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!