I've really been neglecting my blog! I keep thinking about posting, but by the time I get off work and run (or sit down to read or watch TV) I don't want to do anything!
I keep thinking that after this Thursday, things can slow down enough to concentrate on some other things! I have a presentation for a grant at work (a BIG grant for trail work) and a school visit in Carson City for 100 4th graders all in one day!
The grant is for new interpretive signs along our hiking trails and also to take out two old toilets, replace one toilet and put a new one in at the Orchard (day use area). I got to learn all about matching funds and what it actually takes to remove and replace vault toilets! All I really wanted was to replace the signs along the trail and line it, so it's easy to follow. Our volunteer and I did a lot of work last spring to get the trail looking good, but it needs a lot more work, and new signs to replace the missing ones, broken/faded ones and the ones with swear words etched into them! The grant required 20% matching funds which includes pre-project planning and volunteer time, among other things so I had to figure in the amount of volunteers and their time, that it will take to get this project finished in the next two years. Thursday I have a 10-minute presentation to go along with the application. I was told to make it "pretty, snappy and very specific to the project." I think I've done that! Now all I have to do is learn the slide show well enough to do a good talk, and it's over! Still no idea if we'll get any money but it's been a VERY good learning experience!
Dave and I took a short trip to Monterey, CA last month to just get away for a few days. I'll have to post pictures of that trip soon. A friend and I also did the Hidden Cave Tour in Fallon a couple weeks ago. I'll post pictures of that too...but not in the next couple days!
My friend Wendy is coming to visit, and I'm hoping to make a quick-trip to Utah later this month because my nephew just got home from his 2nd or 3rd tour in Afghanistan for the Army.
I also found out that my friend Cherie lives about 4 hours away in Yosemite National Park, so I will need to visit her. Another friend is moving to Sacremento, which is only a couple hours away, just over the Sierras! So I will have to visit her too....plus I started a garden.
I only have tomatoes, strawberries, kale and parsely so far, until we have a space in the ground for everything. Then I will plant heirloom tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and hopefully rosebushes and phlox.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
No More Wine...(for a while)
I'm not Catholic...I'm Lutheran...but we give up stuff for Lent too. All winter I've been drinking too much wine. I LOVE red wine but it seems to kill any motivation I have for working out and doing things after work. I decided to start working out finally, and didn't drink wine for over a week (a week before Lent started). I decided to keep it going through Lent and take up jogging, even if it's a few times a week after work, on the treadmill. The very 1st day I jogged 2 miles and walked for a 1/2 mile to cool down. I still felt good, but my feet were numb and I knew I was going to be sore the next couple days.
Now I'm up to jogging 3 miles and still walking 1/2 mile to cool down and rest my muscles. I started lifting weights (light ones) and doing push-ups and sit-ups. So far so good! One month into it and I think I've lost...one pound!
Today I bought Dave a bottle of wine and we watched Wreck-it Ralph. I didn't drink any of it but it smelled good! We're both trying to be healthier and I think it's working! Let's see if we can keep it up...
Now I'm up to jogging 3 miles and still walking 1/2 mile to cool down and rest my muscles. I started lifting weights (light ones) and doing push-ups and sit-ups. So far so good! One month into it and I think I've lost...one pound!
Today I bought Dave a bottle of wine and we watched Wreck-it Ralph. I didn't drink any of it but it smelled good! We're both trying to be healthier and I think it's working! Let's see if we can keep it up...
Sunday, March 3, 2013
February Update
I haven't posted anything for a while, so I thought I'd write a quick update.
February was busy for me, at least at work! I will have to post pictures later about my trip to Las Vegas. I was the only one able to go to the interpreter's meeting in Las Vegas at the beginning of February. I would have to drive down on Thursday because the meeting was Friday morning. Google maps says Las Vegas is 6 hours from Yerington, but everyone else said it was longer, so I had to plan for a full 8-hour work day of driving down and one back. Suzanne, a coworker, suggested I get permission to spend my days off down there and come back on Monday, so that's what I did. I work with some pretty smart people....because I wouldn't have thought of that! I drove my own vehicle instead of the state truck--partly because I was spending my days off down there, and partly because I was nervous to drive in Las Vegas and I didn't want to have to worry about the state truck on top of that. Plus, my car gets better gas mileage and I can get paid back! So, from Thursday, Feb. 7 to Monday, Feb. 11 I was in Las Vegas! I stayed with my step-brother and his family so I even had a free place to stay and people to visit!
