Rapture Day?

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Or so some people thought it would be. As it stands at the moment, there have been no mass ascensions to heaven. I have the feeling that we will see the same thing happen in December when so many believe the end of the world will arrive because of the Mayan Calendar stops then. I’m not sure who I feel sorry for. Those who get disappointed because the Rapture didn’t arrive as promised, or those people who’s lives were damaged by people close to them who believed in the doomsday scenario in the first place.

Meanwhile in Walsenburg, the mornings are still cold and the afternoons warm and windy. It’s always windy here. We still have snow on the Spanish Peaks. It has been dry enough that I am going to pull the weeds out of the garden area and plant seeds. I had planned to do it earlier, but it has been such a cold May, that I didn’t want to loose everything to frost or snow.

It’s graduation week. La Veta and John Mall did their thing today. Gardner graduates on Wednesday. Morgan has her dress and she looks so grown up! She got a bespoke dress from Shanghai off a website. It fits her perfectly.

We’ve gotten the main room of the Wendy house (aka the guest house)  set up as a combination sewing area and work station.All the damp weather has made the front porch ‘move’ again. So, we decided to get the weight off of it. We are cleaning up the Wendy House to move into while we do some major reconstruction on the main house. I don’t want to try and breathe when we open up the floor to do the plumbing. Too many critters and dirt for my lungs. It would be a different matter if there was a real crawl space, but there isn’t. Whatever was there has been filled in by the hill moving south. I am looking forward to running water and a totally functional bathroom!!!!

Next will be relief of the dirt away from the garage wall. That will be a major undertaking unless we can get the city to help us as it is their alley which is rolling into the garage. I want to get my umbrella clothesline up too. It was my Grandma Pauline’s. I know where I plan to ‘plant’ it, we just have to get a sleeve for the end of the pole. I figure that with all the lovely sun, that it’s a shame to feed quarters to the dryers at the laundromat. 🙂

Here are some pictures of the new workspace in the Wendy House, and Morgan in her new dress.

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Our Girl Strikes Again!

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On Wednesday, we went up to Gardner for the Open House. This was for the science fair as well as the Voices of the Past presentation. Morgan got a 1st prize for her science fair project. She made an electricity generator. Water falling through a copper loop to generate spark, in the style of a Kelvin water dropper. She and Dan built it.

Then the Voices of the Past presentation. This is an oral history project that has been going on in Huerfano county since 1993. Students interview people who have lived in the county for at least 20 years and write a story up based on the interview. As the representative of the Huerfano World Journal, I got to hand out the prizes. 🙂 Better yet, Morgan won first prize!

This weekend, Morgan gets to go to La Junta for the regional Science Fair. We drop her off in a few hours and then we are heading to Pueblo for a bit of shopping. 🙂

The slide show has pictures of Morgan’s science fair board, Morgan and Douglas, the man she interviewed, all the winners, and Liz Schneider, the 7th & 8th grade teacher.

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Dads and Daughters

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Yesterday, Dan and I went with my Mom and Dad to Colorado Springs. Dad went to Memorial Hospital for a bladder biopsy. He was nervous and I don’t blame him. He had bladder cancer and this was a checkup to make sure that everything was still gone. One he was all ready, Dan, Mom and I went to get some lunch. Funny bit is that Mom had two older men with white beards hit on her. One even had a Santa Hat on and asked her if she’d been good. Of course, she said. LOL.

Dad got the biopsy done and then we headed home. We stopped at Bingo Burger for dinner. We enjoyed it, but Dad had trouble tasting food, so he and Mom will probably go another time to see if he likes it. Dad was also a bit loopy on the pain meds, but it was okay. We got home around 8pm.

Today was busy. Dan and I went to the County Commissioner’s meeting and Dan introduced himself as the South Central Workforce Chair and gave them an update on what has been going on in Workforce. After that, we got a few things done including a little bit of rearranging in the living room/office area. Then around 5pm, we headed for Gardner. Tonight was their Holiday program. Since there were so many kids/families of different religions, they chose a non-Christmas theme. Instead they celebrated Mexican culture. Lots of kids singing songs in English and Spanish as well as a small play about a fiesta. Morgan was the Iguana who organized everything. It was a riot, especially when she turned and hit her head and then fell over the screen that the stage hands moved too close to her. It looked like part of the play, while it really was a accident. However, she laughed and made it look like it was planned. She has a bump on her head, and that is about it. The whole program was wonderful. Afterwards, we all had cookies and treats that the families brought. John and Beth came up with Logan, so I got to see my grandson. 🙂 He is so like his dad.

