Today was that special day that most of us women would rather just skip each year - you know, the annual exam and the mammogram! I find that by booking BOTH of these appointments on the same day allows me to take 1/2 day off and basically just get them out of the way TOGETHER!
Of course, both appointments are on opposite sides of town (Colorado Springs) but that's OK as there are LOTS of places in-between! I headed out in the drizzly, cold (43 degrees when I left the house) cloudy weather and joined the other 4000 people headed down the pass - or so it seemed anyway!
First was the mammogram - I was delighted to see they had a new piece of equipment this year - imagine being handed a gown straight out of the "heater" box!! Someone donated this cute little oven contraption and I thought it was great!! Putting on a nice warm gown on a cold day was quite pleasurable, even knowing what was coming........... Unfortunately the procedure hasn't changed one bit - still the cold, hard metal just waiting for you!
After that, the technician walked me to the exit door and guess what is right there as you exit -A Daily Grind - one of my favorite coffee places! I imagine they conveniently placed it there so you can get a cup of coffee to settle your pounding nerves! Even though it wasn't Friday, I knew I DESERVED a coffee so in I went!
Since my next appointment was still an hour and 1/2 away, I headed to Ross thinking I might find a pair of navy capris! No such luck - the store didn't even OPEN until 9:30 and it was only 9:10! Luckily Target was in the same shopping center so I headed in to shop - I just love those $1.00 bins at the front of the store and proceeded to get some cute books for the boys and a fun puzzle book for Rayna - but nothing cute for the babies this time - although I did buy stocking stuffers for the "big" girls!! Christmas shopping in July - I love it! Anyway, I actually found my navy capris there so I was excited!
Next it was on to Big Lots, hoping to find another pair of reading glasses, but they didn't have any in my lense size - of course I couldn't walk out empty handed so I walked around and found a few necessary items!
My annual exam was next and the worst part of this was knowing the nurse would weigh me - I KNEW I had gained some weight - I just didn't know how much! And yes, I should have kicked my shoes off BEFORE climbing up on the scale - yikes - 3 more pounds than last year! I mulled that over in my mind as I was waiting for the doctor to come in and decided that one pound was probably from the super rich caramel mocha coffee that I had just drank, another pound just HAD to be my shoes and clothes, and that last lone pound - I'll chalk it up to muscle - after all, I've been exercising all summer very diligently and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat!! There - I feel better already about my weight!!
I decided to celebrate my year of good health by taking myself out to lunch - I headed toward Fazzoli's as the thought of eating one (as if I would eat ONLY one) of their breadsticks sounded SO good to me but as I drove by Panera Bread, all I could think of was that yummy mango smoothie I had with Jill in Ft. Collins when I took her out for lunch! The smoothie won - I whipped the car around at the next light and enjoyed the next 1/2 hour eating their great corn chowder, 1/2 of a turkey sandwich and the awesome mango smoothie!
Driving back up the pass in the rain, I decided the morning wasn't too bad after all - but I'll still take work any day over the doctor!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Whatever Did We Do Before The Internet?????
I enjoy watching the news while I'm cooking dinner but if Glenn is running late, then we're into the evening TV shows and I rarely watch regular TV - anything I want to watch, I record and watch it later downstairs.
SO last night was one of those nights when dinner was running later than usual and the regular programming started - I switched over just to see if there was ANYTHING worth watching and happened upon a PBS station that was actually doing a 1/2 hour promotion show for the Time-Life CD series of the "Romantic 70's"!! I'm not kidding - Tony Orlando was hosting the show and the entire 1/2 hour consisted of not only the songs and their artists scrolling by on the TV screen, but also clips of the artists singing the songs!! Now that was a real treat to see the 70's clothes and hairstyles - WOW - what memories those songs brought back!
Anyway, when they would go to cut to a commercial, a 70's instrumental song would play and Glenn and I tried and tried to think who had cut that particular song!! It was a trumpet player - or so we thought- and the only group we could come up with was Herb Albert and The Tijuana Brass (and just for the record, Glenn USED to play trumpet and played just about every Herb Albert song made so he considered himself an expert on the subject!!) I didn't think it was Herb - their songs tended to be a lot more brassy and loud and this song was softer and more mellow!
After watching the rest of the show and hearing that song time and time again, I just HAD to find out the artist and the name - so we logged on to ITunes where I have an account and looked up Herb Albert and then started playing the 30 seconds of EACH one of his songs - but to no avail!! We then decided that maybe it wasn't a trumpet player after all - maybe it was a saxaphone as sometimes it's kind of hard to tell so I looked up Kenny G and we went through EACH AND EVERY ONE OF HIS SONGS!! Only after we did that did I realize that Kenny G wasn't even KNOWN in the 70's - duh!!
And then the light bulb came on in my head - go to the Time-Life website (that I had been on years ago) and find the "Romantic 70's" CD set and search through the list for EACH CD until I found the song - the website is set up just like ITunes so you can play a little bit of each song. I knew I wouldn't even have to play the song as I would recognize it on site - and that's exactly what happened. On the 2nd CD set, CD #2 there it was - Chuck Mangione with Feels So Good!! Now how could I have forgotten that artist as I loved that song!!
Another question solved by the internet...................
SO last night was one of those nights when dinner was running later than usual and the regular programming started - I switched over just to see if there was ANYTHING worth watching and happened upon a PBS station that was actually doing a 1/2 hour promotion show for the Time-Life CD series of the "Romantic 70's"!! I'm not kidding - Tony Orlando was hosting the show and the entire 1/2 hour consisted of not only the songs and their artists scrolling by on the TV screen, but also clips of the artists singing the songs!! Now that was a real treat to see the 70's clothes and hairstyles - WOW - what memories those songs brought back!
