Per Chance? Betsy Elfring

2010-10-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

MOON SHADOW

As I shut the front door to keep the dog from getting out, I promised I would take him for a walk when Ana and I got back from the movie. It was dark dusk when we started out for the hike. The moon was shining so brightly that it was reflecting off the buffalo truck windshield. I could easily see every pocket and the stitching on my coat. Looking behind me my shadow contrasted brightly with the surface of the road, even the length of my walking stick was distinctly silhouetted upon it. Turning forward to walk toward the moon again I smiled at the jewel like planet hanging beneath the moon.

Emma learned at camp that it takes your eyes 20 minutes to adjust to the dark and see at their full capacity on a dark night. With the time taken to walk to the bench and back and the glowing moonlight, my eyes seem to adjust to the descending darkness just fine.

2010-10-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written on my blog. I think I'll do so more now because sometimes I want to expand on my thoughts or musings and Facebook is more of a sound bite type of social interaction forum.

These photos are from the Canyon City area where Dave and I went to stake out a house for his clients. I always enjoy the ride to Canyon City, you get to see the May Insect Museum, and the Pet Cemetery, and what remains of the Turkey Canyon Ranch which is now a subdivision. Large lots, but it's sad. The family who owned the ranch had to sell it to pay off inheritance taxes. The law firm I worked for in Colorado Springs, represented the family and I personally tried to find ways to either reduce the tax burden or get some entity like the Nature Conservancy to purchase it for preservation. It looks like after I left the firm it got sold to developers, which was one option the family was interested in.

I guess I should correctly spell Canyon City, "Canon City", but I don't know how to make a tilde over the n so we know it's pronounced Canyon. I understand that, but what about colonel, being pronounced kernel, what's up with that?

2009-08-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

Dave was talking to Mike tonight about the little waterfall we go to. So here are two pictures, one of the Buddha where he was moved to, and the other of the waterfall earlier this spring. The picture of the Buddha was from a distance and I had to take it quickly, so it is fuzzy, but it's still fun to see him, I'll try to get a clearer picture.

2008-11-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

Photos of the kids enjoying our fall break trip to Needles, a portion of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. It was so beautiful with the fall colors and the amazing red rock formations. The photos just didn't capture what the eye saw, but they are still not bad.

The bottom photo is a rock that butted up to our camp site, Emma and I were the only two brave enough to climb to the top, and then Emma didn't want to stop climbing every time she got bored. The next photo is near a cowboy campground, and the top shot is part of the cowboy campground, which I am sure was an Indian campground before that (when I took a Indian Child Welfare seminar, all the Native Americans called themselves Indians, so I think the term is not politically incorrect).

2008-11-02T06:43:00.000-08:00

SHOTS AND BOOKS

Yesterday we went to Kaiser to get our flu shots, it was the most crowded it's ever been. I tried not to let it get to me, but I hate it when people butt in line in crowds, and a group of them did. bad manners.

Part of the bribe to get the kids, especially Emma who is deathly afraid of shots, to get the shots was lunch at Qdoba and a book from Tattered Cover.

Knowing that we are being affected by the economic crunch, I refrained from buying a book for myself. But I made a list of what I would have wanted and this morning I have all of them on my hold list at our library, in fact, three are already available. My choices:

Quirkology a psychology book by Wiseman;
The Tenderness of Wolves, a suspense novel by Penney;
Alice, a biography of Alice Roosevelt by Cordery;
Good Calories, Bad Calories, a factual myth buster about food by Taubes;
True to Form, a novel by Elizabeth Berg

Now I just have to pace the holds so that I can get them read before they are due, I'm starting with just two of the ones that are available now so they are not sitting here waiting until I have time to read them. I love our library!!!!

2008-10-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

2008-10-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

2008-10-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

2008-10-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Some photos of our hike to the creek with Jake today. The buddha under the tree is surrounded by fall colors. He's been there for about 3 years now and hasn't been disturbed, except for some dust that has fallen about his shoulders.

2008-10-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

2008-09-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

DAWSON BUTTE HIKE

Vanessa asked us if we wanted to go on a hike with them. The Douglas Land Conservancy was having a barbecue lunch and hike for donors. The open space area is about to open at Dawson Butte, and the trail will be five miles around the butte. We were allowed to hike to the top of the butte, which will not be open to the public. It was a steep hike, but fun and good exercise.

A helicopter was buzzing around for awhile. The leader of the hike told Vanessa and me that one of the open space members had been hiking at the top of the butte one day and found a helicopter parked on top and the pilot and his girlfriend were in a compromising position on a blanket. When the member asked if they had permission to be there, they muttered about Douglas County giving them permission, which was pretty vague and not so true. Egads, what a difficult and embarrassing situation.

What surprised us is that the barbecue was catered by my boss's company so I saw him there and he was surprised to see me there. But, I got to be on the receiving end of his catering once again, the other time was when I officiated at the wedding in January (you can see photos of those posts if you click on January 2008).

I really like hiking alone or with a small number of people. This one had at least 20, maybe more, people. And the herdlike mentality kicks in with everyone hiking at top speed to show they can keep up, and people tumbling over each other to get ahead. Not really an enjoyable scenario for me, but it was an opportunity to hike somewhere where I normally wouldn't be allowed, so I took advantage of the situation and kept my opinions to myself.

2008-09-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

2008-09-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

2008-08-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of the flowers in the yard and Emma in her Elf hat from the North Pole showing off her first eggplant grown in the turtle sandbox-way to go!

2008-08-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

If you click on the photo you have a better look at the raspberry and the bug/bee(?)

2008-08-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

Late Summer Mushrooms:

Dave and I worked on replacing screens. It was fun and could be done in the shade inside the house. Yesterday we went to the library. I got some good things. Today I listened through the 2006 Phil Lesh and Friends cds. Things seemed a bit rough in the beginning of the live performance at the Warfield in San Francisco, but they were much tighter and in sync with each other by the second cd. I like hearing Joan Osborn with them.

We were good doggy parents and took Jake for an extended walk. He got to sit in the creek at least five times. We tried discouraging him from heading straight down steep, rocky embankments, but all he cared about was getting wet and getting cool.

2008-08-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some more of the shots inside the rocks that form the ice cave. In the really dark area where there was a little water fall, we didn't have our flashlight with us, and I was precariously poised on a rock trying to take pictures. The ones in that area are blurred. The ones in the lighter area don't quite give the feeling of being in the rooms formed by the rocks, but at least they aren't all blurry. Next time before we climb in (the photo of Dave climbing out in the previous photos below looks like he's emerging from a birth canal) we'll remember to take the flashlight, not leave it with our picnic stuff outside the rocks.

The photos above of Dave with the flashlight in a lower room (we went back and got the flashlight) show the difference without and with the camera flash on the camera--which I should have turned on while poised on the rock in the dark).

