Happy Halloween!!!!

Hester Prynne, Mother Nature, Audrey Hepburn, A Reject Rockette and A Jockey

Well folks, the residents of the Poor House had a rager of a shin dig last night. Creative costumes were worn by all. We were thrilled that the only furniture casualty of the evening was our coffee table, since that was on its last leg anyway. Although our 18 pumpkins have pretty much rotted and been ravaged by the squirrels, our Halloween party had plenty of spirit and joy. We hope everyone has had a wonderful Halloween weekend! 

Walter and The Dude made an appearance

2 Saratoga Jockeys and their Horse Owner

Molly H. can help you achieve a whiter smile!

Happy Hallows Eve!

Love,
The Poor House

Things are getting chilly...

We're trying to make it to November 1st without turning on the heat... true to PH form. The weather here is fickle and this week has decided to be very cold, but next week it apparently plans on being 70 degrees. No complaints, there.
Anyway, for right now things are getting mighty brisk here. We have to layer and bundle and sit closely to each other in order to conserve body heat. We drink tea about 12 times a day to warm ourselves and have 4 candles burning most of the time... it's true that we used our fireplace but we're already out of wood. Any burly men out there feeling generous? We will pay you in hot toddies and cookies if you chop wood for us and deliver it to our doorstep. Now we're starting to sound desperate...maybe it's time to turn on the heat...

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE!!!

THIS JUST IN:

Caiti is employed! the benefactor: target

Norah is employed! the benefactor: denver university early learning center

Kat had an interview today

Things are looking up!! Maybe the heat will be turned on soon....

Fireplace

Tonight the ladies of the Poorhouse broke in the fireplace with a fire. They did this 1) because it was freezing in the house and 2) to hold off on using the heater as long as possible. Hence, they heated the basement with a fire and hung out there the entire night for warmth.

Pumpkin Parade

On Friday night the Poor House hosted an extravaganza of sorts. The idea was to bring a pumpkin, carve it, and enjoy a hot toddy. I think it's safe to say the party was a success. We carved 18 pumpkins and lined the sidewalk with halloween splendor. So much so that children came from far and wide to ooh and ahh at this 8th wonder of the world. Ok, so it was 2 small children passing this morning, but it warmed our hearts with halloween glee. We have posted some pictures so that you too can ooh and ahh at the magnificence from the comfort of your own home (free of charge).

Timber admiring my handiwork-two of the three dogs had some digestive issues the next day

5 sets of siblings

The whole group!

Backcountry Bierstadt

Mt. Bierstadt

Yesterday Kelsey and Kat summitted Mt. Bierstadt. This is supposedly one of the easiest 14ers, but as we know, "there are no easy 14ers"...unfortunately we found out how true those words were when we hiked the peak in a foot of snow, solo mission style.

High points of the hike: amazing views, having the mountain to ourselves, challenging our hiking and mountaineering limits, discussing the concept of hubris while summitting the peak.

Low points of the hike: trudging through the snow to blaze a trail, hyperventilating at over 14,000 ft, Henry's bloody paws and Kelsey having to carry him up the trail, climbing the "Agro-Crag"- like peak at the top, encountering a hunter starting his hike to go hunt mountain goats :(

The top portion of the mountain was like the surface of the moon.

Kelsey blazing a trail.

Ankle deep in the snow and furiously sucking in air.

Proud that we made it to the top!

Needless to say, this will probably be the last 14er of the season. On the bright side, we have many other winter hikes to come!

gettin' festive!!

WE LOVE PACKAGES!!!

We want to thank all the moms (and dads...) that sent us fall packages!! You would never think that a bundle of indian corn or scented candles (a necessity in the poorhouse kitchen) would be so appreciated! The halloween socks are a big hit, coffee is ALWAYS welcome, and we've got grand plans to make hot toddies using our matching mugs!!

Kat is making apple crisp with fresh apples straight from upstate NY tonight! We'll share the deliciousness and think about everyone at home :)

EXTRA BONUS! Special surprise: JM also sent us frozen hormone free, grass-fed (of course), beef!! So eating the decorative indian corn is no longer a necessity....

I'm so unemployed that...

Here at the Poor House we have a lot of free time. We have picked up some interesting unemployment habits and have decided to share them with you.


Kathryn: "I'm so unemployed that I comet the bathroom on a more-than-regular basis"
Caiti: "I'm so unemployed that I only buy gum when it's on clearance"
Kelsey: "I'm so unemployed that I hike everyday. Every. Day. What? It's free."
Foxy: "I'm so unemployed that I've watched 26 episodes of S.V.U."
Norah: "I'm so unemployed that I've started running. This has never happened before."
Henry: "They're so unemployed that I never get a minute to myself. Ever."

a short update on the happenings around here

norah: went to an interview for an early childhood center at DU and has 3 trial days next week! if she gets it, she'll take over the current teachers position while she's on maternity leave! woooohoooo

meghan: completely wore out her body from 4 days of Phish and has been in bed sick for the past week. she emerged yesterday looking much better and FINALLY took a shower. (slow clap here...)

caiti: has been feverishly using any connection she can get to try and get a job and has had little success. however, she has an interview at the portrait studio at TARGET on monday!! she's not above anything. also she has a few meetings lined up with some so-called big wigs. goooood luck.

kelsey: applied for a position about a week back and heard 2 days ago that she has an interview on wednesday! if she get's the job, she'll definitely be a big girl and we may not see much of her anymore but that's ok because this is something she wants! go get em kels!

kathryn: went to santa fe for the weekend to visit her friend Teresa. she doesn't need a job so is not actively seeking at the moment. she did however get an Epic Pass this ski season and we're all seething with jealousy! the poor house residents are lucky to get 2 days of skiing in with the current funds we have!

have a happpppy day!

