nerdz, forgotten and steamed

A couple of weeks ago, temps got to about 80 F. Hot. I stashed most of the winter clothes and brought out the summer collection. 

As expected, that jinxed the whole thing, and this week we got back to 30's and snow. Not bunches of snow, though. Just enough for muddy pawprints throughout the house.  It won't stop the impending heat.

Yesterday, Magnum and I bundled up for an old-folks-go-get-coffee walk. We decided to dust off our geocaching archives, we haven't gone geocaching probably since before covid. 

I was surprisingly able to remember the username and password and learned that we'd logged 97 caches. Three more and we'd hit triple digits. Excitement ensued.

We noticed a couple of caches along the way back home, so set out to find them. In our freshly caffeinated states, we managed to make quick, satisfying work of the little treasures. So here we sit at 99.

Geocache no. 99 for the nerdz

At work, I guess Boss's status has finally been upgraded to reflect his promotion. A new nametag - we refer to it as the "vanity plate" - arrived for him last week.  And now it appears as though there is no one to approve time sheets for us lowly part-timers - a.k.a. all of us except for Assistant Boss. 

There's been no talk about who or what will be in place of Boss's previous position, but I'm at least expecting to get paid next payday per someone's approval?  We have job titles, but maybe we should just start going by "The Forgotten".

The semester is winding down, stress levels are high among the tutees. Although some tutees don't seem as fired up as others, suggesting they're already planning for a do-over next semester. As a student, I don't recall ever considering taking a class more than once, but I see it happen with surprising frequency. 

In other breaking news, I made steamed rice instead of boiling it on the stovetop (no thanks, I don't want a rice cooker)

It came out perfect. Why had I not thought of this sooner?

in search of degenerates?

de·gen·er·ate

noun

/dəˈjen(ə)rət/

     1.  an immoral or corrupt person

______________________________________________________

Magnum and I both found ourselves with a day off today.  It was a nice day out, so after getting some obligatory things done, we went to play in nature.

We went for a short hike in an area we've been to only once before that I remember.  All of the leaves were very well past peak, so this wasn't a fall foliage hike by any means. We did see a lot of leaves, though - all over the ground - as well as a lot of naked trees.


It was sort of meant to be a geocaching mission, but since we ended up one-for-four on that count, we won't call it a geocaching mission.

It was nice to get out, though, and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine and nature.  My allergies have been bugging me lately.  I went to get my weekly injection today and asked Geej, the shot girl, if any other patients were whining.

She looked at me rather perplexed and said, "Uhm... no.  We're not even doing pollen counts any more". 

Well, something's up, anyway!  But today was good.  I could both breathe and walk a straight line for the most part.  And it was nice to be in an unfamiliar spot.  We'd stumbled upon some 4-wheeler destination, so it wasn't a total bust.

As we were looking for geocaches, we read some comments from other searchers.  One included a picture of a snake they'd come across, another commented on some "homeless degenerates" living out of their vans.  We saw neither snakes nor homeless degenerates, but we would definitely concur with another who warned us about the proliferation of cactus. It was everywhere.

So a nice day.  Our Halloween snow has mostly melted.  I'm not sure if the cold wet weather was the cause, but Halloween in our neighborhood was almost a non-event.  I think we had just four small groups come to the door.

We used to have lots of kids in the neighborhood.  Have they all grown up without replacements?  What to do with the leftover candy? 

getting oriented

We took Meego up for his college orientation this week.  A day and a half of figuring out classes and experiencing dorm food and stuff.  While he was doing that, Magnum and I hung out in college town.

Meego told us that about half or so of the orientation kids had parents with them the whole time- except for when counselors made them go away.  I know we could have similarly attended, but Meego didn't feel the need, and I think it's good for him to have that independence.  I've noticed that teens seem less independent of their parents than when our generation was their age.  But it's a different world now.

Anyhoo, Magnum and I had a little over a day to hang out.  This town is known for its bicycle friendliness, earning a "Platinum" rating before there even was such a rating.  Apparently, the powers that be had to create the Platinum category just for this place!

With that, we decided to rent some bikes and experience some platinumness for ourselves.  Upon reflection, I would agree with the rating.


