Two reminders-October 31, 2014

Reminder #1: VOTE! If you have a mail-in ballot, send it in today. If you can turn a ballot in, go now and turn it in. If you vote in person, get up early next Tuesday and go to the polls. Yes, this is a mid-term election but it as important as any election we've had in recent history. You absolutely must vote. If you don't, I won't listen to you complain! For the record, our ballots were mailed early this week. We wish we were as fortunate as some people in Colorado who by major mistake will get to vote twice. They got a mail in ballot and were not marked on the list so they can go in person and vote again. We are still happy we got to vote once.

Reminder #2: Be sure to turn your clocks back tomorrow night before you go to bed.

Not much news-October 30, 2014

I am going to post yet another sunset picture. If you don't want to see another one, you may log off now! I just can't resist.

Contrails or chemtrails? There were 10 of them visible at once.

Stunning.

 

Wednesday we took Hannah to Petco, not to buy a pet, but to introduce her to live animals. They normally don't have cats and dogs there, but they had two cats (mew-mews). They were obviously siblings as they had the same identical white spot on the tip of their noses. It's a good thing we saw them last or Hannah would have missed all the other animals. We saw mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, parrots, parakeets, turtles, fish, snakes, lizards, frogs and one adorable black and yellow dart frog. She actually liked the rodents and the turtles the best. Jerry was looking at the snakes when I took Hannah to the turtle tank. She promptly yelled "Granddaddy come see the turtles!". The entire store heard her. But we didn't care. She ran and ran from one display to another. It was a challenge to keep up with her.

 

Then we had to stop at the grocery store for Clementines. She loves those little things. We were both holding her hand when an SUV started to back up. She stopped and said "Stop. That's dangerous". Ok, Hannah, how do you know about dangerous? Isn't that a big word for a 2 year old? Inside the store she decided to sing the ABC song. It was fine at first, but the more we walked the louder she got. I wonder how many check out clerks get serenaded? She definitely keeps us on our toes.

 

We will have her on Saturday. We don't know yet what we will do but we need to try to be outdoors since it might rain/snow on Sunday or Monday.

 

Have a Happy Halloween tomorrow. Be safe and behave yourself.

 

And don't forget to turn your clocks back before you go to bed on Saturday night. I wish they'd quit messing with my time. It irritates me and my internal clock.

A picture to share-October 27 2014

I could not resist sharing a picture with you of two of my favorite people in the whole world.

Hannah and Derrick.

I want you to know she picked out that outfit when we took her shopping one

day. She grabbed it and put it in the cart after exclaiming,

"Look, Grammy, a mew-mew shirt!"

 

For the record, nobody around here slept very well last night. The wind which normally does not bother us was horrific. We were rocking and rolling. Then it started raining which was blown in on our clean car. Now the sun is shining. The wind is blowing like crazy and it is very chilly. Another day of this and the weather should moderate a bit. Hannah even told us today that the wind kept her awake last night. Hopefully the wind will lay down tonight.

Busy weekend-October 26, 2014

Most of Saturday was spent at Derrick's. Derrick and Jerry rearranged Derrick's garage and storage building. We had tossed a few big plastic tubs of stuff into the storage building (which was intended to be a garage in the beginning) but it was stuffed in a corner. The tractor is parked in there so it takes very little to make the place look junky. You may have experienced this at some point in your life. As soon as that was done we all had to get ready for a family wedding.

The family wedding was on the top of Lookout Mountain, elevation 7379 feet. It is classified as one of the larger foothills that overlooks Golden. Sorry, but 7379 feet high is not a foothill in my book. It is a full fledged mountain. The view was spectacular if one had to courage to look. The wedding was so sweet and so much fun. The man who officiated had a radio DJ type voice and he provided a wonderful service for this couple. And he read it from an iPad which I think is a sign of the times. The route up the mountain was nothing but snaky hairpin turns where you see your own taillights. We took a different route back down and it was much nicer. The wedding took place at the Boettcher Mansion. I told Jerry on the way up that I bet less than two people at the wedding would know what the Boettchers did for Colorado. He confessed he did not know. What? He is a native. The Boettchers brought sugar beet seed to Colorado from Germany and started that farming industry here. As they say, the rest is history. Sugar beets are a staple among Colorado farmers. My first year here I devoured every history book I could get my hands on because I knew nothing about Colorado. I'll match wits with a native any day!

Yesterday was also the first day we got to see Hannah's Halloween costume. As soon as the back door opened, she shouted "Grammy, I'm a bee!" and then she started running around and buzzing. What a hoot that little girl is.

There's no reason a little bumble bee can't wear

pink Crocs, is there?

 

We were so late getting home last night that we are still tired today. But it was worth it. Our best wishes to Jenna and Don.

 

Nasty weather moves in tomorrow, but hopefully it does not linger here.

