus of our activities this past week. Conditions have  been highly unusual.

The week began with an ice storm; these are rare in western Colorado. I-70 west of Grand Junction was closed to the Utah border and I-70 eastbound was closed due to truck accidents that spilled toxic diesel fuel (2,100 gallons) over both sides of the interstate. This was near Dotsero, east of Glenwood Springs.

Overturned tanker (CDOT photo)

In fact, I-70 has been closed 3 or 4 times this last week; the latest was due to avalanches that put up to 15 feet of snow into the traffic lanes.

I-70 avalanche on Vail Pass (CDOT photo)

These closure effect us as gasoline, fruit and vegetables, and other consumables are trucked into the area on an almost-daily basis. Some gas stations ran out of “regular” fuel before the tanker trucks could get in and resupply the underground tanks.

Denver International Airport was closed twice due to bad weather.

Some county roads were closed due to black ice. Black ice occurs when clear ice forms on black roadways; the ice is so clear drivers don’t realize it’s present. This leads to extremely dangerous driving conditions.

Pam arranged to work days from home during the ice storms but I had to get to the office to do my regular work. I had no near misses or close encounters, but road conditions slowed the commute. The RAV4’s all-wheel drive is a definite advantage in these conditions.

Then, in an abrupt turn, it began to rain. Temperatures warmed up into the 40s. The ice and snow melted, eventually, but not until after a layer of rain formed over the top of the ice. Thunderstorms (Loud thunder!) rolled through the area and fog formed in the river valleys.  A valley weather inversion formed, giving us colder air trapped in the valleys and warmer air at higher elevations. (The city of Vail at 10,000 feet elevation was warmer than we were at about 5,000 feet.)

Today it’s mild (above freezing) and we are surrounded with heavy fog. The weekly forecast is to return to more normal temps and drier air next week. I sure hope this is the case!

In other matters, there was fair amount of family news this past week. Daughter Felicity moved into her room in a house in the Pacific Northwest; she shares the residence with 3 other single ladies, all young. Felicity is experimenting with having a home base again.

My cousin Bill Rohland reached out to me and we had a good phone conversation, with follow-up e-mails. It was pleasant to connect with him.

One of our nieces, Lilly Polivoda, was released from the hospital shortly before the New Year after several days of treatment for an intestinal infection. Lilly is still in the recovery process from this health event. Care and transport put a lot of stress on Lilly’s mom (Pam’s sister Becky) at the holidays. Kudos to Pam’s brother Larry who was of great help to Becky during this period.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The ice storm made it a rather rough start to 2017. Several times the dogs’ wet paws stuck to our metal entry ramp (think tongue on a frozen swing set pole from childhood). Ouch!

But, yesterday, I heard and then spotted a pair of robins.  Obviously they know something about the approaching Spring that we don’t?

(Internet artwork)

Happy Trails.

We are in a cold snap which has given the high desert the first sub-zero temperatures of the season. Last night we hit -4 degrees F. Below zero temperatures are not uncommon in western Colorado; we generally get several very cold nights each year. This is the first of the season, though, and it was still a bit of a shock to walk outside this morning. My “Nanook” hat is getting a lot of use!

I had the kerosene heater going in the garage; the cats have found they can stay nice and toasty if they sit right in front of it.

Cats Ink and Gywneth in front of garage heater

The forecast for the coming week indicates a warm-up to more seasonal temperatures with highs in the upper 30s and lows in the 20s; I hope it’s some time before we get below-zero conditions again.

We did get more snow before the cold temperatures hit. Every thing is covered in white and I used the John Deere garden tractor to plow snow this past Thursday morning and evening. (Blowing snow was more of a problem than accumulation and led to having to do a morning and evening clean-up.) Main roads are now clear but side roads are snow-packed. The warming temperatures will clear the side roads in the next several days but will lead to rather sloppy conditions until they are completely dry. These are typical conditions for the time of year.