In addition to all the bike lanes and pathways, the terrain is naturally bike friendly because the entire area is so FLAT.  We were still in Colorado, weren't we??  Here in Colorado Springs, bike rides are usually a series of lung-buster uphills balanced with brake-burner downhills.

As such, we got around just fine on these old-people bikes from the rental shop.  I realize now how nicely color-coordinated I was with my rental Granny bike.

And I think that was the first time I ever went for any kind of bicycling while wearing a purse.

It was a nice way to learn our way around while sometimes getting lost.






We also managed a bit of geocaching, which we haven't done in a long time since we haven't been anyplace new in a long time.  Really, those things are everywhere.


Cheesy "action" photo.











So it was a nice little getaway and a good orientation for Meego.  While there, I thought back to my own college days.

I won't go into detail, but back then, I wasn't doing any Granny biking, tree treasure finding, or wondering what the cat was up to...

rattlers, study hall, and revealing quizzes

Magnum and I got in some hiking/geocaching yesterday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day out, plus it's supposed to turn crappy overnight tonight, so we had to go outside.




We had much success finding caches in Ute Valley Park, where we also came across a cute little rattlesnake sunning itself.

That park is known for rattlesnakes, but when we came upon this one, I realized it was the first time I'd seen a live rattlesnake in the wild.

He/she was actually quite cute.  A young one, no more than 18 inches long, I'd say, with the cutest little rattle.  I tried to get a decent photo of it, which was when it showed us the rattle and that it knew how to use it.  But it slithered off into the grass before I could get a decent photo, probably cursing the damn weekend hikers.






At work last week, I had to send emails out to the parents of 11 students who are failing study hall.  One one hand, 11 out of about 250 isn't a bad percentage.  On the other hand, IT'S FREAKING STUDY HALL!  Who fails study hall?!

I don't think I had a formal study hall during my high school years.  I recall that certain teachers would just sometimes call a study hall day to get caught up.  I do remember being in the school library with a couple of friends as we worked through sex quizzes in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Why did my high school library have a subscription to Cosmo?!?

Oh well, can't say I didn't learn anything in study hall...

Today's Inktober submission:

8.  Crooked

getting high and saving the world

nom nom nom nom

Happy belated Father's Day to all the good dads out there!

My own dad was a very practical man, who didn't much care for Hallmark holidays.  But he was a great dad and wearer of impressive pocket protectors.

Back here on earth and in the near present, the guys came by and we all got out for a bit of nature.  Thankfully, no one wore a pocket protector.

Taken while crouched in a cubbie in the fetal position

For some reason, they must find the highest rock with the steepest drop-off.  See Chaco's shoes?  Apparently my acrophobia is strong enough that I don't even have to be the one in the high place to start needing to do my Lamaze breathing.

Since I couldn't bear to watch, I distracted myself by looking for a nearby geocache.





Maybe the guys figured the rock climbing wasn't as fun if I wasn't freaking out, so they joined a bit in the hunt and Chaco found the dang thing among so many good hiding places.









So it was a productive and adventurous time, and how 'bout that blue sky?

On Saturday, Meego, Magnum, and I went to see Wonder Woman and enjoyed it.  She is, of course, a badass, but there is one aspect of the movie which left me wondering, "THAT is the choice for [spoiler]??" because it wasn't really working for me. For those who have seen the movie, I wonder your thoughts, but for those who've not seen it, I won't get into it.  But it certainly was not a deal breaker.

I found the movie to be quite artsy as well as actiony.  All in all, a good way to spend the afternoon.  Thumbs up.

bangin' hot

Thank you everyone, for the comforting comments and thoughts regarding China's passing.  We miss her, of course, and are now dogless for the first time in many years.  I think the cat's been looking for her and wondering why we're not going for walks with her at  night.  The cat used to walk with us, he's kind of a weird cat that way...

Yesterday, Magnum and I went to Littleton (suburb of Denver) for Meego's winter percussion regional competition.  The group made a fine showing, finishing second out of eight in their class.  I tested my winter percussion judging ability and I managed to have a few of my picks agree with the judges, including first and second place.

