Christmas 2020

November 28, 2020

Hello All, 

It is I, Sid the Cat..typing up another exciting Christmas update.

This year started like most others for us pets. But like many of you humans,

on March 12 things became very interesting. The humans started spending

a lot more time at home--even The Girl, who we didn't even think lived here

anymore! THEN...in March, they announced they were interested in a new puppy...

I mean, really, who really needs another puppy?! We have Morrison!

Kenosha joined us at the end of May--she is named Kenosha, after Kenosha Pass.

For you non-Coloradans, Kenosha Pass is just beyond the town of Morrison...

you have to go through Morrison to get to Kenosha (and vice versa).

The dogs are good friends and in
a turn of events, Morrison now seems very mature.

Alice the Cat and BOGO the cat continue their feud, but in a curious turn of events,

Sid and Alice seem to have struck up a strange friendship.

Pete and Sarah continue at their jobs--

Sarah at the same high school she has taught at since August 2002 and

Peter at his law firm that he opened in 2005.  Pete has been able to go in to
work through the whole pandemic since his office has a small staff.

Sarah's school changed to remote learning at the end of March and finished

the school year that way. This fall we started hybrid learning, meaning that

Sarah went to school every day and saw each student once a
week in person. We were able to stay in person for eleven weeks before

moving back to remote learning. The district plans to return to hybrid in

January, if not before. According to the district tracker, we could go back to

hybrid before finals in December.

Claudia is a sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado.

She finished her freshman year remotely at home. It was fun to have her home.

The people all acted a little like college students when she was home.

They stayed up late, played a lot of games (video and board) and hung out a lot.

Early last summer she took a CNA class.

She has been working weekend nights at a rehab center near campus.

She and her boyfriend, Collin, have been balancing a long-distance relationship

and enjoyed both of them being a little closer for a few months.

Collin is also a sophomore and is studying at the University of Denver.
Lucas is a sophomore at Rock Canyon High School.

He and Pete were at a competition in Crested Butte on March 12.

They went to bed early and when they got up, everything was canceled.

He ended the year 12th in the IFSA standings for snowboarders 14-18,
even with fewer competitions than several people ranked higher.

This year has started slow, but we are hopeful that some competitions

will be held. He is still playing guitar and enjoys playing for fun.

If you want to see pictures of what we are up to can find and follow us on
Facebook and Instagram:

Facebook:

Sarah Sager Lemire 
Lucas Lemire (lucas.lemire.5494)
Claudia Lemire 
Instagram:
sarahsagerlemire
co_ski_atty
darthshredder04
claudialemire1

We wish you all a blessed holiday season! 
Love,
Sid the Cat (and the rest of the family, too)

Christmas 2019

December 9, 2019

Hello All, 

It appears that I was too busy grooming my friend, BOGO The Cat, to write a

letter last year. Interesting. I, Sid The Cat, am here to catch you up on the

events of the past two years!

As noted above, I, Sid The Cat, keep busy grooming BOGO The Cat.  She

tolerates me, but occasionally gets really angry and beats me up.  We happily

co-exist with Alice the Cat, although there is occasional hissing at mealtime when

we all want the same bowl.  Liberty Dog left us in November, the humans say she

had a long life for a Saint Bernard (about 9 years). Morrison, The Furry Toddler,

continues to entertain us all--chasing us and showing us her toys.

Pete and Sarah continue at their jobs--Sarah at the same high school she has

taught at since August 2002 and Peter at his law firm that he opened in 2005. 

Last spring Sarah presented with her co-teacher at a conference about literacy.

Sarah also tutors a couple nights a week at the local library. Business at the law

firm is going well.  Pete is learning to work remotely, so he can still get things done

while traveling with Lucas (see below).

Claudia is a freshman at the University of Northern Colorado. She was accepted

at UNC, The University of Colorado, and Colorado State (the three schools she applied

to).  Claudia is studying pre-nursing and worrying about applying to the official nursing

program. Her roommate is a friend she went to high school with. According to them,

they don’t have any fun and study all the time. She worked as a nanny during and after

high school and saved enough money for a car which she uses to get to her new job...

as a nursery attendant at a church near her dorm.

