Traffic

What to write about the traffic in this little Colorado town?  (I'm smiling with amusement right now.)

On Sunday mornings as we leave our little house to go up to the mountain, Les gives off a little chuckle when we get to the end of our street where it meets Main Street.  Now Main Street is -- of course -- the main street.  And there is no one around.  Just a car parked way down the street.  Nothing is moving.  No one is honking or rushing anywhere.  There is no stress.  Just a peaceful, idyllic little old town.

The other day as we were heading up to the mountain, we fell in behind a pickup truck hauling water on a trailer.  (We will be hauling water, too.)  The driver went slowly up the gravel road and we were content to follow behind.  Then someone actually came from the other direction.  I told Les that I'll bet it will be 6 months before 3 vehicles meet up again on our road.

There are only I think 8 families that live in Prospect Canyon.  Some others come once in a while.  Others don't come at all.  There are only 21 properties in Prospect Canyon Ranches.  The road is about 4 miles long and we  live at the top.  So it's not that often you meet someone on the road.

In town, the intersections are not very busy.  After living in California for so long, you could actually feel it getting more and more crowded day-by-day.  Here, I like the slower pace.  Of course the summer will bring tourists.  And even though I spent last summer here, I was not yet "in-tune" with the heart-beat of Trinidad.  I'm interested to see how this year plays out.

 I love it here.

Norm

A kind and gentle man went to heaven today.  He will be deeply missed.  But hopefully we can take some solace in what I know is a fact... we will see him again.

Norm Jensen was 93 years old.  Cancer came upon him in his later years and wouldn't let go.  But 93 years is a very long time and he was ready to get to his next adventure.

He had such a great sense of humor.  I remember when he married Ilene, Les's mom.  Shortly before the ceremony Sonny, Wanda & Les -- along with their respective spouses -- got together to write Norm's vows.  I wish I had a copy of it, but it went something like this.  "I will love and honor my wife and will wait on her hand and foot... except for the time between 11:00 and 12:00 when she watches her soap opera.  During that time I will not talk to her or interrupt her in any way.  I will answer every request from my new wife with, "Yes Dear."  I will treat all of her children and their spouses as though they were kings and queens."  It went on and on like this for 1-1/2 pages.

He laughed and laughed... we all did.  What a great time that was.  And even through all of the cheers and giggles, I still cried at their wedding.

It was always a source of amusement to call him, "Uncle Dad," or "Uncle Grampa."  It's not often that your Uncle marries your Mother.  But that's what happened here.  (No, we're not from the bayou.)  Les's father was the sister of Norm's first wife, Helen.  After they both passed, Norm and Ilene got together.  And I think they were really good for each other.

You will be missed.  Farewell, Norm.  Til we meet again....

Middle of Winter in Colorado

It's 10:15 PM as I sit down to write this.  It's 50 degrees outside.

Last week at this time it was -19 degrees.  -19 degrees!!!!!!!!!  

On the county road leading up to our place in Prospect Canyon.

What's really weird is that... I don't mind so much.  I'm a tad disappointed that all the snow is melting.  But then I think I'd be surprised if it didn't snow again once or twice before winter is over.  Regardless, it was kind-of fun to be reminded about what real winters are all about.  Mud rooms... winter boots... the practice of putting on layers of clothes... gloves... scarf... and all of this just to get the dogs out to pee.

While Schultz was growing up into the fine senior canid that he is, he always had the use of a doggie door.  And that's really not practical here in Trinidad.... and even less so when we finally get to move up to the mountain.  As much as I'd love to have our "kids" have free access to the outdoors, that would also mean we'd have all sorts of other critters to have free access to the house.  Not such a good idea.

In Newbury Park, Andrew went out into the garage one night and came face to face with a raccoon.  Both froze and stared at each other for several moments.  Then in unison they turned and ran from each other.  So as convenient as doggie doors are, they are not without their problems.

I'm not sure how I got onto the doggie door rant, but there it is anyway.

Isn't this just beautiful?  Les's "circle."

Oh, yeah, I remember... the coat and boots and scarf and gloves just to let the dogs pee.  The use of the doggie door has left both Schultz and I with a communication problem.  He never had to ask to go out before.  So I bring him outside and we hang out for a while until he does his business.  With Mindy, there's no problem.  With Schultz, things just aren't flowing the way they used to when he was young.

Since I have to go out late in the evening, I guess I'd be foolish to complain about 50 degrees.

Schultz and Mindy playing with Ranger... Jim & Joelle's dog.

Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday 2011 has come and gone.  Les is in California until later this week.  I was invited to our friends' house -- Steve and Carol.  But starting Saturday evening, it snowed.  And it snowed, and snowed.

We awoke to a fresh 1-1/2 feet of snow.  Talk about a beautiful sight, but "Wow."

Now both Les and I grew up in the Chicago area.  Of course, I left Lombard when I was only 14 to move to California with my parents.  So maybe I can't really say that I "grew up" in Chicago, but I spent some formative years there.  And from what I've seen so far of Trinidad Colorado, it can't hold a candle to the massive snow storms of Chicago.  But that's one of the reasons we chose this little town.  I love the seasons.  I don't mind cold and snow.  But Trinidad offers milder seasons than one finds in other areas of the country.  Of course, tell that to my aching back after shoveling snow yesterday!

Back to Super Bowl... after all of that snow I decided it would be best to stay put in our little house.  While I can jockey for position on the freeways of LA with the best of them, I do have limited driving time in the snow.

I admit that I watched a little bit of the big game.  I don't mind football.  It can keep my interest a little better when my own kid is playing.  But, like many women, I enjoy the commercials.

I saw part of the 1st quarter.  I had decided to work on a painting.  But that wasn't working very well so I decided to continue painting the kitchen.  That was kind of a let-down, too.  Feeling rather ho-hum, I turned on Netflix and watched Surface.  I love sci-fi.  This seemed reminiscent of Close Encounters.

