Bolder Boulder and Moving

I spent four hours in front of the apartment yesterday, alternately sitting in a chair and standing, cheering on the wheelchair racers and foot racers of the Bolder Boulder 10K  Memorial Day race.  It's the first time I've done it in five years, because I've been house-sitting and not at home.  Brother-in-law Jim ran yesterday, and sister Kathy walked over from the starting line.  We sat and chatted and yelled encouragement to the runners.  Almost directly across the street was the Centennial State Pipe and Drum Corps - so we had lovely bagpipe music from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.  I was out there from 6;30 until 10:30, by which time Jim had raced past us, finished, and returned to gather Kathy.  I came back inside, took more cold medicine, popped another cough drop, and climbed back into bed with Lovey and Nedi.  I have to admit that I spent most of yesterday in bed with the kits, reading and/or watching a John Wayne movie marathon on the Western channel.
   After walking Rosie this morning, I'll head over to Enterprise and pick up a car, so that Beatrice and I can go check out the five apartment complexes that we like. One is here in Boulder, two are in Longmont, one is in Lafayette, and one is in Louisville.  All are within a block of a bus stop, and all are also within a block (or two) of a grocery store.  Since I don't drive a stick, I have to rent a car for us to go looking - otherwise, I'd just borrow Kathy and Jim's car, as I did before they purchased their new car.  I am awaiting a response from my apartment manager as to whether he wants me moved out by June 19th, or June 30th.  (I'd prefer the 30th, myself.)  That will, of course, affect when and where Bea and I move, depending upon what is available where.  I keep telling Lovey and Nedi that we're moving, but I don't think it's sunk in, yet.  
   At least I have several financial backers.  Most of the apartments that I've looked at demand that you prove that the tenants have an income of at least three times the amount of the rent.  Well, there's no way that Beatrice and I can do that.  Thankfully, most of the places will accept the signature of a guarantor along with a higher than usual deposit.  I hope to keep the same phone number - and stay with the same carrier for my land-line and internet connection.  Living in Florida would be much more affordable, but I have client bookings through New Years 2016, and I've promised my sister to stay near her.  It's going to be an interesting summer....

Another Four-Bed-Companions Night

Well, the storms held off last night until 8 pm, but then they certainly made the house and the sky-lights shake.  I had baked strawberry cobbler for myself and Shirley, taking it out of the oven at 5...  And the dogs were dancing with delight, believing that I would share with them.  They got a dog biscuit each.  Shirley didn't eat much of her dinner, so just before the storm system arrived, I took her a small serving of the cobbler.  She scraped her saucer clean.  This morning I heated up a much larger serving for her breakfast, and she scraped that bowl clean.  The nursing people who visit her daily say that, at her age (96), it doesn't matter what she eats - calories are calories.  So, since she likes cobblers, I'll continue making them for her while I'm there.
   I went to bed at ten, and had to clear the bed of critters three times before I could insert myself and start reading my book.  I ended up with a dog on either side of me, Tipsi at my feet, and Pounce on my chest/shoulder/neck area.  The library didn't have anything new by any of my favorite authors in, so I grabbed two new authors, and two favorite authors, who had books that I didn't recognize.  The first new authors' book was a mystery set in Paris during the Revolution (1797); I finished it yesterday evening.  I took another new mystery to bed - this one is also set in Paris, but in 1818, during the Restoration, following the downfall of Napolean.  Reading these two books, back to back, is a neat experience - I keep looking back and forth between the two, looking at forms of address (Citizen/Monsieur), and place names, which can't quite be erased and changed entirely.
   Tomorrow the Bolder Boulder will be run, and other than the Skip route, going north and south on Broadway, and a few connector buses to Denver and the Airport, the bus system will be shut down.  I'll be walking  a mile and a half to Broadway, and then walking a mile back to my apartment tomorrow.  And I told Rosie's owners that I'd walk her tomorrow, also...  Not to mention the two walks a day for Cooper and Lola.  Nicodemus, the tri-color Jack Russell terrier next to Cooper and Lola, has a new brother - a seven-year-old Jack Russell that is almost completely white.  He's a rescue dog from Iowa and was kept in a cage in a basement for his entire life.  His name is Emmitt, and he's a sweetie.
  And one of the colts that was expected to run in the Belmont Stakes, Intense Holiday, was vanned off the track after a gallop yesterday morning.  He has a condylar fracture of  a foreleg, and is expected to recover and return to racing, after the break heals.  People at Belmont Park seemed amazed that an opossum, walking across the main track, did not disturb California Chrome during his gallop.  The trainer said that they see coyotes frequently on the track in California, so the opossum wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Lots of Things

