What did you do today? 2016 version

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Actually on Fri, spent the day trimming some trees around my property. Created about 3 cu yards of green waste, as packed down in my utility trailer. I also have some of the bigger branches that I will cut down for firewood size. It was free green waste dumping at the local transfer station dump facility, so I filled my trailer and made 2 trips to get rid of it all for free. On final trip I also had them load the trailer with about 2 cu yards of the mulch they make from the green waste. The mulch is free, but they charge $5 for the big loader to load it onto your truck or trailer. *Well* worth the $5 fee! It is still a lot of work to then get it out of the trailer and spread out at my house.

The mulch is not that great, but nice for under parking areas and walking areas to keep from being muddy. It is mostly sticks and wood. Not nice bark mulch or similar, but that type is much higher cost than this free mulch.

Therefore I spent Sat not doing as much physical work. Finished up a trust tax return I am trustee for, and ran some errands with my wife. Had a nice fire since it turned cold and overcast. Few flurries and some rain, but nothing like north of me in CO.

Today was more cold and overcast weather, so no outside work. Went to church in morning, one stop for shopping few items, and then stayed inside rest of the day. Built another fire and took time to get all the tax stuff filed away and some additional clean-up inside the house. The fire is also my "shredder" to get rid of papers with personal info I don't want in the trash.
 
A major snow storm yesterday. I had a meeting to attend in Colorado Springs so I headed down the mountain 2.5 hours prior. The visibility was very poor and I had to stop and clear the snow off the windshield every mile or two for one stretch. Got to the meeting a few minutes late, but all went well. The drive home wasn't as bad but the snow continued and did not stop until this afternoon. The wind was pretty bad and a tree fell and took out the electricity so it was a cold night in the motor home. I spent today plowing snow and digging the plow truck out when it got stuck. We wound up with 2 to 2.5 feet of snow. I finished the day getting the plow truck stuck on a steep hill that had about 4 feet of snow on it. It will stay there for a while. We got electricity back about 3:00 this afternoon so all is well. Its nice to have a warm place to stay at the end of a long day. :)
 
Split wood with vedge and sledge hammer. Stacked same, mowed lawn. Made big bonfire from a bunch of dried branches.
 
Hermit, I can't imagine having to dig out equipment as many times as you have to. Hope you get a Spring thaw soon.
 
We are currently RVing on a bluff overlooking the ocean in Malibu, and spent yesterday hiking high in the Santa Monica Mountains. It was a glorious day, with temps in the low 80's. After returning and cleaning up we enjoyed libations and appetizers with friends while gazing out at the sea in hopes of spotting whales. Dinner was grilled on the BBQ, and after more conversation we turned in and slept like the dead.

Awe-some.
 
This weekend we saw a play, the Great Gatsby, went out for a mimosa brunch and took the dog for a hike at a Redwood park. Yesterday I went to a library book sale, donated 2 bags of books and bought 2 new to me bags of books.
 
Hermit, I can't imagine having to dig out equipment as many times as you have to. ....

No need to dig it out if you are patient enough....

Even though we have one more day's ski pass to use, there is no way I would want 2 1/2 feet of snow at this point.

Played front nine at our country club with DW this afternoon... first outing at my home course this year. Good tune up.... playing with friends tomorrow morning.
 
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Enjoyed breakfast overlooking the ocean before packing up the RV and heading home. It was a glorious trip/long weekend with over 20 miles of hiking, two whale sightings and one fish n chips extravaganza.

After unpacking back at the house, got cleaned up for a wine event at an organization we belong to. Oh boy was that fun. :)

Finished the day with a pesto pasta dinner and the DVD Brooklyn.

The chores can wait until Monday!
 
DW's first day of gardening leave after being made redundant.

She spent half the day on a partial clean up of the study and the store room and I [-]was [/-]volunteered to assist. In spite of several boxes going to either charity or the recycling/rubbish bins, I ended up with less space allocated for my use than I had before she started. :facepalm:
 
Went to the Ophthalmologist. That's a 2 1/2 hour visit. First time with this Doc, and I like him - think I'll stay on.
 
We are now up in Montana, in a timeshare condo not too far from the West entrance to Glacier National Park. The famed "Going to the Sun" road is not cleared of snow until June, so going for some trail hikes is all we can do this time, and taking some photos like this one at Lake McDonald.

 
Went over to SIL's with DW and I got to meet the new grandnephew for the first time. When he was born I was in the hospital or recovering from the aftermath and DW's niece drove near here to visit with her mom. I left early because I still get tired sooner than normal (I'm assured this gets better) but it was nice to see the folks.

This is the new grandnephew being held by DW:
 

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We are now up in Montana, in a timeshare condo not too far from the West entrance to Glacier National Park. The famed "Going to the Sun" road is not cleared of snow until June, so going for some trail hikes is all we can do this time, and taking some photos like this one at Lake McDonald.