 

Great day-October 23, 2014

We had Hannah all day long today. She was so good and so much fun. She ate well. And she ran outside for a very long time. She loves this yard. Today her game was throwing her kick balls under the coach to see where they ended up. It was slightly windy so she chased them all over the place. And so did we. Good exercise makes for a restful nap.

Somebody famous wrote that "fog creeps in on little cat's feet". It may have been Hemingway but I'm not sure. That quote applies to winter here. You have a beautiful day, you go to bed and sleep peacefully and wake up to winter cold that has crept in on little cat's feet. We are at the point that winter is due to arrive anytime. Yet we linger. Hannah is the adhesive holding us here. We need to make a decision very soon. In the meantime we are enjoying some absolutely gorgeous weather. And nearly every day provides us with memorable sunsets. They are each different and each unique.

Yep, it's tough to have to look at scenes like this every day.

But we keep putting one foot in front of the other!

I remain amazed at how many people go through life and never see the beautiful world around them. I try not to miss a thing.

Art and Hannah-October 20, 2014

Art does not mean a person. Art is a chunk of metal I want to show you.

This piece of art needs a lot of explanation.

 

The City of Loveland owns millions and millions of dollars in artwork. They have potholes big enough to swallow a Smart Car, but they own priceless art. This is their latest piece. The main reason I am showing you this chunk of very expensive metal is that the brother of our neighbor when we lived in Loveland is one of the artists. I feel like I am using the term "artist" rather loosely. This monster is on the north side of the road at the major entrance into the city. Can I explain it? No, not really. I do know that the man named Loveland for whom the city was named was a railroad man. Perhaps that explains the railroad tracks. Maybe horses roamed wild at some point in history and that's what these blue/purple horses represent. I haven't a clue. But the oddest part is that the horses look like someone took tractor parts and stuck them to the horses instead of tossing them in the trash. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps you will be able to call this art.

 

We kept both girls today starting at 8:30 this morning. Today was ZoZo's day to be the opposite of an angel. And Hannah was very good. I had made her some tiny little pancakes for breakfast. She inhaled 9 of them while watching Umi Zoomi. We like those little creatures, too. Then finally Hannah needed to be allowed outside. Jerry raked up a pile of leaves for her to play in and with. After she scattered them, she'd say "Granddaddy, I need another pile of leaves." So he'd rake some more. He was starting to wear down a bit when her daddy came home for lunch and gave us a break.

 

Get ready. Get set. Jump!

 

Love those leaves!

 

Just resting before another jump.

 

Kids love leaves. Yes, they are dirty but we just had to let her play in them. It makes for good memories.

 

Tomorrow is our yearly dental check ups. Fun. Actually it's not bad. We really do like our dentist and have been with him since he opened practice many years ago.

 

 

Quick trip to Estes Park-October 16, 2014

While we were having our morning coffee Jerry got a hankering for fresh salt water taffy. So, we headed to Estes Park. It's only about 55 miles from us and it was a great day for a drive. The first stop we made in town was at Estes Park Taffy Co. Their taffy is absolutely the best we have ever found. And they were busy making it today. Yummy stuff.

I am not sure why but we had totally forgotten about last year's devastation to the Big Thompson Canyon caused by the horrible September rains. Going from Loveland to Estes we saw a little damage but coming back to Loveland we were stunned into silence. We both were here when the Big Thompson Canyon flooded in 1976 and over 160 people were killed. Last year's flood only caused one death but the physical damage to the land was shocking.

Before I post the sad pictures please let me share a few pictures of Estes Park itself. It was so nice there we did not even need jackets.

Just walking beside this was soothing.

 

This gigantic bronze Columbine was right on the main street.

It's really pretty and I would estimate 10-12 feet tall.

 

The following pictures might be hard to comprehend for those who have never been in this canyon so I'll explain as best I can.

 

It doesn't need much explanation, does it?

 

Ditto. Those huge rocks were moved from higher up by

the force of the Big Thompson River raging out of control.

 

This is some of what used to be the little community of Drake.

There were homes and businesses here.

 

This house was left but it is not salvageable. There were several

more houses here, too. Giving credit where it is due, at least

the vast majority of the mess and debris has been cleaned up.

 

This just looks like a pile of dirt. However, it was quite a huge

mountain side that washed away with the force of the rain and

rushing water. The camera does not grasp what a big area this is.

There were no houses on this site.

 

Viestenz-Smith Park or what used to be. This was a wonderful

place where we went on countless picnics over the years. It was

a big park with lush green grass, a beautiful river and lots of

picnic tables plus places for kids to run and play. We just loved it.

It no longer exists.

 

This large steel bridge was built and placed in Viestenz-Smith

Park after the horrible flood in 1976. It was supposed to be

indestructible. Walking over it with the Big Thompson River

rushing under it was just delightful. And it made for some great

pictures. However, note that it no longer spans the river.