Anyway, when they would go to cut to a commercial, a 70's instrumental song would play and Glenn and I tried and tried to think who had cut that particular song!! It was a trumpet player - or so we thought- and the only group we could come up with was Herb Albert and The Tijuana Brass (and just for the record, Glenn USED to play trumpet and played just about every Herb Albert song made so he considered himself an expert on the subject!!) I didn't think it was Herb - their songs tended to be a lot more brassy and loud and this song was softer and more mellow!
After watching the rest of the show and hearing that song time and time again, I just HAD to find out the artist and the name - so we logged on to ITunes where I have an account and looked up Herb Albert and then started playing the 30 seconds of EACH one of his songs - but to no avail!! We then decided that maybe it wasn't a trumpet player after all - maybe it was a saxaphone as sometimes it's kind of hard to tell so I looked up Kenny G and we went through EACH AND EVERY ONE OF HIS SONGS!! Only after we did that did I realize that Kenny G wasn't even KNOWN in the 70's - duh!!
And then the light bulb came on in my head - go to the Time-Life website (that I had been on years ago) and find the "Romantic 70's" CD set and search through the list for EACH CD until I found the song - the website is set up just like ITunes so you can play a little bit of each song. I knew I wouldn't even have to play the song as I would recognize it on site - and that's exactly what happened. On the 2nd CD set, CD #2 there it was - Chuck Mangione with Feels So Good!! Now how could I have forgotten that artist as I loved that song!!
Another question solved by the internet...................
Monday, July 27, 2009
Movie Marathon
I spent the weekend at home - imagine that! Since I hadn't been home for 3 weekends, it was kind of nice to get re-acquainted with my house! The floors were begging to be vaccumed and the dust hanging around all those items that have to be dusted were screaming, "me, me" - "dust me"!! So I did............
I even managed to make a couple of salads, a dip and a dessert for company that was coming late Saturday afternoon - I played Betty Crocker to the hilt! And we had a fabulous evening with our company drinking the most awesome peach fizzies (the peaches are FINALLY sweet now!) and crawling into the hot tub after a major thunderstorm!
SO when Sunday came I decided it was going to be a "Movie Marathon" day - after all, it was dark and dreary and rainy outside so I couldn't stain the deck and my list for the weekend was done!
By 10:00, I was snug in the lower level with coffee in hand, swedish weaving on my lap and 7 movies picked out to watch - no, I couldn't watch all 7 and it was pretty tough deciding what to watch but my picks for the day were: Sweet Home Alabama (where I cried at the happy parts), Message In A Bottle (where I cried at the sad parts and reminisced about my sister and I going to the movie theater TWICE when she was here and seeing this movie), The Thomas Crown Affair (where I didn't cry but SERIOUSLY thought about our trip this fall after seeing the island scene in the movie - beaches sure were looking good yesterday!) and finally The Italian Job (where I LOVE watching the Venice scenary at the beginning and saying over and over to myself - I've been there, I've been there!!)
Glenn came in about 3:00 and watched the last 2 movies with me and we actually started one I had from Netflex - the reason I didn't list it is because it was SO BAD, we turned it off 1/2 way through - my movie time is valuable and why waste it watching something you don't like!
Needless to day, I had an extremely enjoyable day - I got many, many rows done on my blanket, watched some great movies, and of course snacked the entire day while it rained outside!
I even managed to make a couple of salads, a dip and a dessert for company that was coming late Saturday afternoon - I played Betty Crocker to the hilt! And we had a fabulous evening with our company drinking the most awesome peach fizzies (the peaches are FINALLY sweet now!) and crawling into the hot tub after a major thunderstorm!
SO when Sunday came I decided it was going to be a "Movie Marathon" day - after all, it was dark and dreary and rainy outside so I couldn't stain the deck and my list for the weekend was done!
By 10:00, I was snug in the lower level with coffee in hand, swedish weaving on my lap and 7 movies picked out to watch - no, I couldn't watch all 7 and it was pretty tough deciding what to watch but my picks for the day were: Sweet Home Alabama (where I cried at the happy parts), Message In A Bottle (where I cried at the sad parts and reminisced about my sister and I going to the movie theater TWICE when she was here and seeing this movie), The Thomas Crown Affair (where I didn't cry but SERIOUSLY thought about our trip this fall after seeing the island scene in the movie - beaches sure were looking good yesterday!) and finally The Italian Job (where I LOVE watching the Venice scenary at the beginning and saying over and over to myself - I've been there, I've been there!!)
Glenn came in about 3:00 and watched the last 2 movies with me and we actually started one I had from Netflex - the reason I didn't list it is because it was SO BAD, we turned it off 1/2 way through - my movie time is valuable and why waste it watching something you don't like!
Needless to day, I had an extremely enjoyable day - I got many, many rows done on my blanket, watched some great movies, and of course snacked the entire day while it rained outside!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Summer Notes
I can't wait to go home tonight and eat dinner - my good friend Joleen brought me back 2 beautiful red tomatos from her daughter's garden in KS - and I get to have a BLT! I don't even have to share as Glenn is taking the day off and fishing - but I will save him one of course!
When anybody asks me if I miss anything about the midwest, my response is always the same - I MISS TOMATOS!! You can't truly appreciate a good Iowa or Kansas tomato until you have tasted the ones here in Colorado - there is absolutely no comparison!! Our tomatos have no taste, no flavor, no nothing - it's like there's just something extra on your hamburger with a little bit of crunch that happens to be red! Thank you Joleen and Becca for making my dinner special tonight!
