paradise thoughts

past

2012-02-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

Giving up on replaying one's past is such a hard thing. You can relive your past and enjoy it, or you can relive your past and hate every minute of it. Not sure which replay keeps going on and on...but you just have to give it up at some point!

I love the old vinyl records. The 76 records were the best. I think of them as I replay the past. The best ones have no scratches. The sound is so rich, so full. The voices and instrumental fill the room as if the musicians were right there with you. That is how my memories are...as if I was there. There are times, of course that I would like to replay and get a do over. Like Peggy Sue Gets Married. But as in all old movies, the end comes around and you have to choose which life you want to lead. I also had a sweet friend ask me if my choices have been worth it. If this path was worth the choices that have been made. Tough choices of course but true choices.

The things I would like to have do overs: I would be a much better friend. Somehow sitting still would be a thing to learn how to do. Not sure it could ever be learned. Dance longer and harder and sing louder! And last but not least...never let the nay sayers get me down.

Wind

2011-11-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today was Paradise...not just a little letter p...but that great big Capital letter P! In all accounts, it has been not the most beautiful day, but such a beautiful, wonderful, great day. Olive has really enjoyed it. It is so fun to watch a dog (I try not to call her that out loud) when the weather gets really crisp. She has run, jumped, barked and smiled all day long. I am sure, for her, being away from our apartment in Midland has been a life changing experience!

I love watching the day wake up. Why it is so magical here I do not know. For some reason, living here, being here makes everything so much more enjoyable. There is a huge buck living in the field across from me. I say living, he is really just visiting until hunting season is over. Last night he settled in and just looked at me. He was fifteen yards away. As we strolled down the lane this morning, a beaver - otter - water critter of some sort was sitting on the ice looking at me. I am sure all these animals want to know what I am doing here, or possibly they don't care. They just want their day to go along peacefully, quietly. I am so obliged to go right along with them.

Bucket Lists

2011-11-11T04:08:00.000-08:00

I have made it back to the wonderful glorious cabin. I am so excited to be here! You might say a wild hair just jumped up and bit me on the....well you know exactly what I am trying to say here.
Being a lady, I can not say exactly what I would like. On the other hand, there are those of you who know I would just bust out and say exactly what I would love to say! Who cares! I am in the MOUNTAINS!

I have been examining my bucket list. I have come to the conclusion...what in the world is a bucket list any way? It sounds wonderful. Great movie. But isn't it just another way for us to re-evaluate our life and decide it has come up short in some form or fashion? Therefore, today, I have decided, NO BUCKET LIST FOR ME. My bucket list is that I am not looking back any more to re-evaluate my life and decide where, how many times, how much etc. did I mess up, miss out and basically ruin my life. I am settlin in folks. As one friend used to say, take a deep seat...could be a bumpy ride.

Did anyone notice the moon these last two nights? My goodness - what a moon it was! I would say it was like having a flash light on steroids. I don't really know how the air gets so clean up here - but it is amazingly crisp - clean and everything sparkles. When you get this moonshine on top of all this cleanliness (well let's say God just dipped everything in Clorox up here) it just is breathless. I woke yesterday early to a light coming through my window. Of course I thought...Here it comes....I am going to the light....That's right...forget the bucket list for sure now! But it was the moon setting. Honestly I thought someone was shining a light in my window. Nothing really compares.

I have noticed that my shoulders are dropping a notch each side the longer I am here. Instead of wearing my shoulders as earrings-them being so tight they are finally relaxing! I have only been here a couple of days now. It is winter here. -2 the morning I drove in. I have snow in my yard, steam on the stream, and a dead pellet stove. Even that does not upset one. It is Colorado time!

I know before long the sun will be creeping over the mountain and he will be stretching his long fingers into the day. For some reason, the days take a really long time to wake up. Guess when you have been doing everything in your power to stay warm and finally have gotten there waking is the last thing you want to do! Sweet Olive would agree with that! I sent her out this morning to make her announcements, such a weak show. All she wanted was to get back in to her hopefully warm spot on the bed and to her wonderful dream.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

2011-01-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

Hello my little doves, It has been so long since our last chat!

Life is a wonderful and wondrous thing. We are allowed to venture in so many directions, always moving, always changing. I am headed on a new adventure and a bit intimidated and a bit excited. I think this is what life is all about. My resolution this year is to go for it. To not sit back in a quandary, uncertain and unable to make a decision. I am going to go forward, jump in with both feet and TRY not to look back. Nostalgia is an ugly and mean thing to have in your arsenal of weapons. It paralyzes and hinders even the strongest of individuals. I am afraid for the past 53 years I have been in that quagmire of life that has kept me from freely and joyously venturing out to do what ever my heart desires. ( Of course this is all coming from a woman who lives in Paradise...go figure.)

I am moving to a small town in West Texas for 6 months. I am giving it an ending time so that I have bondaries. I am very excited to do this as it is in a field that has romantically been calling my name forever. I can't wait, yet I find myself moving so slowly forward. Why is it that something that seems so right, takes every ounce of your being to move to? I am hoping that tomorrow I will be out the door, bags packed, headed to a new adventure. Wish me luck!

2010-12-05T06:34:00.000-08:00

It is a long overdue time to say Thank You to all who serve and have family serving in the Armed Forces. Because of you I am allowed to write this, unhindered. I can not begin to understand the sacrifices you must make.

Here I sit in my warm little world. I know where my family members are, every one of my family members. I can pick up my phone and call my child at the drop of a hat. I can hop in my car and visit her. It is beyond understanding not to be able to do that on any given day, but during the holidays it becomes even a harder realization. There are spouses, parents, friends who do not know where their loved ones are today. It is a daily thing for them. Able to function daily, able to do all that a family does. You are amazing. I can not tell you how much I admire and appreciate you. Words are just so inadequate here.

To those on the front lines, Thank You. Honor, Love of Country, Courage. Just a few descriptives that do not begin to cover you. Loving to write, loving to paint a picture of things, I am at a loss. I am sorry there are those that do not honor you. Not wanting to be political, I won't say anything else other than I know that you are defending even their rights. Thank you. May you all be safe tonight, may you all have a wonderful holiday. May you all know that we are all so very humbled by your service. Thank you.

2010-12-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

Paradise...AHHH.

I am back in the mountains. Don't know why they talk to my soul so strongly, but they just do. My cabin is lit up with hundreds of beautiful Christmas lights! I love it! My tree is up and decorated today. I have been such a crazy lover of Christmas all my life. Even though I won't be spending Christmas here this year, I had to have a tree and all the fixin's. It is just what you do.

We have had some really wonderful days. Beautiful sunshine, crisp cool air. It is cold, but not horrid cold. Olive loves it. When I got back, she had to spend a few hours checking every corner of the yard for new smells. No barking, no running, just a very slow methodical search of her domain for any strange smells. Such a funny dog.

Tomorrow night the town does the tree lighting. It is very Norman Rockwellish. I really love it. They close off Main Street and sing Christmas Carols....just so wonderful! Wish you could all be there!

2010-11-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

I am headed back to paradise tomorrow. It is a bittersweet leaving. It is time to be gone, and it is hard to leave. I don't remember when I have been this exhausted. I have spent the day in bed, trying to catch up so that I can actually get on the road tomorrow. The really scary thing is I have been sleeping. Rarely do I nap during the day.

Olive is really ready to be back in her yard. She is a funny girl. The longer she is away from her home, the more skittish she becomes. Every noise and blowing leaf catches her off guard. She shies away, she jumps. It is time to take her home.

Going back is always a challenge in winter. You must watch the weather. There is always a window of opportunity to get in. You do not want to push the ice and snow. It is so unforgiving.

I will let you know when I get home!

2010-11-26T08:05:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was a blast.

2010-11-25T03:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I spent yesterday working with Shelby getting ready for this big day. Although it is hectic and frantic, I love working with her. She is so creative. I love that. I look at things in one way and she is so far out of the box it just amazes me. I am an out of the box kind of girl. Always prided myself in being an out of the box girl. She is way out of the box! Maybe she is just a younger version of out of the box?

Today is a day to be thankful. For one thing, I am just thankful to be alive! Never really thought about that before. I am thankful for a family, though fragmented. I am thankful for wonderful memories of my parents, and thankful for selective memory! I am thankful for a country that (at this moment) allows me to write my thoughts on this forum. I am also thankful that I am not going through security at the airport right now! haha!

Enjoy everyone! I hope today is a wonderful food coma day for each of you. I also hope that each of you will pause to think seriously about what is important to you and give thanks for that. It is important!

2010-11-24T03:54:00.000-08:00

- noun:
the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.

- verb:
to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. to believe, desire, or trust.

Complete plagiarism...but so good I had to share this...

2010-11-24T03:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made trash. I am going to leave it at that. I am curious if anyone will know what that is...

Today is get the house ready day. It is supposed to be a nice day...the humid kind of yucky day prior to a cold front coming in day. We don't have those kind of days much in Gunnison. It is either one way or another. When a storm comes in - IT COMES IN! Thanksgiving in Gunnison will be a high of 16 degrees! The high in Dallas will be in the 50's. I love keeping the weather of different cities on my phone. I can watch the fronts moving from one part of the country to another. I know it is so nerdy - and yes, I am so nerdy! Hey, I figured out how to email a cover letter and a resume yesterday! Haha.

Shelby has the turkey ready to be brined this morning. I don't think I have ever brined a turkey, but I was never quite the cook that she is! I am going to love watching her thought process on everything. Flowers will be found and arranged today, pups (hers) put in doggie day care for a couple of days, house cleaned. I am sure we will get the table up and arranged. Can't believe that tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

This has been a bit bitter sweet.

2010-11-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

I have left the lake and am back in Dallas. It is such a fast pace here. What would take half and hour in Gunnison, takes me half a day in Dallas! I have learned to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Shelby has laughed at me a few times..."Mom, this is so unlike you! You would usually be on that guys bumper or pulling out in front of that guy to make that turn"...but I just sit back until I have lots of room for the turn. Yes, the time in the mountains has done my heart such good.

Shelby and I have been working on getting her ready for her first Thanksgiving feast with both families. I'm so excited for her. She is so amazing - which I am sure you all are tired of hearing. Oh well, get over it! She is amazing so I can just keep gushing! It is really fun to have this role with her. She is so creative and she is also such a foodie. I totally expected her to do all new recipes. She has kept a few and thrown out a few. I am sure it will all be perfect.

I have been working on a resume. I don't know if I have done a true resume since college. To be honest, I don't know if I really did one then. I have a wonderful woman helping me. Her name is Tennessee. What a great name. I would love a name like that - she needs to be the heroine of a novel...or the villain - which ever - she would be great as the star! I am wanting to find something in the Oil and Gas industry. Really I want to be a landman. I want to follow a landman for a few months to learn and then go out on my own. I am guessing I will end up having to go to some sort of clinic or school to be taken seriously. You would think at 53 the mileage would be enough to be taken seriously! haha

Olive went to the beauty shop today. She looks absolutely gorgeous. She has been such a great travel companion. I love her comfort and her happiness. I am never quite sure if I should bring her with me or if I should leave her with her favorite friends in Gunny - but I just love to have her with me! I am in a hotel here. The Lumen - and they know her, she knows the hotel. It is so funny how used to it she is. She takes her leash in her mouth and trots around like she owns the joint. Everyone knows her here. Got to love the Olive girl!

2010-11-17T02:27:00.000-08:00

Life on a lake is quite interesting. This morning the sunrise was absolutely amazing. The colors, though not the turquoise that I am used to in the mountains, were amazing. I love how the light plays with the water. Olive and I walk around the docks, she sniffs to her hearts content, and I watch the water move and listen to the fish jumping. The first time I heard the splash it took me a bit by surprise. I could not find the rings of water that go along with the jumping fish...so I could not quite figure out what was going on. I had to really watch and strain to find this noise. Finally a fish saved me - and gave a little jump! Whew!

It is a sleepy existence here. I love it. We get up and go for a walk, drink our tea, and listen to the wonderful sounds. This past evening a cloud lazily drifted from one side of the lake to the front of the house...one minute you could see across the lake, the next, you had a cloud! Absolutely gorgeous! The town home is tucked away so unexpectedly. You can still see the highway, hear the cars, but I had no idea these guys were here. I have so enjoyed sitting on the deck and watching the world go by!

2010-11-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

Sweet momma is in a home in Kingsland. I have spent a bit of time with her today. She is not the same crisp starched woman I remember. She is now a shell of that woman. It is so painful to see. I spent my day wiping her nose, helping feed her. I could not decide if she hated it so very much - remembering that she used to do that for me when I was a baby. I could not decide if she was so relieved to have a familiar face there to do this for her. I don't know if she was so shocked to see me after all this time. She would hold my hand, every once in a while she would kiss it or try to pull me to her to kiss me.

