UMTravels

No rain, but sun. Amazing. It’s winter in the Northwest. This interesting thing about the church in the woods is that you find yourself sleeping much later than you do elsewhere. I think it’s that the sun is filtered through the woods before it hits the church. If you waited for full sun it would […]

Finally. Relaxed times at the church. It’s quite a change from rushing around to this and that because I’m out for less than 24 hours. It’s nice to attack and “non-essential” project — like installing several more sets of speakers in the church — to give the sound a little space to bounce around in. […]

The original plan was to be on the 12:35 ferry. Not. John Weber was oven last night — until 3:30am while we were working on cleaning up a year’s worth of his email. So the new plan is the 3:35 ferry. If I can get out of here with answering mail, updating this blog, video […]

So, Wednesday on the way to the airport, Kennan and I stopped by Michelles for what turned out to be lunch with her mother, brother, and judge friend — this you’ve heard, but that’s the recap. During all the festivities she showed me this really cool book put out by the Onion — Our Dumb […]

Feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. I just got back home, but already more out of town plans are stacking up. Next commitments are: Lopez for New Year’s Victoria (and maybe Vancouver), January 5th-9th St. Petersburg, FL, January 13-17th (still tentative) Mexico’s Copper Canyon, January 22nd-29th Breitenbush,  February 14-19 Yikes! And speaking of travel, I made […]

Lazy morning of reading the papers before my chariot (in the form of Kennan) comes to sweep me (and my bags) off the the airport with a stop at Michelle’s place to visit with her, mother, and brother. Before I know it tamales are appearing out of the kitchen, along with a couple of bottles […]

Was out of the house at 8:30 — is that anyway to start the day. Not even a mimosa in site — but two squirming girls waiting for the old folks to get out of bed and get breakfast finished off. By 10:30 it was just a pile of dishes and detritus. The PlayStation 3 […]

…everything was stirring, even the mouse (or elf, as they used to call me). I’m guessing that the festivities will start around 7pm tonight with the non-church goers showing up earlier. Assuming that to at least be Karen, maybe Emily as well if the Canyon Road farolito tour is early rather than later. “Nothing good […]

I must be home for the holidays. And no wonder I spent three days in the mountains — if I say here at the folks, its lazy daze time. With three papers coming each day — and today being Sunday — yikes, what a pile of reading. I’m usually done with coffee and on to […]

The snow overnight was less than impressive. The weather reports for the last three days were predicting 8-10″ of snow for the Taos/Red River area. Around dinner time last night it started snowing…. and by the morning 3/8″ of the driest snow I’ve ever seen had accumulated. If I’d had a leaf blower — I […]

Well — I thought the snow as coming in this morning, but it is clear and cold and the kids are on the slopes by the time I get out of bed. Not my kids — but somebodies kids. Well, here is where my timeshare is located — at the bottom of the Copper Chair […]

Ah — the season of cute skiers and snowboarders has launched in Red River. After breakfast (scrambled eggs with leftover pork) I wandered around town in the rental car, stopping at all the other chair lifts in town, taking some pictures, and then checking the grocery store, and stopping by the post office for stamps […]

Picked up the car a little before noon…. turns out it’s a Hyundai Tucson mid-size SUV — so far so good — comfortable — adjustable steering wheel and armrest — 12v jack in the back — both cassette and CD, but no auxiliary input. Nice styling and just a little over three hundred miles on […]

Not So Good: So — now that I am two notches up on the United ladder (plebe, Premier, then Premier Executive — that would be me, now) I get to use the First Class/Airline Personnel/Premier Exec check point short cut — there were twenty people in the line. Mind you, this was better that the […]

The place is clean, the beds made — all in time for lots of people to mess them up. Picked up a David Illes painting that had been in storage on the hill for years, only to put it in storage in the garage — might change the art in the house for the new […]

Oy what a day. The office looks like a bomb hit an electronics store. I have cute boys sending me notes and actually getting me to chat with them. How am I going to get the place cleaned up for BBHa and Belle, let alone get packed for Santa Fe. At least I unburied most […]

So — on one of the recent trips to the island, I got this big envelope in the mail from somebodies class action lawsuit about bank fees charged on overseas transactions. I have three choices. Take the minimum $25 payout, figure out how many days I was overseas in the last ten years (from February […]

Got out of the house about 1:30 for the journey south to Olympia. Lots of items on the agenda today. Taking the bimmer down since it hasn’t been on the road in a while — and it’s a good thing I did since the battery was a little sluggish starting. It also gets better gas […]

Even off season, the ferries are trouble. The fall schedule has ferries leaving Lopez at 6:40, 7:40, 11, and 1:35 (and later ones). The 11am ferry guarantees to only takes 22 cars (but more if there is space) which means showing up at least an hour early. If I wait for the 1:35pm ferry, I […]

By the time that cocktail time hit this afternoon, the poo line (aka sewer line) work is done and glued up. The shower drain, venting, everything. Next trip is to move the water meter to make room for the footer for the shower closet. Dinner tonight was a wonderful 1999 Le Cigar Volante (yes, I’m […]