Jay’s sister, Jacquie, is coming to visit this weekend. She arrives on Saturday afternoon and flies home to North Carolina on Thursday. She and Jay will get to spend about 24 hours together, before he heads back to the Academy. Jacquie, the dogs and I will get to spend some quality time together. It’s a good thing Jacquie is easy going, cause she will get to follow me around while I bowl (twice), do my library thing, etc. But we’ll get some good sightseeing in too. Watch for future pictures of the fun and festivities.

Jay is looking forward to next week. The cadets get to have skills classes, which means they’ll get out of the classroom and actually do something (besides push ups). I think the driving range is on the schedule… cars, not golf balls. He told me that in the driving classroom instruction this week, they had to practice driving the CSP way with cardboard steering wheels. The cadets are seated two per table. While one cadet on the left was driving, his partner had to make motor noises,  and when the cadet on the right was driving, his partner had to make British motor noises. Now, I don’t know if this is true or if Jay was pulling my leg… he’s prone to do that. And I always fall for it, too.

Next week the Cadets will get their assignments for the Democratic National Convention. Apparently one of the tasks might be to detail the limousines each night between midnight and six am. Sounds like a good job for a CSP cadet….? At least they won’t have to do push ups between cars.

I have my first meeting as a director of the Southern Tri county Bowling Association this Saturday. This is for the WBA (women’s leagues). We’ll get assigned to committees and who knows what else? I’ll find out. I have a director’s shirt to wear, with my name embroidered on the front. It says Babs, my bowling pseudonym. I’ll have Jay take a picture, but I’m changing my shirt before I get to the airport to pick up Jacquie.

We’ve made through the second weekend and into week 3! yeah! As I mentioned, when Jay calls each night, he usually has a smile in his voice. This week, the smile is a little hoarse. Actually, he’s been pretty tired, he’s up early… between 4:30 and 5:30 am, earlier if there is PT that day, and the cadets are constantly on the move. PT has moved into the Crossfit training program, which is seriously hard work. But he is still positive about the experience. He is enjoying getting to know the other cadets and working together as a team. He says he is sometimes called “gramps”, Printz (of course), then other names I can’t print on the blog. The Cadet class 2008-2 Scrapbook is online now. As of this evening, the Sunday check in and orientation is online…101 pictures. Check it out. Now that it’s up, I’m confident more pictures will be posted regularly.

As part of my keeping busy, on Friday I unpacked the rest of the pictures, art work, etc and had 19+ mirror carton sets in the hall. I have offered the mirror cartons and packing material to the artists in town and they are interested in the supplies. One art gallery has a basement and will store the materials for anyone who needs it. So, on Saturday morning, I put Jay to work hanging pictures. We now have artwork hanging in the master bedroom, Jay’s office, hall bathroom, both downstairs bedrooms and the downstairs hall. We have not done anything with Shirley’s artwork yet, we are waiting for more time to consider all the options and make the best plan for displaying her art. We had lunch with Ted in town and I took Jay out to see the house he is sharing with Bobby. That afternoon we had a big thunderstorm come through with lots of pebble sized hail and good rain. Jay studied for several hours. I forgot to mention that by the end of the Academy, the Cadets will have accrued almost enough credits for an associate’s degree through one of the state colleges. The Academy takes the academics seriously and there is homework and there are tests.

Part of my duties this past weekend, was sewing the CSP patch on both of Jay’s uniforms. Feel free to check out the history of the CSP patch… see the previous link. I also had to release the left epaulet and open the button hole and reattach the button. I worked hard and thought that I had understood the directions, but when Jay got back to the Academy on Sunday evening, he found out I goofed. The patches were not in the right position and had to be taken off and resewn. Fortunately, Cadet Wallace was able to fix one uniform for Jay Sunday night  so he wouldn’t be in trouble, and then the other one yesterday. I’m not sure how I can repay Cadet Wallace for covering my error, but I’ll think of something. So by Sunday evening, my smile was not so bright.

