B'day n more

Monday was Robert's birthday - he got the day off and spent it repairing the ceiling upstairs (the popcorn finish on the ceiling was falling off) and building covers for the outputs from the evaporative cooler. The ductwork was condensing the humidity from the house and it would rain in the house.
Susie got a stomache bug that really knocked her down and out for a couple of days. She is feeling much better so we'll be able to go to Robert's company xmas party.

Ouray

Well we've been eating our way about town. Last night at the italian restaurant called Bon Ton, today lunch was a gourmet veggi pizza at the Goldbelt Bar & Grill, and dinner we thought was gonna be a place in Ridgway but they weren't open for dinner so we went to the Outlaw Restaurant. But that is what thanksgiving is about, giving thanks for having entirely too much food right?
Of course when in Ouray one must visit the hot springs, where we spent an hour and a half. Afterwards we felt like overdone noodles.

It's gonna be really difficult to get back to the daily grind after this, but we'll need to burn off all the excess calories.

Robert is happy to that Nebraska finally got their act together and trounced the CU Buffs 30-3.

Turkey day

Well over the past few weeks we've had some real fun-n-games. Susie had strep that developed into scarlet fever followed by a persistant cold - Robert just got the cold. Last friday we went to the jam at Cafe Tasso but didn't join in with the main group - it was a bit too loud and out of control - but we were invited to join Robert and 'tall' Paul in a side room. That was some real fun jamming - we spent a bit more time actually learning the songs and playing them at a reasonable speed.

Today we drove down (over, up, whatever) to Ouray to just hang out and have a peaceful couple of days. We're actually staying at a Comfort Inn since they allow dogs (yes Kelly is here). We'll hit a restaurant just up the hill for dinner (No cooking - YEAH) and we'll check out the hot springs tomorrow.

Fall Fell

On Monday (17-Oct) the tree looked like:

Then on Saturday (22-Oct) it looked like:

What a difference a couple of days make!

It was a good thing we bought the bagger for the tractor - we filled 12 bags (45 gallon bags). The bags weren't fully packed down so we figure that we packed in over 250 gallons of leaves. Most of the leaves were from the front two trees.
The roof still has a bunch of leaves on it but we should get them down pretty soon (and clear the gutters).

The other tree (a sycamore) will still have some dead leaves on it come May.

Murphy's Law

We started to clear out some of the fallen leaves from the yard yesterday - the tree out front turned a brilliant yellow and has been raining down leaves for the last few days and the front yard was yellow with leaves. Robert tried getting the leaves with a leaf vacuum, it worked great but it was taking too long and the tree was dropping leaves as fast as he could suck'em up.

So off to Sears for a bagging attachment for the lawn tractor - of course they sold us the wrong model (they have about 12 models of bagging attachments). When we found out it was the wrong one we went back to exchange the unit (after documenting the model tractor). This time they didn't have the model in stock (it should be here Tues), in fact they couldn't figure out which one it needed so Robert had too look it up in their cross reference book.

With the Sears fiasco we missed out going to the jam in Hotchkiss, so no pickin' this week. But Robert did figure out some 'new' bass lines since there is a picker who plays mostly classic country that shows up in Hothkiss. Mebbe next time he'll get a chance to try them out.

It's about time!

Jim (see 04-OCT post) walked up and asked Robert to come to his office when he had a minute. The standard thought of OH $&*! came to mind. So he went to Jim's office and they hod a long discussion, involving outstanding issues/problems, whether or not Robert was happy there, and a raise. Hey Robert got a pay increase for the first time after nearly 5 years! WOO HOO!! CitLan was a bit too cheap in that respect - in fact during the three years we were there his pay actually went down every year!
At this rate next year he'll start making what he was paid in MI.

Meantime Susie is still in school, taking a course in assistive technologies. She convinced the instructor to let her presentation be on the excent program that she became quite the expert on at BOCES last year. This should another A (the grades came out for the last class and she got an A).

We went down to Hotchkiss for the Sunday afternoon jam at a restaurant. There were anly 2 other pickers, a third guy went out and got his guitar a bit later. There was some good pickin' despite the small turnout.

Apparently Denver (and the front range) got snow over the weekend - it only rained here but there is snow on the mesa - and it has been mostly grey until this afternoon when the sun came out. We hope to drain the water lines in the trailer this weekend before it actually gets cold.