There is not much else to report. We continue to monitor the real estate market, but there’s nothing of interest in this slow winter listing period. I am still looking for a new assistant at the Sheriff’s Office. Pam’s stack of incoming transcripts at the community college indicates an even busier year than 2016. Life goes on.

I have a few “general” photos to include; on these cold days, both the cats and dogs look for pockets of sunlight to soak up the warmth.

Senior dog Blondie in a patch of sunlight

Sunny and Cirrus enjoy a spot of sunshine

(Note: These photos were taken with my phone and not my regular camera. I’m not as familiar with the camera phone and the photos are not the best quality but they are what I have for this post.)

Since the Broncos are not in the playoffs this year, Go Packers! Along those same lines, congratulations to the Wisconsin Badgers for their Cotton Bowl win.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Two more months, I tell myself, two more months before warmer temps (the dogs and outdoor cats would certainly appreciate it).  Unlike my Midwest childhood days  — when the “gray snow” and wind chill lasted well into April — I can expect periods of springlike weather by the end of February in the high desert. Some compensation for fairly frequent 100-degree temps in the summer…

Since the retirement house hunt has slowed wa-a-a-ay down at present, I am refreshing rugs, chairs, and misc. household items in preparation for an eventual move to “somewhere.”  Wish we were getting on with it.  Additionally, I’m practicing my meditation skills (New Year’s resolution) after listening to the presidential transition news.

Happy Trails.

A new year has begun. Let’s hope it will be a better year than 2016, although given the political situation that seems unlikely. We have pretty low expectations.

Christmas was celebrated in our typical low-key style, at home with a good meal and gifts. Here are a few Christmas photos:

Pam opening Christmas gifts

Jerry with his new  “Nanook of the North” cap

The week following Christmas we packed up the [indoor and outdoor] decorations and stored them for another year. Weather conditions cooperated, with a warm snap that made taking down the outside lights less of a chore than normal. In fact it was so warm, I hand-washed the cars on December 31st!

Having done a bit of shopping before New Year’s Eve, we settled down with a few new bottles of wine to enjoy the evening and watched the fireworks display put on by the town. Here is a 41 second clip of the finale:

Tomorrow we’ll watch the Tournament of Roses parade (what’s with that, not on New Year’s Day), but today we’ll catch some of the football games and generally take it easy. Pam has been on winter break from the community college for the last week while I have a four day weekend off; neither one of us is anxious to go back to work on Tuesday but life goes on (or at least life’s bills).

Generally the weather has been mild, but Winter may come roaring back this coming week. A chance of snow is in the forecast for the next several days and high temperatures will not be getting above freezing a few of those days. It’s an odd situation; mild here (for the date) but above-average snowpack in the high country. All OK with us!

I’ve added our New Year’s electronic card to my E-card library; here is a link to the 2017 card. We hope everyone has as happy a New Year as possible.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The new year: Let’s see — I feel as if this is the Spring semester of my senior year in high school, when I remember repeating to myself, “Let’s get on with it.”  That’s how I feel about this coming year, and life, and the retirement house purchase, and generally planning for retirement in 2017.  “Let’s get on with it.”

Happy Trails.

2017 is fast approaching and, as has been my custom at this time of year, here is a quick review of 2016 and  our goals for the new year.

Our daughter Felicity and son Toby visited us over the Memorial Day weekend. We hadn’t been in one place for many years and it was “interesting” to visit and catch up with all of the news and events that had passed. During this visit we took a tram ride up a mountain (near Glenwood Springs), where we enjoyed an outdoor concert and views of the town and valley below.

Fields family and dogs, May 28, 2016

After the visit Toby returned to his home in South Bend, Indiana, where he works several different jobs. He recently started a position with Better World Books, a company that specializes in reselling used books of many kinds. This company is quite large and has warehouses in foreign countries. Toby also continues his refereeing jobs in the summer and works as a waiter part-time/year round.

Felicity enjoyed another year of international locations, including Malta (in the Mediterranean) plus Ireland and Switzerland, and a visit to the Galapagos Islands. She recently returned to Portland, Oregon, for the winter. Felicity is employed by an internet-based training company and can work wherever she has an internet connection.

