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!  

April 1: A Wedding

My Venezuelan friends Rei and Daniel got married on Thursday.  They have been partners for several years, had two children in Venezuela and then shared the difficult journey to a new country.  Rei said they left because "There was no food for the babies."

From Venezuela they made their way to Columbia and faced the notorious jungle between it and Panama.  Together they walked nonstop for two and half days to cross the dangerous Darien Gap and "get away from the bandits."  After they entered Panama they walked across Central America to Mexico where they got on a train to Juarez.  After three days on the top of a train car they reached Texas, surrendered to the Border Patrol, and were processed and released pending further immigration hearings.  (You can see some photographs from New York Times articles about this journey here and here)

 

From Texas they took a bus to Denver and on to Boulder where people from their old neighborhood had already settled. Here they met a woman who spoke fluent Spanish and was able to help them find rooms and jobs.  She also put out a call on Next Door seeking help for the family as they got settled, and that's how Ben and I got involved.  We welcomed them and made sure they had clothes, food, and household necessities.  We helped them apply for the various assistance programs for low income families and handled bureaucratic matters such as how to obtain a bus pass.  

Rei and Daniele saw no need to get married until their immigration lawyer told them it would help their application.  Then they decided that marriage was a necessary step towards their goal of becoming a part of this country and they asked me to help them navigate the process of doing this.  

Boulder's pre-Covid bureaucracy of obtaining a marriage license for U.S. citizens was easy, but now the entire process is remote so your identification documents are submitted during a video interview and there are no longer regular marriage ceremonies in the courthouse. If you are a newcomer with minimal online connectivity and out-of-country paperwork, things get more challenging.  It took a few weeks but finally their documents were approved, they had the necessary online interview, and a marriage license was issued which needed to be finalized within thirty days. 

Time ticked by as we tried to find someone to officiate the wedding.  The couple really wanted a judge to marry them so there was no question in the immigration hearing about their marital status.  I had a list of judges and had found one who could do the ceremony in Spanish but by the time the license was issued she was away on vacation.  I couldn't find anyone else, even someone with no Spanish, on such  short notice.  As the deadline approached Rei and Daniele decided to do their own vows and "self solemnize", which is legal in Colorado.  They asked if they could do it at my house and suddenly we were planning a small wedding here!  It was set for 5:00 Thursday but at 1:00 I received a call from Judge Jonathan Martin who was returning my earlier call.  When he understood the situation and realized that an actual ceremony wasn't needed he offered to handle the matter in his chamber at 4:00.  

And that's what happened!  There was a big rush to get the groom off of work in time and Rei and the kids and me and Ben to the courthouse, but finally there we all were.  The judge invited everyone into his chambers where he talked with Rei and Daniele and made sure they knew that the marriage would be legal in the U.S. and around the world, and made sure they wanted to wed. He also suggested that photos were in order and patiently posed for several photographs with the couple and their children.  

We were all so excited and happy!  Honestly, it seemed like a miracle that they did end up with a judge handling the matter. 

After the signing we went back to our house to celebrate with cake and flowers.  

And this morning Ben and I delivered all the paperwork to the Recorders' office, where we had the pleasure of meeting the staff person who had been so helpful in vetting Rei and Daniele's identification documents. 

Over the weekend I sent Judge Martin an email thanking him for his help.  In reply he wrote, "I am honored to have played a small role in their journey to create a better life for their family.  Thank you for reaching out to me, and thank you for making our community one of open-hearted caring and compassion for those in need." 

I appreciate those words but honestly, I have gained so much from my association with Rei and her family.   Besides just enjoying their warmth and high spirits I have learned to love flan....

... and Venezuelan music, especially the songs of Luis Silva.  

My life is richer knowing Rei and it truly is a joy to see her blossoming as she settles into her new life in Boulder.  

March 25: Fixing a Quilt Problem

The weather around here is notoriously fickle in these spring months.  Much of the time we have dramatic skies and beautiful snow-topped mountains, with seasonal cold temperatures that keep us all in our heavy coats.  

But other days we have bright sunny days with warmer temperatures that make the spring blossoms suddenly appear and we hunt up our lighter pants and jackets.  

Last night was one of the former times, with a snowstorm dumping about five inches of snow throughout the evening. This afternoon we are seeing the sun again and the forecast for the week looks pretty good. 