..........................
And since it's Friday, you'll know I DID make it through the week! But not before 2 major things went wrong - 1st, the mouse froze on the extra computer in our spare office - I changed the batteries, I pushed different buttons, I called my computer son-in-law - nothing worked! But yesterday afternoon I was playing around with it again and decided to push a button on the actual mouse and a button on the mouse power source at the same time and lo and behold, that did it!! Who would have thought I could have figured that out??? 2nd, our Farmers email stopped coming in on Wed. afternoon - not good since we receive all our faxes through our email - I cleaned all 3 computers out as the message said we were full but that didn't do the trick - hopefully my boss will stop by this afternoon and solve the problem. If not, oh well...........
...........................
Glenn and I decided to take a trip in October - the question is WHERE? My first choice was to do a houseboat on Lake Powell - out of the question - the rates are WAY beyond the budget! Next I checked out renting a houseboat on Lake Mead, outside of Las Vegas - it's much more reasonable but still too high to consider unless another couple comes along! So after much discussion and looking at the computer for hours on end last night, we have it down to 2 choices: renting a cabin on a lake in MN., or heading to Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa in Mexico! Pretty much from one extreme to the other, huh? I'll keep you informed......................
When anybody asks me if I miss anything about the midwest, my response is always the same - I MISS TOMATOS!! You can't truly appreciate a good Iowa or Kansas tomato until you have tasted the ones here in Colorado - there is absolutely no comparison!! Our tomatos have no taste, no flavor, no nothing - it's like there's just something extra on your hamburger with a little bit of crunch that happens to be red! Thank you Joleen and Becca for making my dinner special tonight!
..........................
And since it's Friday, you'll know I DID make it through the week! But not before 2 major things went wrong - 1st, the mouse froze on the extra computer in our spare office - I changed the batteries, I pushed different buttons, I called my computer son-in-law - nothing worked! But yesterday afternoon I was playing around with it again and decided to push a button on the actual mouse and a button on the mouse power source at the same time and lo and behold, that did it!! Who would have thought I could have figured that out??? 2nd, our Farmers email stopped coming in on Wed. afternoon - not good since we receive all our faxes through our email - I cleaned all 3 computers out as the message said we were full but that didn't do the trick - hopefully my boss will stop by this afternoon and solve the problem. If not, oh well...........
...........................
Glenn and I decided to take a trip in October - the question is WHERE? My first choice was to do a houseboat on Lake Powell - out of the question - the rates are WAY beyond the budget! Next I checked out renting a houseboat on Lake Mead, outside of Las Vegas - it's much more reasonable but still too high to consider unless another couple comes along! So after much discussion and looking at the computer for hours on end last night, we have it down to 2 choices: renting a cabin on a lake in MN., or heading to Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa in Mexico! Pretty much from one extreme to the other, huh? I'll keep you informed......................
Thursday, July 23, 2009
When The Boss Is Away..........
YOU GET SUPER BUSY!! It's just not fair - it's supposed to be nice and quiet this week while Gary is on vacation - NOT!
It never fails, when I go on vacation, Gary is very busy with all kinds of weird things and the same goes for me - it's not the usual autos and homes and billing questions - oh no, it's the STRANGE stuff that has NEVER come up before so it takes a lot of phone calls, research, etc.!
So the week has been extremely busy, to the point where the last 3 days I haven't even done my DAILY things - oh no, I've been too busy just trying to keep up with the new stuff that people are calling in about!
But I have high hopes that today will be better! And if it's not - well, there's always Friday to look forward to!
It never fails, when I go on vacation, Gary is very busy with all kinds of weird things and the same goes for me - it's not the usual autos and homes and billing questions - oh no, it's the STRANGE stuff that has NEVER come up before so it takes a lot of phone calls, research, etc.!
So the week has been extremely busy, to the point where the last 3 days I haven't even done my DAILY things - oh no, I've been too busy just trying to keep up with the new stuff that people are calling in about!
But I have high hopes that today will be better! And if it's not - well, there's always Friday to look forward to!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The Keppys/BLOG MAKEOVER/Stroller Fun
Sunday mid-morning I headed over to Jessi's house - wow - does the paint job on their house look awesome or what!!! I was impressed!
So while the kids napped, Jessi did my blog makeover - what do you think???? I absolutely LOVE the new look - it's totally me as the picture you see is where we love to travel each year and the quotes at the side are 3 of my favorites! THANK YOU JESSI!!! I REALLY do appreciate it as I would NEVER have figured out how to do it!!
As soon as the kids got up, it was time to head to Caribou Coffee for my "fix" of turtle mocha! Yum, yum - Jessi chose to have a cold drink but since Caribou is not in our area, I just had to have my old standby! Then with coffees in hand, we put Mackenzie in the stroller and Evan on his backpack leash and walked around their outdoor mall! The hanging flower baskets were just gorgeous!!
Evan had a ball playing in the 2 water places and didn't seem to mind the cold water at all! I was more than happy to just stand at the side and snap pictures!
Notice this picture was taken RIGHT in front of the chocolate factory??? I was good though and didn't even walk in to admire all the chocolate! Evan thought the big, fat bear was kind of cool!
All too soon it was time to head home to the mountains - but I do have to admit it was a heck of a lot cooler at home than in Ft. Collins and Denver! What a great weekend spending time with all 3 daughters and their families!