We are embarking on another construction project – a garage. We have an attached garage, but with the big wheel (ATV), the motorcycle, and road grader in there, there is no room for a work shop and barely any room to walk around. So the detached garage will house the wheeled items: boat, trailer, atv, motorcycle, and road grader. This will open up room to allow Jay’s workbenches to be accessible, the tools to be arranged for actual usage, and perhaps, even on occasion, room for at least one car to come in out of inclement weather. I think the last idea is a long shot, but it might happen. I have started to chronicle the work via my camera. So far we have some lumber under a tarp and today “trusses” arrived. The driver was actually able to turn his truck and trailer around and back it up the driveway to offload. I was mightily impressed. I’m glad I was around to see it.

I’m keeping busy during the day, trying new recipes in the evening that I wouldn’t want to inflict on Jay until I knew they were edible, unpacking and organizing stuff a little at a time. Last summer we said we would have time to unpack everything in the winter… but there was still too much to do in Colorado, and it was easy to ignore the boxes in the big room. Sunday after Jay left for Golden, I worked in my room. I unpacked and collected every quilt tool, item, gadget, etc and resorted and repacked them into various labeled containers. Then I did the same thing with the fabrics, sorting by color, rather than by value… i.e, blues, greens, etc versus lights, mediums and darks. I hammered nails in the closet and hung my quilting templates and rulers and measuring devices. I’m getting closer to having a functional room, where I can actually sew. I still have more sorting through of office stuff that is just sitting in boxes, much of which can be recycled now. But it is still “in the way” of good functionality in my room, but I have made a start, and that’s a good thing.

I drove to Golden to pick Jay up at the Academy on Friday afternoon. I had forty five minutes to get there upon leaving Costco, normally a 30 min. drive. But I had never driven in Denver traffic at 4:15 pm. I did not realize the cars on the interstate would come to a dead stop many times. It took an hour to get there, fortunately my GPS told me exactly when I would arrive, although I didn’t like the news it was giving me. I think this traffic was worse than Dallas and rivaled Houston, when we lived there. I’m glad I don’t have to drive in that traffic regularly.

We shopped at Target and had dinner at The Keg, before heading back to Westcliffe. I got to hear the minutiae of the life of a cadet. Good news: the Major and Captain told the class on Friday, that they are one of the best classes to come along recently. They have pulled together and and are doing very well. The Cadet class 2008-2 Scrapbook is not up yet on the website, but Jay assures me that lots of pictures were taken last week. PT or physical training begins this week. And one of the cadets who left last week, apparently will be returning and the class was very glad to hear that and said that they would help him get caught up on what he had missed.

Jay had homework, just as we were told, and came with a list of things that would make life easier, such as bookends, office supplies, high protein snack food, alarm clock, etc. We were invited to our neighbor, Dan’s, home for dinner last night, and had a good visit with our neighbors on the road and two guests. Jay has gone back already, he still had more studying to do and wanted a chance to unpack and settle in. But before he left, I was able to get a picture of Cadet Printz and include a picture from spring, so you can see the difference. I’ll let you know when the scrapbook is on line, so you can check it out.

This past weekend was the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival, Thurs July 10th through Sunday July 13th. Jay and I look forward to this every year… at least the last two years and next year. Jay had started to play the banjo back in Texas and while we appreciated banjo and bluegrass music, hadn’t had much opportunity to attend live bluegrass venues. We had the 4 day pass and brought our folding camp chairs early to get a spot in the “carry in” chair sections and spent as much time there as we could. We packed in our own picnic food and plenty of water, and just enjoyed. This is one of the major events in Westcliffe, attended by musicians and fans from around the US. The whole event is run by volunteers and the proceeds go to support our local Medical Center. The music and talent is top notch and it is a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