Conversation with mom is pretty much non existent. Once she was one of the sharpest women in the room. She was so quick witted and funny. Today she could fill in a few words about the Thanksgiving dinner she had on Saturday with my dad. It was good, there was a crowd, and dressing is still her favorite. Of course, I had to ask all these things and she would nod her head the response.

I can not decide what part of guilty I feel here. Part of me wants to be here all the time to bring her good food - to feed her and clean her mouth. Part of me wants to run away and only remember the beautiful woman that raised me. And, part of me is so ashamed to have ever had that thought and to have ever shared it. I miss having our talks. We talked quite a bit. I hate not having her to share my antiquing exploits, my guess who I saw things...
She was always so amazing at running into folks and telling Liz and I that it was someone from high school...and going up to them and saying hello...and it being that person!

I just miss her...

2010-11-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

Olive and I are headed on a new adventure. She is a traveler, always has been. This is no different. She can lay in the back seat, on her back with her feet in the air, dreaming of so many things. I am not sure if it is the dear from the night before or if it is some new adventure, but, she loves to sleep in the car. Every once in a while I will see her paws and legs jiggle. I know she is in some sort of activity. Trouble no doubt. Funny dog.

I have driven through snow, bitter cold, sunshine, rain, wind and now sunshine. I always thought it was a Texas thing if you do not like the weather just wait a minute as it will change. Not so as it seems to fit everywhere I go! Summers are a bit more predictable. Of course hindsight is 20/20. I have thought of driving from coast to coast. Writing a blog as I go, taking Miss O with me. It would no doubt be a wild ride and some kind of adventure. What treasure, it must be small, would be fun to pick up in each little place I stopped? Not the usual shot glass - no it would have to be something so different! I might consider that this spring if I have not found a job and gotten back into the REAL WORLD...

Yes, I am thinking seriously of re-entering the real world. I love my mountains, but am longing a bit for the sophistication of the cities. I think I miss the food and varied foods the most. Give me a minute and I will be like the weather and change that statement...ha

What does a 50 something woman do at this stage of her life? I am trying to figure out what I can do. I am a teacher by education. I am a jack of all trades by life. I am an adventurer by passion...I am afraid that a desk job would be the undoing of me. Yet, the right desk job would maybe peak my adventuresome spirit? Which way to look - which way to sniff? I am just so unsure. I have put a couple of feelers out there, but, alass, trying to explain to someone, anyone, what I am looking for is almost a joke. Hi, I am a woman with lots of miles, but lots of experience. I love life, I can do anything and am not afraid to try anything. I have managed a home, I have managed a few businesses. Having owned my own companies for the past 20 years, I am obviously a self starter. No job is too big, no job is too demeaning. I have obviously done them all. I just need a shot. Now I don't know if that looks so hot on a resume! Haha

Lots of time to sift through these thoughts as I continue on this big adventure...more thoughts to come!

2010-11-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

This morning started with those wonderful turquoise skies but alas they have turned to snow clouds! I am working on loving those too, but there is something about that blue that just catches my heart and runs with it! I do love the billows of the snow clouds, the warmth that comes after the arctic cold. I love the memories of Borger. We would get out at night in the snow and play. It would be so warm. The crunch crunch crunch of our boots stomping down the street.

Olive and I went to the park this morning. She loves to sniff out all the wild animals that have been there before her. I don't know what she is so sure has been there. You can tell by the loft of her tail the scariness of the animal. She is such a funny dog!

I have been doing a bit of cooking. I love to cook. Stew is such a great winter food. I added V8 to it. Who knew it would be such a wonderful addition? Just pouring it in made me feel as if I was add a jar of vitamins! Haha!

I have the fire going (that would be the pellet stove) and the heat going. I can not seem to get warm this year! That may be my problem with the winter coming.... I am going to have to work on that!

2010-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am embarrassed that it has been MONTHS since my last blog. After reading it - you would think the man eating vines had taken me away. Sometimes I wish that had been the case. Maybe I should just pretend that had happened and tell a very adventurous story about such! I know you would all love to see what I would come up with...I know it would have to include something along the lines of Jumanjii and Robin Williams...but I don't think I could get a copy write agreement up here in my little city...

It is already winter here. I can't believe it and I am not ready for it! I have belly laughed at my friends when they have bemoaned the coming of the snow clouds. I have so loved it in the past - but now - I look at them and shake my fist! I want them to wait just a bit longer. I want them to give us just a few more days of this wonderful Indian summer! A few more days to wander outside and do what ever it is we do with out being bundled in 14 layers of coats and long johns! Haha!

I love to wake up to the turquoise skies. It is usually so many colors of that wonderful shade of blue. I am not sure how God gets so many shades in his paint brush, and I totally get it why artists love to try to copy it, but I am mesmerized by it. Today we have bands of wispy clouds thrown in with the mix. It always takes my breath away.

My bird feeders are full of tiny birds today. They are getting ready for the snow that is coming. I think they are dreading it also. I can't blame them! No where warm to go!

2010-08-06T05:35:00.000-07:00

I was surprised this morning to find HUGE Robins outside. It is not that I don't notice them - it just seems that they have increased in size since yesterday when they were out feeding. As they walked along the fence - it was almost jaw dropping. They looked like pregers women. The one's you know are going to have that baby (probably twins) at any moment. They walk with that hand on the back of their waist, looking happily miserable. Although these beautiful birds have no hands, the comparison is pretty complete! Guess they are here to let everyone know it is time to prepare for winter!

Olive was up all night Alarming. (I find ALARMING so much easier to post than barking after an almost sleepless night...). I am not sure what was outside, but she was certainly upset about this situation. She was kind enough to wake every Alarmer in a 10 city radius to help with her alerts. Somewhere in my twilight I thought I heard the Bear growling, but, alas the top of the dumpster has not been disturbed. Guess I am the only one to be truly disturbed last night!

I am trying to get a fence built around the remainder of my property. I am painfully aware of the inability of people to do what they say around here. Everyone has irrigation ditches to water their yards. It is a wonderful thing for most. Problem with it in the boonies is keeping it cleared out. Once it is done in my area it is not nearly the job. Until it is done, it is like walking through the jungles of Africa. No idea what you will run into, no clue if some weird vine will grab you and pull you away, waiting to be the dessert for one of those huge man eating fly traps that I used to love to buy Shelby, but was too grossed out to actually put something live in there for it to eat. Should you notice no posts in the next few months, you will know that something has gotten me, as today is the day for me to go in and clean it out. And I did drop the ball up at the top of this paragraph, my guys hired to do this activity yesterday never showed.

2010-08-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today is cool. I am loving it - but I am really not ready for Winter!

I am enjoying cooking. The Hatch chili's are out - which is wonderful - and I love to cook with them. I am going to make a big batch of beans, some traditional chili, chicken chili, hot sauce, and then crash... I love adding the chili's to all that I will be cooking today.

I am watching the cooking channel and they are making Paella. I would love to make that at least Once in my life...It is on my list for this fall/winter. I also want to make tamales. I have never made them before either. Being this far away from Tex-Mex or real Mexican food - I must make my own. It is ok - I do love to cook!

Rain

2010-08-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

We have had rain daily for the past so many days. I love it as it means I don't have to haul hoses around the yard. I have become quite the gardener. It is just so fun to watch all the flowers make it from small little wienie plants to these amazing smiling flowers! I love it! I have four pots yet to be planted - I am hoping that today is the day. It is also so fun to dig up a worm or two and watch the chickies chase each other for a taste of this wonderful morsel...yum yum!

This morning 4:20 am I let Olive out. It was pristenely quiet. One of those crisp mornings we have not had in quite a while. Stars were reaching out to everyone...so glad to be seen, so sparkly from all the showers they have had in the past days and nights. Truly like a million diamonds glittering down. And as all know - a diamond is a girl's best friend! I saw something this am I have never seen before and really am so unsure of how to describe it. The moon was amazingly bright also. Following the moonbeams down to my roof top was a cloud of bright light. I am still trying to verbalize it - it was so breathless to me. Is it an omen of dark days to come - is it a hope of bright days on their way after some harder times? Does it mean to kick my but and get over myself? I choose to believe that one. Funny how we can read whatever we choose into all of this wonderful world. We can choose our path. Happy or sad, grumpy or glad.

I love my world up here. The air is beginning to get that a crisp feel to it. I am afraid it is beginning to whisper "Fall is coming! Be ready!" and I am so not! I don't have a project as of yet. That statement all by itself is not good for me! Maybe this will be the winter for Olive and I to take a cross country trip. I am not up for the winters up here. Can't believe I said that either! Shush Shush Shush... that is our secret!

Vrrrm

2010-07-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

The Hell's Angel's have been fun to watch. I have gotten to interact with this group on several different occasions. I would not necessarily say they are the best gentlemen I have ever met, but they are definitely fun and definitely interesting. I did beg to sit on a bike to take my picture. I think every woman should get her pic taken on a hell's angel's bike. Or at least this woman would love to have her pic taken on a big ol' hell's angel's hog. You know it is so easy to talk about this - but who can doubt you if you have a great picture to go along with this?

Of course, along with this great activity this week, I have spent quite a bit of time sleeping. I am not your best sleeper. For some reason, I have slept until 6ish, let Olive out and fed her, gone back to bed until 9ish. Olive seems to like this arrangement. We then let the chickies out, maybe or maybe not I eat breakfast, lay down for a while until my eyelids close and I sleep until 5 or 6. Olive prefers to sleep in the bed rather than on the couch for the afternoon sleep. At this point we get up and feed the chickies, feed Olive and hope that I am hungry. If I am lucky Criminal Minds will be on for 3 or 4 episodes and I will be able to stay awake, if not, Olive and I will head to bed at dusk. We start the whole process over the next morning. This has been a really strange sleep pattern.

Also to add to this fun, Monsoon season is here. It is raining daily. I love this. Maybe that is what is causing me to sleep! So much thunder. So much lightening! It rained all night last night. The yard looks amazing. I love it! I awoke to beautiful turquoise skies. By the time Olive and I had gotten the chickens up, the skies were navy and starting to sprinkle. Monsoon!

Well to add to the strange sleep pattern, it is 1:14 am. I am headed to bed. Sleep tight!

Paradise Lost

2010-07-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

I love my house, my garden, my Chickie's, and my life in paradise. This week we have a group of people coming that follows no rules, no guidelines, no sensibilities. Let's just put everything a small town person holds dear - whether they realize it or not - these people toss carelessly into the wind.

I ran into a group of lawmen this morning (Love calling them lawmen,) expect chaps, tin stars, cowboy hats...Roy Rogers or John Wayne. That should bring a stereo typical idea to all of your minds. This is my town. It could also be Borger except the stores here on Main Street do not have any boards covering their windows. Which is not meant in any disrespect. It is alive and well. Children ride their bikes up and down the streets - people walk from their homes to town or to their groceries. It is a bit smaller than Borger! I loved Main Street Borger Texas. I loved working at Denny's Men's wear. I also loved eating french fries at the M.E. Moses lunch Counter. Ah, Small Town U.S.A.!

To give you an idea of what I found when I did my drive this am, the Shelby's were in town. They were all the reproduction cars. What I found interesting here, I stopped to talk to the men to find out more about their cars. I wanted more information. What I find interesting is I do not really flirt. I am not comfortable flirting. I do love to chat. I love getting information and if it is something I am into such as Shelby - which is my daughter's name - well I am really into that. This man could not have been more stand offish. I almost had to pull my gun on him to get the info. Boy would that not have been a surprise to him! haha! Still don't know if I would have gotten the info. So I did what any proud Texas woman would have done, I got out of my Lexus, wearing my Lucchese boots and Levi 501's, pony tail and took pics of this fine imitation car.
Showed that silly little man! And I then proceed to ask him about the REAL Shelby - made by Ford, originally blue and white, and prior to the mustang. I ain't no cute little Texas woman. I am a real Texas woman. Nuff Said!

Olive and I proceeded down the highway to find the lawmen at each gas station handcuffing or ticketing the Hell's Angels. Needless to say this Real Texas Woman tucked tail and ran all the way home! haha!

Now that I am home, the hummers are still humming. I tried to take a pic yesterday morning. It turned out wonderfully of the screen. What I was trying to take was about 15 hummers around my feeder with the moon in the background. The sun was just coming up. Absolutely amazing!

Night before last my bear was back. I have a bigger dumpster. He could not dump it this year. I had heard the lid being thrown back and thought that Eric my neighbor was just throwing something away. Next thing I know, Olive alarm! She is going from window to window alarming alarming! Next morning the full trash can is now half full. No trash on the ground, all compacted and all the goodies sampled. When I spoke to Eric, he saw the Bear but hated to shoot at him with the rubber bullets as my house was in the line of sight/shot. He has been give cart Blanche to shoot away!

love to all! Go make this a good day!