Since I didn't watch the game much, I found this website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41280800/ns/business-business_of_super_bowl_xlv/ where all of the commercials are.  So this morning as I was eating my Blueberry Frosted Mini-Wheats, I watched commercials.

Such a full life I lead!  :)

The Weather

Pristine snow on the circle.

The weather has been a huge topic the last few days.  Of course Chicago is digging out after a huge storm.  The east coast has ice.  And here we have very cold temperatures and some snow.  I don't mind at all.

Today is Thursday.  Monday it snowed all day.  The kids and I went up to the mountain top early Monday.  It was just starting to snow.  We took our usual walk and I watched as the clouds completely enveloped the little town of Trinidad.

On our way down the mountain it was starting to snow harder and harder.  I decided the best thing to do was to just hunker down in our little house and stay warm.  I hadn't moved the car since coming home on Monday.  And that's just fine with me.

Schultz near the rock at the bottom of our driveway.

Mindy was going stir crazy this week as we couldn't even get outside for our walks.  In her boredom, she ate a towel that I kept by the door to wipe off muddy paws.  She ate a plastic flower pot on the porch.  Now -- she doesn't just chew it up and spit it out.  She actually eats it.  That girl will eat literally anything.  Rocks, poop, newspapers, SHOES, etc.

The "circle."

Last night I let them out in the front of the house.  We have about 4 steps leading up to our front porch.  So the porch is maybe 4' above the front yard.  Mindy was harrassing Schultz as usual and I watched as she got closer and closer to the edge of the porch.  Suddenly she slipped and disappeared off the edge and then all I saw was this poof of powdery snow.  It looked exactly like the cartoons! 

This morning it was -17 degrees.  Way, way cold!  It made it up to about 25 degrees and was so sunny and beautiful that I decided to go on up to the mountain to let the kids stretch their legs.

But today they enjoyed going up to the mountain top with all their hearts.  Even Schultz was loping along in the snow.  And every time I go up there, I stop and gaze in wonder.  It's so beautiful.  Thank you God.  Thank you so much for this piece of heaven.  I love this land so much.  It nourishes and settles my soul. 

The Sangre de Cristo range to the west.

Our garage on the right.

What a Week.

Oh, what a week it's been.  Les left last Friday for California.  He expects to be gone pretty much 3 weeks.  In the meantime, I'm here at home with my January blues.

I'm blessed to have so many clients who love me and need me.  But during January I burn the candle at both ends and there is no help anywhere.  Boo-hoo.  Yes, I'll have my glass of whine now.

To add to things, Schultz has been sick all week.  He's having a problem with "things not coming out as they should."  A serious problem.

This morning that problem reared its ugly head in the Jeep.  IN THE JEEP!  Fortunately, we have a "Scout's Seat Saver" from Duluth Trading Post... one of our favorite merchants.  It took me about 1/2 hour cleaning that off when we arrived at the property.  It was a challenge since we have no running water up there.  So with paper towels and Lysol Pop-Up wipes, I was able to clean it enough to get it and everyone back home.  Then, into the washer it went.

While that was washing and while I was in the throes of  trying desperately to keep up with the massive volume of work I have that's due on Monday, Schultz came into the office, looked deeply into my eyes, then hunched his back again.  This time he christened the floor, the door, the printer table, the printer cable, and my laptop computer bag.  And the moment I realized what was going on, I rushed him quickly out of the house.  So in addition to most of my office, he got the hall, the dining room floor, the kitchen and the mud room.  By the time we made it outside he was empty.

Fortunately, today was a nice warm day.  ALL of the doors and windows were opened in a brave attempt to air the place out.  But then I was back on my hands and knees again with the Clorox and the paper towels.  Good Grief!

I made a quick call to our country vet who said to bring him in.  His temperature is normal, so it could be the cancer.  But we are choosing to believe that he just has some bug and antibiotics and some heavy-duty meds should (hopefully) do the trick.

I have to write about our vet.  He is a very cool man.  Down to earth in his jeans and cowboy boots.  Doesn't have much of an examination room so he just gets down on the floor with the dogs.  After he took a look at my boy he sat on one of the chairs next to me.  Even though I was really scared for Schultz, I couldn't help but be amused at the fact that he took off one of his cowboy boots, then adjusted the placement of the hole in his sock before he put the boot back on.

I love this town.  I love most of the people in it.  This is pretty close to heaven, I think.

Zumba

So I started attending a Zumba class.  My friend, Joelle, invited me last Sunday (yes, during the second football game) and I really enjoyed it.  Joelle was not able to attend tonight's class, so I just went by my self.  I wasn't alone long since the class was packed.  But it is so much fun!  Now, you just have to picture me... Large Marge shaking her bootie.

Les's Firepit

This morning we took our usual drive up the mountain to hike on the property.  We had about a 1/2 foot of snow yesterday so it was undisturbed, pristine, sparkling magic.  And what a lot of tracks I saw!  No cougar today, just fox, coyote, rabbit and deer.

And finally, finally I saw some critters on our property.  They are so elusive!  But yesterday as the dogs and I walked onto the road from our driveway, three deer broke cover and bounced up the hill.  Schultz couldn't be bothered, but Mindy was busy chasing the wind.  Otherwise, she would have chased them, all the time saying, "Put 'em up!  Put 'em up!"

My honey left for California last Friday, so it's been really quiet... just me and the kids.  He expects to be gone 2-3 weeks.  I miss him.  But I get along OK.  I really don't mind being alone as long as it's for a little while.  I get to watch the shows that I want to watch.  I get to sleep in the middle of the bed.  (I get to take the garbage out and wash the dishes.)  Oh well...