Wednesday

Well I must say we had lots of bright sunshine all day but the temps stayed down in the 40's with a heavy frost this morning. Luckily the large oaks that surround my back yard protected the garden once again from the killing frost. The cuke's and beans were touched a little with the cold wind but I think at this point they will recover. After a light breakfast and my quiet time I rode out to the rec on the bike and once again my eyes watered the whole ride which is probably less than 2 miles but felt like I was on the Iditarod Race in Alaska. Ava was awake when the alarm sounded at 6:15 AM and immediately wanted to watch UP again as she wanted her juice and snacks.

WE had 14 players this morning for pickle ball with 5 of us starting play around 7:30 which lasted until 10 AM. The play was fast and furious with wet shirts even as cold as it was.

This was our last morning with Ava before Amy came to pick her up later in the day. She was such a joy to watch and there is never a dull moment when she is awake. Annsley and Jill came around 11 AM as she needed to have Twill Auto work(brakes,tuneup,oil change etc.) on her car. Dan the owner is our friend and neighbor who is very honest and trustworthy. That is unusual in this market today. The girls gathered here at our place to play, have lunch and eventually help grand ma Nancy make cookies. They left about 2 PM to pick up Jill's car. Nancy had frozen the rib bones from the standing rib roast on Christmas Day and she made a great pot of beef barley vegetable soup using the bones for her base flavor. My that made for a great soup for lunch and each of us had 2 bowls on this cold day. Yikes I'm ready for warm days and having the a/c on again.

Not much else going on except the house is sure quiet with out Ava entertaining and keeping us busy at the same time. Ahhh the joys of grand parenting. We spoke with our "mountain mom" (Helen) just before supper and the temps up there have not been any where near being above the freezing level for nearly a week, plus they had more snow last night and our friend(Mechelle's) big toe is forecasting another snow right away. I'm really convinced I'm not ready to spend the winter up there anytime soon.Well I've rambled enough, enclosed are a couple pics of the girls from today's visit.Here's wishing all a warm and snugly evening. I almost forgot to congratulate the Iowa State Hawkeyes football team on their win last night as well as the Boise State Bronco's the night before. Both games were refreshing to watch for a change even though I have no allegiance to either school.LATER