The Last Leg...

It's been a wild, wild week, culminating with FANTASTIC news. 

We have a priest! 

And that's all I can say right now. A 2-year search has resulted in a selection, and the person has accepted the offer. 

And now we move on; more on this the MOMENT that I can tell you all. 

Knitting...

It was kind of a crazy Friday today. Got a late start at the hairdresser - she was late, not me. And then she took her time, so I was an hour late to the church office. After staying far too late (interruption after interruption), I whizzed home, grabbed a guitar for my lesson, and whipped out to the college to meet my teacher. As I was writing my check, the green pen I had managed to explode in my hand. I now have a right hand with tints of Kermit the Frog...

Got through the Mass parts that we're working on, sped home, and got a text from the mover...he stood me up again. 

I'm in charge of moving the church offices to the next-door building and I've been trying for 3 weeks to get this guy out for an estimate. I gave him an ultimatum and said, "This is it, dude. I have a deadline!" He swears he'll be at the church tomorrow. Hmpfh. 

So, since my plans changed, and I was blessed with some free time, I figured I'd knit. I'm on point number 17 of 18 of the Close to You Shawl. 

I figure I can finish it this weekend, I think. Each point is 14 rows, and then I have a 12-row finish and a picot edging. It has been a fun knit, but I'll be glad to set this pattern aside for a little bit because I have others I'm itching to knit.

The Last Leg...

So as usual, we were eager to get going on the last day of our trip. After breakfast (standard hotel: egg-ish things, sausages, bagel, etc.), and a couple cups of tea for me (one of them in a to-go cup) and we were off. This time, I wanted to make sure my caffeine level was adequate to the drive. 

And this time, we swore that we wouldn't repeat the day before, even though our GPS said about 6-ish hours to home. I didn't want to risk that whole "low energy driving" thing, especially as we were heading more toward "civilization" (read: More traffic!). 

We got all the way to Iowa - and stopped at IOWA-80, which is billed as "the largest truck stop in Iowa." Okey-dokey... It was a mall-ish kind of place; The Kid had a burger, and I had an egg sandwich from a Panera. Bought some Amish goodies for my friend A., gassed up and left. 

We drove a long, long, long, long way on Rt. 88 in only one lane because of construction. It was ridiculous. 

Nope, not even a photo for you. It was that kind of drive! Got The Kid home and helped him off-load his stuff, then headed home myself. 

I hit up a car wash on the way home; I knew I wasn't going to get that sprayed-on oil off, but the car was absolutely bug-encrusted. 

Got back late afternoon, to Hubby and happy dogs. 

And - so far, The Kid and I still like each other! Another successful road trip in the books. 

It sounds maudlin, but seriously - I don't know how many more of those I'll have with him, and I want to enjoy all of them. At some point, he'll date, have a life that doesn't include me - which is fine - and I want to have these memories. 

Strawberry Moon...

Lately, the moons seem to be either "super" or "strawberry" or "orange" or whatever. Whatever happened to just a plain old "full moon" in the meteorological realm? Anyhow, I caught a photo of the supposed "strawberry" moon. 

I know - we're too close to town and lots of lights and lots of buildings. We didn't and we don't see these moons in their full glory. And when I'm going home from the yoga studio, the only places I seem to have a beautiful view are not good to take photos in. For example, the cemetery on the outside of Stateville Penitentiary. They don't like when you're in there in the dark - you'll get a visit from a guy in a car with lights on the top. 

Well, the moon was full. Not so sure of the "strawberry" part, although my students told me a day or so later that, for some of them, it did indeed look strawberry. I'll take their word for it. 

Cookies...

In case you're wondering what the cookies are, they were purchased at the Polish Deli near the chiropractor's office. They do a great sandwich, wonderful soups, and a "hot plate" dinner full of stuff that would've come out of my granny's kitchen. 

These are Liebnitz cookies - a bit graham-cracker with hazelnuts and chocolate bits. Today, I was on the run all day and was thus starving. I even had Raisa eyeballing me while I was chomping on a piece of cheese. I was giving her the eyeball back, with a "no way, kiddo" slant to my side-eye. 