2008-08-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures to show the scope and vastness of the rocks within which the ice cave was hidden, also a picture of my hiking companions. Thanks John for taking us on roads upon which our car would not have been able to make it. It's remarkable to know that such a pretty place is so close to our house, thank you for sharing it.

2008-08-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

We went hiking to an ice cave with John. Since it's the end of August, there wasn't any ice in the cave, but there was a waterfall and we found two separate rooms in the rocks, also it was so cold inside,even though it was in the 80's-90's, you could see your breath inside.

2008-07-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

2008-07-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

Nice 4th

We have established a tradition of playing miniature golf in Colorado Springs and then going to our favorite barbecue spot, then going home and waiting until it's almost dark and Dave and the kids scurrying off with treats to watch the Sedalia fireworks.

Our favorite barbecue spot which used to be Red, Hot and Blues, has changed. The food started tasting dried out and like it had been warmed over from the night before. A friend suggested going to Famous Dave's. Then another friend upon being told that we were thinking about going there said how good the barbecue was and to order the family feast and that she has gone to a Famous Dave's in her hometown of Kalispell, Montana.

I love little coincidences*, so we went to Famous Dave's and ordered the feast for four. It was so moist, so succulent, even if it was served on a garbage can lid, we ate and ate, and brought home a big bag of leftovers for us to serve to ourselves rather than being served them from a restaurant that wasn't as good as it used to be.

As usual, I stayed home from the fireworks and used the time to have fun alone doing laundry and watering the garden. I know it sounds lame, but it's a real treat to be alone and be able to do whatever I want.

I enjoyed our 4th, which also included a nap after eating that large meal.

**Also in the morning I was working on a crossword puzzle from our local Tidbits newspaper and it inferred that Cousin It from the Addams Family was spelled Itt, which I never knew, and just then Dave, who was reading the latest issue of the New Yorker, confirmed from an article that Cousin It is indeed spelled correctly as Cousin Itt. That's a darn helpful coincidence, just when I needed it.

2008-07-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

COURTYARD GROWTH

2008-05-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

NEW JOB

I've been busy this month training for a new job. I'm working in a coffee shop/deli at the Justice Center in Castle Rock. Training has been five days a week for three weeks, but now that I'm learning the ropes, I'll just be working 3 days a week.

I'm learning to be a barrista (hey isn't that similar to barrister?), making cappuccinos, lattes and smoothies. The manager used to have a deli in Castle Rock and our sandwiches, which are made fresh on demand, are bursting in size and very tasty. We have enough fixings that vegans can be happy with the veggies that are available. Plus Shelley, the manager, just whips up great apple pies and banana bread for extra treats when the mood strikes and the fruit is available. The blueberry scones smell so good when they are baking. Right now the staff is comprised of four women, with an occasional fill in from the boss's catering company, and it feels like the Whistle Stop Cafe from Fried Green Tomatoes, only we don't have the barbecue and giant cauldron bubbling in back of the restaurant getting rid of dead bodies.

The job requires being on my feet for 6 hours at a stretch, and my muscles are needing a lot of stretching to keep the aches away. But I figure that will help bone density issues that may arise with aging. And I've already lost 5 pounds. Plus, I get to take home some of the food that is left over but cannot be served at work any longer. My family is enjoying that aspect.

Yesterday one neighbor who disappeared after getting divorced showed up in the cafe to tell me when my security clearance badge would be delivered. He's working right down the hall now. It was good to see him and catch up.

I didn't realize there is a morgue in the courthouse and the jail has its own little medical center to keep the prisoners healthy. Because of the jail we have to lock our knives in a drawer and count them morning and at the end of the day to make sure they are all there.

Our cafe is supposed to be a respite from the pressures of the jobs that are performed within the walls of the Justice Center. So even judges are treated on a first name basis when they come in, so I don't have to use the "Your Honor" that was required in the courtroom.

One other very, very nice aspect is that I can wear jeans, tennis shoes, and a polo shirt provided by the catering company that runs the cafe. No shopping for fancy clothes and no PANTYHOSE.

2008-05-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MAY DAY!!!!

Here is our 1/2 inch of total snow accumulation that was predicted. This is after 2 hours of snow, and it's continuing, but now not quite so thickly. There are tulips coming up in the garden in front of the fence. There is also a buddha head totally obscured by snow in the photo. Good thing I sent my 9 year old off to school with her winter coat. We are ready for spring!!!!

2008-04-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

2008-04-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

I left my camera out on a shelf near a high traffic area in the house. When I decided I should post (because it's been almost a month), I thought I'd download the pictures on the camera to see what has happened for the last 30 days. Besides the few photos I took there were now a bunch of movies on the camera.

Emma had grabbed it first and taken movies of the cats, her room and one of her singing while showing the room. I'll have to see if I can put that one on this site.

Dave had mistakenly taken two movies of a model he built, thinking he was just taking photos, not knowing that Emma had switched the camera on to movie mode and never changed it back.

From the photos you will see that we got to light the candles on Dave's cake.

I took a picture of the beautiful little iris type flowers that came up from bulbs, even though snow is covering them now, they are still here. I placed my ring next to the flowers to show the scale. They are tiny.

The mandala is a jigsaw puzzle that I bought for $5.00 at the art museum. It really was fun to put together. It took a couple of days and I got to study the details in the mandala, like the different modes of life it conveyed. This was the first round jigsaw puzzle I have done.

2008-03-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the front and back of the Edward Scissorhands Castle Cake I made for David's birthday. When the frosting started ripping up the layers of cake I had cut, I had to reinforce with icecream cone parts. It wasn't pretty, but it should look pretty good when the candles are lit.

2008-03-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

2008-03-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

2008-03-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

The dragon head is said to be made of hospital trays, cut and hammered of course. Jim Bishop, Castle Builder, comes from a family of ornamental ironworkers (I think that is the proper title), and it really gives the castle an extra dimension. The castle reminds me of some of Gaudi's work, unbridled creativity, industry and attention to detail.

Ana climbed all the way to the domed top, she called it the Epcot dome, it reminds me of those things that motorcycles circumnambulate inside at top speeds. One of the tibits of information I found on the internet said something about being able to run in it to make it spin, I'll have to ask Ana how stablized it was.

Ana said the young couple that were up there when she was were using some bad words, like the girl was saying "I'm going to piss my pants!!!!"

Emma hit the ground while on one stairway when she looked down and saw all the winding steps. She just shorted out and fell to her knees and hands. Climbing around the castle isn't something for the faint-hearted, as far as heights go. The bridge between the two towers looked totally scary to me, even with its hand rail. It probably didn't help that there was a strong, cold wind blowing at us as we climbed.

2008-03-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

2008-03-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

BISHOP CASTLE

During spring break we visited Bishop Castle in the San Isabel National Forest. It's been built entirely by one man, about my age, who bought 2 1/2 acres when he was 15, started making a home from stone, and after being told it looked like a castle continued on and on and on. It's an amazing feat of building and was really interesting to climb through. It's open to the public with no charge. There is a highly volatile interview with Jim Bishop on You Tube which kind of made me glad he wasn't there working while we visited, but hey all artists are a bit mad, it seems that madness spurs them to create be it by writing, painting, composing or building.

