July 26, 2015

Home At Last!

After over 1800 miles, eight states, 4 bottles of Mountain Dew, 4 sacks of sunflower seeds, one pound bag of Swedish Fish and two audio books, we are finally home! We stopped for lunch and a visit at mom's house in Fort Morgan and arrived home this evening. We saw a lot of beautiful country along the way but seeing the front range mountains was the prettiest scenery of all. It was a long but fun trip and Alex and I tolerated each other pretty well. There was only one time that he threatened to leave me but I wasn't worried. That particular place had a mall and a Starbucks so I was fine with it! 

It will be great having Alex home now and for the next 14 days I will have both of my kids in the house again. I guess I better go to the grocery store tomorrow!

Starbucks was in order for the final leg home

Nice visit with Grandma

July 25, 2015

Mom/Son Road Trip Day 4: Almost Home

Greetings from the island....Grand Island, Nebraska! We made it through Missouri, a tiny bit of Iowa and now we are in Nebraska. It is nice to be back in territory that we are more familiar with and now we can see other things besides trees. 

Our hotel in Grand Island is near a big shopping area so I made Alex walk around. It felt so good to have my legs move. All this sitting in the car is getting old and I'm beginning to regret not bringing my yoga pants since my "horizons" are expanding from days of sitting, peeing, and eating...repeat!

Speaking of eating, Food Network has not visited this part of Nebraska so we settled for a chain restaurant tonight. One more day!

Cold beer at the end of long day..

Sometimes you have to leave something behind to make housekeeping smile!

July 24, 2015

Mom/Son Road Trip: Day 3- Four State Flyby

Greetings from St. Louis! We traveled through four states today - Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and are currently in Missouri. It was smooth sailing -except for a random mattress I had to swerve around -so I achieved a personal best of driving five hours. 

There was a little mix up with our hotel tonight but the manager went out of his way to make it right so we ended up in this huge room with a pull out couch bed for Alex. I think I will get my steps in by  just walking from the door to the bed! I need to get my steps in because we ate at another great place tonight. Ms. Piggies was featured on the Delicious Destinations Food Network show. It is a no frills BBQ place and it is delicious! Of course we had to have St. Louis style ribs! 

Ribs, collard greens, yams, and cornbread..and sweet tea!

The longest room ever!

July 23, 2015

Mom/Son Road Trip: Day 2 - Just Peachy In Georgia

Greetings from Marrietta Georgia! The drive went well today. Alex navigated out of Tampa and then I got behind the wheel. At first I was nervous because we are towing a small trailer but soon realized that Alex's car handled it well. I achieved a personal record for driving time. Usually I can drive one maybe two hours but I blew through that today and drove three hours! 

Our superb planning skills had us arrive in downtown Atlanta today at 5:30pm but actually the traffic wasn't too bad and we got a great tour of Atlanta. However, Alex did show his super human driving powers by navigating over six lanes of heavy traffic to make an exit. 

Tonight with my handy TVFoodMaps app, we located a restaurant that was featured on the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives show - the Marrietta Diner. It was a fun place and is known for it's Spinach pie and they kindly bring you a few pieces when you sit down. They have huge delicious looking cheesecakes but we were too full after dinner to try any and the servings are as large as a small child!

Note: Two other apps that were very useful today were iExit which lists all the services at each exit and Hotel Tonight that lists hotel deals at your destination and allows you to book rooms on-line. 

Marrietta Diner

No wide open spaces...just a lot of trees in this part of the country!

I had to get some Georgia peaches!

July 22, 2015

Mom/Son Road Trip Adventure: Day One - No Go

Today we made preparations to leave Tampa but unfortunately our departure was delayed. When Alex took his car in two weeks ago to have maintenance before the 1,800 mile trip, they found a few sensors malfunctioning. Since then, Alex has had the car in and out of two garages to get the problem solved. Luckily, the final part came in and was ready to be installed today. To save time, we picked up the U-Haul trailer this morning so when the car was finished this afternoon, we were ready to load up. However,  Florida summer was in full force today so even though it was late afternoon, the temperature was 90 degrees and the humidity was 60%! Needless to say, we were soaked with sweat by the time we hauled his worldly belongings from the second floor to the trailer. I thought Alex was going to bake while he tied down everything inside that metal trailer! The plus side was that at sea level I am a pretty awesome mover! I think we are ready to roll in the morning!

Sweatin' with the oldie!

Alex getting hitched!