One year and counting

Robert has been at MBC Grand Broadcasting, and in GJ for, a year now. What that might be good for?? Who really knows?! The company has a policy (?!?) to give employees a bag filled with candy (Well it's actually filled with that shredded plastic filler stuff and a some junk "food" on top) with some balloons, but they forgot. Robert told the GM that "somebody was falling down on the job" and guess what - about an hour later the GM walked into Roberts office saying the package showed up!! Of course it didn't have a card to id the recipient (it usually does)! Robert asked Jim (GM) if he "made a phone call" which he denied - in yooper they'd say OOH YAH SHUR YOU BETCHA. Robert asked a couple times about a raise Jim replied "a raise??" like what might that be. Hey he put in three years at the other place and didn't get one this joint should, since they keep talking about how good he is and how well the group is doing.

Meantime, Susie is still questioning her career path. To teach or not to teach, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to find a different gig or stick this one out and by doing so get paid more money. So Shakespeare isn't our forte but it does get the point across.

Back from the weekend

We spent the weekend at a retreat - as always a wonderful time. The trees weren't quite up to peak, but the weather was perfect. There were a few light clouds floating about that just helped light up the morning and evening sky with the sunrise/sunset colors.

As always no-one wanted to go home, but we all knew that we live in the 'real' world and can't stay in the beauty and serenity of that place and time, but we did get the opportunity to experience it and we will again - next year.

Memoriam

Val Lindholm
01-Jun-1942 01-Aug-2005
We miss you

Robert attended the memorial service for Val in Breckenridge today. It was a stirring event. There were many people there that he hadn't seen since we moved from Summit in 1999. Susie wanted to attend, but her classes prevented it. Many people there asked about her.

The Val's sons, Doug and Greg, were there and they setup a table with a large variety of pictures that Val had. There was also a painting that Val did (in the bottom left of the pic) of the cross on calvary. He wasn't particularly religious but he was astonishingly spiritual. The service mentioned several times that he had issues with organized religion. They also had on display one of his 'big books,' a daily reader, and his bible (very well worn, highlighted, and marked).

There was a potluck luncheon afterwards, with quite a few people in attendance. Robert wishes he didn't leave the real camera behind or he would have taken some better (quality and quantity) pix. He arranged to take it and promptly set it down just before leaving. He didn't notice the oversight until it was too late to go back and get it.

There was quite a bit of reminiscences of Val and his impact that he had on every one that met him.

Of course Bill was present. He forgot that he had his camera until later in the luncheon. So here is a pic of Bill being Bill - taking pix of everone there. We should work on him a bit to get a digital camera.

Broadband

Well the DSL line is up and running!!!!
Now we can really multi-task (on the technical side).

We had a fairly spectacular storm (for these parts) with wind, hail, rain, lightning, and a few power failures. The official rainfall was 0.97 inch. To put it in context, the average for the month (the whole month) is 0.91 inch. It doesn't touch what's been happening in the gulf coast area but it's pretty wild for here.

Susie is finishing up a presentation that is her homework for school - of course the DSL showed up after she was 90% done with it. The presentation she's putting together is supposed to be about 45 minutes long based on a chapter from the book for the class and she's been searching the web for the material to put in it. The school had some transparencies of the charts and lists from the book but most of them were missing (she found out that they were missing after she selected the chapter).

Robert spent the day at a transmitter site, since it was zapped last night by lightning. The radio group also just entered another "book" (ratings period) so the timing of the station failure was perfect (ala Murphy's law).

Neither of us got much sleep last night as a result of the phone calls; the equipment at 23:29, calls to the equipment trying to get it running, the 04:30 call from the other Robert that he found out it was down. Robert decided that the trip was too dangerous in the dark since the (long and very rocky) road was wet. In fact when he did go up in the morning he slid off the road at one point (just into a ditch with weeds) but he drove thru it.

Spam - n - more

We've turned on an anti-spam feature to the site since we've been getting spam comments. (we've been deleting the spam manually) It won't prevent comments - it just adds a step where you have to enter a displayed series of characters before it'll be posted. The feature is called word verification and it prevents bots from posting comments.

We went to the Colorado Mountian Winefest on Saturday. We found that our palates are in pretty good company, since the wines we liked were the Plum Creek Riesling which took Best of the Fest at the festival and the Old Town Winery Gewurztraminer (which is actually a sparkling wine and a bronze medalist at the fest).

Susie is still trying to get into the swing of being a student. At least she only has to deal with it for a year.

Robert ordered a DSL hookup so that should be up-n-runnin' this week. We're still looking into a domain name, so when we know what it'll be we will be changing email addresses to it. We'll try to keep the existing accounts active for a while afterward so we won't miss anyone.

Yeah!

Susie passed her Praxis test (teacher candidate test) - despite the fact she didn't think that she would.

Susie started classes this past friday evening and 8-4:30 on saturday. Right after she got out of school we headed out to Denver. We stayed with Robert's dad. We went to Denver for a business meeting that Susie had to attend.