Summer

2010-07-19T06:47:00.001-07:00

It is summer. I love summer. Guess really there is not a season I don't love. The hummers are just so busy. In our world they would be UPS deliverers or I could see them being bicycle delivery guys in New York. I could even see them being deli guys yelling across a crowded store getting the orders and making them so quickly - only to yell at the next customer, impatient and rude, trying to save every second. I have all my windows closed this am. I can still hear them zmmmming here and there. I don't think they have a 1st gear in their list of gears!

I have been feeding all my flowers. This is the first season to have put in flower beds. I love the flowers. I don't know why they are so pretty. I bought 27 peony plants this year. I am hoping they actually do well. I love peonies. A dear friend shared her sweet peas with me last night. It is a new experience for me. They are also what I would consider a dying or heirloom flower. They are absolutely gorgeous and the aroma will knock your sox off! The nice lady that gives her the flowers also sells seeds, but I don't know if I am local enough yet to try to grow them. I may have to give that a year or two more!

My chickens are getting bigger and bigger. Again, they are so funny. Everyone that has raised chickens would tell me that they all have their own personality. Of course I would be very polite and say well of course they do...(haha). Actually, they do. I had named one Little Shelby and one Little Red (after son-in law Burton). The reaction from Shelby was...you know your mom is a redneck when she names chickens after you. So now they are Lucy and Ethel. They are the most aggressive and most fun. They come running out of the Coup de Ville with their heads down and full speed. Last night I was talking to them about their day and two of them flew up to sit on my arms as we talked. It was quite touching. So yes, I guess I am a redneck.

Time to let my feathered friends out into the beautiful sunlight. Olive needs a bath, the grass needs water. No telling what other trouble I might get into. Good day all!

windows

2010-07-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

I love mornings. I always have. This morning is no different. Olive got us up around 5:30. She is sleeping with me every night now. I woke up to find her sleeping on one of my wonderful down pillows. Not quite sure how I feel about this, but it is what it is.

I have changed bedrooms for the summer. I am sleeping in the front bedroom that has two windows, one over the head of the bed and one at the side of the bed. It creates a wonderful cross breeze. What I had not planned for was Olive wanting to sit and sniff out the window at the head of the bed to see what critters might be roaming through the night. This activity can happen at any time. Also this activity can be sitting on my head, sitting on the bed, or sitting on one of my wonderful down pillows. Again, it is what it is. I have started going to bed with the window closed now and only opening it should I get warm through the night. Most of you are probably thinking why don't I just discipline this silly dog...Yes - this would be the wise and smart thing to do...

This morning I lay in bed and watched the hummers. They are so fun to watch. It was in the 40's. Pretty cool for most folks. The hummers would sneak up to the feeders and park for a while, filling their tummies with the sweet nectar. They are much nicer to each other in the mornings, no chasing, no nastiness. Their colors are so vibrant. It is the only time that they seem peaceful.

Olive is back asleep. I am headed to get tools to lay my floor in the shed. Yes the shed still goes on and on. The chickens are growing and so fun. The last thing for the shed is the floor. I am hoping to put it in myself today and tomorrow. It has been quite the hiatus for me!

horses

2010-06-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

Today I went for a horseback ride. I love to go, but really am too old and cranky to do this as much as I would like. Getting on and off is such a challenge. Once upon a time I could hop on and off with so much grace and agility. Those days are so long gone!

My friend is having a wedding at her place this weekend. It was a ride for friends of her and her daughter. It has been such an interesting spring/summer. This time last year we had some of the most amazing flowers. This year the flowers have been very shy. Since we have had snow even up to this past week up high, the flowers have been very tentative to stick their heads out. No matter, the colors are amazing. I love the multiple colors of green. Who knew? I learned all sorts of things today about the aspen tree. You can rub your hand along the bark and use the white that comes off as sunscreen, bug deterrent, and other things that are not coming to mind at this moment. There were claw marks from baby bears climbing up the trees - that looked like Indian markings I have seen on my most loved pieces of jewelry!

My horse's name was Slim. He is gorgeous. He is a Tennessee Walker. That is a gated horse. I love gated horses. They are smooth - no bounce. You shift into trot and there is no different motion. Perfect!

The mountains are amazing. You can see forever and ever. Great day!

new

2010-06-17T06:35:00.001-07:00

Thought I would play with the options on Blogging. Haha. What an idea! I should know better as I am not a computer person. Living in the mountains, in a small town in the mountains, I have found no one to help me with these silly details. So bear with on this!

We are having an interesting Spring/Summer. Some mornings are still quite cold. I have had several ice skating moments getting to the car. I think it is ok, and WOW! My feet are racing ahead of me! Quite a shock on June 15! It doesn't affect Olive much. The funniest thing is watching her try to lay down on the walkway. Interesting how a tough ol' mountain dog can lay on a walkway all winter at below zero temps and it does not really bother her, but get into the summer and she is very timid about laying down on the wood when it is frozen! ha!

My birds are amazing. I have Orioles. The yellow is just so Yellow! I had not really been a bird watcher prior to my settling down up here. Probably because I had never sat for more than 2 seconds at one time nor had my mind rested for more than 2 seconds at a time...that is another story over a couple of glasses of wine....

The chickens are really funny. They will be ready to lay eggs in a few more weeks. Can't imagine how quickly they have grown. They have all got different personalities. They had to have their wings clipped a couple of days ago. I had a couple fly the coupe. They actually fly the couple. Haha!

Hope all is well, and sorry I have been so long in the writing!

eyebrows

2010-05-13T04:25:00.001-07:00

I am up with olive and the sun is just beginning to peak it's lazy head over the hills to say good morning. It is one of those mornings that the sky is a deep royal blue, and the trees look like eyebrows. I don't know why that is sticking out in my mind, but it is what I am thinking. Groucho and his eye brows. Now there is a set for you...

Although it is so early, the wildlife superhighway is very busy. The birds are singing, the birds are chirping, the birds sound like well the birds in the movie the birds. I keep waiting for the huge mass of grackles to land in my yard and have me for lunch! I am sure they start so early to beat the wind or the rain or the snow (when it comes...) The hummingbird feeders are not frozen this morning, so they are not mad. They are out having long sips.

Spring

2010-04-22T05:58:00.000-07:00

I love Spring no matter my location. I love the birds, the flowers, the green grass. It is always new to me, always fresh. I have always been a glass half full kind of gal. Maybe that is why this is such a wonderful time of the year. If I am alive, then it is good...

This year is no different. I will admit I am tired of the snow. We did get a very light dusting of snow last night. It made me think of my mom using a sifter to put powdered sugar on top of cakes. That is the kind of snow we got last night. It rained most of the night and at some point it changed to snow. I love the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof. It is amazingly soothing. I sleep so well with that sound. No need for sleep candy with the ping ping ping of the rain.

Olive and I went to bed with a very new sound last night. The very lazy creek outside my bedroom window has decided to wake up! It is pushing the sides of the banks with it's arms as it stretches from a very long winter - dancing it's way to the Blue Mesa and all it's other friends. Don't you know all the other streams and creeks and rivers have such fun stories to tell when they get together? Like the pioneers of old, finally getting to town after a very long and hard snow-pack, ready to kick up their heels, recharge their emotional batteries!

Of course, I went searching for a strong flashlight to make sure that we did not need to scurry away to higher ground. The research that I have done on this wonderful old cabin has told me it has never flooded in it's many years and I, of course, always say that as I knock on wood!

shed

2010-04-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

The Shed....I have been a shed worker all week. I am very thankful that today is Wednesday. Every muscle is aching, every joint is creaking. I finished the inside of the chicken coop. It will not win any awards for it's charm - but is is done. I have give the guys this last week to finish - I am broke and I am tired of the friends around the house. I do love these guys. They are like family to me. But all good things must come to and end - and the end has come!

I am hoping today will have the outside complete. It has been a very long time coming. We continue to find problems from the original guy that started this project. I thought I was a good and savvy construction person. This has shaken that confidence to its very existence. It has been an extremely costly mistake and trust broken.

Olive and I must head out and start on the work for us for today. You guys have a great day!

Morning

2010-04-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

I love mornings. I don't know if it is the sheer newness of the day, the chance to make the day better than the last, or just promises...but I just love morning. Today is no different. The air is warm, which is a new thing. Olive and I lingered in bed, looking out the window at the trees and birds. I have a couple of geese that fly by every morning talking as they fly. Today there was only one that flew to the pond behind my home, quacking loudly as he went, and then back. I don't know if he was looking for help or if he had found food. He was definitely looking for support!

The little creek behind me (Clark Creek) (appropriate since Kay was my very best friend forever) is beginning to get more and more water in it every day. I love the sound of it dancing over the rocks. It is incredibly soothing to hear. I love the gentleness of it passing by.

My world wakes up early everyday. There is some critter moving at all times. Olive loves to stick her nose in the air and sniff. She is always unsure what is out there - but she definitely knows there is something there. This morning is no different. When the door is open for her to step out the first time in the mornings, her nose is up and moving. She checks her world very closely, sniffing as she goes. Today there was nothing to bark about. Quiet is the name of the game!

Have a great day!

Birds

2010-03-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Again I am fascinated by birds. They have begun their journey back to the mountains. I love their sounds. The geese, who have not left the area, talk in pairs as they head to and from their chosen dining places. I can just imagine some gander telling the goose how things are done as they fly over my cabin. I love to watch them as they are usually in two's. Paired for life - what a fabulous thing! I wonder if they have divorces or separations among them and if they do, if they are gossiped about and ostracised by all?

I have the pretty little birds with the cherry red chests stocking up on the bird seed. They seem to get more and more tame with each season. I am guessing me and my cabin are becoming part of the landscape for them. They are always flying by with the hope the feeders will be full. Robin Red Breast was in the yard. So much bigger than the other birds, he surveys his surroundings, searching for the night crawlers that are beginning to move.

I have this one huge crow that loves to sit in the tree and laugh at me. Probably not really a laugh but it just sounds so much like one that I always look at him and tell him to be quiet. He actually was sitting out watching me the day I took my half gainer on the ice. And as expected, he laughed!

Promises of spring are everywhere. The birds are trying so hard to pull it on in! I am so ready!

Gunny

2010-03-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Home. What a wonderful sound. I spent a very short part of Saturday hunting for shoes for a wedding. The rest of the day was locked up in a dark room. Rest is a wonderful thing. Over stimulation for someone my age is too much at times. The Concrete jungle is just that. Filled with lions, tigers and all sorts of cougars ects. They come out of the strangest hiding places, waiting, watching. looking for that vulnerable moment to POUNCE. One of my favorite things is the perfume chimp. Usually she is a female. Spraying you as you go by, it is like they are putting their "mark" on you. The male lion (and I have to use that loosely) can be found in most shoe departments. Unable to walk through with a keen eye, the lion stalks me as I look from shoe to shoe. Unable to relax, unsure of when he will actually attack, I walk quickly through the store.
To be honest, my life prior allowed me to learn how to deal with such aggressive jungle animals. Now that I have lived in the calm of this small wonderful town, I have lost a bit of my edge!

Texas

2010-03-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

I am in Texas, more specifically Houston. It is so different than the teeny town I live in. The Airport has more than one terminal, more than one plane coming in at one time. People every where! Trying to get to the hotel was a challenge. You should never truly trust a GPS. It does not really know the quickest route to and from places.

The freeway is aptly named. I had forgotten how fast people drive. No wonder I get tickets up there. I was almost run over (gunned down) by women in the slow lane. Now those of you who know me know I have an incredibly heavy lead foot! How I almost got run over is a surprise even to me. I finally arrived at my destination, a bit glowing, a bit relieved to have survived the trip!

The Baylor Bears made it to the sweet 16. That is why I am here. I came alone, knowing my Baylor family would all be here. It was exactly as I expected. I was a pledge class sweetheart for the Sig Eps, and they welcomed me with open arms. We did a tailgate, we had tons of fun. We have tickets for the Elite 8 on Sunday. I will let you know how my day in the concrete jungle goes tomorrow. I will be doing my hunting today. Don't know how it will go-

Great day all!

Snow....again...again...again....

2010-03-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

We had multiple white outs yesterday. It is almost like Texas here. If you don't like the weather, wait a second and it will change. Besides the fact that I almost killed myself early yesterday morning on the ice, we had almost a foot of snow. To help make that sentence fit, let me tell you about the morning. I woke up with the plan to drive to Montrose. It is like going to Amarillo from Borger - you know - the big City! Got all dress to go....cowboy boots, hat etc. We had had a light dusting of snow. No big deal of snow. Olive and I went for our usual quick walk down the lane and the ice was covered. Never saw it coming...Shame really... to be that dumb and blind so early...And then the big flakes of snow hit. It came and went through out the day. Monarch pass is our dangerous pass around here. Of course there are other passes, but it is the big meanie.

Most of the snow has already melted. It was a really nice treat for all the Spring Breakers. CB was full of Texans. I really miss those wonderful accents. The Texas hair - the big smiles, every thing is bigger in Texas. Why is that? I really don't know - but I do really love it!