Our group did a good job, but after the first place group went, I was feeling that Meego and company had been edged out.  I'm no winter percussion expert, but that first place group had a cowbell, among other things, and they knew how to use it.  And we all know the importance of More Cowbell.

On a side note, four of the winter percussionists in Meego's group went bald 4 bucks, three of them are girls.  Can  you spot 'em in my blurry photo?




It was record breaking warm yesterday, and Magnum and I decided to take advantage of the new location to hunt down some geocaches.  The camouflage on this  one didn't fool anyone - it was  hidden in an evergreen - but I appreciate the effort.

It was nice to enjoy the outdoors, but too  hot for black long sleeves.  Is it really still March?  I had to shed the long sleeves in order to not keel over from the heat.

And this morning, I went running in shorts and a tank top!  Simple pleasures.  I came upon two deer, who eyed me suspiciously but were not alarmed enough to run either into the road or into me, thank goodness.





So I'm ready for spring and glad we had China for the winter, her favorite season.  We'll get another dog eventually, but need to miss China a bit more before then.

I'm boring, don't follow me

Someday, we'll get this one!

Very recently, I opened an Instagram account.  Not because I feel a need to instantly share what I'm eating for lunch or what my cat is doing or an exciting selfie taken while alone in the car... No, I opened the account because it just happens that Instagram is the sharing platform of choice for the Geocaching mother ship and community.








Readers here know that Magnum and I took up geocaching a couple of years ago, and it's become a fun hobby.  Prior to taking it up, I had no idea how big a following it had.  There are some real zealots.  There are also some very exotic cache locations and creative containers.  For instance, there is apparently a cache on top of Mt. Everest.  It has the maximum ratings for difficulty and terrain.  Ya think!?

Might skip this one

So naturally, it's kinda fun to see where/what others are hunting and finding - for those who have an interest in the activity.

For those who don't have an interest... YAWN.







Which is why it annoyed me to learn that, as soon as I opened my Instagram account, it tried to hook me up with my f@book friends who also have Instagram accounts.  Not only that, but those friends were also alerted about my account, and I nearly instantaneously began receiving requests to "follow" me.

I felt I should allow them to follow, then I felt obligated to follow them back.  But, if we're already friends on fbook, I honestly don't care to see their Instagram photos.

There.  I said it.



I set up the Instagram account solely for geocaching fun.  As far as I know, only one of my f@book friends is a geocacher, and she doesn't do Instagram.

So lemme just say right now.,. if you are a friend of mine on f@book and you also have an Instagram account and you receive a suggestion to follow me and you have no interest in geocaching, don't take the bait!


Unless  you want your feed to include infrequent posts of bug riddled containers in the woods or...

... little things hanging in trees or...


















... yes... tupperware in the forest.

Much more exciting than it looks

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Linking up with MamaKat again for the prompt:

4. Share a recent photo or video you added to Instagram and give us the back story.

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(don't) call me Snoopy

Yesterday, I opened my computer and had a face&ook notifaction... meant for Meego.  Earlier, he had logged into his account on my computer to print up some music for winter percussion and didn't logout.

So there I was.  I could go in and look at what his friends were sharing with him and vice versa,  snoop through his private messages, peruse all his photos... But I didn't.  Just didn't seem right.  I know parents who probably would do that, but I realized I'm not one.

First of all, I'm not naive enough to think I could possibly filter everything he shares and what the internet shares back.  Plus, I think at his age, he should have a good level of privacy from his parents. Thirdly, I trust him.  Finally, I'm just not a snooper.

So I logged him out and logged myself back in.  Really, judging from the continuing post-election fallout, his feed is probably more mature than mine is.

This was a good week.  I thought I'd work extra on classwork to get ahead for a free Thanksgiving week.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!  Nice thought...

But we did end up winning this lovely gift basket from Magnum's work.  He sent this pic after winning, and I was thinking, "desk could use some tidying..."

Usually around the holidays, their health and safety group has these little contests that involve testing knowledge of health and safety topics.  This year was a crossword puzzle on travel safety and a multiple choice quiz on general holiday health and safety.  We've always entered, but never won any prizes, although I always end up learning something I didn't otherwise know.