After a dinner of salmon and baked potato (thanks, Hubby), I sat down to watch Season 5 of "Great British Baking Show," knit and munch on some cookies... It's a great finish to the evening. 

Plans for tomorrow...

Tomorrow, I have (in the middle of a heat wave, by the way), a photography gig. I'm taking pictures of the Frankfort, IL "Families Belong Together" protest march. 

I have to figure out how to haul the camera, wear the appropriate hat to protect myself from further sunburn, get sunscreen on and survive the heat. Oh, and keep hydrated!

Today, it hit in the 90s, and it's after 8 p.m. - still muggy and sticky. It ought to be interesting. 

All I hope for, in this environment lately, is that nobody gets hurt and the protest is peaceful. 

With the recent killings at the newspaper in Maryland, and the political hate-fest emanating out of DC? It does make you fearful and makes you wonder what happened to America. What happened to civil discourse? What happened to "agree to disagree" as a way of communication? 

Well, we know what happened. And it can't be gotten out of the White House soon enough. Along with family members, cohorts, conflicts of interest, and co-conspirators. 

We need a broom to sweep clean - a big broom. 

And perhaps the protests around the nation and the unexpected winning of certain primaries - perhaps those will help correct our course. That, and an indictment or two. Soon. Please. I want the country back for my kids. 

Random Picture...

One of the patients at the chiro clinic had never seen a red husky. I had to persuade Madame to sit still for a picture. 

This was the best of the 3 shots. 

She finally figured out that I had a treat in my hand, but she wouldn't deign to smile at it or me. She did decide to put her ears up. You can see in her eyes, "I'm only doing this because I choose to. Not because you want me to or I want to look cute." 

She's such a diva. Right now, she's "banished" to the kitchen. She hasn't done anything wrong; we're just having the Elkhounds in the living room because idiots are blowing off fireworks and the elkies are frankly terrified. 

So here's my PSA for you: Don't shoot off fireworks yourself. The 4th of July is the WORST holiday for dog disappearances. They're usually terrified and they will bolt. And if you don't like pets, think of the vets...PTSD and fireworks? Not cool. 

Greatest. Potato. Salad. Ever...

Ok, so I'm deviating slightly, but the potato salad is coming! It's amazing. I took a recipe from Brown Eyed Baker and made it my own. And WOWZA. That's all I can say...

Colorado On My Mind...

So. Do not do this at home, kids... Over 10 hours on the road with no food is never a good thing. 

Kid #2 and I got to Kid #1's house and dropped off the groceries. J. was already at the studio, so we said our goodbyes and got ready to go. We navigated SOUTH so as to avoid Denver, and we joked that, at this point, the car would automatically drive to Garden of the Gods!

Unfortunately, neither of us had a great night's sleep. As I mentioned, the power outage the night before was disruptive, to say the least. It was very weird, and we had no flashlights. Kid #2 walked around with his Surface tablet for a while, so we could brush teeth and get ourselves settled. We weren't sure how long the power would be out, and didn't want to drain the cell phones. 

By the way, I did contact the landlord and suggested that she have nightlights that turned into flashlights/safety lights in the event of a power outage. She thought that was a good idea. 

We didn't get a chance to get ourselves adequately caffeinated, and it showed!! We drove almost straight through to Nebraska except for gas stops, where we did a little stretching... we had fruit, water, and Clif bars. Let me tell you: that wasn't enough! 

Along Rt. 70, there was a long, long, long, L O N G stretch of this 2-lane highway cutting through eastern Colorado that (a) was "under construction;" and (b) covered in fresh oil.  To make matters worse, there's a (c)... As we're stopped for construction (all 5 or 6 cars of us going east), this OIL TRUCK passes us, spraying oil. 

Yes. Spraying oil. All along the front and driver's side of my car, I have black specks. Hubby is not happy. And it's not like we could pull off - we were surrounded by ranches, though I can tell you that several of us would happily have pulled into a rancher's driveway to avoid this... Mainly the guy 2 cars behind me, who was driving what looked like a brand-new Lexus SUV. You know the ones: all glammed out. And worse yet? His car was WHITE... You could practically see the steam coming out of his ears! 

