The queen takes her own color ...

Setting ~ 1 hour of housework, all hands on deck, Monday afternoon, right after school & snack. Incredibly efficient and effective. Tasks assigned this week:
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.....Drew: Vacuum; mop kitchen, laundry room, and entry way; clean computer room.
.....Trey: Take out all trash, pick up house, vacuum carpets on all three floors.
.....Mom & Sean: Dust entire house and scrub down all bathrooms (Sean takes everything off the furniture & counters, I follow cleaning, and he puts everything back on).
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Specific Scene ~ Basement, Mom has just dusted the game table, Sean is putting things back on it. Mom has moved on to dusting TV-Video Game area.
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SEAN: "Mom, how do the chess pieces go again?"
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MOM: "In the backrow, the rooks (castles) go on the edges and the queen & king in the middle. The queen takes her own color ~ white queen on white square, black queen on black square. The king goes next to her. On either side of them go the bishops, then the knights (horsies) go next to the castles."
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SEAN: "Mom, I know why the queen takes her own color. It's because she has such great fashion sense."

.Sean, you are so so funny!

Denver ~ 1913 Snow Storm

My friend Susan forwaded these pictures from her Aunt Barbara of
Denver's 1913 snowstorm ~ the biggest ever on record.
They are wonderful pictures that I have enjoyed looking at and pondering ...

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I think this is looking East at the Colorado Capitol building ~

from where the US Mint currently stands on Colfax ...

This appears to be a cable car on the 16th street mall,

(it looks like the Daniels & Fisher tower in the middle)

The guy behind the cable car looks like he is carrying skis!

This looks like the neighborhood where I used to work in the 90's just east of downtown.

Our office was in a restored Victorian house on Race & 16th Street ...

I think the picture is from the tree tunnel on University Boulevard,

North of I-25 and South of Alameda ... Too much fun!

I feel the same ...

Plenty of snow in stock, yet a privilege to live here :~)

Sunny Skies & Love, Sherrie

Adorable Sean ~ Lots of Elk ...

.

October 2001
Rocky Mountain National Park
(Grand Lake Side)

Sonia's Wing is Busted, Too...

More very, very sad winter news ...

Our friend Sonia has slipped on the ice, broken her wrist, and injured her shoulder ~ please pray for her! The pain is very bad and her whole arm is immobilized. She and her daughter are scheduled to fly to Orlando on Friday for the National Dance Competition, so we are praying she will still be able to make the trip. Please pray that she gets a positive report on her shoulder and for a rapid recovery and smaller cast for her wrist and for some effective pain medication in the meantime.

Dear Heavenly Papa ~ We raise our dear sisters, Deana and Sonia before you. We ask for your healing touch on their arms and a sweet time of fellowship with you during their healing. We pray for relief from the pain and a return to mobility. We pray that the fruit of your Spirit be evident in their hearts and lives as they are now called to slow down from the hecticness our regular daily lives bring. We love you and seek to glorify you, and you alone. Please strengthen us all. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen ...

2001 ~ I fondly remember that it was HOT :)

Looking at that great picture from Lake Powell on my Fresh Starts post below,

Brought me back to so so so so many fond memories
of our many camping trips to Farley's Canyon
(back when there was water here ~ but that's another sad drought story).
.
This set of pictures are from a summer trip in 2001 ~
What a great, great, great time!!

Santa's Trampoline has Arrived ...

Santa's trampoline has finally arrived through all the snow delivery delays,

And the sun was out for a few "warmer" days to allow set up ...
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The kids are pumped! So fun, So fun, so fun!!!

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Once we can find the ground again, we're planning on doing an
In-ground installation in the pea gravel where the sky fort once lived ...

Here's a picture from this past Fall, when we could actually see the ground :)Until we're able to complete this safer installation,
please join us in praying for no falls or injuries!

Ice Dams ~ Darned Ice!

Dave went back up a second time after this first cleaning,
but the second trip wasn't as uneventful as this first one that I caught on film.