As for Pam and myself, we continued two long-term projects. The first was to further develop our recreational property (The Lot) located in central Colorado. The work consists of removing dead and down trees, salvaging what we can for firewood and hauling the rest to a “burn pit” for disposal. While we finished a few areas this year, a late spring shortened the working season and we didn’t clear as much as I would have liked. Still we enjoy the activity; it gets us out of town and into the high country (working with Big Boy Toys) most summer weekends.

Salvaged firewood, August 2016

The second project, still in progress, is a search for a retirement home. We had decided to try to find a home that has a bit of acreage, a few trees, and relatively short commute to the nearest town with services. Various properties have been viewed in multiple markets, but we are still looking for “the one.” We didn’t think the search would take so long!

The summer was a good one for recreational activities. I rode a few ATV trails and attended a Colorado-based motorcycle rally.

My ATV at the Magnolia Mill on the Wheeler Lake Trail

Motorcycle club members at the top of Pike’s Peak. I am at upper right.

Pam took on another litter of foster cats (#26): 4 kittens and mom cat Juliana.

Mom cat Juliana (left) with one of her 4 kittens, Ernst.

Juliana and all the kittens were adopted though our local animal shelter.

Combined with all the regular around-the-house work, we kept a busy schedule, if not a particularly exciting one.

Goals for 2017 are not exotic. We plan to continue cleaning up The Lot and looking for a retirement home. (I hope to locate a brush chipper to help with the lot cleanup, another “Big Boy Toy” to add to the mix.) A trip to the Midwest to visit family may materialize, but that’s more of an idea than a plan at this point. Otherwise we’ll just keep plugging along, starting to strategize more intensively for retirement and staying active for another year.

We wish everyone a Happy New Year.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I look at 2016 and I see — disappointment.  Disappointment in the national election results, disappointment in various health diagnoses for ourselves and friends/relatives, disappointment in the retirement house hunt.  I evaluated my 15,000th incoming [transfer] transcript at the community college, a disappointing benchmark (more deserving of sympathy than recognition).

2017 strikes me as having the potential to be both a pivotal and volatile year, personally and nationally. I find my resolutions for the next 365 days to be: 1) our household’s financial survival during the Trumpies take-over, and 2) some attempt at mental balance and inner calm to sail through the obstacles (health, pets, family, money, work, retirement planning) that are  likely to present themselves.

(My resolution of several years ago to “drink more wine” was an easier resolution to accomplish.  Mental balance?  Inner calm?  Good luck.)

Happy Trails.

Tomorrow is Christmas (as I write this) and we’re as ready as we ever are. It seems the holiday creeps up then – wham – it’s here. Even though we were more organized this year than in most years it still seems strange that tomorrow is The Day.

It was easier to get excited when we were kids. Looking forward to school vacation, riding our sleds, building snow forts, and eating cookies and goodies from Mom’s kitchen. There were church events and a party or two; band concerts and seasonal music provided a Christmas sound track. Now that we have no kids in the house and are working right up to the day, some of the magic is no longer present.

2016 Christmas Tree

There are a few other topics I need to cover including the house hunt and a few other updates.

The house I mentioned in my last post (Kutzu Ridge) appears to be a non-starter. I spoke to the realtor who has the listing and he advised me the home needs a new boiler. The boiler provides radiant heat as well as domestic hot water and would be about a $15,000.00 repair. Even then there may be unknown damage to the radiant heating coils built into the floor. The house had been vacated but not winterized and everything froze up. The realtor also had a few details on the lot, which slopes down sharply from the house, and problems with the water district that supplies the area with water. An embezzlement case has caused water rates to go sky-high, typically $200.00 per month as the water service tries to rebuild their finances. Even empty houses are charged $150.00 per month even if no water is consumed. Not a good situation when this would be a 2nd mortgage for us until retirement in a couple years; the extra monthly expenses would be hard to absorb. Given the needed repairs and higher utilities I think this house is out of the running, although I really liked the interior and it turns out there are two bedrooms and a bath on the main floor, features high on our priority list.  Pam will check back from time to time to see if the price drops significantly over the next few months.