For example, did you know that onions are toxic to cats and dogs?  Did you?!  Why yes, so don't give them any stuffing!

I did find it rather ironic that the health and safety group gave us this basket of rather unhealthy goodies.  I was hoping we'd win the travel kit for the car, but beggars can't be choosers.  And it's just nice to be the chosen ones for a change.

Our geocaching streak continues, and yesterday was a beautiful fall day after we finally got some snow and slippery this past week.  Yesterday was our biggest geocache haul outing yet.  I think we're getting better at finding the teeny and/or well-disguised ones.






















Later last night, I found myself back at Guitar Center with Meego.  Yet another bass on sale had caught his eye, so he wanted to go "look" at it.

Needless to say, he purchased bass number four.  At least he traded in bass number three for it.  He assures me this one is "so much better!", and I'll take his word for it.  

The place was quite hopping for a Saturday night.  Lots of people, who know what they're doing, picking and plucking on various instruments.  Kinda made me wish I could've done the same, but nope.

the cops, deflation, finders, and losers

A police car pulled in front of our house this morning.  Then another.  Then another... Eventually, I think there were six.  I have no idea what it was about, I was just seeing to important operational matters (laundry) when it began. So this was me for a while:

 I still don't know what happened.  They had a guy in the back of one of the cars and an officer was questioning him, but I didn't see who it was.  I could just make out the back of his head, and from that angle, he didn't look particularly familiar.  Young guy.  Teenager maybe.

I got tired of gawking and went to take a shower.  When I came out, they were leaving.  Mystery abounds.

Other than that, there was an election this week.  I will not share any more commentary on the presidential result, as we all know there is PLENTY of that available.  I instead offer a reprieve.  I will say that I was glad to see more states legalize recreational marijuana.  Now all the stoners who come here for, literally, greener pastures have more choices.

I got a flat tire on Friday, deemed it "Flat Tire Friday" (FTF), and posted the pic of poor Alice onto the facebook Bicycle Commuter page

One cohort offered, "At least it's only flat on the bottom".  haha.

But I was thankful that it was a mild and sunny day, and that I was near the park-n-ride where I could easily perform CPR near the bicycle garages.





Magnum and I got in a bit of geocaching again yesterday, to keep the streak alive.  We didn't make it to the boonies, but found several caches within walking distance of home.  I swear those things are everywhere, who knew?!














This one was underneath a traffic signal pole, like I need an excuse to rummage around the underneath of a traffic signal pole.





The high school football team made the playoffs and had their first game at home last night.  Magnum and I went to show our support while Meego banged his drum for the pep band.  It was close, but our team lost.

It happens.

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a most boring diary, but I still got paid

Another week down, and we're back to standard time.  Can we just stop with the time changing already?!?

A while ago, I got a request from those Nielsen people to track our household TV viewers.  I told them we didn't watch much, but they sent me a diary to fill in for this past week, and two dollars.  A whopping two dollars.  I was obligated.

I thought it seemed kind of antiquated to be filling out a paper diary by hand, but maybe they figured that would be the preferred method for an old lady like myself.  Suffice to say it was  mostly blank, showing nothing but some occasional local news and football and the World Series.  How 'bout those Cubs?  (I don't follow baseball at all, but apparently that was a big deal)

I had to write down shows for whenever the TV was on and who was watching and for how long.

Meego logged exactly zero minutes of TV for the week.  He just doesn't watch it.  He plays plenty of computer games and watches plenty of YouTube, but do teenagers really watch TV anymore?

Speaking of Meego and other things to do besides TV, our city threw it's annual Veteran's Day parade yesterday.  His marching band was one of the entries.  We have a lotta lotta military here, and they are much appreciated.  The Veteran's Day parade always gets a good turnout.

They made a nice showing. As a former flag girl, it surprises me now the number of different flags the bands use.  In one field show, they must've used four or five different flags.  And for the parade, they broke out these red-white-and-blues I'd never seen before.  Nice touch.

I actually missed the parade as I had P.E.O. yesterday morning, but Magnum went, so he's to thank for the photos.


As always, the parade was well received.  It highlighted women veterans this year.







After P.E.O-ing and parading, Magnum and I went out in nature for another weekend hiking/geocaching adventure.  We're trying to do this each week until the weather turns to crap, in case no one's noticed.