So while the kids napped, Jessi did my blog makeover - what do you think???? I absolutely LOVE the new look - it's totally me as the picture you see is where we love to travel each year and the quotes at the side are 3 of my favorites! THANK YOU JESSI!!! I REALLY do appreciate it as I would NEVER have figured out how to do it!!
As soon as the kids got up, it was time to head to Caribou Coffee for my "fix" of turtle mocha! Yum, yum - Jessi chose to have a cold drink but since Caribou is not in our area, I just had to have my old standby! Then with coffees in hand, we put Mackenzie in the stroller and Evan on his backpack leash and walked around their outdoor mall! The hanging flower baskets were just gorgeous!!
Evan had a ball playing in the 2 water places and didn't seem to mind the cold water at all! I was more than happy to just stand at the side and snap pictures!
Notice this picture was taken RIGHT in front of the chocolate factory??? I was good though and didn't even walk in to admire all the chocolate! Evan thought the big, fat bear was kind of cool!
All too soon it was time to head home to the mountains - but I do have to admit it was a heck of a lot cooler at home than in Ft. Collins and Denver! What a great weekend spending time with all 3 daughters and their families!
The Smiths/Outside Fun/Daiquiris
Late Saturday afternoon I headed to Jaime's - Jaime had to work till 6:00 so I spent some time outdoors with the kids -jumping rope, having sword fights with the noodles, playing ball, watching Rayna ride her bike and having Kylan pick me every flower he could find out back!!
Goofy Kylan decided to wear these pink sunglasses that are really Rayna's and he also had on a t-shirt of Rayna's that was so totally "girly" and then he stuck the ball under the shirt - we laughed and laughed!
I called Jaime before she left work and asked her to bring home strawberries and lemonade so I could make daiquiris that evening - and she did - so after dinner I'm ready to make them and ask her where her blender is - can you believe it, she doesn't have one!!! But we decided that the "magic bullet" would work just fine - it's really for smoothies but I decided I could make individual ones for her and me so I guessed on the amount of strawberries, lemonade, rum and sugar. They're all set to be crushed up and guess what - the bullet doesn't work!! Jaime thinks the motor is gone - darn - I was SO looking forward to that daiquiri!! But Brad is out and about and says he'll stop at Walmart and pick up another one!
Goofy Kylan decided to wear these pink sunglasses that are really Rayna's and he also had on a t-shirt of Rayna's that was so totally "girly" and then he stuck the ball under the shirt - we laughed and laughed!
I called Jaime before she left work and asked her to bring home strawberries and lemonade so I could make daiquiris that evening - and she did - so after dinner I'm ready to make them and ask her where her blender is - can you believe it, she doesn't have one!!! But we decided that the "magic bullet" would work just fine - it's really for smoothies but I decided I could make individual ones for her and me so I guessed on the amount of strawberries, lemonade, rum and sugar. They're all set to be crushed up and guess what - the bullet doesn't work!! Jaime thinks the motor is gone - darn - I was SO looking forward to that daiquiri!! But Brad is out and about and says he'll stop at Walmart and pick up another one!
So when Brad gets home, we unwrap the new "magic bullet" and Jaime puts the container on to mix it up and lo and behold, the brand new one doesn't work! We were NOT meant to have drinks that night!! But she had a hand-held mixer thing that we ended up using and no, it didn't work great, but it got the job done!! (Jessi's went over there for dinner on Sunday night -she just had to call and tell me that she not only got the NEW bullet to work, but also the old one - something wasn't fitted on the machine properly - great job Jessi!!)
For some reason, everything we did at Jaime's house was extra funny and we laughed and laughed throughout the time I was there! It was fun spending special time with Rayna and Kylan but soon it was time to head to the next place..................
The Savages/Baby Aleah/Birthday
It was time for my "grandkid fix" so I decided to take the weekend and do just that while leaving Glenn at home to work - so after work on Friday, I joined the after-work crowd on the interstate and headed up to Ft. Collins for my first stop of the weekend!
Little Aleah is now 2 weeks old and already growing!! She's as sweet as can be and I spent much of my time just holding her and trying to figure out who she looks like! I think Jill - but only time will tell...........
Sat. I took Jill out for lunch to celebrate our "belated" birthdays - we headed to Panera Bread - their soups, salads and sandwiches are awesome but the BEST part was my mango smoothie, drizzled with raspberry sauce! Oh my gosh it was good!! We sat outside and ate while enjoying the wonderful weather!
I helped Jill hang up a few things on the wall in the nursery and we also did a photo shoot to capture a cute picture of Aleah that Jill and Robby can use on their birth announcements! Aleah was pretty cooperative but did decide that she preferred sleeping to having her eyes open for the camera!
I'm sure she'll grow and change a lot before I see her again! But hopefully it won't be too long! And before I knew it, it was time to head to the next place...............
Little Aleah is now 2 weeks old and already growing!! She's as sweet as can be and I spent much of my time just holding her and trying to figure out who she looks like! I think Jill - but only time will tell...........
Sat. I took Jill out for lunch to celebrate our "belated" birthdays - we headed to Panera Bread - their soups, salads and sandwiches are awesome but the BEST part was my mango smoothie, drizzled with raspberry sauce! Oh my gosh it was good!! We sat outside and ate while enjoying the wonderful weather!
I helped Jill hang up a few things on the wall in the nursery and we also did a photo shoot to capture a cute picture of Aleah that Jill and Robby can use on their birth announcements! Aleah was pretty cooperative but did decide that she preferred sleeping to having her eyes open for the camera!
