Lauren

It’s been kind of hot here the past couple of days – highs around 80 or a bit above. I’d be uncomfortable and irritated except for the fact that the nights are still in the 50s, so sleeping with the window open is pretty pleasant. It would be GREAT, except for one creepy fact….

Our neighbor a couple of houses away has a windmill in their yard. A rusty windmill that creeks in the wind like a horror movie soundtrack. It’s just loud enough to hear through the window (I run a fan to cover up the sound), but it certainly freaks me out during Council Fire on Saturdays. Lloyd has been walking home with me after work and has heard it. We think that we’re going to sneak over there sometime (under the cover of darkness) and squirt some 3-in-1 oil on it.

Happy Thursday!

We made it! The Prius, after being topped off with some oil, did just fine. Lloyd ‘filed’ four of the boxes in the back and the rest in the back seat. That car didn’t even cough going up the mountains. (Whew)

The drive was blessedly uneventful. I drove most of the way because I’m a terrible passenger. (We have a trip coming up this summer and I asked Lloyd if he though the pilot would let me fly the plane. Lloyd said he’d look into getting a pretend steering wheel for me.)

Once we got home, we unloaded house stuff into the house and books…. into the shed! Todd will be here in May to collect his boxes, and we’re taking the others to Missouri later.

I hope no squirrels break into that shed. If they do, I hope they can read.

Lloyd and I drove out to Colorado to spend Easter with my Dad. All the stars aligned for this trip, and I couldn’t be more grateful. We left Thursday after school and got to the west side of Denver around 10:30, then on to Eckert in the morning. The weather was wonderful – sunny skies and no snow!

On Saturday, we went to breakfast with Dad’s group of buddies, then up to the top of Grand Mesa to see the infamous snow. Like much of the country, Colorado has had significant drought the past few years. Hopefully, this winter’s 645 inches of snowfall will help with that! Did you get that number? That’s over 50 feet, and though it gets smashed down, it is still pretty impressive in the places where it remains. The roads are still incredibly narrow, because they couldn’t push it all out of the way.

We just had to have our photo taken at the rest stop. So funny!

It is not that snowy at my Dad’s. In fact, there is so much moisture, this dry area has really greened up. Lloyd and took a walk to the creek behind Dad’s neighbor’s house. Can you spot the Lloyd?

One of the goals while we were here was to help my Dad donate some books to future pastors. He’s already gone through many, but this was the last bit. We wound up with seven boxes – 250 pounds of books!

Todd (pastor/professor) already called dibs on three of the boxes. The rest are headed to the seminary in St. Louis.

We head back on Monday. Everybody cheer that little Prius on as it hauls its load of books, and Happy Easter!

The Peperkorns were here last weekend. As always, it was wonderful to see them! They had quite the adventure coming out here – they drove through tornado weather and lived to tell the tale!

Their main reason for coming was to attend Renata’s senior recital. (Their kids are all no-joke amazing.) Kathryn brought heaps of delicious goodies for the reception afterward and I took photos, as is my way. I’ll post a quick video I made.

We also got to hang out with other Concordia people – Deborah and Kevin. It is just so good for their kids to see that these friendships actually do last a lifetime. (That is, if your friends are extroverted and they contact you. Otherwise, I would never see anyone.)

Not much happened this past week. School was school. I have a couple of children who are trying my patience and eroding my soul a little bit, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. Lloyd seems to be doing fine, too.

Lloyd’s school had their gala on Friday, so on Wednesday I tried to leave school a little ‘early’ and get to our local thrift store for something nice to wear, but they close at 4:30. I did manage to get there before close on Friday and picked up a purse. I know – a purse! My outfit didn’t have a way to carry my phone, and the actual bidding for the silent auction is done via phones instead of pen and paper. I did bid on a couple of things (didn’t win) and Lloyd bid on some items and won. It was a nice evening with people I like, so that was a plus.

Saturday was fire, a bit of cleaning (the Peperkorns are coming next weekend) and some errands in Lincoln. The weather got up to the 50s and was sunny and delightful! People were walking around in shorts and tank tops. Later, we went over to the Pesters for a Pantry Party (everyone brought stuff they had in their cupboards/refrigerators) and some basketball watching.

This morning I set up for late service, so I got up early for a fire…..in the snow. Yep. We have about an inch of snow on the ground.

I’m off to do a self-inflicted haircut before church. Wish me luck!

I remembered! 😀