Enjoying grandbabies and hunting for work

Owen's Halloween costume at the

Pueblo Childrens' Art Museum

Owen at the park

Amelia disguised as a lady bug & really enjoying her cottage cheese!

Amelia walking at her house in Bailey & she and Owen are playing at Nana's house. Make sure you turn up volume, because she is very vocal. Owen had such fun playing with her.

Last weekend with the adults and grandbabies was just great! The boys were off hunting the wily deer (they got 3) and Moms and Nana were enjoying the kiddos. We went to the Pueblo Childrens' Art Museum with costumes and had a great time. Brenda and Bree found a trail by my house that is easily accessible and it goes down to the river. I have yet to try it, but my goal is tomorrow (Thursday) because the weather here is beautiful. Of course Ella (Ben & Brenda's dog) was great, too.

Ben, Josh and Shep went hunting on the Forbes Ranch near Alamosa and shot 3 deer. They left Friday night and came back Sunday about noon. We went over to Josh and Bree's house and butchered the deer and packaged it all, and were done about 6:00 p.m. It was a lot of work but another fun Hobgood Project! The kids really appreciate having the meat, the guys like the bonding time, and I just like all of them whenever I get the chance. Shep and I don't eat venison, so they are welcome to all of it. Check the blog links for Ben's Blog and I am sure he will write about the hunting adventures. The stories are kind of like fish tales!

The weekend before I went to Ben & Brenda's while Ben came to Pueblo to hunt. Brenda & I took Amelia to the Botanic Gardens and it was abosolutely beautiful - I love that growy stuff. Brenda is so nice to put me up whenever I have the whim to visit. Amelia is really getting to know me - I love that! She is quite the character since she started walking as you saw in the video.

I babysat (toddler sat) for Owen last week while Josh and Bree went to a Dr. Appt. and out to eat. He was pretty funny. I got to do my first "craft" project - YEA! I had a miniature pumpkin and he wanted to color it, so I got out all kinds of stuff. When I curled ribbon to put on it for hair, he said the hair was curly like Matt Costa (the singer) who also has curly hair. It cracked me up. What a sense of humor he is developing.

Becky and I visit on the phone most every day. I really miss seeing that family. Logan now sings me songs on the phone. ABC is really good and BINGO is a great second. Sometimes he just breaks into song when he gets the phone. Laila is growing so much -I can't wait to see them. Devin is almost finished with the disertation! They moved to another house which is working out well now that days are shorter - they won't be in the deep dark valley this winter. They have a school nearby to take Logan to play which works out great. He is still a "two" year old, and some of Becky's stories are pretty funny. The other day he went up to a stranger in the park and told him he had something in his shoe. The guy helped him get the rock out of his shoe and visited with him! He is quite engaging - a politician in the works?

I am going to SLC Nov. 12 and returning on Sunday the 16th. Devin's disertation is the 14th and his birthday and Dr. party will be on Sat. the 15th. Pretty exciting for them. Finally life can get back to normal.

Job searching has become a hobby for me, I have decided. I have changed my resume 5 times and recently converted to PDF format. I hope it helps. Today I went to the Thatcher building just a mile from where I live. It is a 7 story historic building with big beautiful offices. I took my cover letter and resumes to every office on the first floor. People were really nice, and most of them took my stuff with the idea of passing it on if they didn't have a position. I had such a nice experience! My goal is to hit all floors before I go to SLC. After that I will pick a new big building in my area. At least it is easy on my feet. I still do the internet thing, but I have only had responses from temp agencies on those. I interviewed for a School District 60 job, but was not selected - oh woe is me! It felt so good to do something besides work on the computer, though. After my trip I will find some volunteer work to do, and see what comes of that. The temp agencies have not been too good yet, but I am holding out hope that something will happen. I am also planning on subbing as a secretary in both school districts. I went in to 60 yesterday, and the gal won't be back til Wed of next week! I called 70 today, and the gal is out til Monday. Hmmmm - drives me crazy! When I visited with the Temp lady, Andrea, who knows me on a first name basis, she said I was not the first person totally frustrated trying to find work. I guess a lot of people are in the same boat I am.