I'm sure she'll grow and change a lot before I see her again! But hopefully it won't be too long! And before I knew it, it was time to head to the next place...............
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
And The Quads Surface!!
I've been carrying my camera in my bag that goes to work in hopes of getting some elk pictures but it hasn't happened yet! But I took my camera camping and of course it didn't get put back in my work bag! Of course when I went to work on Monday morning, what's in the office yard but a doe and her cute baby fawn - darn, another photo missed!
So this morning I was sure to bring the camera with me to work and of course the little fawn wasn't around - figures! About 4:00 Glenn calls me and says he's hand feeding Heidi (the mama doe who had the quads) and the quads are a few feet away and where's the camera??? I couldn't believe it - no camera at the house!! Of course he's telling me how cute they are and how they're playing and jumping and I'm sitting at my desk in town just burning up with jealousy!!
When I got home, I laid my camera on the counter to have it handy just in case............ And guess what - the 4 little fawns CAME BACK to practically the spot as before - I raced out with my camera and kept inching forward to get as close as I could - I snapped away and the results are below - aren't Salty, Pepper, Sugar and Cinnamon just the cutest little fawns you've ever seen?? I hope they stay around now so I can watch their growth!! I'd love it if our backyard would become their playground!!
So this morning I was sure to bring the camera with me to work and of course the little fawn wasn't around - figures! About 4:00 Glenn calls me and says he's hand feeding Heidi (the mama doe who had the quads) and the quads are a few feet away and where's the camera??? I couldn't believe it - no camera at the house!! Of course he's telling me how cute they are and how they're playing and jumping and I'm sitting at my desk in town just burning up with jealousy!!
When I got home, I laid my camera on the counter to have it handy just in case............ And guess what - the 4 little fawns CAME BACK to practically the spot as before - I raced out with my camera and kept inching forward to get as close as I could - I snapped away and the results are below - aren't Salty, Pepper, Sugar and Cinnamon just the cutest little fawns you've ever seen?? I hope they stay around now so I can watch their growth!! I'd love it if our backyard would become their playground!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Right In My Own Backyard
Tuesday is trash day - and have you noticed how the trash smells so much worse in the summer than in the winter! WOW!
Anyway, because of the wildlife around here, we keep the trash in a CLOSED trash barrel in the storage room until Tuesday morning where we load it in the back of my car and take it to the bottom of the driveway where there's another trash barrel! So this morning, the stinky trash is in the back of the car and I go to get the barrel out of the trees and lo and behold, standing there in all its' glory is a columbine - a single columbine flower, right on our property!
Of course I had no time to run back to the house to get my camera and Glenn joked that it would still be there after work, as long as a deer didn't eat it!! And for once, I didn't care if any deer were around the house today! But yes, the columbine was still there for my enjoyment - and I'll be anxious to see if it is still there in the morning when I walk!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Take A Nature Walk With Me!
Last weekend I was on a qwest - a qwest for columbines, Colorado's state flower! They can be hard to find sometimes but when you find one, there are usually a lot more around!
Glenn left camp about 8:00 to go scouting so I grabbed my camera and started to hike (just along the road, mind you - I would never venture into the woods by myself because I would never find my way back out)
There were lots and lots of beautiful wildflowers!! I loved the purple ones the best - they seemed to be growing out of the rocks, reaching for that sunshine bearing down! Now I could go get my wildflower book and tell you the names of all of these but because I'm being lazy, you'll just have to enjoy the pictures!
The road ran right by the stream so it was fun to watch it curve and listen to the mini-waterfalls along the way!
And the butterflies - I wasn't fast enough to capture very many but this particular one landed right in the pine tree and I quickly snapped a picture of it -as you can see, it was quite large!
I always think of granddaughter Rayna when I see pink flowers because she LOVES the color pink! These are dainty flowers that grew best right along the stream!
There were lots of beaver dams along the way - also, lots of logs across the streams that you probably could have crossed over on but here again, no one was around to fish me out of the water!
Now these flowers I'm sure are weeds but aren't they pretty?
I couldn't resist taking picture after picture of the clear stream! The water here was about a foot deep.
We camped in a large narrow canyon and as you can see by the road, it was extremely rocky and rough - but it was beautiful so I put aside the fact that our rate of speed was about 2 miles an hour!
I loved this green type of grass - only when I showed it to Glenn, he informed me it was a weed - guess I'm attracted to them but these "weeds" made the neatest pattern on the ground!
And last but not least is this perfect little white flower that I'll call an orchid although I know that's not what it is - I just think it's amazing it grows all by itself and is such a simple, pretty plant!
So did I find the elusive columbine? Not on this trip! But I will - just get me to the mountains for one more camping trip!!
Glenn left camp about 8:00 to go scouting so I grabbed my camera and started to hike (just along the road, mind you - I would never venture into the woods by myself because I would never find my way back out)
There were lots and lots of beautiful wildflowers!! I loved the purple ones the best - they seemed to be growing out of the rocks, reaching for that sunshine bearing down! Now I could go get my wildflower book and tell you the names of all of these but because I'm being lazy, you'll just have to enjoy the pictures!
The road ran right by the stream so it was fun to watch it curve and listen to the mini-waterfalls along the way!
And the butterflies - I wasn't fast enough to capture very many but this particular one landed right in the pine tree and I quickly snapped a picture of it -as you can see, it was quite large!
I always think of granddaughter Rayna when I see pink flowers because she LOVES the color pink! These are dainty flowers that grew best right along the stream!
There were lots of beaver dams along the way - also, lots of logs across the streams that you probably could have crossed over on but here again, no one was around to fish me out of the water!