Lucas is a freshman at Rock Canyon High School, the same school Claudia attended. 

Snowboarding has become his life...last spring he competed at Nationals, winning a

3rd place finish at the competition and placing him 8th in the nation for his age group. 

This year he practices many Fridays, so is learning to balance school and travel. He

has also joined every club he can think of at school (including the Danny Devito fan club,

organic chem club, and ski club…..)

Last summer we built out a Promaster Van for “the boys” winter travel needs. It is

superinsulated and quite comfy.  Sarah and the dogs went one weekend before it

was all done and it was great then--it’s pretty amazing now.

If you want to see (more) pictures of what we are up to (and the van build) you

can find and follow us on Facebook and Instagram:

Facebook:

Sarah Sager Lemire 

Lucas Lemire (lucas.lemire.5494)

Claudia Lemire 

Instagram:

sarahsagerlemire

co_ski_atty

darthshredder04

claudialemire1

We wish you all a blessed holiday season! 

Love,

Sid the Cat (and the rest of the family, too)

Guest Post from The Boy

The week with Grandma started on friday when her flight here from Seattle arrived. Early on Friday morning, the girl, mom, and I got into the car and drove to the airport where Grandma was waiting. We found Grandma and her bag and drove home. When Inigo Montoya got home, we went for a run then had dinner. When we finished dinner we went for a walk and then came back and sat on the deck for a little while, then we went in to bed. Yesterday, we went to The Garden of the Gods and walked around a little. The girl and I climbed some rocks (The girl only climbed a few of the ones I did) and got some nice pictures.

Then, we went home and had dinner and went on another walk and I got some cool pictures of the walk(the cool thing is where we walked is very close to our house but you can't see any buildings in the pictures) 

Weekend Update (no, not that Weekend Update...)

I didn't get as much done in the garden as I wanted to--in fact, all I really got "done" was watering the things already planted.  There is lettuce (almost enough to pick) and kale (doesn't look so good...I don't think it likes the warm greenhouse) and a lot of sprouting things in both the greenhouse and the garden (I think, but I'm not sure, because the list is not right here:  asparagus (2 stalks, 5th year...I think I need to plant another plant), beets, cilantro, lettuce, kale, carrots, peas, lots of green onions and mint, some garlic, maybe some winter potatoes (or they might just be weeds).  The peach tree and grape vines both have blossoms and the tiger lilies are poking up in the front yard...probably we'll get snow this week, right?

We spent Friday night at the ski apartment--the girl stayed with a friend, so it was just The Boy, Mr. IM, the dogs, and I.  The snow is starting to melt and it is definitely mud season.  We're planning to keep the apartment through the summer and probably for next season as well, so we spent some time cleaning and sorting what was up there to switch out winter for summer stuff.  We also had a nice walk around Breckenridge and picked up some tourist magazines to decorate with. This was the first time the "new" cats stayed home "alone".  They all seem to be alive, so everything must have gone well.  (Their new game is for Alice and BOGO to chase each other and see whose tale is the fluffiest, while Sid watches)

Saturday I graded a giant pile of neglected papers and Sunday after church we spent some time looking for a new bed for The Girl (the rickety loft was removed a couple weeks ago).  In our search The Boy found his dream bed--a loft with a desk underneath (Um, wait...didn't we just remove that bed?)

So, an exciting weekend all around!

Wonder Weeks for Teens?

Thanks to The Baby Sleep Site for including the language of the Wonder Weeks for me to shamelessly parody this philosophy.....(I'm warning you...I probably think I'm funnier than I actually am..so tell me I'm funny if you want, or just pretend you didn't see this if you don't think I am)

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law have sworn by the Wonder Weeks books and system--According to Amazon: "The Wonder Weeks. How to stimulate your baby's mental development and help him turn his 10 predictable, great, fussy phases into magical leaps forward describes the incredible mental developmental changes (leaps) and regression periods that all babies go through. Understanding the real reason behind crying, eating and sleeping problems is the only real solution every parent needs. The Wonder Weeks reveals what’s going on inside baby’s mind."

