Thoughts From 5,300 Feet

Alma on a leash?

2009-04-08T13:47:00.001-07:00

When I was putting together the post about Chloe, I found pictures of Alma out for a walk too!

Summertime walk in the backyard.

Wintertime walk in the front yard.

New family member

2009-04-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

On March 28, Maggie and I adopted a truly beautiful dog. Her name is Chloe and she's a 4 YO Giant Schnauzer/Lab mix. We made the adoption from the Bitter Root Humane Society in Hamilton. So far, Chloe is the best dog imaginable. She's sweet, well mannered, loving, attentive, and for the most part completely ignores the ever-hissing Alma. Maggie and I both look at Chloe sometimes and ask "What's wrong with you? You're not really perfect are you?" We will keep you all updated, but here are some pictures for now...

Woof!

I may look sad, but I'm really, really happy!

For a comparison of scale, here I am with Mommy Maggie. I'm 65 lbs. Can you believe these stencils?

I have a sister now. I don't think she likes me very much. She seems to avoid me, and when we do see each other, she hisses at me. From what I gather, her name is Alma, and she thinks she rules the roost. Oh well.

Chloe seems to fit right in at our home. It's like she's been with us, and was meant to be with us forever. Adopters often scratch their heads and wonder, "why did your previous family give you up?" There are many reasons of course. We just feel lucky to have found this girl.

There happens to be a park in Anaconda named Washoe Park, with a creek named Warm Springs Creek. This time of year, it is not aptly named. It is downright frigid. But, Chloe's Lab genes came out in her this past weekend. On a walk through the park, she took a BIG dive. She got out, shook off some water, then went right back in. I bet that creek will be heaven for her later this Summer. We'll take photos of a swim soon.

And while Chloe seems disconcerted by her new sister Alma, things are moving along just fine. There is much hissing, but it's not that bad really. And it's getting better day by day. Maggie and I actually saw Alma go right up to Chloe last night and sniff her paws while she was asleep. Interesting.

Gathering Illinois Friends and Family

2008-10-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

A Motley Crue indeed!

Maggie and I were honored, when my brother Rick offered to let us have a party at his house while we were home in Illinois. We thought our trip home would be a great time to gather all of our friends and family in one place and celebrate our wedding all over again. We had a great time, even though it was 85 degrees with 80% humidity (Back home it was a sweltering 10 degrees with snow on the ground!) I haven't sweat that much since I lived in Illinois!

Sweaty boy and Maggie

Our family members who braved the ridiculous heat were, my brothers Jim and Rick and their families, including my sisters-in-law Pama and Nancy and niece Amanda and nephew Tim. Nephews Zach and Greg were not able to join us unfortunately. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Nancy joined us, as did my Uncle Bob and Aunt Marilyn. My adopted family member Kimma, and her sister and brother-in-law Shawn and Aaron joined us as well.

Jim, Nancy, Uncle Bob and Uncle Tom

Aunt Marilyn, Maggie and Uncle Bob

Uncle Tom and Aunt Nancy

Friends came from all over. His Holiness, Pope Bite Me IV, visited from St. Louis. My best friend Jeff and his wife Belinda brought their kids Roan and Teaghan from Chicago. Bill and Carmen also came down from Chicago. Mike and Christie came from Champaign with their kids Will and Emma. Also from Champaign were Barb and Rod. Barb is still my favorite boss of all time! It was great to see the C/U crew.

Barb and Rod

Sandy and Alyce

Rod and Francie

Sandy and Raymond

Pope, holding court

Jeff and Pete

Our Springfield friends included, Pete sans his wife and twin girls, Blake and Jenny came with their kids Evan and Annabelle, Lori and Steve brought Ben and Emily and Amy and Steve came with Leanna and Eric. Illinois State Library friends were also in attendance. "Professor" Arlyn, Sandy, Francie, Raymond, Alyce, and Tom. My former reference department supervisor and current Director of the Illinois State Library Anne brought her son Thomas.
Amy, Lori and "The Steves"

Carmen, Bill, Mike and Belinda

With all of the children at the party, Maggie and I started to feel a little left out without our Alma.

Rick and Pama's perfect Golden Retriever, Sarah

We didn’t get to spend enough time with folks. It’s the curse of having a big party. I just wanted sit down with everyone and say. “So what’s been happening in your life?” “How have you been?” “How do you people handle this heat? In October?!” We just couldn’t do it. It was too busy. For that I apologize. I urged all of our guests to come to Montana. We can have those conversations sitting on the sun porch at 600 Main Street.

Georgetown Lake and Mt. Haggin

2008-10-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

My brothers and I followed Maggie and Kathy to Philipsburg to go candy shopping the day after the wedding. BTW: The Sweet Palace and 7 Gables Restaurant (Best damn chicken in the state) at Georgetown Lake is a must stop for all Anaconda visitors. Bring plenty of insulin. It was a snowy trip through the Anaconda Range. As I said earlier, we had three inches on the ground in Anaconda and we were headed up about another 1000 ft or so. Snow at Georgetwon was beautiful. I desperately wanted my brothers to see some wildlife. Moose preferably. They were nowhere to be seen. But we did catch a glimpse of a rather thoughtful looking Great Grey. My brother got a pretty good shot of it...