Wow! You aren't NW-Bound any more; you're NW-There! :D Beautiful scenery. Have a great time.
 
We are now up in Montana, in a timeshare condo not too far from the West entrance to Glacier National Park. The famed "Going to the Sun" road is not cleared of snow until June, so going for some trail hikes is all we can do this time, and taking some photos like this one at Lake McDonald.


Awesome photo! and looks like great hiking territory.
 
NW Bound, That's a beautiful shot.


Walt, Glad you continue to improve and pretty baby.
 
I just had to share this. DW bought a pair of shoes and when I looked at the label on the box, I noticed that the materials they were made from included "faux synthetics."

That just opens up such a world of possibilities ...
:facepalm:
 
Took Skittles to his first dog training class. He has to pass "Dog Manners I" before he can be trained and certified as a therapy dog. Good news is that he was by far the chillest dog in the class. Bad news is that walking on a loose lead doesn't come naturally to a dog that is in the habit of sniffing and marking at least 100 times during a 2-mile walk.

Went to the optometrist and found out that I am no longer nearsighted in my right eye (although it still has major astigmatism so I still need my contacts). Removing that correction seems to help with my near vision, at least in the 4 hours I've had a trial contact of the new prescription in. Yippee!

Found that edX has an intro music theory class that just started and decided to finally learn intervals, chords, and harmonies. I'm fine with scales from my years of piano and clarinet, but now that choral singing is my major musical outlet, it will be nice to have more of the theory down. Did the first lesson and just need to finish up the homework assignment.
 
Went over to SIL's with DW and I got to meet the new grandnephew for the first time. When he was born I was in the hospital or recovering from the aftermath and DW's niece drove near here to visit with her mom. I left early because I still get tired sooner than normal (I'm assured this gets better) but it was nice to see the folks.

This is the new grandnephew being held by DW:
Beautiful :)
 
Recently, I also became a great-uncle when one of the nieces gave birth to a beautiful girl. This was the first baby born to that generation although our eldest married nieces and nephews are already in their mid-40s. My grandniece is surely going to be spoiled by all of us.

Wow! You aren't NW-Bound any more; you're NW-There! :D Beautiful scenery. Have a great time.
Awesome photo! and looks like great hiking territory.
NW Bound, That's a beautiful shot.

Thanks. I have been trying to promote US travel, in case somebody has not noticed. Foreign travel is fun and there are many countries I like to visit or to go back to, but the US or North America has lots to offer too.

I have been NW-Bound for the last 40 years, and will remain so. Yes, I arrived to the NW, too numerous times to count in fact. However, I did not stay so that I can be NW-Bound again and again.

Why, just this time last year I was camping out on Kalaloch Beach off the Olympic National Park in Washington.

About the Glacier National Park, I have been to the East Entrance on an earlier RV trek, but this time I get to the West Entrance from Idaho by following US Route 12 along Clearwater River, along a trail first traversed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Driving the 100-mile twisty road, I tried to imagine the hardship for the explorers who fumbled their way through this then uncharted mountainous territory. One can watch the whitewater rafting on the Clearwater River, and imagine how harder it would be if one needed to carry provisions.



 
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NWBound - you're at one of my favorite places. We spent a week in the little motel at the West end of lake McDonald a few years ago. My dad spent a summer clearing trails and living in a one room cabin on Bowman lake in the park near the Canadian border when he was in college. He had some great bear stories.
 
Went to the optometrist and found out that I am no longer nearsighted in my right eye (although it still has major astigmatism so I still need my contacts). Removing that correction seems to help with my near vision, at least in the 4 hours I've had a trial contact of the new prescription in. Yippee!

Isn't that bizarre and wonderful! The same thing happened to me - eyesight improved in one eye. Dr said that it is a pretty common occurrence in later life.
 
We did a most enjoyable 10 mile hike, followed by lunch at a new eatery in our town. The food was amazing, like Top Chef amazing. In fact, when I commented such to our server he said the owner/chef had been queried to be a contestant and was giving it thought. Which then explained the fantastic food, and made me glad we had burned a whole lot of calories preceding our lunch.

Sidebar: Our midweek long hike and dine out is one of my favorite parts of ER. :)

After our return home we cleaned up and took naps. I'll blame the warm weather during our hike rather than the fab food (!).

Spent the afternoon packing for our upcoming 6 week trip to Europe, plus working on the accompanying itinerary. Dinner was pesto pasta salad, after which we watched one Hulu episode of Top Chef. (I know, clearly I've got a theme going on here.)
 
Went for a 5 mile hike exploring bison and explosives bunkers at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, took a nap, and watched the white sox cruise to another victory.


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