There seem to be lots of discussions about "Well, if you expect your child to be fussy then they will be", usually followed by someone else saying something like "golly, I couldn't figure out what was going on, then I remembered this book and went 'ooohhh'".  Overall, the reviews seem positive and people seem to believe that the idea is valid and trusted. 

It got me thinking, what would wonder weeks for teenagers look like?

624-675 weeks- Transition--These weeks are often marked with periods of regression, as well as attempted independence.  The teenager may crawl into their parents' bed one night, and refuse to go to speak to them the next.  This time may also be marked by entrance into Middle School or Junior High.  While still interested in snuggling occasionally, these opportunities become farther apart as the teen tests limits.  The best response is a flexible one, being available to snuggle when asked (without showing too much enthusiasm, as this will break the moment) and having the patience to stand by when "not wanted".

676-727 weeks--Thrilling Thirteen--Like the "Terrible Twos", these weeks are sometimes remarkably uneventful, with more hype than actual thrills. The turmoil of entering a new school has died down slightly.  For some teens there may be a hormonal spike, beginning as early as 520 weeks in some cases, that can cause irrational behavior throughout the teen years.  The best treatment is to remain calm and say repeatedly, "Hormones...they're not just for girls". Again, being flexible, but firm, is imperative.  And chocolate. Lots of chocolate (for the parents).

728-779 weeks--Transition, Again--These weeks are often marked by more transition, this time to high school.  Added external stressers (for parents) include: classmates who look like they are 1560 weeks old, new friends who can drive, parties, etc.  Stressers for the teen include AP exams, exams of any type, reading Grindal, and friends who act irrationally due to their own immersion in the teen wonder weeks.  Parents should remain calm and repeat often, "No, you may not attend a rave" (to the teen) and "This too shall pass"(to themselves).  Applying chocolate to the teen as well as the parent may be helpful at this time.

780-831 weeks-Driven--Not just a description of the teen's goals, because sometimes they may not actually be "driven", but a description of life in general.  The parents may find themselves driving the teen and multiple friends as well as find themselves in the passenger seat, riding with a new teen permit holder. The phrase "it would be ok to use your brakes" may be useful during this time.  Making adult friends near the teen's school is also useful, so that when the phrase "We'll be back at school from the sporting event at midnight" is spoken the parent has a nearby location to nap on a friend's couch.  The teen will probably alternate been behavior that is "driven" ("I have to get an A on the test so I can go to Harvard!!!") and behavior that seems apathetic.  If the parent indulges, this may be the time for a glass of wine (for the parent!).  

832-1014 weeks--Time Flies--This longer period of time, that according to experts, seems short in hindsight, usually encompasses "once in a lifetime" events such as prom and graduation.  It may include visits to colleges, parent/child negotiation about distance from home, and repeated reminders that "you don't have to go to the same college as your friends". The FAFSA form is a stresser for both the teen and the parent, as well as additional discussions about adult choices.  The teen may occasionally revert to child-like behavior and an emphasis may be put on "family traditions" by the teen and/or the parent. Take lots of pictures and enjoy the ride.

1014 -1170 weeks  Systems--During this time, the teenager may continue to build independence, punctuated by periodic periods of parental reliance (particularly in situations involving car repair, laundry, college tuition, and job searches).  The teen will probably move out, at least partially, during this time period, to either attend college or begin working in the adult world. But, lest a meltdown be triggered, provide an opportunity for the teen to empty their own room before turning it into a gym or library.  This period is best treated with gifts of groceries, snow tires, and occasional twenty dollar bills left under lamps in teen's apartment or dorm room. 

1170-1300 weeks--The Lost Years--These years are actually not lost, but extremely instrumental in the young adult's creation of themself as an adult.  However, depending on the young adult, they may have greatly increased or greatly decreased reliance on their parents.  Much like the 624-675 week period, be available, thankful for positives, and firm, but flexible, with boundaries ("No, we aren't paying for a $50,000 wedding to a person you met last week", "yes, you can live in our basement, but only until July").