Henry the Hero

Here at the Poor House, we absolutely adore Kelsey's dog Henry. When I say adore, I mean pay undying attention to, coddle, snuggle with and PERHAPS spoil (but we don't feed him food from the table because we don't own a kitchen table). This post is dedicated to 'Henry the Hero' (a title I believe Adam gave him after a hike one day). Henry has many friends who come to play with him and he is a hot commodity at any dog park.

Here we see Henry taking a nap with his new friend Quinn

He is the definition of a ladies man.

Henry getting a bath post-hike. Note the color of the water.

And so, let us all tip our hats to Henry. It takes a real man to live with 5 women.

Trading Spaces

We Present:

The BEFORE SHOTS:
(mind you, these are 10x10 rooms and we did our bestest!)







And Now...THE AFTERS!!!!
(insert ooo's and aaa's here)

Norah's Room:





Caiti's Room:






And there ya have it folks! We've done the impossible. And now we're going to sleep! G'night!

Denver or Bust!

It's been a journey. A slow, happy, at times arduous, fast food filled, tiring, perfect journey. And with none other than...the Jan! We started on September 24th, arrived on the 28th, went to Beaver Creek the 29th for 6 days and then went nonstop on catching up with family and getting settled in. It's been a continuous whirlwind filled with plenty of random occurrences.

Here's one now:
Last night, while heading to dinner with Shane and Molly, my Mama and I were parking and asked some man if we could take his spot. On his way pulling out, he rolled down his window and said, "And not just because I lived in Saratoga Springs for 5 years!" Love it!

Side note: Here's some photos from the road!






So after coming back from a 2 million dollar ski house up in BC, I'm at the Poor House!

First Impressions:
-What's that smell?
-Who's that?
-Is that an outlet sticking out of the floor in the middle of Megs room?
-It's not so bad.
-Was that a dog or a doe?
-Where's my room?
-Whoa! Eh...we can make this work!

And so, I now sit here in my cubbyhole, Norah to my left and Henry nestled on my bed and write contently about my new home. People are in and out, noises are frequent, dishes are plentiful, dinners are shared, cable is nil, conversations are constant, heaters are broken, rent is survival, and friends are present...always. My mom was amazing for the 6 weeks that she was here, feeding and loving us all the way through. But the cord has been cut!

LONG LIVE THE POOR HOUSE!

Oh...and we'll never go hungry. While picking up a frosty at Friendly's on the trip over, my Mom donated a dollar to some charity and we scored TEN FREE FROSTYS! That should get us by for a few weeks.

Stay tuned: Next post is the basement rooms makeovers!

High Peaks and Old Friends

The tenants of the Poor House have begun a new pastime and alternative to employment: hiking 14ers. Hiking, in addition to blogging, are great activities for the Poor House because they require a minimal amount of money for participation. You will notice this re-occurring theme I'm sure.

Last week Norah, Kelsey, and Kathryn hiked with their good friend Adam up to the summit of Grays Peak. After a fresh snow, the trail was slippery and on a steep grade that meant trouble for Kathryn. A solution was devised on the descent down: she held on to backpacks and hands. Norah discovered an interesting phenomenon whilst hiking the high peak too - sausage fingers! Yes, that's right, at 14,000 feet elevation our fingers grew swollen and puffy, which made our fingers look like they were going to pop. Kelsey was concerned for her little Henry because he kept running laps between the three of us and Adam, but in the end he was just a tired pup - no better, no worse. Despite the challenges of hiking Grays, the views were spectacular and we relished the beauty of the Rockies.

Conversation on the way up Grays Peak:
Kathryn: "I wish for our jobs we could just hike and blog about it"
Norah and Kelsey: "...isn't that what we do?"

Puffy sausage fingers on the sisters

Kelsey assisting Kathryn with her footing

Little Henry at the end of his first 14er

A couple of days ago Kelsey and Kathryn made it to the summit of their second 14er: Quandary Peak. The views were fantastic, though the hike was very challenging. Along the way we experienced snow and mountain goats!

View from the summit of Quandary

Alternate view from the summit of Quandary

A mountain goat friend that we made along the way.
Well, maybe he didn't make friends with Henry...

In other news, our fifth and final roommate Caiti arrived last week! She has been moving in for the past few days and making her room look awesome. We are all so happy to have her here and look forward to the exciting adventures to come...as well as her blogging. ;)

Thought of the week...

More to follow soon.