Back in the Saddle: a Day out with Levi

November 23, 2009: As I'm running up the basement stairs something in my knee "pops" followed by excruiating pain. An MRI reveals I have a torn meniscus in my left knee.

December 17, 2009: I have arthroscopic surgery on my knee. The procedure is uneventful and subsequently the doctor tells me he also cleaned up a little arthritis that had started.

January 22, 201o: I spend a day skiing with Levi, Jarom and Seth logging about 20 miles on the easy beginner runs at Keystone without any significant pain.

January 23, 2010: I wake up with some muscle soreness and a little twinge in my knee but otherwise it feels fine. Conclusion: I'M BACK!!!

Levi works for Sierra Snowboards in Sacramento, CA, and his company sent him to Colorado this weekend to help out with a big client ski/snowboard event. Since we have season passes for Keystone, it was a great chance to get it some quality "family time" with Levi.

Jarom shows off his new "gig bag" for his goggles.



Riding up the gondola

We're all jealous of Levi's sweet "puffy" jacket.

PS: Jarom thought his facial hair looked so nasty in these pictures that he shaved it all off except for a little chin stash when he came home.

Trip to Pella, Iowa January 20, 2010

This story starts with a bit of geneology. There is a church-owned website called "new.familysearch.org" where you can log in and see not only your ancesters, but can see who has had their temple work done, and who still needs it. Last year I noticed that Albert Colyn (Gerald Guthrie's maternal great grandfather - see pedigree chart below) had some unfinished ordinances. When I explored further, I discovered that two of their children did not have work finished. The notes indicated that my dad had some source that said the children had died of diptheria but no birth or death info was available. Since then I have tried to learn a bit about how you go about doing geneology with the hope that some day I'll be able to find the info about Minnie and Abram Colyn (or Colijn as it was really spelled in Holland).

Last week I traveled to Omaha, Nebraska for work. Omaha is a couple of hours away from Pella, Iowa where the Colyn's lived and many were buried. Since I was pretty close I thought I'd try to get to the cemetary in Pella and see if the family were all buried close to each other and maybe I'd find Minnie and Abram. Pella is about 15 miles due South from Newton, but I didn't get to Newton because I took a direct route from Des Moines that didn't go that far due East.

As Grandma Judy can tell you, Pella is a dutch settlement that is famous for their tulips in late April and early May. There is definitely a dutch influence still in the town with windmills and old-world shops, etc. I stayed at the Royal Amsterdam hotel and had some interesting and delicious dutch foods.

I got there in the middle of an ice storm, so it was really dangerous to walk around since even the dirt road had a half inch of clear ice that was very slick. My hope is to come back next time I visit the schools in Omaha.

This is downtown Pella. I am on the corner of Main and Broadway I think the streets were.

This is the park in the middle of town square

I think this was a grain mill that is still in town and operational, at least for historical tours.

Traffic light and sign coated in ice from the storm

The ice is really thick, even on thin little twigs

My room at the Royal Amsterdam: $79/night

You've all seen phoney frosted class. This is real thing from the inside of my hotel room. The class panes are really clear like normal windows. The frosting is from the ice storm.

Tiny blades of grass with 1/4 inch of ice

Big evergreen tree covered in ice

Chicken wire around a sapling

The top of the sapling

A little piece of pine twig that fell off of the tree. This was laying on the path just as you see it.

This is the entrance to the Graceland Cemetery in Pella. It is located about a mile north of town just off of Main Street. Most of our ancestors from the first generation that settled in the US from Holland are buried here somewhere. There was no attendant at the little office when I was there. The phone number isn't listed either. But I did find a contact number on a directional sign at the end of the driveway.

Grandma Wreatha turns 100

I was talking to Amy today and she told me that this past Wednesday, January 13th marked the 100th anniversary of Grandma Wreatha's birth. Sounds like a long time ago doesn't it? Since we all knew her, it somehow makes me feel connected to long ago. Just thought I'd share.

We Couldn't Have Done it Without Jane

Yesterday (Saturday) Jane and I were running some errands that included getting the car washed. We ordered the "detail bag" along with the wash because they give you window and dash cleaners, air freshener, etc. I was all set to clean the windows on the inside of the car using one of these wipes (they have one for windows and one for the dash), when I read the notice on the backside. Boy was I glad I had brought Jane! I'd have been in big trouble. Jarom and Seth wouldn't have been any help, and I have my doubts about Melissa.

Here is Where I Draw the Line

I've done some things I'm not proud of, but one the things that REALLY embarrasses my family is my liking, almost passion for Tinas Burritos (http://www.tinasburritos.com). If you've not seen or heard of these, they are the cheapest food in the store. Period. I've seen these for FIVE for a DOLLAR. The Target store across the way has them in the freezer section this week for .33 each. My personal favorites are the "Red Hot Beef" and "Beef and Bean/Green Chile". Since they don't sell the Red Hot Beef in our local stores (too hot for Colorado palates?), I substitute the Spicy Beef and Bean. I have even ordered the Red Hot Beef from the local King Soopers once. For some reason I love to eat two of them with lots of cold milk. Warning: Avoid eating two if you have to present in front of an audience in the following six hours. Jarom was giving me grief the other day about my snack, so I randomly looked up the company to see if there was a way I could get the local store to carry my favorite flavor. Somewhat to my surprise I found they actually had a fairly-decent website, but what surprised me more was the fact that they offered "great recipes" for which these burritos are the main ingredients. Curious, I checked these out and here is where I draw the line. These are not "great" recipes. These are pretty darn nasty. Okay, so to most people, these burritos are pretty gross. Cutting up a few of your "favorite" burritos, putting french fries on them and topping off with melted cheese isn't a "great" recipe. Or how about a fried egg and salsa on top of a couple for "huevos rancheros"? Or my worst favorite, chocolate mole sauce with crumbly cheese. I'm a simple person. I'll take mine pure and undefiled thank-you.