On the scond venture, as Dave reached the top,
the ladder went flying out from under him ~ sliding across the ice and snow.
And smack down! Face first he landed in the snowbank below.
Thankfully, it was a pretty soft, never sees the sun, deep snowbank and Dave's fine.
Have I told you lately how VERY DONE I am with this d@#! ice?
Grrrrr!!

Back in the Day ...

Last summer when we took Ryan to Boulder,
Deana came by with a bike for us to take to CU for Logan.
We loaded Logan's bike onto our truck and also loaded a bike for Ryan (hee hee!)
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Here are some pictures from back in the day ... I think it was a Tuesday ...
Our first goodbye to Ryan, warm days, green lawns, and clean vehicles :~)
(and obviously Dave had been painting something that day!)
. Oh yeah, in the saga of, "When will it ever end?"
Our weather forecast is calling for yet another 3-6" of snow tomorrow.
I think that's storm six in six weekends straight ... amazing!

I love Skype ...

I love Skype and have used it for a couple of years ~ it is a program that allows you to send instant messages, but more than that, it has great voice over-the-internet phone service (VOIP). I use a plantronics headset that provides two ears in stereo and hands-free awesome sound for my phone calls (and it's great for music, videos, etc., when you don't want your speakers to interrupt others).
.
To make calls on skype is about 2 cents a minute now worldwide (it was free for US calls all of last year). And, until Jan 31st, for $15 you can buy unlimited US calls for a year. No minutes on your cell phone, no long distance on your home phone, no phone to hold ... it's a great deal. This service is called, "Skype-Out" (when you make outbound phone calls from your computer).
.
We have dear friends who have been traveling for over a month to an undeveloped country and have found skype to be incredibly great as they travel since it is so much easier to find an internet connection than a phone connection in today's world. I hadn't thought about it from that angle before ~ another skype plus.
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So, if you're interested, this is one of those services I recommend highly and you might just want to get in on it ... if so, here are the links: SKYPE and HEADSET

Trey ...

Trey did it ~ yes he did ...Trey's new skateboarding shoes (too big for me!) ...Our Trey ...

What's Different???

Dearest Friends ~

As you may know, now that I'm in my mid-40's I've been struggling with an awareness that my memory has been "losing the edge" that it had when I was younger. However, in the past several days, I've noticed that I've been much sharper in that department! So this morning, I queried myself, "What's different? Is there anything that I'm doing that's been different that might account for this improvement?"

There are two things I can come up with ~ of course I'm not sure if either have been the cause of the positive improvement in my memory, but nonetheless they are the answer to "what's different" and thus they might be why things are a bit sharper upstairs in the recollection department. I thought I'd share them in case you wanted to give either or both a try. If you do try either one, please let me know if after a couple of weeks if you notice any improvement in your memory :~)

..........1. Vitamins ~ From about the time I was 20 years old I have taken GNC ultra meg vitamins. The only time I've not taken them is when I've been pregnant (I took pre-natal's instead) and in the past few years when I've taken "cheaper" and "more convenient" vitamins that I can buy at the grocery or drugstore. The first week of January, I went to GNC to buy vitamins again and have been taking the " GNC woman's ultra meg " for two weeks. Could this be why my brain is working better? My gut tells me that yes, this is making a difference.

..........2. Today's Plan ~ For the past two weeks I've been developing a "Today's Plan" at the end of each day (in excel of course :) for the next day. As part of this, I've tried to make routine as much as possible on the list (getting up at the same time, doing the same things in the same order, having a checklist for mornings and evenings, having certain things already plugged in on different days of the week, going to bed earlier, etc.) so that many parts of my day no longer involve any decision ~ just following a pre-set routine. Has setting these "routine" for as much as possible created more space in my brain for more meaningful parts of my life and thus the capacity to remember more? I'm thinking it's a possibility. It's certainly brought me more order and peace in my day, so why not more sharpness in my memory.