It is actually positioned parallel to the river.

 

We were supposed to get married the weekend of the Big Thompson flood in 1976 and we had reservations at a hotel in Estes Park. It was such a blessing in disguise when the jeweler who was making our rings called to say he was running late and he needed another week. He offered temporary substitutes for the ceremony. We said we would just put it off a week. If we had taken his offer we would have been driving up the Canyon headed to Estes Park when that horrible flood hit. There might not have ever been a Derrick and thus no Hannah. I still get emotional when I tell that true story. God was really in charge of our lives that night.

 

We have also been through hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. But nothing prepared us for what we saw today. It was so shocking. Can you imagine me being speechless? Sometimes I could not even take a picture. I just had to stare. Bless all those people who have survived two huge floods. No wonder we saw so many "For Sale" signs everywhere.

 

In spite of the sadness there was still beauty to see today. We had a great lunch. And we had a safe drive. We are thankful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice day-October 15, 2014

Since I have posted so many sunset pictures I decided to post a morning picture. This is what we saw when we stepped out the door yesterday.

Not bad, is it?

 

After taking yesterday off to get flu shots, we picked up Hannah again this morning for another challenging day. Record temps were set in Denver, so it might have been that way here. It was a very warm and clear day. We went to the park so Hannah could slide and swing and climb through the tunnel. She had a great time. She started out on the big girls swings and then went back to the baby swings. It goes without saying that we normally get to swing beside her, but today she wanted her stuffed animals to swing, too. For me that was two more objects I had to wipe off with Clorox when we were finished, but that's ok. It was fun to watch.

 

In case you can't see what's in the swing beside Hannah,

here it is:

Meet Blackie Mew-Mew and Stinky Mew-Mew. Stinky's

name is a very long complicated story but it does not mean he smells bad.

 

Another fun day. We look forward to what tomorrow may bring.

 

Hope you are having a great week. It is really flying by, isn't it?

 

 

Brrr-October 12, 2014

I hope your Sunday is going well. Our weather has taken a turn for the worse. The wind is out of the north and we have reached our high temperature of 56 degrees. We are now going downhill. It should be quite a chilly night. I think the pomegranate tree will have to spend the night indoors. But, not to worry, "the sun'll come out tomorrow". Sounds like a good song to me.

In keeping with Seattle's ruling that "Columbus Day" is no longer to be used in that city, please allow me to wish you a Happy Indigenous People's Day! No, I'm not kidding. I just hope it does not catch on nationwide. No mail and no banks tomorrow. Almost like another Sunday. So, enjoy that day, too.

We sat with ZoZo for a great portion of the day yesterday while Hannah went to her first college football game. We needed today to recover!

Have a great week.

What is it?-October 9, 2014

So are you looking at contrails, chemtrails or clouds?

I'll let you decide. At the very least it's another very nice sunset.

 

 

We had Hannah with us all day long yesterday. When I told her it was time to go home she ran to the bedroom, hopped up on the bed and covered herself up and went right to sleep. It's hard to fight with that. We managed to get her home just as Derrick was coming home from work. It seemed, at times, like a long day but she was so much fun it didn't matter.

 

It is currently raining cats and dogs. It is predicted to continue all night. Only time will tell if the forecasters are correct.

 

We think we will have Hannah tomorrow. It's interesting how challenging it is to plan ahead what games we are going to play and what we will eat. It's good for us to have to think!

 

On Saturday Hannah will be going to her first football game at UNC (University of Northern Colorado in Greeley) so we will be sitting with Zoey. We've never been around Zoey alone. I hope we get to know her better.  

Dale Chihuly, at last!-October 7, 2014

While enjoying our morning coffee, we decided to make a trip to the Denver Botanical Gardens where there is a huge Dale Chihuly exhibit. The weather seemed perfect and we needed a break. So off we went. On the way down we talked about how school is in session and it's a Tuesday so the place should be empty. What dummies we are! The place was packed, sometimes to the point of distraction. All parking lots were full and we ended up parking about 3 blocks away from the Gardens.

If you do not know Dale Chihuly he is world famous as a studio glass artist. We know he has his worked installed all over the world. We became familiar with him when we were in Las Vegas. One of his most famous pieces is in the ceiling of the Bellagio.

This glass "explosion" is at the entrance. We knew we

were in for a treat just by looking at this.

 

The fun thing about this exhibit is that all of the glass art is

intermingled with the beautiful plants and flowers already

residing at the 24 acre Botanical Gardens.

 

These made us think of bumble bees. Speaking of bees, there

were many hundreds of them buzzing around everywhere.

