Peevish Friday

Other than a quick run to McGuckin's Hardware yesterday morning, I stayed at home because Maintenance was scheduled to be here "sometime between 10 am and 4 pm" to switch out all the air filters, check the water heaters and to change the batteries (and test) the smoke, fire, and radon detectors.  They were on our landing at 11:30 - but they ran out of batteries and went back to the shop and had lunch before returning.  There were three men and it took all of 5 minutes, once they returned at 1:15.  I took a nap after they left, and woke up hot and irritable.  Clouds had started to build at 1, and I wanted a big thunderstorm.  We had some lightning around 7, and, at 8 a ten minute rainstorm with one thunder rumble.  Period.  We could have used an hour of heavy rain, or a night of light rain...  Oh, well....
   Got up this morning and decided to go to Target and get a St. Patrick's Day T-shirt and some food for the cats.  Got the cat food - but Target had no Irish T-shirts, and no green shirts at all - other than a very pale pastel green. I went through self-checkout, as there were lines at the cashiers.  I wanted to get away from a lot of contact.  I checked myself out, and placed my items in the bags I took with me.  I paid.  While I was reaching for my receipt, a woman was already reaching across my hand to use the touch screen.  While I was picking up my bags, she was trying to put her purchase into a store bag, knocking my hands away.   I really wanted to tell her to back off - but I just took my bags and escaped.
   Walking home, I have to cross several streets.  At one, an older man (white hair, bald on top, with glasses) was driving a Lincoln Towncar.  He stopped smack dab in the middle of the pedestrian cross-walk, wanting to turn across three lanes of traffic.  Being in an irritated mood, I walked into the side of his car three times - against the passenger window of the front seat - and finally, I knocked against his door with my bag full of cat food cans.  He almost crapped his pants, I scared him so much...  And then he started to yell at me.  I finally walked in front of his car, at the one time he had an opening in traffic.  I guess I was suffering from "pedestrian rage."
  Sitting at home, now, in front of my computer, with Lovey sprawled across my lap, my peevishness is passing....   **sigh**

Things To Do On Chincoteague With Children - Part 2

There are several great parks on Chincoteague - Memorial Park has a wonderful playground for youngsters along with picnic tables and a short trail along the Assateague Channel; Reed Park is downtown, where the old drawbridge used to be, and has covered picnic tables, the LOVE chairs, and wonderful views of Marsh Island, the causeway and new bridge, and a lot of docks; the Leonard Park, almost opposite the High School on north Main Street is great for picnicking and watching sunsets.
   * Next to Reed Park is the Chincoteague Public Library, with Tales for Tots as a weekly draw.
   * Shopping is spread out all over the island - the Historic Downtown area, where the Library and Reed Park are located, is a great way to get a feeling of Chincoteague.  The other main shopping area is along Maddox Boulevard, which is now usually called "Beach Road."
   * Visit the Chincoteague Pony Center, home of some Misty family ponies; have a pony ride; take a riding lesson.  See their website at   http://www.chincoteague.com/ponycentre/
   *  If you're really interested in ponies, and want some great island facts thrown in, take one of the boat tours with Captain Dan's Around the Island Tours (piloted by Captain Dan or his Dad, Captain Ray.  They specialize in getting you up close to the ponies grazing freely on Assateague Island in the CNWR.  I've taken and hugely enjoyed tours with both of the Cap'ns.   see their Facebook page at:     https://www.facebook.com/Captain-Dans-Around-the-Island-Tours-189293917790114/
   * There are multiple other water tours and/or you can charter a boat for fishing - see the websites
http://www.chincoteague.com/scenic-cruises.html
http://www.chincoteague.com/charterboats/
http://www.chincoteague.com/boat-rentals.html
   * Take a Teaguer's Tump Tour - owner/operator Denise Bowden is a native Chincoteaguer, is a working member of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, has worked with the Pony Penning committee and with the ponies themselves for years, and is the current Vice-Mayor of  the island.  See her website at  http://www.chincoteague.com/teaguers-tump-tours.html
   * Go kayaking, paddle-boarding or canoeing.
   * Go see the Leonard family ponies in their pasture on Maddox Blvd, between the McDonald's and the Refuge Inn.  Be very careful, even though these ponies are tame, they can bite and kick without warning.
   * Visit Funland on Maddox Blvd - mini-golf, an arcade, go-karts, and tons of other fun things - http://gotofunland.com/