Speaking of which, Pam continues to monitor the realty listings but nothing of interest is on the horizon. One strange listing came out of Ouray, CO. A house is on the market that has a problem: a 40-ton boulder rolled off a nearby slope and bashed through one wall of the house, broke though the floor, and is currently sitting in the basement with the top of the rock still above the first floor. House is being sold “as is” (wall is still open to the elements) for  $286,000.00. Might be a great fixer-upper–  but — not for us!

Closer to home, we had snow on Thursday night, 2 – 3 inches of heavy, wet stuff. Pam took this photo of me out on the John Deere garden tractor clearing some of the sidewalk areas on Friday morning:

Clearing recent snowfall.

Note the driveway has already been cleared. Temperatures were not bad so the cleanup was not to onerous. I will say that the cut-down cable chains that I made for the tractor’s rear tires last fall worked very well, far better than the conventional chains I had used the past few years. With this addition (and the extra suitcase weights that were my Christmas present last year) the little tractor does a respectable job of snow plowing.

That does it for this post. We hope all who read this have a Merry Christmas!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Ignore that diabetes, we’re having a pie for Christmas Day (strawberry/rhubarb)!

Happy Trails.

While we are not getting whacked with the very cold weather and snow that is hitting the Midwest, where the bulk of my family lives, we are experiencing another cold snap. Night time temperatures are (once again) in the single digits. Typically we get below-zero conditions in December, although this year is considered to be warmer than normal (but it is still cold). The wind has blown a few days, giving a wind chill of well below zero. I fired up the Aladdin heater again to help warm the garage a bit.

Aladdin heater in garage

The Aladdin keeps the garage warm enough to keep the cat water from freezing; this is my “did it work” criteria, so I guess it did work. The next few nights are forecast to be quite cold so the heater will get a couple more workouts this week. If the lows are in the twin-digits the garage generally gets warm enough during the day to stay above freezing at night so the heater isn’t required.

We have moved our oldest outside cat, Mr. Bibbs, into the house for these cold nights. Mr. Bibbs is about 12 years old and does not appear to be in robust health even though he moves around, eats, and will jump into my lap when I am sitting outside in warmer weather. Right now he is in the cat room where he sits on the heated pad Pam provides for him and moves only to eat and use the cat box. A year ago in December we lost our cat Soot to cancer; I would hate to think losing a cat every year at Christmas would become a tradition. Hopefully the indoor respite will add a few years to Mr. Bibbs’ life. He is my favorite cat.

Mr. Bibbs in cat room

In other news,  we have seen a potential retirement home listing that may be a possibility. It is in Florissant, an area we have considered before, but it is a long way from De Beque. Address is 816 Kutsu Ridge Road, Florissant, Co. We may try to arrange a realtor-guided visit over the holiday break, depending on weather conditions. Watch this space.

I’ve added a few photos taken in 2016 to The Lot gallery. Here is a link to that gallery; the new photos are at the bottom of the page.

Daughter Felicity is back in the USA; she is staying with a friend until January 1st when she can move into a room she will be renting (in a house with three other young women). Her new base will be in Vancouver, Washington (across the Columbia River from Portland, OR). While Felicity still intends to travel a great deal, it will be a benefit for her to have a place to return to between international trips. Felicity’s ongoing travel blog can be found on-line at this address: http://www.blog.felicityfields.com and is worth a read — take a look!

Son Toby has picked up a new part-time job working for a used book company, Better World Books. This will supplement the income he gets from his restaurant job and refereeing softball games in summer leagues. Unlike the other two jobs, this one will give him a base income that he can count on.  Toby seems to be happy in his life and working three part-time jobs, perfectly OK with us.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The cards are out, the tree is up, the holiday songs are ringing through the house.  Only four more workdays to go until the community college closes down between Christmas and New Year. If the weather would just warm up a bit, life wouldn’t be half bad, even though this is the shortest daylight period of the year.  I do worry about the feral cats outside during these cold snaps; I provide Dogloos for shelter and bedding, food, and heated water bowls.