1300 weeks--Responsibility--My sources assure me that by 1300 weeks, most young adults have settled into a pattern more closely matching adult behavior. While, we all as human beings, occasionally need extra TLC, for the most part the treacherous path of the teen Wonder Weeks has passed.  My sources also tell me that somewhere between 1300 weeks and 2080 weeks, there is a reasonable chance that the child will become a parent themselves, allowing the words, "Yeah, s/he acts just like you did" to be said and opportunities for bonding as adults, not just parent and child, to occur.  

Sid

There really isn't much to say, other than we are suckers.  The Boy missed Tigger (we all do), so we went to the Dumb Friends League to get a cat. We found Sid (Obsidian)...

 He is about a year old. As you can see from his artistic work on the temporary carrier, he likes to eat cardboard.

 He was found wandering around an apartment complex.  He is very friendly and maybe not very bright, but it is hard to tell, because he's a cat. He had dental surgery the day before we brought him home and had some extractions.

 As you can see, he has settled in quite well...I think he thinks he is king of the castle.

He is very interested in Alice, she isn't sure she likes him, but can't stay away...

 He is pretty big (skinny, but long, as demonstrated by The Boy) and floopy--like Cass the Cousin Cat was---when picked up he is rag-doll like most of the time.  He slept one night with the adults (during his "locked in the Master Suite introduction to the house") but has spent at least part of every other night on The Boy's bed.  Last night Alice was bedroom surfing and came across Sid...who growled until The Boy said, "Cool it, Sid"...which he did.

 Liberty is terrified of (all) cats, so she is not pictured anywhere and the BOGO cat is hiding, sort of, still...but as you can see, Sid and Morrison are developing an interesting relationship.  Sid seems to enjoy dog food as well...

Welcome, home, Sid!

The December Birthday Dilemma...Chapter 12

So the Boy's birthday is this weekend.  When he was born, I had only accumulated about 4 weeks of leave. That combined with two weeks of Christmas Break and notes from both my doctor and the kids' pediatrician saying "keep that child out of daycare for one more week" meant that I ended up with just short of 7 weeks of leave--which made me very thankful that he was an "almost Christmas baby".
However, as he gets older, his holiday season birthday has created some interesting situations....like the year only one friend appeared at his party (because all the others had last minute visits to Santa, holiday events, etc.), or the year that 27 kids attended his Harry Potter themed party at our house (advertised as "We live 3 miles from the Outlet Mall....drop off ALL your children at The Boy's party and get your shopping done!!!").  Often he is a victim of "here is one big gift for both Christmas and your birthday" (I am guilty of this....) Every year we debate how many Christmas decorations are appropriate before his party (also influenced by if the birthday party is at our house or somewhere else).
This year since snowboarding is happening on both Saturday and Sunday, it may be months before The Boy actually gets a party (although there is a motion on the table to do something one day during winter break with one of his friends, who hasn't had a birthday party yet this year either...). And the Christmas tree dilemma...do we get it before his birthday? On his birthday?  After?  One year we picked up a tree for 75% off on December 19 because we had the party at our house that week and didn't want a bunch of little boys with lightsabers and a tree with ornaments together...
This year we will celebrate early with the family, before the boys go to the mountain apartment (The Girl has finals to study for...) so I made a cake tonight--it certainly isn't as impressive as some other birthday cakes (the jewelry box, the pirate ship...) but it looks like it is going to be delicious.. (and if I did it right, there will be a surprise when we cut into it...).  And I tasted the reject pieces and frosting and can attest that it is very tasty no matter what....

