The Pam and Jerry Fields' Blog Page

Month: November 2013

Fall slow down

Please view our Thanksgiving card!

The fall slow down is here. We haven’t been to Sanderling since Halloween, snow has covered the lawn and prohibited any real outside work this weekend, and we don’t put up our outside holiday stuff until after Thanksgiving. Pam is done with the house refurbishment for the most part – still looking for some furniture – but the painting and rearrangement of furniture is mostly done. (A few paint touch-ups are scheduled to be finished over Thanksgiving.)

It has been a slow week.

I have been playing with my video camera settings and iMovie stuff to try and produce  higher-quality video clips. The short clip included below is the first produced using the new settings. It should look better when viewed full-screen than  previous clips. This is one of Ebony’s kittens playing with some shoe laces. Running time is 1:17.

Increasing the resolution taxes my 2001-era MacPro computer and it takes a lot longer to prepare and save videos but the increase in quality is probably worth it.

I mentioned snow…we received 3 – 4 inches of heavy, wet snow last Friday night. Some has melted in the last two days and the rest should be gone by Thanksgiving. The Grand Mesa received over 2 feet of new snow and the local ski area, Powderhorn, will open soon. Winter is creeping in…

Pam has some chores for me to work on (honey-do list) so I better close and get busy with the day’s other activities.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

 

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

OK, life may be slowing down for Jer, but I still have 4 two-month old kittens and their mom in the house.  Jer has shown an inclination to “have the master bathroom back” (as it’s been the birthing suite since June), so I will call in my loaned-out animal pens and try to set up cat containment areas in the cat room (aka third bedroom).  It’s time to wean the babies off mom,  she needs her own containment area separate from them, with decreasing visits between mom and babies as her milk dries up.  Operations for spays/neuters should occur for all sometime mid-December, then I’ll see how the shelter is for space.  The sad reality — black kittens and a [beautiful sleek petite] black mom cat are not in high demand, even during the holidays.

Of course, I will also coordinate  holiday package mailings to our children and begin preparing the holiday (more likely New Year) cards.  No, life is not slowing down for me.  It will be on fast-forward until the end of the year.

Happy Trails.

Transitions

No big events to report on this time. We have been raking leaves and doing fall cleanup yard work. Pam completed another phase of her house update  by finishing a major painting project, the living room floor. Other than adding another rug and a few other bits and pieces of furniture,  that project is nearly ended. We will be looking at flooring material, probably bamboo, for part of the living room but will wait until we see a good sale before going ahead. Still looking for a side board but the ones we have seen at second-hand stores are too long; we have a 50 inch space and most units we have seen are 60 – 64 inches in length. The search continues.

No snow on the ground as the bit we did get a couple weeks ago has melted off. In short, we are doing typical fall activities and having normal weather. I did get one last lawn-mowing done last weekend then cleaned up the mower ad put it away.

I fired up the Ford 8N tractor and used it to take a small load of grass and weeds to the local ‘organic material’ dump site provided by the town. This is the same spot where I dump  leaves, branches, and cut grass as needed. Gives me an excuse to exercise the tractor from time to time.

We had driven up to the lot on Halloween day – both of us took time off – and cleared a path where we plan to extend the driveway. This involved cutting a few more trees and making a decision on where the drive will go. I prefer a little farther up on the hillside and Pam prefers it be a little lower down. We will get with the contractor and use him as the tie-breaking vote. Extending the drive is a priority for next year.

Gas prices have dropped to around $3.20 a gallon (unleaded regular) which helps us a bit. Normally we go through 30 – 33 gallons a week, less at this time of the year due to fewer trips to the lot and fewer ATV outings. Price reduction saves us nearly $100.00 per month.

Mary Hayes sent along this photo of the two party girls drinking/eating at the Irish pub in Grand Junction last weekend:

Mary and pam at the Irish pub

Mary and Pam at the Irish pub. Photo by Mary Hayes.

Mary arrived back in Florida, after a lay-over in Denver, without incident. We certainly enjoyed her visit.

I have some recent video of Ebony’s kittens playing on the waterbed. The kittens are about 8 weeks old now.

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The kittens will be with us for several weeks yet as they need to start getting their shots and spay /neuter operations before being returned to the shelter and put up for adoption.

Not much else to say in this post. Pam is preparing the grocery list, I have more leaves to clean up, the bath tub drain needs to be cleaned , weather stripping needs to be added along the main door – blah, blah, blah…the every-day details of life continue.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

 

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Yesterday, with a small fire burning in the fire pit, the smell of raked leaves was mixed with wood smoke and the entire scene was set against a deeply overcast sky.  I was struck by how typically Fall it all was.

Happy trails.

Birthday Girl

Pam recently celebrated a “decade” birthday. At our age, birthdays have become non-events for the most part; they come and go without fanfare. This time things would be a little different.

Pam has a long-time friend, Mary Hayes, who now lives in Florida. The friendship goes back to kindergarten and was cemented when Pam and Mary spent months together touring Europe and England when they were in their late teens. (Doesn’t seem so long ago!)

Mary had called me a few weeks ago to arrange a surprise visit as a birthday present for Pam. We worked out the details. On the big day, I picked Mary up at the local air port and brought her home. Pam, who had taken some time off work as a “stay-cation’ and was involved in a household painting project when Mary arrived, was truly surprised.

Mary was here for about 2 1/2 days, having arrived on Thursday and departing Sunday morning. Pam and Mary had ample opportunity to talk and just enjoy being together for a few days.

We did take a trip over Grand Mesa to show Mary some of the local terrain (and to reintroduce this former Wisconsin girl to snow).  On the way down from Grand Mesa, we drove by “for sale” houses just to get an idea of  the price of Colorado real estate in the Cedaredge area. We ended the trip with a visit to Augusta’s Tea Room  in Grand Junction. This was Mary’s idea and it was a pleasant way to spend some time and enjoy a few seasonal food items such as pumpkin cupcakes and apple scones.

Pam and Mary spent Saturday night at a Grand Junction hotel; Pam would drop Mary off at the airport Sunday morning. (Mary’s early flight departed at 7:30 AM.) The two girlfriends went out to dinner at an Irish pub. Pam reports the food was good , she tried a Harp beer, and the atmosphere was excellent with dinner served at the bar.

I believe both ladies enjoyed the visit and time spent together. Pam will remember this birthday for a long time to come.

Here are a few photos taken during Mary’s visit:

Mary and Pam share couch time with London, Jo, and Bru

Mary and Pam share couch time with London, Jo, and Bru

Pam and Mary on the Grand Mesa Visitor Center building's deck

Pam and Mary on the Grand Mesa Visitor Center building’s deck

Posing to show the snow on Grand Mesa

Posing to show the snow on Grand Mesa

Mary at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center building

Mary at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center

Tea time at Agusta's Tea Room in Grand Junction

Tea time at Augusta’s Tea Room in Grand Junction

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

 

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Thanks to Mary and Jer for making this birthday one to remember.  I was truly surprised and touched.  Hopefully Mary’s Florida blood was able to withstand the Colorado cold temps (especially on Grand Mesa @ 10,000+ feet) without too much lasting damage. Onward into the upcoming decade…

Happy trails.

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