Wednesday started out as a normal day, the guys were still fishing and I have bowling and volunteer library duties. Eli loved the bowling center, he ran around in big circles: down onto the tile floor where the tables are and then up the ramp onto the carpet where the restaurant and the lockers are, around and around. He wasn’t my lucky charm for bowling, because I was pitiful. Our team lost 3 out of 4 points – 2 games and total pins, and our opponents were missing one bowler! Sue was minding the store so Jay and I could play grandparents. Thanks, Sue! Uncle Teddy joined us for lunch at Rancher’s Roost, inside the bowling center, which was very nice.

We were concerned that Eli might “give out” before I finished shelving at the library, but we gave it a try. We brought out the stroller and Jen tried walking him up and down Main Street to see if he would fall asleep in the stroller. But before he accomplished that, it started to rain. Jen reminded me that my windows were open in the car, so I dashed down the block in the rain and rolled up the windows before it started in earnest. But earnest it was, a good hard rain with thunder. Eli did fall asleep in the stroller and Jen got some time on a library computer. But before I finished shelving (I still had half of the fiction and all of adult nonfiction to go), Eli woke up and we decided it was best to take him home.

As we drove up the driveway, almost to Barbara’s guard rail, we noticed a tree on the left side of the driveway was on fire, with flames!, and smoke rolling down the hill. We immediately assumed lightning strike and called 911 as soon as we walked in the door. We decided to go down to the end of the driveway and direct the firefighters when they arrived. We stopped and took pictures of the fire on the way down, since we knew the trucks came from town and would need at least 25 minutes to get to our house. Two firetrucks arrived, #4 and then #15. They were not big, we only had a small fire, and they came with lights flashing but no sirens. Our firefighters are all volunteer, and are very professional. Our community was recently the incident command central for the firefighters from all over the West, who battled the Medano forest fire, which was started by lightning in the Great Sand Dunes National Park. So fires started by lightning strikes are taken seriously in the West, as I am sure you have seen on national news coverage.

Eli liked watching the bright red fire trucks arrive and we followed #15 up the drive. The firefighters were very happy to hear that the tree in question was on the side of the road and not off road in the middle of the forest . They foamed the tree very well, disturbed all of the ground cover at the base of the tree, mixing the foam in and looking for hot spots, and made sure that the fire was out and the tree cool before leaving. I took video of a lot of the process from a distance, I didn’t want to be in the way. Eli was interested for a while, but it was a slow process, and moved on to his own entertainments… snack & pretend driving the car with the emergency brake on.

I checked with the head guy as they were leaving. He said they felt the tree had been hit at the top and the energy traveled down through the tree to the base. The road side flames were out by the time they arrived, but there were still flames on the hill side of the tree which we could not see. They thanked us for calling them and we thanked them for their excellent work.

Jen and I felt that if we had been at home, we would have known that there was a nearby lightning hit, but we could not see the tree, the flames or even the smoke from the house and we knew where it was. The fire could have progressed dramatically and we would not have known it for a long while until it was very dangerous. So we think it was very good luck that Eli woke when he did and that we did not dawdle but went straight home. It was an adventure that was exciting and had a good outcome, no forest fire!

Eli brought his parents to Colorado last Friday, July 24th. He was a great traveler and patient while Wallace installed his car seat in the Santa Fe. We all went to lunch at Chili’s, then started our 3 hour drive back home. We hoped he would take a good nap in the car, but it was a short one. The long drive between cities and our home is not one of Eli’s favorite things. We drove straight into town and got to see Grandpa’s store and Uncle Teddy, before heading home. Eli has enjoyed the dogs, fortunately they are older now, and calmer, unless Jay pulls into the driveway, when they go ballistic to get him to play ball with them. Eli got to play ball with dogs the first night and likes trying to throw the ball for them. He has gradually worked his way up to petting them, likes to look for them and know where they are all the time, and doesn’t enjoy getting dog kisses, but doesn’t get upset about it either. Day one was a long day and Eli had a hard time settling down to sleep that night.

