No. 13: Thanksgiving at the Beach

No. 13: Thanksgiving at the Beach


Below is the post I wrote a week before Thanksgiving, scheduled to post on the Tuesday before Turkey Day.   So much for making plans. 


It's funny how things work out.

When I put No. 13 on the list, I always assumed it would be Thanksgiving in Florida with Belle or maybe another Thanksgiving in Cozumel like we did as a family when the kids were little.  I even considered Thanksgiving in Galveston.   But that's about as far as my mind went when it came to beaches.

And then someone new sees the list and says "Hey. I can help with Thanksgiving at the beach."

Which is how I'm ending up spending this Thanksgiving at the beach in Oregon!

A totally new state for me.
Certainly a new beach.
And with a lot of family, none of it my own.

It's hard with three kids in three different states.
The Big Guy doesn't really like to fly.
Bunny has to work the day after Thanksgiving.
Belle has already done Texas this month and has travel plans for December, so she isn't leaving Florida.

Where I live in Colorado is really hard to get to.

So. Thanksgiving at the beach in Oregon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and I will report back on No. 13.

Instead, on the day that I was supposed to drive to Denver to meet my friend Diana for lunch before flying out on Monday, I woke up with a fever. And cramps. And ...ahem...intestinal distress. And when I stood up...I fell down. I now know the meaning of "orthostatic". It isn't much fun.  Then my intestines decided that a good ol' bleed would get my attention.

A quick call to my sweet neighbor and off I went to the ER while Carlos was whisked away to his pre-set date with the kennel.   Texts to my travel companion and my lunch date were quick and to the point.  "Change of plans...." 

The rest of Sunday I pretty much slept. When I was awake I told anyone who would listen that I had a flight scheduled for Monday. They all shook their heads "no" . Lots of poking and prodding and IVs produced no answers, only the promise of an upper AND lower GI  Scope for Monday morning. I didn't care- that's how drained I was. 

When I returned from my adventure in GI scoping on Monday, Diana was waiting in my room. Everyone needs a friend like that. No questions asked...just "I'm coming."   She stayed with me all day, asking questions, listening, making sure we understood the doctors. Of course, they weren't saying anything beyond "You aren't getting on a plane. You could have any of these things. We really don't know what's up. You could bleed to death."  I lost lots of blood apparently.  (Sometimes ignorance is bliss because the numbers meant nothing to me but made my nurse co-workers raise their eyebrows when I told them my hemoglobin numbers.)

By Monday afternoon my flight had been rescheduled for Wednesday, I was feeling much better and could almost stand up without falling over. Three out of three doctors still said "You aren't flying anywhere."

Never underestimate the power of a woman on a mission. 

Tuesday morning I felt even better, could totally stand upright on my own and still no one could give me an answer as to what went wrong.  One doctor came in and said "Crohn's Disease, no question." but Diana and I dismissed him immediately. That didn't sound like a diagnosis I wanted.  I was still getting on a plane Wednesday afternoon.

By lunchtime the doctors were wavering. There was no reason to keep me. Their choice was to release me to my cabin in the  woods where there was at least a foot of new snow on the ground, no food in the house (I was supposed to be gone for the week, remember?) and no one around except the cat, who does NOT know how to dial 911 ..OR... have Diana drive me to the airport, pour me onto the plane, have me picked up on the other end where I would be surrounded by people who would keep an eye on me and require me to do absolutely nothing.  Guess who won!?

Oregon was lovely and sunny and the sunset on the West coast was amazing and the people were welcoming and I rested and ate and walked on the beach and worked jigsaw puzzles. 

This is how I spent the afternoon.

Drawing in front of the fireplace. 

Saturday night I got a call from the doctor. Ischemic colitis. Random, probably a one time thing. 
Sunday I flew home. 

I promise, I was VERY thankful. 

Mother Nature is a Beast or...

Pre-evacuation on a Saturday Morning.