Robert has also been working more on his linux computer. He retired the LinSpire software (it requires a paid subscription to keep it running) and moved to . It takes a bit more work but he likes the greater flexibility.

In a couple of weeks Robert will be going to the memorial service for Val (in Breckenridge at Father Dyer Church on Saturday, September 24th at 11:00 a.m.) but Susie will be left behind with classes.

The Sad News

Val passed away this morning at about 8 am - services will be held on Thursday in Kansas and a memorial service will be held in Breck sometime soon.

I B T D L

Well it's been quite the busy summer, busy enuff to keep us out of the blog for another month.

We got home from a jam and had a couple of messages. The first was that Ian (Susie's nephew) has a court date on Thursday (a long story that we might get into someday). The second was from Bill in Denver telling us that Val's son Doug was going to Kansas to be with Val. They don't believe that he'll be with us much longer. Doug posted the info on Val's blog as well. A saddening end to the weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Val and his family.

Meantime, Susie has been accepted in the Alternative Teacher Licensure Program at CCU here in GJ. We went to Steamboat Springs (where it was in the 90's). Robert has been tied up overhauling transmitters. But we did get a little pickin' in on Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Robert now has his 'new' desktop computer up and running using the linux package (Linspire) that he got at the NAB, which should help out with some of the internet stuff. We're also finalizing plans to get a DSL connection.

We're Back

We’re back. The last month has been a busy one. At work, Susie had the end of school chaos to contend with and Robert had three transmitters crash. Robert had quite a few long days. Susie has started looking into going back to school to get a teaching license in special education. She is hoping to get into a program by fall but weeding all the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) requirements is proving to be quiet daunting. She will need to take the PLACE test in July to get accepted.

We did manage to get in some pickin’. Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to the Old Blue Bluegrass Fest in Grand Junction and a couple of weeks later we were in Hotchkiss (Near Delta) for the North Fork Valley Bluegrass Fest. Our friend Diana drove up from Durango and camped with us. We got quite a bit of rain at Hotchkiss but we still managed have a fun jam with 6 of us in the 5th Wheel.

This last weekend Diana and her husband Bert met up with us at the Silverton Jubilee. The drive up and down Red Mountain Pass with the 5th Wheel was quite exciting. It was a good show but we had a lot of rain again. We didn’t get any picking in, it was just too cold and wet.

On our last trip, we noticed that one of the slides on the 5th Wheel was catching on the floor so when we got back we dropped it off for service. We are also using this opportunity to get some of the other warranty work that it needed complete as well as the trim damage that we got when we were side swiped by a truck hauling an ATV trailer last fall. We hope to get it back soon so we can be back on the camping road again.

Back from Durango

We rolled into Mancos at 19:00 and decided that the extra hour and a half of driving was a bit much. Oh well, so much for the best laid plans - we didn't stay at our friend's place we stayed at the Mesa Verde RV Resort outside the park. Robert told them about the South West Colorado TV Translator Association and got us a discount on staying there, because Allen (the guy running the place) didn't know why they could get CNN Headline News, Canadian TV, and a few others over the air (no satellite required).

We found out where the event was gonna be held and we had dinner at the Millwood Junction restaurant in Mancos. They were running a seafood buffet, the food was decent but the service was weird. The waitress didn't tell us about the salad bar, brought the wrong wine, disappeared for the majority of the meal, and hung around like a vulture after bringing the bill.

After a good nights sleep in the trailer we went to the event (a bit late to boot!). A number of the folks there were quite pleased to see us. It was a fun day. After playing a bit of music, we had dinner that evening with Bert and Diana (the folks that invited us down) at the Kennebec Café & Bakery in Hesperus (by Durango). It was a pricey affair, Susie wasn't too impressed by their paella but the swordfish was good.

Sunday we went to the UU church in Durango where we were also welcomed warmly. It has been about 3 years since either of us were there. We picked up info about their retreat in July which we might attend if we can't go to the international in Toronto.

We got back Sunday afternoon. There were no problems on the "shakedown cruise" so we're set for summer. That is if the dealership can actually fix the dipstick on the truck! They damaged it repairing the oil leak and damaged the replacement tube when they installed it. We're putting it in on Monday morning - hopefully it won't take too long!

Durango bound

We're heading down to Durango for the weekend tomorrow afternoon. It'll be the shakedown cruise for the trailer this year and we'll be staying on the property of a friend down there. We're looking forward to seeing some old friends, catching up on the gossip, and getting some pickin' in.

At Susie's work they've locked down the school since a girl (who remains unknown) was writing threats on the bathroom wall. Prob. trying to get a free longer weekend before school's out. They'll prob. lock down again tomorrow as well (since the threats included tomorrow).