2008-02-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Snow walk

2008-02-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

We watched Edward Scissorhands the other day. Ana loved it and has asked for it for her birthday. She found this photo on her Stephenie Meyer fan fiction site.

Last night it was the Simpson's Movie, the girls have the spider pig song down pat.

Ana likes the scars on the pony's face.

2008-02-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

THEY ARE PULLING BEEF FROM OUR SCHOOL MENUS

I had received a forwarded email about the mistreatment of animals being used for school lunches. Anything to do with cruelty to animals rips me up, I can't even watch Animal Planet when they are rescuing animals in need, because it's too traumatic for me. But I always take forwarded emails with a grain of salt, like when I got one that said what a strong Muslim Obama was, but our school district web site had this posting this morning when I checked to see if it was a snow delay day:

District pulls beef off school menu

Beef will not be served in Douglas County School District cafeterias until further notice. A California-based beef supplier to federal food and nutrition programs was recently suspended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to alleged mistreatment of animals. Hallmark Meat Packing, and distributor Westland Meat Company, supply beef to federal food and nutrition programs, including school lunches. The District has decided to pull beef from the school menus as a precautionary measure.

“For the protection of our students, we are taking beef off the menu until the hold is over,” says Brent Craig, Director of Nutrition Services. “Alternative meals will take its place.”

Several school districts in Colorado as well as numerous districts across the west are taking similar measures.

I'm glad they are doing something about it. Also our school district always has a non meat entree for the kids who don't eat meat. The world is evolving.

2008-01-31T13:24:00.001-08:00

Last Friday I officiated at the wedding of a cook and waitress I used to work with at Pegasus in Castle Rock. It was a good time. They held it in the old log cabin that used to be the Northwoods Inn. I wrote about it in June, 2006, A picture of the gardens at the site is at the top of the page. Anyway, it turned out to be a great place for a wedding.

I wore a black suit, and felt a bit like Ellen Degeneres because all the other ladies were dressed in dresses, but boy was it comfortable, especially with flat shoes.

The final shot is of two little guys, the bride's nephews. They were so cute and were getting pretty antsy before the wedding, so I asked them to help me take pictures and they got to be in one. They are in front of one of the two fireplaces there.

It was a lot of fun to see my old work friends, including my boss who I had double flipped off when I quit. We're friends now too. Some of the teenagers have changed so much in 3 years that I didn't recognize them. But they remembered me. There were a lot of hugs and smiles.

2008-01-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

My husband lived in a desegregated area of Denver when I met him. It was a mix of large, really nice houses along 17th avenue, with a garden/park/grassed median between the two sides of the roads in front of the mansions. On the feeder streets perpendicular to 17th Avenue there were big houses to the north and smaller houses to the south.

I was pretty young and then away in isolated college/self absorption non tv pre-adulthood when all the desegregation movement grew in Denver. I remember the mandatory busing of the schools. My niece who was 12 years younger than I was bused to a black area in the inner city.

The house Dave and I lived in before and after we got married was on the south, smaller house side. Since he's an architect, he really was entranced with the house because it was made of stone blocks, finished on the front street side and roughly cut on the sides. The roughly cut sides were really neat. We found a secret Mason rite and ritual book and some Confederate money in the basement. It made sense that a mason had built the house, affording what he could, which was not a big house.

Anyway, the neighborhood had all kinds of races and it was a good experience to become familiar with other cultures. We had a wild druggy guy's mother next to us, and he lived kitty corner a few blocks away. His face had that wasted look, like when you're losing your teeth. His sons got into drugs, shooting off guns, breaking into cars, and stealing bikes from the nice gay couple across the street, who had the audacity to leave their garage door open. They were Caucasian and a real pain in the butt.

The mom, who was pretty trim and tidy, and did a lot of gardening and lawn mowing, rented to a black mom and her son who lived in the duplex in front of the druggy's mother half of the house.. They were very unobtrusive, sometimes you could hear the junior high son practicing rap lyrics. He also called Dave, Mr. Dave.

On the other side was a bustling black family, a sister and her siblings, all in their early twenties. They were working and coming and going at all times. They were normally pretty quiet except when friends would come over and everyone started talking really loud, and in that singsong voice Oprah uses when she's with a brother or sister. Then their friends would honk their car goodbye at 3:00 in the morning, and they did leave the tv on pretty loud all through the night.

The one thing I noted that was different with this family is the hats the women wore to church, they were great, and they went with their outfits really nicely. I don't even know where you would buy hats like that. I guess I do remember some nice hat departments in stores when I was younger. But these were silky and shiny and just looked really cool.

There were all kinds of churches on 17th Avenue between the mansions and some smaller houses. Some referenced the desegregation like "Unity on the Avenue". Our friends got married in one that had brochures on reincarnation in the front hallway. But you could tell an effort was made to bring people together, and to respect different folks.

I'm glad the desegregation started. I do remember feeling guilty when we'd drive by the bus stop at busy Colfax and Colorado Boulevard, and see that most of the people waiting for a bus were black or Hispanic. I felt isolated and sheltered in my heated or air conditioned, glassed in car.

I think society has to evolve to the point where everyone, as Immanuel Kant said, treats each other as an end in themself, not a means to an end. It's the golden rule, treat others as you would chose to be treated. Don't use, exploit or feel superior to anyone else. And remember, we all have our struggles in life, respect that that may be why your neighbor isn't thinking straight at times, and try to exhibit patience and compassion.

I first posted this on my Vox site and got a reply about the hats, here's a quote from James Baldwin:

"Our crowns have already been bought and paid for. All we have to do is wear them."
-James Baldwin

2008-01-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

2008-01-17T05:58:00.001-08:00

HEY MARY THIS BLOG'S FOR YOU!

Thanks for the gifts. The lap comforter is great. It's been so cold here that I've been using it while reading in front of the full spectrum lamp Dave got for me to keep away the winter doldrums andin doing craft projects.

We'll have to send you some of our pressed flower works that we've been doing with some of the flowers Lucy, our neighbor, has given us. She's started giving away her things, anticipating that she won't be here that much longer, but at 96, she's still doing so well. Every day she does two or three different types of exercises. But the weather is keeping her from hiking. She really enjoys coming to a weekly coffee/tea I've started having for the neighbors who are home during the day. Her son drives her here and we usually have a lot of things to talk about.

The girls clothes fit. Emma is thinking she's too cool to wear pink now, but who knows how soon that will change. We love the Frango mints, the first time we opened them we noticed that 11 or 12 were gone already. Emma was going to allot them to her friends. We stopped that by putting a note in the box warning her that Santa is watching. But she's figured out Dave is Santa because he was commenting Christmas morning about how the big candy cane wouldn't fit in the stocking. Busted.

A few years ago she commented on how the tooth fairy has a bald head. Busted.

