This and That

Well the range anxiety finally got to me and we sold our little 2013 Nissan Leaf and bought a 2022 Leaf with the extended range. The old one was maxed out at 65-70 miles range and the new one will go 230 miles at least. It's like night and day! I love it. With the federal tax credit of $4K off on used electric vehicles it was a steal.

 

We had it delivered from Denver.

Charges in the garage on a normal outlet.

Wesley had his first college visit. It's crazy that this time next year we will be preparing to move him into a dorm! Time flies!

I started singing in the choir at church again (I took an extended break after Covid). Both kids are great singers and after a little coercing I got them to sing too. We sang an Easter Cantata with 5 songs and it was a lot of fun, especially singing with my kids. 

Our heat pump finally died after Christmas so Sean started the hunt for another unit that he could install himself. Luckily we had electric resistance heat to get us through the winter but needed something installed before the heat of summer arrived. He did a great job, I'm so happy to have an air conditioner!

The tortoise house is coming along slowly. We got the door installed and the two windows on each side put in. Next step is siding and insulation. I hope the tortoises can go out in it this winter!

Seeds

 I really do love growing things. It's my passion at the moment and the growing season is my favorite time of the year. Winter proves to be difficult lately. I missed growing for the 6 months of the year that were to cold to grow in. Then I found out how fun growing stuff indoors was! Last fall I bought some rather expensive streaked hosta seeds online from several growers. I thought if I purchased from many different growers I'd have a good chance of ending up with some pretty seedlings. Each packet of seeds was about $20-30, which turned out to be around a buck a seed. I'd put a packet in each solo cup and see what came up. 

Once the cup got too full I'd sit in the basement and pull all the seedlings out and separate them into their own cup. I tried to only keep the streaked and or unique leafed seedlings since there were literally hundreds of them. 

They eventually took up most of the floor in the basement under grow lights near the end of winter. Once the weather got nice they started their move outside but whenever the weather got cold at night I'd bring them all inside in our entryway and then back outside the next day. It was a labor of love. I ended up with some real unique beauties! I'm looking forward to another winter of basement growing.

Visit

We were fortunate enough to have Sean's parents make the trek to come visit us from New Mexico. It was a fun visit with lots of laughter and shopping. We went to the local zoo and a fun museum. Thanks for coming to see us R & R!

 

They had these electric carts that you could rent and ride around the zoo!

Billy

 Last May I took Max to a Billy Idol concert on a whim. I hadn't been to a concert in ages and Max had never been to a concert. We bought cheap seats in the back and had an absolute ball. So I told him if Billy comes back on tour within an 8 hour drive we'd go see him again and get good seats this time. Well he came back. 

Max and I loaded in our rental car and drove to Lincoln, NE to see him preform at the Pinewood Bowl Arena which was an outdoor stage. We were four rows from the stage and it was awesome! Who knows maybe we'll go see Billy again next year. 

Pathways

 I've been wanting to put flagstone pathways around our house for years now and finally got the project started this spring. There was a big rock store that had a closeout at the end of the year last fall and we picked up two pallets of blue flagstone which sat all winter. I rented a mini skid steer and rode around the yard digging the top 6 inches off of where I wanted the paths. I was pretty proud of myself for renting it, getting it off the trailer and doing it all by myself. Sean had a meeting and rain was coming later in the day so I didn't have a choice. 

I then laid down a thick layer or sand and started laying the flagstone. There is an art to laying the stone and some areas look decent and others I'm not real thrilled with and might redesign later. But I got all two pallets of stone laid (around 8000lbs of rock). It was quite a workout. I only got about half the paths done so another two pallets will be purchased soon. I might wait until fall and cooler temps to finish it up. 

This isn't finished, still needs dirt filled in around the rocks.

Christmas 2023

December is one of the quickest months for us. Sean's birthday took us down to see the light show and eat at a small Mexican restaurant that we enjoy. Happy Birthday to the best husband ever!

I took the kids out to eat one evening and Wesley's girlfriend, Lynn, came with us. I asked if she had seen the giant lit up house in town yet and she hadn't (which was exciting to see someone new experience it). What fun! We got to decorate our gingerbread house kits. Sean and I shared one this year and it was a train (not that you can tell from the finished pictures). It was tasty.

Betsy and her family came down to enjoy Christmas festivities together. We enjoy seeing them and always have fun. The boys had several epic Nerf wars, lots of MarioKart8, some sugar cookie decorating, Oculus Quest playing and a hockey game. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

 

 

Max's cookies are the best.