Mill Creek Yurt Trip

On January 30th we went with our friends Jeremy, Jodi, Jen and Mike for a two night stay at the Mill Creek yurt.
Lucy loved running in the snow, even her pack filled with water and dog food only managed to slow her down a little bit.Jen and Mike managed to stay warm at the yurt by huddling very close.


Jeremy smiling with the anticipation of a day of powder skiing.
The yurt with snow approaching the roof.The outhouse held the constant threat of an impending roofalanche.
Jodi getting some turns in the powder.
Jeremy gets in some turns.


Mike gets his turns in the powder.

Lucy loving the snow and running fast as.

South Carolina Trip

Just a few weeks ago Rob and I took a 4 day trip to visit my dad in South Carolina. We arrived in Charleston, SC on Friday, January 11th at 9pm and stayed at the Andrew Pinckney Inn in downtown Charleston for the night.
That night, it rained hard enough to prevent us from walking around downtown any further than one block to FIG's which was a yummy locovorian restaurant. The next morning, the rain finally stopped about 10am and we had just about an hour to walk around before meeting up with my dad. This was Rob's first visit to Charleston and it was way too short, so we'll have to go back for a longer visit in the future. He did get to see the condo where I used to live and where I went to medical school (the Medical University of South Carolina).
My dad, Buddie, drove to Charleston to meet us that Saturday afternoon for lunch in Charleston before driving us to his house in Fairfax, SC. It's hard to say for sure but I think Rob was most impressed with the mounted deer heads Dad has accumulated throughout the years, which is just part of the sportsman's paradise he has created for himself.
Here we are with my dad going for a drive in the Ranger, which is kind of like a golf cart on steroids. Dad and his best friend, Mr. Goat (a.k.a. Francis Hills), use the Ranger to get around on Mr. Goat's 600+ acre property, the Eu-Ral. This is where they do most of their hunting.
Mr. Goat's dog, Nancy, decided to come along for the ride. We had a great time with my dad who has always had great love for hunting and fishing and is getting to enjoy that as much as possible during his retirement. I am ever grateful that Rob sacrificed a great weekend of powder in Salt Lake to take this trip with me.

White Christmas

White Christmas in SLC!

The snow has been pretty good here over the last week, but tonight it is really coming down even in the valley. Looks like Christmas will bring a fresh blanket of the white stuff and the skiing will be almost up to speed for Utah after a slow start to the season.

Although the forecast only calls for 2-4 inches in the valley, we have had a solid four inches in the last few hours with no sign of letting up!

Before and After

Before

After

Before

After

View of the south wall with quiet new dishwasher, sink, loads of working space, and small bookshelf.

View looking to the front of the house

Kitchen Bliss

We are now back in a functional kitchen, which is really great after having to seek out the bathroom for running water in the house. The countertops installation was finished on Wednesday and that same day the new sink was plumbed, dishwasher hooked up, and later that night we hosted an impromptu holiday dinner for 12! Although it was put together last minute and when Rina invited everyone the kitchen didn't have running water or a flat surface, it was a fun night and a great way to break in the new kitchen.

Dina, Isla and Alison.

There are a few finishing touches we need to do still (glass doors in cabinets, backsplash, paint touch-up, and eventually finish the floor), but the space that is the kitchen is soooooo much more functional, spacious, and better looking than the last version. It hasn't been in for a whole week yet, and already we have made more meals (a tenderloin, pizzas, lasagne, gingerbread javelinas, flapjacks, more pizzas) than weeks of being in the last kitchen.

The north wall of the kitchen with the new over the range microwave, slide in gas range, and two new work surfaces. 2 months ago this space was occupied by a hulking refrigerator.

A closer look at the countertop. It is made of 100% recycled paper and cashew resin. Find more about it at paperstoneproducts.com

One of the nice things about the paperstone product is you can work with it like wood, so we had our installer rout out a built in drain board which looks and works great!

What an improvement this is. The fridge is tucked out of the way where the little laundry closet used to be.

Albuquerque Thanksgiving

Rina, Lucy, and I drove the 10 hours down to Albuquerque to spend Thanksgiving with my dad and his wife. Lucy traveled really well, just lying in her bed, getting up to adjust her position every once in a while. We stopped a few times so she could walk, pee, and drink some water, but it seemed like she would have been just as happy driving the whole way straight.

Just before we left, Lucy had started to demonstrate these mothering/nesting behaviours by taking shoes, toys, slippers into her bed and keeping a close eye on them. No chewing, just gathering up her 'babies' and watching them in her nest. This behaviour continued in ABQ, much to the chagrin of Jorge, my dad's little dog. Lucy collected all of his toys; foxy, chicken, piglet, hedgehog, and others and proceeded to nest in his bed. Jorge wasn't quite sure what to make of all this intrusion, so he did what he could - barked. All night. Hopefully he settled down now that he has his territory and toys back.

Lucy in Jorge's bed with Jorge's hedgehog, piglet, and owl. The freaky chipmunk with the disproportionately large head is the only toy/baby of Lucy's.

It was beautiful weather there and we hiked from the tram up the la Luz trail with the dog. She wasn't allowed on the tram to come down, so Rina, Lucy and I turned around at 1/2 way and Tom continued up to the top and took the tram down. This hike is excellent, and I would recommend it to anybody in the ABQ area. About 8.5-9.0 miles, it traverses 5 distinct zones as it ascends. The view from the ridge is phenomenal. It is a bit of a slog, but I am sure anybody could do it, especially knowing that you can take the tram on the way down (in itself worth a trip to Sandia Peak).

Thanksgiving eve hike on la Luz trail.

Rob and Rina with the Sandia Peak antennae in the background.



Lucy-cam shot of the la Luz trail.

Sandia Peak at sunset. This is the view from the back yard. Especially nice after a snowfall.

Rob, Eleri, and Susan (Sam in the background), walking along the Rio Grande in the snow.

More of the same.

The kitchen is coming along. Here are a few more pictures taken after the hardware had been installed. Appliances are sitting in the living room at present waiting for installation tomorrow. Countertop selection is going to be made tomorrow as well. In keeping with the 'green' choice of refinishing the fir floors rather than install new, manufactured flooring, we are going to investigate some of these eco-friendly options like Paperstone, etc.

Our new 'built-in' fridge. The final product really looks great, considering how uneven the floor is.

Natural cherry cabinets with new hardware. There are glass windows for the upper cabinets yet to be installed. The beam on the right of the photo posed yet another installation challenge, but Mike rose to it and it really looks good.

View toward the front door. Getting the refrigerator out of the main kitchen space really makes the kitchen feel a lot bigger. Not big by any means, just bigger than it felt before.