Saturday, after a leisurely breakfast, we took a ride into Florence to go to an estate auction. However, the directions were skimpy and there were no signs, so we didn’t find the auction, but ended up in Canon City at their history museum. It was really very nice with a lot of mounted animal heads, a bear rug, a family of 4 full size stuffed mountain buffalo (mom, dad, baby and youth), an antique gun collection and a wonderful antique music box / phonograph / jukebox collection among many other things. It was a docent led tour, just for the 5 of us. It was funny, because there was something in each collection that we could point to and say, “We have/had one of those”, in one of our homes or the store: jukeboxes, Victrola, buffalo and caribou mounts, bear rug, antique gun, but we didn’t want to burst the docent’s bubble or her presentation.  Speaking of Buffalo Bill and Caribou Carl, Eli didn’t notice them on the wall in the living room until this morning. But he can be excused, his line of vision is not that high usually. After lunch, we headed home so everyone could take an afternoon nap before dinner.

Sunday, Wallace and Jay organized all of their fly fishing equipment and took a trip to a nearby creek for a trial run before they headed north for their big fishing retreat. Jen, Eli and I took a trip to town to buy vegetables at the grocery. We found the park with the baby swings and climbing equipment on our way home. Eli had his first experience with beets on Sunday. He liked them, but then he likes most food, especially vegetables. I took some pictures of Eli, hoping to use them in an art quilt project (more about that later), and I will continue to take more so I have a good selection to choose from.

Today was D day for the fishing retreat on the Poudre River. Jay and Wallace left before 7 am to pick up our friend, Steve, our friend Charlie, the fourth fisherman was meeting them there. Jen, Eli and I stayed home all day. We played, ate, napped, worked on a project, ate, played and went in the hot tub. I am getting the feel of Eli’s schedule, so I can be a good babysitter when his parents go to do adult fun things like hike to a gold mine or raft down the river. Eli had a lot of  red foods today, cherries, grapes, watermelon, spaghetti with meat sauce, more beets. He enjoyed dinner in his skivvies, in an effort to protect his clothing! He played peek a boo with Grandma while I was in the kitchen fixing our dinner. Eli enjoyed his first time in the hot tub a lot and learned to blow bubbles in the water for the first time!

Eli is so smart for fifteen months old, we hope to be able to post a video of him naming all of his body parts, making animal noises, and using his baby sign language. It is amazing how well he can communicate with sign language when he doesn’t have the verbal vocabulary, but definitely has the knowledge of what he wants to say.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be visits to town for quilting and bowling. I am looking forward to showing him off to my friends. Daddy and Grandpa get home late on Wednesday and then new adventures will unfold.

The day dawned bright with a beautiful blue Colorado sky. We got an early start at 8 am to drive into Cañon City to meet our friends, Tim and Marilyn, at the Fremont Campus of Pueblo Community College. We left our car there and traveled with T&M to Guffey CO for the 25^th Annual Chicken Fly. There were yard sales and craft vendors in abundance and we spent much of our cash at various locations, picking up treasures. Some were free, some were incredibly cheap and some were just so unique. Jay found a coal heated iron (for clothing) and a sheep herders stove, (the size of a hard cover book) with mica windows to see that the fuel was lit. We intend to do some research on those items. We figured out how the chicken fly works and Jay and Tim paid $5 each to fly a chicken in the contest. There were 10 chicken flyers in each heat. They had just finished heat 2 when we signed up, Jay was #10 in heat 5 and Tim was #1 in heat 6 and we were told it would be about 1 pm when their turn would come. So while the band played music from the bandstand, we wandered to more yard sales, the library book sale, the classic car show, the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Foundation booth (rescued wolves), and chicken bowling. Chicken bowling was a short homemade bowling lane (10 ft?) with 3 pins at the end, the wood was warped and rough, and there was a manual ball return. The goal was to knock down all three pins with one ball to win a prize, but you got three chances for a buck. We saw a young man make it on his third try, which was a challenge, because it is very hard to tell how the ball will roll. The prize was a painted bowling pin with Guffey Chicken Fly painted on it.

