Owen's 4!

Owen was so happy on at his 4th birthday party. He could hardly wait to eat. . . and then to have cake and presents.

Kate Date

 What a special treat when Kate D. and I had wonderful one-on-one time.

 
 A ship in the center of the Fort Wayne Botanical Gardens was her favorite.
















We walked through the gardens but not for long.



















She was eager to get back to the ship where she was in constant motion!

George Washington slept here

Stephanie, Amy, Alec; Stacia, Judd and Jessa; Brooks, Masha, Tory, Beau and Jack; Hilary, Colin and Caroline: nieces and nephews who have all stayed overnight at our house multiple times for multiple nights. It never happened with Ike . . . until last Friday night, January 21st, in the year of our Lord, 2011.

Ike,  we're so glad you came! It may have been the first time you spent the night at our house but don't let it be the last.

The next morning Ike, his parents, Brent and Sandie, and Neil and I took blueberry sausage breakfast bake, one of Mark's favorites, to Swiss Village, and had brunch with Grandma Birdsall. A great time of visiting took place in the dining area and then back in her apartment.

Pristine Beauty

Low-lying shrubs, aspen trunks and evergreens.













So much "dead and down" was cleared in the first two years we owned the property that made way for new growth. This brave, little tree is just about 18" tall.

Just a few months ago the leaves on this aspen tree were all ablaze. Now snow nestles among some of the empty branches.

Snow really clings to the long needles on this tree near the side porch.

A picture of that same long-needled evergreen from the porch.

Clumps of grass are scattered in one of our little meadows. The moisture in the snow will help more of it to grow next summer.

Home Sweet Home

A bright blue sky after a new snowfall. Beautiful!

It was a little tricky getting up the driveway. 4-wheel drive really helps!

The trees were beautifully flocked with snow.

Visitors

 Deer came to visit us. Both of these pictures are taken from the front porch.

We went to visit Scott, Heather, Bridger (2 years) and Iris (3 months) Livengood--our young, cool, cousins in Breckenridge! Mark went with Scott and Heather to a wedding Saturday afternoon and evening. Neil and I were with the kids. After 6 hours of dedicated, non-interrupted one-on-one play time, Bridger was my buddy for life! Unfortunately I have no picture to show for it :(. We saw Iris when she was 3 days old and now again at 3 months. She slept a good deal of the time we were there but when she was awake she was cuddly and content. Neil and I both enjoyed extended time with her. (When Bridger was taking his nap I got to cuddle with Iris. :)



Connie's projects

Drum roll. . .I inserted the key in the deadbolt Neil had just installed. It worked perfectly! 

I used some scrap wood from the basement to lay out the plan for the kitchen even before Mark and I moved the railing being stored there. (The light colored rails go right above the kitchen on the loft. The darker rails behind them will be used outside on the porch.) When Jeni was in Colorado in June, she sketched some possible floor plans for the kitchen. Instead of choosing one or the other, I adopted both! Both top and bottom cabinets will be along the outside log wall. Only cabinets below countertops will be where the boards are located. It will be a cozy kitchen but open to the great room. I'm very excited about it!

I used newspapers to get a feel for the available space. The refrigerator and stove/oven/microwave will be against the framed wall. The sink will be under the window with cupboards, including lazy susans, to the left and a dishwasher to the right. The opening to the kitchen will be by the long, darker board extending from the framed wall. A breakfast counter wide enough for just two will be at this end of that dark board. The angeled board will have some shelves open to the great room. It will be great place for some of Janet's pottery or other decorative items!  Nothing is set in stone yet but it is a plan that Neil and I both like thus far.

We walked around the space and pretended to be working and talking. It felt good. A door can be seen at the back of the picture behind the framed wall. I refer to it as the "servant's entrance." That is the back door and the one I think will be used most frequently. The washer and drier will be your right as you walk in, along with an open coat closet, and a half bath will be to your left which will share that framed wall with the kitchen.