The pj's I got you are for slinking around in your urban condo, once it gets finished. When they were just starting to develop the LODO area around here, we visited some friends near the train station and they called themselves urban homesteaders. That was over 20 years ago, and now Coors Field has really set the tone of the area.

Hope all the kids are doing well, Dave mentioned a skit that Jess and Adrianne were in in Chicago. Hope it went well.

You are probably back to the grind of teaching school. Although with your personality it's probably not so much a grind for your students, and I already know that their personalities brighten your day. Take care, and keep warm. Betsy.

2008-01-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

2008-01-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

I'm listening to KUNC.org, they're playing Terrence Blanchard's A Tale of God's Will, a Requiem for Katrina. Our library had a copy. It's really good. Plus there is a track called Ghost of Betsy. It won the station's best jazz cd for the year, if you like jazz I think you would enjoy a listen.

2008-01-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

Good Music Day

Yesterday was a great day at the library again. Ana wanted a Ben Folds cd for getting straight A's on her report card. There wasn't one to choose from from the local stores, so I looked at the library and found the Songs for Silverman cd with a dvd and booklet. She's been enjoying listening.

I had reserved the Amy Winehouse, Back to Black cd, so I picked it up, and while looking for Ben Folds I found an enjoyable Between the Covers cd, with a lot of favorites, including David Bowie and Mick Jagger singing Dancing in the Streets together. It's an album compiled to raise money for cancer,leukemia and AIDS research. The songs are great, as are the artists.

Also found a best of The Replacements. I didn't think it was fair to judge them by the only song I had heard, The Best Day Ever, which was included on the Sponge Bob Square Pants movie soundtrack. I've picked out my favorite songs, which tend to be in their later albums. Paul Westerberg does have a great singing voice.

I've been following bloggers on Vox and after seeing the Egypt photos from Miss Scotch and Pants Party's trip, I had to comment, and to do so, had to join. So now I can be a multiple blogger.

2008-01-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

New Stove!

The old one had uneven burners, the oven knob had broken so you had to guess what the temperature was and then back it up with a thermometer inside, and one knob on the stove top had broken off as well, not just snapped off but snapped apart so super glue wouldn't hold it together to snap it back on.

It's ironic that the stove we replaced was bought a day before Thanksgiving in 1989, when the old stove at Dave's house broke. The 1989 stove did last 18 years. We tried to see if we could replace the heating coil in it this time, but it was configured so you couldn't just pull the coil out and replace it. Our new one allows you to unscrew the bracket holding the coil in, so in the future we may be more lucky. We waited until after Christmas to buy it and you may have read about our grilling fiasco of the Christmas roast.

The old stove was almond, the one before at this house I got as a cast off from the mother of a secretary down the hall, and it was avocado green. Now our choices were black, white or stainless steel. Almond was not available, neither was avocado nor harvest gold.

We felt bad that we were just buying a new one rather than trying to save the old one, but Dave felt reassured that besides the oven no longer working,it was time to get a new one when the light wouldn't work anymore when the burners were on. When you have a third grader cooking on the stove top, you want her to know that the burner is still on and she should turn it off. Our third grader loves to fry herself egg whites, a habit she started in second grade.

So we bit the bullet and went for another new one. Dave is excited because there is a window to the oven and you can view inside with the oven light, without having to open the door and changing the temperature.

This one even has a way of turning the whole thing off for Sabbath, which we don't do, but it is amazing all the things it can do, like start a frozen casserole in the middle of the afternoon, even if you aren't there, bake it to specification and then turn itself down to keep it warm for an hour. And the cooktop surface is flat, so the pans heat more evenly, which will hopefully save a little bit of energy.

There was too much snow for the delivery guys to get the big 40 foot box truck up the winding drive, so they brought the old one down and took the new one up on a dolly. The drivers were so nice that Dave gave them an extra $20.00 for their efforts. I did have a neighbor ready to bring his pickup truck to help us, if need be, which meant I had to call him at 6:40 am (the drivers called at 6:25 to say they were on the way). When they didn't come for half an hour past when they said they'd come, I drove up the hill and found them and had them follow me down into the valley and showed them where the turn around was. They were cheerful and polite. Our dog kissed them on the cheek as they were strapping the stove on the dolly.

May it last many years.

2007-12-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

The buddha I put under the roots of a fallen juniper has stayed dry despite all the surrounding snow.

There is only one open spot on the creek where our road crosses it. It's next to a mushroomy snow bubble, which I think is a rock. Everything else is covered in ice.

2007-12-30T08:07:00.000-08:00

2007-12-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

AFTER THE SECOND STORM

We had one day of no snow after Christmas, then it snowed again all day on Thursday. I took these photos yesterday, from inside where it was warm, so they'll look a little blurry from shooting through windows.

Everything looked kind of marshmallowy and mushroomy with the fluffy white snow piled on top of things outside. There's a shot way up on the hill across from us of the rock formation that looks like a sage or monk. He's covered in snowflakes.

Also there's a shot of our cat seeing the birds coming for seed on our porch and wishing he could be out there, but knowing it's so cold he shakes his paws at the front door and turns around deciding not to go out.

When I drove yesterday to pick up Emma's friend Daniel for a play date the snow at the top of the road that takes us out of the valley and down to the plains had snow on the sides of the road as high at the drive up mail boxes.

The road snow plower does a great job, Dave stopped him on Christmas morning when he plowed around six a.m. and gave him a bag of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies he and Emma had baked the day before. Rumor had it when I lived in Evergreen that you were supposed to leave a bottle of whiskey for the snow plower on your fence post, but these days we don't want them to get a DUI while driving.

2007-12-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Bells are Freezing

We've had so much snow that we had to cancel Christmas dinner with my cousin and his family. I was afraid they would get in an accident on the way here. It was really slippery.

In addition to that we didn't have phone service all day Christmas. Luckily our friend and neighbor Bruce called my cousin for us and then emailed us back to let us know when they were contacted on the road. They had been approaching Monument Hill and had decided to turn around and go back to the Springs.

Two days before Christmas I had cleaned the oven and in the process burnt out the heating coil by wrapping aluminum foil over it to keep the oven cleaner off. Yikes, with no oven our Christmas roast and quiches and rolls for a neighborly brunch were unattainable.

Dave and Emma went to Bruce's on Christmas eve and baked cookies. On Christmas morning Bruce baked our cinnamon rolls but declined coming because of the weather. I picked up another new neighbor, Young, a woman from Korea and brought her to our house, got the rolls Bruce had heated up and became very aware of how slick it was. Diane next door, John down the road and Jimmy up the road made it for brunch on their own volition.

So now my cousin and his family will hopefully be able to make it here Sunday. It's snowed all day again today and is supposed to snow through the night. But tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be nice.