There were 8 tornadoes reported in the Denver area yesterday afternoon and evening, not just 5; and there was a lot of wind and hail damage in the metropolitan area.  We had rain and hail fall in Boulder multiple times during the evening and over night.  It started a little after 5 p.m. and lasted until about 3 this morning - thunder, lightning, wind, rain, and hail.  Luckily, the hail I saw here was the size of, and smaller than, green peas, so it didn't do too much damage.  - In some areas of Denver, between the wind and the hail, some of the soft sidings of buildings looked as though they'd been subjected to gunfire. - I had to close my patio window and door, because the wind was blowing from the east, and the hail was hitting the concrete patio pad, and then ricocheting up to the door and window.  It was an interesting experience.
   There was a slight to-do after the Preakness was won by California Chrome, before he shipped up to Elmont, New York for the Belmont Stakes.  Having won the first two races of the Triple Crown, Art Sherman, the trainer made a comment about racing in the NYRA area.  -  Humans have been wearing "Breathe Right" nasal strips for many years now.  They keep your nasal passages open, so you aren't deprived of oxygen while sleeping or exercising.  Human athletes have been wearing nasal strips almost since the day they were introduced... - The New York Racing Association did not approve of the use of nasal strips on racing thoroughbreds when they were first introduced, saying that there had not been enough study to decide whether the nasal strips were an assistance "offering unfair advantage" to the wearer or not.  Up until Monday, NYRA had declared nasal strips illegal in racing in their state.  California Chrome wears a nasal strip.  He has used a nasal strip in his last six races, and has been undefeated in all of those races.  He has also been ridden in each of those six races by Victor Espinoza.  Any horse, at any race track in the US can (now, with the NYRA's ruling) wear a nasal strip.  Some trainers like them, some don't. In a Sports Illustrated article, a writer stated that since the NYRA has allowed nasal strips, "all of thoroughbred racing suffers from the decision."  He never wrote why, or how, thoroughbred racing suffers from the decision; nasal strips were allowed at all US tracks except in the state of New York prior to the ruling.  Is he stating that New York racing is better than any other states?  Yes, Art Sherman did hint that one of the horse's owners wouldn't be happy if they couldn't use the nasal strip.  But I don't think that would have actually stopped California Chrome's connections from trying to be the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 (Florida-bred Affirmed).  Another way to look at the nasal strip "controversy" is to realize that while the nasal strip may help hold the upper nostril passages stay wide open, all the air the horse breathes must then pass through the 'bottle neck' of the horse's trachea, leading to the lungs...  I do not believe that a nasal strip gives a horse an unusual advantage.
   We are heading for Memorial Day Weekend here in Boulder (and, yes, everywhere else in the United States)... In Boulder that means it is time for the Boulder Creek Festival and the running of the Bolder Boulder 10K road race.  Information about the Boulder Creek Festival may be found at:  http://www.bceproductions.com/boulder-creek-festival/    Festivities begin at 6 p.m. on Friday night, 24 May, with a free concert at the Central Park band shell, and will continue until after dark on Monday, 26 May.  On Monday, the Boulder street system, and a lot of the mass transit system, will be shut down for the 10K Bolder Boulder for the morning and part of the early afternoon - beware!  A map of the race course may be found at:  http://media.bolderboulder.com/BBCourseMap.pdf

 

Family in the Bolder Boulder

The Bolder Boulder was run Monday, on Memorial Day, and, for the first time since 2006, there were less than 50,000 entrants.  The BB is a 5 kilometer (6 + miles) race along the hilly streets of Boulder.  This year, there were 48,741 runners.  One hundred and twenty-five of those runners were treated by EMTs, either along the way, or at the finish line - most for heat related illness.  One man had chest pain and was taken to the hospital, where he was "resting comfortably" in the afternoon.
  I am very proud to say that my 69-year-old brother-in-law finished 3rd in his age group, defeating 77 other men of his age.  And my sister, Kathy, was 7th in the 63-year-old category, besting 22 other women.  I am amazed that Kathy ran at all in this year's race, because she took a bad fall on pavement Sunday night.  She ran with scraped hands, road rash on her knees, a bad wrist, and huge bruises on her legs.  I have to admit that I would not have participated, had it happened to me.
  So, here's my shout out, since I wasn't at my usual spot:  "Way to go, Snow! Go, go, go!"

Memorial Day Weekend Is Here!