 Off the islands and on the mainland, within a 30 minute drive are:
   * Queen Hive Farm - take a trail ride, or have a riding lesson in Assawoman, Virginia.  See their website at   http://www.chincoteague.com/QueenHive/
   * Visit the NASA Wallops Visitor Center on 175 -  https://www.nasa.gov/content/wallops-visitor-center/about-us
   * Visit the Chincoteague Bay Field Station at Wallops Island  -  http://www.cbfieldstation.org/
   * Visit the Delmarva Discovery Center in Pocomoke City, Maryland  -  http://www.delmarvadiscoverycenter.org/
   
For much more information visit the Chincoteague website at:  http://www.chincoteague.com/activities.html

I really miss my old home.......     Chincoteague sand doesn't just get into your shoes, it forms sandbars in your soul.

Christmas Eve in Colorado

It was dark and cold - 18 degrees (F) - when I got up and started my daily rounds this morning.  My kits were not happy that the alarm went off earlier than usual, and while I was preparing to leave, Nedi was winding up into his loudest rendition of the feline Hallelujah chorus.  Giving him a "special treat" for breakfast convinced him to be much more quiet, but I understand that he gave Beatrice a rousing vocal at 7 o'clock.
   Victor and Xena were happy to see a little earlier than usual, and scampered out into the back yard like the big kids they are...  It was still not yet full day, and the chickens decided not to leave the coop, so I had to go in and count nebs.  I had put out fresh, warm water for them, and given them cracked corn and some fresh garbanzo beans.  Then I gave the dogs their morning treats, and headed over to the Jack Russells'.
   Nicodemus is a smaller, tri-color Jack, who recently lost an eye to an infection we couldn't get rid of.  He was almost completely blind with cataracts at the age of 2, and he had surgery to remove those.  He was fine for 5 years, but something scratched the lens of his eye while out playing at Coot Lake, and it just would not clear up, or heal up.  The vet finally removed the eye two months ago.  Emmitt is a larger, almost all white, Jack with a few tan spots on his ear.  He's a rescue dog, having been kept in a cage in a basement for the first 5 years of his life.  He didn't know what grass was, and it took several years for him to get used to all the sights and sounds he encounters in the house and outdoors.  He's an extremely vigilant house protector, and barks at anything that moves in the yard or on the street.  Thank goodness they live on a small cu-de-sac!
   This evening I'll go visit Seek, a Spangled Bengal cat, and give her supper, love, and some playtime and grooming.  Her Mom will return late Sunday night, so I'll make three visits, in all, to see her.  She has a beautiful copper-colored coat with black swirls and dots - and huge green eyes...  She's a sweetheart.
   And, of course, I'll spend cuddle time with Lovey and Nedi today, too. - I've finished my Christmas shopping, and just picked up a gift from Rosie's parents/owners from Mike's Camera.  I couldn't believe how wonderful and generous these folks are - They bought me a complete package of the Canon Rebel EOS T6, with the regular and the zoom lens, care and protective items, and $300 worth of coupons for free photos, classes, and all sorts of things...  
    For all of you who are my friends, I am very blessed to know all of you...
  May Christmas bring you peace, joy, and great happiness!

