Life on the High Plains

This is one of my favorite spots on earth--Wyoming, near Jackson Hole.  I took this shot when we traveled up there last fall to spend some time with my dad.  If I ever become a millionaire this is where I will live.  In fact, that may be my ranch in the distance.  I'm looking forward to heading up to this part of the country next month for a family reunion. Enjoy your Skywatch Friday !

So this past weekend I was reminded of how far behind I am with my blogging.  There are several stories I've neglected the last few weeks...one of these is Mary's new car. Mary's old Hyundai had gone about as far as it could go...no heat, doors that wouldn't open, hail damage, etc.  She had it for about 10 years and it only had about 60k miles.  Much to my surprise, Mary took it upon herself to go out and find a new car.  She fell in love with the Dodge Avenger.  Yes, I know it's a Dodge...how could anyone fall in love with a Dodge?  The dealer offered Mary a really low amount for her trade-in.  I was proud that she told them "no" and came home without the car. The next day she used the power of craigslist to sell the car herself in a couple hours for twice what the dealership had offered.  It amazes me how this girl can get what she wants when she puts her mind to it. Anyway, that night I took her back to the dealership and she came ...

I love holiday weekends!  After going to school for four years and spending so much time studying, I am really loving all this extra time I have.  This weekend I did some spring cleaning, spent some time with the world's greatest grandson, cooked Irv some yummy food, did a little gardening, watched Irv ride his really bad horse, saw a couple movies, worked on a quilting project, did a little shopping, and packed care packages for Afghanistan. Last night Mary, Jillian, and I had a girls night out.  (We missed having Dana with us, but she was in Vegas staying out until all hours of the morning.)  We started with a pedi and then went to see Gatsby.  I picked out a really pretty turquoise nail color.  Little did I know that when it dried it was going to be more green than turquoise, but I still like it.  Totally out of the box for me. Today I went shopping for some new work out shoes for boot camp.  I've been wanting so...

During the intermission of Sense and Sensibility at the Denver Performing Arts Center (DPAC) last weekend, Jillian and I stepped out onto the veranda for some fresh air.  A music festival was going on in the grassy area of the DPAC.  When Irv and I were here a couple weeks ago there was a Kentucky Derby party going on in this area.   If we turned our heads towards the west, this was the view. Colorado certainly provides some spectacular views for Skywatch Friday .

Wow!  The bills from my recent surgery and hospitalization are starting to flow in.  So far we're up to $43,060.64.  Thank goodness we have such good insurance!  Possible good news--for the last four days my pain level has been about 80% of what it has been the last 22 months.  Could this mean the procedure worked?  I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This has been a crazy week!  The tornado is Oklahoma just really broke my heart.  Maybe it's because I have family in Oklahoma, maybe it's because I have lots of Farm Credit friends in Oklahoma, maybe it's because Oklahoma is great horse country that I've travelled to many times with my 4-H kids.  Most definitely it was because there were tiny little victims who had barely begun to live.  It was heartbreaking and very scary.  It's hard to understand why these things happen, but we have to trust in our God who is the only one who knows the answer.  I'm praying for Oklahoma--for the g...

We had a weekend that was both fun and exhausting. Saturday night Irv, Jillian and I headed up to Denver for the Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley concert. It was a beautiful evening in Denver at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre.  Before the concert we stopped at Hacienda Colorado for some yummy Mexican food.  At the concert Jillian bought me a $9 can of Mike's Hard Lemonade.  The beer was $12 and I think their sales were doing quite well because there were a lot of people feeling pretty good around us.  There was also a familiar aroma in the air.  Being in Colorado where marijuana is legal is kind of odd at times. Joanna Smith and Randy Houser opened the show. Then Dierks cam out and did a fantastic job!  We really enjoyed him.  (Sorry the pictures aren't better--it was too dark.) Finally, Miranda took the stage.  I was so excited to see Miranda.  She's one of my favorites and I knew she did a get live show....

Here on the Eastern Plans of Colorado we've been experiencing a drought for several years. This past week we have had some rain! If you look real hard, squint your eyes, and turn your head at just the right angle, you may see a hint of green out there in our pasture. This is very exciting! I finished planting my veggie patch this evening.  It's the middle of May and I'm just now getting things planted.  We had a LONG, cold winter, but it seems like spring has finally arrived.  In only 68 days or so I will hopefully be harvesting the first of my veggies--tomatoes, green beans, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and pumpkins.  This year we've also adding a bed with sweet corn, I don't know how that will turn out, but it will be fun trying. I also put together my first ever flower tower.  72 petunias!  It doesn't look like much now, but give it a little time, lots of water, and gallons of Miracle Grow and it will ...