Robert Passed!

We found out today that Robert passed his test at the NAB so he's now a Certified Senior Broadcast Radio Engineer (CSRE for short). Just in time since he has a SBE chapter meeting tomorrow morning.

Daze at the NAB in LV

We drove a good part of Monday heading to LV. About half the way there we discovered that the folks at Western Slope Auto (local Ford dealer) left the hubs locked on the truck and the truck started to whine. We'll get them to look at it later. The sunset was quite spectacular.

Robert's work put us up in the Sahara (mebbe it'll be the next one to get imploded) and the Vagabond Inn (where we stayed in 1999) was in better shape. Of course we went looking for the Vagabond Inn and found a gaping hole in the ground where it used to be ... but back to the rest of the story.

The test session was at 9:00 am and Robert left plenty early to find the room. As luck would have it about 20 minutes before the test was to start and while Robert was waiting (and having discussions) with a few others in the room Jim (the GM of the radio stations) called to see how things were going. The test itself wasn't too bad except that there were 3 errors on the test (out of 50 questions). 2 of the questions were from other tests and the 3rd had a typo that eliminated the correct answer. We won't know the results for a couple of weeks. Being the engineering type Robert noticed the repair guy on the sign and he wasn't wearing a safety harness (OSHA requirement).

We met up and hit the floors of the convention (BTW it completely takes over the LV Conv. Center and the Hilton - so that's something like 7+ million square feet of area to cover). We got to see the latest and greatest toys in audio, video, and film. Of course 90+% of it was beyond the scope of Robert's employer, but it is good to keep up with the stuff.
We joined up with a bunch of engineers for the engineering luncheon at the Riviera buffet. We met up with Larry Estlack (from Michigan) and Robert 'won' a copy of LinSpire, but they'll have to mail it - more waiting for stuff. It was here we started to collect stuff for our friend Michelle who was doggie sitting for us. We got a steel insulated mug (promo. material from DG Systems, a commercial delivery service).

We hit the floors again - this time in earnest (before lunch we only had 1 hour to look). Robert got the chance to 'harass' a couple of manufacturers that he deals with. One of them gave us a couple of fanny packs - another item for Michelle. After about 12 miles (Robert bought a pedometer just for the convention) we decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel for some rest before dinner. We hit the buffet at the Sahara (too tired to visit a different one) and it was fairly mediocre.
The second day we hit the floors again. We also got to visit the New Century Productions digital TV remote trailer, since it has the same ownership as Robert's work. It was a good thing we checked it out when we did because they were pulling it out to Caesar's for a fight that weekend. We were really putting on the miles! We're up to about 18 miles at this point. We did a late lunch at the Paris buffet. It was a bit pricey but well worth it!!!!

After a nap we went back to the convention for the Ham reception. They were giving away some pretty neat stuff (if you're a ham that is). But we didn't win anything. The lunch at the Paris was enough that we didn't eat dinner. We did however lose a good chunk of the money that we went there to lose (about $10 at this point).

Day three we went looking for Susie's old co-worker from her KHOW days (or was that DAZE!?!?) Fred Baumgartner who is with a TV equip. maker - we found the company's display but Fred was busy so we met up with him later. It was a bit of a neat reunion, lots of talk about the way things were and how it's changed. This day we went to a sushi joint on the strip called RA (raw - get it?!) for lunch . Here we found the pièce de résistance of the gift set for Michelle - a package that looked like a slightly oversized pack of matches that said 'Safe Sushi' on the outside with a red condom inside. We headed back to the hotel for some R&R before doing some more wandering. We had bought a 10 ride shareable pass for the monorail so we could go back and forth a few times.

We finally got to a meeting that was not too far away, but the traffic was awful. Dinner was at the Black Bear Diner. It is a chain based in California but it had good food and lot's of it. The staff was a kick (great sense of humour).

Now we're over 26 miles - we've walked a marathon so far and it is only Thursday, but the convention is over and we didn't take any pix of it!

Long time again

The last couple of weeks have been very busy, so we haven't had much time to keep up to date.

Last week was Susie's birthday (Monday the fourth) and she got for her birthday ... whilst she was taking a shower ... a ... a ... backed up sewer line. At least she was pretty well done by the time Robert noticed the water downstairs and told her to shut off the shower.

Robert has been busy with work - building a new studio - a couple of stations went down - a transmitter move was put on hold.

We are getting a reprieve from the daily grind, Robert's work is covering a trip to Vegas for the NAB Convention this week. We'll drive out on Monday and return on Sunday.

We received the automatic pet feeder for Klaus (cat) that we ordered earlier in the week. With this one we won't have to actually feed the cat again, the machine will take care of it. Of course we'll have to feed the feeder.