I don't usually mind bad weather since it gives me a good excuse to stay home and work in my studio. When we were on the Big Island last fall I bought a kit for making a wall hanging showing a mother and baby Humpback whales.  The whales were precut using a laser, meaning that you didn't have to cut the shapes out yourself.  The kit also included fabric for a background and a border.  The whale cuts had a glue on them so you just placed them on the background fabric and ironed them down, then added the border, added whatever stitching you wanted, added a binding, and bingo! you're done! 

I had used my own background, a beautiful hand-dyed piece made by a friend and seemed destined to be used as the ocean back drop to the whales' dive down from the surface into the deeper water.  I used the border that came with the kit, put everything together, quilted it, sewed on the binding and hung the finished piece up in our study.  

After a few days, I wasn't liking it.  

The quilting, and probably some bad measuring on my part,  had distorted the piece, making the borders look very wonky on the right side. (Though not as wonky as shown in this photo!)  I also didn't like the border fabric, which was too solid and boring for my taste.

So I cut off the borders and determined that the remaining image should be mounted on a 16x20" canvas which I'd cover with a new background fabric.   The photo below shows how I cut out a piece of brown paper the correct size and imagined the central image centered on it. 

 

Once I had that sizing correct, I played around with different background fabrics.  I liked this lovely fabric but it competed too much with the central image so I chose a variegated blue one instead.    

Then I finished the edges with a  fancy blue and white cord which added a bit of sparkle.  I also found some fused organza in my stash and cut out several circles from it to make bubbles which I stitched near the whales' tails in the upper left corner.  I think they added a lot! 

I stitched the central panel to the blue background and enlisted my friend Lotus's help to stretch and stapled the background fabric to the canvas and add a hanging wire.  Then I hung it back up in the study.  

I'm much happier with the piece now!  

September 17: The Big Snow

Before the storm, the snow on the north side of our house had finally melted, the grass was beginning to green up, and the perennials were just beginning to show themselves again.  

During the storm there were grey skies and wind, then rain and snow that fell for more than twenty-four hours, occasional power flickers, and futile attempts to keep up with the shoveling required by the eighteen inches that fell in our neighborhood.   The snow totals varied greatly depending on the locale, with nearby Longmont getting only about five inches and Nederland, also nearby by at a much higher elevation, getting three feet. 

After the storm serious shoveling began, the snow plows did their work, and both dogs and people got out for their walks. 

And yesterday the sun was out in full force and the temperatures had warmed up a bit, so it was a very pleasant day.

When Ben dug out a space for my car so I could park it in its usual spot near our front walk, we declared the shoveling done! There's still plenty of snow out there but we'll let the sun take care of it!

We continued our "big snow" tradition of making cinnamon rolls to share with our nearby neighbors. In fact, I ended up making two batches since we just kept giving them away.  My mother used to make them for her neighbors, and so do I.  

Ben was no slouch in the "good eating" department during the snowstorm, making us not only Coq Au Vin, but Overnight French Toast, which was really good.

Another fun thing was that I was interviewed by NBC Nightly News. While Ben was shoveling I came out to brush the heavy snow off our cherry and red bud trees before I walked Turbo.  I spotted some folks with a big camera and made some small talk with them.  They told me they were filming for a segment on NBC Now about the snow storm and saving trees from heavy snow.  That didn't mean very much to me since we don't get cable anymore so we don't know much about what's airing on national or local stations. 

I walked Turbo down the block and as I returned one of the crew approached me and asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed while brushing off our trees.  Well, why not?  So we did it and it was fun and I didn't think any more about it until my friend Margi in Pennsylvania told me that she had seen me on the NBC Nightly News.  Well, that was a surprise!  When I do want to watch TV news, that's the one I look for on YouTube, where it shows about a day after it's run on mainstream TV.  After a bit of searching I found that another splice of the short interview aired on NBC Now with Hallie Jackson.  

It was all fun and added a bit of excitement to the day!

And now we've moved ahead to St. Patrick's day.  I'm making Irish Soda Bread to have with corned beef and cabbage over at Ray and Paula's tonight.  Looks like some nice warmer and sunny weather is on tap for this week.  

March 10: A Beautiful Spring Day

It’s been that kind of amazing early Spring day with clear skies, lot of sun, and a high in the mid 60’s.  Everyone’s been out walking, hiking, biking, or just sitting in the cheerful sunshine enjoying the great weather.  It won’t last – a heavy snow is expected Wednesday -- so make hay while the sun shines!

