In Between Birthdays

We've had days and days of grey smoky skies, ozone warnings, and high temperatures.  It's been depressing to have our lovely Flatiron and mountain views obscured and worrisome to know we're  breathing in polluted air. We aren't in a drought, which is certainly good, but the areas that were burned in last year's fires are experiencing many mudslides, including one up in Ft. Collins (about 90 minutes from here) which left three people dead.  And you've probably heard about the big mudslide outside of Glenwood Springs which has closed I70 for the past few days.  With the constant drumbeat of news about the virus and politics always in the background it's all too easy to get discouraged.

 

But today I woke to a beautiful morning with cool and clear looking (though still poor quality) skies after an unbroken night of good sleep, and everything seems more hopeful! 

We are in between birthdays.  Paul turned 21 on July 24, which is a momentous birthday.  He went out with friends on the big day itself but then came over here the next day.  After a romp with turbo we went up to Nederland for pizza and then to Sweet Cow for a cone.

I'm turning 70 on Sunday but am starting my festivities today.  Tonight we'll have dinner here with Ray and Paula featuring crab cakes from Maryland's O'Donnell's Seafood and lobster rolls from Maine, and, I hear, a luscious birthday dessert. On Saturday I'm going to an outdoor craft show in Loveland with my SIL, Dawn, and then out to a special dinner with John and Dawn.  On Sunday morning Ben and I are heading up to the mountains for a couple of nights.  Should be a fun few days!

Do you buy yourself birthday presents?  I do, and especially for a big birthday like a 70th.  Look what I bought; yes, it's textile art, a wonderful depiction of canyonlands made by Nancy Dobson, an artist based in Grand Junction, Colorado.  When Jean and Janice and I were in Grand Junction in May I spotted a similar piece by Nancy hanging in a cafe and later contacted her about commissioning something like it for me.  Isn't it great?

Besides the red rocks, I love how Nancy captured the rocks and plants with stitching and beading. 

After seeing photos of my recent works based on canyonlands pictographs, Nancy cleverly added some rock art to the alcove wall above the cairn-lined path.  Look directly above the cairn on the left to spot a circular image and then a bit to the right is a figure.  Keep looking right and you'll spot a find more images above the cairn on the far right.  It took me forever to spot them!  As Nancy wrote me: "I think it's fun that you didn't spot them, as rock art is sometimes hard to spot! Follow the rock cairns to what looks like an alcove area.  They are very subtle, but they are there!"  

I hung this piece in the stairway landing going down to the basement,  a bit of an odd spot but it can be seen from the kitchen and the dining room and really livens up that hallway.  After I hung it I realized that the light coming in the door window changes throughout the day and greatly affects the light falling on the quilt.  So every time you look at it, the light is different, just like on the real canyon walls.  

Nancy was a pleasure to work with and I'm loving this piece.  

As I've been writing this post the electricians have been here installing new lights in the kitchen.  

One of our old ones broke and we needed to quickly buy new ones, so I found these "Gemstone" pendants from Elk Lighting in an internet search.  They looked good on the screen, and I went on faith that they'd look good hanging over our kitchen counter.  

And they do; whoohoo!   

I especially like how they look different as you dim them up and down.  

Well, UPS just delivered tonight's lobster.  It's sure looking like a good day!   

A Transformation

This is the basement "bonus room" back in early 2014, just after we bought our house.  Along with the tiny bathroom next door, it made a perfect bedroom for Paul.  He set it up so one end was the gaming zone and the other was the bedroom, and we painted two of the four walls green, which was still Paul's favorite color at the time. 

When he moved out in early September I decided to claim the space for me and Ben.  I had visions of an area where several people could watch TV on a big screen, where there would be a nice rug to stretch out on when the mood to exercise hit, and where a bed would be all ready to hold Paul or guests or even me or Ben if the need arose.   Our upstairs guest/TV/office room only held two people comfortably, it always took a while to set the pull out sofa bed up, and we had no floor space open anywhere in the house for stretching or doing pilates or yoga poses.   

Having established the goals for the redesign of the bonus room space, the first decision was what color to repaint it.  After trying several samples on the walls I began to realize that I was a bit reluctant to paint over Paul's green.  Somehow losing that green was symbolic of losing my little boy.  Once I worked through that little issue I quickly decided that the new color would be Benjamin Moore's Steel Blue, a lovely blue grey that made me smile as soon as I saw it.     

Another big decision was what to put down for flooring.  The old carpet had to go since we'd had two small floods at one end of the room which resulted in about a third of the carpet being ripped up a year or so ago.   With the help of our interior designer friend, Lotus, we chose waterproof luxury vinyl in a deep walnut finish.   (We believe we've licked the water problem, but you never know.) 

I was really glad that we didn't do the installation when I saw how hard the two-man crew worked and what a great job they did.  