Now these flowers I'm sure are weeds but aren't they pretty?
I couldn't resist taking picture after picture of the clear stream! The water here was about a foot deep.
We camped in a large narrow canyon and as you can see by the road, it was extremely rocky and rough - but it was beautiful so I put aside the fact that our rate of speed was about 2 miles an hour!
I loved this green type of grass - only when I showed it to Glenn, he informed me it was a weed - guess I'm attracted to them but these "weeds" made the neatest pattern on the ground!
And last but not least is this perfect little white flower that I'll call an orchid although I know that's not what it is - I just think it's amazing it grows all by itself and is such a simple, pretty plant!
So did I find the elusive columbine? Not on this trip! But I will - just get me to the mountains for one more camping trip!!
15 Reasons to Camp in the Colorado Mountains!
We went camping this last weekend - oh, how I love to camp!! And as we were sitting in front of the fire roasting marshmellows that first night (by the way, marshmellow news - I FORGOT to pack the marshmellows - imagine that - miss organized forgot something - anyway, we stopped at a gas station and I ran in to see if they had any - of course they did but they were "Kraft", the expensive ones which I never buy - but since that's all they had I had no choice - let me tell you, they were the BEST roasted marshmellows I have EVER had and they roasted nicely and plumped up nice and fat - I guess sometimes name brands which are more expensive are WORTH it) I decided a great blog would be to list the reasons why I LOVE camping in Colorado in the mountains!! So here goes........
1) The smell - there's just something about camping when it smells like pine trees!
2) There are thousands of acres of government ground in Colorado and it's all FREE if you wilderness camp - what a bargain!
3) Sleeping is FANTASTIC!!! Because it usually gets pretty cool at night (sometimes down in the 30's) you get to hunker down under the covers and cuddle to stay warm!
4) Humidity - there isn't any!
5) If you so choose, you can camp by the clearest stream imaginable and let the sound lull you to sleep!
6) Mosquitos - there's just not a lot of them around - some parts have them but most of the places that we camp have none - I didn't feel or see a one of those pesky devils this last weekend!
7) If you're cold, put on your shorts and tank top and sit in the sun - if you're hot, put on your sweats and sit in the shade!
8) Quietness - Just the sounds of the stream and the birds - exactly what I need after a stressful week at work!
9) You never have to worry about running out of ice in your ice chest if you're just camping for a night or two - with the cold nights, the ice lasts a long time!
10) 300 days of sunshine - need I say more........
11) There's plenty of wildlife around - the usual squirrels, rabbits, deer and fox - and the more unusual elk and bear!
12) Bugs - we just don't have a lot of these either - sure, there are the usual flies and bees around but we hardly have any moths or crickets or June bugs!
13) NO PEOPLE!! After dealing with people all week, it's nice to camp where you don't have to see any other people, let alone talk with them! OF course, if you want to be around people, then just camp in the campground - otherwise head to the wilderness!
14) Unpredictable weather - there's a saying in Colorado that goes like this "If you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes!" And it's so true - it can be pouring rain or snowing and 10 minutes later, the sun is shining!
15) Wildflowers in the summer - golden aspens in the fall!
SO there you have it! Are you ready to come camping with us now?
1) The smell - there's just something about camping when it smells like pine trees!
2) There are thousands of acres of government ground in Colorado and it's all FREE if you wilderness camp - what a bargain!
3) Sleeping is FANTASTIC!!! Because it usually gets pretty cool at night (sometimes down in the 30's) you get to hunker down under the covers and cuddle to stay warm!
4) Humidity - there isn't any!
5) If you so choose, you can camp by the clearest stream imaginable and let the sound lull you to sleep!
6) Mosquitos - there's just not a lot of them around - some parts have them but most of the places that we camp have none - I didn't feel or see a one of those pesky devils this last weekend!
7) If you're cold, put on your shorts and tank top and sit in the sun - if you're hot, put on your sweats and sit in the shade!
8) Quietness - Just the sounds of the stream and the birds - exactly what I need after a stressful week at work!
9) You never have to worry about running out of ice in your ice chest if you're just camping for a night or two - with the cold nights, the ice lasts a long time!
10) 300 days of sunshine - need I say more........
11) There's plenty of wildlife around - the usual squirrels, rabbits, deer and fox - and the more unusual elk and bear!
12) Bugs - we just don't have a lot of these either - sure, there are the usual flies and bees around but we hardly have any moths or crickets or June bugs!
13) NO PEOPLE!! After dealing with people all week, it's nice to camp where you don't have to see any other people, let alone talk with them! OF course, if you want to be around people, then just camp in the campground - otherwise head to the wilderness!
14) Unpredictable weather - there's a saying in Colorado that goes like this "If you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes!" And it's so true - it can be pouring rain or snowing and 10 minutes later, the sun is shining!
15) Wildflowers in the summer - golden aspens in the fall!
SO there you have it! Are you ready to come camping with us now?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL!
Birthday greetings go out to Jill who is turning a whopping 29 today! You're almost at that 30 mark!
Hopefully your day is wonderful - I will be thinking of you all day and smiling, knowing that we "share" this special day!! Wish we could spend it together, but I'll see you this weekend and we can celebrate then! Happy 29th and may your day be a great one!!
Hopefully your day is wonderful - I will be thinking of you all day and smiling, knowing that we "share" this special day!! Wish we could spend it together, but I'll see you this weekend and we can celebrate then! Happy 29th and may your day be a great one!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!!
