Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good company and excellent food. Mine was very quiet, but I enjoyed it. It was just me and Peter this year since we didn't have time to make the drive back home. I thought it would be fun to do something different for the holiday this year other than the traditional turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, etc., but Peter didn't really like my idea, so I ended up making all of the usual suspects for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Almost everything turned out pretty good considering I had normally made only one of these items at a time before to contribute to the Thanksgiving table; I'd never made them all at once. It was a good lesson in time management for me. The only thing that really didn't turn out was the stuffing. I did the "in bird" style, and the recipe I used asked for chicken or turkey stock for the stuffing, but even though I cooked the turkey fully, the stuffing turned to goo. There must have been too much moisture. Next time, I will omit the poultry stock. One of the best things about Thanksgiving this year was that I got to use my wedding china which rarely sees the late of day considering I don't entertain all that often.

All in all, I think I did a really good job, and I'm pretty proud of myself. Dinner was great and Peter and I enjoyed a nice quiet holiday together, though I did miss my family. I'll get to see them all for Christmas, though. The only downside, if you could call it a downside, is that we've been swimming in leftovers for days. I'm kind of getting sick of turkey sandwiches...so tonight I'm making turkey chili to use up the last of it.

As I mentioned in my last post I have a bunch of fall photos of the Gunnison area. Peter took most of them which is a change since most of the time I'm the one taking photos. Fall certainly didn't last long around here, but it was beautiful while it lasted.  They're mostly pictures of aspen because that's what we have in abundance around here, other than conifers, but they don't change colors...unless they're dying which is kind of depressing.  So please enjoy the sunny, golden colors.

Blog Neglect

So...yeah...November.  Where has the time gone?  I swear it was May last week and I just moved here.  Now summer is over...fall is practically over...but at least Peter's job isn't.  He finished his project up on Sergeant's Mesa about a month ago and I was looking forward to having him around a little more often, but the Montrose district was really struggling to finish their big project, so Gunnison shipped him off to help them out.  I'm really getting sick of the whole back and forth thing.  Peter and I have spent more time apart than we have together since we moved here, and when he is gone we have absolutely no communication whatsoever.  I feel like a single woman living on her own, most of the time.  Although we have done this kind of thing before, it hasn't been for this long.  It really sucks.  Hopefully he has only one more week of field work left and then he will be working out of the office for the rest of the winter (if we're lucky).  Thank goodness I have Natasha to keep me company.

When Peter is home, I try to cook nicer dinners than normal.  Mostly because I've missed him, but partly because when he's gone we both don't eat very well.  Most of Peter's meals are simple fair that he can pack around with him in the woods and heat up in his Jetboil, and I hate cooking for just myself, so I eat a lot of cereal and sandwiches.  By the time the weekend rolls around we're both craving better food and elaborate meals have kind of become my new thing.  Peter jokes that when he cooks he uses only two or three dishes, but when I cook, I use every appliance in the kitchen.  It's kind of true.  The kitchen is usually a mess by the time I'm done with it, but I've been learning how to make some fun things.  One morning I made pumpkin french toast stuffed with blackberry-caramel mascarpone, and last night I made one of my favorite Indian dishes, chicken saag.  Natasha likes to hang out with me in the kitchen while I'm cooking (I think she's hoping that I will drop something), and one night as I was making French onion soup for dinner, she discovered my kitchen timer.  I had purchased a new one because my old one had stopped working and apparently she doesn't like the beeping of the new one.  She will whine and howl until you turn it off.  She does the same thing when our alarms go off in the morning, too.  We got some video of her reaction, but I have been struggling to upload it anywhere.  I guess my camera's video is in a format that doesn't play well with others.

All of my cooking will be put to the test this Thanksgiving.  It's the first time in my life that I won't be spending the holiday with family, and though I've helped make a turkey dinner before, I've never made everything myself.  I've debated whether I should cook a whole turkey or just cook a couple of Cornish hens.  I'm thinking of making other non-traditional Thanksgiving food or "variations on a theme", to use a musical term.  I better figure it out fast, though, since Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away.

Going back to Natasha (I know, I know...I talk about her a lot), her training is coming along very nicely. I think we've gotten past the basics and are moving on into the more advanced obedience training. I've been working extensively with her off-leash training and she's been doing very well. If she gets too far away from me on a trail, I tell her to "wait" and she promptly sits her little butt on the ground and waits for me to catch up to her. When I tell her to "come", she turns around and comes running back to me. She will sit and stay in one spot for a pretty fair amount of time, too, even if there are other people and dogs around.  She has her rebelious moments, but it's teaching me a lot about patience.  In addition to her training, she has also lost ten pounds and is quickly getting back on track to being sleek and trim.  She can still stand to lose five pounds or more (I'd really like to get her close to 50 lbs.), but I'm pretty proud of the progress she has made.