We've already eaten the grilled roast, which almost caused our porch to burn down because the water under the roast dried up and then flames started incinerating the roast. So when Dave tried to move the roast it fell into the coals and the flames were leaping to the top of the porch. Luckily we got it under control.So we're going for Indian or Italian food for the replacement Christmas dinner because we can cook them on the stove top without the oven.

It's nice to have our phone service back, one day we will have an oven again. It will be self cleaning and I will refrain from using the harsh chemicals in the oven.

Whew, what a day.

2007-12-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

2007-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

2007-12-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

DAN FONG

Back in 1973, I dropped out of university and started working in Denver in a hip and happening pizza place. I met a man who was a cook and delivery driver there. I thought he was the most beautiful man in the world and he liked me as much as I liked him, which was a lot, it was wonderful. Our boss, who was 8 years my senior and had gone to high school with my sister, had also gone to high school with or hung out in high school with Dan Fong, who was catering concerts when I met him. He would come to the restaurant some times and hang out in the kitchen with us.

He asked our boss, Jay, to help him cater and provide him additional catering staff for I think it was a series of 3 Grateful Dead concerts at the Coliseum. It was so great to be backstage. I also helped on Bob Dylan and The Band. I had missed Crosby Stills and Nash because my boyfriend was not invited to that one. I could have kicked myself, because on of my favorite performers was (and is) Joni Mitchell and she showed up with them unexpectedly. Barry Fey did show up at the restaurant when Dan Fong cooked us a special meal at a private party for everyone who had helped at the Grateful Dead concerts.

Dan is also an excellent photographer. He moved from catering to being stage/(road?) manager for the Doobie Brothers. I was visiting his website: thecreativeye.net and was so glad that someone had written about the beginning of the scene going on at that time.

I was still in high school and my first semester of college in 1972, so I wasn't working at Bilotti's when the below described party happened. I did listen to KFML in highschool. And I was at the Rolling Stones concert in 1972, in the audience. It was the next year when all the fun began for me. I was living on my own for the first time outside of a dorm room, then with my boyfriend, we shared a house with the band he played with (local not famous, but smart and funny.)

So, I enjoyed reading this so much, I'm copying what is written, please know this is copyrighted material as marked (not mine), I'd encourage you to go to the site and look at his photographs (the section that I am excerpting is from the Artist Scoop section):

The Creativeye

home | statement | galleries index | image index | Artist Scoop | contact

WHAT I COULD TELL YOU ABOUT DAN FONG

BY James Pagliasotti
Copyright 2005

There are a lot of stories I could tell you about Dan Fong. In fact, he would pay me good money not to tell you some of them.

But I will tell you this: if you care about the time when rock & roll came of age, those days of Jimi and Janis and the Who and the Stones, then I can assure you Dan was there, camera in hand and sharp eyes focused.

I know because I was there, too. Dan and I grew up together in Denver in the 50s, 60s and 70s. We were there when Top 40 radio gave way to free-form, when singles gave way to albums, when wholesome and carefully coiffed performers gave way to all those long haired freaks with guitars.

We were there when Chet Helms brought the Family Dog to town and settled in on West Mississippi; when Barry Fey began producing shows at the Denver Coliseum; when Stuart Green's Mammoth Gardens erupted in music uptown and Chuck Morris was booking Tulagi in Boulder. We heard it, we saw it, and we spent a lot of time with the people who made it happen. And, unlike many of the rest of us who were too stoned to function at the time, Dan got it all on film.

Most of his photos have never been seen before. Dan in those days was too busy to do anything but shoot them and store them away. Now he has this treasure trove to look through, and he's finally making them available to the rest of us.

As I pour over these galleries, the memories come back like a tsunami. They will for you too if you were there, or if you only imagined you were, or even if you just wanted to be. These photographs capture memories, but they can make them, too.

It was a time unlike any other and there were indeed a lot of scenes to capture, and stories to be told. Let me tell you just one of them.

When the Stones toured in the summer of 1972, Barry Fey was promoting some of their shows. He'd started out in the business a few years before by putting on a concert of the Byrds at a D.U. fraternity party and thereafter kept getting bigger, both in personal girth and the size of his shows. After the Denver Pop Festival in 1969, he became very big indeed. And, now, success hanging on him like slabs of fat on a roast, he wanted to have the Stones to dinner.

Dan Fong not only was a helluva photographer, he also was a serious chef. He'd grown up in a community of fine Chinese restaurants and this boy knew how to cook.

So Barry hired Dan to cook dinner for the Stones. He'd already done a number of backstage catering jobs at Fey's concerts, including both of the Stones' Denver shows, so it was a slam dunk. Mick wanted him so Barry wanted him and that's the way it was going to be. Barry then partnered up with all the freaks at KFML radio to give the evening some flavor, and before you knew it, it was becoming a rather auspicious event.

Keeping it a secret meant keeping it from the public. In the music business in Denver, everybody knew and everybody wanted to come, but not everybody could.

But then, that's what being a kingmaker is all about and Very Big Barry doled out the precious invitations as he saw fit. All we could do was to keep the location secret and somehow we did.

About the only way you could squeeze in a friend was to get them a job on the work crew that was going to help Dan Fong with the serving and cleaning. He'd already recruited his family and his friends at Bilotti's Pizza to help him prep and cook.

So, baby kingmakers that we were, we lined up the best looking girls that we knew to staff the party, figuring those were markers to be redeemed at a later time. I also got my friend Geitz Romo the job as bartender to the stars.

The party was held at Barry's home in Cherry Hills, which was one of those enormous Jewish modern ranch-style houses on an acre of land on Quincy just east of University. The back yard was scattered with dozens of waist-high, multi-colored paper mache mushrooms. Long low tables were set among them luau like and lanterns provided the light.

The piece de resistance was the Stones' newly minted lips and tongue logo in a sculpture some 5 feet tall, which was connected to a machine that was supposed to send clouds of bubbles out of the mouth. Unfortunately, the machine malfunctioned and all night long, this gelatinous goo kept pouring out of it, looking like nothing so much as puke.

So, the court gathered in advance of the stars. There was Barry, of course, and Cyndy, his wife at the time. Tall, blond, ice-blue-eyed Jerry Kennedy, the head of Denver's Vice Squad and Barry's security crew, was there in his captain's uniform, keeping tabs, one supposes.

There was Max Floyd of KMYR and Joe McGoey of KFML and assorted other business types that Barry wanted around. And there was Sandy Phelps and Thom Trunnell, Bill Ashford and Judy Roderick, Buffalo Chip and Reno Nevada and Brian the Super Warthog, David Shepardson and Ronnie Katz, Herb Neu and all the rest of the KFML gang, and Marcello Cabus, and me and the girls, and a host of other pseudo-celebrities.

And, behind a wall of grills and ovens, towering flames and truly huge mounds of food, was Dan Fong and his family, cooking their hearts out, while all of us awaited the Rolling Stones.