Today we are headed back down the lane. I am going to watch for that mean old patch of ice. I am also wearing my ice friendly shoes (that would not be my cowboy boots). I can not remember if I have described my down the lane outfit. It is something Media (mom) would be so proud of... Camo one piece cover-alls, bog boots, gloves, what ever hat I can find, a wonderful and so fashion forward scarf. I will have to put a pic of that on here someday also...or maybe not!

Have a great Saturday!

birds

2010-03-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

For some of us this topic brings up Tippy Hendrin (for those out there who can actually spell, I apologize). All will remember the movie by Hitchcock - The Birds. My birds are back. The sun is creeping up. She hates this daylight savings time also. The birds have finally found my bird feeders. I have the shinny black seed out. It can take them one day to go through half of the feeder. Currently they are being very polite, very southern - taking very dainty pieces. Flying off and chatting....Last winter they were tag team wrestling with each other. The feeders would be almost empty each day. Hungry little birdies!

What makes watching them morning after morning so absolutely restful and charming, I am not quite sure. It is something that makes me feel that all is right with the world. I guess it is also like watching the snow melt. Now that is scary just to type. Let's look at that for a second. I like to watch the snow melt.

Well with that I am going to have to go get my Arnold Palmer and maybe add a bit of vodka or something to it...it just sounds way too sad!

sun

2010-03-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today was such a bright shinny day. You know how a penny shines when it is new- well today was one of those days. My nose is burned. My cheeks are burned. Crazy as it sounds - I love the feeling of it. It takes me back to the days of life guarding at the Borger Country Club. Or even the days of going to the Club and swimming. I loved those care free days. The days of the challenge of diving off the board. The challenge of different dives - of swimming and playing Marco Polo.

The mountain is full of Texans. I hear the accents. I miss my roots. I love the twang. I love memories of main street, of Borger High, Christmas, SF. Funny how all this silly stuff gets brought back to mind with a sun burned nose!

old things

2010-03-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

I love old things. Could this have been mentioned before?

My hotel chairs are all rusted and worn so many coats of paint. The green is light, the color of flower leaves as they come out in spring, bunny's nose pink and sometimes Easter white. The blue is still in that sweet early morning softness and then there is a bright fire engine red. It is Layer upon layer. I would love to hear the stories. Some of the chairs have sea shell backs, some have backs with cute little holes in them for ventilation, some have square backs. Seem they all have the same colors. Wonder if the patent office made them all sign a waiver to use only these colors - or sent everyone gallons of them? I am horrible - I love to fleck the paint off as I sit. I wonder if it hurts?

Wish one day as I sit and drink my wine they would all chat and tell me their tales. What hotel they were at - one at the Broadmoor another at a motor court...don't you know they would have such great things to tell? I am sure they had a love hate relationship with the kids!

the worker

2010-03-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

I know I keep saying I love my cabin. There are so many aspects of it I love. My exceptional workers - are actually brothers. Both did the remodel of my cabin - which is just absolutely wonderful and now they are doing the shed. I am starting to be able to get another word out of my mouth for the shed - but not totally- so we will just leave it at that. The s...shed.

It was a dilapidated old thing. Not one piece of wood was solid top to bottom. Not one piece was plum top to bottom left to right. The roof was questionably flat. We could really just say the shed was questionable. The first $500 man came in an put an angle about the size of a fist on my already questionable shed roof and called it done. He also used Old freezer panels to cover the dirt of the floor and also covered the freezer panels with thin plywood. Done.

We had vodka on the discovery of the floor day. Now we have concrete pads, a peaked ceiling and roof with a true pitch (yes I can sing) and now we are into the really fun stuff. The character stuff.

The outside will be fashioned with ruffled tin that rusts. It has a barrier that keeps it from rusting all the way through. It will have beautiful new windows (unfortunately the character windows were just too horrid) that will let in both light and air. The chicken coop is surrounded by 30'-50's screen doors. Victorian or just cool. They are the walls for the coop. And then the door is this huge thing that has aged. The frame is wood from the inside of the shed that has also aged to a wonderful reddish brown patina. The color of - well I don't know but I love it. The exposed wood will then be wrapped with barn wood. It also has a front porch. I had found this wonderful old wire swing that will hang on which to sit and sip a great glass of wine.

So some day when this is finished, and I can afford a glass of wine, you will fine me sitting outside, looking at the mountains, talking to my buddies and Olive, loving life!

In two more weeks.....

the money pit

2010-03-13T06:23:00.000-08:00

Starring....Me!
I loved the movie. Tom Hanks, Shelly Long...... Laughed until I cried. Until I starred in the remake. I have always been very hard headed. Make note - this will be the only time I will actually admit to this wonderful trait. It has been 50...years since my last confession....

I have a shed. It was falling down. It needed help. What was I to do?

Ok. Stop. Rewind. I was bored, I needed a project. There. It is out.

I am a fixer. I love to fix things. EVERYTHING.

It started innocent enough. $500. to fix the roof. I was suckered in on that. Yes it was Christmas. Yes it was the first one I was going to be alone. Yes, I was feeling a bit misty. So Yes, I said yes.
And our story begins here.

Paul is an interesting fellow. Olive is afraid of him. Tail tucked running the other way afraid. Paul painted the cabin and is still not finished...kind of painter. Which is fine. But Paul is who I hired to do the shed. Should give you some sort of idea of where I am headed on the shed. It started out ok.

Then enter Nathan and Casey. Both big strapping handsome young men that had remodeled the cabin a few years back. I had them look at what Paul had done....Let's just say they were gracious. Now Paul is gone and we have redone everything. Last week we pulled out the floor - and pulled out the vodka ...at 9am.

And again it is 2 more weeks.

The funny/strange thing is that I trust these guys. They are like family. And I love my place. It was built in 1932. Can you believe that? Something is still working from 1932? I was built in 1957 and I am not working all that well. I have to have lots of my parts worked on a lot. Thinking about having some of them remodeled...We have found old bottles - broken glass. Families, farmers have lived here. The road has been here since the mid 1800's. I love the history. The area was settled by the army in the 1800's and then miners. I may actually have that backwards.

I will take pictures today and try my best to get some interesting inside and out looks at my paradise.

have a great day!

Mud

2010-03-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

The sun is up, again it is cold. Not an earth shattering, nose hair freezing cold, but more of an eye tear dropping kind of morning. The colors are crisp, if colors can be crisp. They are along the lines of orange, red, yellow as they hurry through my trees. Momma sunshine is in such a hurry this morning to get up! She must have a huge list of things to do today.

Olive and I had a long night. We have not had such a long night in a while. I must admit a friend has been helping me sleep - friend Ambien has been at my house since my hip surgery. Unfortunately, friend Ambien had to go home. I am so sad and am considering asking him to move in with me. Do you think it sordid to ask him to stay? I just sleep so much better when he is here! Olive heard noises last night. I am sure it was the horses next door. They get restless on occasion. I would get cold too or my legs would get so tired if I had to stand so long in my steel dance shoes. I'd be looking for a hammer! (or a gun....) just saying...

Have I mentioned the redo of the shed anywhere? That will be the next subject. I don't think I can bring myself to start that now...I need my Starbucks first. If I don't have it first and start on that project discussion...well it will definitely bring on the vapors and ...well...Olive just can't bring me out of the vapors without help.

Morning all!

again

2010-03-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Today I realized someone might actually like to read about my thoughts! Who knew? I am excited and thrilled. So I am going to start writing DAILY.

It has been a long and cold winter. All my friends had told me we would get tired of the cold and wet. I had listened and heard their words but in my heart I had known it would never happen for me. How could it? I love it here! I could never get tired of it! Today, I am tired of the snow. I am tired of the yuk of the melted snow! Snow Snow go away!

So I got my old pouty self up and had a couple of M & M's to put myself into my right mind and decided I can do a couple more months of sort of this yucky melty mess. And here we go. The sky is still so amazing. The stars are still so bright. Olive is still loving to go out running.

The eagles are sitting close to the road now. I saw one of the huge birds fly down to catch a fish. I almost had a wreck trying to watch it. It was so amazing. They are just so majestic!

Tonight the air has swarovsky crystals in it. They are floating down from the sky slowly, daintily. Catching the moonlight here and there. It is cold but not the negative cold. It is spring break. All the Texans are starting to drift up. The grocery store is full, Crested Butte is full.

I have not written about the shed much on here. I will try to get some pictures on here. I have fired one man and hired the guys that did my redo of the cabin. It is like having my kids here - or family here or old friends here. How they can work out in this weather is beyond me. I am guessing part of it is the need for work. It is starting to take shape. They are used to my crazy requests - and my love for old wood. I wonder if I love old wood because I am old? We will ponder that at another time...

Good night all

Snow

2010-01-27T04:50:00.000-08:00

I am in Colorado. Of course it snows! How silly! But let's look at this from a different perspective. Snow is so interesting. It can come floating down with the sun out. Old wives's tale is that spring is on it's way. Some of my fondest memories growing up would be to play outside at night after a great snow. It would be almost light out. Mystical, magical. With a good cloud cover the world would be a bit warm.
Today is one of those type days. It is early, and it feels warm. Warm on this day is 10 degrees. Funny how you can just feel it is just not as cold. Yesterday morning was -10. Big difference!
Powder has dusted my walkway, as kissed my car. It is absolutely beautiful.
It was supposed to snow in Amarillo today (the Panhandle). A sweet friend commented about a ring around the moon. Wives's tale on this defines it as moisture in the air. If you are a witch, it means trouble. Don't you just love all the "thoughts"!

Ah Dallas

2010-01-18T14:28:00.000-08:00

So today was my day to do chores. In Dallas that would be sitting in the car all day. Going from around 4,000 people to 4 million (big guess) it takes quite a bit more time to run errands.
I stumbled today. Actually stumble - physical stumble. Good to know that when you have staples and buzz saws and sanders used on your hip, stumbles will cause no problems! Whew!

I had breakfast with a girlfriend. She took me to a man pond. Ok if you are not my age, newly separated/divorced, you have no idea what a man pond is. Also if you are just plain backwards, you are also in that group. So being in that group, I learned a new term today. Also, there were no men. I don't look at men that way. Guess you have to retrain your brain on this one. I will let you know how it goes. When you are married and someone notices you, it makes you giggle and think they are silly. Now, if someone doesn't notice you and you don't notice or care - what does that say?

I am ready to be back in my safe haven. No man ponds, no girls looking for man ponds.

Travel

2010-01-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

I am in Dallas, Big D, the City. When I left paradise, it was an absolutely beautiful morning. The moon was just a sliver, and it was the most amazing mix of colors - gold, brown, black, orange, yellow. Amazing. It had this glow around it. I have never ever seen anything quite like it!
Along the way I saw a heard of elk, up close and personal. I cam around a corner and they all were standing at the fence. They were looking at me with this expression of "Barb Slow Down!" Hate that. Beautiful animals. I have seen a couple at a time together. I have heard the bulls bugling. I have never been close enough to them to read their

license plate number! I think the number was around 30. After that shocker, I go around another corner to have a Big Bull standing looking at me. Big!

Of course, when you get into Texas, there is not a whole lot to offer. Don't get me wrong. I love Texas. I am truly a Texas girl. Unfortunately, Girl does not really work for me any more. I love (yes it is time to find another adjective) the sky. Big sky. Blues like no where else. Wind - well I had to ruin it didn't I! It is always so amazing to me the vastness of the great state. When I was in Austin half of my trip was driving through Texas. That is not to say I was going corner to corner. That would be driving from mid state to the corner. Scary. I am not sure the mileage from the tip in the gulf to the tip of the Panhandle. I do know, it would take two good days.

And here I am in Big D. There are so many shopping things to remember. Note taking and lists have become a bit more common, but many things still get forgotten or time runs out. Restaurants are a biggie here for me. Tex - Mex, mussels, good steak, Buzz Brews, these are all important to me. I know it sounds silly, but they are really musts!

Enough for now. Sleep tight all!

Crystal Clear

2010-01-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

I woke to an amazing day. Every day up here is pretty amazing, but today was exceptionally so. The air is so crisp. I am not quite sure how it seems to have been scrubbed prior to being placed into the atmosphere, but the air just feels that way up here. It sparkles. I can see mother earth grabbing a handful of air, pushing it into her wash tub and rubbing it really hard on the washboard. Bubbles floating everywhere, a light smell of lemon. Mother earth humming some light tune. A gentle smile on her face.

It has been really cold. All my Texas buddies say it is cold there - and I do understand it is cold there. But it is -18 here. That is freeze gravel to your shoes cold. Freeze gravel to Olive's paws cold. She stands outside with one paw in the air, hoping it will warm up. Changing paws to let another one get a little feeling in it. I stand at the window and watch, giggling to myself.