The house is great, still have some projects, but they will have to wait til I get more $. I finally got rid of the dishwasher that we took out of the kitchen a month ago. Three people told me just to set it on the sidewalk with a FREE sign on it, and it would be gone. It sat there for 2 days, and I thought I would have to haul it back to my backyard, but a guy came this morning and took it.

I have little green grasses growing in the backyard. The weather has been so gorgeous, I was lucky since I waited so long to plant it. I also put crocus bulbs in the front yard under the grass (which is called naturalizing), and this spring I should have them sprouting in the grass early in the spring.

Well, no more adventures from me. I miss you all and will keep in touch!

Life is good, even if I am unemployed

Well, I am actively working on job prospects, and have no idea how it is going, except that after a while I believe I must be invisible.
Strangely, I have posted a multitude of cover letters and resumes on line, and emailed a bunch of them, all with no results. I was thrilled, though, to get one rejection letter for a federal job. At least someone looked at my stuff! I will find out the results of the Colorado State Testing I did two weeks ago - the job I had applied for was not available, but I still tested. I will get a number of correct out of possible answers. The test is good for one year, and can be used for other state jobs I will apply for in the future. I have a contact from Larry & Joanna Feather for Loaf 'n Jug stores, but have not had returned calls yet. I am going to do cold calls this next week, and take my unsolicited resumes to anyone who will take them. I am getting brave in my old age - in fact, my age is probably a factor. After 3 or 4 revisions of my resume, I think it looks less like I am 61!

I tried to go to church this morning, but the yellow pages were wrong. Instead of the 9:00 service, the next one doesn't start til 10:30, so I have time to work on this blog. Maybe I can meet someone at church. I feel like the "lone ranger".

Sherry visited this week, and we had fun with her dog Hank and I enjoyed showing her around Pueblo. She was impressed, like everyone, with the community resources we have here. We did the riverwalk, the zoo, and Pueblo Reservoir (the lake). We had a great time. She drove over with plants I had left in GJ at school. I think she looked like a traveling greenhouse. I love having the plants-although they are more like bushes in the house.

This coming weekend I am going to see Brenda and Amelia while the guys go hunting. I am looking forward to a trip to Bailey just to get out of town. Amelia is walking - so it should be tons of fun playing with her. Ben's business is taking hits from the economic downturn, but Brenda's non profit employer just hired a new director, so she won't be in a crunch like she has been. They are busy working on things at the house, and enjoying that baby. She is showing the more stubborn side of her personality now that she can walk. The stories are pretty funny - I hope to get a video to post soon.

Becky, Devin, Laila and Logan moved to a different house and will stay there until Devin gets a post-doc job. They are happy to be out of the dark canyon for the winter. Logan is a typical two year old, so he is giving his parents a run for their money. He sings me songs on the phone. The other day it was the ABC song until he got to P and then it was Ps Porridge Hot from then on - pretty cute. Laila is just as happy as ever. Devin's dissertation is coming along well, and I can't even imagine the stress. November 14 is the big day - his birthday is the 15th, so it will be a sweet celebration! Becky is updating me daily on all the activities in their family. I enjoy our phone visits, because it feels like I am in touch, and closer in distance. Being so far aways is not the best of situations.

Josh, Bree, Owen, and the one in the cooker are doing great. Bree is looking very pregnant, it is so cute! She keeps really busy with all of Owen's activities, her yoga and on-line tutoring. Owen has grown into a little boy - even the way he walks is not like a toddler anymore. When he comes over, he knows where all the toys are. It is so nice to have him so comfortable here. He is such a joy. Josh's job requires quite a few late days, but it is worth it. Their lives are pretty busy and they really cherish a weekend with nothing to do.

The house is pretty much finished now, except for little stuff and eventually the kitchen when I win the lottery or get a great paying job. The last room I did was the convereted garage. I used carpet tiles and did my own peel and stick tiles, too. The paint made a huge difference. I used 3 tubes of caulk before I painted just filling cracks and holes. I had to repair a drop down attic access door - that was fun! The previous owners even had a dart board up-and weren't very good dart players considering the numerous holes in the wall. It took plenty of spackle to fill that. I also covered 3 holes in walls created by plumber, and just left by the previous homeowners. The patches turned out okay, but I am not hiring myself out for drywall repair any day soon. At least that messy job is done. I have much left to do, but the big projects are done.

Before and after shots of the yard and the family room