We left a little early on Friday evening, so we could pack Jay’s bag for the Academy. We also had to miss Saturday evening and Sunday this year, because of orientation for the State Patrol Academy. This year, orientation began on Sunday at 9 am, and the families were invited to join the cadets. We drove up to Golden, CO on Saturday afternoon from the festival and spent the night in a hotel. It is about a 3 hour drive to the Academy from Westcliffe and we didn’t want to take any chances with traffic or any other delay which might have made us late. This was the first time the Academy had included the families, and from our perspective it worked well. We received an orientation to the Academy and  an overview of the 22 weeks, a tour, lunch, 2.5 hours with the HR person describing options for insurance and retirement, a presentation to the families by the Chaplain, and a reading test for the Cadets. We thought the reading test was curious, since all applicants had to take and pass an SAT type test at the very beginning. We heard that it was really for the purpose of assessment to divide the cadets into squads. My guess is that they want a balance of skills and strengths within each squad. The Chaplain teaches “life skills” to the cadets, which includes dealing with stress, communication, and finances. He gave a sample of his presentation to the cadets. He stressed that the work at the academy would be stressful to the cadets, that they would need to study on the weekends and have time to de-stress, and tried to prepare the spouses for the changes in the cadets as they progress from civilians to police officers. He gave some very grim statistics re: the divorce rate among police officers, which I think made some people very unhappy and perhaps threatened. We then unloaded the car and unpacked some of Jay’s stuff. He is in a room with 4 other cadets. Jay is the oldest cadet ever to attend the academy, and the cadet in the bed next to him is the youngest, 21. There were 34 cadets at the orientation, 4 of whom are women, and 3 are 50+. The other two 50+ are Dale and Mark. After unloading the car, we went to dinner at 5:30 with Dale and Mark. Their wives had left earlier in the afternoon. I headed back to Westcliffe at 6:50 pm and was home by 10 pm. We had been encouraged to ask any questions about life at the Academy and I think it was very helpful for everyone to have this gentle introduction to this “adventure.” The captain stressed that the CSP is a para military organization and that the staff was trying very hard to be “nice”, and it wasn’t natural for them, but Monday morning they would revert to normal.

I have been able to speak to Jay each evening, when he is released from duty and before bed. So far, everytime I have spoken to him there has been a light hearted tone to his voice. While they are getting yelled at, and have to march in silence between places, and there are a lot of rules, etc. he is being relaxed and not letting the pressure bother him. He is keeping perspective and is not unhappy. They start their real PT or physical training next week on MW&F. But as we were told, there were 3,000 recruits for 34 positions, and the staff selected these 34 individuals out of all the rest, for the qualities they felt would make good troopers. So they are not interested in trying to weed out the cadets, but to make them good, safe troopers who will come home from their duty shift. They said there is a reason for everything they do in training (even yelling) and that eventually it will make sense to the cadets. However, this being said, one cadet left on Monday, two on Tuesday, none today Wednesday. Jay said those who left were not individuals that he and I spent time with on Sunday, so he doesn’t know why they left.

There is a media team, who take pictures of everything the cadets do…. err, of their classes, training, and general life at the academy. There will be weekly updates, a digital scrap book of their class, posted on the Academy website. We were able to see 9 weeks of the last class, 2008-1. We were told that the CSP website had been hacked by someone in Russia around week 9, and the website has been frozen while damage control and repairs were made, however, the digital scrapbook was maintained the whole 22 weeks and would be provided to the graduates. I have checked and the scrapbook is not up yet, but the photographer was there on Sunday, and Jay says a staff person is taking pictures all the time. As soon as it is up, I will be sure to post the link. Instead of playing “Where’ s Waldo?”, we can play “Where’s Jay?”

Concerns have been expressed about how I will handle being alone during the 22 weeks. I am doing fine and expect to continue in the same vein. I have beautiful scenery to wake up to every day, no one is yelling at me, the dogs give me plenty of attention, and I have my activities: bowling, quilting, library volunteer, red hats, parenting Ted (not a full time job anymore), time to keep unpacking the boxes, and Jay has been able to call every day so far. So it’s a little quieter, but it will be fine. I’m grateful that I am not the parent of pre-school or elementary children, and have to function as a single parent while my spouse was at the academy. I think that would be much harder.

As I learn interesting things about life at the Academy, be sure that I will post those tidbits. Jay will be coming home on weekends, so he can get refreshed by the mountains and play with the dogs. Have a good week.