So anyway, there you have it ~ my thoughts on how my thoughts are working better! If you try these ideas and they result in enhancements to the quality of your life, then it will be worth the time I've taken to share :~) And if you have other ideas regarding things that are working for you, please feel free to suggest those as well ~ I can use all the help possible!

Now if I can just remember how to log on to my blog and post (ha ha ha!!!)

Have a blessed day! Love ya!!
Sherrie

Yeah, it's snowing again...

Dave shoveling this afternoon...

We had another 10" from this storm in our "snow vortex"

And that brings us to 72" in less than a month!

Yeah, it's snowing again. A lot (even though "they" said it would only be a little), and the wind is whipping and there's ice under all of it, and even though it had to "warm up" to 22 degrees to snow, it's still mighty cold ~ snowy, windy, icy, cold ... for five weeks now. There's a blizzard warning in effect currently. And I'm tired of it ~ frankly, I've just had it. And as we arrived at church late this morning ('cuz we had to do a big shovel out thing before we left), I really felt like complaining, to my darling husband of course, and I felt guilty, for not being thankful for the moisture we desperately need and for complaining about something as inconsequential as the weather, for pete's sake! Shouldn't I be focused on things that "really" matter? But guilt was not enough to stop how utterly disgusted I was (am) about all this cotten-picken unending cold and snow. I feel a bit trapped in the house without my regular walks and I miss sitting outside in the sunshine with the Lord.

And as the morning continued on, from truck, to services, to walk across campus, to sunday school, to walk down the hall, to the summer mission trip meeting; my feety were frozen and although my heart was open and blessed by teaching and fellowship, my attitude still struggled with the snowy, icy day we are having. And then, the 'icing' on this ice cream cake... my dear friend Deana slipped on the ice and fell walking from the sanctuary to the student center. And she fell hard. She landed on her bum and her left palm and all the pain is in her left elbow. And it's a lot of pain in her elbow.

She's not sure whether anything else was hurt in the fall because her elbow hurts crying bad and masks other pain or whether nothing else hurts because really, nothing else was hurt. Thankfully, she feels like her recently replaced hip is just fine. Tyler drove her home for jammies and bed and Jim is on point for a trip to urgent care and x-rays later this afternoon when she feels ready to venture out. Venture out into the blizzard again. The wind, the snow, the ice. Getting in and out of the suburban. Walking on sidewalks that can't be kept clear because it's coming down too fast and blowing so much. Into a care center that will undoubtedly be cold because the temperatures are so low, the wind is blowing so much, and the doors will be opening and closing with other sick and injured people. (PS ~ My dear Deana just called ~ she has a proximal ulna buckle fracture ... she's in a cast and sling.)

After church, Drew drove a friend home and as he made a right turn from one major street to the other, the car slid and came to a stop facing the opposite direction of traffic. Fortunately, there were no cars around and he didn't hit a curb, but now hopefully he 'knows' why my last words to him were, "take it slow - be safe." He said he was going very slow, I hope he realizes that when you spin around like that it means you weren't going slow enough. (A lesson learned by Ryan a couple of years ago, too ... unfortunately, Ryan's lesson did included an under-carraige damaging smack up-side a curb).

And now, I don't feel like this weather is inconsequential at all. I've had it. Enough already. I'd love to have some warmth and sun, but would also be ecstatic for just some simple dry pavement and cleared sidewalks. Please pray for my dear friend Deana. I'm in tears because I hurt so much for her. And even in my incredible sheepskin furry slippers, my feet are still frozen cold. Moms called ~ it's even snowing in Tucson!

I'm so so so over this winter weather :( ...With love and sadness, Sherrie

Sherrie & Deana swimming after hip replacement

April 2005 ~ Spring Retreat in Colorado Springs

(these were Deana's "first steps" post-surgery without crutches)

Picture by dear, dear Sandy :~)

.Deana and I making sandwiches for our families,

On a trip to Mount Evans ~ July 2005

All of us at the top of Mount Evans later that day

Elevation 14,264 feet (where snow belongs :)