Something good happened today.

Here's something neat that happened to me today. I had been looking all over the place yesterday for new curtains for our bedroom. I didn't want to spend a fortune but wanted to change the style. I'd been to several places, box stores and boutiques, consignment stores. Nothing I liked. Even the very expensive stores had nothing for me even if I could have afforded something. ( One store had sheet sets that were about $300. ) So, today I ambled over to our Hospice Thrift store and lo and behold, got two sets of cotton, cream colored, curtain panels for $4.00 in very good condition! I washed them, hung them up and they are the exact color of the walls in the room but a couple of shades lighter. Even D.H. was impressed. Yeah! Anyone else been lucky lately on some small thing? Tell about it here!

Well, congrats on the great find and excellent buy! I love when that happens! There is something about freshening up the home that makes one feel better!

I'm excited because I have a job interview tomorrow, doing on-mountain photography in Telluride! I photograph DH's motorcycle trials competitions and have a website for that and have had the cover a couple of times of the national vintage motorcycling organization's magazine, as well as had my motorcycling pics published with content in several magazines, so I like action shots and photography in general. One big concern was the commute (about 60 miles up the mountains), but there is a shuttle I can take daily for a very reasonable price (way less than driving my car, and way less stress!). And, I love to ski, love Telluride, and I really, really need a job! Please send good wishes my way that I get it...

Brenda

Oh, how exciting! I hope you get it and I will keep thinking that you will.

We got the house we wanted! As of today we are in escrow, probably moving around 12/15!

Herb is so excited he forgot to be grumpy for about 10 minutes. He will have the kitchen he has always wanted, and room to build the Man Grill outside.

I have a brand new place to garden, virtually a blank slate!

Hooray! That is excellent news. Please let us know your plans for the new garden. I can't wait to see what you do.

Congrats greenjay!

I had a most excellent day yesterday:
I won an expensive weeding tool in an online blog contest asking to explain what you learned this last year of gardening,
AND I got a call to come in for an interview to work as a seasonal cashier/visitor services assistant at the DBG!
ALSO, the doc gave me a 90% clean bill of health (90% clear in my lungs after the pneumonia),
AND I spent the best $30 ever on a really good pedicure that included a most excellent foot and calf massage (first time in over 6 months).

I had my interview w/ DBG today. I think it went well. I'll know at the end of the week whether or not they want me to work.

I don't live near the Rocky Mountains but I saw this thread and I love to hear about good things as all you ever hear in the paper and on the news is bad stuff. So I hope its ok to post here.

Congrats to all of you.

I found out my neice that is stationed in Iraq gets to come home for a few weeks in December then her time is up in March. This is her second tour so I am glad its almost over.

This may sound mercenary, lol but I was recently given a sugar glider and he was in a very small cage so my DH and I went to a PetSmart located about 45 miles from us and we found the perfect cage. It was clearanced out for $67, I was happy about that price but when we went to check out it rang up for $22. We didn't want to cheat anyone so we showed the cashier the tag stating the price, she said the barcode matched the one she rang up. She called the manager over and he said to sell it to us for $22. I was doing the happy dance.

Good news everybody! Nothing special to post myself, but happy for you all.

Hooray for the new house, Geenjay! And on the job interview, prize win, and clean bill of health and excellent pedicure, Denver Jude! And the fabulous buy on the new cage for the sugar glider, and your neice getting home in December Amber Lee! How about some pictures of the Sugar Glider? I have to say the good news is so very welcome... I think we all really need to share some good news now! Let the positive energy fly!

Brenda

This is fun! Thanks for joining in, Amber-lee. Please do send pictures of the sugar glider. I don't know what they look like. Brenda, was it you who told me about the nail pick-up tool? Anyway, DH got one at the local hardware store. So, we have a cool tool for when the roofers leave. Jude, I'm sure you will get the job!

No, I don't think it was me, Roybird, but glad you got one!

It might have been Lisabees. I lose track of our threads.

You don't keep track of everything each person says in each thread, roybird? Neither do I.

You don't? I thought it was just me! I just read a good article that my tai chi teacher gave me about how people learn. There was a graph and a bunch of questions so you could evaluate what kind of learner you are. I am not great with reading information or listening to lectures. I am much more of a "doer" and a "watcher". I think understanding how people learn differently might help with my teaching.

Yes, knowing about learing style does help - especially if the person works differently than you do. I learn a lot more effectively if I DO something too. I'm 50/50 on listening verses reading. You catch something different from the to types of communication.

i will post pictures of the new gardening space as soon as I can!