We were watching the chickens fly when we heard from across the field, “last call for Jay, heat #5.” This was about an hour earlier than we had expected. But no fear, they let Jay start the next heat, he was #-1, heat 6. We still had about 30 minutes before heat 6 took flight, so Tim and Jay picked out their chickens. Tim picked a reddish rooster, Jay picked a greenish hen. Tim kept giving the rooster exercises to prepare him for the contest, Jay’s little hen was feisty at first, but settled down quickly. He gave the hen a pep talk. We were joined by a young lady, about 14, who was on her second flight in heat #9. She actually lived on a poultry farm and regaled us with stories about chickens, how to hold them, and about their habits. It made the time go quickly while we waited. Ok, this is the process, at the top of the turkey launcher, was a mailbox with a door on both ends attached to a rail. Bill Soux, the founder and driving force of the Chicken Fly, announced the contestant and his/her chicken’s name, opened the back door and helped the chicken in, followed by a toilet plunger. Bill opened the front door, and the contestant plunged the chicken out, and the distance the chicken flew was measured with a very long measuring tape in feet and inches. Some chickens flew a decent distance, one flew to the roof of a nearby building, some just settled gently to the ground at the base of the tower. On the ground were several helpers with what looked like fishing nets on long poles to capture the released chickens. Jay went first as contestant -1 and his chicken was named, SPLAT. Splat flew 41 feet and 1 inch to great applause. Tim as the second contestant, #1, was next. His rooster was named FOGHORN LEGHORN. It was surprising (or not) how many adults and none of the children could relate to Foghorn Leghorn. Can you? Poor Foghorn only flew 27 feet 8 inches, but looked magnificent as he did. At the end of the heat, Jay was still the leader with 41′1” and got a first place prize from Bill Soux himself in the City Hall Saloon Museum. The interim event between chicken fly heats was a hula hoop contest, which we decided to miss in favor of lunch, by this time it was after 1 pm. The local restaurants were overcrowded and slow, so we decided to head to Cripple Creek, CO for our next stop, first place prize heat #6, and treasures in tow. It was a great day in Guffey CO for the possibly last Chicken Fly. We hope not, it was great fun.

It was about a half hour drive through gently rolling hills, rocky outcrops, and curvy roads to Cripple Creek, and about 1400 feet rise in elevation. We thought it was quite humorous that the elevation of Cripple Creek was 9,494 feet, the same number as the last four digits in the telephone number for the pawn shop. As we were walking we discovered a big sand sculpture for Cripple Creek Donkey Derby Days, which was last weekend. Cripple Creek also had a band in the park, with a barbecue vendor, and homemade ice cream. They were really making the ice cream right there in these neat ice cream makers. We ended up eating a buffet lunch in the Double Eagle Casino, which was what you would expect from a casino buffet, filling but nothing to write home about. We decided to take the scenic route back to Cañon City, via Phantom Canyon Road. Our goal was the third stop of the day, the community college, where Marilyn is the Academic Advisor and Jay will be a teacher again this fall.

The Fremont Campus PCC hosts the community on their north lawn each Fourth of July for the past several years to enjoy entertainment and watch the Cañon City fireworks display from Skyline Road.  In the third picture, look for the antennae on the top of bluff, that’s where the fireworks will be shot from. The school offers popcorn and free watermelon donated by City Market (Krogers), water play for the kids, a bounce house, a live band, Applewood, and a grassy area to sit and play. The local 4H club had a food cart serving hot dogs, brats, and other festival type foods. Families brought full picnics, fast food dinners, quilts, camp chairs, etc to enjoy the evening. At 7 pm as I write this, sitting in the shade with a light wind blowing, it feels like the mid 70s, just wonderful. The band played 50s and 60s music which was great for us and the children dancing before the stage could care less, they were having a great time. The college had 3D glasses for sale for $1 each to watch the fireworks. I bought everyone a pair and we wondered what would happen when it got dark, with daylight the view was just slightly fuzzy with hints of color. Well, I am not sure I would want to watch fireworks without the 3D glasses again. The lenses fractured the view into 9 squares (I kept thinking about a nine patch quilt block), the center square was mostly clear and reflected the color of the firework, the other 8 surrounding squares were a reflective image of the firework in colors of red, blue and/or green. It was amazing and so much fun. We had perfect seats and the fireworks were plentiful. There was martial fireworks type of music playing from the bandstand, reminiscent of the Boston Pops Fourth of July programs we have seen on PBS stations over the years.

After helping Marilyn tote in tables and chairs, we rested inside the school for a little bit waiting for the crowd to leave. In addition to the people on the grass on the north lawn, there were hundreds of cars in the parking lot with families just sitting there to watch the fireworks. It was almost 11 pm by the time we got home, a long, yet wonderfully refreshing Fourth of July, a winner all way round. Hope your day was wonderful too.

