tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56971050179886540712024-10-24T17:51:00.919-06:00Occasional tales, observations, and meditations about this lifeCarolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-30111898024335328222009-03-10T17:57:00.004-06:002009-03-10T18:05:13.350-06:00

Maybe you noticed right away, but I was rather oblivious until just a moment ago---my last post from 2008 and my first post from 2009 are about fattening dairy products. Now you know where my brain resides much of the time....

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-60665753616176667812009-03-10T15:55:00.004-06:002009-03-10T16:11:41.794-06:00

Night before last, I made my very first batch of homemade cheese--mozzarella. All three of us, Chuck , Gillian, and I loved the cheese. We grated it onto spaghetti with homemade sauce (including tomatoes and tomato sauce my mom and I canned last autumn). Now Gillian asks for "a pile of homemade cheese" on her noodles. I was inspired to try this while reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal,

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-31813680950208936282008-11-18T15:05:00.014-07:002008-11-18T17:06:30.884-07:00

This past Sunday morning, Gillian and I got up a little bit later than usual. We both were in a rather happy mood, content to talk, read, and play together instead of getting out for our usual walk. I thought fresh-baked scones would be just the right addition to our cozy morning; Gillian immediately approved that idea! She busied herself with her new blocks (she turned two just a week or so ago)

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-15567474977166842482008-11-18T09:42:00.007-07:002008-11-18T17:54:31.222-07:00

Several minutes ago, I was on my hands and knees vacuuming up cat food that my 2-year-old daughter had thoughtfully scattered about the living room. We had some time to kill before heading off to Gillian's 24 month doctor visit in another town and I took the opportunity to get some vacuuming done (with me, a toddler, a dog, and a cat roaming about--and don't forget it's leaf season--the floor

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-29723077709972148512008-11-11T10:58:00.012-07:002008-11-11T12:01:48.466-07:00

Last year, I was the recipient of an act of genealogical kindness--a total stranger found a family photograph at a flea market in Indiana. Tim researched the names inscribed on the back, contacted me, and then sent the photograph to me....with no desire for compensation. His generosity touched me deeply and I felt a bit helpless trying to come up with a way to reciprocate. More recently, I

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-41527977637112711322008-10-27T11:25:00.007-06:002008-10-27T13:27:43.281-06:00

Warning!!! This post is not for the weak-stomached or those who are eating.....I'm willing to bet that this is one of the worst Monday mornings one can have......Last night was crazy, to say the least. I didn't get to bed till rather late, after 11 pm, and then I had a hard time getting comfortable and falling asleep. I must have fallen asleep, though, 'cause I suddenly awoke (well after midnight

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-35382788988364128802008-04-30T21:12:00.005-06:002008-04-30T22:18:44.403-06:00

Late yesterday afternoon, while cleaning up the yard (it's been very windy here and the recycling was blowing about...), I heard a very persistent chirping near the fence that separates our yard from our neighbor's. There were quite a few birds--sparrows, mostly--hopping about in his yard and I wondered who/what was causing the ruckus. I was shocked to discover a blind, featherless baby bird

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-50081697367443245092008-04-07T19:53:00.025-06:002008-04-07T22:01:34.655-06:00

Since I've been pretty lax in my blogging, I've asked Chuck to do a guest blog about his recent trip to White Sands Missile Range to participate in the Bataan Memorial Death March. Enjoy!Each spring there is an event held at the White Sands Missile Range, in southern New Mexico, to honor the men who fought and suffered in the Philippine Islands in the early stages of WW2. They held out against

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-11320834902782385142008-01-22T11:24:00.000-07:002008-01-22T12:59:01.833-07:00

(http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/vision.php)Our XO laptop, from the One Laptop Per Child project, arrived the week before Christmas and I am still pretty much entranced with it. I am a complete novice when it comes to computer guts and operating systems, so my "review" of the XO is about how it looks and works from the standpoint of someone who is quite proficient at using

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-22822932634689178072007-11-25T15:26:00.001-07:002007-11-25T15:51:12.224-07:00

