Life on the High Plains

Another Thanksgiving is in the books.  It was really nice and very laid back this year.  We decided to eliminate some of the food that nobody really likes, but we always feel the need to have such as sweet potatoes.  Does anyone really like sweet potatoes? I'm sorry, I don't. As usual, we forgot to take any family photos, however, we took one picture with my phone to send to Lucas in Australia.  Lucas has spent some holidays with us and because he is of Polish descent he started a tradition of having a shot of Vodka before dinner.  Well, this is usually done at Christmas, but this year we aren't going to all be together on Christmas so we decided to partake on Thanksgiving. A couple friends of Jillian and Brian's joined us since they don't have family nearby.  We've spend the last couple Thanksgivings with them and I always like to invite people into our home who don't have anyplace else to go. The little lady was all decked out fo...

On the day after Thanksgiving last year we had a beautiful day for some football--Air Force Academy vs. Colorado State.  Unfortunately CSU lost, but we still had a great day of tailgating and football.  This year, however, the high on the day after Thanksgiving is forecast to be 18 degrees with snow.  I think I'll stay inside all day which works out well since I have to work.  In case you don't know...I hate the cold.  Colorado is beautiful, but it's also extremely cold in the winter. Stay warm and have a great Skywatch Friday !

What a week! After waiting since July to have another treatment done on my back, I finally got into the surgery center on Monday.  It probably wasn't the best timing since there is a major holiday this week and we have a houseful of guests including a very sweet baby girl (who likes to take selfies with Grammy's phone). Apparently over time a person forgets how painful the recovery from this procedure can be.  The doctor warned me beforehand that my neck and spine would probably be extremely weak and sore for a couple weeks and boy was he right.  Luckily, I got to go home Monday and spend the day in bed with ice on my back.  Yesterday, however, I had to go back to work which was not fun.  I've pretty much learned to keep my pain level to myself after 4 1/2 years of constant pain.  People just don't want to hear it.  I'm just supposed to keep going at full speed everyday with a smile on my face.  Hopefully in two to three weeks we'll know if...

Last month we were in upstate New York to visit our daughter.  We found a beautiful trail to hike near Watertown--the Black River Trail.   We were there at just about the perfect time to see all the colors of Fall. A patchwork of oranges, yellows, reds, and greens.   Incredibly beautiful! Happy Skywatch Friday!

Today's post is going to be a commentary about what has been happening in the world over the past week.  Let me start by saying that what happened in Paris was horrendous.  A senseless act carried out by radical Muslim extremists, most of whom were French citizens. The outpouring of support for the citizens of France has been overwhelming.  We are a global community so when something like this happens to our French friends, it affects us too.  It has been touching to see how people on Facebook have responded. At the same time, however, something else has happened on Facebook. Radical, extreme messages of hatred towards all Muslims.  And what's even more disturbing is that these messages of hatred are quite often followed by posts about what great Christians these people are. I'm sorry, but what is going on in America?  Are we not a country of immigrants who came here to escape some kind of persecution?  What has happened to the humanity of the si...

Once again I'm really behind on my blogging.  We had the most exhausting weekend with our first craft fair and I'm still trying to recover from that.  I'll blog about that later, but right now I have to go back to Veteran's Day and Mr. Beans. GiGi and her mom came for a visit and we got to take them to the big Veteran's Day parade in downtown Colorado Springs to watch her cousin march in the parade.  It was a little big cold, but not too bad.   GiGi wasn't very excited, but she was a good sport even though she wasn't impressed by the parade at all.   What is a parade without horses?  Even better--real cavalry horses!   We live in a military town which means there are soldiers...   lots of soldiers.   G really likes hanging out with her Pappy.   We even got a fly by.   See, I told you she wasn't impressed.  She took a nap with Pappy who took extra special care to cover her ...

Don't you love interesting architecture?  Look at the towers and rooftop of Boldt Castle! It's so much to look at.  The spires, windows, chimneys--extremely interesting and beautiful! True art isn't only found on a canvas.  This type of architecture is its own kind of art. Love it! Happy Skywatch Friday!

While in New York last month we ventured up to the Thousand Islands.  Yes, this is where Thousand Island dressing came from.  We didn't go up there for the dressing though, we went to visit Boldt Castle located on Heart Island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. George Boldt started as a penniless immigrant from Prussia who became a multi-millionaire as proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.  He wanted to build a castle reminiscent of the castles on the Rhine River for his beloved wife, Louise.  Construction started in 1900 and 300 masons, carpenters, artists, etc. began work on the 6-story 120 room structure. In 1904 Louise expectedly died and heartbroken George called for an immediate end to construction.  He never again returned to the island.  For 73 years the castle sat empty and unused and was subjected to deterioration caused by harsh weather conditions and vandalism. In 1977 the Thousand Isl...

This post is long overdue, but my life is crazy lately so here it finally is. Last month we flew up to New York to visit our youngest daughter.  We flew into Buffalo and she took the Amtrak train down from upstate New York to meet us.  Before making the drive north we had to visit Niagara Falls, a place I had always hoped to visit. Let me just say that I thought the Falls were magnificent.  An amazing amount of water flows over those falls.  We learned about the crazies who have voluntarily gone over the falls and a young boy who survived going over the falls back in 1960 when the boat he was in had engine trouble up river. We of course had to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist.  It's what you do when you visit the Falls.   It was cold, windy, and very wet. It was also Breast Cancer Awareness month so we got pink ponchos which for some reason I felt the need to bring all the way back to Colorado with me. Luckily my camera sur...