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...