Colorado Springs!

We left for Colorado Springs last Sunday and that afternoon in Iowa we encountered the same weather system that devastated Joplin MO. We saw an extremely ominous looking sky ahead and as we drove into it, we were suddenly pelted by golf ball size hail. Mr. Right pulled over under an overpass to try to protect the car a little bit while we were rocked by winds that scared the daylights out of all of us. (Lori was with us and took some pictures just to show that she wasn't as scared as I was.) We came out of that storm with some new nicks in the windshield but as we heard the reports from Joplin coming in, we realized how lucky we were.

Colorado Springs had their share of bad weather too. We got up Tuesday morning to what looked like snow all over the place but on closer inspection, we saw that it was hail.

It would be hard to describe how excited we were to get here. It had been a long, long time since we'd seen this son. We'd last seen him about fifteen months ago about a month before he was deployed to Iraq. Although we were lucky to be able to communicate with him while he was there, nothing compares to having him on his home turf and actually spending time with him and his wonderful family in person.

We've been so busy. Every night has included a gourmet meal prepared by our son who is a barbeque master extraordinaire. The first night we had brats that were cooked in an apple and cabbage kraut. They were so perfect that even Mr. Right loved them and he detests sauerkraut. But it would be impossible not to love brats that are thoroughly cooked yet so juicy and flavorful that you couldn't get enough.

Tuesday night was delicious grilled salmon. Wow! I had no idea salmon could be so fabulous and the grilled asparagus was to die for.

Wednesday night we had porterhouse steaks and I have NEVER had a more perfectly grilled steak in my life.

Last night the grilled ribs were incredible.

Here's what I take from all this. Dan spent a lot of time in Iraq looking forward to being home and able to grill again AND I need to learn to cook as well as my son.

My other thought: How could I have neglected taking pictures of these amazing meals so that I could post them with this story.

There's lots more going on here besides cooking and eating too.

On Tuesday we visited the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs where we were able to take some really fun pictures.

Wednesday morning I got to attend Tessa's dance class which was beautiful and heartwarming and sometimes made tears in my eyes. During the free style especially, she seemed so filled with joy just to be performing.

And Wednesday afternoon, I was a ride-along on Dan and Mr. Right's golf outing. Now you might think that would be boring, but I got to take some great pictures in some amazing settings and, while we were out there, the Air Force entertained us with an airshow celebrating the graduation of their cadets to Air Force officers.

Yesterday we attended and celebrated Evan's 8th Grade Graduation where we started to realize just how quickly our Evan is growing up.

There will be lots more news from out here because Dan and Teresa seemed to have almost every moment planned with awesome activities. But before I close I have to mention two things.

One: Chewy. He's so cute and foolish.

And two: The big, surprise activity for Tuesday is that we get to attend Dan's promotion ceremony to Lieutenant Colonel - something we didn't expect to happen until August. So we're thrilled to announce that as of June 1st, both our sons will be Lieutenant Colonels. (The only thing that could be better is if Dave's ceremony could be stateside too.)

So that's it from Colorado for now. But there's more coming - I promise!

You Capture - Winter

First of all I'm glad (and not surprised) that my daughter is too smart to drive while taking winter pictures. That said, here are some pictures of what winter means to me.

First of all it means that the koi pond that I enjoy so much in fair weather becomes a source of stress in winter because even when there is the required hole in the ice to allow gasses to escape and even though I'm sure all the koi are in a sleepy stupor at the bottom of the pond, you never really know what's going on down there until everything thaws in the Spring. Here's how unpleasant and worrisome it looks now.

And look at the birdbath where there's no room for birds.

And look where I like to sit. There's certainly no room for me now even if I wanted to sit out here.
It's all so black and white, isn't it. Winter has taken over. We're locked inside (except for the snow shoveling and who wants to embrace THAT!

But I found some beauty. I just don't know if I captured it. Here are my efforts.

And the thing I love the most about this winter is that I'm retired from being an all-walking mail carrier. I'm starting to think my timing was exquisite.

For more You Capture or to join in the fun and post your own winter shots, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

Winter In The Koi Pond

Well, they're all settled down for a long winter's nap.


I don't think they really sleep all winter but who knows. I do know that their metabolism slows way down and that they just kind of sit there on the bottom where it's warmest. The disc that you see attached to the pole is a heater. Its function is to keep at least a hole open in the ice where gasses can escape.

I kind of cross my fingers that in a few months when winter's hold starts to loosen, I'll see the koi begin to stir and explore. After that it won't be long until it gets warm and they're all friendly and fun again.

From here, though, the winter seems interminable. I can hardly bear to think ahead about the next three months in the koi pond. It's just too dreary. Maybe I'll start a countdown of days until Spring starts to appear; but I'd have to start with about 120 and that's too long.

It's a good thing we have the holidays to get us through these first few, dark days of winter or I don't think we'd ever smile. At least in a week or so the days will start getting longer and that will help some.

Yes, I'll think about that for now.

You Capture - Lines

There are all kinds of lines in our life - some good, some not so good. The good ones are so beneficial to us that we couldn't function very well without them. Still others are just whimsical. Here are some of the lines that are essential.

All the photos were taken in a snowstorm with lots of wind and cold. This one was without a flash:

This one with a flash:

Obviously the flash can't overlook a snowflake. Here's another perspective of the same lines.

You don't have to look up to see important lines either.

And I can't leave out the more whimsical lines - the line of wild animals that frequently parades around our house and one accidental 'line' shot.

Weather conditions weren't conducive to a steady hand but they did help create strange lines.

And then there are the seasonal lines that don't have anything to do with shopping:

Obviously this one wasn't taken in a snowstorm. I deleted the one that was and ran out in the -17 wind chill to capture these candy canes.

Really? I went overboard in a post about lines? Sorry. I guess I was looking for THE great shot. I'll bet somebody else found it though. Visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry to see other perspectives and ideas.

Beautiful Day!

I'm grateful for the encouragement I received in my efforts to stop procrastinating. What a wonderful world it is when we can get some assistance from people we don't know but who do care. I found that list-making is helpful for me. And I found that it's important that my list isn't too long or I might tend to abandon it before it's all crossed off.

I also found out that for the list making to avoid procrastination technique to work, you have to actually make a list. That's where my endeavor failed me for the last two days. Now to get back on track, I WILL make some kind of list every day! We'll see how that works out.

The weather was beautiful today. When it's nice out, I tend to encounter more of my customers as I go about my appointed rounds. I love a chance to say hello to people, but it's also important that I keep moving. That's why today, as I spoke to one of my customers, I kept moving. I walked as I looked back and that explains why I walked into the big, giant rose bush. And, it being a rose bush, explains why it so deftly removed my baseball cap and grabbed by clothes.

I can deal with all this, truly. I've had lots more troublesome things happen. But why did I have to keep talking as I walked backwards? That caused my customer and his friend to keep looking at me so they witnessed the whole unfortunate series of occurrences. My customer was very solicitous though. He said, "Hey! Watch out for my rose bush!" It didn't seem to matter to him that my head was now perched in the middle of it as my body frantically tried to retrieve it. He just didn't want me to hurt his giant rose bush.

It's okay though. I still enjoy a beautiful day and a chance to interact with my customers. And, if I can be entertaining, well then it's all the better.