I know this post is mostly just me rambling, but I hope to put some pictures up here soon.  Peter took a ton of photos of the woods and mountains in the fall and I need to wade through them all and find the best ones to post.  I also hope to post some video of Natasha up here when I figure out how to convert the format.

Enjoy the last tid bits of fall as it seems winter is banging on the door!

September Already?

I haven't had anymore wheels go flying off my Jeep, so I haven't really had anything very exciting to blog about.  Life keeps moving along and I can't believe that fall is upon us.  It's weird not being back in Logan this time of year.

Natasha is coming along and has made great strides in the 2.5 months we've had her.  She's lost seven pounds and is about five pounds shy of her ideal weight.  She's very talkative and makes all kinds of funny noises.  She doesn't just bark or whine like dogs do; she has a whole vocabulary.  It's really quite hilarious.  She does this thing we call "the silent woof" where she just makes this very quiet "hooah" sound.  She typically does it when she wants our attention, but we're really closeby so she doesn't feel the need to do a full on bark.  One of these days when I come home from work, I need to have my video camera out because she'll follow me around and "talk" to me for several minutes like she's telling me all about her day.  Again, it's not barking; she makes noises that sound like, "Roo roo roo" and "wah wah wah wah".  It's hard to describe, which is why I need to record it, but it's very funny.

Natasha's training is coming along as well.  She will now sit and lay down on command without bribes or hand signals, and she's starting to understand the concept of stay.  When I take her for walks and I tell her to "wait", she will stop, look back at me, and then sit down.  We're also working on the recall command, and that too is only starting to sink in.  Peter and I love having her around, even though she's a lot of work.  She keeps us very entertained, and she does these silly little random things that we can't help but find incredibly endearing.

Natasha usually hangs out under my chair...

...or under Peter's.

I love these two

Natasha loves nomming on a good stick

My sweet girl after a long day of hiking

My job is going well, but some days I feel overwhelmed.  Working in a doctor's office is not easy.  Things get busy and I'm trying to check in patients and answer questions or concerns while every phone line is ringing off the hook.  It's days like those where I just have to take a deep calming breath and take it one step at a time.  It is rather fun to work with animals, though.  Even though most of the time they're coming in because they're sick.

Peter's job is winding down a little.  He's lost most of his crew to school, but I think he kind of enjoys working alone.  He's still gone all of the time, and I'll be glad when he's back at home again.  We've been told that he'll have work through most of winter which is good.  I like being able to pay rent and eat food.

We have had some fun little excursions this summer, like a trip to Moab with some friends of ours.  We kayaked a stretch of the Colorado River and we also went to Arches National Park, which is something I will never do again in the middle of the summer.  It was way too hot.

Peter and Nick

Kelly and Me

The four of us at Delicate Arch

Ute indian rock painting

Me, Nick, and Kelly at Landscape Arch

Last weekend for Labor Day, my parents came to visit and we had a lot of fun showing them around Gunnison and Crested Butte.  One of the things we tried to do was take a picnic on "Gunnison Beach" out on Blue Mesa Reservoir, but it was so windy that day that we were being pelted by sand.  Even Natasha, who is always excited to go outside, was content to stick nearby and use us as shields from the wind.

In other news, we had an opportunity present itself to us this last week that could change a lot of things around here (and no, I am not pregnant).  I can't quite talk about it yet, but some big changes could be happening soon...or not.  It's all up in the air at this point, and merely speculation.  I know that's terribly cryptic, but I'll post more about it when I know more as well.  That's pretty much it from us.  I hope you all enjoyed the summer because it's going to be cold and snowy before we know it!

That Didn't Just Happen, Did It?

My little brother, Jacob, decided to visit us this week, and so of course we had to make the experience as epic as possible.  Somehow, I doubt he will ever forget his time spent in Gunnison, CO.

It all began Tuesday when we left to visit Peter at work.  His job takes him away from me for four days out of every week, so we thought camping out one night with him would be fun.  It took two hours to drive out to his camp, but it was worth it to see him.  The only disconcerting thing about the trip was that I began to hear a strange noise in my car towards the end of the drive.  I told Peter about it, and he thought it was the bushings going out.  I wasn't sure what this meant so I asked him, "My wheel's not gonna come off or anything, is it?"  He assured me that it wouldn't.

Oh, the irony.

