An End of an Era

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Yesterday was Morgan’s 8th Grade Graduation. It was a big day in so many ways. It started early with all of us getting up and trying to find an eyeball per socket. Dan dyed Morgan’s hair and helped her with her nails. The chemicals just kill me. Then after we all got dressed in the ‘nice clothes’, we headed to Gardner.

Keep in mind that Gardner School is a small family type school. Under 80 kids, Pre-K through 8th. Rich, poor, rancher, townie or alternative lifestyle… one big family. We had lunch with Morgan and the other graduates. Afterwards, I helped Morgan into her dress and it was time for the ceremony. There were five graduates this year, and Kevin Crossen, their Science/PE teacher gave the commencement speech. Kevin is a big guy. Well over 6ft. He’s standing there giving his speech about these kids he thinks of as his own. Some of them he’s taught since they were 5. He started out saying that he wouldn’t cry, and we could see him trying so hard not to do so. For the most part. We cried with him.

Morgan got the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence and she was the Valedictorian for her class. They did an imovie and gave speeches. Best part though was that Morgan, legendary for her Morgan Moments, didn’t trip once, stumble or fall. 🙂 She’s a klutz, and for once, she was graceful. In heels no less!!!

Afterwards, there was a reception in the cafeteria. Dan videoed the graduation and we took lots of pictures. It was a great day!

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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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Think Big Conference!

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Dan and I went to a Think Big Conference sponsored by the Colorado Workforce and department of Labor and Employment this week. Monday through Friday. It was really good. The worst part was some technical hiccups with power point presentations. The best was the speaker on the last day. Robert Wendover spoke about the generations and the Millennial Mind. I thought it was going to be a bomb, because the guy looked like a total nerd. “How can that guy in his 50’s talk about people in their 20’s”  I thought. Well, he did it very well. I was surprised. Happily surprised.

I got to see my sister and her husband too. She works for the DOL&E. She was running an information booth. We got to visit for about an hour which was good.

Of course this conference started with temps in the 70’s and finished yesterday with it snowing as we left! BRRRRrrrrr!!! Colorado in the spring! Damn!!! Today of course it is cold and damp. We might get a high of 60. sigh.

Today is a kick back and take it easy day. I was so glad to sleep in my own bed last night! Oh, and tea. Our box of tea came yesterday. We’ve been out for a week. Akkkk!!! Which reminds me, I need more tea.

May Spring Weather at Last!!!

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Well, we did have typical Colorado May weather on May 1st. Snow! It was very cold wet snow. The early part of the week wasn’t much better. While warm during the day, the nights were still very cold. And Windy!

Thursday we went to Denver. While the sun was shining and the weather was warmer, the wind was still chilly. Yesterday was warm and today it is a balmy 73 degrees!!! Springlike May weather at last! Who knows, at this rate I may be able to plant my garden by May 15th!

This year I plan to plant pumpkins, squash, onions, beets, salad greens and lots of marigolds. I’ve been avoiding working in the garden plot because of the wild violets. I’m allergic to them. sigh… However, they have about run their course and I can pull them up without needing an oxygen mask. 🙂

We have three small trees to chop down as well in the front yard. Suckers from an elm that went wild. I’d like to put a few apple trees out front, but that will have to wait a bit. Our front porch project may start sooner than we expected. The stairwell is beginning to crack more. So, we have almost totally evacuated the two front porch rooms. Business stuff moved to the back porch and the ‘Wendy House’ aka the guest house. My sewing room also moved out there. Weird. First time in 33 years that my sewing machine hasn’t been under the same roof with me. It does give me more space, but I need to finish up the organization of it. Dan has a shelf unit to build for me.

Part of the reason for the move was that I have been talking to one of the local SCA’ers and said I’d be available for costume work. With computer work as slow as it is, I’m back to sewing for cash. I’m also grateful that our local yarn shop, Edla’s Yarns, sells some basic sewing supplies. I needed zips for a couple of outfits and luckily she had some! Otherwise it would have meant a trip to Pueblo for a $2 item. So, while Dan goes to the Fox Theater to run the lights for the El Fandango show this afternoon, I’ll be cutting and sewing. Wheee!!!