That night in those long ago times when things took place that today are actually hard to imagine, let alone to believe, Dan Fong cooked and served a 14 course sit down dinner for 100 people. And it was awesome! There was a little of this and a lot of that and oysters and duck and a roast pig the size of a small Mercedes cooked over an open pit. There were intoxicants of every sort, beer and wine, tequila and whiskey, and all sorts of other stuff, too; and there was that most ethereal of drugs: the bending of elbows with real celebrities, the once and future royalty of rock & roll.

You can bet Dan had his trusty camera handy. And somehow, in the midst of the flames and the grease and the chemistry of fine cuisine, he got some incredible shots, as he always did.

The Stones and their entourage arrived fashionably late, but well ahead of dinner. Mick was dressed in a baby blue jacket with feathers that trimmed the collar, the cuffs and the hem, which was cut off at the bottom of his ribs. It covered a sparkling silver shirt of some sort that also bared his midriff. His pants were dark blue tights and his shoes were satin slippers. His eyes were made up with sparkles and mascara. He seemed to be perfectly comfortable.

Keith was a bit out of it in those days and moved through the crowd somnambulistically, supported by two very tall Nordic women who drugged him and dragged him from place to place. Also very tall Mick Taylor was a friendly pile of blond curls, smiling and chatting and as nice as could be. Bill Wyman was sharp-faced, dark and intense, and good ol' Charlie Watts was just a regular guy.

I was sitting with him on a couch near the window, talking about jazz, and Mick was posing nearby, when Geitz the bartender yelled at me in a very loud voice: "Hey Smooth Dog! Tell that little faggot in the ballerina costume his drink is ready." Mick barely seemed to notice and smiled at me vaguely when I handed him the glass. Charlie laughed so hard that he fell on the floor.

It was one of those nights that kept unfolding like waves in the ocean, one image lapping in after another. We sat on the lawn at the long luscious tables of food and drink, with the lanterns bouncing light off faces that you knew and faces you only had imagined or seen at a distance or maybe on film. The mushrooms seemed to sway in the glow and the puke kept gurgling from the mouth of the Rolling Stones logo. Beautiful women served platters of indescribably delicious food and looked into your eyes for just a moment as though you were all they ever had dreamed of, and just as quickly they were gone in pursuit of any excuse to get close to Mick.

People that you worked for were passing out in the aisles and others that you barely paid attention to were waxing eloquent. Everybody it seemed got turned around completely and then had to reconfigure their bearings. And everybody went home happy.

Everybody, that is, except Dan. All of us first nighters and all of the staff, those beautiful girls and sharp tongued bartenders, everyone it seemed had wandered off into the night. And Dan Fong was left with a pile of pans and dishes and debris and detritus that defied the imagination of the average man among us. And having no other choice, he spent the night with all the crap and all of his equipment. And the next day, he and a couple of his cousins cleaned it all up, packed it away and took it home.

There among the equipment and the trash was his camera and his bag of lenses and film, and a couple of hundred shots he had taken that night that someday he would develop. The day that followed blended into the next and the next thereafter, and Dan Fong kept shooting pictures of the megastars and the lesser lights and some of the rest of us who peopled the portrait of rock & roll.

It was our story, and it was a helluva story, and all we needed was someone to record it. A good photographer is hard to find and so is Dan Fong. But, lucky you, you've found him.

2007-11-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor is a florist and as I was shaking out the Swiffer duster on Thanksgiving morning, I saw him in our driveway bringing the lovely flower arrangement to us. What a nice treat.

We went to my cousin's house for dinner. My aunt who just had a stroke a couple of weeks ago, is looking good, she had no paralysis or speech problems, just a little mind scrambling, but hey we all have that.

When we got there my cousin's daughters were playing online Scrabble, so that's what everyone was looking at above. My cousin Buff and his wife have never had a computer. His brother Mike, in the Hawaiian shirt, is a techie so he gave him an old laptop, so now he can start getting computer literate. Right now he's getting familiar with solitaire and free cell (and online Scrabble).

My cousin's two girls have turned into beautiful young ladies. Kacy is a junior at Colorado School of Mines, she is so smart! And Becky is at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, she's acing her tests. Mike, my cousin, married Marylee this summer and they have a really nice house in the Springs. My other cousin, Buff, I mean Paul, is here from Arizona to help with my aunt's stroke and my uncle being hospitalized. It was nice to have Buff with us, but Uncle Paul felt so ill, he didn't even want us to visit him yesterday at the nursing home he's in recuperating.

I had to get a shot of Dave too, so there's one of him and Marylee resting before dinner.

Emma was worried about being bored, so I suggested taking a craft project. She decided on pipe cleaners,pom poms, golden bells and glue. After the projects were created, a raucous and very long trading game continued with each crafter choosing projects another crafter made to keep, but then having everything switch with another round of trading, a take on the Yankee Trader gift giving our Chinese group did last year. (http://www.amazing-christmas-ideas.com/chinese-christmas-gift-exchange.html)

2007-11-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

2007-11-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

We had some band fundraising goodies to deliver to Chris and Joey on Saturday. We also got to go out to brunch with them. I had tamales and eggs. The picture shows their two dogs which they have gotten since we were last at their house. They're French bulldogs, Floyd and Solaris.

We walked through the streets that used to be Elitch Gardens, well the Trocadero is still there. When we came upon an alley garage sale Ana was really excited and you could tell Joey was too. Ana bought a framed poster of a Nothern Wolf and Joey bought Ana the wire chicken shown above in Ana's room.

My Aunt Bev gave me the fruit bowl yesterday. It's pretty.

2007-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

2007-11-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

2007-11-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

2007-11-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

2007-11-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

2007-11-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm taking care of many, many llamas (over 20), some birds, rabbits, cats and a dog.

While driving home from the morning feedings and waterings we noticed that someone on the winding road at the top of the hill above our house had placed their carved pumpkins on stumps away from all the houses. It looked really neat, so when we go back to let the dog in for the night we're going to take our two and find a nice spot for them.

I'm sure the animals will appreciate the big fall vegetable (berry?) treat, there still is bear poop around, so they haven't settled down to hibernate yet, they eat anything available it seems. Also the deer, mice, raccoons and skunks, and maybe the foxes (they like sunflower seeds) will probably enjoy them, and let's not forget all the bugs, slugs, and digesting microbes.

2007-10-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

A hidey-hole, a wood burl that looks like a throbbing heart, an old cabin

2007-10-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Macros taken while Dave talked to the builder

2007-10-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

The girls are on fall break this week. Monday we went bowling with Vanessa, Ember and Ember's granny. Tuesday we went to Winter Park so Dave could check the construction of a house he designed. For all you skiers, snow is definitely piling up on the high mountains. There's a shot of Berthoud pass (I remember skiing there when I was young, but the lift no longer works). Also a shot of a structure near the house being built and the wonderful view of it and the pond in front of it, and the third shot shows the Winter Park ski area, that hasn't opened yet, but is receiving a fair amount of snow.