Hubby seems to think that we can get the oil off but we have to take it to a shop. Of course, we had to keep driving, so the sun pretty much baked it on. 

We tried to stop for lunch at this "diner" attached to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Except that Kid #2 said, "There's an ancient looking hot dog and a half a chicken filet under hot lights." Ummmmmmmm. Nope. 

Like I said, though: don't drive hungry and tired. I had some serious moments of worry that I was being hypnotized by the road, and it worried me. That's usually when I found a place to pull over and get out and walk around a bit. But we should definitely have stopped before we left Colorado Springs and gotten ourselves some sandwiches or something to put in the cooler. 

Nebraska is flat. Pretty, but flat. 

So we got to the hotel, exhausted and hungry. We looked into the Cracker Barrel, and it was a 15+ minute wait. The Kid was HANGRY, so we ended up at King Kong Burgers. Ok, THAT was interesting. A Greek-themed, ape-filled restaurant staffed and owned by Hispanics. Only in Lincoln, Nebraska! 

We were actually across the street from where we stayed at the beginning of the trip. And yes, I mean ape-filled as in: the entire eating area had stuffed monkeys, gorillas and the like hanging off the ceiling, perched on shelves, and tucked into corners. All I could think of  is, "How hard is this to keep clean???" 

The Kid had a burger & fries and I had a (too large) gyro plate. I was hoping, after dinner, to get into my swimming suit and if nothing else, soak my legs in the hot tub or pool. 

But that was not to be. Hotel full of screaming kids. As we were checking in, this chubby little snot kid was licking his fingers and putting them on the plate of cookies on the front desk. Grandpa or whoever it was, was standing there, looking on adoringly, and saying, "Now Billy, take only one." Like ANYONE is going to take any of them after Billy has practically licked them? I'm not even sure the clerk saw it. Yuck. 

We decided to call it a night (still having that "way too light at 9 p.m." thing happening) and I was in bed by 9:30 or so. I did go out to the car to grab my knitting, but after I changed, I was hit by a wave of "tired," and didn't bother to knit a stitch. 

Overnight, there was a lovely thunderstorm. The thunder didn't "blast" like it does here in Illinois, but it seemed to gently roll on and on. It was soothing... I slept like a stone. I didn't quite get the phone in the charger correctly, and it was half-dead the next morning, but I didn't care. I didn't even care that the hotel pillows were wimpy... 

Greatest Potato Salad Ever...

Our third and final candidate is coming to visit tomorrow. My task was potato salad. I was dithering: I wanted something different from what I usually make, and I looked at my Granny's German Potato Salad recipe. 

There's a reason I dislike it... And I wasn't even tempted. So I looked up a recipe for German Potato Salad, and in my searching I found "Best Ever Potato Salad" by Brown Eyed Baker. 

You know - or you should know - that I can't leave a recipe alone! So for Operation Pick a Vicar, I fiddled with this one. 

First, I used Yukon Gold potatoes. I love their texture. The original recipe called for red potatoes, peeled. 

I didn't peel the Yukons. I rarely do. I had Hubby boil up some eggs, because I only had 1 left. 

At the back of the stove, I had a 12-oz. package of bacon crisping. Here's a lovely LIFE HACK from me to you. I bought the bacon this morning, and it was just refrigerated. I took a few slices and tried to cut them up. 

Now, I've got great knives...and I was having trouble with the stupid bacon. I usually dice it up when it's frozen or only half-thawed. 

KITCHEN SHEARS. That's all I have to say. Grab a pair of kitchen shears (and if you don't have them? Why don't you have them??) and cut up that bacon like nobody's business! 

I also used my Whole30 homemade mayo recipe and a Polish mustard. You'll see...

Here's my recipe for Greatest. Potato. Salad. Ever. 