We got home around 9pm, and Morgan is now doing homework for finals and Dan is doing classwork too. I’m catching up on my blog and then bedtime. Yawn!!!

Where the ‘ell do I start?

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Okay, this is the third time I’ve tried to write this post. Sigh. My computer is having snit fits.

Last week was the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival.Take a peek at their website!

I did a lot of baking for two bake sales I had promised I’d do for Barbara Yule. Thursday after work, we headed up to the Ceilidh in Gardner. It was wonderful. Lots of good music and almost every act played. Morgan joined us after her volley ball game. Gardner won!
Friday was the picnic at Uptop which is the ghost town at the top of Old La Veta Pass. The bake sale was good and the music great!. That night, we worked the concert at the Fox Theater in Walsenburg. Ed Miller and John Taylor followed by Chris Newman and Mairi NiChathasaigh. Lovely lovely evening.

Saturday, I baked more items and we then went to the concert at the Fox. This time it was the Shamrock Kitchen Quartet. Singing and Sean Nos dancing. Once again a wonderful evening. Sunday we got up early, packed a ton of baked goods into the truck and headed to La Veta for the morning bake sale. We did really good and headed over to the concert with Colcannon Express. Fantastic music. We had a great time. The whole festival was wonderful.

Monday, I woke with a Migraine… Ugggghh… too much sun, not enough water, and stress. Wonderful combo. NOT. I crawled to the aspirin, and Dan brought me the phone so I could call off work. I was in bed most of the day. By about 6pm, I began to feel human. I read a bit and then went back to bed.

Tuesday, I was up and moving, because I had Jury Duty.

I was there by 8:15am. I didn’t expect to be chosen. I was the last juror chosen. We took a lunch break and the trial started at 2:30pm. It was a Domestic Violence type case. We heard all the evidence, saw pics, listened to witnesses. We went into deliberation around 7pm, and they got us dinner. After a lot of deliberation, discussion, agreements, disagreements, and more discussion, we finally decided that while something obviously happened, that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict. We had way too many doubts. So, about 8:45pm, we gave the judge our verdict. You could tell that the DA and the Judge thought we were nuts, but we just couldn’t choose anything other than Not Guilty on the evidence we were given. That whole thing about ‘reasonable doubt” takes on a whole new meaning when you look at the laws. I got a certificate. That was just strange. It even has the court case on it. As I waited for Dan to pick me up, the defendant came out and thanked me as he passed. I just nodded.

I got home at 9:15pm, and was asleep before I could even hit the pillow.

Today I went to work, did a bunch of errands. I met with John and told him again that I want a divorce and sent him a list of stuff I want from the house

Tomorrow I’m going to catch up on the tons of email I have to read and then I’m going to start working on the house. I have a big urge to do Fall Cleaning!!!

Thursday was wonderful, weird and sad.

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Thursday was Dan’s 47th birthday. It was also the day we had to head up to Palmer Lake and have lunch with the Governor. On top of that, it was the day Ian headed for MEPS, the big physical which decides if he can enlist or not in the military. Oh, and my parents left for New Mexico and we are babysitting Elway, the cat.

So,… Up at the crack of dawn. Morgan off to school, and all three of us trying to cycle through the bathroom to get ready to go. 8am, all of us out the door. We dropped Ian off in Pueblo and headed north to Palmer Lake. It was a good thing we were early, because we got lost. The Inn at Palmer Lake might as well be the Bat Cave. It isn’t easy to find at all, even with directions and GPS. One of the women there said her Garmen’s GPS had failed. sigh…

The meeting was great. Governor Ritter signed the Colorado Workforce Development Council into law/being and then we had lunch. The food was okay, and yet not enough. One of the guys at our table asked if everyone was hungrier than they were before lunch. Most were. As it was, we ate in Pueblo on the way home.

After our ‘second lunch’, we drove to Gardner for Morgan’s volleyball game. Gardner was playing La Veta. It was a tighter game than Aguilar, but Gardner’s A and B team were both winners. As a treat, we took Morgan to A&W for a rootbeer float. 🙂 We had a little bit of time with her before she had to head over to her mom’s for the weekend. sigh…

Then it was time for a bit of quiet for Dan and I. I sat down to my computer so I could write and Dan started on school work. There wasn’t any magic smoke, but my computer died. Dan thinks it is the hard drive and we will try and fix it in the next few days. Meanwhile, I am timesharing on his computer. pout… tears… sadness…

Friday Ian enlisted in the Air Force. He isn’t sure when he will ship out as he is waiting for a job opening.

