Finished wrapping the boat

Robert checking out the boat-wrap







We had to give up on finishing covering the boat yesterday
because the snow was coming down hard and heavy. It didn't
amount to a heck of a lot, not compared to what is happening
in other parts of the country. We got another 3 or 4 inches
I would guess. This morning Robert swept the snow off the
tarp we had put on yesterday and I helped him put on a more
water proof one over it. It is a precarius job at some
points because the boat hangs out over the creek. In order
to tie the green tarp down Robert put a rope through a
grommet of the part of the tarp that is over the boat and
over hanging the creek. He tied the other end to a cement
block and then let the block swing out over the creek. He
did that on one side and used an old tire on the other side.
I think it is secure enough now, I hope. It is cold out
there today, high was 19 and low 10.

We have a nightly visitor. I think from the tracks that it
is a dog, but it is coming down from the mountain, not up
from the road. I'm not sure where it is coming from. But,
the neighbors say there have been two sightings of mountain
lions in the last two days. The last one, the lion was
walking down the middle of the road.

In the mail today was a card from Ed Reed, cousin Sally's
husband. He wrote, "as you know, Sally died last January,
but I know she would want me to send out cards using her
Christmas list." Well, I didn't know. I am dismayed that
I didn't know. Neither Cal nor Mary let me know and I don't
understand why.

And more snow

This morning I went to town to have coffee with Jo. We met
at her house and walked over to the Bookends, the coffee
shop attached to the Boulder Book Store. She told me a wild
tale of some pro bono work they are doing for a young gay man
who is in prison for fraud. He is suing the prison system
because he has been raped and horribly. Jo didn't go into
the details except that it was awful. The system keeps
moving him around, but the gangs spot him as soon as he
enters a new system. They have a network so when he arrives
at a new prison he is slipped a note that says something to
the affect that we know who you are. Jo has renewed her
license so both she and Alf are working on this case. The
law part flew over my head, but I gather that is the
interesting part for them although they also are horrified
that what happened to him could happen.
This morning I went to town to have coffee with Jo. We met
at her house and walked over to the Bookends, the coffee
shop attached to the Boulder Book Store. She told me a wild
tale of some probono work they are doing for a young gay man
who is in prison for fraud. He is suing the prison system
because he has been raped and horribly. Jo didn't go into
the details except that it was awful. The system keeps
moving him around, but the gangs spot him as soon as he
enters a new system. They have a network so when he arrives
at a new prison he is slipped a note that says something to
the affect that we know who you are. Jo has renewed her
license so both she and Alf are working on this case. The
law part flew over my head, but I gather that is the
interesting part for them although they also are horrified
that what happened to him could happen.

After coffee I went to McGuckens to pick up some things for
Christmas presents I'm making for Viki and Marti and then
came home.

We had a quick, light lunch and then out to the barn to dig
out a tarp and structure to cover the sailboat which Robert
had moved from the shed out between the RV and the creek.
We started about 12:45 PM and finished about 1:45 PM and
during that time it started to snow. By the time we
finished there was at least an inch of snow on the tarp
covering the sailboat. We couldn't have started any later
and gotten the job done. As it was Robert had to put a
ladder into the creek and climb down it to reach the ropes
at the back end of the boat so he could tie down the tarp.
It was a bit tricky because the boat hangs out over the
creek and there is a good rock wall on the road side of the
creek, but with all the snow it wasn't too clear where the
wall was and where it might just be snow hanging over the
edge.

Now it is snowing so hard I can barely see across the
street. The prediction was 60% possiblity of light snow
with accumulation of 1 inch. We still have a couple of feet
of snow left from the last snow storms. I think we are in
for a long snowy winter at this rate. The skiers are happy.

later, 7:30 PM:

Oh M'gosh, it is still snowing hard. All traces of the walk are
gone. There is still so much ice on the walk that, now with all
this snow it'll be more difficult. Robert will be busy tomorrow
with the snow blower.

I didn't go out to get the mail. It doesn't arrive until sometime
after 4 and/or it may be dark. We'll wait to see what tomorrow
brings. Fortunately, we don't have to go anywhere tomorrow or
Sunday.

Ryan and Rochelle have been here.

Rochelle













Ryan









Ryan and Rochelle have been here the last three
days. They are Jeanne's children and it was wonderful having
them here. One day the three of us went shopping, another
day the two of them went to the Butterfly Pavilion and the
Pearl Street Mall where they discovered the Boulder Book
Store. They are both avid readers and thoroughly enjoyed
browsing the store and were impressed by it's size and
collections. Rochelle purchased 7 books and Ryan 3.
Yesterday the four of us went to Denver to the Museum of
Nature and Science. They went to a show at the Planetarium
after looking at some of the exhibits. Robert and I looked
at a few exhibits and then I sat and read while he went to
the Mineral collection exhibit. We all met at the Cafe and
had lunch at 1 PM. We then came home so they would have
time to pack before we took them to catch the 6 PM shuttle
to DIA.

Each morning while they were here I fixed a brunch. This
gave them a chance to sleep in as late as 10:30 AM. We had
brunch at 11. Robert and I had a light breakfast at 7 while
we watched the news each morning, before the kids got up.
The newspaper had a bunch of brunch recipes from local B&Bs
just days before they came. I fixed a french toast
casserole which was very good, but way too much for four.
The second day we had a quiche and the third day I warmed up
the casserole.

On Tuesday evening I fixed a prime rib as an early Christmas
dinner. Vernon came, but Ariel was sick so Carl and Martha
had to cancel at the last minute.

Before the kids came my washer quit on me again. Today the
service man showed up. I had tried to reset the program to
no avail, but he was able to do that by setting the machine
the way I had set it the last time and then turning on the
power, then turning everything off and finally the power. He
then set it up to run again and it worked. Maybe by the
time the three-year warranty runs out I'll have learned all
the ways to screw up the computer inside of it. They do
have a way of "clearing" it, but that didn't work this time!
Today, I finally did the load I had tried to do last Sunday.
It is a beautiful sunny day and on the porch it is 60
degrees. I have hung the wash on the line, but not until
after the sun left that area. I don't think it'll get dry
today.

I had my leg checked yesterday. We stopped at Dr. Ho's
office for my appointment, on our way to the museum. It
took less than 10 minutes for me to go in, be seated in his
office and for him to check the leg. I thought it looked
awful, but he said it looks really good. Some people have a
reaction to the chemo such that the area where the basal
cell is swells up and really looks like a big red ball at
the site. Mine does not look like that, thank goodness.