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.)