July 2: Why I'm Smiling Today

I confess to being very upset about the recent Supreme Court rulings, to the point where I see that I need to step back and focus on the many good things that I'm lucky enough to be enjoying in my life.   So here's a few reasons why I'm managing to smile today despite all the distressing political news. 

1.  I feel really good about how I was able to travel to Utah to stay a few days with a good friend when her husband died suddenly two weeks ago.   I think I was able to be of some comfort and help, and that felt good.  I've known her husband since they married almost fifty years ago and his death reminded me again to make the most of the time I have here on earth.  

 2.  I also felt really good about helping my Venezuelan friend find a refurbished bike to replace the one that was recently stolen.  She'd been using it to cart her two young kids around town and was really missing it, so Ben and I took her to Community Cycle which takes donated old bikes and spruces them up for continued use, selling them at reasonable prices.  It was a long shot that they'd have what Rei needed, but they did, so big smiles all around.

3.  And speaking of feeling good, we moved out of our 90 degree weather and are enjoying a spell of beautiful mid-80 days, generally with a welcome mix of sun and clouds.  Our sunsets have been particularly striking. 

  4.  We had a lovely Father's Day, taking a hike with Paul and then driving up the canyon to Nederland for a delicious meal at Cross Cut Pizza, one of our favorite causal places to eat.  Turbo went with us and bounded up the steep hike with exuberance. 

   5.  I'm quite delighted with a little fabric artwork I finished the other day and hung over the fireplace yesterday.   I was inspired by scraps of the purple and green fabric I used in the border, which was left over from another piece I finished about two years ago.  I found it while cleaning up my studio and decided it was too cool not to use in some way.  The purple reminded me of eggplants, so I drew a design with two of them and then created them by collaging other scraps that I had around.  My critique group helped me with ideas for how to quilt it, I added a piece of fuzzy yarn around the edge, and now it's hanging in the living room next to the blooming artichoke piece that I made a while back.  I think they make a good pair!  

6.  And if all that isn't enough, today is gym day!  It's not always easy getting myself to the gym to lift weights, but I'm always happy when it's all over and I'm back home relaxing! 

Taken from Cartoonstock.com

Hope everyone is finding some joy today.  I find it's usually out there if I shift my focus. 

June 20: A Week in Rome!

Ben and I were well overdue for a nice vacation with just the two of us so we decided to spend a week in Rome to celebrate his birthday, which was on May 21.  Not being able to go exactly on his birthday, we went the first week of June.  

One of the items on my "bucket list" was to stay in a luxury hotel, so we splurged on deluxe room with a private balcony at the 47 Boutique Hotel, near the Colosseum and walkable to all the main sights of the city.  We were delighted to find that there were antiquities right up the street (Marcellus theater, Capitoline hill, the old Jewish Ghetto) and that the old and charming Travestera neighborhood was right across the river.  We walked everywhere and took one bus, averaging about five miles a day, which burned off the calories we took in while exploring the "Four Pastas of Rome" and the many variations on Tiramisu, one of Ben's favorite desserts.  

We had been to Rome for a few days back in 2013 when we traveled with Paul, his friend Robbie, and my sister Jean.  We saw many of the "big ticks" of the city then, so on this trip we tried some different activities.  We toured the underground excavations at the Roman Domus of Palazzo Valentini and the Domus Aurea (Nere's Golden Palace), enjoyed a concert of music by Vivaldii and Bach at St. Paul’s within the walls, and saw Japanese woodcuts from the Edo period 1603-1868 on display at the Palazzo Braschi. 

Most afternoons Ben relaxed while I walked about the city, wandering around just to be out and see all the interesting buildings, shops, and street life. One day I explored the Castel Sant’ Angelo which is near the Vatican, doing some people watching from the excellent cafe up on the top floor and admiring the lovely views from so far up high. Another day I toured the Old Jewish synagogue, and spent more than an hour looking at its excellent and informative exhibits and touring the worship area, which was both interesting and sobering.

It was a wonderful trip!  