We had a wonderful Father’s Day. It started at 7:30 am when we left the house to meet our friends, Tim and Marilyn, at the foot of our driveway. Tim works part time in the pawn shop and fishes with Jay, Marilyn is an Assistant Dean at Pueblo Community College Fremont Campus, where Jay taught last spring. Our first target was Salida CO for the annual FIBArk Whitewater Festival. We got to see the freestyle kayak finals, wandered through the park and vendors, then had lunch at the Boathouse Cantina restaurant, right on the Arkansas river, where we had seating at an open window, with a view of the river antics. Watching the dogs enjoy the water was especially entertaining. After delicious fish tacos, chips and salsa, we left lovely Salida and headed out for stop 2.

Our second target was Elevenmile Canyon, through which the South Platte River runs. This was where Jay, Tim, and Charlie fished last Thursday. The river was running briskly, the water was high and the banks were littered with fisherpersons of both sexes, campers and their families enjoying the brisk water, and plenty of dogs! We saw several groups of people with climbing gear, attempting to climb the vertical cliffs. Without fishing equipment, we took only pictures, and although the guys caught trout on Thursday, we did not see any of them for dinner, since this is a catch and release area primarily. We took a rough dirt forest service road out of the park, heading to Guffey, CO. This forest road was bumpy, lumpy, and rough, but not the worst we have been on. Thank goodness for high clearance in the Tahoe. On the way to our third stop, we visited Spinney  Mountain reservoir, which feeds the part of  South Platte River that runs through Elevenmile canyon. You can use fishing boats on this reservoir, and I think Jay was totally scoping out boat launches for his 16′ bass boat that is sitting in our garage.

Our next stop was Guffey CO, to have a snack on the way home. Guffey is a small rustic mountain town, which the guys visited on Thursday as well. The Guffey garage was open, but looked like no garage we had ever seen. It seemed like a museum, which in effect it was. It was very eclectic, with lots of animal skulls and skeletons around. Bill, the proprietor, owned all of the historic buildings in town and sent us on to explore the City Hall Saloon and Museum on our own, giving Marilyn the key since she seemed reliable! LOL, which she is. Along side the closed antique store were a row of claw foot bathtubs. Marilyn insisted that we take a picture in the tubs, apparently not a unique idea in this town. Bill invited us to come to his 25th Annual Fourth of July Chicken Fly.  At first I thought this might be like a pumpkin chunk-in, but it isn’t. Apparently chickens like to fly, so they take them up a short tower, and release them somehow to see how far they can fly. The record was 138 feet, if memory serves. Bill says he has about 150 chickens on his property available to rent for the chicken fly or you can bring your won chicken. There will also be an antique car show, 3 bands, food, etc. We all agreed that this would be our 4th of July activity this year. One of the more bizarre displays Bill had in the yard, was a prison wagon, driven by a pretend human skeleton, pulled by the actual real skeletons of two horses. I asked Bill if he knew the horses and he gave us their names, and offered that they had been shot, but no further details. He said he had two more horse skeletons to put together, but the animals kept dragging the bones away and he didn’t think he had enough to put them together anymore. The local bar was quaint and cool, and fun. We all shared an appetizer plate of nachos, with a beverage of choice, before heading home to Westcliffe. We look forward to additional visits to Guffey CO, especially on the 4th of July this year. Guffey may become one of the regular tourist stops for our guests, it was that unique.

Father’s Day calls from the kids topped off the day, they found us in various and sundry places throughout the day, sending their good wishes for a nice Father’s Day to Jay.

Ok, this post was timely (kind of), watch for another post from 2009 coming soon.

More old stories never published, but which should have been:

We had a great time at Matt and Molly’s wedding. Everything went off smoothly and it was a lot of fun. We love Molly and we have known her and her parents for years. It is so nice to have in-laws that you already know and can be comfortable with right away.

It was great to meet Molly’s extended family and for her family to meet ours, including Jen’s parents, Rikki and Jerry who came from San Francisco to join us. On Saturday morning we scheduled a 2 hour driving tour of Austin, which included a stop at Mayfield Park, the wedding site. The bus was exclusively family, Molly’s and Matt’s. So the aunts and uncles got to meet each other socially in a relaxed setting before the wedding and the Welcome to Austin dinner party that evening. I even agreed to wear a Birthday Hat in honor of my birthday for the whole tour and while walking to the restaurant for lunch afterwards. People driving down the street would honk at me and those walking, smiled and waived.