On February 14, Valentine's Day, I gave a talk about Fort Churchill for the Douglas County Historical Society in Gardnerville. I worked part of the day in the morning, took off early, and then drove from Yerington to Gardnerville. I left home at 5 p.m. and got there at 6:30 so I had time to find the place and set up. It turns out it was in this big, nice museum that I'd never been to! I have to go back now, when I have time to look at the exhibits instead of worrying about my talk! I had 43 people and had to use a microphone because the celings are high, the room was full of older people, and I have a quiet voice. I didn't get home until after 9:30 p.m. so I took time off the next day too.
I spent one day at the Division office in Carson City with Suzanne, looking through old files for Fort Churchill that would be useful to have at the park, and that might help me learn about Buckland Station, where I work. None of the artifacts in Buckland are original to the family and they were bought at antique stores or donated, so I wanted to know where they came from and if I could find any other information on the artifacts. No luck yet...but I have some leads!
On February 21, a group of paranormal investigators came into Buckland Station to see what they could find. It was just a small group from Reno, Ghost Posse. They were nice people and it was interesting to follow them around to see what they did. They had a lot of fancy, expensive equipment and took everything very seriously. I have my doubts on whether they will actually get anything on their recorders and cameras, but they said they will get back to me in the next couple weeks.
...and finally, my friend from Vernal, Louise Murch, came to visit! She stayed three nights starting on the 28th and left this morning (March 3). We did a ton of bird watching and visiting, and on Saturday we drove up to Pyramid Lake. It's so close, but neither of us had been there. In the next month there will be thousands of pelicans coming in to breed there, but we only saw some gulls, geese and a flicker. Oh yeah, and a bunch of ravens.
February was busy for me, at least at work! I will have to post pictures later about my trip to Las Vegas. I was the only one able to go to the interpreter's meeting in Las Vegas at the beginning of February. I would have to drive down on Thursday because the meeting was Friday morning. Google maps says Las Vegas is 6 hours from Yerington, but everyone else said it was longer, so I had to plan for a full 8-hour work day of driving down and one back. Suzanne, a coworker, suggested I get permission to spend my days off down there and come back on Monday, so that's what I did. I work with some pretty smart people....because I wouldn't have thought of that! I drove my own vehicle instead of the state truck--partly because I was spending my days off down there, and partly because I was nervous to drive in Las Vegas and I didn't want to have to worry about the state truck on top of that. Plus, my car gets better gas mileage and I can get paid back! So, from Thursday, Feb. 7 to Monday, Feb. 11 I was in Las Vegas! I stayed with my step-brother and his family so I even had a free place to stay and people to visit!
On February 14, Valentine's Day, I gave a talk about Fort Churchill for the Douglas County Historical Society in Gardnerville. I worked part of the day in the morning, took off early, and then drove from Yerington to Gardnerville. I left home at 5 p.m. and got there at 6:30 so I had time to find the place and set up. It turns out it was in this big, nice museum that I'd never been to! I have to go back now, when I have time to look at the exhibits instead of worrying about my talk! I had 43 people and had to use a microphone because the celings are high, the room was full of older people, and I have a quiet voice. I didn't get home until after 9:30 p.m. so I took time off the next day too.
I spent one day at the Division office in Carson City with Suzanne, looking through old files for Fort Churchill that would be useful to have at the park, and that might help me learn about Buckland Station, where I work. None of the artifacts in Buckland are original to the family and they were bought at antique stores or donated, so I wanted to know where they came from and if I could find any other information on the artifacts. No luck yet...but I have some leads!
On February 21, a group of paranormal investigators came into Buckland Station to see what they could find. It was just a small group from Reno, Ghost Posse. They were nice people and it was interesting to follow them around to see what they did. They had a lot of fancy, expensive equipment and took everything very seriously. I have my doubts on whether they will actually get anything on their recorders and cameras, but they said they will get back to me in the next couple weeks.
...and finally, my friend from Vernal, Louise Murch, came to visit! She stayed three nights starting on the 28th and left this morning (March 3). We did a ton of bird watching and visiting, and on Saturday we drove up to Pyramid Lake. It's so close, but neither of us had been there. In the next month there will be thousands of pelicans coming in to breed there, but we only saw some gulls, geese and a flicker. Oh yeah, and a bunch of ravens.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Living Room
The living room is finally put together! (Of course, I had to clean it before I could take a picture...)
Now, the last two rooms to finish are the mud room and "my" crafting room. Soon I'll have a lamp, small table for my sewing machine, chair, and *hopefully* a recliner so I can read or do my cross stitching. It's funny, whenever I'm in that room, the cat is there with me, either inspecting everything I've got in my hand, sitting in the window or sleeping.
