Cassie’s Blog

We had two snowstorms last week, and this week has started with more wonderful snow! We will take the moisture any way we can get it at this point. I had to take a picture of the plow sitting outside our house. It felt huge just sitting there, then I was lucky enough to catch the driver standing outside of it confirming my feelings.

This is a picture of the shovel we bought for the back deck because the scoop is plastic. The entire scoop is under snow.

This is the view of the deck outside Dave’s office/Guest room when climbing the stairs. I’m really impressed with the amount of snow we’ve received that has stuck around.

A big relief happened yesterday – I received my first job offer!  Now comes the part that I’m going to hate – the waiting game.  I have some more interviews next week, and I’ve applied for a few jobs with Dave’s company that I need to give time before I make any decisions.  Detailers – I want you back!=)  According to Dave this is the best position I could be in – can’t say I’m a fan so far, but I will wait and see.

We are receiving our second snowstorm of the week.  The first left about 6 inches of snow, and the second is in progress with huge snowflakes.  We had a lot of wind yesterday, so I am really excited about the calm wind conditions and snow this morning.  We NEED the moisture.  Wildfire season is not supposed to start in March…

As I listened to Boulder cry outside the bedroom door because she wanted a drink from the faucet, I was wondering how my cats trained me so well. I always get up and open the door so she can go in though I closed it because the cats and I are noisy, and Dave is attempting to sleep. Boulder is pretty cute when she gets done drinking because her head is covered with water including huge drops on the tip of her nose. Now Boulder is doing the thundering cat routine followed by Golden – the reason the door was shut in the first place. The thundering cat routine includes running laps through every room in the house including over our bed.  Trying to sleep with a cat running over top of you is quite difficult. Rotten, rotten, rotten cats! Yet I am the enabler of this behavior…

I never thought I would say this, but I do miss a detailer telling me where to go. I have enjoyed getting the opportunity to hunt for a job – everyday holds new promise when it comes to the job search. The only problem is you don’t know how things are going. I’ve gone in for a second round of interviews which went well with one company and I’m going in for a similar round (I think) with another so there is a good probability that I will be employed sooner rather than later. The only catch is that I don’t know what I am missing out on or what might be an option if I just hold out a little longer… Detailers look at your dream sheet, I’m sure chuckle a few times, and then send you where the needs of the service require your skills.

Job search humor: the black hole e-mail response from an electronic resume submission.

Your resume will be reviewed and if your skills and education appear to be a match for this position, you will be contacted.

The wildfire is still smoking, but in theory we are out of danger.  The wind is pretty calm so far today which is a treat and blessing given our current circumstances.  I cannot say that the cats would enjoy a trip in the jeep again anytime soon – they behaved really well.  Boulder was exhausted and slept on my lap until I finally went to bed last night then she leaned on me all night and Golden slept between my feet.  They did not ask for food until about 6:30, and it was Boulder who did the stomping this morning to get me up which is very rare.  I think Dave climbed into the hot tub around 1 am – he had fallen asleep in front of the TV, and he is very sore from digging line uphill.  I’m looking forward to my pack test so I can join our fire crews on fires.  This weekend was a real eye opener as to what may be coming…

Two wildfires started near our house – one March 1st in Sunshine Canyon and one today in Lefthand Canyon. The Sunshine fire burned about 5 acres and the fire today from news reports burned around 10 acres. The picture below is the view of the smoke from our back deck. We got VERY lucky today and the winds were in our favor and kept the fire moving away from us. We are in a ridgeline above a valley and winds do swirl and do other squirrelly things here so Dave told me to evacuate. I stood on the back deck with my incredible neighbors and we discussed the fire just before I headed out. Unluckily I do have photos of it at that point. We saw the plane come in and drop retardant which was incredible. We have some wonderful friends who offered up their house to us. We only spent a short period of time at their house when Dave called with the all clear. I can see spot fires burning still.

I better go pay attention to Boulder – she and Golden did very well considering I piled them into the jeep and drove them around all afternoon. Boulder is doing her lost cat sound and I feel pretty guilty after the day we’ve had.

Dave came back from the fire with some great footage so I have added them to the right of the shot I took off our deck early on.  Dave said trees were torching right next to him because of the wind when they first arrived on scene.  Luckily it died down a little while after arrival.

It was 18 F out this morning, and we had fog! It was incredible! For me, fog was something we had during the calm part of the year, and I guess I can hope that maybe the windy season is done. It is hard to look at our deck and yard and ever believe that is possible – there are two chairs lying randomly around the deck while the table and fire pit carcass are strewn through the backyard. Yes, I know it is odd to just leave things where they land – I have found with our wind it is better to leave things where they are if it is not moving. We tried to fight the wind and lost with our table.

Why can a bird sitting on an empty feeder make me feel guilty? When I looked down to unhook the feeder I noticed two very cute visitors in the backyard.

One was snoozing and the other was checking me out while I filled the feeder.

They approached me this morning for a snack when I was walking between the house and the garage – the mom made sure I knew what she wanted. It was nice to see they decided to hang out.

We have successfully moved Dave’s office inside, and the cats are very excited. Golden has taken to sleeping on the corner of the railing to the upstairs so she can monitor any movement downstairs while having a good view of the upstairs. I’m sure the sunbeam that hits that position throughout the morning helps as well. Boulder has taken a much different approach. Dave was in his office late and Boulder was looking tired. Dave’s solution – put a pillow on the desk next to him for her to sleep on. Boulder was a huge fan of this idea, and when she joins us in the office that is her spot. She does have to sacrifice time in the sun, but she seems to have managed.