Spring Break Sick Break

As usual I had a lengthy list of Spring Break tasks.  The boy and I spent all day Monday cleaning his room and the Bonus room--hauling out a bunch of things to give away, throw away, mail to his cousins....
Tuesday we hung out, Mr. IM came home early because he wasn't feeling well, but we didn't think too much about it.  Wednesday, the boy spent all day on the couch, coughing and watching movies, only getting up to use the restroom and Mr. IM came home early again.  By Wednesday night, the girl felt sick enough to miss volleyball practice...
Have you ever read one of those pioneer novels, where the whole family is sick, and they worry they will starve or freeze, because none of them are well enough to care for the others?  Egads, I think we re-enacted that on Thursday through Saturday night this week.  The girl stayed home sick and in bed for two days and Mr. IM only worked a couple hours each on Thursday and Friday.  Thankfully, we were well equipped with various soups and medications, so no one was in any real danger, but there were no real meal times, or bedtimes...everyone kind of fended for themselves.  A lot of crackers and advil were consumed.  I did leave the house on Friday morning, to acquire more soup and medication.  Today we celebrated being (mostly) fever free (but not cough free by any means) by washing all the sheets and opening all the windows. Hopefully, we've kicked it for now...the list will have to wait for summer break!

Random thoughts on the Pet herd

I've come to the conclusion that the current annoying habits of the pet herd are due to a lack of pet leadership.  No, we don't need anymore pets.  Let me explain...

The first pet that came to live at the Suburban Ranch (back when it was more of an Urban Ranch) was MJ, the Bunny Cat Princess.  Her story, according to the Denver Dumb Friends League, was that her previous owners adopted her as a kitten, allowed her to roam the neighborhood and gave her up after she had four litters of kittens in less than 2 years.   (Dude, I can tell you how to fix that...) She was about 3 when we brought her to live with us, and for many years we had more video of her than the human children, as we filmed that foolish cat for HOURS after her spay surgery (she was HILARIOUS...I wonder if we still have that?...hmmm)  We spoiled that cat and made her fat.  Then, Mr IM's sister asked if we could watch Cass, her  kitten, for the summer.  We said, "sure!".  It was then that we realized MJ's fabulous leadership skills...She trained Cass the kitten to do all the things that kittens should do and loved it.  When Cass went home, we found Tigger (the "tiny headed kitten", because his brain, well, just isn't that big...) and MJ trained him (sort of...as well as she could...good job, MJ).  MJ went on to train Indy the dog as well as put the fear of MJ into Alice the Cat.  (Alice did not reap the full benefits of a MJ run training camp, as MJ was pretty sick by the time Alice arrived at the Ranch, however, Alice does have a healthy respect for growling animals).  Indy also had the benefit of us being friends with the owners of her mother, Truffles, so until Indy was 3 or so, we could periodically take her over to their big yard and let Truffles remind her who was in charge (Truffles, not us..).  We took Indy to puppy training class, and as there were no human children yet, spent hours teaching her to behave. (Including the amazing trick of putting a plate of food on the floor and telling her to "leave it"...and she would...) MJ and Indy then "trained" Tigger, Liberty, and Alice to be good minions, but not good leaders....

Without the guidance and leadership of MJ and Indy, we have Liberty, who thinks she is a 110 pound puppy, teaching Morrison (who is a 30 pound puppy) how to "puppy".  Tigger and Alice are not participating in the program (like MJ would have), as they are clueless and old (Tigger) and angry and aloof (Alice).  I think the solution is to find some MJ and Indy fur and have them cloned.  Yep, that's my plan.  Maybe I could have them cloned together as some kind of hybrid cat/dog creature....I think I've seen a horror film about that?

The good news though, is that Morrison is settling in and shows signs of being smarter than Liberty (sorry Liberty), or at least less scared (some of Liberty's odd habits probably have to do with whatever happened to her before we rescued her).  Morrison is making progress in the "leave it" department and is getting pretty good at taking food nicely.  I have high hopes that she can exhibit some leadership skills for this clueless herd....(perhaps even convincing Tigger to stop singing the song of his people at 3am?).  Ah, well...only time will tell!

Ah, January

Well, Good Evening before another semi-significant birthday!  Big plans include, um, work, and going out to dinner somewhere.  Anywhere, as long as I don't have to cook or clean up, right?

Let's see...I can tell it is January--even in Colorado I feel the lack of winter sunshine.  In protest of the endless driving in the dark, I'm leaving my outdoor lights up until the last day the HOA will allow them (January 31, for the record) and then I may replace them with simple, white, twinkle lights...my own little protest.  I have three new classes this semester--two are repeats (with different students) of classes I taught last semester and one is a support lab type class.  So far I'm enjoying all my classes.  I have several students new to me, and get to continue my two favorite classes of the year, so its all good.  Three of my classes even have windows....so I can see daylight once in a while!