The annual Boulder Creek Festival starts today at 10 a.m. and runs through Monday.  The hours are, Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Monday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.  The Festival is free to the public and features something for everyone: 9 separate event areas with 500 vendors showcase everything from community arts and crafts to health alternatives and technology while 4 performance stages feature a spectrum of music and dance. The Festival also features carnival rides, food and beverage vendors, and the signature event: a rubber duck race down the creek! Join us over Memorial Day weekend 2013 for the 26th Annual Boulder Creek Festival®, the best event in Boulder!  The Festival sprawls along the Boulder Creek Pathway, from 6th to 13th Street (the Boulder Public Library is closed until Tuesday).  And one of the big draws will be the Bolder Boulder Road Race, which begins about 7 a.m. on Monday.  
   Estes Park will be hosting an Art Market at Bond Park this weekend, as well as a Western Heritage Antique Show at the Fairgrounds, Barn W.  And the national Park Service was able to get Trail Ridge Road cleared for it's annual opening - but temperatures up above 8,000 feet are expected to be in the 40s and low 50s this weekend, and there is a lot of snow piled up alongside the roadways.  (Trail Ridge Road climbs a bit above 12,000 feet at its' apex.)
   Parking spaces at the beach on Assateague are available and open this weekend, via the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  The National Seashore has gone back to using ground clam shells for the parking area surface, so there shouldn't be chunks of asphalt floating around after the next big storm.  And, after reading the 1 p.m. Friday headline that traffic was backed up for 20 miles, waiting to cross the east-bound section of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, I was happy to be in Boulder.  (I'd rather be on Chincoteague itself, but at least I wasn't trying to drive there from the west side of the Bay!)

Warm, Quiet, and Peaceful

It's warm, quiet and peaceful out this morning.  The North Boulder neighborhood where I'm house-sitting was lovely - the only sound was that of birds singing, and an occasional dog barking.  Here, at the apartment, I can hear the rumble of traffic on US 36, the voices of two people playing tennis behind the privacy fence, and the sound of birds (and squirrels chittering at my kits).  The kits are outside, playing in the sunshine - and I have a sleepy feeling, like I really need to curl back up and go back to sleep, even though I got a good 8 hours last night and this morning.
  About 51,000 people ran or walked in the Bolder Boulder yesterday - that's not counting the professional runners, or the wheelchair racers.  Patrick, a friend who's a barrista at Starbuck's, said he was totally over-run by customers - especially since they had a $2 frappucino grande special running from 4 to 7 p.m. - Patrick worked by himself from 5 to 7, and couldn't even start to break down the work stations until 7 last night.  ...  The Boulder Creek Festival was its' usual success, and ended yesterday with the rubber duck race down Boulder Creek. 
    In the news:  The man who was attacked in Miami has lost about 75% of his face, according to a local TV station.  Larry Varga, who witnessed the ferocious attack, said: "The Police officer came over, told him several times to get off and a police officer climbed over the divider and got in front of him and said, 'Get off!' And told him several times and the guy just stood his head up like that with a piece of flesh in his mouth and growled."   That was when the officer shot the assailant.  The victim is still in critical condition.  ....   Florida, Colorado and New Mexico are not the only states with wildfires - the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a wildfire that has burnt over 34 square miles and destroyed over 36 residences.  ....  Shackleford, who won last year's Preakness, won yesterday's Metropolitan Mile Handicap, in his usual front-running style.  Caleb's Posse was closing fast, but couldn't catch the big chestnut.  .... Black Caviar, the Australian thoroughbred, will soon arrive in Great Britain.  It had been hoped by the Jockey Club that she would be entered in the 1-mile Sussex Stakes; an offer was made to "sweeten" the purse from 300,000 pounds to one million, if Black Caviar faced Frankel in the Sussex.  However, Black Caviar's connections have rejected that offer.  (Black Caviar is unbeaten in 21 races, while Frankel is unbeaten in 10.)
  Hope you have a good week!

Boulder and Bolder Boulder Photos

A view from south Boulder, looking at the Flatirons, with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) tucked under them.

There are entertainment spots all along the Bolder Boulder race route - this is one of the performing belly dancers from 2011.

After the racing ends, the Memorial Day Salute begins at Folsom Field, with fly overs and parachuting displays by local armed forces, and a special tribute to local military veterans.