July 21, 2015

Mom/Son Road Trip - The Beginning 

I flew to Tampa today to begin the Mom/Son Road Trip adventure. As of this afternoon, Alex completed his last exam for the Masters in Medical Science program at University of South Florida. It has been a long and all consuming year but he stuck it out and now he is done! What better way to celebrate than to spend four days with your mother, driving back to Colorado! I will be blogging all the way to let you know how it is going and as a written record in case I disappear! 

Special Note: Paige dropped me off at the airport this morning and DIA was busy. While waiting to check in, I noticed there were a great number of women, all carrying bags made by the Thirty-one company. As I looked closer, most of these women were wearing Thirty-one t-shirts. So, not one to mind my own business, I asked some of the ladies what was going on. They informed me that they had been at a Thirty-one conference in Denver for consultants west of the Mississippi. There were so many in attendance that they filled the Pepsi Center! As luck would have it, my carry on bag was a Thirty-one bag so I fit right in. I also got on the plane with a catalog and a promise that I would book a party! 

July 20, 2015

Ice Cream Boy

My nephew is known around his neighborhood in Summit County as The Ice Cream Boy. He is the founder, product manager, and chef of Big Scoop Ice Cream. He is 12 years old. According to his parents, Gray has always had his sights on being an entrepreneur so this summer he is living the dream. He found that he enjoys and is quite good at making homemade ice cream so he decided to sell it. Gray is definitely too young to drive around an ice cream truck and an ice cream stand on the corner is not conducive to this frozen treat- even in the mountains, so the Big Scoop hit the Internet. When Gray has some pints ready, he uses his dad's Facebook account to post the flavors he has available on a Facebook site for Summit County residents who want to sell items. Because he is just starting out and relies on his dad for transportation, Gray only advertises for his neighborhood and this alone is keeping him busy. It seems that there are some pregnant neighbors who appreciate the ice cream delivered to their door! While we visited this weekend, I custom ordered chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream and it was delicious! We also taste tested his chili lime flavor and his first attempt at lemon sorbet...yum and yum! I suspect that my favorite Ice Cream Boy will continue to do great things - I can't wait to see what he comes up with next! You got the scoop here first!

The ice cream maker at work

Big Scoop CEO!

July 15, 2015

Sad Goodbye

Today I attended the funeral of Marvin Troudt, father of my long time childhood friend Colleen. The church was full of people who wanted to celebrate this special man. It was a wonderful service with heartfelt tributes made by Colleen, her son and daughter and sister Sandy. They shared great memories and funny stories that shed more light on the fact that Marvin was a special individual and a positive influence in this world while he was here. Every time I was around him he made me laugh with his no nonsense comments and he always made me feel like part of the family. Marvin will definitely be missed. 

Click on the link below to read his obituary:

http://www.heermortuary.com/m/?p=memorial&id=1625017

July 14, 2015

Oldie But Goodie

The dogs and I are visiting mom. Though she is adamant about not getting a dog, she secretly loves when I bring mine, although it is very stressful keeping track of Max and making sure he doesn't leave any presents anywhere in this big house! 

We decided to watch an old movie tonight from mom's collection. She has received many as gifts - especially John Wayne movies which are her favorites. We selected a 1956 movie called Please Murder Me starring a very young Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr. It was actually pretty good once you get past the poor film and sound quality. Angela is uncharacteristically on the wrong side of the law and Raymond played what he played best - a lawyer - but his name is not Perry Mason in this one. I think it's interesting to watch old movies to get a glimpse of a different era and type of movie making. I'll probably be dreaming in black and white tonight!

Grandma time for the canine children!

July 13, 2015

Just Do It!

I had my second Colonoscopy today. TMI you say? Yes, but I'm telling you this only because if you are like me, making this appointment was one of the hardest call to make. I knew what was ahead - no eating the day before and then the evening prep....but I made the appointment anyway. If you are over 50, you need to also. My sister Pam and my best friend Cathy died of colon cancer and I always wonder if Cathy would have gone in for a colonoscopy at age 50, whether she would still be here today. Yes, the prep is not enjoyable, but either is chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. And ladies....I lost four pounds in one night! (What does that tell you about me?! ) Anyway, take care of yourselves and make the call....think of it as a day at the spa for a cleanse!

PS Thank you to my friend Cheri. Don had to be out of town so she volunteered to be my chauffeur and care giver today! Only a true friend would do this and not upload any videos to YouTube!

July 7, 2015

If You Can't Get 'em, Join 'em!

