Fun and Games

The summer is slipping away and fall is steadily moving in.  The local corn is gone, our garden tomatoes are gradually fading away, and we're keeping an eye on the weather for the first hard frost, which is surely right around the corner.  We're closing our windows at night now and I've had to hunt up a pair of long pants.  

The days unwind one by one in a generally calm manner, slowed by the still-present limits imposed by the pandemic.  Boulder County's positivity rate is under 4% now, and we hope the requirement to wear masks when in public indoor spaces will soon be lifted again.   It seems fairly easy to get the third Pfizer vaccine around here, and those of us who got the Moderna shot are anticipating no problems getting our boosters once its approved in the next few weeks.  

The political challenges our country faces continue to be a source of concern but are, for the moment, generally a background drone and not an explosion of drama and worry.   

As fall and winter begin to approach we continue to enjoy and appreciate the various pleasures of our everyday life.  

Isn't this pretty?  It's the Maroon Bells mountains in Aspen, with the aspen trees showing off their beautiful fall colors.  When a friend told us they were heading up to Steamboat Springs for a little fall break and I thought, "Boy, I'd sure like to get up to the high country this fall," and then I thought, "What's keeping you?"  When I wanted to go to Aspen for my birthday in August, the prices were too high.  But now that it's the shoulder season, things were more reasonable.  So we found some reservations, arranged for Turbo to hang out with his friend, Gus, and Ben and I were soon making our way up over Independence Pass and into Aspen for two nights of relaxing fun and beauty. 

I'd seen aspens up on the Peak to Peak highway near us and in Estes Park, but I'd never seen them in such huge numbers and interspersed with the contrasting pine and spruce trees.  It was gorgeous. 

From the foot of the Maroon Bells we hiked up to Crater Lake, a rocky and often steep climb of about two miles up to a lake.   

This was no ordinary pretty blue or turquoise mountain lake.  No, this one was special:  It was all dried up!  Oh, well, it was a lovely trail and some good exercise.    

And on the way down it began to rain, which had its own beauty. 

Least you think that Aspen has generally become more affordable, I have to relay that cocktails started at $17 and the delicious beef bourguignon I enjoyed was $52.  And I saw enough rich-looking people outfitted in designer cowboy boots and fur vests to hold me for a while.   But it sure was a fun change of pace, and we enjoyed the get-away. 

Paul's band opened for The Good Kind, another local band, at the Fox Theater two weekends ago, which was exciting.  The Fox is one of the two live performance theaters (apart from those at the university) and getting to play there, even to open, is a big deal.   

Here's the band on stage under the nifty lights.  Ben and I didn't stay around to hear the main band but we should have, as they invited the horn players in the Fists to do some improv with them and Paul reports he did four, which I wish I had heard.   It sure gladdens the heart of a parent to see their child performing and enjoying playing music after all those years of lessons and practice.  

In fact, our hearts are gladdened by seeing Paul so happy in other ways.  His new apartment and roommate are working out, he gave notice to his current job that he'll be leaving the first of the year, he was thrilled to be hired by the Sweet Mary Jane company to package up cannabis-infused edibles part-time while he finishes his old job, and he's driving with us every chance he gets in preparation for taking his driver's test later this month.   Here's a photo from the Sweet Mary Jane website; don't those cookies look enticing? No, Paul doesn't get free edibles as part of his new job! 

Since we're speaking of fun, I have to show you this cute photo of Turbo and his friend Kona.  In the midst of wrestling, chasing, and rough housing, they'll often just stop and give each other some hugs and kisses, which is too funny.

My chum Lotus was gifted tickets to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience, a display of projected images from several Van Gogh paintings which has been showing in various venues around the world.  I had seen ads for it but was turned off by the high ticket prices and the fact that no original pieces were included in the displays.  So I jumped at the chance to go with Lotus and see what it was all about.      

Turned out it was a constantly changing display of huge projections of Van Gogh images set to loud and often annoying music.   The idea was to sit on the floor or on benches and let the images and music transport you to.....well, I guess, to a different world full of color and large brush strokes.  It's fair to say that Lotus and I didn't really appreciate this new experience.  The animation was too lively and random and coupled with the too loud music, we experienced more chaos and less contemplation than was welcome.   It was still interesting and fun to see what the fuss was all about, and as studio/art history majors, we enjoyed analyzing the pros and cons of the display.  

When Ben got his haircut yesterday the barber was wearing a Van Gogh t-shirt advertising the show and told Ben he really loved seeing it.  So if you get a chance to see it, maybe you'll like it, too.  

I can't end without saying a word about how much fun I've been having getting to know The Queen, my new quilting machine.  What a clever and hard-working Queen she is!  So easy to thread, so smooth to run, and so fast.  I try to spend time with her every day and am now adding stitching to various parts of my beach/Hawaii lap quilt. 

Yesterday Gus was over visiting for a while as I quilted and I was amused  when he snuggled in under the table, as close to my foot pedal as a dog could get.  As I told Ben, at least I had someone to blame for my not-so-perfect quilting stitches!