I have a crow that sits in the tree outside my 1/2 acreage and laughs at me. We will discuss him later!

New Year

2010-01-05T19:05:00.000-08:00

Do you guys have a New Year's Resolution? I have decided to make this year my " you reap what you sow" year. I am not sure how it will work out, but I am going to give it a shot. One of my goals will be to write to you every day. I began that task back in the early fall and I dropped that ball horribly! So here goes for the new year!

Today was a beautiful day. It was awfully cold, but Olive and I enjoyed it anyway. We had had a bald eagle in one of the trees the other day, but he has not returned. We keep looking and hoping he might come back! I have been fighting a cold. I think finally it is done. Yeah!

I am having hip surgery on the 14th. I am ready. I saw Jed the chiropractor today. Whew did he do wonders! I have not decided yet if Olive will go with me. I miss her terribly when I am gone, but know she is so much happier when she is here and settled. She and I did go to Amarillo for 3 fun filled days at Christmas (actually we got stranded there) and she was a trouper and also it was wonderful to have her with me.

Shelby, Burton and I just got back from Las Vegas. It was a fun trip. Very sad gambling time - but great to spend time with them. We saw the Lion King, and the kids saw Garth Brooks. We had great food, and believe it or not, we had some great rest! I bet on the bowl games and did not do so well....ouch!

I am ready for the temp to go a bit higher than - numbers. Hopefully in the next few days we will get there!

Whirlwind

2009-11-17T05:57:00.000-08:00

I am finally back to my home. It is so wonderful to be sitting in front of my pellet stove, Olive on the couch beside me. I have been in Colorado Springs, Dallas, San Antonio, Dallas and back to Denver to fly home. Unfortunately, getting in and out of Gunnison is a bit difficult.

My fabulous daughter, Shelby, ran her first Marathon. It was so hot and so humid...and she finished it. She has a determination that is beyond anything I have ever seen. She is also a bit bull headed. She gets that from her father! I love her and really am always amazed at what she accomplishes. Yea Shelby!

I am headed to Horseshoe Bay for Thanksgiving. Everyone will be there. I am looking forward to it. I am planning to get everything done here and freezing it - then off it will go with me to HSB.
I love cooking for my family...we have rented a house out there, the kids plan to walk the Turkey Trott - I think Liz might also. I have a great excuse to sit in a car with my dr. pepper and watch - I have to be in shape to cook! ha

Everyone have a great day!

Indian Summer

2009-11-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Olive and I have enjoyed a couple of absolutely fabulous days. The sun is out, the sky is an incredible blue. We are really enjoying this weather. I know it will be short lived. We have already had a major snow storm - Monarch Pass had about 2-3 feet on it the other day as I was driving over.

I am loving the mornings, but I have always loved mornings. Growing up I had my best friend give me one rule. Never ever call before 9am on a Saturday morning. To keep the peace, I did just that. I can remember tapping my toe waiting for 9!

The sun is just waking up here. Silhouettes of the trees are beginning to form with the light touch of white/blue behind them. It is Cold! Everything is frost kissed. What a morning!

I received my first "tooth" yesterday. I have horrid teeth, and seems like I have been on this road of trying to figure out what to do with these really obstinate choppers. I have been through cavities, braces, crowns, root canals, and now implants. I wish I could have just started with the implants! It was so much less painful than anything I have done to this point. When all is said and done, I will have a total of 3 new teeth. Thinking about just having them do them all! ha!
I don't know anyone who is as hard on their teeth as I have been. Guess I just want to get my monies worth!

Paul is almost finished with the cabin. We keep adding a little bit here and there. I now have wooden screens on all the windows, a freshly stained deck, and a very well sealed home. Should really help for the winter. Funny how the baby poop has made the house blend into the world. You can hardly pick it out while driving down the road - my neighbor had commented that it was really a good camo color! What a perfect fit up here being hunting season and all....

My darling child is running her first marathon in less than two weeks. I am so proud of her. For all of you out there - that is 26 miles. She is completely bull headed (don't know where she got that from -) and has stuck with the training through the heat, rain, now cool weather. No complaining - just running. What a girl!

Hope to all that you have an amazing day!

Painting

2009-10-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

I am having the cabin painted. I love the color - baby poop green...It is actually more baby poop yellow with steamed milk trim. Don't you love the name of colors these days. I think I am fairly good with descriptive words - but these paint namer guys are just a step ahead! I did wake up the first morning after they had started and really caught my breath. Wow what a change. I had picked the color months ago, but with all the chinking, new logs etc., the painting just had to wait it's turn. I know I have mentioned the age of the cabin. It is just absolutely my favorite place on the earth. As I write, I have a window cracked, the pellet stove going lightly and all is right with the world!

It is now morning, just too tired to finish this last night, and the sky is the most wonderful blue. The color of eyes when someone is crying blue. Intense, deep, but still a bit light and airy. I have Nat King Cole on the music maker. And as I write, he is singing about heaven!

Olive and I plan to cook today. She is quite involved. She is quality control. Bites of this and that.

Off to THE grocery. Love to all!

What happened?

2009-10-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

I spent part of last week traveling to and from Dallas. I am a road warrior. I have 180k miles on my poor wonderful car. I love my car! I know it is just an object - but it has heated seats - a lumbar support - 0-100 in....well let 's just say it flies!

Driving through so many towns, I began to notice many car dealerships closed. The more I noticed, the more closed dealerships seemed to appear. What happened! I know some of these dealerships had been in existence since the early 20th century. How could we let this happen?

We have been dealing with a President that is not proud of our country. Who elected this man? I am continually surprised at the people that are waiting for monies promised - monies they did not earn - monies they have no idea from where it has come. They just are expecting money.

The world that I have lived in forever is changed and I am afraid it has changed forever.
I am sad.

Fashion and the grown up

2009-10-09T06:08:00.000-07:00

I ponder my fashion choices every day. I have some great pieces that I have loved for years, and you know if you keep them long enough they will come back into style. Unfortunately, I always come out of the closet with the very same thing. Jeans. I love my jeans. I buy the exact ones for $30 - $40 a pair two times a year. I do get different lengths - 32 - 34. That covers the tennis shoe/flat and the cowboy boots. I dress them up by having them starched. Now you all know my weakness. I decide once or twice a year to throw away my jeans and wear nice slacks, dresses or skirts. I never get the courage to throw the jeans away, and the new fashionable slacks etc. last about a week. Shame on me!

Now that you know my bottom line....I am in search of updated tops. I figure if the jeans are here to stay, and they are, I should have some great tops. Grown up tops. I, of course, have the great Colorado tops. You know, the really warm tops. I also have bought a nice long coat. I have not had one of those in years! So the search is on for something feminine and darling, sophisticated and fun. Don't think Gunny is where I will find such fun things - but the search is on.

I bought nice, non-cowboy boots last season. I ended up wearing them all the time. They had a bit of a heel, and fit really nicely. So that is my closeted issues of the day! Again, I wish the glamourai could make a personal visit to help me with my quests!

I have to admit that I am very proud of myself with a few things. I have conquered electricity. Yes, I have wired two light fixtures! It took most of the day, but I got it done! I will try to get a pic for the crystal chandelier that finally shines! Good thing I have a nice neighbor who will still take my calls. He can tell me which wires are good and which are not. Yeah! As this is written, I now have trac lighting over my couch that is bright! It also spotlights a wonderful picture I have over the couch.

Last Volleyball game today. It is one of those happy/sad things. It is also a 4 hour BIG YELLOW BUS ride to get there. We have had snow predicted for the past couple of days and it has not hit yet. Hopefully it will hold off one more day. I am also hopeful the girls will play well today!

Morning has Broken....

2009-10-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

We are up and at 'em here in the big city. Olive has done her job of scaring off all the nightly creatures including the horse in the field right behind the house. I have to admit the movements against the bushes was a bit eerie until he finally showed himself! I am thinking bear, raccoons - and I mean a bunch of raccoons, deer? When he finally broke away, I was totally relieved! Glad I did not shoot him. Doubt the neighbor would have thought that was too neighborly.

Our schedule today is open. The sun is trying to make it's way over the trees. It is cold. Olive is doing her lay on her back with the feet in the air dead dog thing, and I am sitting in my cashmere robe. Best money I have ever spent! Fireplace (pellet stove) is roaring and we have yet to decide the rest of the day.

Volleyball was interesting yesterday. Kids. Remember they are 13/14 year old girls. I had one player tell the ref "no f...way" during our first tournament. Yesterday, same child tells me she has a s... load of homework and can not stay for practice. I think I must stand there with my mouth open just looking at her. Number one, Media (my mom) washed my mouth out with soap when I was 3 or 4 and it still is a vivid memory. (Ok - everyone settle down! Yes I do use some of those words....but not THOSE words!) So needless to say, coaching has been very colorful this season. All my coaches would have to be laughing at this - I had a list of words that were never to be uttered - at least not in my earshot. The girls and coaches were always very aware of this!

I am going on a wonderful site seeing adventure on Friday. I am taking the big yellow bus over Monarch Pass. I still hold my breath going over it in my car. I just can not imagine how riding a BIG YELLOW BUS is going to work for me. I have my anti- anxiety pills, maybe get some oxygen, a flask....and then I get to return at night! ON THE BIG YELLOW BUS! Lots of prayers would be appreciated.

Hope all ya'll have a great day!

Cold!

2009-10-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight is one of the more blustery nights in Gunny. It just feels like the weather has changed. I know I have mentioned a bit of snow, the colors are amazing, a nip in the air. For some reason, tonight is the biggie on a new season trying to come in.

I found out Friday that I will have to have knee surgery...again. At least this knee is the other knee. How lucky can you be? This means the 4 weeks strapped to a machine moving my leg consistently, 6 weeks of crutches....I almost have to do it NOW to be able to watch my baby run her first marathon. If I wait - then it means crutches on ice. Gee....what great choices. What would you do? At least the orthopedics up here are amazing. Lucky me!

A great friend of mine has a daughter just hired by Paramount Studios. Her show will be Three Rivers. I am watching it now. Looks really good! She starts on Tuesday of this week. How exciting! Another good friend's daughter has a website http://theglamourai.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
She posts really fun jewelry, clothes, ideas of how to make things. She is in New York right in the big middle of all!

ok - enough for now!

Jeep'n

2009-09-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all I went jeep'n today. Olive loves to go - and we generally have a great time. We went to the top of Pearl Pass. It is a view like no other. I met two men on the way up, I must mention that they were the largest me I have ever seen in a jeep before, and got to follow their "line" to the top. It was absolutely the roughest trip I have ever done. I tore up both running boards on my Lex - and the jeepies were quite impressed that my silly little lex would follow their mean ol' big man jeep! They obviously did not know lex very well....They were also surprised "li'll darlin' " could make it to the top. Truth be told, I was too!

I ended up in the er last night. Don't laugh. It was really a rough hold your breath kind of drive. I am so sore this morning I can hardly stand it. I have costocondritis. Mis-spelled it and really don't care this morning. I have rapid heart beats - tach...and when my chest hurts with it - well off I have to go to the er. Fun to have a small town. My er doc was Jay - Bren and Deb's friend - who had bought us dinner not that long ago. He is newly remarried and extremely nice. The er nurse was best friends with my varsity vb coach...so I got really nice care! And then in walked Deb with a LARGE sonic! No better meds in the world.

Olive and I went to bed around 8:30. Woke up at 6:30....very unusual for me. Olive did have the night shift - and did a very good job with it. I am sure it is the raccoons. If only I could shoot. I tried last year - well let's just say raccoons 3 me 0. I am going to work on that.

I have been extremely sad lately. I thought the drive would be so good for me. Olive and I love to do this. She gets to swim - as the streams are just simply amazing and crystal clear. I did take pics - but they will have to come a different day. I took my pepper spray. One of my buds swears by it for bear detention. I was in a very wonderful place to look at old wooden steps that had washed down from who knows where - heaven I am guessing....(someone was trying to cheat to get in) and was a bit nervous that a critter might spring out. I decided to test drive the pepper spray - un-noticed breeze brought it right back to me. Yup, it was working just fine!

Pearl pass drops down into Aspen. I knew the road existed - thought it was too bad a pass to drive. Scofield pass would be that one. My BIG jeep buddies were headed there next. I have to say, after yesterday, Scofield will just have to be on my wish list.

It is another amazing day here. We have no clouds - and no clouds all day long. Thursday we are to have a snow storm. At least that will be Oct. 1 - so let it snow!

Fall

2009-09-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

It is fall in full swing here. The colors are beyond amazing, the air is very crisp and the harvest moon is coming in. I am sad that the fruit and veggie stands are beginning to close. We had a very big snow on Monday last. I walked out of the gym from coaching, and was completely covered with the snow prior to getting to the car. I do get tickled as people say the same thing here as we do in Texas - if you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change.