2 - 2.5 lbs. medium Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into cubes
1 (12 oz) package thick-cut bacon, diced
1 c. home-made mayo
1 1/2 t. hot Polish mustard
2 t. coconut sugar
1 t. salt
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (peel them, of course!)
2 stalks celery, diced
6 green onions, chopped (white and pale green parts only)
2 T. Penzey's Sunny Paris blend

Boil the potatoes in salted water till fork-tender. Drain and set aside. 

Meanwhile, cook the bacon over med-hi heat till crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it on a paper-towel lined plate to drain. 

Remove the pan from the heat. Measure out 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; discard the rest (or save it, if you'll use it for something else). Try to keep the "brown bits" in the pan.

Add the mayo, mustard, Sunny Paris, sugar and salt directly to the bacon fat, and whisk to combine. 

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, celery, and onion. Pour the dressing over the veggies and stir gently to evenly coat. Stir in the bacon. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving (tasting while warm?? YUMMY!!!). Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the fridge, for up to 4 days -- if it lasts that long. 

NOTES:  I like the "rounded" taste of the coconut sugar; it's a brown sugar, but not sticky like brown cane sugar. 

The Polish mustard was a fluke... I'll be honest. I grabbed it at the Polish deli next to my office and I thought it was just a regular, coarse-grained mustard. Oh, no --- there are 4 little pepper icons at the bottom of the label. Yowza, this stuff is HOT. 

The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of Dijon. I like the spike of the hot Polish mustard. 

I like the Penzey's Sunny Paris because it's salt-free and it's got onions and shallots dried. It's a nice balance for salads. But do stir it into the dressing; otherwise, like with most dried herbs and seasonings, it'll clump together. 

I added more mayo; originally it was only 3/4 cup. Tomorrow, I may add more, because when you stir this all in with warm potatoes, they tend to suck in the mayo. 

As you can see by the picture at the left, it looks as if it's barely covered. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow, and if I need to add more, I will. 

It's likely that I'll end up putting a few sprigs of parsley on it, since I'm growing it in the garden anyway. And maybe some paprika. 

My grandma and my mom both used sliced eggs around the rim of the bowl. That's an option, too. I have plenty of eggs now. 

Random Picture...

There's been a lot of crap going on. Seriously, I can barely read the paper, and my FB feed is clogged with the craziness of the Current Occupant and his nefarious deeds. His cabinet is full of incompetents and the House and Senate are content to let him do his evil work because it provides a useful distraction so that they can dismantle our social safety nets and continue to pad the pockets of their corporate overlords. 

It's late; I'm headed to bed soon. 

And I don't want to be kept up all night stressed out about what Agent Orange is going to pull next. As a matter of fact, I'm seeing stories saying that he's now back to saying that North Korea "is a serious problem." 

Really? I thought he fixed that... 

Anyway. 

Giraffes. 

This was a young male at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. You know how they "all look alike," right? Well. Not really. When you have a chance to study them even for a few minutes, you'll notice that their markings are as individual as our fingerprints. 

I will remember fondly the experience of feeding these gentle giants. 

 

Garden of the Gods, Part Two

Pikes Peak (at left) through the Siamese Twins

So it ended up that we went back to Garden of the Gods. We just didn't see the whole thing, and honestly? Had we more time, we could've gone back ANOTHER day - because we didn't hit all the trails we would have liked to have hiked. 

This time, we hit the Siamese Twins and saw the "gates" a little more up close. This was the time we finally saw wildlife (aside from the humans!!) in the park. 

We found deer right off, saw a great little lizard, and a Stellar's Jay. We also saw "wildlife" in the way of humans who are pretty much incapable of reading a "stay off the rocks" sign. Too many kids were clambering up onto formations where the signs clearly said to stay away. And too many parents were just...oblivious. 

And while I, too, did some yoga poses, I wasn't an "Instagram Yogi" like this one gal... But I digress...

One of the things that caught our eyes was a cliff-climbing class. Holy Moley... I jumped off a 7,000 foot Alp, but I don't think I would ever scale a cliff. There were a nice group of folks who were going to try this. The rest of us just watched. 