Today we went to the Upper Huerfano to pick choke cherries. The bears had been there first, so we got more rosehips. sigh…

Tomorrow I plan to do a lot of baking for the Spanish Peaks Celtic Festival where I will be holding two bake sales. At least that will keep my mind off the lack of computer.

A very odd day

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We borrowed my parent’s truck on Friday and went to Pueblo. We had some parts to pick up for a job Dan has on Monday. Plus, we decided to buy some groceries and Morgan needed some school clothes. We ran around and did the job shopping first. Then we went to lunch at Wendy’s. Morgan biffed the door and did the whole spin and land on the floor thing. She felt so ditzy.

Then we went to the ARC. It’s a second hand shop, and while we looked at tons of clothing, the only things we got were a pair of sleep pants for Morgan and 6 tiny bread pans for me. Figured that it would be useful to have them when I do the bake sale for the the Celtic Music Festival in a couple of weeks.

Then we went to Old Navy. Morgan found 2 pairs of jeans, a top and a pair of exercise shorts. After that, we went to Walmart and found her 3 sports bras. All total, about $65 worth of clothing. Sort of an expensive month when we add in the $20 I paid Gardner school so that her athletic fees would be paid. Oh well. Hopefully, I will get some more hours and not be so short on cash the rest of the month.

Then we drove home. It was a crazy day, but a fun one.

Community

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Today,was one of those days when you’re glad to be a part of something. Eric D’Ambrosia’s funeral was today. It was held up in Gardner at Gardner School. It was the only place big enough to hold all the people. Dan and I figured that there were over 300 people there. Students, teachers, friends, neighbors and family.

However, for one small span of time, we were all family. Eric was a friend, a brother, a son to everyone in that room. Sitting there listening to the Rosary you could feel the bonds grow stronger. As the Memorial mass went on, and Fr. Frias spoke, everyone blended together. When his aunt Cathy spoke the eulogy, with his sister Susan by her side, we all cried as family. While his death was a terrible blow, it brought so many people together as community.

At the graveside and later at the community center where food was provided for everyone, people shared stories, hugs, tears and memories. People who hadn’t seen each other in ages hugged and chatted like it had only been a day.

It was a sad day. It was also a beautiful day. My only sorrow is that it took the death of a beautiful young man to bring us all together.

A rough week

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Last week was horrid. Rough. Buzy. However you want to slice it.

Sunday. Hectic. Kayla arrived back to spend the week with us. She was moving and needed a place to stay in order to finish up school. So, we had her stay with us.

Monday we had the meeting in Trinidad with the workforce people. I think that in spite of the hectic start to that day including being late, it was the best day of the week. I got home early enough to go do the school board meeting in La Veta.

Tuesday. Hell day. My friend Mickey’s son Eric died. He was in a roll over car crash, and ejected, because he didn’t wear his seat belt. The accident happened in the early hours of the morning, and the paramedics figured he died some time after the crash. He was 17.

Of course, this colored the rest of the week. The RE-1 school board meeting that night was full of tears and very quiet people. I think it was the shortest, quietest meeting I’ve been to there in years.

Wednesday. Gardening with the vets out at the veteran’s nursing home. I pruned 10 rosebushes in need of serious help and then dug and planted a 4×8 raised bed by myself. I got home, got changed and we all headed out to Gardner for the 8th grade graduation. It was a good yet slightly bittersweet event. Eric had gone to Gardner school, and his family lives just down the block from school.

After graduation, I had the memorial service for Eric to attend. It was at the high school. Very moving. Tearful. Painful. And just right. People told stories, sang songs, there was a slide show that lasted about ten minutes, and of course, lots of tears. His family was there. The principal gave his mom the award he would have gotten for improvement in English. I got to see Mickey and Sal, and my heart broke. At the end of the memorial, we all released balloons. sigh…

I walked from the high school to the library and went to a Town Hall meeting. That was interesting. We got home around 9:30pm.

Thursday. We cleaned the front yard and hauled TRASH!!! Also did a lot of prep work to clean up the rest of the house. I tiled the kitchen cabinet tops too. Used the same tile I did on the bedroom dresser, and they look cool.