Please indulge me as I share yet another cute Max story. In keeping with my new status of "crazy dog lady", I keep buying dog toys. When Scarlett was around, I didn't buy many because her attitude was "search and destroy" so dog toys didn't last very long. Since she has passed, Maggie is not tearing up toys anymore and little Max loves toys so I am more apt to buy them. Consequently, it looks like we have a doggie daycare with toys all over the house. When I was out and about the other day, (at Tuesday Morning on Monday morning) I found a cute dog toy basket that I thought would keep all the play things corralled. After filling it up with all our canine trinkets at home, I started hearing a choking sound. When I went to investigate, I found that every time Max tried to get a toy out of the basket, he would choke himself reaching his neck over the edge to grab a toy. I tried to teach him to put his paws up on the edge but some things puppies just need to figure out on their own and choke while trying! After awhile, when he found himself inside the basket, he just quit trying and took a nap. Tomorrow's another day....

July 5, 2015

Togetherness

Isn't it wonderful that so many people enjoy Colorado and want to make the most of their Holiday weekend? It was so nice to share the road with the hundreds who, like us, traveled back to Denver on Highway 285 today. We enjoyed 7 hours together when on a normal trip would have only been 5. It was a wonderful time to bond, knit and almost finish that audio book! I sure hope next time we don't wait until the Monday after to leave and miss out on all that fun!

Living positive.......

July 4, 2015

Happy 4th of July!

As the pioneers before us, we spent the day exploring around the Montrose area. We missed the parade in Montrose but enjoyed the festival they were having downtown - even scored some local wine! Montrose is a cute little town that is bigger than Fort Morgan. 

When you head south out of town to Ridgeway, you see gorgeous views of the majestic San Juan mountains. We checked out the Ridgeway State Park which surrounds Ridgeway Resevoir and the three campgrounds and fishing for future visits. We then made our way to Ridgeway which is a little town that has kept most of the original buildings but hasn't found the need to pave most of the streets. 

Since we were so close, we traveled a few more miles to Ouray since both of us hadn't been there in many years. Oh my! There were tourists everywhere! I deemed it the Estes Park of the Western Slope. It is a very cute little town on a slope but very busy. We got the idea that this area attracts people who like to go four wheel driving especially in jeeps. 

The highlight was when Don explored a little too much. He saw a sign for the Orvis Hot Springs. Of course many fly fisher persons are familiar with Orvis - a popular outfitter. Could this place combine a spa with fishing? The dogs and I waited while he went inside the establishment to get more information. He came back rather quickly when he found out that the Hot Springs had no affiliation with the fly fishing company but rather it was a spa for those who prefer the choice of "clothing optional!" At the same time he was explaining this to me, a man came out to his car with a very loose towel! We crossed that place off of our "must return" list.

We have enjoyed our time in Monrose and highly recommend the Montrose/Blsck Canyon KOA. 

Special Note: The campers next to us are from Arvada and live  only a few blocks from our house! It's funny how life works!

Enjoying lunch at the Ridgeway Resevoir

This was my idea a long time ago - the perfect shop for Don and I to run!

July 3, 2015

Beautiful Black Canyon

Don and I are in Montrose with the canine children this weekend so we headed to the Black Canyon for a little look see today. It is so gorgeous..and so steep! We stopped at most of the overlooks where you hike a little at each one to get to the view. Hats off to the National Parks Department for installing sturdy fences and barriers for Acrophobic people like me! Maggie was a good hiker but little Max, well, he just didn't want to walk today so he saw most everything from the crazy-dog-lady pouch..and he was totally fine with that. I think he is part kangaroo - we should have named him Joey. After we saw the view from the top, we headed to the bottom (in the truck) because Don was itchin' to fish the Gunnison river that we had been admiring all day. The dogs and I were able to follow him and enjoyed the late afternoon on a rock with my Kindle. After awhile, Maggie started to growl and I looked up to see a deer across the river from us. I convinced her not to bark so we enjoyed watching the deer graze while keeping a close eye on us...Max slept through it in his pouch. 

A beautiful day in Colorado!

July 1, 2015

Shaggy Dog No More

Reggae Max is what we have been calling our little dog because of his wild hair. You see, puppies cannot visit a groomer until they have had all of their shots and his "mommy" could not bear the screeching involved with trying to comb him. We therefore just pretended that he was a Jamaican breed and were embracing the dreadlocks...until today. Today our loyal groomer came calling for Max's first haircut. She had both dogs go out to her mobile shop together so Maggie could show her little brother how to behave at the spa. Wow were we surprised at the result! Max is even tinier and cuter than we thought and he was surprised because now his beautiful brown eyes, that had been hidden by the mop on his head, were exposed so he can see! I have since learned from the groomer the proper tools I need to purchase to groom him daily and keep him looking good!