Summer

As a teacher I LOVE summer. I have been able to do some biking, yard work, and visit the Green Dump. I have attended many great classes (ecology, science notebooks, science curriculum) and am keeping busy. But the weather has been great and I'm enjoying every minute of a much needed break. Here are some photos of the past few weeks.

Last week we celebrated Blayne's birthday. Here's Blayne modeling Eric's gift for everyone. "This is why I'm hot" was an instant hit.


The morning before I went up to Drake to help Mark roof his house, Joanna and I took an amazing bike ride through Masonville. We made it up to Horsetooth Reservoir and posed our bikes so we could take a quick break. It was a GREAT ride.


Here's the front of the house Mark and Sarah are building near Drake, Colorado. It's going to be amazing and it has been fun helping them along the way.


Here's the south side of the house (Rokon in front!) and you can see how much Kathy and I got done on the roof. We made some progress.


Here's what Eric did while we were roofing. Actually, he watched the dogs and made sure we were all well fed.



During the heat of the day, when roofing shingles burn, we went down to the Big Thompson River to splash around. Here's Mark trying to soak one of the dogs...


Eric coaxed Audrey into crossing the river. She wasn't to sure about it!


Mark was throwing a ball for Nikita to fetch in the rapids but when the dog failed to get the ball it almost swept down the river. Mark ran after it and unfortunately fell over- but he did manage to get the ball!



Kathy and I finished this side of the house, which is the laundry room. It was a lot of fun cutting in, though I was designated to the edge of the roof since I don't seem to fear it as much as the others. I think I could actually roof a house on my own now, which is scary!


Eric made Kathy a steak that night and we all had an amazing feast of meat and smores. Until the house passes code there is no running water or electricity so we made a campfire. Eric sure can grill!!!


After 10 or more smores, Mark decided it would be fun to spit alcohol into the fire. Here's the result.


We are headed out on vacation in a few weeks so I'll be sure to post pictures of our travels down south.

Jen & Eric 172- Subaru 10

Eric and I fell in love with biking last summer on our trip to PEI. Of course we had grown up biking in our neighborhoods, but as adults we hadn't done much cycling. I bought a Kona hybrid named "Hoo-Ha"-seriously. See My Hoo-Ha
I cross trained on the Hoo-Ha while living in Nashville, and occasionally would ride around Greeley to get around-but honestly, I didn't do much riding. Then we were invited to bike/camp on Prince Edward Island last July. I bought Eric a hybrid bike and off we went. Since then I've logged about 700 miles on the Hoo-Ha, and another 600 on my new Trek. Eric has done a great job of riding his bike to work whenever the weather is nice, and that brings me to the title of today's blog.

This week Eric and I rode a combined 172 miles and we drove the Subaru a total of 10 miles. Basically, that breaks down to a savings of $25.80 (172 miles, 26 mpg city mileage, 6.6 gallons of gas @ $3.90/gallon) If you want to log your own savings and see how many others commute in your community by biking/carpooling/public transportation, check out SmartTrips. We just calculated our gas savings, whereas SmartTrips actually calculates CO2 emissions, and average daily savings based on how much it costs to own a car-which is something like $0.70 per mile. Not only did we save money, but I feel great. I'm getting in better shape and I have more energy when I get to my destination.

I think that the city of Greeley has a street system that is bike friendly, but motorists aren't exactly cognizant of bikers. However, if more people start riding (and that may begin happening with gas prices so high) then maybe Greeley will become more bike friendly like Boulder and Fort Collins. So, next time you are going to run a quick errand , pick up your helmet and hop on your bike instead of grabbing the keys. Who knows-you might fall in love with bike commuting just like Jeneric :-)

Here are a few pictures to update where we are in the landscaping process...and cute Baby Erin pictures I wanted to share with everyone.

Kathy and I took Erin to Estes Park when we were babysitting her for the day. Deborah was in Estes Park at RYM camp, so we took the baby to visit. She wouldn't sleep in the car until we were ready to get out, so we plunked her in her stroller and she was out cold. Look at that belly!


Erin was talking to Blayne across the room...she sure is crazy like her daddy.


Here is the walkway I created from rocks I hounded up near the Green Dump. Mark is kind and lets me take all the rock I can haul from his new house in Drake. We are in the process of mulching the beds and planning what fun natives we will put in. (Not Native Americans, native plant species) Cache is in what we have deemed "the jungle" where she can hunt bugs and other critters yet still bark at everyone who walks by. My plan is to tackle the jungle next week and have it mulched as well.