About a month ago, September 8 to be exact, a small fire was started by lightning in the wilderness south and west of where I live and work. It was christened the Decker Fire. Since it was in the wilderness and the terrain was very inhospitable, the forest service let it burn which is their custom. There were no structures or people to worry about and forest fires are naturally occurring ways for dead underbrush to be cleared out. For a couple of weeks the fire stayed at about 1000 acres of wilderness.
Then we had some unusual and strong October winds. The fire was still in the wilderness but getting close to the ridge of Methodist Mountain, a mountain right in Salida, with houses and businesses.   No worries, fires only burn uphill. It won’t cross the ridge.
These pics are from Wednesday when the fire did crest the ridge and start downhill. 130 residences were evacuated at 2am. Mother Nature is a beast and she doesn’t always follow the rules. Over night the fire doubled in size.

The view from the hospital parking lot outside my office on Wednesday. 

You can see the burning fires on the side of Methodist Mountain. 

Fire can move downhill after all.

Friday at work I got a Pre-evacuation phone call from the county.  I had signed up for that little service last time there was a forest fire nearby. Wait. What? I live way west of the fire. Or so I thought. 

A neighborhood meeting at my local fire station after work was packed.  Parking lot overflowing, people parked along the highway, standing room only packed.   The gist of the meeting was that the edge of the fire is two miles from a "trigger point". If the fire reaches that line, all of Howard where I live will be evacuated as a precaution. The fire line is still in unreachable territory so there has not been much they can do to stop it. Instead they are trying to build breaks west of the fire that would halt spreading. But the officials probably aren't interested in another 2am evacuation fiasco so they are also being overly cautious.  "Go home and make a plan. If you have livestock that needs to be transported, do it sooner rather than later." 

The map from last night's meeting.

The distances seem so far yet....

The fire now covers 5,921 acres. Winds today are supposed to pick up as the day heats up. Humidity is low. Perfect fire conditions.

So.

Interesting what becomes important when you walk around your house "making a plan".   What's important? What do you really need? What do you save? 

My divorce was a lesson in letting go. In 11 days I managed to empty a 3000 square foot house with a 3 car garage and condense the remains into an 8x10 storage unit. In the 2 years since I made that move there have been two things that I wish I had kept. One skirt, one blouse. No idea what happened to either one of them. Furniture went. Clothes went. Dishes, spices, tools, cleaning supplies, sports equipment- all given away. Pretty much what remained were the things that had sentimental value, the art and craft supplies, the kid stuff, my day to day necessities.

So Friday night was spent wandering the house, putting things in the car, finding the winter clothes, deciding which books have to come, which jewelry. I had already gotten my fireproof, waterproof bag of important papers out along with the cat kennel and pet food.  A Rubbermaid tub has joined those essentials and in it goes....what?  A silver pitcher. The kids' baby books. The good jewelry. The computer keyboard and mouse. Extra car and house keys. The sterling silverware and wine goblets are already in the car as is my father's large framed baby photo from when he was one. But really?

Not much I can't live without.   

The house no longer holds my kids. My friends don't live here. The dog and cat will come with.

The girls are very practical, if not particularly ethical. I told them I was on alert and their responses? 

I guess they don't realize I have already started a new life. But hey!

Maybe it's time to reimagine life again. 

Mother Nature is a beast. 

So am I. 

No. 27 Jewelry making- refresh the silver soldering lessons.

No. 27- Refresh the silver soldering lessons.

First. I'm back. At least for a post. 

I've had a summer. 

My job changed, then didn't change, then changed again literally 4 days before it was supposed to end. The whole mess was exhausting and after six months of uncertainty, it turns out nothing changed after all.

And now I am on the cusp of Fall again in Colorado. It's been a lovely warm September but last night we had our first little cool front. Temps dropped at night and this morning I had my friend, the little yellow snowflake light, on my dashboard signaling a temperature below 38º.

But before I got to this cool spot, I went on vacation!   My first real vacation where I went where I wanted to and didn't just take care of kids or visit family or attend a wedding or shower.

Forty five years after starting college (so to speak) in Mexico, I returned to the scene of the crime with my two room mates for a reunion. Mind you this was the 45 year reunion of the START of our college careers as I don't think anyone ever finished school at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende.

Cathy (w/ Macho), Cherrilla (w/ Mugsy) and Me (w/ Mathilda and an unfortunate hair do)

Cherrilla lives full time in San Miguel now, joining our friend Jay who wasn't a room mate but was a friend back then. Cathy lives in Virginia, I live here in Colorado but we rented a house in "el Centro de San Miguel" for the week to go visit. Cathy had not been back for 40+ years. For me it had been 7. 