I have to finish the 3rd bookshelf before I can use it and get more of the books put away...it's made to fit in a corner but it needs hosed off and painted. I'll probably use the rest of the camo-colored spray paint I bought for Dave that he never used. The other one ended up looking really good--it's flat dark green. I didn't know what it was going to look like when I started, but since I got it at the thrift store and it was really ugly, I decided no matter what I did, it wasn't going to look worse!
I have to finish the 3rd bookshelf before I can use it and get more of the books put away...it's made to fit in a corner but it needs hosed off and painted. I'll probably use the rest of the camo-colored spray paint I bought for Dave that he never used. The other one ended up looking really good--it's flat dark green. I didn't know what it was going to look like when I started, but since I got it at the thrift store and it was really ugly, I decided no matter what I did, it wasn't going to look worse!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Chicken Noodle Soup
Last week when I wasn't feeling good I decided to make chicken noodle soup. I went to the store, got two packages of chicken stock (without salt), carrots, and chicken breast. I heated the stock, cooked the breast, cut it up and added the veggies--garlic, onion, carrots and peas. I also decided to make egg noodles...
2 C flour
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 tsp salt
Enough water for a firm dough
You mix the flour with the egg yolks and salt, then keep adding water a little at a time to make a dough. Knead for 10 min, roll it out thin and cut into strips. The recipe says to let the noodles dry out for 2 hours, but I didn't do that and they turned out great! Boil them for 15-20 min in the soup and eat! (I added a whole jalapeno to simmer with the soup and it turned out amazing!).
2 C flour
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 tsp salt
Enough water for a firm dough
You mix the flour with the egg yolks and salt, then keep adding water a little at a time to make a dough. Knead for 10 min, roll it out thin and cut into strips. The recipe says to let the noodles dry out for 2 hours, but I didn't do that and they turned out great! Boil them for 15-20 min in the soup and eat! (I added a whole jalapeno to simmer with the soup and it turned out amazing!).
Update
Well, I caught my first cold in almost two years (or more). I left work on Wednesday feeling achy and sore, then I woke up Thursday morning with a cold. I called it a mini-cold, which Dave says doesn't exist, because I'm not really feeling sick, but I have a sore throat and I keep sneezing. Hopefully it goes away before I work on Sunday because I work two days alone this week! (I seem to get more work done that way anyway...haha)
Dave was promoted to assistant manager of the wildlife management area here. He has to start probation over again and he had to drive to Reno to be drug tested right away to get all that over with. Now he goes to management training with his boss and he's pretty excited about it. He will be in charge of seasonals, the mechanic and the tech who replaces him.
I only have one day off for Christmas--Christmas Day--so I'm hoping we'll go to Carson to spend it with his family. I really like his mom and his sisters...and cousins....and more cousins...and aunts! He's got one aunt who is 4 years older than he is and she just had a baby. I made a cross-stitched bib for her. Theresa, his aunt, loves dragonflies and I happened to have a pink and purple dragonfly design in one of my cross-stitching books. It's probably the easiest design I've ever done and it was really fast.
Other than that, that's about it. Work's going fine...we're finally replacing some of the mannequins in the museum and getting them new Civil War uniforms. The old ones are old and faded, and they look pretty bad. One of them is missing a few fingers, and one is missing a whole hand! I want it to look like we take care of the museum...since it's the first thing the visitors see when they come in to the park!
Dave was promoted to assistant manager of the wildlife management area here. He has to start probation over again and he had to drive to Reno to be drug tested right away to get all that over with. Now he goes to management training with his boss and he's pretty excited about it. He will be in charge of seasonals, the mechanic and the tech who replaces him.
I only have one day off for Christmas--Christmas Day--so I'm hoping we'll go to Carson to spend it with his family. I really like his mom and his sisters...and cousins....and more cousins...and aunts! He's got one aunt who is 4 years older than he is and she just had a baby. I made a cross-stitched bib for her. Theresa, his aunt, loves dragonflies and I happened to have a pink and purple dragonfly design in one of my cross-stitching books. It's probably the easiest design I've ever done and it was really fast.
Other than that, that's about it. Work's going fine...we're finally replacing some of the mannequins in the museum and getting them new Civil War uniforms. The old ones are old and faded, and they look pretty bad. One of them is missing a few fingers, and one is missing a whole hand! I want it to look like we take care of the museum...since it's the first thing the visitors see when they come in to the park!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)