I had wonderful day today.  Mary, Jillian, and Mr. Beans took me to breakfast and then Jillian and I went to the zoo.  All three of my daughters and Mr. Beans showered me with gifts, flowers, and a spa in a box. Thanks girls!  I love you all so much. My brother posted a picture of my mom on Facebook that I didn't remember.  When Jillian saw the picture she said she didn't realize how much I resembled my mom.  In September my mom will have been gone for 10 years.  In some ways it seems like an eternity ago, in other ways in seems like just yesterday.  I miss her so much.   It was an absolutely beautiful day.  I got about 2/3rds of my veggie patch planted.   I spend about an hour just raking the tumbleweeds out of my garden.  This was a crazy year for tumbleweeds.  I should have taken before and after pictures.   It was a really nice day! 

Feeling better today...I ended up taking the whole week off of work. Oh well, that's what sick time is for, I just wish I didn't feel so guilty. I spent some time enjoying my flowers and playing with my camera.  I decided I've forgotten everything I ever learned in the photography classes I've taken.  Plus, I seem to have misplaced the cheat sheet I bought at one of these classes that reminds me how to set the aperture, shutter speed, etc. Oh well, my flowers are beautiful.  We've had rain the last three days so maybe sometime this summer we will have some blooms in the yard. Enjoy!                                

Everything was going so well.  I was pain-free and doing really well so they released me from the hospital several hours early so Irv and I decided to head home instead of staying near the hospital in a hotel.  After all, I was exhausted.  The hospital is not the place to get any rest. Not long after we got home I started having pain and I still can't eat much of anything.  In fact, at this point I can't imagine ever eating again.  I'm not complaining though...it could have been so much worse.  Fortunately for me, I had my comfort grand-dog here who stayed by my side all day.  He just seems to know when people aren't feeling well.  Thanks Diesel...I needed that lovin'. My plan was to go back to work tomorrow, but that's not going to happen.  Just one more reminder that I'm not the one in control.  I'm just very thankful that things went as well as they did and a little pain is to be expected when people have been exploring your insid...

Things went well today. The pressure in my sphincter of oddi was over three time higher than normal. They cut it and put a stent in so hopefully this will be the answer to my pain. In the meantime, I'm on a liquid diet and I've found a new favorite~Luigis lemon ice. Yum! I should have ordered five instead of one. The hospital has room service and I can order whatever I want. I have been truly touched by all the calls and texts. Thank you everyone!

So, tomorrow is the big day that I've been not wanting to think about--ERCP with Manometry and Sphincterotomy at the University Hospital in Denver. Scared. Nervous. Not sure. That's what I'm feeling today.  The only people that really know how scared I am are Jillian, a co-worker, and Irv.  This procedure has some not so pleasant possible complications that I would prefer to avoid. I "get" to stay in the hospital overnight after the procedure so I've been putting together the things I need for 24 hours in the hospital.  Some people might go with nothing.  Not me, life in a hospital is not fun and sleep is impossible so there are some necessities to pass the time away and feel as good as possible. The basic necessities include a robe, yoga pants, socks, glasses, insurance cards, and photo ID all stuffed inside a Disney World bag that brings back wonderful memories.    I've also include two books. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Aust...

Welcome to May in the Rocky Mountains!  Although you can't see it, Pikes Peak is straight ahead in those clouds.  We're grateful for the moisture, but rain would be okay.  We'd like to be done with the snow by now, but we'll take whatever we can get. Happy Skywatch Friday !

About a year and a half ago the company I work for formed a relationship with Goodwill Industries.  We were in the process of converting all of our paper files to electronic files and Good will had a document imaging service. Over a million scans later we were invited to come tour Discover Goodwill.  We thought we were just going to see the scanning program and meet the guys who worked on our files. Little did I know that I would walk away with my heart and emotions deeply touched. You see, Goodwill does so much more than the retail stores that you see.  They help people--people who have some type of life challenge.  Here in Colorado Springs they have a facility that is the only one like it in the nation.  They have a program called "Voyages" which is an adult day care for mostly senior citizens whose caregivers need a day off now and then.  They also provide home care for seniors who aren't physically able to get to the center. ...