OK, unless somebody speaks up, I'll be forced to give credit for the slinky comment to one of my siblings (John??????). Actually, the more I think about it, that comment has Schneider family written all over it!! The only question is which one of you it was and, if not John, can you stand the fact that he's getting credit for it ;)

Merry Christmas everyone!! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with German food, a Christmas pickle hidden in the tree, and lots of presents. We were all tuckered out from all the excitement, especially the slinky races. There's still a little snow outside to keep everything pretty; hoping for a lot more this week. Hope you all had a very merry Christmas. Please have a safe and happy New Year!!

Life is soooooo good!!

Just had to post because it doesn't get much better than this. Plenty of snow outside (it's a beautiful 12 degrees out and it's been snowing lightly for the past five days :), Friday night in front of a raging fire with cold beer. Stopped in town to pick up some dinner on my way home from work and the streets were all decorated with illuminated white snowflakes for the holidays and you can hear Christmas carols being played along Main Street. Sounds corny and you might think I'm exaggerating, but places like this really do exist. We are so happy here!!

When I walked in the door tonight, Dan told me how lucky he was to get to watch the sunset tonight. People have been gathering outside my office the past few nights to watch the sun quickly drop below the horizon around 4:30 and light up the sky. Something about watching that across a snowy landscape (and breathtakingly beautiful Lower Saranac Lake) makes everyone smile from the inside out. Sorry no pics to backup my stories but close your eyes and I hope you can picture it.

Tomorrow night is the Trudeau Christmas party. Really looking forward to watching a bunch of scientists get out on the dance floor. There is an annual, and highly coveted, "Gumby" award handed out every year for whoever shows off the "best" moves. Don't worry girls, I'll be watching from the sidelines my first year ;)

I am looking forward to working on the Trudeau float for winter carnival after the first of the year. This year's theme is "The Fabulous 50's", yay! I'll be sure to post pics for that. For those of you who will be here for the parade, I'm sure I'll make you proud. For anyone else who would like to come, it’s an open house and all are welcome. I’m working on putting a link to Winter Carnival on this blog.

Anyway, work is great but no news on the house front. Trying to decide if we will start building in the spring. Who knows, life is good!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you all are enjoying the season. I promise to post some more pictures soon.

A bird's eye view ...

We took a plane ride over the high peaks while our friend Gina was visiting. The pilot even let Dan fly!!!! If you look closely you can make out the ear-to-ear grin he had on his face. It was the first snow of the season and the peaks were just beautiful. I believe this grouping is know as the Gothics. And no, I don't know why I'm standing like that!!! Quite the pose huh?

What's the weather been like???

This was October 20, the day our friend Gina came to visit from Pennsylvania and said what the @#!@!? She said "It's October!!!" and we said "Well, IT IS October". Since then the weather has actually been very/dissapointingly calm. Here's hoping for more snow soon!!!!

Well, Dan was enjoying the life of a man of leisure but FORTUNATELY he is now employed as an electrician. No more lazy days on the water/trail for now. Awww, don't we feel sorry for him?!?!?!?!???

Trudeau Institute ...

I work at an incredible place called the Trudeau Institute where we work on finding ways to cure and treat infectious disease. My lab focuses on Tuberculosis. This is a very tough "bug" that has seen a resurgence in third world countries as well as populations throughout the world with compromised immune systems (i.e. HIV+). Other labs at the Institute work on cancer, flu, and multiple sclerosis. I'm learning a lot and TRULY loving my job. Feels good! Doesn't hurt that we are perched on the shore of Lower Saranac Lake. It's a very relaxed/academic-like atmosphere but a lot of good/serious research is taking place. Check it out if you're interested - see the link on this page for more info.

Meet the squirrels ...

Although no one could ever replace Kitty, Dan and I thought it might be nice to try two!! We adopted Jem (grey and white) and Scout (grey and white stripes) about a month ago. They are brother and sister. We call them the squirrels because they make it feel like we live with squirrels :) Scout's the dainty lil' princess and Jem is built like a bull dog but very needy/lovey.

Rest in peace little man ...

As some of you know we were very sad to lose Kitty shortly after he moved up North. We miss him terribly and think/talk about him often. He was a huge part of our lives for nearly 17 years. He had a long run but it never seems long enough.

We miss you buddy :(

Intro ...

Thought it would be nice to have a blog to document our adjustment to life up North. As someone who is online often, I love having blogs to catch up with how/what friends and family are up to. Anyway, we're getting settled in for freeze up and it will give something to work on from my cozy couch. Here are some pics of the house we're renting in Saranac Lake. Some would say I was a little lonely waiting for Dan to move up WITH THE FURNITURE!!! :)