Memorial Day Weekend

Yesterday was kind of crazy - when I stepped out in the hall to go grab a fresh bagel, one of my neighbors and I stopped to chat.  As we were about to part ways, we realized there was a pair of legs visible on the landing of the north stairs.  I told the man that I'd check out the person, and we parted.  I paused at the bottom of the north stairs - I could see dirty tube socks and hairy white legs.  I was not sure if the person was alive, dead, drunk, high, or what...  I projected my voice and called out, "Sir?  Sir?   Hey, mister; are you alright?"  His right foot moved, but there was no other response.  I went to the bakery, then returned home.  The legs were still on the landing.  So I called the non-emergency police number, and told them there was a white male that I did not recognize as a tenant, asleep (or possibly passed out) in our stairwell.  The police came and it turned out the man was so drunk he couldn't stand without aid, and he is also homeless.  I felt badly about calling the police, but I like to feel safe in the hallways of the apartment building.
   Speaking of which, a couple was awakened the other morning by the sound of someone wandering around in their house - the footsteps came closer, and the man grabbed his licensed gun from his nightstand.  Before the intruder walked into the bedroom, both husband and wife yelled warnings - that they had a gun, and that they would shoot, if the intruder entered the bedroom.  A woman entered the room, and continued to approach the bed, even though both people were yelling warnings.  The woman was shot in the side, just above her hip.  Turns out, she was dead drunk, and had just graduated from CU last week.  She managed to find the one unlocked screen door in a $2.75 million home, and entered, trying to find her own room.  (She lived two miles away.)  Colorado has a "Make my day" law, under which, if a verbal warning is given, the home owner has the right to protect him or herself with deadly force.  The young lady survived the shooting, and announced that she is "disappointed" that the state and home owners are still going to charge her with felony trespass.....
   My kits are super, but I missed sleeping with them last night.  Instead, I had Dhisana, Lily and Lyra in bed with me, and Tessa on the floor next to the bed.  Before 6:30 this morning, I had fed all the critters, re-filled the bee water dish, watered the organic garden, and watered all the potted and hanging plants that are outside.  When I left to come back to see my kits, the morning newspaper had yet to be delivered.  The Boulder Creek Festival begins today, and since it pretty much encircles the Public Library, the library is closed until Tuesday.  There are arts and crafts exhibits and sales, music, dancing, face painting, tumblers, environmental displays, food tents, ...  just about everything you can think of.  Monday, the 10k Bolder Boulder will be run and walked and wheeled - there are wheelchair races, and both pro and amateur contests for runners and walkers.  Monday will also see the Rubber Duck Race on Boulder Creek, for the Creek Festival.  I'll come see the kits Sunday in both the morning and evening, and then return Monday evening - because the four blocks immediately around my apartment building are closed by roadblocks on Monday from 4 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the Bolder Boulder.
   I hope all of you have a nice Memorial Day weekend!

A Quiet Wednesday Morning

Boulder reached 89 degrees yesterday, breaking an 80-year-record.  Today, a front is passing through, and we hope to have a high temperature of 72.  It's grey outside, even though the sun is shining; there are just a few streaks of snow left on the Indian Peaks and Mount Audubon.  Forecasts are for thunder and lightning storms this afternoon, and then highs in the 60s for the rest of the week.  My kits are outside, observing the birds, squirrels and insects.  I stayed at home yesterday, read and did research.  One of my neighbors gave me an interesting job - find information on her birth parents.  I've been able to trace her maternal grandparents back to 1788; but her maternal grandfather appears from nowhere - no family history, no family ties, and not in any Census until after he marries the grandmother...  It's a fun puzzle.  I'll go to the library after walking the red kids today - first, because I need more books to read, and, second, to use Ancestry.com free on the library PCs.  Maybe I'll be able to find something else about the grandfather....
   Not much going on here - the Poudre Canyon fire is completely contained, and fire fighters are now performing clean-up details there in Larimer County.  ....  Peyton Manning appeared in a volunteer Broncos' three-day practice - the public wasn't allowed in, but the press was. ....  Meadowbrook Farm, the birth place of Triple Crown winner Secretariat, was sold several years ago to a group that was producing the Virginia State Fair.  The property went into foreclosure, and was sold again this week for $5.35 million. ....  I'll be staying at Lynn Thore's house beginning Friday; then switching over to the Munsinger home.
   This Monday the Bolder Boulder 10k race will be run - but, for once, I won't be sitting here at the edge of the parking lot and yelling to encourage the runners.  I'll be staying in North Boulder.  Kathy is scheduled to walk the course, and Jim is scheduled to run it.  It looks like I'll drive them in to a drop-off point near the starting line,  and will come pick them up when the race is over and the crowds have cleared a bit.  (I'll probably visit the kits Sunday night, and then again Monday evening...)