I have not gotten to do any horseback riding lately, and I miss it. I would love to buy myself a horse, but not sure that I am quite ready for it. Can't believe that I rode through the winter, froze during the winter, and have not ridden once since we have had these wonderful days. Can't believe how the days fly by!

My volleyball team is learning a lot, but we are not winning. I try to remember that winning is not everything -
yes, I don't buy that either!

I am starting to feel more like a local. I can go to Crested Butte now and actually see people I know on the streets. It is a wonderful feeling. Again, it is a small town and most everyone knows everything about everyone!

Powdered Sugar

2009-09-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

It has finally happened! (Yes, and I know in about four months I will be done done done!) Powdered sugar on the peaks of the Bowl of Mountains in Crested Butte. It looks like someone has sifted the sugar all over the peak of one of the mountains. Very delicate, very light, just enough to let you know it is there. It is so white - so perfect! What a beautiful combo with the vibrant fall colors! I know it is just moments away from our customary below 0 weather. Not really sure I am ready for that - but - bring it on!

Some interesting news, Bogart has gone to a new home. I miss his sweet face, his desire for really close loves, even his early morning clubbing, but, his new home is wonderful for him. I try not to think about it too much. He is with a couple that I know well. Their dog is getting really old, in need of seeing dog help, and they are hoping Boggie will be the man for the job. Olive and I can see him any time we want. He also is getting to go on morning jogs. This he really needs! I love him dearly, Olive loves him also, but we both agreed this would be a happier place for him.

The great white hunter is back. Wearing camo, latex doctor gloves, glasses, this hunter is on it! Currently there are six less critters in the world. Who could match that number? Who could track these horrid creatures so fearlessly? The hunter should hire out....I'm just saying.....

We have had rain everyday. Everything is absolutely beautiful in my yard except the flowers that need personal watering. I am just not that person. I forget, I get side-tracked, I get busy, I don't want to do it...so many flowers, so few excuses! I still have one hummer left. One sweet lone little guy. I am hoping he will fly away soon. I would hate for him to get caught here on the day the temps drop. It would not be good for him! The Canadian geese are here. We have lots that stay all year. My neighbor has his fields full of them. I always have to do a double take when I see them. He has many horses and I am always wondering what this group of vicious birds are doing so close to all the mighty hoofed animals. I love their voices. They do fly overs twice a day and I love to run outside to watch and listen.

Big day here, cleaning. My absolute favorite thing to do! You should all come join me...

Morning

2009-09-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

It is another fabulous morning here. We have been outside (and I use we for the kids Boggie and Olive) and checked out our world. It rained again last night but now the sun is waking up and as she stretches she is pushing away all the heavy rain clouds.

I finally figured out what is so upsetting to Olive through the night, or at least one of the things that is upsetting my fabulous guard dog. I went to get a Sonic late (almost 11pm which is very unusual for me) and had a CAT run across my path as I was leaving the house. If only I had known, I might have begun feeding it so that it would stay around and de-mouse the area. I have learned many things being out in the country sort of. One of those things is Mice. They love my home, no this is not a statement of my cleaning ability, it is warm here and every once in a while Bogart or Olive will drop A piece of dog food. I hate to admit to all of you that I love catching the pesky little things and have been known to do one of those ridicules laughs when I have one in my traps. In my opinion, it is like being in the jungle and if the pesky beast decides to hunt in my neck of the woods, then it is only fair that I hunt him down! I do keep a box of surgical gloves in the house at all times for the clean up. Ha!

As I write this, my two very protective dogs are snoozing. One is on the couch (and yes I am still working on this) and one is on the chair that Bogart has eaten. All is quiet here. The only noise is the sound of my heater going on and off. I love the mornings. Everything is fresh and new. At this hour my floors look clean, my face looks almost made to go, all seems right with the world. All this will change when the light comes in, when I have my all the time glasses on (opposed to the readers I used to wear and loose).

Some biking buddies came by yesterday. He owns the local bike shop and also sells extreme stuff. Stuff that I love but am trying to be smart and not do any more. He has back country ski's, rock climbing equipment (this would not just be shoes and chalk, but the things you see in the movies where they hammer stuff in the rock and sleep hanging 1000 feet up) And just fyi - I have never hung 1000' up! I have had night mares about such...but that is a whole nother story. He also carries the best tops and pants in the world for this weather. I bought the fam several of his tops last season Marmot - and the new ones are in now! Back to the bikers - they are the nicest couple. They had been out for an extremely long bike ride and stopped by to say hello. They are very hard workers and love to play on their day off. She is going to be my ski buddy this season along with a couple of other crazy women. I can't wait! Hope we have great snow again...

I went over Monarch pass the other day. I was absolutely amazed at how quickly the trees are changing. One day there are a few leaves, and now the whole trees are on fire. It is big swashes of color amidst the evergreens. As I drove over, the clouds were so low! I love going through the clouds. Really makes it feel like fall. I used to love driving 2222 and Mt. Bommell (embarrassed that I can not remember how to spell that) years ago. The steam coming off the Colorado river would give that same feeling. The road is/was so narrow and windy. I just loved the early morning view!

It is hunting season now. My neighbor got his BIG buck on the opening day. He was so proud! He drove around all day with the buck in the back of his truck showing everyone what he had gotten. It was a 4X4. Sounds like a nice jeep to me... The streets are full of men with their atv's in the back. When I say atv plural, let me explain. And let me also say, men who hunt should never comment on the number of shoes a woman has in her closet. There is no comparison on costs here... One truck was pulling a FLAT BED full of 4 atv's. Another truck has some sort of device that holds two atv's side by side. I have not seen a single truck with less than 2 atv's. It is black powder and archery season. Let's just say the equipment is amazing, it is not what we shot at camp at the big round archery target. Proper term is a compound bow. I have one actually. It is a kid's size. I am pretty good at shooting it - and really enjoy shooting it. They are a bit expensive, and then the arrows are a whole nother story! Again, let me say, shoes are so much less expensive! Every one of the hunters is in camo. Like they don't think we can see them walking around town? It would be fun to go through with a paint ball gun and mark them. They would really rethink that camo stuff. I have a wonderful camo one piece outfit. I wear it on the cold mornings to walk the dogs. It is really warm - and it has all these wonderful zippers for ventilation. Now that is a cleaver idea!

The birds have finally woken up. I am sure the cold makes them a bit slow getting out of their nests. I still have one or two hummers. Mainly now I have the sparrows and swallows.

Hope you all have a great day!

Color

2009-09-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

It is such a fabulous morning. I am down to a couple of hummers, but the big birds have taken over my morning viewing. The colors are just so vibrant. As they do their fly-by's, I see flashes of red, yellow, black and white. I have one crow, and he is really a big crow, that sits in the cotton wood tree across the street and laughs at me. Does not matter what I am doing, he laughs. Can be really irritating at times. Show's his intelligence, he does not realize how well armed I am. Or maybe he does and knows what a horrible shot I have become!

The trees are really turning now. Brilliant colors, yellows, oranges, greens and a bit of red here and there. I so love the seasons. We have had rain the last few days. The mornings start cool and crisp with an amazing sky and by mid to late afternoon the rain comes on down. Yesterday we had thunder. It bounces from one mountain to the next. Love that the most. My yard is absolutely gorgeous. It is still hanging in there. Unfortunately, you can't really get the full beauty of it because of all the dog toys! I should be ashamed for all their goodies out in the yard. And just like a child, they love the wrappers or boxes best!

I have been coaching Volleyball for Crested Butte. We were undefeated until Saturday (honestly we had only played one match prior to Saturday). Saturday we went 0-3. It was not just bad it was sad! I do enjoy the girls. I had forgotten how much I enjoy being around the kids, listening to them, trying to teach them something that maybe will help them out in life.

My good friend Debbie brought me a pair of boots yesterday along with dinner. They are so cute and so GIRLIE! I love them! They actually have bows on the sides. Wish they were my size. I would wear them every day.

I must go for now, Sic em Bears!

Clouds again!

2009-09-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

Van Gogh has nothing on the nights here. It has been a rather long night, I could not sleep. Around 3ish am I looked through my bedroom window and the Van Gogh clouds were all over the sky. I have never seen anything at all like them. Swirly, perfect circles. One cloud after another were connected all over my beautiful night sky. The moon was almost full, which helped illuminate them. It was absolutely amazing. Starry Starry Night is one of Shelby's favorite paintings. I was analyzing them, trying to think how to take a picture that would show each swirly creation. I don't think anything I could do to give the look and I think that Van Gogh did an amazing reproduction of God's handiwork.

I love clouds. Living in Austin, that was one of the things I so sorely missed. The sky in the Panhandle always had CLOUDS that were always changing. I have never been one to see things in the clouds - I know I have already stated that, but I just love clouds. From Thunderheads to wispy, I just love them.

Complete swirly circles, now that is one to add to my memory banks. To be 50ish, and only now to have seen this, well I feel very lucky!

night friends

2009-08-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

Tucked safely and soundly in my warm bed, someone is knocking on my door. Immediately, I am getting my robe on and headed to the door. Olive is barking, upset. Middle of the night...who would be at my door? It takes a while for all of us to settle back into bed. It is 1:30 a.m. ish.

I took the dogs for a little walk early this morning. They are still uncomfortable, nervous. Who can believe that the dumpster has been tossed, tossed like cardboard box, onto it's side. It is full of the cement chinking, so the toss was miraculously done. It completely creeped me out. We headed back into the house. A neighbor stopped by mid day to help me right the dumpster. It took a pickup truck and a tow rope to right it. He had had a bear last night. A big bear, chest high on his four legs. Scary! That was my late night visitor. I am prepared now. Shotgun is loaded with rubber bullets. Reminder to all, do not sneak up on me!

Hummers

2009-08-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

Puffy, fluffed, winged fighter planes. I have f-16's, helo's, cargo planes. They are landing on the mother ship decks, touching down with calm,with finesse. The fuel line is delicate. It resembles a fine needle. No curves, no bends, efficient. I could suggest the cabin is Midway. Loved that movie. So many flight decks for the aircraft to choose from, so many choices to refuel, recharge. I have not seen Debra Kerr on the beach as of yet. I will keep you posted

Currently, I have eight feeders out. For those of you who know me, it would be like multiple Sonics to choose from. My idea of heaven! I am still amazed how much these little hoovers can eat. To be so tiny, they sure can pack it in!

The sun is coming up slowly this morning. I am guessing it is cold and stiff...what is it....a hundred million years or so old? I know I am getting more stiff almost daily! The cool just makes it that much slower for me to get going!

I have been up to Crested Butte. As of today, no new snow on the peaks. The beauty, as always, takes my breath away. It does not matter how many times I go up that way, the reaction is the same. The leaves are offering a bit of a tease. Tiny bits of orange and gold are hiding here and there in the thick trees. Autumn is on it's way. The streets are getting a bit quieter. Not so many families are riding bikes, shopping, filling the roads.

School starts in a week up here. This has always been my little piece of heaven - for some reason school never fit that picture for me. I never considered children actually made this their home. They look out their math room windows at the mountains - at the snow - at the trees turning. Good thing I did not go to school here. I would be day dreaming consistently. Imagining what adventure I would be in next. Mountains to top, trees to climb!

It is Friday. Tonight they are closing off main street for the Classic Car Show. A band will be playing in the middle of main. Small town at it's finest! I will let you know how it is. I have always wanted a refurbished t-bird...hmmm wonder if they will take a check!

BRRRR 32 degrees!

2009-08-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

It is 32 this morning. Can you believe it? It is August 19th and 32 degrees. That does not bode well for winter. I am sure all my central Texas buddies are snickering. It has been something like 55 straight days of 100 plus degrees there. What you guys would not do for a couple of 32 degree mornings! We will talk again when it has been 50 plus days of below zero weather!

The hummers are up this morning. They are cold and eating ravenously. I refilled the feeders yesterday morning, which aggravated a few of the more aggressive friends. I do a pretty good hummer mix and they just love it! Honestly, I probably am the only one with this many feeders set out - so by default they love it. As I was rehanging the big feeder, several of my little friends landed on the feeder. It was like having hummers in my hands! Loved it!

I love to sing. LOVE to sing. Never been very good singing in public, but always had a silly dream of one day being in a band - you know Michelle Pfeifer in the Baker Boys. Ok - we can all dream... I have been listening to Johnny Mathis. What a voice. So I am belting out one of the fabulous songs - chances are - and Bogart comes and sits at (on) my feet and looks so adoringly up at me. Made me feel like I could belt them out just like Johnny!

I am running up to Crested Butte this morning. I can't wait. It is really one of the most fabulous drives. It is a bowl of majestic mountains with a quaint little town in the middle. I will let you know if there is new snow on the peaks - I will let you know if the leaves are starting to turn. It is God's paint brush at that point. He has such an amazing eye! I did see a herd of 30ish Elk on Monday. So huge! It was all the girlfriends and their babies. Totally unconcerned with me or the other cars zipping by. They are getting ready for bow season. I think they must laugh at us at times. What other mammal puts urine from it's prey all over it's body to hunt? And is this supposed to be some sort of perfume? Surely these animals see through this ploy. If they don't I sure hope at some point they do. My friends that elk hunt absolutely love it. It is a religious moment for them. I could compare it to a really good antique hunt and it is almost as expensive!