Yesterday's outing took us to Black Forest, where we hadn't been since the big fire of 2013.  It's coming back, but there are a lot of burned up trees and scarred up areas.

It used to be Black Forest, now it's more a BLACK Forest.

There are quite a few fun geocaches in the area, though.  We added several to our streak.

Although we don't watch much Nielsen-tracked TV, we do stream us some Netflix.  We just finished season 6 of The Walking Dead.  Since Netflix is a season behind, the cliffhanger at the end of season 6 is no cliffhanger for me, but Magnum has managed to remain in the dark on that one.

And I'm glad to  not have to write in that TV diary anymore.

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champeenship upset, and finding the dead!

Yesterday was the Colorado state high school marching band competition for Meego and company.  It was a great day out, and the band put in a good solid performance for a respectable 4th place finish.

They had a fun show.  Despite my somewhat dislike for all the "drama" that's been added to marching band in recent years, their show didn't go overboard.  You can maybe make out a huge rocking chair in my grainy photo, and some smaller grainy rocking chairs.  The title of their show was "Off Your Rocker", or as I liked to call it, "Here Come the Crazies".   Flag girls in straightjackets - what's not to like?

The big story in local high school marching band geekdom, however, is that the band who always takes first place (AFP) was edged out by the band who typically takes a distant second (TSP).  Seriously, it was a major upset.  Both bands are Colorado Springs bands here in our school district, so the air is thick with it.

The nice thing is, AFP didn't fall to second because of major mess up, but rather TSP just really turned it up to take the prize.

Meego gushed about it since AFPers are known to be quite snobby about their AFP-ness, while the TSP band is a group of pretty nice kids.

I volunteered for lunch duty, so that was fun too since I really hadn't done much volunteering for the band this season.  It was nice hanging out with the kids for a while and catching up with the other volunteer moms and dads.



The band stayed on for a full day of bandness, but since the competition was held here in our fair city this year, Magnum and I still had a few hours of daylight left to go play.

We explored a new-to-us trail - Seven Bridges Trail - which is a very pleasant hike through the woods that follows a stream and includes *SURPRISE!* seven bridges.

We ventured a little further as the trail continues on a much larger loop, in search of a geocache.  The name of the cache is "Goodbye Old Friend" and was described as being left in honor of an old friend who had passed away.  More details would be found in the cache, and we were advised to "enjoy the hike and take a moment to reflect".

I really wanted to find it (1) out of curiosity for the whole story, (2) to honor the old friend's memory, and (3) to "take a moment to reflect" in this serene area of the woods off the busier trails.

So it was very satisfying to locate the thing after a good bit of hunting.  The cache container was actually the housing of an old Garmin GPS unit.

I opened it up, brushed out the dead spiders (EEW!), and began reading the story out loud.  It told of a hiking companion for over six years that had eventually weakened and died.  As I was reading the detailed account, I kept wondering who this companion was.  A friend?  Wife?  Girlfriend?  Dog?

Eventually Magnum interrupted, "It's the GPS"

Oh, duh.  Sure enough.  The owner was talking about his old Garmin GPS that had accompanied him on many a hike and geocache hunt before "breathing" it's last.  What a fitting memorial.  

We signed the log and did our moment of reflection.  I realized we do place sentimental value on inanimate objects that have shared in certain adventures.  Even I - and I'm not particularly sentimental about "things" -  have been guilty of this.

On that note, I'll share these Sock Guy Men's Chain Socks that I recently won as a Pedal Perks prize and wore for the hike.

I can declare that they were wonderful hiking companions, not just for men, and not just for cycling.

Hello, new friends.

Trump, a mountain fail, and mariachis

Meego went to a Halloween party last night.  Two kids were dressed as Donald Trump.  One won "best costume", the other was voted "worst costume".  It seems that even at teen Halloween parties, people either love or hate Donald Trump.

BUT it was all in good fun.  We got our mail-in ballots a little over a week ago.  Mine still sits unmarked.  I've read through my voter's guides and have my choices ready, just not quite willing to get out the Sharpie just yet.