May 6: A Windy Day

We are enjoying a beautiful spring here in Boulder.  The redbud trees and the lilacs are competing for attention, the tulips are up, and the iris are about to pop. It's a busy time, what with cleaning off the patio, planting a few pots with hardy annuals, weeding and mulching, and, of course, the first lawn mowing of the season.  

But it is not a settled time.  Often our days are chilly and even snowy, and we half expect another round of snow around Mother's Day. 

I thought this FB post was fun.

Gardening is front and center this time of year, but I have found some time to be the studio.  I designed and sewed this little wall hanging, which is about 17x30".  One of my quilt groups had a challenge to use the  Golden Ratio  theory to make a piece and this is what I did.  Most of the beautiful fabrics are hand-dyes from Cherrywood.  They feel like suede and are wonderful to sew. 

And here's some details of the quilting.  Yes, it is a challenge to figure out just what motifs to use!  

The past week or so I haven't been able to settle on any particular project, though I can see from these recent pictures that I'm currently captivated by bright spring colors. 

The big news around here is that our Venezuelan friends had their initial immigration hearing and are authorized to stay here at least until March 2025 when their case will get an individual hearing before the court.  Ben and I went with them to Denver last week and while I didn't take many photos, I got these two which speak volumes. 

This is the bulletin board which offers "self education" information about the long and complex process of finding a path to stay in the US.  Getting a lawyer is highly recommended.

And this is me with a big smile on the courthouse plaza after the proceedings. 

I have a full day on this Monday, starting soon with making our Meals on Wheels deliveries, a trip to the gym this afternoon, and then attending a friend's concert this evening.  As I type this there are big gusts of wind outside and I'm glad I've donned my wind pants! 

April 14: Halfway Through April!

We didn't do much for Easter this year except take a nice hike up the back of Flagstaff to Inspiration Point.  It's an uphill climb of about a mile which ends at a scenic overlook off of Flagstaff road.  Here's a photo I took of Rei when we drove up there a month or so ago, so you can seen the excellent view of Boulder from the heights.  

Our hike took us to this viewpoint and then we turned around and walked back down to our house. Gotta love a hike which doesn't involve a car! 

Here's a photo I took from beyondboulder.com to give you an idea of the trail.  You can see why I was glad that I've been doing so much leg work in the gym.  The extra strength came in handy on these uphill stretches.  

Beyondboulder.com

Turbo got a full groom just in time for the holiday and the groomer sent us this cute photo

Don't think that because it's April that we're out of our wintery weather.  Oh, no, it'll just slip in and out for the next few weeks.  One day was a pretty good weather-wise until it started to rain.  It quickly turned into a wintery mix, covering the ground with a thin layer of icy stuff which at least looked pretty for a short time.  Then it just melted away and was gone.  Springtime weather is always interesting.  

For the full solar eclipse on April 8 I met my sister, Jean, in Little Rock Arkansas, which was in the direct path and promised totality for three minutes.  And we got it!  It's so impressive how darkness falls in the course of the last ten minutes or so of the moon's path, and it got really dark around the minor league ball park that we sat in.

A ball park isn't a bad place to hang out for an eclipse.  You have seats, bathrooms and food, and an announcer counting down to the big moment.  I'm happy to say that during totality itself the announcer fell silent, and we all got to feel the awesomeness of the event without his commentary.  

We went to Arkansas in order to tick it off our "Fifty states" list.  Now we have just one more, North Dakota, which we'll visit in July.  

Little Rock had several sites worth visiting, including the Bill Clinton Presidential Library, the Old State House Museum, and the Little Rock Central High School, known for the struggle to integrate it in 1957.  The National Park Service has a visitor's center across the street with exhibits which give an excellent introduction to the event and a walking tour over to the school itself. 

The city has made good use of the Arkansas river which flows through it, maintaining the old bridges for bike and pedestrian use and creating several recreational areas along the banks.

It's supposed to rain later in the week, which is more exciting than you would think since we could use some rain.  But today is going to be lovely.  I've already had Turbo out and plan to work in my studio while Ben goes hiking.  It's been awhile and I'm looking forward to it!