Last Day of May

It's the last day of May, and temperatures are supposed to be in the upper 70s today, and in the low 90s the first two days of June. That's good and bad. It's good, because we need some sunshine and warmth - most days in May were either overcast or rainy, and we needed the rain. It's bad because we (in the South Platte River watershed) have our snowpack at 313% - once that snow really starts to melt, we'll have flooding. Of course, we already have flooding in several counties, but this flooding is likely to rival that of the Missouri, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers... oh, my. Hopefully, the sun will slowly melt the snow so that Boulder Creek doesn't flood; my possessions are few, but they are dear to me - books, photos, the kits, and my genealogy records. I do have the PC hard drives up on stands 5 feet above the floor, but Boulder Creek has been known to flood (where my apartment is located) to 70 feet. (Please, not while I live here!) In any event, the kits are outside in the sun and newly mowed grass, and are so happy to be out, after I kept them inside yesterday. Brandi seems to be doing very well, considering her age and illnesses - we slept together last night.
And, after having multiple conversations with MDs and the folks at Medicare, I have finally been informed that once the surgery for my fistula fails three (3) times, I can get a second opinion that Medicare will pay for - and that once the surgery fails after 3 times, they would have the surgeon do some other type of procedure. Apparently the government (via Medicare) believes that "the third time's the charm." We'll see. I certainly can't afford the out-of-pocket expense of a second opinion - it's been quoted to me as "about $2700 to $3000" - by another physician in Boulder. - The up-coming PowerBall drawing is supposed to be worth about $200 million this time around - maybe I can win and get my nether regions repaired....
I sat and stood outside the apartment from 7 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. yesterday, yelling for the participants in the Bolder Boulder. The apartment driveway where I stand is 1/4 mile from Folsom Field; once inside the stadium, they have to make one lap of the track inside and they hit the finish line. I'm rotten, I guess.... I stand there and yell that there's only "a quarter-mile to go!" and "You can do it!" I was shocked that over 50 people stopped by (after they had finished their run) and thanked me for cheering them on - a lot of the women racers hugged me, and many said they don't think they would have finished if they hadn't heard me yell that there was only a quarter-mile left. My psychiatrist ran yesterday, and remembers hearing me yelling; I saw both Jim and Kathy run by; and the entire Chandler family went by as well.... other than that, there were ROTC squads, a herd of Chick-Fillet cows wearing "Eat Mor Chikin" signs, several parrots, a wonderful Uncle Sam, Batman and Robin, men in kilts, men in sequined majorette uniforms, several men in towels (with Run Naked painted on their chests and backs), a red devil, a Jesus, a gorilla carrying a man in a cage, several bananas, Pac Man, ballerinas, mariachis ... it was quite an entertaining crowd. More than 58,000 folks entered the race, and almost 54,000 completed it. The fastest running time was by a young man (28) from Evergreen, who finished the 10 K run in less than 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
Heading back to Brandi in a few minutes.... Enjoy your week!

Bolder Boulder; No Voice Left

Members of the Centennial State Pipe and Drum Band were playing one block away from my place. They also kitted the statue of Olympic Gold Medalist Frank Shorter (marathon runner) with a kilt and tam.


The first part of the Bolder Boulder race was the Wheelchair Section - the race began at 7 a.m., and I was cheering for the winner when he passed me at the 9K point at 7:20. I kept cheering whenever another participant appeared - and before the last of the Wheelchair racers went by, the First Wave of Citizen runners came by. A man from Kenya came in first, and one from Ghana came in second. I gave a big cheer for the first woman runner to pass by - she's a Scot, and she won. Just before 8 a.m. brother-in-law Jim ran by - I hollered his name and cheered, and he waved and yelled back. A few minutes after 9, sister Kathy ran by; waved and yelled at me, as I was yelling at her.
I have to admit I had a lot of fun. I yelled almost continuously from 7:30 until 11:15, when they moved the citizen race, which had slowed down to a trickle, off the road and onto the opposite sidewalk. This was done to clear the way for the Elite Runners - internationally known road racers, who ran like they were possessed. They knocked several minutes off the current record, finishing the 10K before 30 minutes had passed. I say "they" because it was a group of Ethiopian runners who passed by me in a knot, and then finished up almost simultaneously at the finish line. - Now, here comes the part I have to admit to... I was wearing a pink felt pig hat the whole time. I was the only person cheering the runners on in a 3 block section, and after people finished the race, and were walking around to cool down, they came over and chatted with me, and told me how much it meant that I was there, cheering them on, in the last 1/4 mile before the entrance to the stadium. I now have no voice. I truly will be a dog whisperer tomorrow when I take the red kids out!