The part of the lake that's NOT frozen over

Darn if those geese didn't fly far enough south for the winter.

Hi mom!

When we lived in Phoenix, Tom always used to say, "Well, at least I don't have to shovel the heat." Hahaha. Well, he's not excited about shovelling the now here -- in fact, we were quite happy to pay a neighbor-kid to do the driveway. (For all I know, he's still out there toiling away as I type, but we paid him well....)

The snow has stopped falling...

... and the sun came out -- which made for an incredibly gorgeous afternoon walk. (Darn! Now I'm really wishing I had those x-country ski boots!)

Snow Angel

There are certainly benefits to all that snow!

Home at last!

We had quite a blizzard yesterday & last night. I got stuck at work. (Well, I didn't even try to leave... but most of us weren't allowed to leave -- since people couldn't get in, once you were at the hospital, you had to stay.) So I spent the night in the endoscopy suite, and kept working this morning. I thought I was done with that crap!
Anyways, when I finally got home, I was amused that I had such a challenge just to get to the front door.

I'm glad this isn't our car!

Actually, one of the benefits of getting stuck at work was that I had my car plowed out by a bunch of guys with very efficient gear.

Blizzard '06: the view from the front door

After the snow stopped falling, and after they plowed the streets, this was the view from our front door.

Where are my boots?

Yesterday when I got home from work, I was very excited to get back on my x-country skis. I haven't had them on since 2001...
I found the skis and poles, but I forgot my boots! Fortunately, I'm pretty sure I know where they are in Phoenix, so when we go back in 4 weeks, I'll be sure to pick them up. Doesn't this look like an amazing place to x-country ski? I can't wait.

Winter Wonderland

Well, Tom finally got his wish: it snowed! On Tuesday the temperature dropped, and a storm rolled in, and we got about 6 inches of snow overnight. On Wednesday I discovered that driving a stick-shift is NOT the same as driving an automatic in the snow....
But today the sun was out, and even though it never rose above freezing, the snow has begun to evaporate. I must admit, my drive this morning to work was unbelievably beautiful.
The mountains in the backdrop of this picture are called the Flat Irons; they are basically the foothills of the Rockies. We live at the base of the Flat Irons.
So today I asked Tom to go out and take some pictures, because it was so gloriously beautiful. He went up to a state park (about 10 miles from our house) called Eldorado Canyon; this picture was taken from along the way there. Awesome, isn't it?

The "other" turkey

Originally I wasn't going to put up both pictures, but I just couldn't resist. It was just that good!

Tom's turkeys ROCK

Tom made two different turkey recipes this year. They were both delicious. I think this one was slightly more popular: he butterflied the turkey, and then stuffed it with homemade sausage, pancetta, breadcrumbs, and fresh rosemary & sage.
His other turkey had an herb mixture stuffed between the skin and the meat: cilantro, parsley, thyme, and pistachio nuts. This one was rounded out with a chipotle-gravy. Mmm. He also made fresh dinner rolls. Robbie made yummy green beans, and mashed potatoes. Needless to say, we all had lots to be thankful for!

Abbey waits patiently

Abbey is a very well-mannered dog... but when John was cutting up leftover turkey (mmm... turkey sandwiches!), she definitely got her hopes up.

Excitement in Superior

Tonight we were going about our usual business, when we heard a very loud knock on the door. When I answered the door, there was a rather upset-looking woman on a cell phone -- who told me, "There's a fire upstairs. I think it'll be ok, but you'd better get out."
Well, that caught our attention! I immediately grabbed for the kennel so that I could collect Sable (who had run under the bed at the sound of the knocking on the door). Tom grabbed our laptop, and box of "important papers" -- and put them into the car, and drove the car out of our garage. I guess we've got our priorities straight... although Sable was very unhappy, she was safe in the kennel, and Tom said that "if the apartment burned down, our brand new car wasn't going to melt with it."
We were able to speak with the woman from 2 floors up (whose apartment had the fire). She said that she had caught a pot of olive oil on fire, and the flames were immediately so high that she panicked. So instead of trying to use her fire extinguisher (or as Tom pointed out later, simply putting the lid on the pot), she collected her kids and ran, calling 9-1-1 (which is who she was calling when she banged on our door). I felt bad for her -- although there didn't seem to be a lot of damage (the firefighters told me later that they "didn't use too much water"), she had told me that because she had just moved in recently, she hadn't had a chance to get renter's insurance yet. Doh!
After about half an hour, we were allowed back in the house. Sable was happy to be out of her prison (she can't stand her kennel), and we went back to our dinner... Tom was glad that in the interim, the pot of soup that he had left on the stove hadn't caught on fire!