This turned out to be a good productive week despite my Monday ditch day.  Maybe it was because of the Monday ditch day that I felt all energized, but either way, good stuff.  The weather here continues to be super nice, especially after all that wind left.  So yesterday, I was in need of another outdoor adventure.

Several years ago, Magnum and I made a failed attempt to hike to the summit of Blodgett Peak.  We had taken a weekday to go up while our then littlish kids were at school.  The trek started out nice enough, but quickly turned sharply upward, and the "trail" became just a bunch of slipper scree.  At some point, we realized that not only would we need to continue the struggle to the top, but we'd have to then get back down the same way.  All in time to get back before Meego got out of school.

We bailed.

I think the place left a negative mark in Magnum's brain since then.  He also marks that trek as the beginnings of his knee troubles, and we'd never been back.

So yesterday, when I said we should go to Blodgett Peak Open Space, he seemed a little less than enthused.  I reminded him that there was a nice large trail system there and we didn't have to climb the peak.  We could just hike for a while, nab some geocaches...  Off we went.

Great day for it!  I think even Magnum enjoyed it as long as he didn't think of that summit!

A large portion of the area was a victim of the Waldo Canyon fire of 2012.  As we hiked through, it was good to see the grasses and other groundcover returning, but those burnt out and blackened tree carcasses have quite a Halloween-ish look, even in daytime.

Despite it being a nice weather Saturday, it didn't feel crowded at all.  The area really is much more than just Blodgett Peak, with lots of different trail branches to explore.

There were a few other hikers and bikers, some with nice adventurous pooches, but this area is really more of an attraction for locals as it's off the tourist path.

We had much geocaching success too.  We looked for three and found them all.  They'd all been there since before the fire and survived.  That be the top of Blodgett Peak there in the background of this victory pic --->

Later on, I drove Meego to the party.  He and three friends went as a mariachi band.  I saw one of the Donald Trumps along with a nice assortment of characters.  No clowns.

the hills are alive

... with bugs and reptiles and weeds and stuff.

I've been having these balance troubles for the past couple of weeks, but I have noticed some slight improvements - either from the exercises or the antihistamines or a combination of both.  I'd say my equilibrium skills have improved to about a grade of C from the D- I had a week ago.  Hopefully this week, I'll get them back up to an A.

In the meantime, I was going a little bonkers from having to limit my activities in the outside world.  Yesterday was a nice day and was beckoning.  I gently mentioned to Magnum,

"I GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!"

Meego was at an all-day marching band clinic, so the two of us decided to go for a relatively easy hike in Pulpit Rock Open Space with hopes of logging a few geocaches.  Good idea!

We've hiked in this area before, but the geocaching took us to some places we've never been.  I didn't even know this chimney remnant from an old hermit house was back there.  This is where we found the aptly named "Santa Missed his Mark"

Like that particular cache, the names of many geocaches hold clues.  As we looked for "Camo Tater", I was wondering, was it hidden in a potato patch?  Was it an actual potato?  Close.

Yup, I'd say that's a camo tater.












Another was in a beautiful spot in a tree near the edge of a cliff.  My phone gps told me to go another 16 feet forward.  I don't think my phone gps likes me very much.

See the cache?



See the cliff?




See our moniker in the log?
















All in all, it was a nice couple of hours at about the limit of my staying upright, and the weather held up nicely for us too.  Now to just get off this boat!

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circuit break

I was here at my desk yesterday afternoon, being productive as usual *COUGH* ... when ZAP!
Power outage.

Silence.  No computer hum.  No toad filter.  No monster fish bubblin'.

Once I'd determined that it wasn't just our house on the fritz, but also the neighborhood and beyond, I considered the options.  It was another unseasonably warm day out, so I decided to go out and get some nature.

Magnum had been working on revamping his greenhouse, so he could garden without "fertlizing help" from the cat and other area wildlife.  But he decided to chuck all that fun and come along with me.

We headed out to Bear Creek Park, a nice little area, not for strenuous hiking or biking, more for just a relaxing time in the woods for relatively easy hiking and wildlife viewing and such.  It also includes a nice nature center that is a fun place to take young kids.  I took advantage of it yesterday to gain knowledge and appreciation for honeybees, since they seemed to have it in for me a couple of summers ago.