2007-10-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

My penpal from Australia, we've been writing for 40 years or more, sent me this. Driving a small stationwagon has its disadvantages, like seeing over the vehicles parked next to you to pull out without being creamed. But I get great gas mileage, and can turn in a pretty small radius. Having a standard transmission also saves gas, but it eliminates cell phone talking while driving, since I have to shift a lot, but actually, I'm glad I have to pull over to talk, because then I'm less likely to cream someone. I do have an earpiece for my phone, but I don't hook it up each time I drive, as I do not always have my cell phone on. Only when the girls are in school and I'm out and about, do I turn it on, in case they have an emergency. So anyway, whenever I see folks driving while on the cell phone, I secretly think they are wussies driving automatics, I mean get real, and get the feel of your driving!!!!...and save gas, you get even better mileage than the listings for vehicles, yay!!!!

2007-10-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

It's like a hamster production of Cyrano de Bergerac.

2007-10-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

If you want to spell your name with photos from Flickr then you can at this site:

http://metaatem.net/words/

It's fun.

2007-10-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

2007-10-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

While walking up the driveway to the house I saw this beautiful praying mantis. It just kept watching me and coming up to me and letting me film it and take its picture. It was lovely and very graceful, with a bit of a shakey wobble.

2007-10-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

2007-10-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

2007-10-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Glenwood: People, piercing

It was a weekend away with moms only. All of us adopted together in 1995 and we've kept up with each other. We went again to Glenwood Springs, the photo is from Juicy Lucy's for lunch. Three of us received massages at the Splendor Mountain Spa. On the next day after one of us went back to Hotchkiss, I had my nose pierced. It has a little diamond stud in it and is healing with salt water soakings. The Wendy's photo shows a little bit of the piercing.

2007-10-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

2007-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

2007-10-01T07:58:00.001-07:00

We went to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs again. This time Emma got to come along. There were a lot of technical climbers there. It's hard to photograph the climber while trying to catch the majesty of the rock--as to its size and scale. I'll upload a few in the next few days.

2007-09-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

The kids didn't have school on Friday so Vanessa and I took them, plus Grace, one of Emma's sister friends who was adopted the same time and from the same orphanage as Emma, to Lucy's for apple picking.

2007-09-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

2007-09-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here are Emma's completed clouds. I had painted wispier clouds in the same shapes, but when Ana came home from school she put on her painting clothes and just had to paint them a little more to fill them in and make them look right in her estimation, she also added a sun with our kitchen paint. The shelves were unpainted from Michael's and I painted them the trim color. I got both of them together for under $20.00.

I am so glad that there are now not only latex paints that can be dissloved with water, but before Labor Day I started working on the fence with a water solvent stain/sun protector (at this elevation you really need it). The fumes are negligible and it's really nice not having to use paint thinner to clean up and having those rags reeking in the Tuff shed ready to combust.

2007-09-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

2007-09-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

2007-09-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

2007-09-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

My aunt turned on the wrong burner and burned her teapot. Jake and I went hiking behind the Murphys. The fall colors are a delight.

2007-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

There are three rainbows in the middle picture, it's hard to see. Looks like I'm becoming an I Spy photographer. Maybe that will make up for my lack of skill otherwise.

2007-09-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

I'm going to paint some clouds this morning in Emma's room. She chose a light blue for her room and now she'd like some clouds so her room will look like it's up in the sky.

Ana chose fern green. We had it done by her first day of middle school, so it was a symbol of her new life, and getting up around 5:00 am. She's enjoying school.

I used an antique white in the kitchen, hallway and part of the bathroom. It covered the old white which was probably 15 years old. It looks nice, especially with white trim. The painting entailed a lot of exercise, so it was good for me.

I wanted to get it done before the windows have to be closed, the weather has been great and some of the leaves are really striking.

2007-09-15T15:59:00.001-07:00

There's a dog running up to a tree in the top one, and a passageway through rocks in the bottom.

2007-09-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

2007-09-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

Both my aunt and I shared a birthday this weekend, Sept. 9. We had them come over on Saturday for Cinncinnati chile and barbecue and first my cousin and his wife came to hike. We hiked at a nice Devil's Head viewing spot. Mike and Marylee are the top photo followed with my nuclear family members and an errant rock outcrop.

My car is a 1994 Subaru wagon and the cd player has worn out. So for my birthday I received an mp3 player, it's not an Ipod, but it has 4 gig of song storage. Then Dave picked out a fm transmitter that plays my mp3 songs on my car radio. It's great. I can even transmit songs from my mp3 player inside the house to my car radio outside in the yard or my old beater boom box when I want to garden outside and not get dirt or water on the mp3 player.

2007-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

2007-08-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Class, Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation

Because there is untrammeled land in our county, it has become desirable for people with money to build beautiful custom homes. Because it used to be so far from Denver, only the hardy or the ranchers or the hill dwellers lived here, but not too many of the monied. Now because of the home building we also have a lot of Hispanic construction workers and their families who work in the food service industry.

Our elementary school is in one of the oldest, rancher type sections. It has some of the nicest homes in the state, yet we also have the greatest percentage of elementary school subsidized breakfasts and lunches.

It's an interesting mix and it has taught me that kids are kids, to a point. At the early grades in elementary school the kids take others as they come and react without being aware of the influence of varying economic classes. It's only after play dates have been set up and a long drive to another house shows the stark contrast can that exist economically between our students.

Emma invited a friend over to play this weekend and we were amazed when we drove to pick him up and the size and quality of his home. We could probably fit five our house into that house. Emma was a little worried because her friend (even though she talked to him on the phone a good part of the evenings when they were in second grade) is a boy and she's a girl. She thought it might be weird, a boy going to a girl's house. She's gone to two other boys' houses for play dates from school, but that was last year. As they've gotten older though they have to act like they hate the opposite sex on the school bus. But Emma can play soccer really well. The boys will tell her to be on the other side for a playground game and when she scores a lot of points, she gets asked back to the first side.

Emma was very nervous during the play date and was pretty hyper. We got to show Clayton our creek and and they and Dave threw some rocks in. Hiking to and from the creek he got to collect a crab apple, a green apple, a pine cone and a bit of creek glass.

Emma's friend has a black dad and a white mom. Emma mentioned to me after the play date that it's weird for a black person to marry a white one. We asked her why? We assured her that it is not weird. Earlier in the week she asked if she would grow up to be a brown person. I said yes, if you look at the actual color of skin, we all are brown, I'm a lighter one. Just now above I wrote "black...white". Actually Emma's friend has a dark brown dad and a lighter brown mom.

I wonder where she gets the concept that different race marrying is weird. Because so many parents in kids' videos have same race couples? Because Mom and Dad are? We have Chinese daughters, they know that a family can be intermingled. Do they get the feeling that it's weird at school? I know we have some pretty redneck beliefs floating around our neighborhood and probably at our school, like when one family's grandpa comes to a school musical performance with a t-shirt demanding that the US borders be enforced from illegal immigration.

For a time some of the kids wouldn't play on the playground with Emma because she was a flat face. Racial slur or not?

