Around Here

Around here time is flying by too quickly.  Could it really be two weeks since John and Dawn moved to Colorado?  Yes, it can, and that means that Dawn headed back to Virginia today to finish out her last few months of work.   I hope the time flies by as quickly there as here, since I know she'll be happy to be retired and in her new Colorado home with her boys and husband in February.  

We had a "last supper" at a Mexican cantina last night and the busy but nice waiter took our photo.  

John and Dawn live about 30 minutes northeast of us and they have wonderful views of the mountains from their home and their neighborhood.  I caught this sunset the other night.  Beautiful!

I never had a chance to tell you about the Boulder County Fair with its impressive displays by children in the 4H who raised chickens, pigs, goats and rabbits.  They even tamed wild mustang horses caught on BLM lands so they could be put up for adoption.

The large numbers of 4-H kids involved in the fair was a good reminder of how rural parts of Boulder County still are.  These kids knew their stuff; you could ask them anything about their animals and they knew the answers.

Here is a little guy telling the judge all about his chicken.   I love his hat, and of course he had on boots, too, which you don't see in this photo.

Speaking of rural, the local corn grown out at Munson's Farms is ripe and delicious now.  I don't think tomatoes from around here can touch the ones we used to get in Maryland, and our yummy Palisades peaches come from the western slope of the Rockies, not from the Front Range, but we sure do have wonderful local corn.  And now is the time to enjoy it.

Ben has been systematically painting the interior doors on the first floor of the house, brightening up the dark entryway and hallways.  Amazing what a difference it makes.

Here's a "before" and "after" of the entryway.

Last Tuesday Paul flew to Maryland to visit his friends Alex and Tommy, two brothers that he grew up with.  They all were tended in day care by Miss Margie, and remained friends while going to elementary and middle school. They had a great time catching up with each other.  In this photo they are celebrating by toasting with "shot glasses" of chocolate syrup!  

This was Paul's first trip alone involving air travel and he had quite an adventure on the return leg.  His flight was cancelled but he was able to rebook on one leaving several hours later.  Then that one was cancelled!  He was rebooked on a flight leaving the next day, so he spent another night with his friends; thank you to parents Greg and Lorianne!   That flight took off but then ran into storms as it approached Denver and was diverted to Amarillo, Texas.  It landed  briefly and then flew to Denver and he finally landed in Colorado at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, twenty-six hours after we expected him.  As Ben said, "Welcome to flying solo, Paul!"

He kept his cool, though he was eager to get back home in time for an important and fun gig that his band was playing at the Pioneer Inn up in Nederland at 10:00 Saturday night.  Back in the day the Inn drew rock musicians who were recording at the nearby Caribou Ranch recording studio.  Stars like John Lennon, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Buffet, and Dan Fogelberg played there.  Now things are different but, as the Inn's web site says, "Quality live music and good vibes is what the Pioneer Inn is still all about."

After a quick stop at home for his bari sax, Ben and I drove him up and he arrived just as the gig was starting.

I was glad that he made it because it was the last time the band will play together with this set of musicians.  Several members are going out of state for college and a new lineup is being formed.  I'll sure miss Will (trumpet),  Evan (alto sax), and Gavin (bass guitar).  It's been great fun to see the group grow and improve over the past year.  

One of the things that Paul enjoyed about this gig was "when all the Moms danced."  It's true; all the Moms did get out on the dance floor.   How could we resist?  Listening to the lively music and watching our beautiful and talented children was so much fun, who could sit still!  This short video will give you a taste of what the scene was like.    If it doesn't play for you, try this link. 

 

Ah, well, life moves on and change is constant.  Already the new school year is beginning.  Paul goes back to school on Thursday and CU freshmen move into their dorms over the weekend.   Upper class students seem to already be back, moving into their apartments and filling the stores as they buy what they need for their new digs.  Traffic has picked up and the restaurants are full again. 

Around here the calm days of summer are quickly drawing to a close.