Neil's projects

Neil took lock hardware with him on this trip that he has had in stock for a long time. It made his duffle bag heavy going out and much lighter coming back. This door is considered the main entrance. The window behind Neil is the kitchen window. This door opens to the great room. It is obviously boarded from the outside now.












This door opens to the Pikes Peak side of the house--opposite the door above. From here you can look out to the fire pit which Mark dug. Neil chiseled the recesses for the bolts on the door.













He installed the knobs.













On the doorframe, he chiseled again for the strike plate.

















What a master!

Mark's projects

Splitting wood--maul high overhead. . .

 . . .mid swing. . .

. . .and split right in half! 

Mark also moved all the porch rails which had been stained and dried last June by Eric and Neil. They were stored in the kitchen area where the refrigerator and stove will be. He moved them. . .

. . .to where the wood stove will be. After they were moved I was able to work on kitchen lay-out! 

Since the weather was nice when we arrived, we thought we might be able to enjoy a campfire . . .maybe even cook a meal outside. Mark set to work  digging a fire pit. Working in frozen ground and rocky soil prevented digging a very big pit.   

 Mark gathered several rocks from the immediate area and built a nice ring around the pit. Cold weather set in and we didn't build a fire on this trip. At least we have a great little fire pit for another trip in the near future.



Early January 2011 in Colorado

     The temperature in Denver was 56 degrees when we arrived on Thursday, January 5. Obviously it was cooler in the mountains at 9,000' elevation but still unseasonably warm for early January. It didn't take the three of us long to complete this project our first afternoon at the mountain property.

      This stack of lumber contained 24 sheets of 8 tongue-in-groove pine slats. I separated the tongues from the grooves after Neil and Mark uncovered and unwrapped the pile. I stacked the 8 slats and then Neil and Mark carried them from behind the cabin to the front and in the basement. These will be used for the soffet on both side porches.

After 24 trips--restacked and protected!

Puzzling Holiday Activities

This dated puzzle ends with Ronald Reagan. Two Bushes, Clinton and Obama are needed to make it up-to-date. One piece is missing between the 23rd and 24th presidents, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley. Sorry, sirs. 

I had to make Neil promise NOT to touch this puzzle. He thought he could do it within minutes. I did it without a picture and it really "puzzled" me 'til I got to the last dozen pieces. Then the pieces practically fell into place. One piece is missing. I did this one in late January. The puzzle inventory continues with me doing the easy ones.

This 100-piece puzzle had a picture to look at and I could identify parts of the picture and colors so it was quite easy. I'm starting to like this! All pieces are present. This one was assembled on February 7. It is supposed to be an optical illusion.










 

Neil, Mark and I put this puzzle together in one hour. The missing piece was later found in another puzzle box!

I thought the coffee table could be a good place for assembling a puzzle. Neil said it was too low and his legs kept going to sleep no matter where he sat. He had no memory of this puzzle. Way too many pieces are missing. This is the last time anyone will see this puzzle.

Frustrating with so many missing pieces.

I did this one . . .



.  . .and this one (a favorite of Janet's from year's past). . .

 .

. . .and this one (which I gave my dad as a present. . .and he wondered why). Several large chunks of the pieces were still together which made assembling it quite easy.

. . .and this one. . .

while Neil worked on this one from the Nebraska Potter collection.

A nice Americana scene

Another one I did. I take the "paint by number" approach to putting puzzles together.
 I like pieces to have identifiable parts of the picture and I simply match "parts to parts."

Neil's mom (Arlene) purchased this puzzle when she and Neil's dad (Raymond) were dating. Arlene thought it would make a good activity for a date. Raymond worked on it for awhile and then admitted he didn't like puzzles. One of the many reasons he and I got along so well! Notice what staight rows the pieces are in--both horizontally and vertically.

This is another puzzle from the Nebraska Potter collection. Neil did it yesterday while I was doing those easy kids puzzles.There is no such thing as a Birdsall puzzle collection. We never did them.



Another puzzle from the Nebraska Potter collection. Neil assembled it the first week of January 2011.
A few pieces are missing.



This was the hardest one I did yesterday. Those grass pieces can be real killers. :)