Here is the updated garden. I've added some annuals near the birdbath, and the veggies are taking off. We eat lettuce everyday and can't pick it fast enough. The peas are just about ready. I plan to replant some of these cold weather lovers in the fall.


Our back porch area is waiting on someone to scrape the carpet glue off the cement so we can coat and stain it. Then it will be time for a pergola and lots of fun entertaining items (firepit, tables, tiki torches, solar lamps, grill area, etc...)


Erin loves her "E'ic" She loves to give kisses and flirt!

Yummy

Many of you know that a tornado ripped through here a few weeks ago, and hit Windsor, a town about 10 miles west of us. After I heard that the hardest area hit was near Water Valley, I began to panic.

Last spring Stefan, Eric, and I went bike riding on the Poudre Trail to Windsor/Water Valley. We noticed a lot of commotion near some new businesses so we veered off the trail about 100 yards and found that a new coffee shop was celebrating a grand opening. We were on our way home (and hungry) and this place was giving away free drinks and hot dogs! How convenient to have a coffee shop directly on the path I loved to ride (and only 16 miles from my house!) Lattes, Walrus ice cream, shave ice, burritos- you name it, they had it! Stefan and I began making this a biweekly 32 mile round trip journey, motivated by our favorite biking drug-caffeine. Why blood dope when you can legally imbibe matte or coffee to biking greatness?

Can you see why I was in a panic when I heard the F3 tornado hit Water Valley? I thought for sure the Bungalow (that's the name of our beloved coffee shop) was demolished. Ironically, Stefan had been headed to the Bungalow when the tornado hit, but he decided to turn around when he the hail began pelting his helmet...
I know, you want to know if the shop is still standing. And thankfully it is. With great weather this month I've been there 4 times in the last two weeks. My new favorite is their cinnamon roll with a cup of their house blend. Take a look at this treat...


It's heaven when biking. Two minutes later...


Hope you can make a bike ride with me to the Bungalow soon (or even meet us there for a late morning cup of coffee). Here's to 100 miles next week and many more cinnamon rolls...

Love Thy Neighbor

All week my dad has been belting his bluegrass songs across the neighborhood as we took the porch down, put a new roof on, and installed gutters. His favorite goes something like this...

"If you don't love God, you can't love your neighbor. You've got to love God to love your neighbor..."

During this time he had many encounters with our neighbors. First, "Bob's wife" (we don't know her first name, but the sign on the garage says "Parking for Bob" & "Parking for Bob's Wife" so that's how we refer to them) came over and chatted about the house and the neighborhood. She had many tales to tell, having lived in the house for over 15 years. She was very pleasant and I even found out she is a musician. Our other neighbors, Lane & Amy, came over with their little girl to say hi. Then our older neighbor, Maxine, had a long conversation with dad about the house and life and even gave me some space next to her house to plant tomatoes in! I often wonder what people think of my dad, but they seem to smile and listen, so I guess it's ok :-)

Many of you know that we have the meanest, city code calling neighbor in Greeley. The day we closed on our house, the city put a notice on our door that the hedges were too high and the grass was too long. Later that month we had a notice on our door that our dogs were barking too loud-while inside our house! Then, one Sunday night, we got a knock on the door from a police officer who was called because we were watering on the wrong day...even though Sunday was our day. Everyone in the neighborhood despises this "Codger." You should hear the stories. There's cat trapping, restraining orders, yelling fights, and everyone knows who he is but no one talks to him. That is, except Ed. Yes my friends, I have evidence that my dad is a miracle worker and that he takes his bluegrass music to heart. Here they are, engaged in conversation, and I think Codger is smiling! (I remained incognito by pretending to take pictures of the house)






He isn't even neighbors with these people and I think he's had more conversations with them this week than we have in two years. Maybe Eric and I can learn from his example and should heed the advice in the song.

Here is a picture of the front and one of Eric wielding the nail gun.


We still have lots of landscaping to do, cement to finish, shutters to put up, a porch to screen in, and lots of touch up painting and sealing. I haven't been able to get a picture of the gutters since all it has done is rain for two days. If you don't hear from me, just stop by and chances are you'll catch me in the yard!