Wild Wednesday

Sheeesh - what a day.   Yesterday was awful, in some aspects.  I made my annual pilgrimage to my general practitioner of medicine - just to renew my necessary medications.  I also had another short list of things, just for her to note (or so I thought) in my file.  The first was that both of my ring fingers have turned into "trigger fingers" since last May - not horribly, but if I sleep with my fists clenched, the ring fingers don't want to straighten - the right more so than the left.  Secondly, I told her that the enamel had worn through on three teeth - they are dead; but there is no pain, so I see nothing to do at the time. Third, that I was having "itchy bones" in various places  and at various times.  The fourth thing was that I had had the two "white outs" in my left eye - one at the beginning of August, one at the end of October - my vision had returned to normal within 30 minutes each time, and there was no pain.  I had poked around on the internet and read about some folks who had experienced the same thing, and they had been told it was a capillary bursting in their eye... That seemed logical to me, but my MD was horrified.  She's pretty sure that I had two small mini-strokes.
    So now I have agreed to get three tests done - a brain and eye MRI, ultrasounds of my neck arteries, and an electrocardiogram.  And I've agreed to see a dentist - for the first time in 21 years.  I already regret having agreed to all of the above.   I had to have counseling from a case manager, and he was pushing me to give up my caffeine - totally.  I told him that I suffered from migraines, and that in the early 1990s, I had gone caffeine free for 1 year; I spent 10 months of that time in bed with migraines.  The only thing that would stop the migraines was a daily dose of caffeine - so I told him I was keeping my caffeine and would NOT renounce it.  He heaved a big sigh and tried to tell me that coffee was bad - I laughed and told him that I don't drink coffee or tea - I drink diet cola - which set him off on the awfulness of aspartame....  Yada, yada, yada, yada....  Then I had to have blood drawn and get my flu shot,
  After that, Beatrice and I went to the Credit Union, then to Turley's Kitchen for breakfast.  Then we went shopping.  After we returned home, I wrapped a gift, and then went over to Rosie's for a 2 hour walk and love session.  Got back home, took out the trash and recyclables, and then went to Donn's to pick up his mail - and then threaded my way up 36 into Denver, to pick up Donn and Lynn at the Airport...  Their flight was scheduled to arrive at 4:30, and the Flight Stats website said the flight was en route and on time.  So I totally freaked out when my cell phone rang at 4:02 and it was a text message from Lynn saying they had landed, but had to clear customs before they'd be ready for pick-up.  I was freaked out because I was 18 miles away from Pena Blvd, and then had another 12 miles to the terminal.  So I turned into a speed demon, as much as traffic would allow (not much!).  Fifteen minutes later, she texts that they are still on the runway - another plane was blocking their way to the gate...  In any event, I got to the cell phone waiting lot, and actually read a chapter in a book before they got through Customs.  Then I drove to the terminal, picked them up, and was dropped off back at my apartment in time for Jeopardy!
    I was feeling achey from the shot, so I went to bed early last night. This morning, I got to deal with the six phone calls that came in yesterday....  all about dentists and the hospital for setting up appointments.  Yuck.

Dry Colorado

We did some odds-n-ends shopping yesterday - got a small Gorilla step-ladder (since I'm vertically challenged), and a stud finder, plus batteries.  I purchased a small niger seed feeder for our frequent visitors, the gold, house and purple finches, and I also bought a suet feeder and a couple of suet blocks for colder days.  I also need to refill our hulled sunflower seeds bucket, even though the birds have slowed down their feeding rat, at the moment.
    We had the second driest October on record, and we've had no measurable precipitation so far in November.  Grass fires are becoming common because of the drought.  Yesterday, Rosie and I surprised an 8-point buck and a doe drinking in the back yard irrigation ditch.  The birds aren't consuming as much seed from the feeders as they did last year...  but the grasshoppers are plentiful.  Snow has fallen in the high mountain areas, and you can see snow on top of Long's Peak - but the snow is staying above the 10,000 foot mark.  Boulder is 1,000 feet higher than Denver, but, even though we had a couple of frosty mornings, we've had no rain or snow.
    We've had several high school protests regarding Trumps' election, as well as protests on the University of Colorado campus, and several nightly, peaceful protests by the public at large.  It's worrisome.

This Weekend

I've had a wonderful time this weekend - I love to drive a vehicle, and go exploring.  On Saturday, Beatrice, our new friend, Melissa (from Atlanta, Georgia), and I set forth to drive over Trail Ridge Road before the snow closes it for the season.  Melissa had never been inside Rocky Mountain National Park, and the closest thing to her being in the mountains before was a quick look around Nederland one afternoon, several months ago.   I planned on driving up 36 to Estes Park, then through RMNP on Trail Ridge Road, then down to Grand Lake and Granby, take 34 and run into I-70 west of Georgetown, and then close the loop via Idaho Springs and Golden.  We did most of that...
   The views were spectacular, as always.  Beatrice and I had hoped to see some of the larger wildlife in the Park, as we had in June.  Then we saw elk, moose, and big horn sheep.  We were hoping to see all of those, plus mountain goats, and other smaller creatures.  We saw two Stellar jays and two chipmunks...  rather a let down in mammal sightings.   But the aspens were at their peak, and there were streaks of gold along the mountain sides. The Rocky Mountains are truly a magnificent sight.
   On the way back, I missed the 34 turn in Granby, and we came back on 40, then I-70, 6 and 93.  It still made a beautiful sight-seeing loop.  We left at 10:40 in the morning, and returned at 6:10 in the evening.  We had a late lunch at the Blue Water Bakery at Grand Lake.  It was indescribably delicious, as it was the last visit.  This time I picked up four croissants to bring home....  incredibly tasty!
   Late this morning (Sunday) we drove over to Longmont, and showed Melissa Prospect New Town, and then drove through the Old Town residential sections of Longmont.  Beatrice and I needed to pick up a few things at Target, and we lost Melissa for 30 minutes in the Longmont super store...  Melissa was about to call Bea on her cell phone, when Bea managed to spot  her and tapped her on the shoulder. Melissa just about jumped out of her skin.
    Melissa also gave us a copy of her CD, Box of Stars.  She is an amazing singer, and wrote her own lyrics and music for the ten songs.  The second song, Trains, just caught me up and took me to another time and place.  Melissa is a magical lady....
    And, on the football side of things, the Florida Gators won; the Colorado University Buffaloes won; and the Broncos won.  All is right with my world.