Birthday greetings go out to Jessi who is 28 years old today!! Gosh, just seems like it was a couple of months ago that I was blogging about her LAST years' birthday!!
I wish I was there to celebrate with you but I know you'll have a fantastic day anyway! Plan on going out for coffee next weekend because that's at the top of the list!
So for today - enjoy, relax and celebrate the good things in your life!! YOU ARE ONE SPECIAL DAUGHTER!!
I wish I was there to celebrate with you but I know you'll have a fantastic day anyway! Plan on going out for coffee next weekend because that's at the top of the list!
So for today - enjoy, relax and celebrate the good things in your life!! YOU ARE ONE SPECIAL DAUGHTER!!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Observation Night!
I was excited to drive on the gravel road last night because the maintainer had been out!! NO more washboard (for at least a few days anyway!) and no more side-stepping the ridges when I'm out walking in the morning! I had no idea how hard it was to walk on the washboards in the road until I had to do it!
It was a busy night at our household - because we're going camping this weekend, I knew our evenings would be "work" evenings in order to catch up from the weekend before (Aleah's birth) and to try to get the things that we SHOULD be doing THIS weekend done in advance!! We are thrilled that Glenn has a couple of granite jobs to do - so we work hard during the week and play on the weekends!
. . . . . . . . . . .
I crawled up on my stepstool last night to get a casserole dish down that I rarely use and couldn't believe the dust on my top cupboard - YIKES - I wasn't planning on cleaning cupboards this summer but I may have to re-think that!
. . . . . . . . . . .
My project last night was to put together a set of 9 cubicles that turn into a storage unit for our closet! Jaime had purchased 2 or 3 sets of these at Lowe's and I loved them in her closet so when I went shopping last Friday, I got a set. She had told me she put them ALL together by herself, no help from hubby! So I was bound and determined to put my 1 set together with no help from Glenn - yea, right!! I gathered all the tools I would need, spread out the directions and proceeded to read them! It didn't sound very difficult but there were 3 sets of long boards that were to be used as A, B, and C boards and I just couldn't decide which boards were which?? Now, they could have marked each board with an A, B, or C sticker but that would have made the building process WAY too easy!
45 minutes later I called in the reinforcements! By this time I was hot and sweaty and mad and disgusted as after getting it part way together, I realized I had the wrong LONG board and had to take it all apart! Of course Glenn willingly came in and had the whole thing put together in 15 minutes - OK, so I'm geographically challenged AND mechanically challenged - hopefully someday I'll find something I'm good at............
The cubicles look great in the closet and how nice to have all our jeans, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and shorts in cubbies instead of piled on a small shelf!
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
I had a Freckles and Speckles sighting last night!! I was starting to clean the kitchen and happened to look out the window and saw a little fawn - I grabbed the camera and raced outside and tried to be quiet so I could get a little closer to snap pictures!! But boy those little fawns just blend into the trees and grass - I snapped and snapped but really didn't get a good picture until they went down on the road! They are cute as can be!!
And Glenn said later on, they were still in the bunch of trees by our driveway so hopefully they'll stick around. Unfortunately, we have NOT seen the quads since those first couple of days! I do hope they're all OK as there have been coyote and mountain lion sightings in our subdivision!
It was a busy night at our household - because we're going camping this weekend, I knew our evenings would be "work" evenings in order to catch up from the weekend before (Aleah's birth) and to try to get the things that we SHOULD be doing THIS weekend done in advance!! We are thrilled that Glenn has a couple of granite jobs to do - so we work hard during the week and play on the weekends!
. . . . . . . . . . .
I crawled up on my stepstool last night to get a casserole dish down that I rarely use and couldn't believe the dust on my top cupboard - YIKES - I wasn't planning on cleaning cupboards this summer but I may have to re-think that!
. . . . . . . . . . .
My project last night was to put together a set of 9 cubicles that turn into a storage unit for our closet! Jaime had purchased 2 or 3 sets of these at Lowe's and I loved them in her closet so when I went shopping last Friday, I got a set. She had told me she put them ALL together by herself, no help from hubby! So I was bound and determined to put my 1 set together with no help from Glenn - yea, right!! I gathered all the tools I would need, spread out the directions and proceeded to read them! It didn't sound very difficult but there were 3 sets of long boards that were to be used as A, B, and C boards and I just couldn't decide which boards were which?? Now, they could have marked each board with an A, B, or C sticker but that would have made the building process WAY too easy!
45 minutes later I called in the reinforcements! By this time I was hot and sweaty and mad and disgusted as after getting it part way together, I realized I had the wrong LONG board and had to take it all apart! Of course Glenn willingly came in and had the whole thing put together in 15 minutes - OK, so I'm geographically challenged AND mechanically challenged - hopefully someday I'll find something I'm good at............
The cubicles look great in the closet and how nice to have all our jeans, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and shorts in cubbies instead of piled on a small shelf!
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
I had a Freckles and Speckles sighting last night!! I was starting to clean the kitchen and happened to look out the window and saw a little fawn - I grabbed the camera and raced outside and tried to be quiet so I could get a little closer to snap pictures!! But boy those little fawns just blend into the trees and grass - I snapped and snapped but really didn't get a good picture until they went down on the road! They are cute as can be!!
And Glenn said later on, they were still in the bunch of trees by our driveway so hopefully they'll stick around. Unfortunately, we have NOT seen the quads since those first couple of days! I do hope they're all OK as there have been coyote and mountain lion sightings in our subdivision!Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Summertime - And The Livin' Is Easy...........
It's the little things in life that make it special...............