A different view

We've posted several pix out the back so Robert thought that we should post one out the front. Of course he couldn't take a "straight" pic and since the front door has a cut glass insert in it he shot thru it to make for a different perspective.

We've both received our NAB Convention exhibit passes. So we can check out the latest and greatest stuff for radio and TV. It's being held in Las Vegas (as it always is) and the company that Robert is working for is footing the hotel bill. While we're there Robert will finally get certified (we know that he's been certifiable for years) as a Senior Broadcast Radio Engineer - that is if he can pass the test.

Meanwhile, Susie got to join in the exciting activities of CSAP testing at one of the schools today. Watching kids sit and take tests for hours is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

We're finally out

We've finally emptied out the storage unit that we've had since September last year. So now we can mow the lawn, since it is growing pretty good right now. We also can't do much with the garage since it is full of stuff.

The first thing we did this morning was have breakfast with (and meet for the first time) a number of the local hams. It was at a restaurant just down the street, less than a half a mile.

I took a follow-up picture out the window to show a bit of the contrasts over the past couple of days.

The picture lines up with the View from Window. The subject of the pictures (and the background of the header) is Mt. Garfield, an easy subject for the camera.

Friday that should've been the 13th

Our day started at a little before 4:00 in the morning when the remote control decided to call. The phone however was downstairs and by the time Robert got to it, it gave up. About an hour later the morning show people called that the station was off the air - but it wasn't off, it was on the backup transmitter. So off he went at 6:30 in the morning. Then another station went down. He had to go to 2 different mountain tops to figure out what the problems were, and in both cases a tripped breaker.

With the weather as it's been it was amazing that going to both mountains the roads were clear.

Susie had a good and relatively uneventful work day. The Teacher at the Early Learning Center in Parachute took her out to lunch for an early birthday present. It was very enjoyable.

After work we had a craving for some Thai food so we decided to live dangerously and try a new restaurant, the only Thai joint in town. It paid off, we liked the food.

Another Michigan Day

The weather cleared up pretty good yesterday - so Robert had some time to work on fixing up the AM site so they can run 2 stations on 1 antenna. But today was another story - it rained nearly all day so he couldn't finish up that project and he couldn't find his keys in the morning so he was late to work.

Susie had a fun day at work, one of the teachers is leaving her position at the school and starting to work with the same organization that Susie works for. They had a good-bye and hello party for the teacher that included a geek-stripper complete with the taped glasses and greased hair. He only got as far as taking off his jacket but a good hard laugh was had by all.

Robert had a dental appointment - no problems just a cleaning and Susie was back in GJ early so we had an early dinner at the local Japanese restaurant (mmm raw fish).

A view from the window

Well Michigan weather has invaded GJ and here's what we saw out the back window:


Yes the weather is clearing a bit but it is cold and wet - hopefully the peach crop (a big deal around these parts) won't be affected too badly since the trees are already in bloom.

pickin' and more

Last night we went to Borders for a night of pickin' and grinnin'. Robert got to play with a band that needed some practice but the bass player couldn't make it. Susie is still fighting with a pesky little cough but got up to sing a few anyway. The other pickers kept speeding up the songs to the point of making them almost unplayable. Some people just like to show off.

This morning we went to the 9HealthFair. We stood in line for about 2 hours (not a joke!) for the blood draw. Susie had no problem but Robert had an intern that severely overshot the vein and had to call for help. The real phlebotomist had no problem. Otherwise the other tests we went through showed we are in good health. We'll see what the blood work shows.

There's been some new happenings back in Michigan at Robert's old work place. The PD for the oldies is moving to Baton Rouge. We wish him the best and now we'll have a new place to visit.

BTW the Oprah program mentioned in an earlier post hasn't aired yet and we don't know when or if it will.

It's St. Patrick's Day

Since the last post we've had the arrival of spring. The trees are budding and the flowers are starting to pop out.

A couple of weeks ago, we were in Denver at an Assembly doing volunteer work. Susie is the Treasurer for a non-profit organization. The weather in Denver was great-in the 60's. The Assembly went well and we had a fun weekend. The hotel charged for everything (even phone calls) so we got a bit out of the habit of posting.

This past weekend we took Kelly out for a walk along the Colorado river. There's a good path along the river over by the Colo Natl Monument. We had a cute pic of Kelly but the battery died in Robert's palm before he got it saved

We're still digging out the storage unit. We might actually get it emptied out this month. And we'll see about keeping up a bit better.