Our Welcome to Austin event was a Tex Mex buffet at the Iron Cactus Restaurant in downtown Austin on 6^th street, within walking distance to the hotel. Everything went very well, the food was great and plentiful. We even had enough leftovers for dinner the next night. We had name tags with a picture of either a groom or a bride, so we could identify how the family and friends were connected to Matt and to Molly. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Some guests left early to try to catch the nightly flight of the bats under the bridge adjacent to the wedding hotel. Apparently my siblings had ordered a birthday cake for my brother Paul and me, our birthdays are 3 days apart. But I never got the message and headed back to our lodgings after the party. But they bravely carried on without me, wishing me happy birthday in absentia.

Austin is a great city, I appreciate it more each time that I visit. M&M had selected Mayfield Park for the outdoor ceremony at 10:30 am on Sunday. It is a beautiful park with lush foliage and many peacocks wandering around. The Rabbi was great, the weddin itself was short, and the ceremony very moving. Molly and Matt have 4 siblings in total, just enough to hold the 4 corners of the chuppah. The reception was indoors at a synagogue about 3 miles away. Molly and her mom, Cathy, did a great job of organizing the reception. There were vegan and kosher options on the brunch buffet catered by Whole Foods Market, something for everyone. It was nice to be indoors away from the August heat. Even though the wedding was early in the day, the outdoor setting was a tad warm and everyone was glad to get inside where they could take off their suit coats. Matt and Molly bravely smiled through the familial toasts, numerous photographers’ efforts, including the professional photographer. Matt and Molly left for their honeymoon night at the famous Driscoll Hotel, and their parents saw the wedding guests off on their way safely home.

Sunday night those of us left in town met down at the hotel to catch the bats nightly swarm from under the bridge. We missed the beginning of the flight, but there are so many bats, that we still had time to see many streams of bats leaving for their search for flying insects. We had a great time in Austin and look forward to many future visits to see our two Printz families now living there.

Memorial Day 2010. I have attended every Memorial Day service in Westcliffe since we moved here, which makes 3 times. I am embarrassed to say that I did not give Memorial Day adequate attention in my pre-Colorado life. This is such a close knit community, many veterans are my friends, and the town has parades and activities on the Saturday before Memorial Day, it has become a meaningful day to me. Additionally, my dad died in early August 2007, the first year we were here. I think that first attendance was in honor of him, as much as anything.

This year was meaningful because my nephew, Jeff, has been serving in Afghanistan this past year and will be returning to Fort Lewis, WA in a few weeks. I thought of him alot. The day was gorgeous, blue skies, light clouds, snow dusted mountains as a back drop. I forgot the sun screen that I reminded myself to use as I was dressing, so I got a little too much sun on my neck and arms, but it was worth it.

I was particularly moved by two of the speakers. The representative of the American Legion Auxiliary is a mother of a young Marine, currently serving in Iraq a “blue star” mom. She talked about how the American Legion Auxiliary Red Poppy got its name, and about her concerns for and her pride in her son. She has a young dog that she takes to visit wounded veterans for therapy, schools, and other programs to talk about not forgetting our veterans. She is collecting donations for our soldiers and sending boxes to Iraq and Afghanistan each month. She made a comment that I thought I would remember so I could post it here, but I didn’t, so I can’t, but take my word for it, I liked it and it brought a tear to my eye. Should have brought a notebook!

The second speaker was Dave Roever. He is a wounded veteran of the Viet Nam war and has created Eagles Summit Ranch here in the beautiful Westcliffe valley. He has been bringing wounded soldiers to his ranch for healing and therapy for three years. I have not been to one of their graduation ceremonies,  but I understand it is an amazing experience as the soldiers talk about their journey and what this experience meant to them. Dave is a minister, motivational speaker, and a genuine mover and shaker in the efforts to help our returning soldiers. I understand that a Texas ranch is in the works as well. Here is an article from Fort Carson about this program.  I had heard a lot about Dave from my friends, and it was great to hear him in person.

It was also special to have soldiers from a Fort Carson Medical Unit, recently returned from a tour of duty in the middle east on hand. They had set up one of their portable medical units for people to tour and learn about their jobs. They got a standing ovation when introduced. There was also a mounted Honor Guard, there is probably a name for this, but I don’t know it. There were 2 soldiers with swords on either side of soldiers carrying the American and Colorado state flags. The four horses to my eyes, were perfectly matched in color and size and were well trained. The soldiers were dressed in what looked like historic cavalry officers uniforms. They were a very nice addition to the program. And finally, we had a fly over by two jets from the Colorado National Guard. Last year the weather was too overcast and the fly over had to be canceled.