My antiquing buddy and I are heading to the big city later today. Montrose. Target. Really there are not words to describe how nice it is to find Target after a few weeks to a couple of months without a fix. We are going to a movie, have a nice lunch/dinner and antique. I am looking for an old garden gate. It is to put between my bedrooms and the living room. You would just have to see it to appreciate it. My monsters love to go into the bedrooms and reek havoc. I have been very surprised how difficult these gates are to find. Almost like an elk hunt, I have been on this trek for a bit. Also like an elk hunt, it could take years to find the exact perfect fit.

I have not really described my cabin. I know I have told you it was built in 1930. It was annexed in the late 1800's. I have found small apothecary bottles, pieces of purple - y/blue glass, treasures.

I redid the inside a couple of years ago. It started with the kitchen and it grew like the "BLOB". Almost as frightening. My old kitchen cabinets were interesting. The oven was over the stove with a foot clearance. Besides the fact you had to stand on a chair to put things in and out of the oven, I always had a fear that my stove would catch fire, moving to the grease under the oven and whoosh, my cabin would be gone!

n Gone gone gone are those cabinets. The plan was to level the floor in the kitchen (remember the can can roll from one end of the rooms to the other after they have been fixed) and put in new cabinets. Then I added a bit of wall moving/tearing down, new floors from kitchen to back bedroom. Then all the electrical had to be replaced. Just an FYI, should you start to replace some electrical, you have to do it all - by code. That was a bit of a shocker! Loved the old wires and porcelain insulators! At this point why not pull the ceiling down? It was low and a bit claustrophobic so down it came. Being incredibly creative, I had old doors used as the wood for the vault in the ceiling.

The bedrooms need a bit of love. I had already pulled all the carpeting out, pulled out the tiles underneath the carpet (which no doubt had to be asbestos!) and painted the floors. I had the walls stripped of the plywood covers and it exposed the wonderful logs. We sanded and stained them. I had found wonderful old ceiling tin. The guys scraped that and sealed it and it is in the bedrooms and bathroom. I added antique crystal chandeliers over the beds and fabulous linens. Next I get a call about the bathroom. Amazing that I had not fallen through the floor while bathing. (That's a picture, huh?) as the floor was rotten. A bathroom update was now added! Rusty corrugated metal is the tub/shower surround, an old medicine cabinet is above the old pedestal sink, drawers are fashioned for mid 30's drawers I had found with bak lite nobs. An old green outside enameled light fixture is above the sink. My hallway is wall papered with a book - the Great Alone. Page by page I placed these on my walls. Love it! I have used barn door hinges in most of my rooms. It is so much less space needed. Of course the only one that I hung fell down this summer. We do not need to discuss my carpentry skills other than to say I have them. We used barn wood as trim. Also, in case you wanted to know, old barn wood is like gold. Precious and expensive! I also hung a wonderful old crystal chandelier over the pine farmers table for my kitchen/dinning. The floors that have been replaced are heated. It is really one of the best features of a Colorado home. Nothing better than to put your piggies on a heated floor on a cold morning!

So now that I have bored you with my house updates, I will let you go. More about the weather and foliage tomorrow!

shoes make the man er woman

2009-08-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love shoes. It is a great sickness. Unfortunately it also includes cowboy boots. I have 60 - yes - 60 pairs of boots and counting. I posted this on facebook for intervention but no one really had an answer for my illness. Probably the problem is that I am not listening! I LOVE SHOES!

I go in different directions on style. I love Manolo's and Jimmy Choo. I would love to have a pair of Christian Lobitans' again, you must be able to spell these important words before you can actually acquire these lovelies! Truth be known, I can not walk in high heels. It is true. I either fall out of them or twist my ankles. So not pretty! Shame on me - but I do still love them and have them in my closet.

My favorites are my dansko's and my Merrill's. I love Nike running shoes although I gave up running years ago. This year they came out with the natural leather stacked sandal. We all had them in the '70's. Loved them! Bought them this summer and feel so festive when I have them on!

Colorado is not the place for fancy shoes. I try. When I go to the big cities, Denver or Colorado Springs, I do wear the fancies. All other times I am in my comfort shoes! Promise I will not be into the SAS or those other comfort shoes, well, unless they are happy feet shoes!

Now, my true weakness is cowboy boots. I buy the old ones which means they are used. I had a hard time getting over that fact. To be honest, no one really does boots like they did in the '30's. My collection is varied and very loved! I wear them almost every day. I also collect baby boots. They are hard to find. I love the cut out boots. I have a couple of pairs with longhorns inlaid in them. All the baby boots have the toes curled up. You can just imagine some cowpoke loving these boots and actually wearing them to bed!

Everyone around here is aware of my illness. I have friends that will drop boots that have been so very well worn at my door steps. It is kind of a funny thing. Shelby thinks the boots have overgrown the cabin. Does this mean I should buy a bigger cabin to accommodate my habit?

NOAH Where Are You?

2009-08-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

Second day of rain. Lots of rain today. It is almost 6 a.m. and it is still very dark outside. Today it is thundering. I love the sound of thunder. It is absolutely the best sleeping or snuggling weather. As I write, Bogart and Olive are snuggled here with me. Olive is wrapped in a towel from her adventures out in to the monsoon. Boggie is just happy to be up and alive. Puppydom, need I say more?

I have not mentioned the chinking in a while. Casey, my big strapping worker, is amazing. He is almost finished. Just a very small area in the back is left to do. I don't know if it is because my cabin is so small, I don't know if it is because I adore my cabin, I don't know if it is because I write all checks, but I love this place and I love all aspects of taking care of it. Probably I adore working on it because it is so old. I love anything old. It is a problem for me. I understand this. I do not care. I know that part of my enjoyment is that nothing here is perfect. Not one corner is square. Not one wall is plum. Not one plumbing fixture works perfectly all the time. You could roll a ball, untouched, from one end of the room to the other. I don't care. It is just charming. All that to say I love it! I have learned how to do electricity things, pull up carpet, pull up tile, paint floor, paint walls, hang barn door hinges, build tables, build desks, build decks, build everything! I even have really good tools! That is the really best advice I could give everyone. You are only as good as the tools you have on hand. Also, when you go to the hardware store, Do not be offended when you get the "hello lil darlin', are you lost today?" Finally, Ace Hardware leaves me alone to rummage through aisles of everything. Currently I am trying to find a way to hang an old window grate - the kind on old warehouse windows - to use as a gate to keep my monsters out of the bedrooms. Those are the kinds of things I love the most!

Shelby is in Austin today. She is shopping. I feel like a horrible mother for not being there to cook, shop, play with her. I miss her. She is the most amazing young lady. I know I am not suppose to go on and on about my child, but I am really blown away by the amazing adult person she has become. She is probably one of the smartest, sharpest people I know. She is very intuitive and creative. She does a blog, a running page, runs a home, helps with charities, gets promotions, etc. Her creativity is off the charts. I guess dragging her to all the antique and artsy shows was a good thing? We won't ask her that...I know what she would say. My reply would be that I had to give her fodder to talk to a shrink about some day...Unfortunately, I did not give out fodder sparingly! She writes so well. I am really a bit intimidated by her! And I love her more than anything in the world. My mom had warned me when I had her that my life would drastically change. She was so right. And I would not change a thing.

My hummers are up. I can not believe how much they are eating. I have BIG feeders and they were emptied yesterday. That is 3 days for one feeder. I think since it is cold they eat more to be able to handle the weather. Just another thing I am learning up here - as the weather gets cooler - the more all the animals eat. Burning calories to stay warm - means eating tons of food!

Hope ya'll have a great morning! Go have a wonderful weekend!

Beautiful Rain

2009-08-14T05:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to rain. It has been awhile since we had a full day of rain. I am sure at some point Mr. Sunshine will poke his sleepy head out, but right now, I love the rain! I had replanted geraniums. I am so horrible at flowers. It is definitely not my spiritual gift! I let them sit out for a week in the nasty plastic pot. Now they are happily in new pots and had wonderful rain all night!

I hate to mention this but Fall is here. We have had frost on the ground and walkway for almost a week now. I even wore a sweater most of the day yesterday. I love the change of the seasonal guard. The trees will begin to turn in a week or two. The animals are really munching down to prepare for our sub zero winters.

I have so enjoyed the hummers. Currently my happy guys are pretty calmly eating their sugar water (for me that would be Dr. Pepper). They are so funny. At dusk last night I had 6 hungry guys eating at the feeder, 6-7 hovering around it, and a couple more doing fly-byes. This morning I only have about 6 total eating away. I find it a bit funny that these tiny tiny creatures can drink so hard and fast that air bubbles escape to the top of the feeder...little bitty hoovers!

Rocky Raccoon does not like the rain or his scent stays a little closer to him as he rummages through my yard as Olive was quiet this past night. She has had to spend several nights in her kennel due to her barking "issues". We are working on this - but like all my children, she has an incredibly strong will!

Bogart has gotten a couple of new names - Slimmer and Clubber. Depends on the time of day both of these names fit - Early a.m. he is Clubber. He is currently about 40 pounds and is 16.5 weeks old. It takes about 20 seconds for his back half to catch up to his front half's activities. When I am sleeping and he wants my attention he stands on his hind feet and clubs me with his front feet. Very painful if not on your toes....he slings those size 18's at what part of your body he hits. I have gouge marks on my back, he has hit the nose, the cheek, arms, etc. He is the slimmer every time he drinks. I don't know why he thinks it is more efficient to drink with his full face in the water! Once done, he loves to find me in my nice clothes (that would be anything other than my 501's...) and rubs up against me. SLIMMED!

The ....-tuttle meteor shower has been the last two nights. I know it is tuttle as I have given my son-in-law and daughter a little ribbing with the name. The first night I had to go to bed as it started after my 9pm curfew. The next night it did not disappoint. Falling stars with tails. It was absolutely beautiful. It is so dark up here at night that it was the perfect canvas to watch the show!

I have tried the new Off personal mosquito repellent - FYI - it does not work...I am very sad about this as I love to drink a glass of wine outside in the evening, but am cautious to do this with all the West Nile carrying bugs! I am glad for the cooler weather, I can cover myself tip to toe to avoid dealing with the crazy creatures!

It is so peaceful this morning. Of course a light rain is so helpful in making everyone feel tranquil, Olive is snuggled beside me (yes we are still working on the couch issue...) catching a few more Zs and even Bogart is still! I have great music in the background! I am wanting some new classical music should anyone have any suggestions!

wasps, hornets, bees....oh My!

2009-08-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Shame on me! One of the main reasons I did the blog was to get in the habit of writing daily. I love to write. I will try to be faithful!

I have had teeth trouble. It is really true - and so very bad! I have had 3 teeth pulled in the past year. I am getting implants for them. It is a process. I had one of the teeth pulled last Thursday. It is really not a horrible thing, and the discomfort only lasts about a week.

On Thursday, I also had a run in with a nest of wasps....remember Yogi and Boo Boo? Well it is very similar to that nasty cartoon - you know when Yogi goes after the nest for the honey? Thousands and thousands of wasps chase them to the lake that both Yogi and Boo Boo jump in...
It was not quite that bad....I have been amazed at how long my cheek has stayed red. Anyone that asks about it I tell them the other guy looks much worse!

For some reason when I have anything done - pulling teeth, root canal, medical things, etc - I am the one that has the problem that happens to 2% of the population. Who knew you could get bone spurs when a tooth is pulled? Who knew it would require surgery to repair? That has been my past year and a few months. TEETH! I am thinking of going to Juarez and having a couple of pairs of wooden false teeth made. I could paint them different colors - I could add gold accents or silver and turquoise! How about that diamond embedded in that front tooth. Options are just limitless!

OK Back to the wasps. It was a wasp that stung me. I got even. Payback is just so fun. I love the wasp killer that sprays 100 feet or so. I had a hive that was attached to the wall of my shed. I had placed a saw against the hive. No wonder they got me! I am lucky it was only one really mad bug. I have found a hive across the road from me that is 2 feet long. I am going to take revenge on it in the next few days. More to come!

happiness is a choice

2009-08-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

You are wondering how in the world I could ever begin to discuss happiness when I am living in one of the most beautiful places in the world. As with all things, not everyone thinks this is one of those places! Can you imagine? I will discuss THOSE people on a different blog...

I woke up this morning happy. As a general rule, I am a happy person. There are not that many mornings that I am mad at the start. Don't get me wrong, One word said in the wrong tone, one word said with malice, one word thoughtless spit out can and most often will put me in "that mood". Ask Shelby, she would gladly agree with most of this! (Don't ask her about what it cost me to get her to agree!) Haha.

