Kitty's First Bath

We had a small snafu with our antique kerosene heater, to the effect of black smoke billowing, sleeping with windows opened and discussions about leaving notes in case we didn't survive the night. You know, no big deal.

The next morning everything was fine, except that Scarlet was all sooty.
So we decided it was bath time.

Look at that sad little grey paw. Ignore the look of terror on Scarlet's face.


Seriously, I need to learn how to rotate pictures on this thing. Anyway, here she is in the tub. Scarlet's always liked water, so at first she thought it was neat. Then Kevin got her with the shower head.

After that, I had to put the camera down and help scrub and prevent the escape of a soapy kitty.

Here she is post bath. Look at her sad little rat tail.

And here she is starting to plot her revenge. Good thing she doesn't know I'm posting this on the InterWebz.

Lookit What We Did

Kevin and I have been rental home improving lately...

After 3 weeks of taking "bowers", Kevin got handy and hung our shower head. Yea for normal showers! We also added a ducky shower curtain. It makes the bathroom a little less sad.



We also left our Christmas wreaths in Maryland, so I made one. Its was a nice little project to keep me busy while Kevin was still at work.
I've got to be honest, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Its hard to tell, but there's some glitter on the edges of the poinsettia petals and it sparkles nicely on our front door.

Kitty's First Snow Fall

We got a pretty good snow fall last week. About 8 inches. So it seemed like the perfect time to let Scarlet check out the backyard.

So, Scarlet put on her warmest scarf. And out we went.

Sadly, Scarlet doesn't own a pair of boots. And she was not so pleased with the cold, wet feeling of snow on her paws.

Maybe Santa will bring her a pair for Christmas so that she can build a snowman next time it snows.

The Cheyenne Christmas Parade

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Kevin and I walked down town for the Cheyenne Christmas Parade. It should be noted that this was clearly a Christmas parade, not a holiday parade, not a winter parade - a Christmas parade.

They also had put up the Christmas lights on the street lamps. Every other pole was a North star.


Here's Cheyenne's mayor opening the parade.

An all light covered wagon.

This nice Native American stopped to pose for our camera

I can't remember what float this tractor was pulling, but the tractor was very cool.

The Cheyenne Ballooning Club had a float. That poor street light thought it was daylight and went out for about 15 min after they went by.

This float was for Burn's High School - it had a picture of Mary and Jesus and said "The Real Christmas Story"

The Air National Guard's float. Their base is right next door to Warren and is where we'll fly out of when we don't fly commercial.

Finally, the man himself made time for the parade. Here's Santa Claus.

After an hour and half in 32 degree weather, I was a Jessicle - despite my cozy coat, hat and muff,


Stopping for a margarita and supper on the walk home helped warm us up though. The rest of the walk home was much more pleasant!

Black Friday

We spent Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs with Christie, Steve, and friends (pictures coming soon, I hope). The next morning, instead of shopping the sales, I decided to snuggle with Shelob the tarantula.

Then we went to meet Christie's parents for lunch. When Christie asked if we liked BBQ, I was excited to see what it would be like out west. Turns out we were eating at Famous Dave's. Yummy, but not what I expected. The view of Pike's Peak from the parking lot couldn't be beat though.

Here's the lunch crew: Mr and Mrs Kleinert, Christie, me, and Kevin.

After lunch Christie, Kevin, and I headed for Garden of the Gods, a park with some beautiful rock formations.

They call this formation Kissing Camels

This one is Kissing Carringtons with Kissing Camels in background.
Christie wouldn't let me kiss her.

The view heading from the parking lot, onto one of the trails.

Pike's Peak is there in the background again, but its a bit hard to see because of the clouds.

The park dedication sign.

One last view before we decided it was just too cold to keep walking around.

And finally, some Buffalo that I forgot to post when I saw them a couple of weeks ago. These were along the highway. They didn't seem to mind the cars.

An Evening with Scarlet

I preface these pictures by reminding you all that Kevin and I don't know anyone here yet and we're in the middle of nowhere. Therefore we make our own fun.


First we decided Scarlet needed a blanky made out of Kevin's scarf. Aw.



Then we decided that she needed to try on my sunglasses. She looks pleased, huh?
Kevin brought her a treat. Kitty's first icicle!

Yummy!

South to Colorado

My first view of the Rockies

Purple Mountains' Majesty, indeed.

When Tumbleweeds Attack

The main newspaper here is the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

This was the front-page headline the other day...

Apparently, people are being trapped in their homes because tumbleweeds have blown up against their doors and windows. Yup.


And, no, I don't know if the reporter rescued that woman or left her to rot. Maybe he's planning a follow-up.

Our Little Home Away From Home

The housing market is Cheyenne is inexpensive, but also very frustrating. The majority of the apartment buildings are income controlled or retirement communities. The few that aren't are booked months in advance. That leaves landlords either renting themselves or using management companies. Those homes tend to be tiny and not well kept. But we got lucky. After only 3 days of looking we found our Western Home.

It was once the Baxter Ranch Headquarters and is on the national registry. Now its been split into 4 townhomes.


Its across the street from a gorgeous park with a huge pond. Or maybe its a small lake.


And now for the grand tour. Here's our front porch.

The front room. I love all these windows. Its like being in a sun room. And the cream walls and dark wood remind us of home.

Past the front room, there's a second room we're using as a dining room. The movers are gonna love those stairs!

The kitchen is good-sized and bright.
The oven is gas. Its going to be a bit different learning to cook on gas and at high altitude at the same time. Poor Kevin.
Here's our little back yard. We're going to put down some grass seed when spring comes.

A quick peak into the guest room/office.

The bathroom does leave a bit to be desired. But, honestly, it was one of the best we saw. Sad, yes?
Our room. Another bright airy space, just like we like.
We also have a basement that Kevin is turning into a man-cave. Photographic evidence coming soon.