We had a fun evening with Peter and his coworkers, and then got up bright and early the next morning to go home since everyone else would be off working any ways.  We had driven nearly nine miles down the road when my Jeep started to shake violently.  Knowing something was definitely wrong, I began to brake, but at that instant the front of my car pitched forward and I watched in shock as the entire front driver-side wheel went rolling down the hill...away from my vehicle, which had come to a complete stop at that point.  The next few moments are kind of a blur to me, but I clearly remember watching the wheel go bouncing and rolling away and thinking to myself, I can't believe that just happened.  My entire wheel just came off.  How does an entire wheel just come off?!

After I recovered from the shock and made sure both my little brother and my dog were okay, I climbed down the hill to retrieve my runaway wheel.  My brother came down after me and carried the wheel all the way back to my car.  The next step was to see if either one of us had any cell phone service, but of course, we were clear out in the middle of the woods; no signal.  I knew our best option was to hike back to Peter's camp.  So, I grabbed several bottles of Gatorade that we had thankfully brought with us, and we left the Jeep sitting three-legged in the middle of the road.  It took us three and a half hours to hike nearly nine miles back up to Peter's campsite.  We were all tired and hot when we got back.  Unfortunately, no one was there so we had to wait six hours for everyone to return.  Needless to say, Peter was pretty surprised to see me.  I explained everything that happened, and Peter and a coworker left to go survey the damage.  They managed to get a spare tire put on the Jeep by borrowing a lug and bolt from each remaining wheel, but the wheel well was damaged and it was rubbing against the spare, so it wasn't possible to drive far on it, but they did manage to get the Jeep moved off the forest and down to the highway.  Jacob and I ended up staying with Peter that night and then left with him and the rest of his Forest Service crew the next day when they broke camp for the week.

Thankfully I had recently opted to have roadside assistance with my car insurance because my car is getting older and less reliable.  When I got home I called my insurance company and they sent out a tow truck to bring my Jeep back.  Peter then spent a good chunk of Friday afternoon fixing the wheel.  It's now up and running and hopefully safe again.  The whole experience was rather freaky, but I can only be grateful for how everything turned out.  When I lost my wheel I was only going about 25 mph on a dirt road, and despite the fact that I was in the middle of nowhere without any cell phone service, I was still a reasonably close distance from people I knew who could help me.  No one was hurt, and my Jeep wasn't totalled.  My guardian angels must have been working overtime this week.  I was really impressed with how my brother handled the entire thing, too.  He was calm and cheerful the entire time.  He made the nearly nine-mile hike like a champ and hardly complained.  If he hadn't been with me, I probably would have panicked and done something stupid.  I'm sorry he had to waste his vacation time being stuck with me out in the woods, but I'm grateful he was with me.

Peter and Natasha both working hard on the Jeep

In other news, when I got home from my unexpected extended trip to the woods, I had a message on my cell phone.  I had recently interviewed for a receptionist position with a local veterinarian, and she had called to tell me that I had gotten the job! I start work on Monday.  I'm very excited because I really wanted this job, and I had actually applied for it over a month ago.  They had hired another girl instead of me, but it turned out that her school schedule wouldn't work with the job after all, so they called me up.  The very same day I got the call to interview for the receptionist position, I had just gotten back from another interview for a job I really didn't want but would have taken just because I needed something.  Jobs are really hard to find in this little town, so you don't turn down anything you might happen to get, even if it's bagging groceries.  I'm very happy that I got a job I wanted instead of a job I settled for.  In addition to working with animals, which I've always wanted to do, I get discounts on veterinary care for Natasha.  I have much to be grateful for today. :)

Soundtracks of Summer

The first summer I worked for the Forest Service was in 2008.  Peter and I rented an apartment in Evanston and commuted to the forest every day that year.  It was a thirty-minute drive and we didn't get much radio reception, so we listened to a lot of CDs.  That summer we listened to a lot of Led Zeppelin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Stadium Arcadium.  The next summer we lived on the forest (which was a MUCH better plan) and only commuted into town to get groceries.  The albums that dominated our stereo the summer of '09 were Coldplay's Viva La Vida and Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band: Live in Dublin.  This summer I don't have a job (which is kind of driving me batty) so I don't commute to work, and Peter and I walk or bike everywhere, so we really never drive much anymore.  I haven't listened to much music recently, except for what's on my iPod when I'm walking Natasha, and the local radio station plays mostly country, which isn't my favorite.  I haven't found an album that seems to encapsulate this summer, and I need to resolve that.  I need something new or an album or a music group I haven't explored yet.  Any suggestions?