What do you think?

Rick and Jim and Kathy all left the next day. I recommended a road to the boys. I think they took it because this view of Mt. Haggin is from that road. Pretty spectacular snow for September 2.

Wedding guests and fun photos

2008-09-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our wedding day was made very special because of the people that were able to join us on that day. As I stated in the previous post, my brothers Rick and Jim made the treacherous trip from Illinois to Vegas and then drove a rented Hyundai Sonata the remaining 12 hours! I was honored that they agreed to be my Best Men. Maggie's two attendants were her best friends... The Kathys. Kathy from Missoula and Kathy from Portland. Rounding out our guest list was of course, the Reverend Sue, Maggie's parents JoAnn and Mike, brother Scott, Grandma Millie, and Aunt Bek. My wonderful stepdad Don and his wife and my friend Rose were also there for the Big Day. Of course how could we forget, our special needs daughter Alma. She enjoyed all the company we had that day. Here are some more fun photos of the day...

Scott and Aunt Bek

JoAnn, Kathy Majidi and Sue

Kathy Majidi and Maggie.

Scott and Millie in the Red Room

"Ahhhh.."

Me and Kathy Kelly on the couch, Sue at the Piano, Bek looking at the camera, and Rose with her back to you. What a fun crowd.

Bek and Alma were fast friends

Finn Boys eating? I don't believe it.

Yum. Food.

Me and Jim in the Stencil-riffic kitchen

Alma is overwhelmed with emotion.

It was a big day for all of us.

The Wedding photos... Finally!

2008-09-27T10:18:00.001-07:00

Bliss.

As many of you know, Maggie and I were married on August 31, here in Anaconda. We had been planning a very small, very secular ceremony for the backyard. However, the morning of the wedding, it was rather cold and drizzly. Not a very nice day to be outside. We moved our guests indoors. It was a great day. My brothers and stepdad were here. And Maggie's family joined us. The Reverend Sue performed the ceremony. (Sue and Maggie were both ordained online through the Universal Life Church, the month prior to the ceremony). It was all legal... really.

Reverend Sue's Credentials... just in case there were questions ;-)
Maggie's beautiful grandma Millie, just before the ceremony

Assembled Friends and Family

We promised a five minute cermony. I think it seemed like two minutes, but we are told it was actually around ten. It was an emotional blur for both of us. Sue mentioned the fact that Mom and Dad couldn't be here and I lost it. Then Maggie lost it. We were both in tears by the end. We performed the wedding in the doorway, so people could sit in the living room. It was very cozy. Here are a few shots of the ceremony...

The "I Do's"

The vows

The Rings

The Kiss

Us and Sue

After the ceremony we toasted our guests with a glass of bubbly, and proceeded to do what both families do best... eat! We had quite a brunchy spread. Maggie's dad Mike grilled chicken in the backyard, I made fresh fritatas and lemon spaghetti, Maggie's friend Kathy Kelly made some great salads, and we had awesome huckleberry cream cheese danish shipped in from Sweetgrass Bakery in Helena.

Mike the grillmaster...

The Spread

Maggie and I sat at Bernice's Bakery in Missoula once, while a young couple had a presentation from the baker about their wedding cakes. We were very jealous, because they got to taste all these great cakes. We wanted to do that too! But when we overheard how much a wedding cake costs, we were taken aback. We didn't need to do that did we? No, we decided to do something very simple yet tasty. We ordered a Huckleberry Torte from Park Avenue Bakery, also in Helena. It was truly great.

The Torte... OMG!

What a day. To cap it all off, there was a hailstorm in the afternoon. Then it started raining. Then it never stopped raining, until sometime in the night the rain turned to snow. We woke up the next day with 3 inches of snow on the ground. That was good for my Illinois brothers to see.

Other fun pictures...

2008-06-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

These are some forgotten photos that were found on Maggie's camera recently...

Alma is looking particularly ragged here. She needs a good old fashioned brushing. But, look at those eyes.

Biker Boy!

I recently had the Bridgestone Mb-3 tuned up. New tires, lube, etc... it rides better than any twenty year old bike should... Maggie likes it when I wear the helmet...

Damn Hippies and their crazy beliefs...

It's still cold here. June 4, and we're looking at highs in the lower 40's...

Big Bill's Visit to Anaconda

2008-06-04T08:36:00.001-07:00

On Sunday June 1, Bill Clinton came to Anaconda to campaign for Senator Clinton. He spoke on the front steps of the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Courthouse. Just two blocks from our front yard. The street was closed off at our intersection.

Anaconda Gussies-up for Bill...

Linda, a County Commissioner, told me she was driving down Main Street with the Secret Service the week before his visit. She jokingly asked them if they wanted her to have OUR Big Obama sign taken down. She told me they didn't even hesitate... "of course not" was their answer.