We stopped by The Trading Post again, because The Kid wanted a t-shirt, which he never ended up buying. But I got a wedding jug for Hubby. We went into Old Colorado City for lunch - an absolutely lovely BBQ place called Front Range BBQ. I had the rather unenviable task of choosing between a plethora of options for BBQ. 

I wanted it all. 

I ended up with a fantastic pulled pork BBQ and baked beans. Kid #2 had quite the appetite, but again -- I was still a little "meh" on eating. I did chug down the iced tea. 

After lunch, we walked the "arts" area, in the heat (heat for Colorado, that is -- there was no breeze in Old Colorado City). Went into a "British" shop. Lots of kitsch for The Royal Wedding, very little Dr. Who, and no - I didn't buy a thing! 

Maybe my overall issue while in Colorado was dehydration, in spite of the fact that I felt like I was drinking water by the case-full. We started out with a 12-pack of water at the beginning - Hubby sticking a cooler in the car as we left. And by this time, we'd also bought another 24-pack, and were almost half-way through that. I'd say we went through 3 - 4 16-oz. bottles each, per day. 

Kid #1 suggested we find Palmer Park. So we did. We mainly drove through it, which gave me even more experience with blind turns, foot-hill driving and the occasional switchback. It's got lots of pull-offs, and so we took some pics that gave us a really stunning view of the city. 

Did I show you the Kissing Camels? If not, here it is. It took me a minute to spot it. But after that, of course -- that's all I could see! 

The day was a bit hotter than the past few days. I noticed that I was still having a bit of a time breathing. Kid #2 was still watchful and still making sure I hadn't "keeled over." 

I noticed that I was a lot more cautious this time, too. I really need to get new hiking boots; there was a lot of loose gravel, too, which didn't help. But I'm thinking the soles of my hiking boots need updating. Now, either I can re-sole them, since the tops are still good, or I can use them around here, and next time I know I'm going to do some serious hiking - yeah, even at Starved Rock - I'll invest in some new ones. 


"Where the deer and the antelope play..." Well, we only saw these little guys. And one of them was piddling... who knew that deer peed like female dogs?

You learn something every day. Also, Garden of the Gods isn't a state park. It's a CITY park. There's no admission. No parking fees. It was given by a local businessman "for all the community." I love that. 

I have faith that this park will be around for a long, long time. I have faith that the people of Colorado will stand their ground and keep this space open and available for everyone. I have to have faith, because today's news has been making me sick. 

I'm hoping that these pictures give people a chance to breathe and pause and notice that there's beauty here. 

In all the ugliness, regular people are talking about things that they'd normally avoid. Regular people are calling their representatives, emailing, texting, posting on their social media pages (the reps, I mean) and making noise in the hopes of changing the evil that's clouding our nation. 

I have to have faith that regular people won't let us descend into a scenario reminiscent of Nazi Germany and the horrors of Hitler. I have to have that faith. Otherwise? It's something I can't even wrap my mind around. 

Is this the ultimate test of our democratic republic? Maybe. Maybe this is our cosmic wake-up call. 

What is this bird???

OK, so I just checked my bird guide. We did NOT see a Stellar's Jay. Actually, I'm not quite sure what this one is. 

But he was quite the character. He let me get sooooooo close, and then, "poof" - he flew off. I thought I got a shot of him in flight, but I did not. 

Anyone? I'm up for a good guess. Mention it in the comments if you know what this bird is.

The little sand lizard was darting across the sidewalk as we passed. I nearly missed him, and Kid #2 missed him entirely. I was able to get him with my long lens. 

He wanted to pose. Or I scared the crap out of him! He held still and I was able to get a bunch of shots. I figured that one or two would be good. 

This trip, I didn't take many pictures with my phone. I'd been having some battery issues, and it's annoying to have the battery suck dry and not have a place to charge it. After I got home, I bought one of those "portable chargers." I thought several times that a solar charger would've worked a treat - seeing as we were in the sun most of the days!

Here are some shots from Palmer Park. You can see we're pretty high up. Lots of scrub land. Several trails, but honestly, after 90% of our day at Garden of the Gods, we weren't very interested in hiking more. And a few of those trails were pretty steep. We didn't want to chance it. The view was a really great 360-degree vista of the city. It was again amazing how far up the foothills we saw homes. 

