The Adventures of Flat Stanley in Colorado

Stanley at the top of the Incline

A couple weeks ago, we got a text from our friend, Hannah, back in Michigan. Her son was doing a project for school. The class read the story of Flat Stanley, a student who was flattened by a chalkboard. The kids cutout and colored their own versions of Flat Stanley, and then were directed to send Flat Stanley to different places to learn about life there. Hannah asked if they could send Flat Stanley to us.

Flat Stanley arrived at our house last Friday. It turned out to be a good weekend for a visitor. Here's how Flat Stanley spent his time in Colorado...

What They Don't Tell You

A little over a year ago, I made a full-stop on eating meat. I originally gave it a six-month commitment, but a year on, I don't really have any plans to go back, and so far, I pretty much like it. I won't rule out ever eating meat again, especially if its wild, shot by a local hunter. Or a buffalo, because those things don't put up with being force fed, raised improperly, or injected with hormones (I'm making an assumption on that last one). However, so far, unless it can survive under water for more than 24 hours, I don't eat it. I have taken to describing myself as a vegetarian, but I'm not totally comfortable with that description yet either.

Making the Party Happen

Spoiler: This blog post ends with the line "And that is how I smuggled 40 coney dogs past MotorCity Hotel Security."


So, as you all know, Eric turned 40. To celebrate, we had a party for Eric in Michigan just before his birthday. It was so super cool to see how many people came out to help Eric celebrate.

The House in Town

As I mentioned in my last post, the newest house in caretaking adventure was built in the mid-60s. 1964, to be precise.


To quote Eric, "this house might be the most special."


Although I've never actually seen the show, I think its possible that we are living on the set of Mad Men.

4th House in a Year

I've been super busy with  birthdays and work and moving and friends in town and family in town and oh yea, a blizzard this week that I'm behind in telling you about all of this.


This post is about moving into house number 4 in one year.

Owls

When we sold our first house, several days before we moved, there was an owl in the front tree. It was the first time I had seen (at least as an adult) an owl in the wild, and I remember thinking "why couldn't this have shown up when we lived here?"

Two weeks before we moved out of the House in the Woods, I heard owls outside our window, several nights in a row. Again, I thought, "why haven't they been around before? Why do owls show up when I'm leaving somewhere?"

This Guy = 40!

Southern California

 My best friend turns 40 years old today.

This guy.

40?

Maybe in age, but youthful as ever in spirit, in love, in adventure.

Plus, 40 just isn't that old.

Happy birthday Eric, I love you!