The Christmas tree is down and the neighbors finally removed the bright lights from their house perimeter. Christmas has sputtered to an end and our days are vacillating between unforgiving, unrelenting cold and mild and promising not cold (but not warm). I went out the other night to meet with some new friends and my car thermometer read -5 degrees, which turns out far above how cold it got around midnight, -22 degrees. Two days ago it was 40, nearly 60 degrees warmer. Temperatures are a protractedly discussed topic around here and maybe in North Carolina too these days. We spend time thinking about temperature as much as we think about what is for dinner (and if you know me, you know that is a lot of time). I am always wondering things like, “Is it too cold to run outside?” or, “Can Lucy handle the cold today?” Even, “How many layers of clothing will it take for me to get outside today?” or, “Can we drive in this weather???” “Did you pack the candy bars in case we break down?” --My mom always kept Hershey almond bars in the car during the more cold Minnesota winters. We never broke down, but the thought of eating Hershey bars between chattering teeth put a rosy spin on the idea of breaking down.
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| Old messy bath |
The bathroom is finished! The goldfish mural has been subscribed to the trash heap, where maybe the mice are enjoying it. The two-layer linoleum has also been disposed of and a lovely mosaic tile has taken its ratty place. Keith does fine work, if I do say so myself.
We ventured south to Colorado over break for a 5-day getaway. Keith’s uncle has a cozy cabin high (9100 feet) near the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. The weather was lovely and we got to hike to near 12,000 feet, which was hard and great at the same time. The roads near Keith’s uncle had deer, big horned sheep and castles—no lie. Look up Bishop’s Castle so you can get a good idea of the kind of person who built this rock and steel wonderment. Keith and Jim (his uncle) went all the way to the top while I clung to the side nervously.
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| Bishop's Castle |
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 Bishop's Castle |
Now we are settling into Keith’s last “spring” semester. We have a few things to finish at the house before we can put it on the market in August and we have the summer before us in really very little time. Time is flying and just as I am starting to think of Butte as home it seems we are beginning to near the final chapter. One more year to enjoy our new friends and the lovely Montana mountains. I was thinking this morning how little things like running into someone you know at the grocery or on the hiking trail are little things that add up to making a place feel friendly and more like home. And how being friendly brings friendliness into life and how even though I might live in a dozen other places between here and when, just a simple thing like meeting someone on my daily walk will make a new place feel accepting and good.