We didn't get the order the same but at least we got a pic of the 3 of us.

Cherrilla, Cathy, Me.

No pets. 

Our little house had been rented through Air BnB and it was perfect. Great location with 3 floors and 2 bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the Parroquia. The bathroom had a bathtub big enough to swim in which is basically heaven for me.

Our first morning Cathy woke up early and snapped this amazing pic from our balcony. 

That's the Parroquia glowing on the right. 

I slept through the sunrise. 

And...while Cathy was flipping through Air BnB offerings, she discovered classes. She sent the link to me and it took me about 5 seconds to find the silver working class.

 The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Forty five years later we are still learning.

 So...45 years to the month from the first time Cathy and I took silver working classes together, we returned to class. Our teacher this time was American, the class was only four hours and we learned the one thing I have been begging people to teach me: the basics of silver soldering.  I knew most of it but did not really want to practice on sterling silver without some guidelines. 

Enter our teacher, Nicole Williams, who made the class basic and fun and most importantly, gave me the confidence that yes, I can do this at home. 

Nicole explains the finer points of ring design.

We made simple wire rings- a set of 5 that stacked. 

Cutting up the solder...

Cathy places the solder carefully on her rings. 

Can you believe I was allowed to use a propane torch? 

Since we were so efficient and finished early, she taught us a couple of other tricks like twisting the wire to make a chain effect and doing a "spaghetti wire" ring where the wire was wrapped and soldered together. Let's just say we learned a technique and will hopefully be able to improve our skills with the more advanced efforts.  Our wire stacking rings were a huge success, though. 

Struggling to wrap the wire for my "spaghetti ring".

So. No. 27 is complete. Maybe I will finish the other challenges before I turn 70. Maybe not. But certainly I am thrilled to have completed this one. 

Now. All I need are supplies. 

Summer time and the living is....easy??

Summer time and the living is ...not so easy?


O goodness. This has been a year.   A long, sometimes hard year with lots of ups and downs.

This morning Carlos and I walked the road across the river. 

So many gorgeous views. 

Walking combats stress. 

Work has been a bear.
In the last 11 months I have worked for the hospital while being leased to the cardio clinic, worked directly for the cardio clinic, been told in April that the hospital wanted our group back as employees- with lower pay and more responsibilities-made the decision to not work for the hospital again (understandable, I think), found another job at a bank and then been told that, nope, the cardio clinic is not giving us up after all and nothing is changing in my employment except location.  So from April until July I have been jerked around employment-wise even though there has never been an issue with the quality of my work. Honestly just writing this paragraph exhausted me and made me stress a bit.
I hope to happily continue checking in patients at the cardiology clinic wherever that may be. Our location is definitely changing and may actually be a little fluid for a couple of months depending on the whims of the powers that be.  The new office mantra is "Be flexible".  If I get any more flexible I will be able to join Cirque de Soleil. Ultimately I am thrilled with the final outcome. Assuming it really is the final outcome. I think it is. I hope.

With so much rain, even all the cacti are blooming. 

Walking combats stress.

Winter was hard and lasted until June. So. Much. Snow. Then rain. June was wet and chilly and I was still using my pellet stove until mid June.   All that snow made everything green. The weed whacker has been getting weekly usage and I've made absolutely NO headway with the grass. I manage to keep the front "yard' under control and Carlos's fenced area clear...the rest of it has gone wild.  Apparently the rattlesnakes are also happy to have summer here finally and are out in full force. Carlos just got his first rattlesnake vaccination from the most patient vet in the entire world. He goes back in three weeks for his booster.

Lots of wildflowers are out, as are the little white butterflies. 

And the rattlesnakes...

(walking combats stress)

We have been walking daily. Crazy neighbor is convinced Carlos is running in a pack.  I'm actually worried about the pack of dogs on the next road getting Carlos so he has been kept close. I left town one weekend to come home to a card from the Sheriff saying I was going to be fined if Carlos was out loose again. Only problem: Carlos was at the kennel in Salida when he was reported running loose here in Howard.  I tried discussing this with the neighbor but somehow ended up calling him a f***ing idiot and he has vowed to shoot Carlos if he ever sets foot out of the yard. So...walks.