Saturday

I've had a few posts about this over the past month (In the News, It's about time?, It's V.D.) and the name of the nationally syndicated television talk show is the Oprah Winfrey Show. Obviously the folks at Robert's work are really excited about it. The air date for the program is still a bit vague, it's gonna be sometime this week. The morning show Robert (the other one) and Libby went to ChiTown for the filming on Monday. It's still supposed to be a 2 part program on pathological liars and we don't know which part they'll be in.

Robert received an email from a friend in MI that we were wondering about. It's good to keep the connections going, even if they're half-way across the country. We did hear that there were a few others let go of back there that we didn't know about. We're glad to be here where it's been warmer and sunnier than back there.

We made it back

After a long weekend of pickin' it's good to be back. We were pretty tired after all of that. We spent Sunday night at Robert's dad's place and had dinner at the Elephant Bar Restaurant.

Robert gave Bill a lift to the Greyhound depot so he could get back to Denver. Susie was in GJ for a follow-up doctor visit for her back (which is doing better day-by-day).

Otherwise it has been a fairly normal day.

Saturday at the fest

We made it back to the fest at about 10 in the morning. Not much was really happening as compared to last night where you couldn't hardly think because of all the jamming.

We went to Joe's room to get our instruments (we left them there because it saved us carrying them between hotels). Robert played with a few guys from the west slope and Susie went to a vocal workshop.

Robert received a few requests to join the Band Scramble because they needed bass players. A band scramble is where a bunch of people put their names and what instrument they play on a list and the organizers select (supposedly at random) the players to form several groups. These groups then have a few hours to select three songs and practice before a competition.

Joe decided that Robert was needed for the band scramble and signed him up. Susie signed up of her own free will. Robert was a bit reticent of doing it but Joe made that a bit easier by doing it for him.

Susie's group was the 6th group created and the 2nd group to perform. Robert jokingly called the group the Susie and the Geezers since there were a couple of guys that were over 80 in the group, but they were called One Lucky Girl, a send up of a local act that goes by One Lucky Guy. Susie sang I am Weary even though she is again fighting a cold and was a bit hoarse.

Robert's group was the 2nd group created, had an age advantage, and perfomed next to last. To put it simply it helps to have a kid in the group. In this case a boy named Cody, who played both guitar and mandolin quite well. He also sang the first song, Little Black Pony.

We didn't get a picture of the group that won, but they also had a kid in the group who played bass realy good - particularly since he was barely taller than the body of the instrument. That group also had Joe in it as well as several other guys who could sing and harmonize. Both of our groups were hampered by a limited number of singers. Robert's group did get 3rd place though and he got $16 and a ribbon for the showing, not bad for the first try! We'll definitely try it again.

We had to rush out the door immediately after getting getting the results of the band scramble to go meet friends for dinner at New Saigon. The Vietnamese restaurant we go every time we're in Denver. The service was very much so (as Robert puts it) continental drift. Robert got his meal after everyone else, and it took 15 minutes from the first person to until Robert got his. A very unusual situation for the establishment.

It was good to catch up with them since we hadn't seen a few of them in a year.

We got back to the fest at 9pm and there wasn't much jamming going on and we were both pretty tired so we headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

We're here

After putting in a half day at work and driving a few hundred miles we've arrived! We had dinner and took a break for a little while before heading over to the hotel where the jam is being held. We're staying across the street from it so we drove - quicker and safer than trying to walk it. We played with Banjo Joe (playing guitar in the pic) and Tall Paul (playing fiddle in the pic).

Meantime Uncle Bill is back in GJ taking care of the house and animals.

In memoriam

It's been a year now since Bruce (Robert's assistant in Michigan) died of pancreatic cancer. He left behind his wife Marge and 3 children Jack (now 7), the twins Rosemary and Natalie (now 2 1/2).

We sent them a christmas card but haven't heard back from them. We hope that they are doing well. He made quite an impact on everyone he met.

It's V.D.

At Robert's work a camera crew for a nationally syndicated television program (we can't say the name of the program yet) came in to tape an upcoming segment about pathological liars. This is in response to the lady that lied about the soldier being killed.

Although the station was the Moose, they filmed in the new K-Joy studio that Robert built. The story also made it to the Drudge report where they copied the story from the local paper.

Susie took the day off because of some back pain that started at work (prob. because her chair was a plastic school chair). We did get to have lunch together at the local sushi joint! Which will serve for our Valentines Day feast.

Tomorrow Robert gets to visit another transmitter site (if he can get there) and Susie gets to go to Glenwood Spgs. This weekend we're going to the Mid-Winter Bluegrass Fest we're hoping to have a good time and meet up with friends and Robert's family.

It's about time?

Well it's been a week for the books.
The footage that the 9 News crew took made air on the 8th. Click on the icon for the story.


Robert went to Parachute to try and work on the translator there and had lunch with Susie, but the road was ice covered with snow so that was a no-go.