Last evening we did 2 ordinary things that made the night a pleasant one!
1) We ate on the deck - it's been warm enough a few times in the evening to eat out there but I never think about it till we're DONE eating! But Glenn suggested we eat outside last night - and because it was so warm during the day, it was warm enough to eat outside, even at 7:30! Why is it the same old food tastes SO much better outside?
2) We hit the hot tub about 9:30 and watched the full moon rise over Pikes Peak through the huge pine tree that sits by our hot tub deck - it was amazing - it was romantic - and it was beautiful! Life is good.....................
Last evening we did 2 ordinary things that made the night a pleasant one!
1) We ate on the deck - it's been warm enough a few times in the evening to eat out there but I never think about it till we're DONE eating! But Glenn suggested we eat outside last night - and because it was so warm during the day, it was warm enough to eat outside, even at 7:30! Why is it the same old food tastes SO much better outside?
2) We hit the hot tub about 9:30 and watched the full moon rise over Pikes Peak through the huge pine tree that sits by our hot tub deck - it was amazing - it was romantic - and it was beautiful! Life is good.....................
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The "HOPE" Name!
My niece Amanda mentioned that I forgot to talk about in my prior blog about the new baby's middle name - Hope! She's right - I DO need to touch on this "special" name!
Hope is a family name on my mom's side - and I was the lucky one to receive the name "Hope" as my middle name! And then Jill was born on my birthday so her middle name is "Rebecca" after me.
Now little Aleah has arrived and Jill and Robby decided to use "Hope" as her middle name - I was so excited to have her middle name be the same as mine - gosh, the tears came to my eyes when they told me her name! I feel extremely blessed!!
So now we have 3 people in the family with "Hope" as their middle name - myself, Aleah, and niece Amanda! Now how special is that????
Hope is a family name on my mom's side - and I was the lucky one to receive the name "Hope" as my middle name! And then Jill was born on my birthday so her middle name is "Rebecca" after me.
Now little Aleah has arrived and Jill and Robby decided to use "Hope" as her middle name - I was so excited to have her middle name be the same as mine - gosh, the tears came to my eyes when they told me her name! I feel extremely blessed!!
So now we have 3 people in the family with "Hope" as their middle name - myself, Aleah, and niece Amanda! Now how special is that????
Monday, July 6, 2009
Aleah Hope Savage Has Arrived!!
I've always loved the 4th of July for its' colors of red, white and blue! It was just always fun to decorate! And then Jill and Robby got married 6 years ago on the 4th of July and I got to decorate an entire wedding in red, white and blue! Now we get to add ONE more event to this wonderful holiday - Jill and Robby's baby has arrived! Red, white and blue decorations for a birthday will be awesome!!
The phone call came at 5:23 am - I remember looking at the clock as the phone rang and Glenn handed it to me - yes, it was Jill and she was in labor - time to get ready and head up to Ft. Collins!!!
Of course there's always a few things to do BEFORE you can leave the house - basically I was all packed and everything had been in the car for a week, just in case! But since it was the weekend, now Glenn could come along! We did decide to take separate cars though because I knew I wanted to stay an extra night and Glenn needed to come home as he had appointments booked! FINALLY, we got left and I figured I would arrive about 9:00 which I knew would be PLENTY of time - after all, this was a first baby and I was fully prepared to have a long day ahead!
Glenn went to Denver and watched Evan so Jessi could leave and she was about an hour behind me - we talked on the phone and I told her I would call her as soon as I got there and found out how Jill was doing! Being the geographically challenged person that I am, I was very proud of myself for driving right to the hospital (of course Jill had emailed me directions) and I raced into the place and up to the maternity ward. They told me what room Jill was in and said to be sure and knock before I went in - OK - I knock - a nurse comes to the door and says, "Are you the mom?" and I said I was so she opened the door.
It's quite strange when your brain is "thinking" it's going to see one thing and it actually sees another because I saw Jill on the bed with Robby at her side and the midwife and 2 more people at the bottom of the bed and my first thought was that Jill was ready to start pushing!! And about that time Jill says, "You missed it!" and I said "I missed what????" and Jill says, "The baby - she's already born!!" And my pea-sized brain just can't comprehend what she's saying and I say, "But where's the baby?" and Jill says, "I'm holding her!!" duh..........
Of course then reality FINALLY sinks in and I burst into tears and run to the bed - my granddaughter is already born and I missed it!! DARN!!
But that's OK because that meant Jill had a REALLY short labor and the baby had arrived safe and sound!! Little Aleah weighed in at 6# 3 oz. and was 18 1/2" long! She has a full head of hair and of course is as cute as a button!!
(After my mind finally accepted that Aleah was actually here, I slipped out into the hall to call Jessi and then I didn't feel so bad because our conversation went the same way - "Jessi, we missed it!" "Missed what?" "The birth - she's already born!" "WHAT????????")
We had an enjoyable day in the hospital just hanging out together and holding the baby and taking lots of pictures!! Jill, Robby and the baby came home on Sunday evening and I stayed until Monday night to help them out (and of course to spend some special time with Aleah!!)
Grandchildren are certainly a blessing - and this new little one is JUST as special as the others! Congratulations Robby and Jill - I know you'll both be wonderful parents!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
WHY??
Why is it that in the middle of winter when it's 45 degrees and I leave for work, I'm wearing long pants, shoes, socks, winter coat and gloves and I'm still cold - and yet in the middle of summer (like now) and it's 45 degrees when I leave for work, I'm wearing sandles, capris, short sleeves and no jacket and I think it's just fine out??????????
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