Ta da!  After a day's hard work the floor was down!  Ben is resting on the bed which the workmen kindly moved into its new position.  We were tired out from searching area consignment shops for some new-to-us pieces of furniture and getting rid of old things we didn't need anymore in this space.  I'm glad we live in a town where it's easy enough to find good used furniture and glad that we bought Ben's new old truck just in time to use in moving things in and out. 

Then we spent about a week prepping and then painting the ceiling and walls.  That was a lot of work!  We were too busy to take photos, but I'm sure you can imagine the chaos.  

But, finally it was over and now we have lovely space to watch our new 65" TCL screen, which Paul helped us pick out and get set up.   Check out the cool TV stand that Ben found online at Onkron.  It's on rollers so if you want to watch it while laying in the bed, you can roll it forward.  It also doesn't take as much space as the old style entertainment centers, and since we're just streaming nowadays we don't need shelves for components such as DVD players.  We moved the rug down from the old TV/guest room, the tail end of a sequence of moves involving rugs.     

In this photo you can see the bed area.  We moved the big ottoman from the small TV/guest room upstairs and it fits much better down here while providing another place to sit and a place to hold blankets to cuddle up in on our new-to-us chairs.  Can you tell when chair is "mine" and which is Ben's? 

And here you get an idea of how the rug offers an incentive to get down on the floor for some stretching.  The little ottoman (from Target!) is easy to move and the closet holds various straps and props used for stretching in front of the big mirror.   

So, it's all done now and we're very happy with the result.  We watched an action-packed movie down there last night and it was great, with lots of space and an open but still cozy feel. 

And in case you're wondering, this lovely swivel chair is "mine."   

The Last Days of Summer

Our long spell of hot and smoky days ended Sunday when a cold front moved through in a big rush, causing a twenty degree drop in temperature.  Yesterday was cool and cloudy and windy, the kind of raw fall day that finds you making pancakes for breakfast, which we did!  Today dawned bright and clear. 

As we thought, the arrival of students back at CU has resulted in a spike in our COVID numbers.   It is alarming, but it helps to see a visual chart like the one below where the light blue denotes the cases that are from CU students and the dark blue denotes the county residents.  It seems clear where the problem lays.  

As a result, the City of Boulder declared that CU students aged 18-22 years old could no longer "gather," and actually quarantined several fraternity and sorority houses that had hosted large parties as the school year began.   A "gathering" was first defined as "more than one person," but today the ruling was redefined to mean "more than two people," so at least two students can walk across campus together, or two roommates could go grocery shopping. 

 I do feel a bit sorry for all these lonely students, but then I feel a bit sorry for all us oldsters who simply want to get through this pandemic without getting sick or worse.  As you might imagine, the new ruling doesn't sit well with many students.  Notice the "Where is my money?" included on this sign. 

We've been doing a lot of painting down in the basement in preparation for new floors being installed tomorrow.  Paul's old green walls are going to end up a "Steel Blue," which should look great with all the bright white woodwork on the windows and closets.  But that painting happens after the floor goes in, since the baseboards will all be taken out as the new floor is laid over the old, and when they go back in they will be a bit higher than they are now.  So it's better to paint the walls after the floor is in.  

But meanwhile we painted the ceiling in Paul's old room and over most of the yellow walls in the adjacent utility area.  We also reworked the little alcove where the little fridge has been living for a few years now, giving it some different storage containers.  

Here is a "before" photo....

...And here is an "after." 

Although the alcove is now Steel Blue, the stairway and walls near the door are all now grey.  Goodbye sunny yellow and hello soothing grey! 

I don't think I ever wrote about how I finished the leaf quilt that I last mentioned way back on August 5th.  

I quilted it very heavily, which I enjoyed doing very much. 

Here's a detail of the back showing some of the dense quilting.   I really enjoyed creating this quilt and look forward to hanging it in the living room for the fall season.  Thanks again to quilt artist Rian Ammerman for posting her tutorial on the process she's worked out for creating this type of piece. 

Ben has been busy with his own creative project, the updating of a 2000 Ford Ranger XL, which he bought two hours after the owner, our neighbor, put a "For Sale" sign in its front and rear windows.  Talk about an quick sale!  Well, Ben has wanted a truck for some time and this one was easy to buy at a great price.  Not only will it be great for schlepping things -- we've already schlepped a used dresser from the thrift store to Paul's new digs -- but it will be a great vehicle for Paul to use when he learns to drive.  When Paul first sat in the truck his comment was, "Do you think Dad will let me buy this from him?"  Well, probably, but first you need to get a driver's license!  Ah, well, all things in their time. 

Ben has already given the truck a good cleaning, upgraded the seats, and replaced the rear latch.  Next up, new door handles.  

And the other big news around here is that we bought a gas fire table from Costco, just perfect for warming up the cool nights outside.  Add a few faux fur blankets and we may be able to do some "social distanced" visiting on the patio this winter.  