On Thursday Robert successfully got up there but had to hike up and back about 8 times. It made for quite a bit of exercise.

The equipment didn't work right so he'll be going back in a few weeks. Maybe we'll have lunch in Parachute again.

Pete (Susie's brother) and Ione left today back home to the Washington D.C. area. They enjoyed their ski trip to Teluride but thought the lift tickets were a bit expensive.

In the News

Well KUSA 9 News the Denver NBC affilliate stopped by Robert's place of work (in fact they just left) regarding the very bizzare story of the woman who made up a story about a soldier killed in Iraq.

They spent some quality time in the Moose studio filming the morning show folks (Robert and Libby - but this Robert is really a Darrell, hey it's radio!) as well as the telephone interviews they had with the woman. We'll see if it makes air (mebbe even national) so y'all can see the studios that Robert is rebuilding.

That's Life?

Well Robert was testing a different photo posting program and promptly screwed up the blog for a few hours this morning. Those that might have seem a bomb blast on the page might have wondered about it. That was the program locking things up!

Kelly was mighty sluggish last night after the hike (the sign there did say it was strenuous - it was the truth). She bounched back pretty quick, but then again Susie made sure that Kelly took an anti-inflamatory this morning (as well as last night). We aren't moving too bad ourselves.

The weather is raining in GJ and up the hill (where Susie works) it's sorta snowing. Tomorrow we might even have lunch if the weather permits. Robert is planning to go to Parachute to install some new translator hardware above the town.

At least the last few posts have had decent pix on them since we've remembered to take the camera along.

On a new Trail

Today Pete and Ione took off on their journey to Telluride. After the usual Sunday fare of church, shopping, plus a nap, we went off on a journey of our own. Susie thought it would be good to take a little hike. It was decided that we'd try the Mt Garfield Trail.

Needless to say we weren't the first up that trail. There were plenty of scribbles on a rock about 1/2 km up the trail. We went up a bit farther but decided to turn back around because it was getting late and the trail was really (and I mean REALLY) steep. It was steep enough that the footing was difficult and one slip might mean a 200' slide down the side of the mountain.

We got home real tired but we had a good trip.

A Visit by Pete and Ione

Susie's brother David (better known as Pete in some circles - a long story that we won't go into now) and his significant other Ione came by on their way to Telluride from Washington DC. They arrived on Friday evening and after a dinner of Chicken Crockpot Enchiladas we went to the Borders Jam. Robert didn't take either bass but we both played a couple of songs, Susie took her mandolin.


Today we took a trip to the Colorado Monument. The weather was great, all of us had a good time.

Studio is done

After too much time the K-Star studio is done - now the jox have to actually get in there and do their thing. Robert's side of it was done yesterday but the computer guy was still working on it when he left at 19:15 last night. The folks at the radio ranch have nicknamed it Barney since it is very purple.

Susie made it back to work - and is feeling a bit better. They have a speech therapist that is only showing up part of the time. There are a few people at the place that want Susie to take the gig. They'd have to put her up on a waiver and she'd have to work on getting certified (we already know she is certifiable since she lives with Robert).
In a couple of weeks we'll be heading over the hill to the Mid-Winter Bluegrass Fest. We hope to visit with some of Robert's family when we're there.

It's Susies turn

Well Susie has the creeping crud now and isn't quite up to the task at hand - getting the house in order before her brother (David or Pete - depending on who you talk to) and Ione show up.
I spent about 6 hours yesterday at work - still trying to get the studio built - before the IT guy decided he was going home. The executive decision was that the studio wasn't gonna be ready for the Monday morning show.
The weather prognosticator was wrong again - it was a beautiful day with mostly clear skies and the temps in the mid/upper forties.

New blog name

It was decided to change the blog name and address because the blog was becoming more about the two of us and less about just me.
So that's the big change - the weather again was in the mid-forties and there was some drizzle, enuff to make the car look real bad.

Mocha went home

We met up with Val yesterday and he was happy to see Mocha again. We're sad to see him go but glad to see him back with Val. This is the last pic I took of Mocha at our place. I thought about taking some pix of the reunion but alas I didn't remember to take a camera. It's all for the best though.
Mocha was so excited he lept from the front seat of our truck (a 4x4 Ford F-250)and landed squarely on his head. Except for a lot of dust he was no worse for the wear. He then ran up to Val and barked and ran around and barked some more - it seems to be his way of greeting people since he did it nearly every day with us when we got home.
We had breakfast at the Outlaws restaurant in Parachute (where we met up) and had a good talk. It's sad to see Val hobbling about but his spirits are good and he is moving about - albeit slowly. Best wishes as always on getting back to normal - I'm sure that having Mocha back will speed Val along.