Happy Trails.

Although we have had  a spell of colder weather (lows in single digits) and snow, today is bright and sunny with a forecast high in the low 40s. The morning frost is already gone from the driveway and sidewalks and we appreciate the temporary respite from winter.

Yesterday was also mild but not as warm, but that did not stop me from raking the yard one last time and getting rid of a few drifting leaves. A couple spots were still snow-covered; I just raked around these areas. Imagine…raking the yard in December! The Christmas music on the CD player is a reminder, though, that Christmas is only a few weeks away.

We’ve been receiving Christmas cards in the mail and, for once, all of our cards are done. This is early for us: in many years our cards have been New Year’s cards instead!  We hope everyone is enjoying preparations for the holidays.

During the last cold snap I fired up my garage-sale Aladdin kerosene heater. The goal was to keep the inside of the garage above freezing and the heater provided enough heat to accomplish this. We won’t use it often, only when the temps are single-digits or below zero, but it will make the cars easier to start and give some comfort to the cats who consider the garage their home. It was nice to walk into the garage, otherwise unheated, and have the the car start without any issues.

Our Christmas tree, a gift from daughter Felicity, arrived last Friday (direct from Oregon!) and we are in the process of decorating it. Right now it has lights and a star topper; Pam will work on adding ornaments this coming week. The tree is very fragrant, has an excellent shape, and fits the spot in the master bedroom very well. (The location keeps the tree safe from our 3 dogs and 6 cats.) Going to sleep with the pine scent is a delight in itself.

Pam says I can’t have a post with no pictures in it, but I haven’t taken any new photos for the last week or so. Here is a photo taken when we lived in Whitewater of a squirrel at a feeder we had set up:

Getting dinner.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I spent the morning packaging gifts for shipping.  I don’t think I’ve been this organized in years.  Of course, the gifts to be shipped are smaller (in size and quantity) each year, and the holiday card list reduces in size too.

Happy Trails.

With winter weather in place and not much happening on the house hunt scene, our activity has been limited to putting up outside Christmas decorations. The days after Thanksgiving featured above-average temperatures which made this task easier.

We made a few minor upgrades to our lights this year. We don’t go overboard but over the years some of the outside decorations had deteriorated and were discarded. A few new lights took their place, including the battery-powered stars you can see hanging from our front-yard Locust tree:

A few [new] stars in the Locust tree

Snowflakes adorn one of our front windows

The stars and snowflakes join some of our traditional decorations which include lights, wreaths, and  illuminated bells and tree:

Our daughter Felicity has arranged for us to get a fresh Oregon Christmas tree; when it arrives we will begin decorating inside the house.  Harkens back to our Oregon days and visiting the lovely tree farms in the Pacific Northwest.

We did have one other event of note; we delivered our last two foster cats, Pieter and Ernst, to the Rifle Animal Shelter, where they are awaiting adoption. It seems a bit strange not to have kittens in the house (Pieter and Ernst were here six months due to a continuing medical issue), but the kittens are now certainly ready to be adopted into homes of their own. May they adopt quickly.

A few other notes: We had our first measurable snow, 2 – 3 inches, enough that I used the John Deere lawn tractor/blade combo to clear our driveway and sidewalks. More snow, and frigid weather, is in the forecast for the upcoming week. The cold is harder to bear than the snow but – it is December – such weather is normal. I’ve started carrying the jumper cables in the car just in case, and have the cable chains and tensioners ready to go as well. I hope to not have to use jumpers/chains/tensioners, but with an hour-long commute each way it is best to be prepared.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Preparing holiday cards — the list gets smaller each year.  Busy time at work — the end of the semester at the community college.

Hate, hate, hate the colder-than-a-welldigger’s-behind weather.

Happy Trails.