 Which is how we ended up taking off one wet evening, moments after the rain stopped, and coming up on a mountain lion. Honestly I never dreamed I would see one while walking.  Bears maybe but a cougar? Never. But we did. He walked out of the woods into the road about 100 feet in front of us. Carlos was sniffing something on the ground thankfully and never saw the cat. Kitty looked at me, I looked at him. He turned back into the woods and I slowly, slowly backed back down the road. I was enthralled and excited, not scared, but only because I got to see him and he was not the slightest bit concerned with eating me. Thankfully.
(And. He was gorgeous. Or she. Whatever. A young adult cougar, sleek and probably 2 to 3 times the size of Carlos.)


Made an airline ticket to go to Mexico and within hours of that big purchase discovered the oven had died with the last round of power surges/outages. So this weekend I ordered a new range and fridge (both are almost 20 years ago- it seemed prudent to just go for the gusto).  Mexico is still on the calendar and I cannot wait. In September, 45 years after starting school at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, I will be returning with one of my old roommates to visit our other roommate who has just moved there for good. A fourth classmate also lives there and it will be a grand reunion. I am soooo excited. Broke, but excited.

Cherrilla and Cathy

Blurry because...well, 45 years ago.

I've tried online dating. I'm still alive after meeting a stranger (my co workers were definitely requiring check ins) so I consider that a success.  Don't know why people say online dating is a nightmare.

Soooooo. No new challenges although I've tried some new things. Lots of new restaurants. Finally developed a taste for salmon after a gazillion tries.
Went to a burlesque show! Had no idea you could do so many things with tassels.

The crew from Peaks and Pasties in Colorado Springs. 

Lots of gardening has been undertaken with mixed results. The peony that came with the cabin 10 years ago finally bloomed for the first time. THAT is a success.

Never knew what color these peonies were. 

Happy to see they are pink!

The tables in the front yard are getting tiled. I find that figuring out the tile patterns is as engrossing as quilting used to be for me.  I no longer have the patience, desire, something to quilt like I used to.  I've tried a bit. But the tiling satisfies that need to create.  Plus side: It's an excuse to get dirty.  More pictures will be forthcoming once the blue table is done.

This is the second time this little table has been done. I leave it outside and it gets frost-heave.

But. I'm too lazy to bring it in over the winter. 

So this won't be the last time....

Hope everyone is having a fabulous summer. Stay safe. The Arkansas River that I follow to work and back every day just claimed the 12th freshwater recreation victim of the summer here in Colorado. This can be a dangerous place.
(See above. Snakes. Power surges. Mountain lions. Online dating.)
(Walking combats stress.)

People More Amazing than Me or You (well, for sure more so than me....)

People more Amazing than Me or You...
 (Yes, that should be You and I....)


Ok. You are amazing. So am I in many ways.

BUT...

Today I witnessed really amazing. 

It is the first day of FIBArk in Salida. I've written about it before...First in Boating on the Arkansas. 
A four day festival that started back in 1949 with a 57 mile boat race from Salida to Canon City, through the Royal Gorge. Since the first competitors almost died on that race, they shortened the route to almost 26 miles.  There are boat races, kayaking races, and foot races.

Today was the Tenderfoot Hill Climb, the kick off event to FIBArk.  It starts at the stoplight at F Street and First Street in Salida and goes straight up S Mountain/Tenderfoot Hill.  Contestants run up to the Gazebo at the top and then slip slide back down- it's an elevation gain of about 1000 feet. O! And these runners are starting at about a 6500 foot elevation. 

See those tiny dots in the ravines on each side? And the few dots going up the center? 

Those are people. 

Running. 

This year's winner clocked in at almost 12 minutes for the round trip run.  Contestants range from about 4 or 5 up to their seventies. Parents run with kids.  Little kids run on their own. Families run together. Some people run in costumes.  I'm not sure I could even walk up that hill, much less run.

The winner. 

Smiling and high-fiving everyone.