I've had tons-o-fun at work - still building a studio and today I was up the STL tower (a whopping 40' up) relocating an antenna. The antenna will carry the programming for the new station to the transmitter site on the Mesa SE of town (it was pointed almost due west).
Meantime the aging equipment in the house is starting to wear-out. We now have a zone valve, for the heating system, that is failing. Atleast this one should be covered by the insurance since it'll cost more than the deductible. I was hoping that it would hold out the winter then I'd have it checked out and (hopefully) have the whole setup (boiler & valves) replaced.
The weather is starting to get cold here again - the highs might only be in the mid forties tomorrow with the low pushing (but not reaching) the freezing point. A lot better than Michigan where the arctic has moved in (as it does there).

Another Sunday

Well I heard today that Drew dropped the pix of Charles from his site so I killed that stuff below. Drew also told me that Van Java bit the dust - I wonder what Keith (the owner) is doing with himself . . . and where are the speakers that I left behind at VJ??

I heard that curiosity killed the cat but what does it do to the dog?? Mocha has been exceedingly curious about everything from the vacuum to the hair drier even my air compressor (which I've been using to dust out the baseboard heating elements). He is ever interested in our cat Klaus and they chase each other about the house quite often - nobody gets hurt but it does get pretty funny.

I'm glad to hear that Val is back in Breck. I hope that his strength comes back so Mocha can rejoin him. It isn't that we don't want Mocha it's just that it'll be a good thing for Val to get his buddy back.

Susie and I have been working on getting the house organized (finally). I've rebuilt the entertainment center and have started putting the audio stuff back together. I'm a bit behind the curve since I don't have a Digital rated stereo but I've been working on a plan to build one using tubes or otherwise a pure audiophile class rig (I don't wanna spend that kinda cheese - and Susie would probably kill me!!) I've also been looking for some new strings for the upright - the steels on it are a pretty high tension type so they give the hands a bit of a workout. Mebbe I'll try some Pisastro Obligatos, with the skinny bass they should warm it up a bit too. I'm definitely gonna get a pickup for it which will prob. be a K&K Bass Max - good reviews and a decent price.

A week's worth

Last week we took the dogs out for an afternoon of frisbee throwing. Both Kelly and Mocha had a good time - the weather was more like Michigan in the late fall - a solid grey overcast and cool temps. (we forgot both cameras so no pix this time - sorry).

The week was overall a bit too busy for me - spent my time relocating the studio and came up with a nasty bit of a sinus infection - prob. from the dust combined with the cold. I did feel good enuff to go pickin' at the Borders book store here. We (Susie & I) both had a good time. The jam reminds me of the ones I put together at a coffee shop in Lansing - I wonder if Van Java is still in biz.

The next time the jam is scheduled Susie's brother will be arriving in town. We hope he would like to show up to it so we could keep in practice. They also gave Susie a number of compliments and had her follow up after a little girl who brought the house down. A situation that no one wanted to be in. Most of the pickers like the mic that I've been bringing, only one guy didn't use it and insisted on using his own setup.

back at the ranch

Today I started full time on renovating an existing studio for another station - the group is playing musical radio station studios and adding a new station to the group.

I feel better than yesterday but I'm still having fun with phlegm and a bit of a sore throat but not bad at all.

Thanx to Val and Bill for the condolences. Regarding Charles there are a few more pix of him at Drew's website Drew is the big guy in the middle for most of the pix - I'm in the first and last with my electric bass (pre-upright era but I still have and play it).

Susie has a worship committee meeting tonite and she told me to stay home and play with the dogs since the weather is better today (been too wet as of late - rain and snow - a good Michigan kinda snow).

A Sad Day

I was finally starting to feel better after the cold (I'm still not 100% but much better) when we receive word (see below) that a good friend (and great mandolin picker) passed away today. He lived in Nashville MI just west of Charlotte (pronounced shar-LOT) and hosted a weekly jam at his house (for a few decades or so I've heard) that we attended for most of the time we were in Michigan.

Charles Patrick
1932-2005



We certainly wish we could attend the services but our situation prevents it - we will never forget him.

Hello Folks,

For those who may not have heard, Charley Patrick passed away this morning, my understanding is about 8:00AM.

He had Heart Surgery and it seemed all was going well. He went home on Monday of this week, Tuesday he was taken back to the hospital and passed away today.

I know that he will be missed terribly by all of us. Charles was one of the finest, kindest people you could ever meet. His music will be missed, but most of all He will be missed.

An autopsy will be performed, and the funeral arrangements are not set yet. They believe it will be next Monday. The funeral will be ... in Charlotte. ...

Deja and Bonnie