Tuesday, September 30, 2014

When Cranky, Try Eating a Snack



From the Sarah Edwards interview of Patricia Lockwood:


I don’t experience much loneliness, oddly. Sometimes I have thought I was lonely and it turned out I was in reality wanting a snack, just like sometimes I have thought I was mad and it turned out I was actually wearing too many sweaters. I’ve always been very content in the company of my own thoughts, and I prefer to spend much of my time alone. But I do like conversation — for the exercise, for the spark, for the let’s-see-where-it-takes-us, for being able to dip into communal creativity when you’re tired of your own air.
Patricia Lockwood

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Saturday's Reverie

Written yesterday while enjoying perfect warm weather.

I'm in a rare state of perfect contentment. I'm writing in the early afternoon shade of our giant pine tree. There is more traffic on Collyer Street than on a typical weekday because of the Oktoberfest and the major ripping up of Main Street that begins right near the park with the festival. I have mocha in my commute mug so it's staying hot while I let my mind wander around. While sitting here, I think I have come up with a plan to give the side yard some shade and a little privacy. Shrubs along the fences will take up more of the yard, but we should still have enough room to create an oasis.


We went to the Sun Rose Cafe for an excellent breakfast this morning, followed by the guitar store, library, feed store, and the farmer's market. It was a great start to the day.

Now I have the singular pleasure of dragging all of the plastic outdoor toys out from under the pine for a good scrubbing. It's time to start putting things away before winter arrives. You wouldn't believe how many critters can live in a neglected, forgotten bunch of toys. Boy Howdy, as fictitious cowboys like to say. You might think it's too early to prepare for winter but, in my experience, fall is the shortest season.
Obviously winter is the longest.

I was barely started with my Herculean task when two grandchildren arrived for a visit. The water table got a good workout and a good time was had by all.



I found a bag with two peaches and a zucchini on my porch when I first went out front. Someone left this gift, with no note, where I could see it when I looked outside. What exactly should I think about this? Is someone naive or was I pranked? 



Saturday, September 20, 2014

The Not-Quite-A-Vacation is Over

I got to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have always loved glass art but his is amazing.


We ate lunch at the Buckhorn Exchange finally. One time we were in a store that sells antique photos of Colorado. There was an old photograph of people eating at the Buckhorn and one woman, who was looking straight into the camera, was Steve's mother or her doppelganger. The timing was right for her to be in Denver on her way to Texas.



Fading murals on the Buckhorn's exterior wall.

 I love rabbitbrush with its yellow blossoms, but I feel melancholy whenever the bushes flower because it means summer is almost over. Up in the mountains on Thursday, we found the aspens to be  especially good this year. 

Rocky Mountain National Park



Mountain climber with mountain mermaid.




Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Not Quite a Vacation

It's not quite a vacation for us this week, but it's certainly a change of pace. We've been sick but are feeling better today. Except for the cough. Everyone says that, I'm pretty good except for the cough. The poor cat is still a mess with her glucose readings from her diabetes. We keep poking her ear and giving her injections. She's not happy and we're not happy. Back to the vet this morning. I emailed the latest numbers to him and he wrote back, "There's something wrong with this picture." I agree.

We were supposed to spend the day in Denver on Monday but Steve had to make up some time at work first. I picked him up around noon and we headed to the Buckhorn Exchange for lunch. Teddy Roosevelt ate there in 1905. The food was very good but the number of stuffed animals and birds was somewhat disturbing. The historic photos and artifacts were well worth seeing though.

From there, we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens. They have a Chihuly exhibit that is a lot of fun. The median age of visitors at the gardens was around 74.

By the time we saw everything, we were tired but still went to my favorite Army-Navy store in Englewood where I got a good price on a new duffle bag. We'll have to see the new history museum some other time when our energy levels are back to normal.




Friday, September 12, 2014

Riding a Wild Horse With Your Eyes Shut

When I say that life is like riding a wild horse I am talking about how control is an illusion. Life is beautiful and life is dangerous. Right now, I was riding the wild horse with my arms in the air with my eyes shut. The horse was giving a glorious ride, but a hoof went into a hole and we went cartwheeling across the real world.

Six months ago, I picked a week in September for a vacation. I decided upon a road trip to the southwest corner of the state and into northern New Mexico. As the coveted week approached, my cat was diagnosed with diabetes. We were able to "fix" her diabetes with a change in her diet last year after she almost died. Somehow diabetes and liver disease go hand in hand. Now we've hit the big time. She has to have an insulin shot twice a day, but the awful part is getting the blood drop out of her ear twice a day to test with the glucose meter. I have terrible close-up vision and the veins in her ears are very tiny. So that part has been nerve-wracking. Her ears have suffered a lot.

This morning the vet looked at the records I've been keeping and told me we could go to a twice a week schedule for poking those ears. I felt like I just got a big present. Unfortunately their lab test, when finished, showed an extremely low glucose level of 44, so it's back to twice a day testing for two more weeks. My test at 6:30 this morning had been 142, which is a good number. The cat is very prone to stress and stress elevates glucose so I think she had a "white-coat" high reading.

While all of this is going on, my granddaughter came down with a virus that may be the one plaguing Colorado and other states right now. She started preschool a few mornings a week and, presto-chango, she's sick. Then I got it, our grandson was next, then Steve, and now our daughter. A lot of the people who took vacation time, along with me, are now sick.

I received a letter from my past on my birthday. My head felt like a dark kaleidoscope for a while. There was very bad news about my oldest brother that I'm still working over with the few available synapses I have left. The past can never really be buried.

There are some things I just can't write about.

Then there's the anniversary of September 11th, which is also when our disastrous floods took place last year.

It's all so much to deal with but we still keep getting back on the horse.


The solace of nature, plus a few water skiers