Life on the High Plains

I've been neglecting Skywatch Friday for too long.  Today I'm vising the Photo Library on my phone to see what might be suitable. Fortunately, I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and I get to see tremendous views of Pikes Peak on my way to work each morning.  Here's a few shots from a few days ago when Pikes Peak got its first good covering of snow for the season. I love how the clouds are just floating and reaching out to the viewer. One of these days I'm going to get in an accident as I drive along taking pics of my mountain.  Good thing we live on a infrequently traveled dirt road.   Happy Skywatch Friday!

The subject of today's blog is workplace bullying. Have you every experienced it?  Have you ever had to live it on a daily basis?  Have you ever been the target of someone's bullying ways because of the perceived threat you pose to them? All I'm going to say is this...it's time to make a change.  Decision has been made...and it has not been an easy decision--very emotional. Hostile work environment, bullying at work, whatever you want to call it.  I found this article on www.workplacebullying.org and it fits the situation perfectly. Unlike schoolyard bullying, you were not targeted because you were a "loner" without friends to stand up to the bullying gang. Nor are you a weakling. Most likely, you were targeted (for reasons the instigator may or may not have known) because you posed a "threat" to him or her. The perception of threat is entirely in his/her mind, but it is what he/she feels and believes. WBI research findings from our ...

My three weeks on the road has come to an end!  Woohoo!! I'm so glad to be able to unpack my suitcase and put it away for a few weeks. Of course this means that I can no longer make my once or twice weekly trip to Braum's for the world's best hamburger followed by a Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk shake or cone. You see when you're not able to eat ice cream, you really appreciate a company that make a wide variety of really good frozen yogurt. No worries though.  I made a final stop at the Braum's in Salina, Kansas on my way home yesterday and they were kind enough to package up six tubs of my favorite frozen yogurt in a Braum's cooler and pack it with ice for me.  (Apparently I'm not the first person with this kind of request.)  How is that for superior customer service? If you're not familiar with Braum's let me tell you a little bit about them.  Braum's operates its own 10K acre farm near Oklahoma City.  They have their own dairy cow...

I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week. 1.  It's my last week in Wichita. 2.  I get to go to Tulsa to spend some time with my brother, Yogi , and his family, 3.  Arabian Nationals! 4.  I get to spend some time with my youngest daughter which is a rare thing these days. 5.  Tulsa Run 5K! Believe it or not, I have actually been doing some training for the Tulsa Run 5K while in Wichita this past week.  I vowed to walk at least 5 miles per day.  The weather was beautiful in Wichita so I was able to get most of my walking done outside, although my shoes did become familiar with the hotel fitness room treadmill also. I put a little effort into finding the perfect walking spot in Wichita and found the greenway that runs alongside the Arkansas River.  It was so peaceful and relaxing even though it was right downtown. I did a 3-mile loop on the trail, but it seems to go on a lot further.  I bet you could easily do 6 or more mile...

I love weekends!  I can't wait until everyday becomes a weekend! My meeting in Wichita ended a day early this week and I had the option of paying several hundred dollars for an earlier flight, renting a car and driving home (like I did last week), or just hanging out in Wichita. I chose to just hang out in Wichita.  I tried to sleep in late, but that's not something I'm really able to do anymore.  After packing up my things I headed to my first destination--Rhatigan Student Center at Wichita State University.  With Dana's permission I am able to share that the new baby is a girl!  Dana is a WSU alum and since there's a new baby coming who will arrive just in time for March Madness, I had to take the opportunity to get her an appropriate outfit.  This will be the perfect outfit for our Baby Girl to wear while watching the Shockers win the NCAA Championship.   I also wanted to buy her this stuffed Shocker, but couldn't quit figure out...

My garden didn't do too well this summer, too cool and rainy I suppose. Now that it's October, however, it is going crazy. Hundreds of tomatoes, zucchinis, and cucumbers.  What to do with all this fresh produce?  I wish there were a way to freeze it in it's current state.  I never learned how to can and I don't like frozen veggies too much, so I need to find a way to use it as it comes off the vine. Last weekend it was homemade spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes. Turning tomatoes into sauce takes a few steps so I had to recruit help (even if he was wearing a KC Chiefs jersey). I peeled the tomatoes, Irv did the chopping. I sautéed up some onions, garlic, and herbs. Added the tomatoes then... put it all in the crockpot to simmer for hours and hours.  Of course we added some ground beef (because we're beef eaters around here.) It was quite yummy! While I was in Wichita last week Irv made another trip out to the garden and h...

Customer service...what do you think about it these days? Last week I traveled to Wichita for work.  I knew things were going to be unpleasant from the time I checked in at the airport on Monday.  My flight was running late which meant I was going to miss my connection in Dallas/Ft. Worth to Wichita.  The good news is that American had one more flight that evening that I could get on...the bad news is that it didn't depart until 10:30 p.m. Ugh...I had staying up late.  I really do turn into a pumpkin at 9:00 p.m. Oh well, it is what it is so let's make the best of it. I got to DFW and took my time getting to my new gate.  In fact, I rode that train all the way around.  It was kind of nice not to be in a huge hurry. Dinner time.  What could be better than some Texas BBQ?  Well, this BBQ wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but it was better than the fast food choices. Then I walked around for a bit trying to get my daily 1...

We had a great weekend!  On Saturday we made the trek up to Ft. Collins and Ag Day followed by the CSU vs. Tulsa football game.  Now, in case you haven't heard, the Rams are doing great this year.  They are 4-1 and had a big win over Boston College last week and Tulsa this week. Cam the Ram was there along with his really cool trailer. Look at that beautiful blue sky in Ram Country!   The stadium was filled with orange.  The school celebrates its agricultural history at this game.  The players and fans wear orange to honor when the school was known as Colorado A & M.      After the game I had to embarrass Jillian by insisting that we get our picture with the Cam back drop.     Then we headed over to the campus.  It's impossible to go to Ft. Collins without taking a tour around campus.  As I've posted before, it's the most beautiful campus on earth.     We were with Jil...

October is here and fall is in the air.  There are good things and bad things about this time of year. Some of the good things are:  Football, perfect temperature for hiking, apple harvest, golden aspens in the mountains, and beautiful sunrises like this.  (Isn't it awesome that God is such a Bronco's fan and gives us these beautiful orange and blue skies?) The bad list is much shorter:  shorter days and winter is right around the corner. I hope you enjoy this beautiful Skywatch Friday !