Yesterday

We are getting a taste of what it would be like to live here at the cabin during the winter months. We are snowed in! Our neighbors called this morning saying they were going to try and see if it was possible to make it out or not and asked if we were planning to leave, and if so, could we all caravan together for safety.

We said well ... we weren’t really planning on trying to leave until Sunday and as yet had made no move to get things packed up. But, if they were going out and not coming back in until Sunday afternoon then there would not be anybody around to help us in an emergency. They said they would call when they got back from their scouting trip.

In the meantime, Rick and I started to gather things and begin our task of packing up just in case they found it was possible to leave. We are a pretty good team when it comes to who does what in the whole process.

We were pretty much packed except for the fridge and Rick was starting the chore of putting on our newly-made shutters on the windows when we got a phone call from the neighbors. Getting out was not possible. They had only gotten just so far, passed a few pickup trucks stuck in a ditch, and found that the main county road we would need to travel from the Wyoming/Colorado state line in to Laramie had not been plowed. Not only was it not plowed, but they had no intention of plowing it until they were certain they could keep the road open because the wind which was drifting it continually. (A very common occurrence up here.)


Hailey says phooey! I didn’t want to go home yet anyway.

So, Rick took down shutters he had already put up, brought in things that were already packed in the truck that might freeze, I unpacked a few things on the inside and we settled in once again. We left the suitcase packed and things are sitting around in bags and boxes, just waiting for the inevitable all-clear call.

There is one slight hitch though. We decided to strap on our x-country skis and ski up to the neighbors to see what condition the road was in to their place and see what drifting had taken place. It’s not a pretty picture. Well, it is a pretty picture if you have no where to go and don’t care if you get out. Here is the road in one direction. The turn on the left that you can see is the road that leads to our driveway. I stood in one position to take both of these photos. The second photo shows the road that goes past our neighbors’ property and you can just make out there gate posts in the distance.





If you can’t tell by looking at the photos, it doesn’t look good. We could maybe get up off the road and go cross-country where there is less snow, but even that poses it’s problems. Here Rick tries out a possible path.





The wind is pretty much relentless today, carving and shaping the fresh snow. I just wish Mother Nature would practice her art only on the hills and not on the roads.


Right now I am thinking that Pioneer Woman has nothin’ on me.

P.S. I should have added that we have enough food for about three more days or so, plus (very important) wine. We are fine except that Rick really does need to get back to work!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad at the cabin 8,650 feet above sea level

I am taking a short break from blogging. Not sure when I'll be back. I might return in a few days, or a few weeks. Losing Alex has pretty much wiped me out. I need a little time and space to  heal.

We are heading to the cabin on Wednesday, September 18th. I may or not blog publicly from there. I may just blog as a diary for myself. I am just not sure. So, check back often.

Photo: Broken

What can you really say about a dog bigger than life itself? A beautiful representation of his breed. A Boo. Our Alex. Gone from us in person but forever in our hearts.

Yesterday morning we had to say goodbye to Alex. I am still numb and in denial, even though we were there when he passed. It happened so fast. One day he was eating heartily and bringing me toys, the next in extreme distress. It just doesn't seem possible. But it is.

The cancer won in the end. One of his lymph nodes inside his body had abscessed and had become very large quite quickly, pushing his intestines all to the front and causing him extreme pain. All the doctors agreed he was not a good candidate for surgery, and without surgery he was going to die a horribly painful death. We had to let him go. He was pretty well medicated with pain meds, but before he left us he gave us a little grin with a twinkle in his eye which we both keep replaying and replaying in our heads.

The house is so empty without him. 

He didn't make it to the cabin.

Our hearts are broken. 

Rest well, sweet Boo. You were one of a kind and you are going to be missed much more than you know.

(Rick has posted a video of Alex playing with his toys on his web site. You can view it here.)

That pretty much sums up Alex's treatments over the past couple of weeks. I haven't posted any updates on him because it's been pretty much up and down. The last round of a new drug two weeks ago didn't make a dent at all. In fact, one of his other lymph nodes under his chin started to grow. Last week the vet could not give him yet another new drug because the drug the previous week (the one that did basically nothing) has a tendency to attack the bone marrow and we had to give his blood cells a chance to recover. 

So, last week he received a round of the very first drug he got in the beginning. We noticed within 24 hours that the lump started to go down. By Sunday we could barely feel it. It felt good to see it go down so drastically. But by Monday it had grown again, and yesterday on his vet visit it was pretty much back to where it was before. We were discouraged but the vet was actually encouraged since the other lymph node was now "behaving itself" and was normal again. Plus, Alex had a really good week of feeling great and eating well, which to me it pretty darned important. He actually made progress instead of going backwards.

Yesterday he received a new drug which we are hoping will make his other lymph node "behave" for longer than a week. We just have to wait and see. He has another appointment next week to reevaluate where he is before we take off for the cabin.

We are still doing the Colorado cabin trip, but depending on what happens between now and his next appointment, we may have to delay by a few days to get another appointment in. It would be nice to leave on an "up" note!

Speaking of the cabin, my thoughts are whirling around in my head. I've started marking recipes to make while we are there, rounding up the books and knitting projects I want to take, and just gathering things in general in the spare bedroom. "To Do" lists have started to form. The truck had been serviced and is getting all nicely clean and detailed today. The girls will go the groomer right before we leave to get their "detailing" and Alex will get his bath and blow dry here at home this weekend. Preparations have begun! Can't wait.

Photo: Early morning spider web between the deck rails.

WOOHOO! The pool heater is up and running as of yesterday afternoon. The water temperature was around 72 degrees when it started (thanks to hotter weather and not so cool nights over the past two days). We also had one inch of rain on Wednesday, so it did pretty well on its own. The heater only ran for about two hours before we turned it off and it had already taken the water up to 78 degrees (temperature of the water running through the heater at the time). Warming up 30,000 gallons is no joke! This morning the pool stands at 76 degrees on opening with three frogs. I am thinking we are definitely swimming tonight!

Dad … here's one! (Bella helps with frog removal.)

Dad … he's getting away!!

I can't say enough good things about all the people that made it possible for us to have a warm pool for the Labor Day weekend. The propane tanks and all the necessary plumbing was done a week ago Monday and then we had to wait for the inspector who finally came on this past Monday. The electrician came on Monday evening to take note of what materials he would need, vowing to come on Thursday. That only left the delivery of the propane and the final hook-up of the propane to the heater. Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m. the propane delivery truck was in our driveway. Rick talked to the driver and asked him to please give them a push in our direction so we could get up and running for the weekend.

Not one hour later after the propane delivery, the phone rang and it was Ken, the person responsible for the final hook-up. He said he'd be there in one hour, and he was.

Yesterday the electrician came and did his thing. (Ouch on the price tag, but he had to bring us up to code since everything was so old.) Dennis, our fab pool person, came yesterday afternoon and got the heater running and gave me a lesson in how to work it. It was so exciting to stick my hand in the water next to the jets and feel warm water pouring out!

This morning's read out with starting temp.

We only have two weeks left to enjoy it but we're going to try and take advantage of every minute we get!

Top Photo: Waterfall at Ringwood Manor.