Also, what album, song, or musician makes you think of summer?  Feel free to post your responses! :D

Masked Bandits

Last night, as I was taking Natasha out for a final potty break before we went to bed, I heard a funny noise coming from the dumpsters across the parking lot.  I ignored it at first, but I heard it again as I was returning to my apartment.  My curiosity overwhelmed me and I had to investigate.  I put Natasha inside and then head back out to see what was making the noise.  As I got closer to the dumpsters, I saw two sets of eyes looking at me.

I instantly recognized the source of the racket and rushed back inside to grab Peter and My camera.  I'm pretty sure you all have guessed who our nighttime visitors were that were feasting on a smorgasbord of refuse.  If not...here are some photos to help clear it up.

These little guys were just babies.  As I got closer their mommy got a little upset and made her presence known from within the dumpster.  I got a quick shot of her and then decided it was best to leave them alone.

They were pretty cute...even if they were possibly disease ridden.

Henry Lake

We've now had Natasha for nearly two weeks now and we're starting to get more of a feel for her personality.  She's VERY playful and loves to chase after EVERYTHING, but she's still a little jumpy around loud noises and strangers.  We're working on her socialization and separation anxiety issues and our efforts have started to pay off a little.  It's going to take a lot of work, time, and patience, but she's doing well.

As part of her socialization, we decided to join some new friends on a backpacking trip up to Henry Lake in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness of the Gunnison National Forest.  When we first introduced Natasha to our friends and their dog, she was a little nervous, but I gave her treats and plenty of praise whenever she acted calmly and pretty soon she was checking everyone out cautiously but with interest.  Once we knew she would be able to get along with everyone we set out on the trail.  The hike was only seven miles to the lake and the trail was fairly level, but the last mile was a killer.  We were already tired from hiking and carrying our gear on our backs, and it didn't help that the trail went practically vertical.  I was very grateful for the fact that Natasha loves to pull on her leash for once because she was able to drag me up the trail.  My favorite part about the whole hike were the pikas we could hear chirping back and forth to one another as we passed a talus covered slope.  They're just so cute!

Once we got to the lake and set up camp it immediately began to rain.  I don't know what the deal is, but the last few times I have gone camping it has rained on me.  I'm just glad the first thing we did was set up our tent because we definitely needed it sooner than we thought.  Natasha did pretty well most of the time, and because there was no one else up at the lake we decided to let her run off leash.  She always had to follow anyone who left camp, which was annoying if you needed to take care of your business off in the woods.  She would also whine if either Peter or I left her sight.  It was kind of annoying and definitely one of those separation anxiety things we're working on.  At one point she spotted a rock that was jutting out of the lake and she thought it was some vicious monster out to get us.  I have never heard her growl and bark like that.  She's never done that to other people or dogs, just a stupid rock!  What a goof!

The next day as we were hiking out she did something that really took me by surprise.  We came to a spot in the trail where we couldn't remember which way we had gone to get around a large tree that had fallen in the path.  Natasha kept wanting to go one way, but we decided to go another.  We soon realized that our way only ran us into more difficult obstacles so we decided to follow Natasha.  Sure enough she led us to a spot that allowed us to safely get around the tree, and had been the original way we had come.  She was tracking!  For the rest of the hike we followed her nose and she didn't steer us wrong!  It was awesome!

Since our trip, I have worked extensively on Natasha's separation anxiety.  I've made a lot of progress and she now hardly reacts when I leave, but Peter is another matter.  Although she was supposed to be more my dog, she has bonded very strongly to Peter, and she hates it when he's gone.  This week was rough because Peter got called out on a fire and was gone for a couple of days.  Natasha has an inner clock that lets her know it's time for Peter to be home and when it got to be past that time and he still hadn't returned she started getting nervous.  She actually started whining at his dirty clothes in the hamper!  It's cute in a way, but I need her to figure out that when Peter leaves he always comes back.  We'll have to work on that specifically with Peter this weekend.

Another thing I have discovered is that she's not afraid of my bike and I've been dragging her along on bike rides every morning.  It really works her out more than a walk and has become a great way to get exercise.  The only problem is that if she sees another dog or a person jogging she goes chasing after them.  She's nearly yanked me off my bike a couple of times.  I have to be really careful about that.

Any ways, here are some photos of our recent adventures.

On the trail.

Everyone taking a little break.

Natasha was so tired she laid down

right in the middle of the trail.

Natasha found a stick, but then Chester decided he

wanted it, and the two began a merry game of tug-of-war.

You could literally grab trout right

out of this stream with your bare hands.

Natasha was trying to score some free breakfast

the next morning.

Natasha running around the lake,

happy as a clam.

Welcome to Colorado!

The two partners in crime!

Me and Natasha both looking pretty tired.

Peter looking pretty tired and dirty

after fighting fires for two days.