I wonder at these events, if I could qualify as a member of the American Legion Auxilliary because I have a neice and nephew currently serving in the Coast Guard and Army, respectively, or as the daughter of a veteran of WWII? Maybe one of these days, I will ask. There were quite a few families / individuals who stood when prompted as “Blue Star Families”, and unfortunately, there was one lady who stood at the prompt for “Gold Star Families”, which meant a family member had died in service to their country during a war or military action. The original “Blue, Silver or Gold Stars” displayeed in the window of a family’s home started in 1917 during WWI.  There is now a revived movement for Blue Star Families, using all of cybertechnology to enhance support for the families and their soldiers.

In conclusion, I would like to honor our family members who have or are currently serving in our military: Army, Navy, Coast Guard.   William Barber – WWI, OP Doyle Sr, Andy O’Connell, Marty O’Connell, WWII, OP Doyle Jr, Mike Means, Spc. Jeffrey Doyle, Lt. Rebecca Doyle. I thank you for your service.

I only have one picture from the Memorial Day Program presented by our American Legion Post 170. It shows the mounted Honor Guard, the riderless or caparisoned horse – honoring a fallen leader, and a few of our American Legion motorcycle Honor Guard, and of course, the mountains.

It has been so long since I have posted anything on my blog… I admit, I have been seduced by Facebook. I think that I am staying caught up with what the family and friends are doing and that they likewise look at my posts and know what is up. Unfortunately, that is not true, many people with FB pages, rarely visit them to see what is up, and I don’t say as much as I did when I was blogging. I have had several requests to reactivate my attention to my blog. It hasn’t gone anywhere, I had moved away from it. So I am making that commitment to you, that I will make a concerted effort to write more frequently and perhaps shorter blogs, which will take less time to complete. I know you can’t imagine  it, but I write and re-read, and edit, and re-read several times before I publish… hence my head telling me I don’t have enough time to write a post, do it later and later kept getting further and further away.

So my first story will be about Jay. He hurt his wrist while fishing in the Arkansas river on May 7th. It was a slip and fall on the wet rocks and resulted in a slight fracture of a bone in his left wrist. The orthopedist gave him a cloth splint to wear and it is healing. He can do everything at the shop,  and even fish in it. It is still sore, but much better than in the beginning.  On Sunday, May 16th, Jay took me with him fishing. We went to Grape Creek, not too far out of town, and after an 8 or 9 mile ride on kidney pounding rough road, we hiked along a stream to the flowing creek. It was beautiful… rushing water, boulders in the creek, sun shining, and I learned one thing about fishing for trout in Colorado. No one stays put. It is cast out three or four times, move on, cast, move on, repeat as necessary. This was ok, as I was out for the exercise and fresh air and didn’t know what to expect. Perhaps next time I’ll bring a folding chair, find a scenic view in the shade, and relax and read my book. After all, he’d have to pass my way to get to the car and I couldn’t get lost. We’ll see if I ever get invited out again.

On his second stop, first cast, Jay caught a really nice rainbow trout. He is all catch and release, so the fish got to have the chance to try, try again. Jay said it was about three quarter pound. He had some other nibbles but they were much smaller and didn’t take his lure. But as in quilting sometimes, it is the process, not the product that matters. Being outside in the fresh air, enjoying the scenery and the day, and performing the motions of fishing was what mattered.

Jay takes every opportunity that he can to fish. One of the perks of living here in the mountains is the abundance of locations with beautiful scenery to enjoy nature, whether fishing, hiking, skiing, or looking for gold. Come and check it out for yourself.

I will be posting stories from the past in random order, bear with me… eventually I will get caught up.  Thanks Matt for making it easier to add the pictures, that will help me too. Until next time….. have a great day!

How can the summer go by so fast? It is almost the end of August and the days are flying by. I added a post about my brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Jane, visiting us in June, the 9th – 13th. However if you are on Facebook, he has some videos of the drive down our driveway and a tour of the house which are terrific.

Since then I’ve been to a bridal shower in Texas (June 13th) for my daughter-in-law, Molly, and got to see Eli, currently most important family member to see, his parents, Julia, the bride and groom, and Molly’s family, had dinner at my favorite FW restaurant, Uncle Julio’s, and spent time with Julia. We found a house for her to rent in Denton while I was there and I helped pack a few boxes in her apartment.

