The buzz in my head

There is a constant buzz in my head. The humm of a motor turning. My life is full. Full of kids, husband, family, friends, church, home and the things there and driving. The thoughts in my head come and go and rarely find release. The times when I am driving alone I get a chance to think. It is those times that subject runs into subject and I think, I really ought to write this down. Then the kids get in the car or I arrive at the destination and all my thoughts quickly run out of my head and the buzz is back. Too many thoughts. So much necessary to think on. So little time to be. To think. To write.
I'm a slow paced person living in a fast paced world. Really, quite honestly, our pace as a family is WAY slower than most. Here is the bain and the boost of my life. I live in rural Colorado. I live between two worlds. Slow and fast.
I love where I live. It is peaceful and calm. My neighbors are far enough away to not hear them and they don't hear me. We mind our own business and can still chat a bit when we see each other. We remain amiable due to distance. I like that. Chickens coo and cluck in my yard. I love finding the gift of eggs. Coyotes howl at night. Hawks soar on the winds above our acreage and make the plunge for the little pesky critters that live here too. Song birds come and go spring through fall. I can see the sky, the big, big sky. I love the sky. The blue background with puffy clouds. The cobalt of a summer dusk. The storm rolling in on grey low clouds, the lightening in all it's flashes and thundering. A magnificent light show is worth the electricity going out every summer several times. In the after storm light, the dark grey clouds and the green green grass are a sight of beauty to behold. Maybe the gift of a rainbow, even a double! In a good rain year, the grass is feet tall and waves in the wind like a rolling ocean of green or amber. So lovely and soft. In winter we can get a lot of snow. Not in close years, but in years past and we hope in years to come. Snow that melts into the dry pond, joined by spring torrents of rain to fill it up and give the kids a wet and muddy place to play and explore. Joining their voices are the chorus frogs that fill the late spring and summer air with song. Beautiful song. I've missed their song of late. May the rain and snow come again. Snow.... feet and feet of snow. I've seen it up to the the street sign. No way to get in or out. Nowhere to go, stay at home. Warm, cozy, together. I love it here. Even when the wind tries to rip off the roof with hurricane force winds in the middle of the prairie. When we can't get out because the road is drifted shut. When it is hot and does not rain and we worry.
I can't say I like some of our other dwellers. The voles, the ground squirrels, the gophers. They eat my garden. My once beautiful, featured in the newspaper garden. I guess I was too proud of it. They have eaten it nearly all gone. Time for new ideas that need less work. More functional, less eye catching. The war has ended. We must make peace..... Well, not that they will, but if I try to give them less then maybe we can live at peace. Maybe. I hope. I am the outsider after all. I should do my part to get along with the natives.
Our choice to live here pleases me. It, however, comes with a great deal of driving, which does not please me. Not that I mind driving, I just seem to do way too much of it. Yes, yes, when we choose to live here we did figure in the fact that it would take us 20-40 min to get to anywhere we would ever need to go. School, church, the grocery store, a friend's home, work. Yep, we got ourselves into this. And, even though we are not involved in much the drive makes everything seem like so much more. I have to calculate my time and make good use of that time out. Sometimes it is just not worth the hour drive round trip. I take the kids and stay the two hours where ever we are going.
It's all that driving that gives me time to think. To consider. To philosophize and pray. Sometimes I "hear" God in my car and my thoughts gel and sink in. I usually want to write it down when I get home, but you know, kids, life, work..... it all needs doing.

I want to write more here. Maybe I will. For now, I will drop into bed and fall into a heavy sleep. I will wake up tired and repeat. Someday it will slow down and I will miss the buzz.

snow

It is snowing and we have drifts, big drifts, can't get out. Snowblower is working hard, oh, that would be my husband working hard with the snowblower and the boys are shoveling! Well, they were. Now all the kids are sledding. They have tried to sled on some of our earlier snows but this is the first one that is truly good sledding. Maybe the neighbors will come over and play too. The more the better!

Looking forward to a white Christmas, but sunny by then! Happy Christmas and New Year!

Hodgen update

Well, they finished Hodgen on Nov. 1. This was a nine month project. Our estimate of expense for this was well over 1000 in extra gas and wear and tear on the car. We are thankfully back to our normal routes.

Now they are proposing to expand County Line road. This is a road we travel frequently but the alternative will not be nearly so disruptive...... for us. It will be for MANY who we know, including the government commandeering of personal property. No fun.

But, not in this year! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Science Fair

Phoebe entered our Regional Science Fair and did a great job. She won an award from an Engineering company as well as third place in her category. We are so proud of her. She did a great job and gained a lot of confidence presenting information to judges. She did so well.  Good job Phoebe and Congratulations!