Prejudice

Each and every village, town, city, county, state, province and country wants to paint itself as having no prejudice when it comes to drawing tourists and the money generated by tourism.  That needs to be worked on - a lot - in Colorado.  My parents did their best to raise me as a person with no taught prejudice.  Dad turned down the offer of becoming an officer in the US Navy when he was informed that if he made officer-grade, he had to cease playing poker with his friends, who were African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American.  The family could have used the money that would arrive if Dad became an officer, but Dad refused to be cut off from his friends.
   Dad was raised on a farm, growing up during the Dust Bowl, and knew the necessity of working hard.  As a child, he was given the choice of working in the field for the afternoon, or playing in the waterhole with his brothers.  The boys chose to play in the waterhole.  When supper was served, everyone got a big first helping of all the food; when the boys reached to grab seconds, they were told that the men had worked, so they could eat as much as they wanted, and if there was anything left, the boys could split it.  At that time, the two "hands" on the farm were an African-American and a Native American.  The boys started to complain, and were informed that if they worked all day, they could eat all they wanted - but they had played.  One of the boys complained that the two hands "weren't even the same color, let alone a family member" under his breath.  Everyone at the table received a long commentary from Grandpa, and the boy who complained was sent to bed, then and there.  Dad learned early that everyone was considered to be equal.
   Mom, on the other hand, grew up on Chincoteague Island, in the state of Virginia, just below the Maryland state line.  While she was growing up, there were only five families of African-Americans living on the island.  And it was in the South.  There was an unwritten, but understood "law" that people of color were not to be seen moving about town unless it was broad daylight; that there was a dusk to dawn curfew set for anyone of color.  Chincoteague, with all of it's history - choosing to side with the Yankees during the Civil War - was not nice, or fair, to African-Americans.  As a child, I remember a few black watermen on Chincoteague, but most blacks were employed as cooks, house cleaners, maids, or odd-jobs-men.  I never really thought about the fact that there were very few people of color on the island.....
    I was born in Virginia, and, by my fifth birthday, when Dad retired from the Navy, after 22 years of service, I had lived in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kingsville, Texas.  When I was four, I was in love with the Hispanic boy next door, who was six, and I spoke better Spanish than I spoke English.  Then we moved to Gainesville, Florida, and I received the majority of my education there; spending the school year in Florida, and most of the summer on Chincoteague.  This was still the segregated south - Florida public schools were not integrated until January 1970, in the middle of my 8th grade year.  Mom and Dad had continued to have friends of all races, and I had, also - but I went to school with white kids, even if I went to church with black and Latino kids...  It was weird.   We were equal in church, but not in school.  Very strange.
   In any event, the majority of my high school graduating class was African-American.  We were proud of our school, and extremely proud that our high school marching band was frequently mistaken for the Florida A&M University marching band.  We had soul.  We could rock and strut with the best of the best.  With school integration, I suddenly learned a lot about African-American history that I had not been aware of - and I was appalled.  In high school, we learned about the Rosewood Massacre - which had taken place in the next county.
    I guess I was a very lucky child, in that my parents wanted me to accept every single person as a person.  Their skin color, eye color, and religious beliefs didn't make anyone a person to be shunned or afraid of.  There is no denying that I am a white woman.  I have Scandinavian and English blood in my veins - I have light colored eyes, very grey hair, pale skin, tons of freckles and lots of cherry angiomas - luckily, I've never been reported as a witch, for I'd fail all the skin tests!
   I have three step-children: two daughters, and the youngest is a son.  The eldest daughter, with red hair and freckles, married a white man and they have a daughter.  The middle daughter, with dark hair, light eyes and skin, married a black man; they have a daughter and a son.  My son married a black woman, and they have two daughters.  All of my grandchildren are perfect!  (Of course!)  I love each of them equally.  Period.
    In the past year, I acquired someone to share an apartment with, to split the costs and save money.  She is a 62-year-old African-American woman.  She was born and raised in Denver; she was the first African-American cheerleader for the Denver Broncos; she and her siblings were the first black kids to attend a Catholic school in Denver.  She is a wonderful friend and companion.  My cats love her.
    Two years ago, Beatrice, my now apartment sharer, and I went into an "upper class" organic food store here in Boulder.  Ten seconds after we stepped through the doors, we had a "tail."  The beverage manager stayed about one yard behind Beatrice, and mimicked her every move throughout our visit.  When we complained about this via e-mail and by telephone, we were assured that the manager was on his lunch break and just happened to be going the way we were....  Humph!  They also gave us a $25 gift card.  We have not returned to that store - Alfalfa's - and we never will.
   Yesterday, we decided to run up Magnolia Mountain and visit Nederland, just to get out of Boulder. We had a great breakfast at Turley's (here in Boulder), and then drove up "the back way" to Ned.  We parked in the town parking lot, and wandered over to the small downtown shops.  I was entranced with the geodes and trilobites and became lost in my own world.  I didn't see that the cashier and clerks pointedly ignored Beatrice, and stepped into aisles so that Beatrice had to move around them.  Helpful?  In no way.   We left quickly.   Then we went into The Rustic Moose.  We could have spent several hours browsing through their huge selection of gift items - Bea bought several items, and I saw several that I want to purchase when I have more cash available.  The ladies in The Rustic Moose were the exact opposite of the silent people in the gemstone shop.  They chatted with both of us, asked a few key questions, and ended up steering us toward things that we both loved.  The women who work in that store are saleswomen par excelance.  We had a very wonderful and reviving experience in The Rustic Moose.
    I hope that cashiers, sales clerks, clerks and managers will read this and contemplate how they approach, or ignore, customers.  Had the folks in the first shop been nice, they could have made a huge sale, instead  of nothing.  The Rustic Moose had a nice sales day, thanks to their friendliness.