During my pregnancy, like all responsible parents-to-be these days, I regularly consulted a small library of books on pregnancy, childbirth, and newborns. I did extensive internet research. I learned quite a bit and thought I was prepared for pregnancy, childbirth, and newborns. I regularly consulted a month by month guide to a baby's first year, a book that was generally pretty helpful. But in

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-78674044699530069142007-11-14T21:33:00.000-07:002007-11-25T16:01:04.992-07:00

Several weeks ago, Chuck and I amused ourselves by taking an on-line test that reveals whether you have a male-type brain or a female-type brain. Offered on the BBC-UK web site, the Sex I.D. test has six separate sections that all together take about 10-15 minutes to complete. The test is rather fun to do. Should you be interested in taking the test yourself, I recommend you do so now, before

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-55538329438395478722007-10-31T21:53:00.000-06:002007-10-31T22:39:29.997-06:00

Happy Halloween! We had about 32 trick-or-treaters come to our door this cool, leaf scattered night. We kept track of the costumes and the breakdown goes something like this--8 vampires (male and female), 2 skeletons, 2 pirates, and one each of the following: Tinkerbell, Hermione Granger, Hannah Montana, the Grim Reaper, a ninja, a soldier, Jenga Fett, a princess, a medieval guy, a doctor, a

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-29805333569791299302007-10-17T11:26:00.000-06:002007-10-17T21:00:56.420-06:00

I've been delving into my family history for nearly 20 years. The availability of the Internet has made dramatic changes in both who can research and how research is done. Earlier genealogy buffs did everything by snail mail, hired professionals, or did quite a bit of traveling to look for records in the county courthouses and libraries of their ancestors' homelands. This took a great deal of

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-57240560931540106852007-10-03T14:56:00.000-06:002007-10-03T22:22:06.958-06:00

On most mornings, Gillian, Sine, and I head out for a walk after breakfast. Our favorite place to go is a natural area maintained by our city, just a few blocks from our house. The terrain varies from a small, sandstone-capped mesa covered in sagebrush and bunch grasses to lush grassy meadows, busy with small birds. A couple of streams and ditches, fed seasonally by irrigation water, flow through

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-10265932384758829352007-09-21T21:22:00.000-06:002007-09-21T22:53:23.744-06:00

Last Sunday, Chuck competed in his first triathlon, a local race held in and near Dolores called the Dolores Tri It. The typical triathlon events are running, swimming, and bicycling, but in this event, swimming was replaced by kayaking, which made it near impossible for Chuck to resist entering. He's long been a participant in endurance events--Imogene Pass Run, Bataan Memorial Death March,

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-36281249960733500702007-08-25T10:59:00.000-06:002007-09-21T22:51:17.280-06:00

Friday before last, while my mom babysat, Chuck and I went out to the shooting range operated by the local gun club. Chuck's a member, so he knows the secret combination for the locked gate. As we had the place all to ourselves, I felt comfortable asking for more detailed help and instruction from Chuck, who's been shooting nearly all his life and is very knowledgeable. I learned to shoot as a

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-20391140996635934412007-08-10T17:16:00.000-06:002007-09-21T22:50:10.672-06:00

Who would have guessed? The arid landscape of southwest Colorado has a slimy little secret: slugs! To be more precise, Derocerus reticulatum or gray garden slugs infest our yard and garden. According to this article (http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/factsheets/fieldcrops/gg_slug.pdf), gray garden slugs emigrated from Europe like everyone else in the 1800s. Did you know that slugs have keels and

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697105017988654071.post-30403288619080808382007-08-05T13:56:00.000-06:002007-11-21T08:03:26.464-07:00

Finally, I got to paddle this summer! On Friday, Chuck, Gillian, and I went over to Summit Reservoir and got the kayaks in the water. Chuck's folks also came along and brought their canoe. It was rather cool up there in the ponderosa pine forest and a little breezy, but we enjoyed it. Gillian stayed with Grandma on the shore (and eventually fell asleep in her arms, wrapped in a blanket), Grandpa

Carolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505076051507121264noreply@blogger.com0