I'm a good driver, really I am...

I have been visiting my in-laws for Thanksgiving in Newcastle, WY.  My Cousin Ray lives about 50 miles away in Moorcroft and I went to visit him.  My parents were there for 2 days for Thanksgiving, I wanted to touch base and give them Zac for the return trip back through Utah then Nevada.

During the trip as I get to Osage there is lots of snow and wind.  It was like driving through a mini-blizzard and it was like that through Upton too.  It all cleared up as I got to Moorcroft.  We visited and about 2 1/2 hours later I left for the return trip, alone.

Once I hit Upton the snow and wind started, though the wind wasn't as strong as before.  It was snowy all the way to Osage, visibility was low and I was driving about 40mph on the highway.  The snow stopped once I passed Osage so I thought it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way.

The road was slushy and icy.  All of a sudden I start to fishtail.  I counter-steer but couldn't seem to straighten out, then a big spin and I end up on the shoulder on the other side of the road.  Stuck.  Couldn't get out.  A car pulled up along side of me and asked if I was OK and needed help.  He said he had a tow rope and 4-wheel drive so he may be able to get me out.

He had Indiana plates and I commented that he was a fellow Hoosier.  He was from the Bloomington area, I explained I was from the South Bend area.  Well, he got the rope hooked up and slowly we made our way out of the ditch/shoulder.  Woohoo!  I told him thanks and that he was my savior.

So I get to Newcastle, call my parents to tell them that I made it safely.  Then I drive up the dirt road to the lane where my in-laws live.  At the bottom of the hill I wonder if I can make it up because I wasn't sure how icy the dirt road was, but I didn't have cell service there and I should have called the house when I was were the dirt road met the highway.  Also, I had to pee really bad and decided to drive up the hill.

I didn't even get halfway up when I hit a slick spot and lost momentum.  I tried and tried.  I decided that I should just back down the hill and either try again or drive out to the highway and make a call.  The minivan slips and slides as I back down the hill.  I end up veering into the side of the hill, I'm glad I didn't go off the other side of the road and down the hill.

I get out to walk part way up the hill to Larry & DeeDee's place (I still had to pee so I make a pit stop).  DeeDee drives me up to Jim & Mary's place.  Jim gets his pick up truck with the plow on the front.  He plows the road as he goes down the hill, picks up Larry and they both go off to work on my minivan.  With a tow rope, lots of slipping and luck they were able to back the van down and park at the bottom of the hill.

So while I had the 2 mishaps on my drive home, I am thankful for the prayer of safety we had as a family before I left Ray's house.  You might think that the prayer didn't work, but it did.  I am thankful that I wasn't injured, crashed the car, hurt somebody or something. I am also thankful that there was somebody to help me out so that I didn't have to spend the night out in the cold on the side of the road.

Featurette: Johnny's Blog

So my friend Johnny has been a friend of my family for a long time.  I've known him for as long as I've known my husband.  I think Johnny is a great artist.  I would call his style whimsical, modern, futuristic, fantasy and caricature.  I know one of his artist influences is James C. Christensen.  In the past Johnny has done some graphic arts with video games, with such companies as Morpheus and Avalanche.

Artwork by John-Lehi Jensen

Johnny has made cards for us.

Artwork by John-Lehi Jensen

Artwork by John-Lehi Jensen

  

Artwork by John-Lehi Jensen

We asked him to do drawings for our business.

Artwork by John-Lehi Jensen

He's just so talented.  You can check out some of his other artwork and artist influences at his blog: ragbagmedley.blogspot.com

I recently made one of his 3D paper dolls, it was pretty cool (you can find it on his blog).  His more recent work that he shows on his blog I think belongs in a Tim Burton movie.  Do you hear that Tim Burton?!  You need to hire Johnny as one of your animators!

Anyway, check him out.  He's new to the blogosphere, he could use some subscribers.

New Roof

Our roof has been bad for a few years now.  It leaks, it's rotting.  The swamp cooler has leaked.  Some shingles had blown off during a windstorm or micro-burst.  The final straw was when 2 trees at the side of our house fell and landed on the roof.

So a few weeks ago we were at Sears and they were having a home improvement special.  We signed on to get a new roof.

A big dumpster was dropped off, and after the project it was filled to the brim.

Sears had to replace almost half of the sheeting for the roof it was so bad.  The front half of the house had 3 layers of shingles, the back had 4.  After it rained, because of so many layers of shingles the roof was not able to dry out and it just rotted.  On day 2 one of their guys was walking and he actually fell through.  Well he fell through all the way up to his waist.  A leg was dangling.

A couple of days later another crew sent by Sears came and repaired the ceiling.

The new roof looks great.  The swamp cooler is gone, there is a ridge venting system install, an ice guard, and Feltex Roof Wrap.

Oh, and it came with a lifetime warranty.  I'm glad that we had professionals do it (even though it was costly) because I would have felt horrible having a neighbor or family member fall through the roof.  At least this guy would have been covered by worker's comp.