Life Transplanet

This was like a marathon Christmas weekend. Wednesday evening, Christmas Eve, Britton and I  went over to my parent’s house for dinner and we played poker and other card games. Then, Christmas morning we went to Johnson’s Corner, which is probably one of the most famous truck stops in the US for breakfast and it is just off of I-25 in Colorado! Britton thought this was hilarious…a greasy spoon for Christmas. It was actually quite busy! Johnson’s Corner was in the movie “Larger Than Life” with Bill Murray and Matthew McConahey (sp). We met our long-time family friends, the Fitzgeralds, there.

With my family

My Brother Justin and Dad

Playing Poker, Britton and Mom with a Neck massager

World Famous Cinnamon Roll -WAY TOO SWEET!

Sue, Mory, Dad and Mom at Johnson’s Corner

Magic Rings we won playing at the arcades in Johnson’s Corner

Later that afternoon we went over to Britton’s parent’s house and had Christmas dinner with everyone there. Our gift to our niece and nephew was an afternoon with us on Saturday. We took them out to lunch, to Target to pick out a present, went to a music shop down by the University of Northern Colorado, took a walk around UNC, went to the library, then hung out playing video games at our house.  Then, last night we went over to Matt and Jamie’s and hung out, played cards, used their new juicer and played Rockband. Fun and busy weekend!

Nikki, a Schnauzer and Schnoodle at Britton’s Parents for Christmas

Helping give a boost to my nephew up into a tree in front of UNC

I have two distinct feelings toward Christmas lights and decorations. On the one hand, I love how it lights up an otherwise ugly time of year and gives a festive and cheerful mood to the dark season. On the other hand, I think some people go WAY overboard with these decorations and lights. A while ago I used to work at an old folks assisted living center and I’d take the residents out to see some of the lights. I have definitely seen the good, the bad and the ugly in terms of decorations. Last night we took a few pictures and a video of the Christmas lights and decorations in Greeley, Colorado. Enjoy, (and cringe) like we did

The Extent of Our Christmas Lights (on our banana tree)

The Good: DownTown Greeley lit up

The City of Greeley is trying to revitalize the downtown area, and while it is certainly beautiful, still not many people are there to enjoy it.

The Bad: Just imagine how wasteful this is on energy (not to mention a  nuisance to neighbors)!

It is just ridiculous! It has over 70,000 lights and is programmed to be played -some are synchronized music and lights- to music that you can tune into in your car. There were like 30 cars just idling watching the lights and listening to music. This family calls themselves the “Greeley Grizwalds”.  I would have to agree that they are just about as silly as the family in that Chevy Chase movie. It’s kind of cool, but definitely WAY over the top. It won the award for best decorated house in the local light contest. They won’t tell anyone how much their electric (energy) bill is, but I am sure it is wastefully  high.

Here’s another video of it I found:

 The Ugly!

This one has got to take the cake for being the most crass. Not even a block from the last one, this one tried to out-do it only with inflatable Christmas decorations. Every inch of the yard was covered in this balloon-like toys.  (You may need to click on them to fully “appreciate” it.) It was crazy! Well, whatever floats your boat, or in their case, everything that floats. 

Happy Holidays everyone!

I was surprised to find a little gift from the black chicken today when I went to bring the chickens some water. She laid her first egg! It was much smaller than Ms. Henny Penny the Leghorn usually lays (like Extra Extra Jumbo size). Everything we read about the Sumatra breed of chicken says that they lay white eggs, but no, she definitely laid a brown egg. So now that our Leghorn champion layer is out of commission due to molting, the black one can take over. I don’t think she will lay as many as the Leghorn, but it is nice to know that we have a backup so we don’t have to buy more eggs. Thanks, Black One (no we still really don’t have names for them).

Small but pretty brown egg

Last Christmas, my mom and I went to Puerto Rico on Christmas day. It was pretty interesting to see how Christmas was spent on a tropical island, and it really was like having Christmas during the summer, something I had never experienced. Britton and I are getting excited about our trip- a vacation to Puerto Rico- on January 28…about a month from now.

A Few Days after Christmas 2007 in Hatillo, PR

At the LOUD Hatillo, PR Mask Festival Parade

At the Arecibo, Puerto Rico Radio Telescope Observatory

For those of you on a warm tropical island and those covered in snow, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Feliz Navidad a todos!

And in Jimmy Buffet’s own words:

Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum
Santa’s run off to the Caribbean
He thinks about boat drinks and fun in the sun
Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum

Click below for song:
Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum

At a Beach in Rincon, PR

(more…)

After the sky cleared up it left frost on the trees against a blue sky

I noticed that our leghorn chicken (the white one) was looking a little sparse in the feathers around her neck the other day, but Britton just kind of dismissed it. Then,  I went into the greenhouse to fill up their water and it looked like someone had had a pillowfight in there. There were white feathers everywhere! She is looking pretty ragged and I am pretty certain that she is molting. Why in the world would a chicken molt when it is negative 15 degrees? Don’t ask me, but she is…She has also stopped laying eggs which is common in the winter anyway to conserve energy when it is cold and also because they don’t lay eggs when molting. (We actually had to buy eggs for the first time since August so I could make chocolate chip cookies.)

Now that she doesn’t have quite the same level of “down coat” that she did before, I am a little more worried about her in the cold. We might run an extension cord and a light bulb for heat. My dad says to put a box, even a cardboard box in there with hay and a blanket or towel over it so they can conserve heat. The problem is that they still like to get up high at night and roost on the board or roosting stick we put up there. If we can get through this cold part of winter, I think they will be tougher for it…

Here are a few more pictures around the yard and neighborhood.

Fog over the lake out back 

Kitty and Schnoodle follow the path we made in the snow from our house to the greenhouse

Kitty walking up the path to the house

Schnoodle with a snow beard