I guess what I'm trying to get at, is that kids don't judge by economics or race or gender when they first encounter one another. But as their awareness increases, they notice differences. But is the judging of the differences a learned or inherent quality. I'm not with my kids 24/7 so I don't know if they get it from classmates or if it's from hard wiring.

We have close friends and family members who are gay. Ana has always enjoyed them and they are some of her favorite people. But once Ana hit 6th grade she thought gay couples marrying was gross. Well anything having to do with puberty was gross, any kissing on tv of any gender was gross. But what made her single out same sex couples as gross, just hearing other kids talk about it? Or her insecurities about maturing and dealing in a world that has sex, gender, economic and racial differences?

2007-08-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

These and the labyrinth below are from the Sanctuary, which is a building on a corner of land at the intersection of two rural roads near us. There used to be a one room schoolhouse there where the ranchers' children were taught. It became really dilapidated and people began to throw old tires around it. Eventually someone bought the land and came up with the idea to make a little spot of harmony there. There's the meditation room (pix above) and a really nice bathroom with herbal soap, a nice mirror and an automatic blow dryer. Also in the building is a little library with books you can check out.

Outside is the gazebo, and then throughout the park area is a path, a few little bridges, and meditation sites--like a Native American medicine wheel, the labyrinth, geometrical shapes, etc.

There are little nooks with benches for sitting and arbors. The altar at the center of the labyrinth has little treasures people have left. And people place pretty rocks, shells, crystals, windchimes and buddha figures in spots all over the area.

There's a sign by the sanctuary building that says, "Come in Peace, Leave in Peace"

Some money is donated from the Colorado Lottery and GOCO to pay for the materials and upkeep, there are donors and it seems that all the groundwork is done by local volunteers. It's really a nice place to stop at and take a little walk.

2007-08-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

2007-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

I officiated at a funeral/memorial service today. The sister of a close friend of mine died. They're Scottish and a bagpiper played. One woman sang a hymn acappella in the gospel style and it was truly beautiful. I feel so sorry for Rita's two daughters to have to lose their mom when she was only 51.

The service was at the Grant Humphreys Mansion.
http://www.coloradohistory.org/ghm/rentalsGrantHum.htm.

I used to live nearby so I have leaned on the balustrades on its grounds to read homework during law school. The service was on the large porch to the south, covered by a wooden pergola. My girls loved exploring the house. Emma found a stage in the basement in front of a ballroom. It had footlights and spots, she sang a song for me while people were gathering at the reception above. Ana loved the food, especially the Havarti dill cheese.

2007-08-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

There's a pull off down our road that leads to the two trees in the photos and the little bench that's been there for at least 24 years. Sometimes the road grader pulls over and takes a lunch stop there.

I've seen cigarette butts and alcohol bottles, even a sleeping pad under the trees. So it could be a trysting spot and an underage drinking spot.

One day I was walking with the girls and we heard music playing and saw a young man with his shirt off sunning there on the hood of his car. Later we saw that he must have locked himself out of his car, there was broken glass like he had to get inside with a rock. There were also the remains of a small fire, a small stuffed animal that had not been completely burned and a big, almost empty, glass bottle of hard liquor.

My imagination figured he must have been upset by a breakup, he went to the spot to get drunk and then in a purging burst of energy, burnt the small stuffed animal that was a gift from his former love.

We usually clean up the foreign detritus and our girls use the bench for their own ice cream stand from which they serve me imaginary cones and sundaes, whatever I order.

When I'm alone, I just use the bench to sit and think. I wonder how long it's been there. There's a wooden sign that was nailed on one tree that is way above human reach now, but the bench still remains at sitting height.

2007-08-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

MAY I STEP UP ON THE SOAPBOX?

This morning before getting out of bed (the skunk odor worked like an alarm clock) I read an article in the most recent Atlantic about Karl Rove (written before his resignation).

Like the mean girls I mentioned earlier, he's a perfect example in his approach to campaigning by creating and exacerbating division between parties in order to unite and strengthen his party. It works to win an election, but in the machinations of D.C. power brokering, he didn't take into account the alliances needed from both parties, and the respect and decorum to be afforded to members of congress and his opponents to make the big neoconservative and realignment changes he had theorized he could effect.

If 9/11 hadn't happened he'd be a lot worse off than he was in his grab for a power shift. That tragedy gave the administration an almost blank ticket to react with whatever means they could fathom, regardless of human rights.

Unfortunately, if we had had a stronger leader, Rove and Cheney wouldn't have had free reign to selfishly push through their agendas which have been so detrimental to our country and the world.

Personality helps in leadership, but when are we going to learn that experience, intelligence, and respect for others are more important?

2007-08-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

SCHOOL DAZE

Yesterday was the first day of school for both kids. Emma woke up at 4:44am. I guess she was excited. It was an opportune awakening because we got to see the night sky right before dawn and take in the meteor shower. Saw lots of shooting stars.

Ana catches her bus at 6:09 am, so that means she and Dave get up at 5:00, he drives her to the bus, then on to work. He said he can get a lot of work done early and then come home earlier. That should help during those cold, snowy evenings that are sure to come. Yesterday we were all up to see them off, and then got quite a bit accomplished at home before Emma caught the second school bus after 8:00.

Jake got skunked a little. It's mostly around his nose. He's so gentle and doesn't bark much, so he probably got pretty close before he got squirted. I think we still have a box of douche in the dog closet, so a douche with the hose should help a lot. (only on his fur, mind you, we use it like shampoo for skunking).

I took a picture of our bus stop, with Emma, her driver and his son.

2007-08-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

Canning/Jarring?

I learned how to can today. Actually, it should be called jarring. We put up tomatoes and peaches in jars. Diane, my neighbor below me on the road, bought them at the farmer's market by her parents' house and she and Sherry, a neighbor from above the valley, taught me all the steps.

They said it goes a lot faster with three. I liked the tools Diane had, a jar lifter, a stabber type thing that has a magnet on one end, so you can reach into boiling water to pull the lid out.

Diane has super strong finger tips that could grab a lid from the hot water and could handle the hot peaches and tomatoes pretty well. She reminded me of the cooks I've worked with who could grab hot plates out of the oven and flip them to the counter without a hot pad. YIKES.

It was hot but we worked in the guest house which has thick, concrete block walls, so it was refreshingly cool to walk inside. The steam from all the boiling water felt kind of purifying for the skin.

The time went pretty quickly, almost five hours, and we laid up a nice store for winter. I only took home one jar of peaches since I was learning, but now I can ask them to help me if I decide to do more for our pantry.

2007-08-10T06:06:00.001-07:00

Friday morning hike

2007-08-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

2007-08-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

2007-08-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

If you enlarge the flower photo you can see how well the camera did on the petals.

2007-08-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

SOME PRACTICE SHOTS TRYING OUT THE NEW CAMERA FUNCTIONS

2007-08-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

EARTH LABIA