My brother, Paul, my sister-in-law Maggie, and niece Meredith came to visit last weekend. They were in Colorado for the wedding of Maggie’s niece in Denver, and added some time to their trip to visit us. We were so excited, I cleaned house and even mopped (some) of the floors! They drove down from Denver and called us when they came to Wetmore (see Father’s day post for more about Wetmore) and we left to meet them at the crossroads of Hwy 96 and Rosita Rd. As we pulled up and were preparing to turn around, they turned onto Rosita – perfect timing. We spent the afternoon at the house, talking and catching up. Our Rabbi called, he was in the neighborhood (Hermit Lake in the Sangre de Cristo mountains) and could he stop by? They had to climb over snow drifts to get to the lake, and on his way back to town, they encountered hail and rain in the mountains. We had a good visit and after they left, cooked dinner and hit the hay early. Monday, we picked Ted up in town and headed for the usual tourist stops, Bishop’s Castle and the Royal Gorge overlook, taking the scenic routes. After a short nap, we had a very nice dinner at the Letter Drop Inn. Tuesday, we took Phantom Canyon Road to Cripple Creek, CO, had lunch, then stopped at the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs. We watched some rock climbers work their way up the standing rocks. You can climb for free IF you register at the park office and have safety equipment. If you climb without the aforementioned, you can get a $500 fine. We left Paul, Maggie and Meredith after our visit to the park, they drove on to Denver to have dinner with Maggie’s brother and to catch their flight back to NY on Wednesday afternoon. Meredith is an avid photographer, she took a lot of photos, and I hope she will send me some good ones to post on the blog. In the meantime, you have my photographic efforts to peruse. PM&M are the first of our family to visit besides our kids. We had a great time and hope they can come back again.

During their visit we heard from their daughter, Becky, who just graduated from the Coast Guard Academy and will be based in Alameda, CA. She is joining the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau in Singapore. There was a little mixup with her ship out orders, but all was resolved and she is on board and ready to “drive” the ship. Not being familiar with the technological jargon, I’m sure the CG and Navy have a different word for it, but that will be her current assignment, I understand. The Morgenthau is participating with the Navy in CARAT 2008, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training. She will be returning to Alameda with her ship in September. Congratulations to Becky and we wish her the best in her new career. Check out the links to the Morganthau and CARAT and see the Captain and what they are doing and where she will be during the next 3 months.

Wednesday morning, Jay left bright and early to drive to Fort Worth to pick up the antique brass bed that we inherited from his mother. It had been left to be repaired, the business moved and wouldn’t return our calls and was finally located by a private investigator and Jay went to retrieve it before he got involved with the Academy. He was able to have dinner with Julia and pick up the few things that we couldn’t fit in the trailer when we went down Memorial Day Weekend. He returned on Thursday, to be back in time for the 4th of July and another civilian ride along with a Trooper from Salida, CO. on Saturday. A long trip, but rewarding to have the lost bed returned to us. We don’t have room to put it up, but here are the pictures of our new guest room #2, with the bed from Alba and guest room #1. Also pictures of our old friends Buffalo Bill and Caribou Carl, also from the Alba Pond House. We are ready to welcome you as our guests, come on up!

The Fourth of July in Westcliffe is pretty traditional, a parade in the morning, a classic car show, flea market and craft show, community ice cream social and sing a long at the Old Schoolhouse museum, and fireworks. We were there for the parade, pictures to follow, the car show (no pictures) and flea market. We came home for a nap, after all, Jay had had 2 days of hard driving. We considered going to town for the fireworks, but decided to stay home after all.

Does this look like your town’s Fourth of July parade? In order (but this is not all of the parade): Sheriff Jobe leading the parade, American Legion, Alpaca Peace Ranch kids with alpacas, tractor, the Stampede Rodeo Queen and court, miniature horses, Wagon Ride (with local theater cast in Shakespeare costumes – current play), another tractor, Cliff Riders ATV club, Search and Rescue, and Sheriff’s Posse bringing up the rear. There weren’t really any floats, a couple of pick up trucks with decorations, lots of walkers, each of the candidates for county commissioner had a car or truck with their name on it, livestock and riders. The American Legion presenting the flags and the Search and Rescue got the loudest applause. Search and Rescue is really honored here, they donate all of their time and much of the resources, to help the unlucky, the stupid and reckless, and unfortunately, even the careful, who either get lost or die up in the mountains to get down safely.

Jay had an early start Saturday to meet the trooper in Salida, his ride was from 7 am – 3 pm, and Salida is over an hour away. But he said he saw elk and long horn sheep on his ride to Salida. That is always fun for him. He says it is like living in a zoo. The trooper decided to patrol Leadville, which is where Jay will be posted after graduation. So Jay got to meet some of the sheriffs, see the jail, meet the outgoing trooper, and see some sights. He had a good time again.

This has been a busy week. Next week is the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival. Come see us and constructive criticism about the blog is always welcome.