Friday. This was run around doing errands day. Paid bills, bought groceries, applied for a job as a cook at a local hotel and did some more garden work in the front yard. Friday evening, I made bread for the cat coalition bake sale. Dan got a call from the family in New Zealand. Mikki had a bouncing baby boy around 9pm our time. 9 pounds, 2 oz and 21.25 inches long! I think Dan said they were naming him Richard. This is Dan’s second grandbaby. Finally hit the pillows around 1am.

Saturday. Took bread to the bake sale, dropped a loaf by the hotel and got a tour of the kitchen and then came home to clean house. Oh boy… Moved LOTS of stuff. The front porch is now tidy. We moved all the building supplies out to the garage. We also moved stuff out of the front and back yard to clean up. I have lots of supplies for the green house project, and will start on that in the next few weeks. I did load after load of laundry too. Where DID all those dirty clothes come from??? We did a huge amount of work, and got finished just in time for Ian’s family to show up. (the reason for the mass house cleaning in the first place.)

The visit went well, and Dan and I had a bit of quiet time as Ian went to see IronMan 2 with his family. Plus, something I ate disagreed with me. Ugh….

Today… I am moving slowly. Still feel punky. However, the house is clean, laundry is done and I don’t think there is anything on the schedule for the next 24 hours….. Wheeeee…. Oh, and my Mom is back from Littleton!!! 🙂

Tuesday, Birthday, Meeting day…

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It is a WARM day today, which is a really nice change from the cold and Snow of yesterday. I have the doors and windows open and I’m letting the air warm the rest of the house. I’m also glad that it is warm, because Dan is working on my car yet again. sigh…

Today is Ian’s 20th birthday. He’d planned to go to Pueblo, but with the car not working right, he just hung around the house. I’m making him a carob mayo cake and barbecued beef for dinner.

Plus, tonight is the RE-1 school board meeting which will probably be a LONG meeting. The alcohol issue, drugs at school- Peakview, and a bomb scare at the high school. Not exactly what most school districts want just before the end of school.  We had an irate member of the public try and tell me how bad Morgan’s school was too, because Gardner was letting students shadow at both RE-1’s high school and Re-2’s. Gee, where has he been for the last 20 years?  Oh well. It should be interesting.

We went to Walsenburg lumber and got glass, caulking wood putty and sandpaper so I can fix the back window and my dresser. Wheeeeee!!! I got a new story up too. I’ve managed just about a story a day on that blog. Also got a power point presentation done yesterday for college. Here’s hoping the professor reads and grades the right one this time. Yes, I’m still irritated over that.

Three Cups of Tea

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Over the holidays I finally got a chance to read this book. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Great book! Wonderful book.

It first got brought to my attention a few years ago when Gardner School was doing a Pennies for Peace drive and had the short synopsis of the story available. I emptied my pockets into the jar that afternoon. I tried to get the book at the library and had no luck. So, I bought it. Did I have time to read it at first? No. sigh… So it sat on my shelf and waved every time I passed the shelf.

I finally picked it up on Yule. (December 21st) The story is about Greg Mortenson, a mountaineer and high altitude climber. He was climbing K2 when a team member needed an emergency evacuation. On his way down, he gets lost and ends up in a small Baltistan village called Korphe. The villagers take him in. “Here ( in Pakistan and Afghanistan) , we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything—even die.” Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan (Moretenson & Relin, 2006, Penguin books)

Mortenson realizes that so much depends on education, and that was one of the biggest things missing from the small villages. He promises to build a school. Working on that epiphany, he returns time and again to build schools for the small isolated villages in Pakistan and later Afghanistan. The book is about his struggle to achieve this.

The book struck cords on many levels. First off, I’m a daughter of a mountaineer. I spent every weekend as a child either hiking, camping or waiting for my dad to come down off of the high peaks. I understand the climbing culture and the drive that some people have to be out in the mountains. It took me years to understand that when Dad talked about God, he meant Great Out Doors.  I share that love of the mountains and high places.

Next, education. I live in a rural area where education is a struggle for so many. I’ve been on the local school board and shared the joys and frustrations that go hand in hand. Especially when it came to raising money.

Most of all, this is a wonderful story about what a person can do if they try. Greg Mortenson is a beautiful human being. Three Cups of Tea is worth the read! http://www.threecupsoftea.com