So it was a nice day for it, even if the trees were bare and the grasses were brown.  There weren't too many others around, so the woods and creek were quiet and peaceful.

Since we were up, we thought we should at least log one geocache and found this one.  It was a few paces off the trail, and this park is really big on preserving the area flora.

I was feeling a bit criminal about being off trail, so we signed the log book and dashed back.

The particular area we were in is also off limits to dogs so as to  not disturb the landscape and wildlife.  Strangely, we encountered two hikers with a total of five dogs.  It seems in addition to us, there was a definite criminal element in the park!

On the song bird trail, we saw a grand total of two chickadees.  I think the area song birds are aware that it's still February.











So it was a nice little escape.  When we returned home, the toads were splashing and the fish were bubbling.  I learned that power was out for about three hours, so I'm glad I didn't wait around for it.  There's some sort of mystery utilities project going on up the street, and it temporarily killed our power.

Those guys were still working late into the night, which seems strange for a Saturday.  Probably more criminal activity.

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Silver Liningness Sunday

Hello blog people!  As far as I know, nothing particularly end-of-world eventful happened last week, despite the warnings.  Guess we still have to pay our bills.  But maybe tonight's blood moon will bring about the apocalypse.

And it was another nice week.  Rather busy, but productive.  Oh, and I changed wallpaper and some things around here.  Notice?  I just felt a need for change.  Green...  hmm.... still deciding.






Yesterday, Magnum and I got out for some nature time.  We managed to find a few geocaches to add to our "found" list.


We went to Ute Valley park, a friendly place popular for nearby hiking and mountain biking.  

It was a very nice day for it.  Not too hot, a friendly breeze.  There were a few others in the park enjoying the day, but not so many as to feel crowded.



Last week, a woman was bit by a rattlesnake while hiking nearby.  I let Magnum check the rocky places.








Meego and company had a marching band competition yesterday.  Their band puts on a decent show, and is relatively small.  They seem to have a good time together and happily made it to the finals.

And I continue to chop away at the clutter.  I've got a couple of mini vacuum cleaners to slough off.  They were Chaco's and Wolfgang's when they each lived in freshman dorms.  Anyone want one?  I got bags too.  Yup, bags...

ooooh

aaaaah

As far as I know, the cohabitation arrangement in Chaco and Wolfgang's apartment is going smoothly enough.  Chaco tells me that Wolfgang is messy.  Like I didn't already know that??  Probably speaks favorably for the quality state of his vacuum cleaner.

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Silver Liningness Sunday

Another Sunday is upon us.  So what's good about it?

Well, it was a good and busy week.  Everyone at this household seems to be settled into a productive summer.  I'll admit that I've grown weary of the increased housewenchery I'm being subjected to.  This will definitely end soon (the housewenchery, not the weariness).

deep in the jungle!

Magnum and I did make it out for some recreating on Friday - a bike ride that included lunch and a bit of geocaching.

We had to fight off deadly jungle critters to get to this highly camouflaged prize.

Okay, well it was hidden in the sticks pretty well, but not too many deadly critters attacked.  We did, however, meet a cute pooch who was out getting some exercise with his master.  Pooch was about 86.3% Basset Hound, but his face just wasn't quite big and droopy enough.

I asked his owner what the dog's mix was.

"Part Basset Hound, part asshole", he lovingly replied.

Really they were very friendly, you meet the nicest people while out sniffing around the woods.

And speaking of camouflage, we took a shopping trip out to Bass Pro yesterday.  Meego and I weren't interested in anything in particular, just tagging along with Magnum and Wolfgang.  So we eventually headed outside where he and I logged another cache - I swear, those things are everywhere!

In so doing, we discovered that there is a free car show every Saturday afternoon in the Bass Pro parking lot,

I owe Meego $5 for misidentifying the cars on the far left and far right
pfffft...

which provided additional entertainment as well as another set of nice people met while geocaching.  I'll admit that my automobile recognition skills were pretty mediocre.  

In closing, I'll add that my gay friends are all very happy.  And I'm very happy for them.  I have had my fill of rainbow imagery for a while, however...

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