Bill was exactly on time. He was scheduled to speak at 1:00 pm. He is of course notorious for showing up late. That's because he is a sociable guy of course. He likes the trail. He likes to shake hands and sign autographs. But he took the stage with former Montana Congressman Pat Williams right at 1:05. I was amazed. It was a great stump speech. Nothing bad was said against Senator Obama. Plenty was said about W. and McCain. I truly hope Bill gets behind Obama. He can only be an asset. The Standard said there were 2,000 people. Don't bet on it. Maybe several hundred at best. However, his visit was enough for Hillary to carry Anaconda-Deer Lodge County in yesterday's historic Montana Primary election. Obama took the state, but Anaconda was a definite blue-collar hold-out.

Bill on the Stump...

Pat Williams Introduces Bill

Before and After!

2008-05-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here are before and after photos of the dining room. Maggie and I spent all day Sunday painting and tore the masking tape and paper down on Monday morning. It turned out pretty good. We still have to add the trim pieces to the ceiling. Not sure what we're going to do there yet. But we'll figure it out. BTW: The paint is Tea Leaf Green, and it came out just as advertised! The color is actually pretty rich and sophisticated for us Montaner Hicks. As I said in the previous post, we painted over wallpaper. A big no-no usually. However, the plaster under the paper is in pretty dubious shape. We felt it was alright for this project.

Fireplace before - dig that crazy wallpaper

Fireplace after - the country style paper is gone!

Built-in cabinet before

Built-in cabinet after

Creative Taping and Papering

Alma doesn't know what to think...

That's an entire Friday issue of the Anaconda Leader

My favorite "after" view.

The Martini Bar... shaken or stirred?

New photos on the way!

2008-05-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

Howdy.

Maggie and I painted the dining room this weekend. Big fun. We chose a shade named Tea Leaf Green. It actually turned out as advertised. It looks very rich, and somewhat sophisticated for us Montaner hicks. Stay tuned for before/after photos.

While we were in the middle of our three hour tape job (Damn Built in Cabinet!) we heard our doorbell ring. It was Jocob from the Butte Obama office. He said he had to stop and say hi to the biggest Obama supporters in Anaconda. He thinks our house is strategically placed for a giant sign for early voters. We're just two blocks from the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Courthouse. Anyone voting early, has to drive right by us. I'll put up a photo of the new "giant" sign as soon as it's available. Montana's primary is next Tuesday, so it better get here soon!

Snowy April 20th.

2008-04-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 20th was very snow in Anaconda. We had lows in the single digits in the city, negatives in the mountains outside of town, and a foot of snow yesterday. This photo is Main Steet looking South towards the courthouse and the mountains at the edge of town...

A very snowy St. Marks Episcopal Church. This is across the street from our house. Our house used to be the parsonage for St. Marks. Our friend, Father John Toles, officiates there.

This is supposed to be a Sun-Porch...

yes that's snow in the corner. we have a broken window.

Peace, Snow & Obama on the sun porch.

The move... second post in 1+ years!

2008-04-21T07:43:00.001-07:00

600 Main Street

Boy howdy. The first (and only) post to this blog was back in 2006. Alma was new. Maggie was about to happen. And I was living the high altitude life to the fullest. Man, things do change. And fast. And good.

Dining Room - Fireplace

Dining Room - built in cabinets

I have included some photos of the new house. We signed the papers on April 4th. I moved in on April 4/5th. We saw/heard Barack and Hillary in Butte on April 5th. (Amazing). Maggie moved in this past April 15th.

Stencil-riffic Kitchen
We Love our Pantry!

We have worked our tails off getting boxes unpacked. We're almost there. The downstairs is almost complete. The upstairs is getting there. Therefore no pictures of the second floor yet.

(Jazz Wall in the Media Room. That's Mingus in the middle, with some of my favorite Jazz LPs surrounding it.)

Media Room.

Maggie and I love the house. We feel very lucky to have found it. We looked at complete Anaconda/Butte wrecks for over a year. Then this place fell in our laps. Thank you Melva!

Maybe, more importantly though, Alma LOVES the place. My old house was a mere 800 sq ft. The new place is 3300 SF!!! She has so many new places to hang out in... get lost, disappear. We put her collar and bell on during the move and craziness to follow. In case she got lost, people would know who to call. We took her bell off this weekend, so she is very stealthy now.

Maggie's Piano in it's new living room.

Alma in her new living room. She seems very happy.

First entry

2006-08-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I didn't think I would try to have a web presence since my last webpage went offline in 1994. I fear though, that this may be the easiest way for me to get photos that I want folks to see up online. For Free. Also, I may want to ramble from time to time.

So until I learn more about this Blogger site, I think these posts will be very basic. But to start off, I promised a couple of you pictures of the newest member of my household, Alma Jacobs. Here she is:

The link in Alma's name takes you to a page called Black Pioneers and Landmark Episodes in Librarianship. The page begins to heat up with Alma references in 1956. You'll understand why Alma was a very special human and a great librarian. She was a trailblazer, made all the more unbelievable doing her work in Montana.

Also, I have a few photos from the trip home to see mom. A couple turned out great.

Me and Mom

Everyone Say Bratwurst!

There is a very good chance that I will be in Illinois for a good chunk of the month of December. I will keep everybody up to date on that itinerary.