Noticeably absent from my last post, I should cover our Christmas trip.
We drove to Iowa this year, due to waiting until early November to look for plane tickets, when they were already too high. Driving penciled out, including a rental car, so we bit that bullet. The rental also saved 3000 miles of winter wear and tear on Sarah's Subaru, and would have provided an immediate option to keep traveling had an accident happened. We had a nearly new Ford Fusion that performed better than initially expected.
We got to visit several friends along the way, had a couple days in Indianola with Sarah's parents' and brother, about 24 hours in Pella with many of those friends, and the Christmas weekend in Sarah's grandparents' garage, as per tradition. It all goes too quickly, as usual. We can't wait to see everyone again. If only Iowa were about one state closer...
Despite some wintry driving, we made the 3040 mile trip back without issue, and got to visit with my cousins Noah and Emily and their families, including newcomer Robbie, Emily and Sven's son. We only get a couple visits a year with everyone so spread out, so we have to savor what we do get.
Happy New Year!
1/16/17
Long, Pleasant Fall...aaand WINTER
It seems I've got an entire fall and half a winter's activities to update on.
Last fall already seems like ages ago. We didn't get any other overnight camping trips in, but we did get in several day hikes around Mt Helena and the Beacon. I'm proud to say I stood with Lane Gobbs in his wedding. It was a memorable weekend! Sarah's parents were here for a week in October, and we enjoyed having them. We were outside as much as we could be through the long, pleasant fall, then hunkered down once winter started, rather seriously and suddenly, in early December.
I made some passable rawhide from twin stillborn calves during calving season. I also built my first rawhide quirt, which has been dropped off with Jesse Munk to see how long it lasts and what can be done better next time. Besides a couple small scarf slides I made before Christmas, my rawhiding will probably be on hold for now: it's too cold to make any, we have limited space for braiding, and I need to prioritize house and dealership projects.
The majority of the progress on the house project has been the acquisition by the ranch of the Schmidt house (previously owned by old family friends) adjacent to my grandparents' house, and considerable cleaning out of generations of stuff in both houses. Much of the furniture in my grandparents' house has been stored for later use. It all takes time, and I'm trying to not leave it until the 11th hour.
We are still working on a floor plan that would make the best use of the site and have the features we feel a ranch house needs, eg: mud room and utility room access from the corral side; driveway visibility from the kitchen; master bedroom on the main floor so we don't have to climb stairs when we're old; etc. Despite months of internet searching, we aren't satisfied with what we're finding for ready-made plans, so we may need architect help. If anyone has insight on good architects in Helena or Bozeman with relatively short lead times, I'd appreciate it.
As for work, Sarah is getting more and more comfortable all the time, and is doing great. The dealership is slowly making modern changes, such as organizing shop space and planning more, attempting to keep track of inventories electronically, and drumming up winter tune-up work more aggressively. These changes are slow, however. There have not been as many winter tune-ups as anticipated, but that allows more time for other projects. The respectable winter and its icy roads have made it difficult to retrieve equipment, so I am actually thankful to not have a backlog.
I've been playing regularly with the Helena Irish session crowd, who have played at the Rathskeller in the Montana Club since September. The group is largely the same as it was when I left. It's great to be part of the community again, and to have that outlet.
We invested in skis at the Bozeman ski swap in November. Sarah now has a full setup, and I switched to telemark. Sarah has only been out once so far, and I've been out twice. She can already notice a difference between her good, newer gear and the worn out rentals she had been in. I'm glad that I committed to tele with the purchase of gear, otherwise it'd have been too easy to return rentals and go back to downhill upon discovering tele is actually quite hard. I'm still intrigued by it, and will keep on trying. We hope to get a few good days in this season.
Last fall already seems like ages ago. We didn't get any other overnight camping trips in, but we did get in several day hikes around Mt Helena and the Beacon. I'm proud to say I stood with Lane Gobbs in his wedding. It was a memorable weekend! Sarah's parents were here for a week in October, and we enjoyed having them. We were outside as much as we could be through the long, pleasant fall, then hunkered down once winter started, rather seriously and suddenly, in early December.
I made some passable rawhide from twin stillborn calves during calving season. I also built my first rawhide quirt, which has been dropped off with Jesse Munk to see how long it lasts and what can be done better next time. Besides a couple small scarf slides I made before Christmas, my rawhiding will probably be on hold for now: it's too cold to make any, we have limited space for braiding, and I need to prioritize house and dealership projects.
The majority of the progress on the house project has been the acquisition by the ranch of the Schmidt house (previously owned by old family friends) adjacent to my grandparents' house, and considerable cleaning out of generations of stuff in both houses. Much of the furniture in my grandparents' house has been stored for later use. It all takes time, and I'm trying to not leave it until the 11th hour.
We are still working on a floor plan that would make the best use of the site and have the features we feel a ranch house needs, eg: mud room and utility room access from the corral side; driveway visibility from the kitchen; master bedroom on the main floor so we don't have to climb stairs when we're old; etc. Despite months of internet searching, we aren't satisfied with what we're finding for ready-made plans, so we may need architect help. If anyone has insight on good architects in Helena or Bozeman with relatively short lead times, I'd appreciate it.
As for work, Sarah is getting more and more comfortable all the time, and is doing great. The dealership is slowly making modern changes, such as organizing shop space and planning more, attempting to keep track of inventories electronically, and drumming up winter tune-up work more aggressively. These changes are slow, however. There have not been as many winter tune-ups as anticipated, but that allows more time for other projects. The respectable winter and its icy roads have made it difficult to retrieve equipment, so I am actually thankful to not have a backlog.
I've been playing regularly with the Helena Irish session crowd, who have played at the Rathskeller in the Montana Club since September. The group is largely the same as it was when I left. It's great to be part of the community again, and to have that outlet.
We invested in skis at the Bozeman ski swap in November. Sarah now has a full setup, and I switched to telemark. Sarah has only been out once so far, and I've been out twice. She can already notice a difference between her good, newer gear and the worn out rentals she had been in. I'm glad that I committed to tele with the purchase of gear, otherwise it'd have been too easy to return rentals and go back to downhill upon discovering tele is actually quite hard. I'm still intrigued by it, and will keep on trying. We hope to get a few good days in this season.
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