What wonderful news all! I can't wait to see pics of your new space greenjay. Congrats on your job DJ and welcome to the RM forum Amberlee ^_^ I have all my fingers and toes crossed for you Brenda! Roybird hold onto that charm as I will need to find fabby deals on pottery for my Sante Fe rockery when I come visit.

We seem to be a very fortunate group this month. Congrats and good luck to all! Maybe we should buy lottery tickets :)

I have been out and about and not using the computer much lately. The toe is healing and I can wear regular shoes again.

DH finally decided on Monday that we should look for a car to replace his non-functional car. We looked on Craigslist for mid-sized wagons and found one in our town that looked good. We got to drive it on Wednesday and decided to buy it immediately. It's a 2001 Subaru with only 75k miles and the all-weather package (mmm, heated seats). It was owned by an elderly lady who only drove it on errands around town and her nephew was very diligent about the maintenance. It's got a few dings in the paint but otherwise it's in great shape and the same price as several newer models with much higher mileage.

Yeah, Katlian! Sounds like an excellent car. I have not had a particularly lucky day today But I held to my practice and did not make anything worse! ( So far, at least. )

That's very exciting Kaitlan! Now for the important question: what colour is it? I am feeling very luckiful because our dear picante is swishing about in my very own Rocky Mountains just west of here and I am going to visit her tomorrow and I'm thinkin we might run into some Druids too ^_^

Oh, that Is good news, Dahlianut!

Congrats on the new car Katlian. Strong bet the color is green. Enjoy your visit with picante there dahlianut.

I guess Katlian's new colour is White Frost Pearl.

Congrats on the new car, Katlian! Subarus are very good cars, especially when dealing with multiple weather conditions.

My interview with the photography on Telluride mountain went well, but honestly, it is not for me. Sounds very fun, outdoorsey, people oriented, but the work schedule is grueling and the attitude is all about sales and though the term 'team' came up many times, I'm old enough and have been around enough to have translated that particular 'team' phrase to: 'sell or you're out'! The schedule goes like this: I get on a shuttle here in Dolores at 6:30 a.m., get to Telluride by 8:00, be ready for sales meeting at 8:30, on the mountain at 9:00, stay on the mountain (and HUSTLE! convince everyone that they need a portrait sitting, kids first, then parents separately then together, finally the whole family... because that's the one they really want but if you give them more options when you get them in the store they'll buy more). Then GET them in the store! Sell them frames! Oh, you'll be on the mountain until 2 or 3 p.m., then into the store to sell, sell, sell until 6 p.m. No leaving early, even if your last shuttle home leaves at 5:30. Repeat this 4 days a week for a little over $4.00/hour plus 10% of your sales and a ski pass. (The ski pass is the best part, but I think I'd be so sick of being on the mountain I wouldn't use it for fun!). As a waitress at Denny's, I'd make about the same per hour plus an average of 15-20% of my sales in tips. Hmmmmm. Wish me luck at Denny's!

On the happier note, DH and I love to play pool, and each Saturday we compete in a tournament at the local bar. Tony is quite good... I play pretty well but there are a lot of really good pool players here, and I don't wish to keep being the token female who keeps getting eliminated. I wish to be a butt kicken girl who wins! So, we decided to get ourselves a pool table for our Christmas present, found one on Craigslist in Grand Junction, and went and got it today! We had to totally disassemble it (DH did great), load it up, and it was about a 200 mile drive each way. We hit LOTS of snow coming home, and treacherous through the mountain passes, but again I credit Tony, he's an excellent driver and we're home safe with a new pool table! Can't wait to set it up! Our 5 dogs (who are rarely apart from us) were soooo happy when we got home. My Rossi dog is still just lying on the sofa staring at me with love.

A pic from the ride up to Grand Junction... Moab UT area.

You're smart yourself bsavage. It is difficult to do that kind of sales and it sounds like if you do really well you'll make enough to live above the poverty line. Something better will come your way.

That sounds too high pressure for sure brenda! Congrats on the new pool table!

Nice car picture, Brenda! I think you are making good decisions about both the job and the pool table. I think you could make money playing pool, how about that? Or maybe teaching women how to play pool! It is an area where men have traditionally been more successful because pool halls were once considered unsuitable places for women to hang out. Or at least that was the impression I got when I wanted to spend time in them. Poker has become much more open to women and so should pool.

Ooh, a pool table, that sounds like fun. Did you ever see Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land? I loved the part where they show the math of pool. Yes, I was a nerdy kid.

I worked in retail a few times in college and I have found I just don't have the proper attitude for a high pressure sales job. I hope you can find a job you like in a better atmosphere. Maybe someone in Dolores needs a garden consultant!