Camden Gills ran the hill -up and back down - in

11 minutes, 46 seconds. 

One contestant ran in a leg brace. And finished.  

Another one ran with forearm crutches. He ran a good race, coming in with the middle of the pack. 

Third place (Maybe second?) ran in a cheetah print thong leotard. I was concerned the family jewels were going to be on display by the end of the race...but no.  Maybe those bare legs and buns enabled him to move faster.

What can I say? 

He was one of the top three....

A nurse I work with ran in a tutu. And was still smiling as she came back across the finish line.

I watched. 

I am just in awe.   I did a 5k Walk once. It was one of my challenges. And it was hardly a challenge. 
Maybe next year I could try the Tenderfoot Climb. 
Ha!


And....
if these runners weren't enough to amaze you, let me tell you about one of my patient's today.
At 85 he has run marathons in all but 4 states. He will do Tennessee in September, right before his 86th birthday. He has a bad knee and foot drop but is determined to complete all of the states. 
Wow.

Inspiration

Inspiration. Or... a kick in the pants.


"Do you create?"

Maybe those weren't the exact words. Maybe it was "Do you still create?" or "Do you ever create?"

But they have haunted me since they were said to me a few weeks ago.
Because the realization is...no...not really. I haven't had the time or the drive to create.

And that makes me very sad.

The winter was hard and cold and snowy and maybe that sapped my creativity. My work has been chaotic and full of change and yet more change is coming.  As in...I won't have a job after June 30th.

So much snow this winter. 

I should be panicked. I mean, I do have bills to pay and tummies to fill and one very reckless daughter's car insurance to pay. Instead I am angry. And I'm not sure what I am going to do.

I think I need to recharge. Look at some art. Experience something new. Maybe take a trip. Not rush.

Picasso: Seated Woman. 

From No. 52: Spend the day at the Museum

And maybe the words will come back to me.

When I first started this blog, I had to create. The posts wrote themselves. They insisted on being written.  All I had to do was sit down and tap the keyboard and Voila! words making sentences making a story. I revelled in completing the challenges, finding new things to share, experiencing life.

Recently though, my mind has been consumed mostly by work.

But. I  LOVE my job, I say. I love the people I work with, I love the patients. I love my window next to my tiny desk.

Then I had a premonition. My life was due for a correction. Things were going too well. Just like when the stock market gets too high, too rowdy and things crash a bit.

Amazing how intuitive we can be if we listen.

I ran over my prescription glasses with the car. The kitchen sink drains both started leaking. The roof seems to be molting with every gust of wind.  There's a funky smell coming from the basement.

And my employment is ending. No fault of my own. The office as I know it will just cease to exist.
So maybe this is just a kick in the pants. A reminder that a complacent mind loses its creativity.

Because I want the answer to that question at the very top to be "Yes. All the time."

Happy....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!


Hugs and kisses and cookies to all.   Here's hoping your VD is outstanding.

Cookies for work....my co-workers are my Valentines this year. The people at the hospital are amazing. They deserve all the love they can get.

Lots of hearts and loving hands.  The hand cookie cutter was made from an outline of Bunny's hand when she was 3 ½ months old. It's the perfect cookie size. High altitude sugar cookie recipe and royal icing. A tray of sugar and love.  The kitchen is covered in sugar. (So am I.)
Hugs to all.     Love you.

How?

HOW did you meet? 

This has been on my mind recently. I have been collecting stories of how couples met. The good, the bad, the spectacular. And there are some spectacular ones.

My adorable parents. On their wedding day.

They were married 67 years. 

At work there is a couple that is SO perfect for each other. They are SO in love. She drives him to work, they have lunch together, hold hands, check in through out the day. One of my coworkers looked at me one day and said "Isn't it wonderful they found each other?"  And it is. 

They had their anniversary recently, their 22nd. She was all dressed up, picking him up from work for a celebratory dinner.  Truthfully I would have believed her more if she had said they had just wed- the two seem so infatuated. And she confessed they didn't even get married until she was 45. And he was her first marriage. 

I didn't get a chance to ask how they met, but I assure you I will.  It must be great story. 

And so, in honor of February which is right around the corner, complete with hearts and flowers and pink and love and VALENTINE'S DAY,  I'm curious. 