Wandering

We had mostly cloudy skies yesterday, but the temperatures were still in the 80s.  Beatrice and I went down to Golden on Monday and had lunch with our friend Carol at Bob's Atomic Burgers on Ford Street.  We were a little early, so we explored the town and saw a few places we hadn't been before - like the campus of the Colorado School of Mines.  The food was pretty good - the best burger I've had in Golden, actually.  We sat under an umbrella on Ford Street and ate and drank and talked for more than three hours.  We had fun, and drew a lot of attention, I'm afraid - just because we were laughing so much.
  Yesterday, we tried out Doug's Day Diner, a new place here in Boulder - they are only open from 6 am until 2 pm, serving breakfast the whole time, as well as burgers, chicken and fries for lunch.  Beatrice was disappointed that they didn't have waffles, so she ordered "Granny's Hotcakes."  I had the "Hillbilly" breakfast - three eggs, biscuit and gravy, home fries and meat (I had the bacon).  We were astounded by the serving sizes.  Bea's coffee was great, and came in an over-sized mug; my diet soda was 30 ounces - both with never-ending refills.  Bea's  two pancakes were larger than a dinner plates, light and fluffy, and with her choices of butter, syrup, and several kinds of jellies and jams (for only $6!)    My Hillbilly breakfast covered a huge platter - big enough to serve a 24-pound turkey on.  We both left with more than half our food in carry-out boxes...  and for only $20!  The waiter was also the manager, and she said she's waiting for two waffle griddles to be delivered - one for regular waffles, the other for gluten-free (we do live in Boulder, after all).
   Then we traveled up Lee Hill Drive and up to Gold Hill.  I took Beatrice to see Carter Lake was was very aghast at how low the water level is.  She had never been there before, and was amazed by the size of the lake, and by the red clay and rocks that, now, ring the lake for 1/8 to 1/4 mile all around, thanks to the drought.  I hadn't been to Carter Lake in eight years, and I was amazed at the receding of the water level.
   Headed over to the Loveland Outlet stores, as Beatrice really wanted to see them - how many and what brands.  We were both disappointed there - more than half of the stores are empty, and several have been converted into churches.  We went into the Levi's store, Dress Barn, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Makers, a kitchen supply store, and a nice arts and crafts shop named "Artsy."  I got a few pages of craft specialty papers there.  I'm not quite sure what the different stores in Loveland thought about the weather, but only Artsy had their air-conditioning turned on.  All the other stores did not have their HVAC systems running at all - and they were extremely warm.  In a way, we were glad that there were so few stores to visit, as we were uncomfortable inside them....
   Oh, well....  Beatrice is back to work today, and I am, also.  Hump day for most worker's but Bea's Monday - and I was last "off"  August.  My next day "off" will be 3 October - and I plan on watching college football!
   No word yet on the stolen Chincoteague filly named Dreamer's Faith.  She has been posted on the NetPosse, a website for stolen horses.  I hope she is found soon.  The latest round of notes and Twitter about her say: Keep the Faith!  -  in her being found and returned; not as an encouragement for the thief.  I'm ready to personally hang him/her (the thief), myself.