As I sit here the hummers are playing and chasing each other around the bird feeder. I am sure not all words are happily spoken around that feeder - especially when Rufus is around - but they all are working away, filling their tummies and zipping along. Bogart and Olive are happy, I have filled their food bowl, filled their water, let them out to bark at Rocky Raccoon and his family, and scratched behind their ears and on their tummies....All things so simple. Food, love, good work, basics that make the animals so content. I am sure there is one critter wondering what is in the neighbors' yard to eat, what joe or jim or jennie or ann is having for breakfast and what their plans are for the day. That would probably make him discontent. Why must we see what others have and long for it? Why can't we just love what we have and be satisfied? I wonder why that is!

There are things I want, things I lust after. I have noticed how my heart is so settled these days. It is so simple. I do not do anything all that differently here. I have great friends all over. I am very lucky. I have a wonderful family. As I write this the sun is coming up and I am listening to quiet opera. Can you imagine anything more perfect?

Clouds

2009-08-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

I love clouds. Don't really know why. No, I am not one of those that sees animals, cars, ships, people in the clouds. They are just very....hmmm....interesting to me.
As mentioned before, I don't always sleep soundly. Waking up multiple times through the night has become the norm. Last night, at 3am, I woke up to see clouds low and beautiful outside my window. I wanted to touch them. One of my recurring dreams as a child was that I could fly. Much like the flying nun! Ah - Sally Fields, why did she have to ruin it with Smokey and the Bandit?
Living in Austin for so many years, I missed the big sky. City life hinders the ability to see the sky like the flat land of the Panhandle. Each time driving through or to Borger/Amarillo, I would take such a big, deep breath. I just love the sky. It is fascinating how far you can see, how fun the clouds are.
Here in the mountains, the clouds hang very low quite a bit. So badly I want to touch them, to get caught up in them, to breath in their air. To fly with them.

A new week

2009-08-03T05:30:00.001-07:00

It is an early Monday Morning. The birds are starting to stir, the bird feeders are very active. Not a cloud, not one, in the sky. Not a breath of breeze as of yet. All are waiting to decide what this Monday should bring. Hummingbirds are so beautiful and so amazing. Their colors are vibrant. As they dive-bomb everything in site, it is hard to tell to what that flash of red, orange, blue, belongs.

Today we are working on the chinking. I am getting much better at pulling the old stuff out. My arms are loosing that bit of old lady swing that happens right below my shoulders. Maybe this hard labor thing is going to be OK. What project can I take on that would do that tummy tuck thing? I have enjoyed doing this work, it is so interesting how things were done 80 years ago. It is even more interesting that something that old can still be a wonderful resident. I have found old newspapers from December 1932. The adds are so interesting - could be adds from Denny's Men's Wear! Can you believe my dad wore a hat to work most days? He was always so dapper!
One of the wonderful things I have in this old place is a cowboy hat he would wear. Love it!

We had raccoons last night. The reason I know this is Olive protected me from them ALL NIGHT LONG! She is such a watch dog. She has a history with these hungry little ....well we will just call them animals. Rocky and his clan - 5 strong - would come every night this winter. They would sit in the bird food can, they would sit in the deer feed, they would look at us and give us that wonderful one finger salute. Olive does not like that salute and has taken it upon herself to tell them any time she gets a whiff of them. She will sit with her nose in the air - sniffing like a woman at a perfume counter...you know the one...who spritzes the ambrosia into the air and lifts her pert little nose to get a good idea of the mixture of floral, citrus, honey...I don't think Raccoon scent smells quite the same... This morning she is still upset. Currently she is delegated to the couch(I am really working on keeping them off of the couch!) to let her throat rest. I am sure by the evening she will need all her vocal cords to keep me posted on any raccoon smellings!

There is a bit of fall in the air. In Borger, I would always feel the day the season changed to fall. I think it is the way the sun beams hit the earth. It is like they are shinning at an angle. Nothing else has changed, it is still as warm as the day before, but it is a feeling as much as anything. All my buddies are upset with this. Winters are long and hard. It is such a fantasy land here. There are bikes to ride, mountains to explore, fish to catch, wildlife to photograph. It is as much an adult playground as it is a children's park! Both towns are full, sidewalks have so many footprints! Parents that don't have time to play with their children are now riding bikes through town with little Johnny or Jennie in tow.

When I was in Austin I really missed the changing of the seasons. It is sort of like the changing of the guard, the old season is worn out when the new one comes in to give it relief. Here the seasons are just so definite. I can't wait for the leaves to change. It is a burst of fire!
Shame on me! I don't want to wish or wait away a second! We loose so much time either looking back or looking forward and loose the now. I am working on that also!

Time to get me moving. I am headed to the W for a good country breakfast. Good day!

boy dog love

2009-08-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

I am a dog lover. No way around that. For my old friends, Noel was my very first experience with boydog love. Next Boscoe, next Mickey and also, girldog Minnie. I had never pondered the different personalities between male/female dogs. Being politically correct, I felt differences between dogs had nothing to do with sex. I feel dogs are created as we are. Different. I always have just loved dogs! It never occurred to me there might be some differences with the "love".

As I write this, Bogart has jumped on the couch (we are working on the no couch thing), snuggled as tight as possible to my side, and is resting him nose on my arm. To compare, Olive was up here. She sat at the opposite end of the couch. She wanted me to come to her and snuggle. I gladly accommodated her. She is incredibly loving, but it is on her terms.

Mickey, a yorkie, was so fun. Bless his heart, he passed a few years ago. He was amazing. He would let Shelby dress him in her doll clothes, play baby with him, pick him up - drop him etc. He was always very good with her and her gang. He had quite the personality. Life was on his terms. Boydog love did not track with him. He was quite the snuggler...if it was his choice!

A good friend sweares by boydog love. She will have no other flavor than a male dog. I had allowed her the leeway to state this opinion, but really dogs just love - Right?

I am sure part of this discrepancy is Bogart is a puppy. Puppies are just happy. Puppies just want to make you happy. Every moment is a new experience and they are happy to share it with you! You are the queen or king of their world!

Boydog love - is it true or just an urban myth? Since I am in the boonies - would that make it a gool ole country tale? Which are you? A believer in boydog love or....

New Days

2009-07-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

I woke up to marvelous sunshine today. It is not unusual for that to happen, I am just well rested. That makes it simply Marvelous! No one ever told me that as we age we loose the ability to sleep. Even in Paradise these things still happen. I guess that is why there is such joy in a full, restful, uninterrupted night of sleep!

Chinking did not happen yesterday. Funny thing in a really laid back world, everyone and everything is very laid back. It has been a great thing for me as I have a time frame for everything and could sit and tap my toe with impatience waiting. (btw, it would not be in last year's Prada!) Ha! Cabin maintenance has been a challenge. Painters came by yesterday to discuss painting this old thing! Guess Fort Knox is not going to be safe - as it will take a break in there to pay for all of this! You know...you can't take it with you.

My two dogs, Olive and Bogart, are so fun. Olive was an only dog for her first 3 years. She is absolutely the most loving dog you would ever hope to find. She loves to dress up - no I am not one of those crazy women who dresses her dog in cutie outfits (Dolce Should be in a Dressy Outfit!) she just likes to change her collar from time to time. 2 hound designs is my absolute favorite online store for this. She is very funny about it. She also likes to get as dirty as possible. I guess you could call her a tomdog? Last night was bath night for her. The tub was black. The water looked like the Canadian River after a really good rain. Thought that would give a very good visual...
Bogart is a baby. He is all male. He loves rough housing with Olive (that is one reason she was so dirty) and he hates baths. He also has wonderful collars to change with his mood - but he just really does not seem to care! He is 14 weeks old, such a baby, and he already weighs 33 pounds and is as tall as Olive. If she had any plan of taking him on in a wrestling match and actually winning - well it ain't happening! He has feet, which I am reminding myself he will eventually grow into, that are huge! Paw prints of them are already quite a bit bigger than Olive's. What have I gotten myself into?
Needless to say, I love these babies. They are like Shelby's siblings she never had. I don't really think she likes that idea! She is just as big an animal lover as I am. I think if we were together for any amount of time we would have a problem. Every time we would run into a down trodden creature, we would just add them to our menagerie!

I have a really good friend that runs an antique store here. For many years she was the only antique store in town. I always owe her monies as she is very gracous about letting me run a tab. She is really so smart! Running a tab at an antique store! Who would think....Again, I have to contact Fort Knox when it is bill paying time!
Anyway, because of her I have found some amazing things for the cabin. She always lets me know if something has come in that is just perfect for what ever spot I might have. Honestly, what a great friend! All you junkies out there will understand this!
Tomorrow is the Paris Flea Market. For my Texas friends, this is Round Top for up here. In comparison, we will just say they grow every thing bigger in Texas! Last time I went with my buddy, it would make junkers everywhere proud. She has a van with no seats in back, we had that baby packed. Stuff so full inside we had to carefully shut the doors, and the top was covered also! Beverly Hill Billies here we come!

Currently I have my pellet stove running and we are all sitting here drinking our oj and typing. The dogs are really unconcerned, although Bogart tries to interject an oljuy or ouklbja; from time to time. He is so verbouse! I know how blessed I am to be here. It is paradise.

Cabins

2009-07-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, today I am working on Chinking the cabin. For all you city dwellers, it is the magical stuff that goes between the logs to keep bugs, hot air, cold air, dirt, out of the house. My cabin was built in the 1930's. The stuff I am pulling out is at least that old. It is fossilized! Amazing the different materials used. It is cement in some places, fiberglass insulation in others, deep wholes in a few. It is dirty and time consuming - but the final result is wonderful! I don't know why I have taken such great joy in redoing this old place. The floors creak, the floors sag, I have mice periodically, a few window panes are cracked...but again this is paradise to me!

Casey is coming to help. He is darling, young and a stud. Good for me as I am not darling, old and definitely not a stud!!! I have been very humbled at the things that I can no longer do. My strength is just not there. Of course many of you will ask - what strength? I will have you know I did have my day. We just will not discuss how many days have come and gone since I had that day...
Bruising is almost a daily thing. The color of different parts of my legs, arms and hands is just such a kaleidescope of molteled colors. Again, we do not need to go into this - if you are obscenely curious, find an old person, examine their arms and Wa La - you have the colors I am highlighting here.
The hummingbirds fight me for airspace. They dive bomb, they chase, they sass at me continuously. Honestly, it is ok. They are absolutely amazing creatures. The other birds are just as scene stealing. The colors of all the birds is so vibrant this summer. I do not know the names of any of them except of course our Robin Red Breast...a true winner of all things spring and summer. I have a few wood peckers. My absolute favorite is the morning and evening fly by's of the Canadian Geese that live in the field and stream behind my house. They call to each other as they fly by. I am sure they are all commenting on that silly woman in the green house. I wear my rain boots, my big hat and always my lee 501's...and almost always a smile of pure pleasure!
I will try to figure out how to post our progress on the chinking...a truely mountain woman thing to do!

a new beginning

2009-07-30T04:52:00.001-07:00

Today I woke at 5 and decided to start this silly blog. I don't know if anyone will care - or be slightly interested...but here goes!

I am currently in Paradise. At least this is what my heart is telling me is paradise.

As a child, I can remember paradise was climbing the mimosa tree that was outside our side window. It was big, it was scary, but all in all it was the place to be. My older sister could climb it, all her friends could climb it, but I was just a little sister. They could get away from me! So climb it I did. Luckily I never fell out of that tree...

A few years later paradise was in the form of a hike through the desert country behind our neighborhood. We could do it any time. So different from now in the big cities. We would pack a lunch and go hiking. I loved it. I have always been a tomboy - or an outside girl. I have definitely never been a tree hugger...

Funny, trying to remember my other paradises brings no images. I had lots of good times - but only one place from there on that has held that esteemed position for so many years!

I am in that place now. We started coming here years ago - won't say how many - we will just leave it at MANY! That wonderful place is the Colorado mountains. Nothing better.

Today I plan on working outside. It is cool this am. It rained all night. My babies - Olive and Bogart - are still sleeping. It is early even for them. Goldendoodles...best dogs around. I will go ahead and let everyone know they are the smartest dogs in the world.
Back to my mountains. When I am driving here, which I do quite a bit, the view coming around a specific corner on the highway gives me great pause. I smile, catch my breath, and know I am headed to the place my heart sings. I don't know if it is the majesty of it all, I don't know if it is the mountains that I have not met the challenge yet, I don't know if it is the small Mayberry feel of my town, I don't know if it is the fond memories of times gone by, I don't know if it is just an absolute escape for me. I don't know and honestly I don't care. I can tell you that when I see those mountains I can breath a full deep cleansing breath.

Paradise any place of complete bliss and delight and peace.

Need I say more?