Sable's new spot

We brought this planter with us from Phoenix, but haven't had a chance to get new plants for it yet. I guess that's a good thing: Sable has decided that she likes to hang out in the planter when she goes out on the patio. Weird, but very cute.

Robbie & Abbey

We've started hiking with the Boulder Newcomers again. This picture is from last week's hike: it was an absolute gorgeous day. Abbey was happy to be with us, even if she had to stay on her leash...

Oskar Blues

Tom's gig last night was in a pretty cool bar/restaurant. They had a good menu, and Tom liked the beer. The best part, though, was the downstairs arcade: complete with fluorescent pain & black lights. Hahaha. The games were awesome -- none of those new fangled games where the object is to kill loads of people... nope, good ol' fashion Tron, Joust, Galaga, Astroids, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Ms. Pac Man... the works!

Tom's back in the saddle

Or at least back on his throne...
When we were here last spring, Tom played several gigs with a band called Buckskin Stallion. He was very happy to get a call to play again. Last night their gig was in Lyons, which is about 15 miles northwest of Boulder (towards Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park). The band was lots of fun -- country/rock, with a good crowd who was eager to dance the evening away.

It snowed!

Tom has anxiously been looking forward to seeing some snow. This weekend he was very excited to see the big, fluffy flakes come down for a few hours. It wasn't enough to stick, but there was enough for us to get bundled up and go on a nice walk. It's still rather chilly right now, but by the end of the week it's supposed to be back up in to the '70s. The weather around here never stays the same for long....

priorities

We abandoned many heavy things in Phoenix that we thought it was silly to schlep all the way here. For instance, I gave Jennifer 3 bags of canned goods, and we gave a case of beer (mostly Coronas, though) to Vijay. But some things we made sure to bring with us! As you can see, we are officially ready for visitors. Hahaha.

anyone need a box?

It took us several hours to unload all of our boxes... and several days to unpack them. Now we are searching the thrift stores for a few things we'll need temporarily: we've already found a TV stand, a wine rack, and a dust ruffle & duvet cover for our comforter. I am encouraged that we've found more thrift stores nearby than during our last visit, and today is 50% off day at all of the ARCs! (Tammy: I'll be thinking of you when I find that special something...)

Sable emerges

Our friend Vijay had suggested that we open the trap-door between the back seat and the trunk so that Sable could hole up in the dark. Actually, this worked pretty well. By about half way through the 1st day, she found her way back there, and spent the majority of the trip nestled between her litter box and a case of wine. I was SO greatful for the suggestion: even though she meowed a fair bit back there, it didn't really bother me in the front seat.

Rest stop north of Las Vegas, NM

Gotta have one of these shots. As you can see, we actually had beautiful weather for our trip. We each had books on CD to pass the time: I enjoyed Harry Potter: the Order of the Phoenix, and Tom enjoyed Treasure Island.

Sable's not happy

When we were finally ready to leave our house in Phoenix, I grabbed Sable and jumped in the car. Much to my surprise (and entertainment, actually) she immediately jumped up on to the dashboard (of course, howling like a banshee the whole time). Tom got several pictures of this, but I liked this one best.
She cried most of the way to Flagstaff (about 150 miles). What surprised me was that she spent most of those 2 hours on my lap. In fact, she was sitting on my lap, with her paws on the arm rest so that she could look out the window, when a police officer passed us. I'm sure he gave us some funny looks... Tom & I had walkie-talkies for the trip, and at that point Tom asked me, "Is it legal to travel with a cat in the car?" I replied, "Legal, yes -- sane, no."

Bon Voyage

As if having an infant is not enough -- Anu & Vijay were gracious enough to throw us a going away party. Although it was sad, we had a wonderful time. Anu ordered food from Mi Patio (which was awesome, of course) and Tom was delighted to polish off the keg from the Sonora Brewhouse, thanks to Erik & Sarah.

I'm a wee bit behind...

...but moving will do that to you. Before we left AZ, we tried to spend as much time as we could getting to know Kiran. He's quite a handsome young man, and very good natured. Tom declared that babysitting is "easy" -- but he still hasn't changed a diaper...