We left Palmer Park in plenty of time to get cleaned up to meet J.'s dad for dinner. He's a member of the Broadmoor Country Club and so we went there. Nice buffet, pretty facility. A lady helped -- or should I say "helped" -- take pictures of us (she didn't set the flash, and I forgot!). We took some family shots, and I have to get them printed for my mom. She doesn't do "phone pictures." 


This was our last night in the condo, and I'd been cleaning (not that we were slobs) so we set aside the groceries we were giving to the kids, and finished cleaning and packing. It was going to be a long drive, and it didn't help that the power went out about 10 p.m. ... and the way we found out that it was back on was that the bedroom lights blazed on about midnight!

How Can I Help...

So. We've come to an ugly, evil pass today. The "zero-tolerance" policy that's being used to hold infants and children hostage for a disgusting border wall. The "space force" that's being used as a distraction. The "balanced budget" proposal that cuts Social Security and Medicare... All of this smoke and mirrors crap happening. 

Good people, however, are rising up. We refuse to let this become our Kristallnacht. If you haven't gotten involved in helping people register to vote, or contacting your representatives, or working with organizations helping to mobilize against the evil (yes, it's evil, particularly when you broadly brush EVERYONE with the "animals, criminals, infidels" labels that are being thrown around) that's being perpetrated by this administration. So many of these people coming to our borders are coming for asylum, which is a legal process. By treating anyone who's not "us" as "them" and then further dehumanizing them, this country is going down a long, dark path. 

Are you willing to put your money somewhere that'll do some good? If so, donate here: RAICES (Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) - based in San Antonio, TX. If you're a little "squidgy" about donating through Facebook (and I can't honestly blame you if you are... you know...), then you can donate here: raicestexas.org if you have a mind to. I just tried to access their website. They are experiencing "higher than normal" traffic. I hope this means that they're getting closer to their $8 million goal. 

Facebook is even waiving fees for this fundraiser. That's something. 

I would urge you to do something. Anything. Preserve your own humanity. 

Random Picture...

So what do you do when your rather large milkweed falls over in a thunderstorm? You go into your "pantyhose" drawer and cut up a pair. 

Come on, I'm realistically NEVER wearing pantyhose again, if I can get away with it! But I kept them. I try to keep a pair for "emergencies," but also I know that anywhere I need to go in a "dressy" mode, I can wear a pantsuit. 

When I found that last night's storm did a number on my milkweed, this was the best solution. Think about it: they're soft so they won't cut into a branch. They're weather-resistant, and you can cut them in any length you need. 

Voila! The perfect plant ties. 

I still haven't seen any eggs on the undersides of the leaves, but it's the first year they've been this big. The dill has also taken off like crazy, so I'm hoping that the butterflies will be back. 

The bee balm, herbs and other flowers are also attracting hummingbirds, which is good because Hubby still hasn't gotten the feeders out. I told him I'd do it, and he said, "I'll take care of it..." Soon, I hope. I know - we have a lot of summer left. 

Headed for a Heat Wave...

Yeah, lucky us: the first heatwave of 2018. I'm so (not) happy about this. By Saturday, the temps are supposed to be over 100, with "feels like" at about 105. Yippee. (Note that the sarcasm is dripping as much as the sweat will be.)

Feeding a giraffe

So today, I ordered two things from Amazon: a UV protecting umbrella (don't laugh - they exist and I'm carrying one on my noon walks - I don't care). It's me or skin cancer; and I've had 2 close friends die of melanoma. No thanks. The second thing was a "cooling towel." Aside from said noon walks, there's the regular hot-flash crap I'm dealing with. I may as well be comfortable. 

I have been using a regular umbrella, but it shades a bit - doesn't block UV rays. I've done some research and this isn't a "pretty parasol." C, my work cohort, says, "Oh, lace will diffuse the rays." Nope. Lace gives you a lacy sunburn! I got one that is endorsed by dermatologists and the Melanoma Foundation. I'll let you know how it works. 

At the Zoo...

