This time of year Mother Nature is bi-polar.  Tuesday it was 70 degrees and yesterday it wasn't.  March is the snowiest month in Colorado.  Last week we got six inches of snow.  And it was pretty much gone two days later.  Yesterday we had a crazy spring blizzard and got sixteen inches of snow at our house on the west side of Denver.

Denver International Airport was delayed from the get go.  The power was out and they couldn't fuel or deice the airplanes!  It just never got better.  The wind was gusting so much that the visibility dropped to zero and nothing moved.  The road to and from the airport was closed.  Needless to say I did not have to go to work!

Bryan played with his snowblower pretty much all day.  Our driveway is clear.  All the sidewalks are clear.  The elderly neighbors sidewalks are clear.

Oh.  And it's supposed to snow next week too.   Happy Spring to you!

*  My parents dug up and thinned their rhubarb plant.  They had 20 little rhubarb plants and they brought them to my house!  I already have a ginormous rhubarb plant that probably needs to be thinned as well.  I posted on Facebook and got a few hits.  But then I posted it on Nextdoor.com and it got cleaned out within a few hours.  It's pretty hardy stock, it was in their backyard when they bought their house.  My parents bought their house 20 years ago and they bought the house from the estate of the people who built the house.  It was funny how excited people were to get rhubarb.   Apparently I've been taking it for granted!

Happy St. Patricks Day my friends.  Be safe!

It's Wednesday again and that means it is time for the weekly yarn along.  I'm joining with Ginny and everyone to share yarn and books.  Once again this week I have been working on Colorado Hats.  I have started the second to last order.  But that doesn't mean I'm done...I need to make one for my brother and Miss C.

I have also been experimenting with a headband.  This one I single crocheted and chained 110 because I'm going to attach velcro closures on it.  I made the "C" a little bit flowery so it will be a more feminine.  I also plan to experiment with headbands that are just one circular piece as well.
I am also working on a little something for our Yarn Along host, Ginny.  Tracey is hosting a virtual baby shower.  Let's just say it's in white cotton yarn.

I finished the last audiobook of the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy by Nora Roberts.  While I love Nora Roberts books this series was a lot predictable and redundant.  I am now listening to The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (who is also JK Rowling).  I am really enjoying it so far.  It's a lot better than her book The Casual Vacancy (which I thought was horrible).  In actual book form, I just started reading The Hour Game by David Baldacci.

Happy Yarn Along Wednesday!

Saturday was BUSY!  First up.  The St. Patricks Day parade at Union Station.  We took light rail down to the station and watched the parade from across the street.  We thought it was only going to be a couple of hours and then we could get along with our day.  Nope.  The parade was 4 hours.  The first half of the parade took over 2 hours.  We left a quarter of the way through the second half of the parade.

Next on the agenda...a food swap.  I met with my foodie friends and exchange homemade goodness.  I took eggs and in return I got a steak & Guinness pie, granola, vegetarian green chili (that burned my mouth it was so spicy- Bryan will love it), apple crisp and some lovely spelt sourdough!

After the food swap I raced home to change clothes and pick up the fam so we could  go to Miss C's school fundraiser.  This is an annual fundraiser we do for scholarships and school supplies.  It was mass chaos with kids running around getting their faces painted and pictures taken!  There was also a balloon guy making what looked a gazillion balloon swords for the boys.   The food was delicious and I might have gone back for a second BBQ brisket sammie if I hadn't wanted to save room for dessert.

And then we lost an hour and I was tired yesterday.  After I got home from work I couldn't sleep and then overslept this morning.

Happy Monday my friends.

I started January with the goal to pay off two medical bills totaling $511.  I only was able to pay off the smaller bill which was $214.  I paid $28 towards the second medical bill.  Since then I have paid another $60 towards that debt, leaving $209 and some change.
I did win a contest at work that was held in December.  The $500 payout came at the end of January.  I could have put all of that money towards the second medical debt and perhaps I should have.  But instead I bought $200 worth of groceries completely wiping out our shopping list.  I about died in the check out line when the checker totaled the bill.  Without the coupons I used the bill would have been A LOT more.   I paid a couple of other monthly bills with that money and then it was gone.  (I may or may not have bought some yarn with that money...).

I have been arguing with the hospital over the second bill to no avail.  The bill is for an emergency room visit from when Miss C fell off of her bike.  The insurance is in Bryan's name and he is the one who took her to the emergency room.  I wasn't even in the state yet I am the responsible party.  I just like to argue with them, it makes no matter, we are still her parents and we'll pay it together.  I was just irritated that the bill came to me.  

Anyhoo, I was on vacation in January so my two February checks were small.  I can't even begin to explain our pay system from where I work (it would take several blog posts for that!).  Basically we get paid a month behind.  The first check is per diem from the previous month and the second check is overtime and bonus money.  So by working fewer hours in January, I got a much smaller paycheck in February because there wasn't as much of the extras.

I didn't drive as much for Uber and Lyft because my car tags expired at the end of January and I was waiting for them to come in the mail.  I don't drive all that often because of my work schedule and being home with Miss C.  However, that extra income is pretty nice.  I've paid some towards other bills and paid for my new car tags.  My plan is to drive quite a bit in March and knock out the medical bill by the end of March.  I've got my pepper spray within easy reach in my car and I've actually not felt like anyone so far was too scary to drive.

Thanks for helping me stay accountable.

*  Holy wind.  The wind has been blowing here for weeks.  Some days more than others.  Yesterday I think my welcome mat may have blown to Kansas.  The gusts were over 50 mph!  No good hair days here.

* It's been pretty warm here.  In the 60's.  Tulips are coming up.  Spiders are coming in the house.  I've been spring cleaning.  Kind of.  It's more like organizing and cleaning clutter.  I'd open the windows if it didn't mean I'd have to dust the second I closed them.

* I have a new favorite beauty product.  Aveda Composition Oil.  Denver is very dry and my skin is even drier in the winter with the cold air.  To get into work, I have to scan a badge and then fingerprint in to get through the gate.  In the early, cold mornings I have a hard time fingerprinting in. I've been using the composition oil after showering in the morning and then again at night as a base under my hand cream.  It's not a greasy type of oil, it soaks in very quickly.  Plus it smells good!  It can be used in the bath or directly on the skin.  I can't wait to see what it's like in the summer after I've been working in the garden all day!  (Just so you know, I was not compensate for this post.  It's completely my own opinion.  I did get a free bottle though, as a birthday present from Aveda for being a rewards member).

Happy Thursday my friends!

It's Wednesday again and that means it is time for the weekly Yarn Along.  I'm joining with Ginny and everyone to share yarn and books.  While it seems I've not really made any progress on any project, I have three completely finished Colorado hats ready for the recipients.  And I have one hat on the hook and another partially finished.  That means I have the C and the hat, the ends are woven in.  I just need to make the fleece liner and sew it all together.  And then I only have five orders left!

I have started section three of the stitch block cowl I have been working on.  In fact, I've started it seven times.  With a little help from a mama in our Dragon Club (aka, crafting group) I am on the right path.  I am religiously using lifelines every six rows so I don't have to rip back too far if I make a mistake again.  I hope it is just cold enough to wear it this year.  It is March and that is our snowiest month...
I have read a string of bad or just ok books.  I am listening to Die Again (a Rizzoli & Isles story) by Tess Gerritsen.  And I am reading Unspoken by Lisa Jackson.  While both of them are suspense thrillers, they are a light enough & easy read that is just what I needed right now.

Happy Yarn Along Wednesday!