Fourth of July here was a blast. It was the biggest crowd here for the 4th in recent memory. Our contemporary quilters, Westcliffe Contemporary Quilters and Fiber Artists, had our first quilt show and boutique. We lost our venue to hold the event the week before the show and had to scramble for an alternative. Everything worked out well and the SHOW was held at the Library, the BOUTIQUE across the street in a retail shop. The show was very well received. I did not have anything in the show or boutique, not very prolific with quilting these days. But my contribution was computer work: signs, info on the quilts and the quilters. Jay opened Loan A Ranger on Sunday, while I was working my shift at the quilt show. Business was slow, so he probably won’t open on Sundays any more.

Loan A Ranger is keeping Jay busy and happy. We are full to the brim with interesting stuff, especially guns. A local historian has given us on consignment quite a bit of old Westcliffe and Silver Cliff memorabilia, which attracts a lot of interest. Everyone that walks in the store comments that we need to expand, but we love the location and don’t want to move. We are discussing options with the landlord. We recently purchased a swamp (evaporative) cooler for the store. It is kind of like an air conditioner, but doesn’t need to be vented. It has helped a lot to keep the store comfortable this summer.

The second weekend in July was the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival. This is a world class bluegrass festival and we enjoy it immensely. This year Jay chose to work in the pawn shop and just attend evening events. I got to go all day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The nice thing is that each group gets to play at various time slots, so that even if you only go in the evenings and Sunday, you get to hear each group at least twice. I took the opportunity to take Eli’s quilt with me and hand quilted around the stars while I listened to beautiful music with the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background. On the Friday, Jay took pictures of 3 beautiful bucks just hanging out in the city park next door. The quality is not that great due to the distance, but you can still see their beautiful racks. Don’t get this kind of scenery in very many downtowns in the middle of a Friday with a festival in town.

The weekend after the blue grass festival was the local rodeo, the 63rd Annual Westcliffe Stampede Rodeo. There was  a parade on Saturday for the rodeo too. It was much longer than the other parades this summer, primarily due to the number of horses and their riders participating. Of course, the Paca Peace Ranch had their alpacas walking in the parade too, always a crowd favorite. The local volunteer firefighters had all their trucks at the end of the parade, shooting water at the bystanders and each other. It was great fun. We lock the doors and stand in the street with everyone else waving to our friends and neighbors.

Wallace has continued to post pictures and videos of Eli on Picasa (photos) and YouTube (videos). I am posting the link to the two sites on the blog roll for your convenience. We hope to see similar sites for the new great nephew, Logan, coming in the fall.

In early August, I had the opportunity to change my travel plans for Matt & Molly’s wedding and decided to drive down to Austin. Ted is still unemployed and drove down with me. I left him in Denton with Julia. I was there until after the wedding, but this way we didn’t have to rent a car. I got to stay at Eli’s house and play grandma, as well as finalize the plans for our part of the wedding. We hosted a dinner at a local restaurant downtown on Saturday night before the wedding. Jen traveled to California the first weekend in August for a bachelorette party for her best friend, Allison, and left Eli at home with Wallace. I expected that an extra pair of hands would come in handy… oops, no pun intended, and that by being there a few days early, Eli would get comfortable with me. He is such a cutie, still very personable and talkative and not yet shy with strangers. Julia was also there to help take care of Eli. Sounds typical, three people to take the place of one Momma, but Eli managed to keep us all in line and he handled mom’s absence with grace. Jen had a good time, but was happy to get home with her special guys.

Eli had a first haircut the Tuesday before the wedding, while sitting in Mom’s lap. He fit the stereotype and didn’t like it very much, although why he got upset, I don’t know, since he’s not old enough to anticipate that it might hurt and be scared, and he wasn’t poked or anything. But he calmed right down and still looks very handsome.

Matt and Molly’s wedding on Aug 9th was wonderful. There are great pictures on Facebook from our family members,and I’ll try to get around to posting pictures here too. I’m off to Virginia for another wedding, our nephew, John K. and bride to be, Laura K.,  and when I get back to Colorado, it will be September and the Western Days Music Festival, Olde Schoolhouse Quilters quilt show and league bowling startup will be on the agenda.

Who said retirement was peaceful and slow? Can’t prove it by life in Westcliffe, CO!

