Mike Is Leaving...

My thermostat says it's 65 degrees here in the apartment, but my body doesn't believe that - it feels more like 55... When I arrived home last night, I let the kids run outside for 10 minutes before I got cold enough to close the door, and both kits were back inside. Then we watched the end of the Packers-Lions game, and went to bed and snuggled all night. When I went out at 7 this morning, it was 17, and the wind was blowing... Chilly! They say we'll have seasonal temperatures this week, but no snow. That means highs in the low 40s and lows around 20, so I guess I'll have to dig out my long johns so I can stay warm while walking the dogs.

   Mike is due to move to Hawaii on Friday, and I don't know when I'll see him before he leaves. Normally, we'd have a family get-together - at least a close family dinner - before he leaves, but he's scheduling times to see friends and folks that he grew up with, so Kathy, Jim, Sarah, and I might not really get to spend time with him before he flies away. Just last New Year's eve, he asked Annie to marry him, and had purchased a 1.5 carat solitaire for the engagement ring. Annie said yes, they had a quiet weekend together, and then she shipped out for Basic Training. Mike and she had discussed their life together, including kids, and Mike's being the stay-at-home Dad, while Annie got her medical degree via the Army. She didn't read the fine print in her contract, and now wants out. She didn't save any part of her salary, and has spent all her pay on clothes and new gadgets. Mike had a big spring bash for Annie, at his folks' house, to celebrate her finishing training and their engagement. After the party, she admitted that she had had to borrow the plane fare from her parents, had already sold her engagement ring, and was sorry, but didn't think she could spend her life with Mike. (She had been asked about the whereabouts of the ring, and had told him that she couldn't wear the ring while doing her Basic, had gotten into the habit of not wearing it, and had forgotten it and left it back at camp.) Mike felt like he had been rolled over a cliff and stomped by buffalo at the bottom. He decided to get rid of all extraneous belongings and start over - in Hawaii. One of his best friends has family there, and they will help him settle in and get a job... I'll miss the young man.

  The Fern Lake fire up in Rocky Mountain National Park has been covered by over six inches of snow - but some large trees and areas are still smoldering. Officials said that the fire is 80% contained today, and that they expect it to be burned out and dead by December 31. Only one cabin was burned in the fire, but over 7 square miles of pasture, brush and trees has been burnt. The following photo was taken last week of the only burned building; it is copyrighted by Scripps Media: