Two Months Later......

Two Months Later...


Two whole months have passed since I last wrote. I've had writer's block which is directly related to the craziness of my life.

A recap:
I moved, putting lots of stuff in storage and throwing whatever else that didn't get given away into the back of the car.
Once I have sorted everything I will definitely have completed No. 75: Downsize.


Carlos, Mina the kitty, and I are in Colorado.

These two don't like each other so they are pretending 

they aren't sharing the bed. 

The electric blanket was on, which apparently makes for 

strange bedfellows. 

Ten days after selling the house in Texas a big hurricane arrived. That same day friend Martha appeared on my door step in Colorado for a four day visit.

Hurricane Harvey did not mess with the old house but did prevent Martha from leaving for ten days.
While Martha was here she revised my resume,
visited Garden of the Gods,

Martha amongst the rocks.

Bishop's Castle,
(Click here to read more about the castle.)

The very tip top of Jim Bishop's folly. 

It gets a little shaky up there. 

Mount Princeton Hot Springs (So many questions. I finally told her to just wait and see, I couldn't explain it. Suffice to say, she was enchanted.),

Pretty sure this was Martha's first hot springs visit. 

(And an odd coincidence about the springs here.)

two breweries (is that all?),

Soulcraft Brewing in Salida

Always good to try new places. 

Elevation Beer in Poncha Springs.

My favorite.

There was a wedding reception there while we were sampling. 

some restaurants,

The Biker and the Baker Wine and Dessert bar in Salida.

This is a new one and I've been wanting to try it.

Well worth the wait. 

 and I'm sure we did some other stuff.

We did. Bingo! Martha was a winner. 

Once Martha left I got a job offer, thanks to her excellent resume skills.

I start work this week at the local hospital in the cardiology clinic, registering patients and checking them in and out.

Somewhere in between I flew to Texas to visit the mama and see some friends
(i.e. eat and drink some more....)

Libby and I at Beck's Prime, an oldie but a goodie.

Nell treated me to a fabulous charcuterie platter at 

Bacon Bros, a new Sugar Land restaurant that I had been dying to go to.

and ended up driving a 16 foot truck back to Colorado with everything from the storage unit. Many gazillion thanks to Martha for encouraging me to do this and also for offering to drive with me.

Do we look like we know what we are doing? 

No? 

She is one crazy ass friend and I mean that in the best way.
Also thanks to her husband who assured us we could do the drive and it was NBD to drive a 16 foot truck and sure, he could spare his wife for a few days/week.

Our truck was missing a headlight. 

Matt the repair guy became our new best friend. 

He met us at the Love's Truck Stop in Wichita Falls at 10:30 at night.

Always an adventure. 

There's not much to see between Texas and Colorado but we did make a stop at the Cadillac Ranch.

There had been lots of rain so this was the only car we could get close to.

Sadly there was also a lot of trash with all of the mud. 

(And Martha was trying to pimp me out to the cute guy that she conned into taking our picture. )

We did manage to hit another brewery before I got Martha back to the airport. No. 98: Brewery Tours!

It looks like a prison but it's actually Coors Brewery in Golden, CO. 

I've  been unpacking.

 And unpacking. And unpacking.

So much furniture, so much artwork. 

I now have TWO dining room tables, two sets of dining room chairs and an extra recliner.  All of these things will go on the local FB swap page as soon as I can get pictures of them and get myself organized. Story of my life: more furniture to get rid  of.

Three days were spent in Colorado Springs doing computer training for the new job. I got to have dinner with Belle and her friend at a super yummy restaurant, The Rabbit Hole.  Belle is living in the Springs for now which makes my heart happy because she is somewhat close.

Cute kids...

...scrumptious dessert.

The Rabbit Hole in Colorado Springs. 

Highly recommended.

I've also managed to visit with friend Diana who now lives in Golden.  We dined in old downtown Golden one night and it was excellent.

Bridgewater Grill in the Golden Hotel

(picture stolen from their website)

Fabulous dessert from the Bridgewater. 

I never seem to get pictures when I'm with Diana but at least I got a shot of the sweets. 

And I met friend Monica and her husband in Colorado Springs for the best BLT sandwich I have ever had. I may meet the 2017 New Restaurant requirement after all!   No. 90  Twelve new restaurants for 2017

Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. with Monica and her sweet husband John 
who was playing photographer.

The absolute best BLT sandwich I have ever had. 

The beer wasn't too shabby either.

Snow! We got seven inches last week. All gone the next day.

I got a new car...the State Car of Colorado...a Subaru Outback. I LOVE it. I danced a jig as the stupid Mercedes was carted away. Never have I been so happy to get rid of a car.

Love love love this car and it is so smart!

Sooooo.....

Hopefully life will settle into something resembling boredom here soon. Or at least maybe a routine??

If not, that's ok. I'm happy and employed and housed and life is good.
And maybe my computer will call to me more.

(And yes. I did have to do a bit of a detox after Martha left. Milk thistle seed supplements were procured and consumed. In between all the drinking and visiting there were lots of dog walks and
box emptying and box flattening and dog playing and furniture moving and kitty fur brushing. Honest. It hasn't just been a two month drunk.  Just looks like it in the pictures.)

No. 90: Twelve New Restaurants in 2017

No. 90: Twelve New Restaurants in 2017
Hopping over to the Fourth One!


I love that I have so many willing partners in crime when it comes to my challenges. Friend Martha is probably the most helpful because A) she is always up for a good time and a new adventure and B) she has a husband that travels so she is frequently alone and looking for company.

Last night we tried a new restaurant in the Rice Village area in Houston. A whole little row of restaurants greeted us but our destination was Hopdoddy Burger Bar.   An incredibly interesting gentleman had been in the office waiting for his buddy and we got to talking. Man, we covered the gamut of topics.  Race relations (He is black and I am not) and the price of slaves in the 1800s, the risk management part of casinos, horse racing, and good restaurants. He had heard great things about Hopdoddy's so I figured it was a good one for the list. Also it's a restaurant that originated in Austin, so that gives it a pretty good pedigree.

Doesn't it looks like fun?

Hmmm. Appears I might be tilting a bit upon our departure.

Even though I'm a huge fan of sitting outside, it was sprinkling a bit so we opted for an indoor table. The set up was one of those "stand in line, they assign you a table while you are waiting, order, and then the food comes out by waiter" arrangements.

It was hard to choose. Every single hamburger looked beyond yummy. They cheerfully make substitutions. Thankfully. 

I ended up with a Thunderbird which was supposed to have grilled chicken but I was jones-ing for a burger.  So they substituted.

Doesn't that look delicious? 

It was. 

 Martha had the Magic Shroom burger. We also shared some of the best french fries con chili con queso.   They were the closest I've had here to my favorite fries from the Fritz in Salida. 

And we both had margaritas.  

Big and Little Larrys. 

Or as my girls would call them "the mama and the baby" margaritas.

For some reason they call the margarita with Grand Marnier "Little Larry". Or off the menu but also available, the "Big Larry". 

See? 

It was an enticing cocktail list but we went with the basics.

Fortunately Martha had the Little Larry as she was driving.  They were sufficiently potent, especially considering the waitstaff had already passed out samples of the classic margaritas while we waited in line. Talk about keeping the customers happy while they wait!

A great evening out, a yummy meal and home at a reasonable hour. I even brought the Big Guy a hamburger since I am leaving him to take care of all the animals this weekend while I head to San Antonio. Figure I better butter him up a bit.

And this weekend is Fiesta in San Antonio. I am super super excited. Lots of fun activities in the few days I will be there. Follow me on Instagram @ininnbee to see pics as they happen!

A Celebration

A Celebration of Life...


Monday we had a lovely little Memorial Service for the Daddy-O.

It was at the church where he and my mom were active so very many years. The church where one of my brothers got married. The church where I got married. The church where I grew up. The church where dad was a volunteer and an elder.

My brother, Steve, spoke. Whew. I could never have managed but Steve did Dad proud. And didn't tear up until his very last line. It was interesting to hear his take on my father, being the oldest child and the first boy. We are five years apart in age but six years apart in school so never that close growing up. By the time I was in middle school, he was off to college.  But obviously my father's work ethic that he instilled in me was even more so drilled into Steve.

Dad and Steve

(Dad always said "You are never sick on a Monday. If you are sick, it better be high fever, hospital worthy sick. Otherwise, go to work.  Employers hate people that are sick on Mondays." I've never forgotten it and have tried to impress that on my kids. Big Guy hasn't really gotten it down, though.)

And the service was well attended. You know, once you are in your nineties,  there aren't that many friends left to see you off. But the three that could get out, did.  And friends and neighbors filled the church.

Brother Steve spoke about what a great friend my dad was to all. How good he was about birthdays and anniversaries, always remembering and always sending cards. I've tried to be that way myself although I realized not having a paper calendar makes it harder for me to see birthdays in advance.
Today I bought a paper calendar so I can see a month a time. And maybe do better with the cards.
Because really, everyone loves a little "snail mail".

A lovely little periwinkle calendar to add

to my mess of a desk.

And after the service I went to lunch. With long time friends. And Bunny. Who is a smart girl and volunteered to accompany us because she knows where to find a good time.

And dad would have been so proud.

We celebrated.

And I went to a new restaurant for 2017.  I need to do another twelve new restaurants this year. That's a favorite challenge. (For me, at least!) So, No. 90:Twelve New Restaurants for 2017 has begun.

Allison, Liddy, Peggy, Bunny and I ate at rise no. 2 near the Galleria in Houston. O my! It was so achingly perfect. They serve soufflés in the most adorable little space with all of the exquisitely en  pointe details covered.

We started with salads and then came a cheese course.  The cheeses were on a little cart. We got a quick lesson on our choices and then a board of cheese was deposited on the table along with a tiny bread guillotine!   Bunny had to try it out.

 The beautiful cheese cart

What to choose???

 The bread guillotine

 Bunny doing her best "Price is Right" showing of the bread cutter. 

And Liddy photo bombing. 

That Liddy. 

She puts the "She" in "shenanigans".

Love her. 

It's a miracle Bunny didn't lose a finger she was laughing so hard. 

O my. Then we each got a soufflé.  Yum and yum. 

Mine was sun dried tomato and pesto. Allison had a mushroom with truffle sauce. The rest had Jambon and Gruyere.  We were all groaning in ecstasy. 

 Look at those gorgeous soufflés!

And..ahem... those gorgeous women. 

A toast to Daddy-O. He would have loved joining us. 

He always had a soft spot for "cute young things". 

There was wine, there were dessert soufflés and even a creme brûlée. They practically had to roll me out of there and I did not eat dinner Monday night. I am eternally grateful to my sweet friends for treating us on Monday.  This lunch could not have been a better tribute to my dad. 

He would have loved it all. 

•••••••••

(And -o!- I need to go back and buy some of their napkins. They were luscious.  Along with everything else.)