 

 

I remarked that these reminded me of snakes. Jerry said they

looked like swans to him. A couple came up beside us and she

remarked how they looked like snakes. I didn't say anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

We saw so much beauty today that I feel the need to share it with you. Therefore, there are two more blogs following this one. I invite you to view more pictures if you have time.

 

It was an extraordinary day. We enjoyed it so much. It did involve extensive walking but that hurts no one. Plus we got lots of vitamin D from the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chihuly-part 2--October 7, 2014

Again, I will try to keep comments to a minimum. The pictures almost speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

The three groups that look like ferns are actually glass.

This was stunning in the sunlight.

 

A complete glass tree decked out in autumn colors.

 

Inside the Conservatory. It was so hot and humid inside it was

like being back on the Gulf Coast.

 

Also inside the Conservatory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chihuly-part 3--October 7, 2014

We were at the Botanical Gardens so there happens to be a mere 24 acres of live plants and flowers, both indoors and out. I could not resist a few pictures of living things. Few comments needed.

 

 

 

Water lilies beside the Science Pyramid

 

 

 

I haven't a clue what this is. I have never seen a flower grow

stems through the bloom and bloom again. It was about 10 feet tall.

 

As the pictures have told you this was one spectacular day and we are so happy we decided to do this. We have always enjoyed Dale Chihuly's work and it was even more wonderful to see it mixed in with the beautiful flowers at the Botanical Gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

Busy-October 6, 2014

I have not found much time to post this blog, so I'll take a few moments to bring you up to date.

Last Thursday we had lunch with Jerry's sister, Judy. We again met in Denver. They have so many more eating establishments there than we have around here. We had a wonderful time. Our waiter, Ken, was a real character and we had so much fun joking with him. I think all of us would be happy to have him wait on us again in the future.

I have been forgetting to post pictures of little Zoey whom I have taken to calling Zo-Zo. We have decided that the months she was on oxygen put her behind in her development. She is just now starting to show a personality and she has a really cute smile. I've not been able to capture that smile on camera yet. Until then, here she is on the day she turned 4 months old.

Don't ask me why she stuck her tongue out. She was not mad.

 

 

Sunday afternoon is always football day in Derrick's house. However, yesterday must have been a boring day or these two were just too tired to stay glued to the game.

 

In my mind I have written at least half a dozen captions to

this picture. I'll let you write your own.

Neither one of them really looks very comfortable but

they were sleeping very hard.

 

Today we had to run some errands with Hannah in tow. She did very well but we must have worn her completely out. When it came time to take her home for her nap she begged to stay here and nap on our bed. I told her she really needed to be in her own bed. She begged, "Grammy please, please, please, let me stay". So what choice did I have? She did not make it completely onto the bed before she was sound asleep. The deep sleep only lasted an hour and 20 minutes and when she woke up we knew we had to take her home. She is such a sweet little girl.

Sunset-October 3, 2014

I thought since I posted a storm cloud just a couple of days ago, I'd share tonight's sunset.

What a glorious sight.

However, it was very cold while we were outside taking pictures.

It did not get out of the 50s today.

 

We are so fortunate to have seen both the sugar white sand of the Gulf coast and many gorgeous sunsets in the Rocky Mountains in our lifetimes. Two prettier sights do not exist.

 

We had to move the pomegranate tree back into its original pot in order to bring it back into the coach so it would not get frozen last night. The storm of a couple of days ago blew off all the blooms and many of its leaves. It is feeling hurt right now so we are keeping it warm and feeding it vitamins to ease its discomfort. Yes, it's just a plant but we are very attached to it. It has many miles on it and it was a gift, so we have to keep it happy and thriving. If it gets any colder we are going to have to work at keeping ourselves from freezing!

 

 

Another month?-October 1, 2014

I cannot believe we have moved into another month. A blink of the eye and the year will be behind us, too.

We kept Hannah yesterday and today both. We took her clothes shopping today and allowed her to actually pick her own clothes. She did a very good job. However, we did end up buying a tee shirt we did not intend to because she saw it and the entire store heard her say, "Wow, look at the mew-mew!". It was an adorable kitten on the front of the shirt. Lucky for her it was on clearance and there were only to left on the rack. She grabbed it and pulled it off the hanger and held it in her hand until we got to check out.

As yesterday we had rough storms this afternoon. The temps dropped 10 degrees in just a few minutes, the wind started rocking this coach and then the rain came down so hard it just roared. Then it passed through and a cold front followed. We've been in the 60s during the daytime and 40s at night this week. Some might say summer is definitely gone, but we know Colorado weather well enough to not believe that. We'll have a few nights in the 30s and then it should warm up again.

This is how it started today. It got much worse before it was over.

But since we are under cover we were not affected negatively.

 

Our plans for tomorrow have not been finalized yet. We will have Hannah with us again on Friday. That's all we have definitely planned so far. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!