First Snow of 2009

From Snow 12-4-2009

This weekend was supposed to be a nice escape for Pam and me. We had arranged to let the kids spend time with Pam’s sister and my folks while we slipped out of town for some very overdue alone time. (It has been a terribly long time since we last went out of town overnight without the responsibility of dealing with the kids.) We had reservations at a hotel in Fredericksburg, TX and planned to really have a fun time. Then, the weather changed and we had to make a tough decision. The forecast for the Texas Hill Country predicted up to 2” of snowfall and sub-freezing temperatures. That is not exactly ideal conditions for enjoying Fredericksburg. Considering we would be traveling while the snow was falling, the roadway may not be the safest place for us at this time. So, we called off the trip. Unfortunately, we made this decision too late not to be charged for the cancellation, so we’re paying for a hotel room we won’t be using. That stinks.

On the upside, we got a nice snow storm right here at home and the kids got to spend a little time out in it while it was falling. I took a few photos of them and sent them to our photo albums on the web. You can link to those from this site.

The family is all doing well. We had a very nice Thanksgiving here at our house. This was the first Thanksgiving for us in the new house and the weather was absolutely perfect. Pam was amazingly organized and calm. Planning a big meal like that and making it all come out the way you planned can be very stressful. This year didn’t seem stressful and everybody had a nice time.

The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the day we decorate for Christmas and this year was no exception. We got the tree up and strung lights around outside and inside. It looks really nice. We would like to put out some more stuff, but with all these cold nights we're having lately, we might need to save the electric bill for the heater!

We finally have an offer on our old house! It has been a long time since we first listed it and Pam and I have both been wondering why we haven’t received any offers – even ridiculously low offers. Many people have viewed it and it has been on TV and in the papers. We finally got an offer and after a few counter-offers back and forth, we have settled on a price. It is less than I was hoping to get, but considering the circumstances, we’re happy with the agreed upon amount. Having two houses has been a bit of a hardship on us as we have been dipping into our rainy day funds to keep the bills paid. We hope nothing happens to cause us any further delays in getting the old house sold. We want very much to get back to normal! At least this experience is helping us see places in our lives where we can be more frugal and still enjoy ourselves.

A few weeks ago, I got a chance to have some music fun. Earlier this year, I joined The Southwest Bluegrass Club - which is an organization of Bluegrass enthusiasts in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Many people I met at Pete Wernick’s jam camp are members of this club and I figured joining the club would be a good way to stay connected with them outside of camp. I had never attended any of their meetings before, but decided I was going to make the trek up to Irving, TX and attend their November meeting. I was glad I did. I saw a few of my jam camp friends and met a lot of new people there. Most of the time at the meeting is spent jamming with the other members. People form small impromptu groups and head off to various rooms to play Bluegrass songs together. The group of musicians I played with was mostly all strangers to me, but that doesn’t matter. The fun is playing the music together and improvising. It was a really fun time for me and I hope to get to do that again soon.

That’s about it for this time. Please add us as a friend on facebook if you haven’t already. Pam and I both have pages on there and we post current news and photos almost daily. This blog is more of a highlights and summary post compared to what you see on facebook. Plus, Pam frequently posts some hilarious stuff that David says and does. Those are a scream!

Until next time, have a Merry Christmas!

Rob