Another Wednesday

I slept with the window wide open last night and was awakened a couple of times by unusual-sounding train whistles; I'll soon get used to them again. It's gorgeous outside - beautiful blue sky, a few high clouds, birds singing, squirrels chattering, and (even though it's 7:30 in the morning here) lawn mowers are already in use at the Harvest House Hotel. I've had my walk, and the kits have been out playing in the dirt and the yard, chasing one another and generally acting the fool. I'll enjoy my walk with the red kids in a couple of hours.

Jim had his bone marrow biopsy done yesterday; results will be back on the 18th. I suggested that when Kathy got him home yesterday afternoon, she should plant him in a lounge chair under the apple tree that is buzzing from its honey bee visitors with something light to read and a good supply of whatever liquid he'd want most. She called to let me know they had gotten home and that Jim was enchanted and delighted by the idea, and was happily ensconced on the patio, with a good view of the back yard. - I just had to laugh out loud... the traffic reporter for the Denver area just announced that there is a herd of cows on the Boulder Turnpike, near Cherryvale. I know of very few areas where a herd of cows on the road has to be announced in warning about the drive into work. - With our recent snow and rain, we are lucky enough not to have to worry too much about wild fires at the moment. And the Sky 9 helicopter just showed the images of a man out water-skiing in one of the local reservoirs. Of course, the skier had on a full body wetsuit, as the water temp is still in the 30s here.

We have 3 confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu here in Boulder - all college students; one lives in a dorm on campus, and the other two live off campus. Friday is Commencement Day for the University, and most of the buzz this time around is about hand-washing and personal sanitation. - I am still shaking my head over one of Kathy and Jim's neighbors: The man had a 1900 square foot house (with attached 2 car garage) sitting on 1.3 acres, and if you drove by the lot, other than seeing the driveway, one saw nothing but a sweep of green grass and a line of Ponderosa pine trees (which the house sat behind). The man purchased another home in a different neighborhood and moved; then he found he couldn't sell his old house as it was (it was on the market for 14 months at a price of $750,000), so he had the old house razed, and has built a new monstrosity in its place. He had all the trees removed and the new house-front now sits about 30 feet from the road, and extends from one end of the lot to the other, with about 5 feet of yard on each end to separate it from it's neighbors. The new house is 400,000+ square feet, and has 3 attached garage spaces, plus a utility room. The house has a lot of solar panels on the roof, but is built with cedar shakes (which the flickers and woodpeckers will decimate) as siding. The new wood looked awfully raw, but I had decided I had to live with the way it looked... then it was painted - the shakes are the color of grey unused kitty litter, with cream accents. I now call the house "The Kitty Box." In any event, it's selling price is $2.3 million - in this economy, I doubt it will sell quickly. - Happy Hump Day!