Morrison the puppy is settling in well--she actually sleeps better than Tigger.  Mr. IM and I are awakened nightly, several times nightly over the last week, by Tigger's song of his people.  Last night he stopped for a few minutes when I got out of bed, scooped him up, and plopped him in bed with us. My theory is that he gets cold...so I think I will knit him a sweater and force him to wear it. We'll see how that goes... (probably not well, given his history with sweaters).  Morrison goes to bed between 8 and 9 most nights--if she stays up until 10, she is like a sleepy toddler and has to poked, prodded and sometimes carried up to her upstairs kennel.  She goes out between 5 and 5;30 (Mr. IM takes her out at 5 when I get in the shower, however, her laziness has refused a couple times and has waited for me to get her at 5:30).  Alice and Tigger still detest the puppy, but Liberty seems to (sort of) love her.  She at least likes drooling on the puppy, which leads to lots of baths for Morrison, which Morrison loves...

The Girl has joined a club volleyball team as a practice player (don't know if I mentioned that yet?) so that fills my weekends while Mr. IM and The Boy are skiing (snowboarding).  The Girl and I continue to try to keep up with Downton Abbey...waiting impatiently for January 26, when the whole season will be available (for a fee) from Amazon and we can just binge watch the whole season (between volleyball events, while the boys are in the mountains)

I have already finished a couple great books--Charles Martin's newest, of course, will probably go on my top 10 (and it is only January 11...11.5 months to go in this year) and I really enjoyed Ready Player One...a dystopian novel with an 80's trivia twist--if you remember the 80's you might enjoy it...it you loved video games in the 80's (or dungeons and dragons) you'll probably really love it.  I'm also getting ready to finish book 3 of the Blackcoat Rebellion series by Allie Carter--teen lit at its best, but entertaining.  Unfortunately, it will be YEARS before there is another Diana Gabaldon book....maybe I'll have to do something useful!

Good Night, from Morrison and I!

Happy Birthday to the Boy!

Today is The Boy's 11th Birthday!  He is kind of bummed, because his school Christmas program is today, interfering with his plan to eat out at Hibachi...Don't worry, kid, we'll make sure you get to go this weekend!

In honor of throw back Thursday...here are some earlier Boy Birthday posts!
2014

2013 culmulative

Recipe of the weekend: Banana Muffins

One of my friends posted on facebook that they found a "green light lamp" to teach their two year old when it was ok to wake up mom and dad.  We could have used one of those when The Boy was younger.  These days we get a slow start on a lot of Saturdays.



We were all up fairly early this morning--The Girl had to "work" at a JV volleyball tourney--The Boy and I slept in until about 7, while Mr IM took The Girl to school.  I was drinking coffee and making a grocery list when The Boy appeared, with grand plans to cook breakfast.  He was slightly miffed when I told him that his "ingredient of the week" was the brown bananas on the counter (he wanted more apple cinnamon waffles, using last week's ingredient, the brown apples...)  We visited AllRecipes.com and again found something that would work.  Because I didn't want my phone or computer slimed by our cooking efforts, I copied the outline of the recipe onto a piece of scrap paper, shown here after we spilled on it...So without further ado...Banana Muffins...

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (we used a little more, there were a lot of brown bananas...)2/3 cup sunflower seed oil (I didn't find any in the pantry, so I used plain old veggie oil.  I did consider using coconut, but in the end went with veggie) 1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C flour

1/2 C sugar (we used a little less)

2T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powderr 

1/2 tsp salt

1C semisweet chocolate chips (we used white chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl blend the banana, oil, egg and vanilla together.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in the banana mixture until just blended. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling 3/4 full.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.  (We cooked the mini muffins for about 10 minutes and they were perfect)

And finally the finished product--they must have been good, because this is all that is left (original recipe made 24 mini muffins and 9 big muffins)


I intended these for snacks this week,  but it looks like we'll be having cheez-its again.....but these were yummy!