Selma & Mother Nature

Tiffany was Mother Nature for Halloween: her costume had garland to represent each of the seasons.

Hell's Angel

Tom's Hell's Angel costume was complete with tattoos, a halo, and angel wings. I found the mask a bit creepy, actually.

Syndrome

The best costume at the party was Erik's: he was Syndrome, from the Incredibles. (Also not a wig; hair also sculpted by Sarah.)

Patty & Selma Bouvier

We had fun putting these costumes together. Sarah's hair was a wig, but mine was all my own...

Pumpkin Cake

Well, actually it's pound cake... but it was pretty darned good. We made this cake for Sarah & Erik's Halloween party by making two pound cakes and turning their tops together...

The Drennens

Doesn't Tom come from a handsome bunch? This is Tom's aunt Judy (left) and his mom, as well as his uncle Glenn. Even though it was a sad farewell, I enjoyed finally getting to meet Glenn & Rosemary.

There is proof!

We were all very happy to see Donna at Tomapalooza. 

Tomapalooza

This weekend we had a wonderful party to celebrate Tom's musical career in Phoenix. We hosted about a dozen of Tom's musician-friends, who recreated various line-ups that Tom played in over the years. Tom played for about 4 hours -- mostly drums, but he got to play guitar, too. He found a liquor store that carried kegs of Alaskan Amber -- so the night was a true success. It was a real treat to see all of our friends, and hope that they'll come visit us in Colorado frequently. (I'll put up more pictures as people send me copies of their photos.)

Tom's hams

No Post Party would be complete without some sort of smoked meat. Tom smoked 3 hams for yesterday's bash. They were soooo tasty!

Sheila doens't like cockroaches

Jim evidently has several very large (fake) cockroaches -- which Sheila finds disgusting. Jim made sure that we all knew the extent of Sheila's cockroach disdain...

The crowd enjoys the show

We were lucky that so many of Tom's friends were able to come together to create such a great show. The crowd clearly enjoyed every minute of it.

Regulars

Do these guys practice lining up their guitar necks at precisely the same angle?

Spencer came prepared

Spencer showed up with his own drum sticks. Once again, he impressed the whole crowd. Next year I'm sure you'll be able to catch him on tour...

Brandon & Alex

We were so happy that so many people from our softball team came to see us off. We haven't seen Alex in about a year, and he's gone and grown up on us!!

Tom asked for sequins

Several years ago I went out shopping at a local drag-queen store, and on my way out the door asked Tom if he wanted me to buy him anything. He replied, "Something with sequins." I was so excited when I found him this jacket! However, I have remained disappointed since then, as Tom had not found "the right performance" to show off his spectacular duds. Well, he promised me that he'd wear the jacket for Tomapalooza, and he kept his word. His jacket was extremely popular, and even earned him a few extra dollars in "tips."

Stevo & Tiffany

We were very excited that Steve came all the way from Seattle to join the party. Judging from the smiles here, I'd say this was taken after the shots had begun...

Partying with the Harrs

The Harrs have clearly become Arizonans already: it was probably 65 degrees out last night, and they already require 3 layers to keep warm...

Jeff & Elise

Well, I'm definitely not as good as Tom at the self-portrait thing, but I'm certainly going to miss Jeff a lot.

The Regulars Return

It was only 2 songs, but they were oh, so sweet! What an epic performance. (From left to right: Tom, Greg Simmons, Scott Seymann, Steve Metz.)

We got a new car!

Isn't it pretty? After all of our planning -- things didn't work out as we'd planned. Go figure. Although we were expecting to buy the car in Colorado, we couldn't pass up the deal here: we had decided upon a V6, 6-speed manual transmission (266 horse power -- Tom is proud to announce!) Accord with tan leather interior... and since one of the dealers here had an '06 left on the lot that they were pretty desperate to get rid of, we decided to take it off their hands. Now I will get the joy of driving the car (thank you, Sarah, for volunteering to go with me) up to Colorado with Sable in the back seat. Hahaha. More on that later, I'm sure.

So happy to be back

Little does she know that she's about to enjoy apartment living again... but for the time being, Sable is extremely happy to be back in Phoenix. 

I finally figured out the cropping stuff!

Thanks to Anu's tutoring (what a super-woman: she has time to be a new mom and teach me some new tricks), I now am able to crop photos 'til my heart's content. This is a picture of the Blue Angels from the airshow in Anchorage (from August).