For soon enough our Indian Summer will be gone and the darker, colder fall and winter months will be here.  

Already the colors are changing, and if Ben and I don't get up to the high country soon to see the golden Aspens, they'll have turned without us enjoying their display.    

Friday Feelings

On this beautiful Friday morning I'm feeling....

... proud of Paul.  His band, The Fists of the Proletariat, opened for Policulture at the Fox Theater here in Boulder last night.   It was great fun to hear them and be part of the scene.  The band has been together for a couple of years now and I've so enjoyed watching them develop as musicians and evolve as a group.

... physically tired.  Earlier this week we worked hard to clean up the house after the recent snowstorms.  I vacuumed and washed the wood floors and Ben tackled the cars.  Snow, salt, and mud make a big mess, and it felt good to be clean again.  

Then I decided it was high time we got a tall bookcase for the corner of the TV/guest room, so in a spurt of energy Wednesday we picked one up from Office Depot, put it together, and got it into place.  Then, while Ben decluttered the garage and made a run to CHARM (Boulder's Center for Hard to Recycle Materials) to drop off broken small appliances, Styrofoam, plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and other miscellaneous things filling up the garage, I figured out what to move out of my studio and into the new bookcase.  In the process I ran across stuff that simply needed to get out of the house, like old gift wrap, silk fabric scraps, and clothes that I'll never wear.  Processing all that "stuff" takes energy!  But it sure feels good to have it all out of here and my studio space liberated.  

... relieved that Turbo is now four months old, the magic age where he's finally had all his vaccines and is free to get out and explore his world without fear of getting the dreaded Parvovirus.  Yesterday he took his first walk up at Chautauqua park, which was a real milestone.  

It also means that he can now safely meet other dogs and go to Puppy classes for formal training.  It all tires a pup out!  

... feeling thankful for being able to live in beautiful Boulder and to appreciate the large and small wonders of nature here. 

Diversions

I need to get away from the news. Yes, of course we must be informed but I can only handle so much and then I'm seeking relief.  Getting outside for a walk or hike is always a great diversion, as is visiting with friends and eating and drinking.  But what about other activities?

How about quilting?  Always good!  In January I made three quilts tops that will eventually get quilted and given away to various local charities, including this one which features African animals wearing cool sunglasses.   I found zebra striped flannel for the back, which is cool looking and cozy.

Taking a quilting class is always good and around here there are lots of opportunities to learn from great teachers.  Seeing free-motion guru Angela Walters in person for a day last month was a real treat.

And then there's trying to put into practice what you've learned in a class.  Right now I'm messing around with a little landscape using some of the techniques that I learned in Melody Randol's workshop last month.   

One of the most diverting activities is meeting with other quilters.  I'm in five different groups but my fav is the six-person art quilt group which meets once a month.  We show each other what we're working on, get suggestions and inspiration, and occasionally challenge each other to a specific project.   Recently we showed each other the results of a "circles" challenge.  I loved how differently everyone tackled this challenge, using different techniques to make the circles, using different colors, and made completed quilts of different sizes.

Making small changes to your home is a fun diversion.  We recently added these stools from Target for the bar between the kitchen and dining room.  I love how they look and they are very sturdy, giving me a handy place to perch while chatting with Ben as he makes us coffee in the morning.  

We also recently bought this rack which we first saw at our friend Ray's house.  It's made by Yamazaki, which Ray described as the "Ikea of Japan," and is sold through Amazon.  It's billed as a spice rack but serves us well as a place to contain salt & pepper, oil, and other things we like to have handy in the kitchen.

And then there's watching TV.   Several series have captivated me lately and I'm glad for it.  A friend recommended "Young Sheldon," and it surprised me by getting me laughing during each episode.   "The Good Place" was also surprisingly funny and engaging.  "Big Little Lies" was not funny but it was definitely engaging.  How can you resist watching four fabulous actresses in beautiful oceanside Monterey, California?  Great escapism.  "Ozark" is dark, dark, dark, but also engaging.  And what a season finale!  Sure sets you up for a super second season.

A classic escape is to read and I always have an e-book going on my Kindle for bedtime reading and another in hard cover or paperback for bath time reading.  Recently I discovered a local writer, Peter Heller, and finished two of his books, "The Painter," and "The Dog Stars."  I liked both of them but especially "The Dog Stars" which is set right here in the Front Range.  The main character is a small plane pilot and it was interesting to know exactly the air field he used and the places he flew.  As the Denver Post wrote, "It's one of the things that makes Heller's books so fun to read for Coloradans.  It's like being in on the secret: 'Hey, I know that neighborhood' or 'I've fished that creek."

Not so much fun is imagining the world Heller paints, which is a post-apocalyptic Colorado after most of the population has died from a flu.   But engaging and diverting?  Definitely.

And sometimes that's just what we need.


Joining my friend LeeAnna's "I Like" Thursday, at Not Afraid of Color.