How did you meet your significant other? Or your one true love? 

(I'm old enough to know that those two are not mutually exclusive.) 

Or what's the best "meet" story you've got?

Was it chance? Online?   Mutual friends? 

Let me know. The best stories may make the blog. Or maybe the worst will. Names will be changed to protect the innocent if that is what you wish. Or maybe I will just entertain myself with stories of love. Nothing will happen without your permission. 

Either comment below or send me an email:

sixtyxsixty@gmail.com

I want to know. 

Life's a Challenge

Life's a Challenge...

and I don't mean that in a bad way, at all.  But I have been thinking about how I haven't done ANY of my Sixty by Sixty challenges in ages.  The List remains incomplete and unused.

BUT.  I have challenged myself a couple of different ways recently.  So maybe my challenges are just going to be more internal for a bit rather than activities or places.

My most significant challenge has been asking for, bargaining for and finally getting a much needed pay increase.  It's taken a few months and means I will have to change employers (although not actual jobs which is confusing but that's the way it is...) but it also means that not only am I getting a pay increase, but so are the two nurses that I work with.

The view out my work window.

A good reason to love my job.

I realized at my yearly review that I better be happy with the standard 3% increase as no one was going to say "Great job! We need to give you 20% more than you are already making."
At least not unless I asked.  
And I was NOT happy with 3%. I work my tail off, I'm a great employee and I have gone above and beyond this past year. So I said, no,  don't think so, I need more and outlined why in an email. A lot of back and forth but finally they came up with an agreeable amount.
Lessons learned?
Know your value.
And the one I always tell the kids: If you don't ask, the answer is always "no".


The other thing that I have had to challenge myself with is driving in the snow. I mentioned in the last post how Colorado was kind to me last year. Not so this year. There have been a few good snows, some ice and tons of cold weather. Over New Year's Eve I drove to Denver to stay with my friend Diana. It snowed all day on New Year's Eve, with about 2 or 3 inches accumulating in Denver.  BUT! At the cabin the inches of snow were piling up. Fifteen of them at least.

Snow from Diana's deck in Denver. 

An inch or so....manageable.

On New Year's Day I had to make the decision... drive home through the passes or through the canyon? Two ways to get from Point A to Point B and I had to weigh the pros and cons of each.  I've had scary drives going both ways. Drives that involved cars going off the road, cars going into the river, cars going into the mountains. Part of me wanted to just say "Eh, I'll wait and drive back to the cabin on Wednesday when the snow has melted." But my time off is limited and I needed to be brave.

Snow at the cabin.

Deep.

The mountain pass won and guess what?  It was a piece of cake. The anticipation of the drive was WAY worse than the reality. Roads were clear, snow packed in a few places, but the most dangerous part of the trip was pulling out of the Stop and Rob after getting gas. By the time I arrived home there were close to 18 inches of snow on the ground but my driveway had been cleared by the neighbor.
Lesson learned?
Like Nike™ says "Just do it."

Food. Salmon and brussel sprouts to be exact. Both über popular and neither my faves. I have tried salmon  many many times in an effort to acquire a taste for it, but nope.
It's ubiquitous.
People like to make it for meals. It's good for you. Ugh. I just couldn't.  But like a good girl, I've kept trying.

Finally, at my favorite restaurant in town, I tasted my companion's maple glazed salmon and then tasted again.  And again. Surprise! It tasted good.  Have my taste buds changed? Not sure. Have not had the opportunity to try salmon again but I'm willing to give it a go.

An acquired taste, I think.

But these were pretty good. 

Same with brussel sprouts. They really DON'T taste that great but I've had them prepared creatively enough that I can tolerate them. I recently had Brussel sprouts with bacon, parmesan, and cashews. YUM. Maybe it was the bacon that elevated them. Isn't everything better with bacon? They were so yummy that I made Brussel sprouts for dinner last night . Mine had balsamic vinegar and honey. Again, they were pretty yummy.
Did my taste buds change? Maybe.
Lesson learned?
Tastes change. For many things. Never quit tasting. Or experimenting.

So. Challenges. Not on a list. But little mountains to climb. And plant my flag on top.

My mountains.

My flag.