This photo shows how the sun shone through the hexagonal window near our bed this morning and projected up onto the west facing balcony glass doors. I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

While Ben did a five mile hike with our friend Lotus up in Chautauqua, I did a three mile walk with Dawn and Turbo in nearby Niwot.  As we sat out on the patio of the coffee shop the warmth and the sun made me feel like we were back in Maui.  Later I took That Handsome Dog Gus, who has is visiting the past few days, for a short walk and I was excited to see that the crocus have begun to open. 

 Poor babies are going to get snow covered later in the week.  Predictions are currently for 4-8" of "concrete snow," which is never much fun though it is pretty. 

My little friend from Venezuela spent the afternoon with me last week while his mother was busy cleaning,  He quickly found the old chair that Ben used when he was a toddler and enjoyed figuring out how to make it rock. 

 After a while he got tired of that and began to play with some toys we keep around just for occasions like this. He was very entertaining and  I quite enjoyed watching him. 

After a couple of hours he conked out.  It's hard work exploring the world.!

As did the dogs, who were worn out from all the excitement of having a toddler in the house. 

Now it's late afternoon but the sun is still strong since we moved the clocks forward an hour.  Paul is coming over soon for a visit, which will be a nice conclusion to this pretty day.   

February 27: Bits of Daily Life

This is the view from my bed this morning; snow! It's falling fast and thick, at least for the moment. It’s not supposed to amount to much but right now is coming down hard and it looks like a quarter of an inch has covered the ground in about fifteen minutes.  

Checking the weather forecast I see that the area is under a “snow squall warning” with “Intense bursts of heavy snow and gusty winds leading to blowing snow with rapidly falling visibility. Wind gusts up to 35 mph.  Roads may get icy and snowpacked. Travel will become difficult and potentially dangerous within minutes."

Ah, well,  I was going to walk with Dawn this morning but that’s not going to happen. I think I’ll take my cue from Turbo and Ben and lay around in bed a while. 

I think I’d rather have a snow squall than the crazy high winds of the past few days.  The gusts toppled our lawn chairs and blew all the pillows around.  

 

The wind even picked up the secured and tied umbrella right out of the patio table and hoisted it up and over the fence and into the front yard where it was found by our neighbor.   

Coupled with our low humidity the strong winds put us under a scary “Extreme fire danger” warning. It was two years ago that the Marshall Fire, carried by high winds, destroyed 1,000 homes in nearby Louisville, so these kinds of conditions are taken very seriously here.  And indeed, a small fire did erupt up in Chautauqua Park at the base of the Flatirons (about a mile uphill from our house).  Our firefighters were busy containing it for about 36 hours before it was declared “out.”  A bit too close for comfort.  

Boulder Fire-Rescue

It’s been a busy few days. It has dawned on me that a bottom canine tooth of mine is slowly but surely following its own path to freedom, heading away from the gum line and out into the uncrowded free air away from the rest of the bottom teeth, but hitting the top teeth as it travels.  We can’t have that, but figuring out what to do about it is involving much time consulting with orthodontists and oral surgeons and researching and weighing the pros and cons of braces and Invisalign, both of which sound annoying and even painful. 

For solace I admire my lovely flowers.  I've discovered the Friday Special at a local florist which offers about four different but compatible flowers at special prices so you can make your own bouquet.  I've been treating myself every other week, and it's brought me a lot of pleasure.

I’ve also spent a fair amount of time helping my Venezuelan friend figure out how to get married to her partner of several years. The pre/Covid bureaucracy of obtaining a marriage license for US citizens here in Boulder was easy, but now the entire process is remote so your identification documents are submitted during a video interview.  If you are a newcomer with minimal online connectivity and out of country paperwork, things get more challenging.  I offered to help and I am, but it does take some tenacity and time. 

For fun I took my friend shopping and out to lunch for her birthday.  We had a good time. 

We  enjoyed browsing in the mall and quickly realized that bright pink is now the in color!  Shades of Barbie are everywhere.  Fashion news continues to break first on this blog!

And I've been making a concerted effort to sew every day and finish up a few projects, including adding borders and a binding to the counted cross stitch piece that my mother made fifteen years ago.  It was sweet to be able to add my work to my mom's and make something that will remind me of her and her many talents.