And Another

If Greek myths were real, people would be freaking out.

A Boy-ism

Heard at the dinner table:
The Boy, "If I was going to get a tattoo, and I probably won't, I'd get a tiger on my wrist."
The Girl, "What about when you're old and have flaky skin and stuff?"

National Donut Day!

Yeah, Yeah, I know National Donut Day was a week ago...but in the interest of spreading out my blog entries..here is our National Donut Day Entry...Here's our recipe...Super Easy Donuts

 Gathering our ingredients...

 My antique donut cutter--It is from my mom...possibly was my grandmothers, but in any case is identical to the one my mom used when I was a kid.

 Donuts in process--we made holes, too!

 I used a lot less than the quart of oil called for--about a cup of coconut oil and a cup of vegetable oil (I only had a cup of coconut oil left).  I used my cast iron skillet and the thermometer that came with our "fryers" that we use for cooking lobstas...

 About a minute to a side and voila..donuts!

Yummy!

A Day Trip in Colorado

Even though we've lived in Colorado for almost 20 years, there still are an amazing number of "tourist traps" that we have somehow missed.  Today's  "missed treasure" is Bishop Castle.  Bishop Castle was built by a single man, beginning in the 1960's.  You can read all about it on his website.
A couple weeks ago, Mr. IM's law partner visited with his daughters and inspired us to go.

 On the road on a gorgeous Saturday morning...

 Surprisingly, the castle is located right off the road-we parked on the side and crossed the highway to join about 250 bikers and a few other tourists driving cars.  Check out that dragon!  Wow!

 This is quite a project for one person--wow!

 We stood at the bottom for a few minutes and admired the castle while deciding what to do first...

 There go Mr IM and The Boy--I decided to stay nearer to the ground.  Mr. IM said something like "oh, just come up, you can just turn around and come down" (later, while watching someone come down these stairs he said, "gee, I wouldn't want to come down those steps!")

 And up and up and up....

 While the boys explored up high, I explored ground level--some interesting things to see.  I also had a funny exchange with another person whose feet were firmly planted on the ground while his friends/family went up--he said, "Not going up?"  I said, "Nope...not gonna do it".  He said, "Yeah, I jump out of airplanes for a living, but I'm not going up there--no chute..."

 I was later convinced to go up two levels using these stairs--it wasn't too bad, since it is enclosed.

 This place really is cool!  I guess weddings and parties can happen here--some of the stairs would be very interesting in heels, but then again, so are grassy meadows...

 Here we are, up one level of stairs--actually a fairly large "party room"--very nice--flat floor

 beautiful stained glass..

 Secret passage?

 View from another floor up--beautiful scenery and large room--if you can get to it, it would be a great wedding/party site!

 Cute bear from the very bottom floor--he is pretty cute.

 I think he might be crying--this is when we wouldn't buy the $50 sword from the gift shop.  I contemplated a $30 purse...then noticed that it not only had a Colorado flag, but also a marijuana leaf.  Hmm.  Not really my style.

 Viet of the scenery, including porta potties (for The Girl, because of her love of porta potties, of course)

 The boys went up in the gatehouse--I again stayed close to the ground...

 Up they go...

 The Boy, waving from the top

 One last view as we head out (look how blue the sky is!  After a month of (unusual) rain, it is soooo nice to have  blue Colorado skies again!

 Couldn't talk about this without showing this shot--motorcycles lined up along the road as far as the eye can see!  The Castle is on a "ride route" and since there are porta potties and snacks, it is a popular stopping point!

 Now what? you ask?  The open road (with Pike's Peak in the distance)

 Ah, What is this?  Well, this, my friends is THE Supermax facility for the United States...name a terrorist and they are probably contained here.  This would be the facility that was "being populated" in the movie Con Air...

 We rounded out the day by driving home past Castlewood Canyon Park--causing The Boy to ask if we could hike there (no...it has been raining for month...anything with the word "canyon" in it isn't a good hiking spot until the water levels go down!)

And home before the thunderstorm!  Whoo!
A great day trip--lots of fun and very pretty!