So the answer is: navy blue. But my older car is green and DH's old car is white, but not pearly by any stretch of the imagination.

Yes Greenjay! It will be so good to see your efforts to garden not be in conflict with all the condo people. Have at It !
Katlin Subaru has always worked well for me. I helped buy one for my daughter to have a safe car for my grandaughter.
I too scored a great deal at a Salvation army here in Kalispell. I got new wooden shutters for all of the windows I needed (8 separate) for $40. I had to trim only on one window to get it to fit. They were incorrectly cut for someone and they were perfect for me.
Brenda "Take The Job at Telluride!" you only will be fired it they really expect the "team" to profit. Nobody will do as good of a job as you. Say yes and then just do what you feel is right. Everyone will buy and you will get to ski your But.. Off .

The single coolest thing about the new garden will be STARTING with hardscape and irrigation planning. Having to accomodate a $0 budget made it nearly impossible for us to create the best placement of plants for light + water. Now that I will be controlling both the budget and the project, I can take as much time as I need to get the hardscape in place before siting the really large roses for example.

The lot is .25 acre, of which 50% is available for my gardening. Herb says he wants some grass. I suspect he will change some of his "wants" after he spends a summer mowing the front lawn!

The previous owners had an RV that they parked on a LARGE section of gravel (5" deep). I plan to reuse all of that gravel by pulling the icky wood chip mulch away from the house and installing a 3' drainage edge around the foundation. Whatever is left after that exercise can be used for the footings on my garden edges.

I envy you on getting to actually Start at the Beginning! It will take time but be well worth the effort spent. Interesting you mention a drainage edge. That would be like a French drain? Gravel in it. Three feet? Sounds pretty deep. I was just thinking of making a gravel drain of some sort along our driveway, as the new roof seems to be more efficient at pouring off snow melt. The old roof apparently absorbed quite a bit of it. l.o.l.

it is a peculiar thing to do with the bentonite clay we have under everything. There is a "5 foot" rule for foundations which is to prevent any water falling on or running over the compacted soil within 5' of the foundation. To make it even more interesting, you can't get proper insurance for foundation subsidence that arises from random distribution of water in the soil. The best practice is to grade away from the foundation at a 2% or better angle, apply groundcloth, then fill in gravel with a nice edger to make it look tidy. Whenever possible the gravel should be about 3" deep, to allow for sinking over time. That is a LOT of gravel to move into position around your average sized house!

On the plus side, I can divert all of the runoff from the roof into a few concentrated areas, which should reduce any need for irrigation.

Whatever gravel is left after that project I will use as footing for the 2' garden edges, for approximately the same reason. I don't want to have to keep rebuilding the edges every year...

Thanks for the explanation on that. I'm thinking it might be easier for me to go with more gutters and maybe a version of a French drain, too. That is a lot of gravel, indeed.

Here's something good that happened today. A friend came to visit and brought some YoYo Ma c.d.'s for me to borrow. We listened to music, had tea and apple pie. After about an hour and a half my friend said she needed to get going. She told me she is making an effort to keep visits to a 2 hour maximum. She hasn't been well and has found longer visits tire her out. I have to admit I really enjoyed the time we spent together without feeling my whole day was taken up! Sometimes I, too, find it difficult to socialize for long periods of time and the way she handled it was just lovely. BTW, she has reserved our tickets for Bela Fleck!

I still have not heard a peep from DBG about that job, so I'm guessing they found some pretty/handsome young thing to work in the gift shop for the 'blossoms of light' season.

That's kind of bad when they don't get back to you. Can you call them to ask if the position has been filled?

I know this is our positive thread, so I'm going to try to keep it that way, but I will say that as Tony and I are on the job search, the amount of not getting back to you is really appalling. So, on a positive note, I believe that those are not the kind of companies or people that are right for us to work with.

However with DBG, I'm sure I'd love to work with those people and in that facility. Maybe you should call them? Squeaky wheel and all... best of luck, it's tough out there right now.

The good thing today for me was the road to Bozeman. When we had to go on Thursday in the blizzard it was four wheel drive and second or third gear all 55 miles of it. Never went over 35 mph and often a lot slower. Took FOREVER.

Today the road was partly clear pavement with icy patches, but pretty easy driving. We liked that!

If you are the manager and are already more than busy enough, calling the list of people who don't get the job isn't likely to happen. You call the one(s) you want to hire. If that doesn't work out then you call the next one(s). If someone shows enough initiative to call you back once, or twice, then you'll likely remember them and are more likely to hire them.