What am I up to?

Well,
Mostly watching the on line news for information on the recent decisions being made in Ethiopia regarding the processing of International adoptions.

Today is Pi Day at TCA for elementary. Fun time for all the kids. The one event I have never volunteered for. You have to do math all day. I guess it is fun, but I would be no help at all!

Taking stuff down to the Village Exchange.
If you are local this is a great opportunity to quickly clean out your storage area and closets. Take it to Village Seven Presbyterian Church today by 8 pm. Tomorrow Sat March 12, go from 8:30-12 and collect anything you can use for FREE! Yep Free! Great thing.

Tomorrow Phoebe is in the Regional Science Fair! All Day. She did great in her school fair, winning several awards and second place in her category. The girl built a robot all by herself. Ok, I am impressed!

I get to start slow on Fri because Kedus does  not have school. How nice is that! Of course I was checking on the situation in Ethiopia, hoping for good news. In case you are interested that is all posted on the adoption site tabbed at the top.

Well, off I go to actually start  the day now.

Tenth Avenue North "Healing Begins"

Hodgen

This is not a happy friendly post , so.............. just warning you. You can skip it if you want.

I feel the need to complain. My routine has been disrupted. Not just a little, A LOT. ElPaso County department of transportation has deemed it necessary to widen and alter Hodgen Road. More than a little remodel. They closed it totally and completely until sometime between Aug and Dec. That is 6-10 months!!!! This is one of our major cross streets. This is my main route out of here for school, grocery, friends, church, etc.

Ok, it really does not need it. It is fine. They just paved it a couple years ago and it is still fine. Oh, the traffic is getting more, but really in the 5+ miles of it I drive 6 times a day I rarely see more than 10 cars if that. I would not call that a busy road. Sure it is two lane. The two lane secions of Hyw 83 that I drive 6 times a day are much more heavily trafficked. In fact I have witnessed and been threatened by careless, hurried drivers more than occasionally on that road. Rarely on Hodgen. Are they going to widen 83? No.

Ok, a little detour. Or maybe not so little. I checked it out. From my house I add 15-20 min and about 5 miles  to do my shopping, go to church, a friends house, take my daughter to Bible Study, etc.... 15-20 on top of the 20-25 it already takes me!!!!!! To school it is not as bad so I will use that example. It is 2 miles  and 5 min extra one way. I drive it about 6 times a day. That is 12 miles longer. That is a little more than half a gallon of gas. So in one week (if I am only driving to school and church) I use 8 gallons of gas more than usual. Let's see now, the price of gas is $3.15 per gallon. If I have to continue to do that detour for just the 6 months that is $605 in extra gas spent (at the least amount of driving) on a detour for an unnecessary project. I usually fill up once a week. I am having to fill up more often. In fact, I should not have needed gas until tomorrow but had to get gas on Wed. I am not feeling very friendly toward the county right now. And that is just the money..... time is money too, but I won't calculate that out right now.

IF they had left open the intersection at Hodgen and Black Forest Road I would be up only slightly on cost and time. But, no they have to do it so that hundreds of rural families have to take VERY lengthy detours to get where they go everyday. I think they ought to pay US. I think I need reimbursed for undue burden.

There are two detours and I have used the least direct and most well maintained route for this example, because that is the one I will be using. The other is closer and likely fewer miles but the time is longer due to the rural nature of the roads. Not to mention that they did not bother to up the maintenance on these roads prior to them becoming the major transportation detour. The roads on this detour are partly dirt, wash boarded after the winter months, and partly paved. You know the normal rural rutted, uneven, really narrow two lane, paint worn off sort of paved. I would think the residents along that road would have appreciated a paving job rather than all the extra traffic they are getting. The speed limit is reasonable for the terrain but the huge amounts of traffic re routed through there are going far above the limit on roads not maintained to go above 35-40. I got tail-gated in the dark, you know so close you can't even see the head lights, along the majority of the 15 miles it took to get home by a car wanting to go over the limit but not willing to pass. I go the speed limit, especially in the dark. Oh, and there aren't any pull overs. Going this route I pass our house twice but can't get to it. I have to go around it by several miles. Frustrating to say the least. It is like we are at the end of a 5 mile long cul-de-sac with no other outlets.

Ok, I know, it could be worse. I know, I have entitlement issues regarding this. I know I need to be patient, grin and bear it, etc.....

I'll get used to it, but right now I am feeling a bit like a growly bear.