Frost On the Inside of My Patio Door

I knew it was cold outside last night, but I must admit I was surprised when I opened the thermal drapes over the patio door and found frost on the inside of the glass.  The glass plate is less than four feet away from the corner of my radiator, and five feet from the foot of my bed...  Hmmmm.  Anyway, it was so cold outside this morning that Nedi, for the first time in his life, did not want to run out the door and onto the patio.  The thermometer said it was -10, and the news person added that the wind chill made it feel like -25.  If I hadn't been wide awake, I could easily have gone back to bed.  Now, at 10:30, we have reached -1 degree... we hit a high of +1 degree yesterday.  This is unusually cold weather for Boulder in February - our normal high temperature is 38.  This is a photo from an outdoor pool yesterday afternoon - it had dropped to -14 that morning....  And, of course, we're expecting more snow this afternoon and evening.

The Winter Games have begun in Sochi, Russia.  I laughed when I read that Shaun White's main competitor in the Slopestyle Snowboarding event  said that Shaun's withdrawal should be counted as a failure on his Olympic record.  Shaun stated that he felt the Slopestyle course was too dangerous, and, after injuring himself in practice, decided to concentrate on winning a three-peat Gold Medal in Halfpipe Snowboarding.  Considering the number of times any athlete falls (and can incur a catastrophic injury), I don't blame White at all... his body has paid the price many times.  I think he's finally reaching maturity.  In case you don't remember, Shaun was known as the "Flying Tomato" in his younger days, before his hair darkened and he decided he didn't like that nickname any longer.
   I am going to have to make a trip to the grocery store again tomorrow - I have plenty of cat food, canned and dry, and plenty of kitty litter; I have extra bird seed, and extra nuts for the squirrels; I have a huge cauldron of homemade marinara sauce simmering away with a large number of homemade meatballs cooking in the sauce, and I have tons of pasta.  But I'm running short on Cheerios, blueberries for waffles and snacks, and - gasp! - Diet Coca-Cola.  The only hot drink that I enjoy these days is cocoa -  Maybe I haven't developed the taste, but hot tea, to me is hot colored water; and coffee is burnt, hot colored water.  While I will drink tea, I won't drink coffee, and I get a lot of strange looks in Colorado.  (But I'm different enough to be used to that!)
  I'll be doing genealogy research today, so I'll watch the Olympics on NBC tonight.    ** Cue the applause for our representative athletes! **

Windy...

According to a lady I met in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I cursed the area by using the four-letter word that starts with a w, and ends with a d. Synonyms are: breeze, zephyr, gale, etc. While I was in Wyoming, it was cloudy and overcast, and the wind was blowing - it felt about 20 degrees cooler in Cheyenne than it did in Boulder on Tuesday. We had a cold front blow through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, which took down a lot of trees, branches, and electric wires. There were gusts up to 89 mph just outside of Denver, and around 70 mph here in Boulder. The wind blew almost all day yesterday, and has continued to do so today - I was hit by a gust and almost blown off the road going down to Golden this morning. Other than the wind, things here are great; and the kits are playing in the sun in the back yard.

   I was contacted by one of the blog readers yesterday, and I'm now happy to call Michele in Wisconsin a friend. I was doing laundry yesterday, and ended up writing her several long "notes." I probably should have cleaned the place up some more, and started putting together my new bookcase, but I didn't. I figure I have a very few days of vacation left, and I'll do what I want to do, not what I "should" do. That's why I went down to Golden today... I had a super time walking along Clear Creek, and the shopping area in the historic section was a good find - I noted several items that I'll get the family for Christmas, now that I know RTD has a bus between us.

   Just took a short break and talked with my friend Nancy - and I showed her one of my favorite shopping sites: http://www.recollections.biz/ . I would love to own about 50 of their dresses or skirt and blouse combinations. I can just imagine the looks I'd get walking down Pearl Street Mall, or downtown Chincoteague in some of those outfits... Going to watch Person of Interest tonight and have tea with Bea tomorrow before returning the Rav4... Then it's football time, again! (Yahoo!)