June was a busy month, starting with my brother, Joe, and sister-in-law, Jane, visiting from Arkansas. They started their travels on June 3rd flying to Seattle with their daughter, Jenny, to visit with their son, Jeff, and his new wife, Krissi. Jeff is in the Army and is being deployed to Afghanistan in July. The Army held a program for the families of the soldiers being deployed, and J&J&J learned a lot about the services available to the soldiers and their families. They had the opportunity to meet and get to know Krissi, the newest member of their family. Pictures of their trip can be seen on Jenny’s and Joe’s Facebook pages. These are are a few of my favorite pictures of the family groups.

On our way back from the airport, we stopped at the house to unload luggage and get a quick view of the mountains in daylight and say hi to the dogs. We then went to Horn Creek Camp to pick up our niece, Courtney, who is working as summer staff at the camp. She didn’t realize we lived here when she applied for the job. Coincidence or Fate? We found Courtney and brought her to town to meet with Jay at the pawn shop. We had dinner on Main Street at a newly reopened restaurant, Sangritas. When we took her back to camp, we got a tour of the area and got to see where she works: the recreation building. They have ball courts, bowling lanes (4), a rock climbing wall, snack shop, etc. We showed her how she could find our neighbor’s white roof high in the hills across the valley and that our house was just below his.

Joe and Jane got to watch me bowl on Wednesday morning. I actually had a good day, not true of all the weeks following. We visited Bishop’s Castle in the afternoon, always a great photo op. Joe climbed all the way to the top of one tower, he’s brave. He also got to meet and speak to Mr. Bishop, always an interesting experience.

Thursday, we had Sue working in the shop so we could all sightsee. We went west to Salida, driving along the Arkansas River for a beautiful scenic drive. After walking around Salida and having lunch at a local wood fire pizza restaurant, we headed to Monarch ski area and the Continental Divide. Jay, Joe and I took a ride on the tram up to the top of the continental divide. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and we were socked in by clouds. It had snowed twice already that day up at the look out. Joe tried to take pictures anyway.

We then drove across the Monarch Pass and down to Gunnison, CO. There was a wonderful Pioneer Museum, with multiple buildings covering all aspects of pioneer life in CO. It tried to rain off and on, but we managed to dodge most of the rain. On the way out of Gunnison, we saw the most beautiful rainbow, super thick and wide, crossing from the mountains on the left to the valley on the right. Our drive back across the pass was sunny, but we found out that Jane doesn’t like heights or speed on mountain roads. Jay was happy to keep to a speed that Jane was comfortable with and we still made good time. We stopped in Salida at the Twisted Cork for dinner which was enjoyed by everyone. It has a patio on the Arkansas River, but it started raining again, so we stayed inside and warm.

On the way back to Westcliffe, Jay spotted an elk off in the distance. Joe has a terrific zoom on his camera, and could see that she also had two calves with her. For the distance, this is a terrific shot. I don’t know how Jay saw her while he was driving. Amazing. We then found another herd of Elk a few more yards down on the other side of the road, and Joe got more shots of Elk. Joe really wanted to see the big horn sheep that can be found in Hardscrabble canyon and other spots in this area, but was denied. But he did get to see turkeys, deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, and other smaller miscellaneous wildlife.

Friday was my day to fly to Fort Worth for Molly’s bridal shower. We headed to Colorado Springs, stopped in at two auctions, one to preview and put in absentee bids for the Saturday auction and one to bid on. We had hamburgers from the lunch wagon on site and Joe and Jane got to see me at work at Ross Auction. We drove through Garden of the Gods Park and took a few scenic shots. They dropped me off at the airport and drove back to Westcliffe, via the lookout at the Royal Gorge in Canon City. After meeting Jay back at the pawn shop, they all had dinner in town at The Feedstore.

Saturday was their day to rest. Joe and Jane took the atv out for a spin on our property. If you are their friend on Facebook, that’s their current profile picture…on the atv in CO. They reported enjoying their time relaxing and looking at the view and of course their atv ride. Their time with us was all too brief, because their flight left around noon on Sunday.

I understand the nieces and nephews were talking about having ChrismaHanukah in CO one of these years. We are up for it whenever they are!

There has been debate about who Eli looks like. Wallace has received ancient (ummm… 31 year old) photos that put that put that question to rest.

Isn’t that the coolest thing? Wallace is so talented.

Here is another picture for you to enjoy, taken with my cell phone while babysitting when W&J were getting haircuts.

Here is Eli’s latest video outing. Such a strong happy baby at 1 month old.