Picking up on our travels, we had another of those "not quite what we planned" days, which are often the most fun. We started off for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo -- America's "highest" zoo! Lest you think "high" as in funny brownies and smoking, we're talking altitude here. The zoo is 6,412 feet up. Actually built on the side of a mountain, so the walking paths are basically switchbacks. We started AND finished by feeding their giraffes. It was awesome! About 95% of the exhibits were "habitats" and only a few actual "cage" set ups. I thought the gorillas looked sad...

We spent most of the day there. It's also huge in square footage. Needless to say, on most of this trip, I got more than my 10,000 steps in!

"You have romaine. I want romaine!"

In addition to feeding the giraffes, we petted and brushed goats, fed a budgie (bigger version of a parakeet) and saw a sloth - a live sloth - inch his way along a rope. People couldn't believe he was real. 

Oops, looks like I got a Mennonite or some one of those religions in the photo here... there were a crowd of them. As I fed the budgie, I ended up giving my seed stick to a little Plain boy (sorry - I'm not sure they were Amish - their clothing wasn't as simple as I'm used to seeing, and the women didn't wear bonnets). 

Time for my sun bath

The sloth was something else. As we went into one of the buildings, we noticed 2 hammocks up near the ceiling. I really wasn't paying attention, till one of them moved. And out crawled this little guy. The Kid was surprised I was using my flash, and I don't think Mr. Sloth liked it either! So I turned it off and snapped a few more. He leisurely crawled out onto the rope and decided a sun bath was in order. 

People stopped because he apparently crosses a sidewalk on this rope and hangs out in a tree across from the building. Guess they can catch him if he makes a break for it... 

Pretty peacock

Then there was the peacock that was stalking The Kid. Seriously, every time we turned around, there was that bird. 

Of course, the only time he had his tail up, he was not facing in our direction, so the only shot I have is this one, where he's obviously thumbing his beak at us. He must've pranced around for a good 10 minutes, with his rear end facing us, just to annoy me. 

The HUMAN kids were obnoxious. The goats were better. They had an area where the wolves were, and they were lucky enough to have a litter. There was signage saying, "Please be quiet; baby wolves sleeping." Well. Nope. Gotta pound on the glass, and scream when Mama and Papa wolf prowl. Poor Mama looked a little stressed; probably wanted to eat the little humans. 

"Downward-facing Goat" pose

There was a pen full of the goats, so of course, we wanted to go in. I have always liked goats, but would never raise them - first off, we don't live where we could, and second off, they're not cheap to raise. 

But they are funny. This is a shot that I'd love to find an appropriate meme for. I was laughing and telling The Kid that this was "Downward facing Goat" pose. 

We thought about the Will Rogers shrine - on TOP of the mountain. According to one of the zoo guides, it was a "really steep 2-lane road" to get up there. Two reasons why we didn't go: (a) my car had been "chugging" the whole trip, not happy about the altitude; and (b) it was already 1:30 p.m. and we had a date with Kid #1 and J. for 5-ish, so we had to skedaddle. 

Will Rogers Shrine

The Will Rogers Shrine is located on the side of the mountain: look up their website, I'm serious. It's on the side of Cheyenne Mountain, and it's 8,000 feet up - so 2,000 or so feet higher than we already were. And you wondered why my car was chugging! I looked at the map just now, and dang - there are some hairy switchbacks to get up there. I'm kind of glad we didn't go. It is a beautiful "castle" and there's a chapel in there. And the admission is included in what we paid to get into the zoo. 

Who loves a wallaby?

But -- (gulp!) 8,000 feet up? I'm not sure I would have been enthused even if Hubby was driving. And he is used to driving in the mountains, where I am not. 

The "Australia" area of the zoo was interesting. Some of the exhibits were "standard" in that there were crocodiles... But around the perimeter, there were wallabys! If I wanted to disobey the signs (and risk a bite), I actually could have reached over to pet this little guy. He was rather intent on his dish, so I wasn't going to disturb him. 

They hopped pretty much wherever they wanted, and tended to stay up above us on the grassy area set aside for them. That Australia area was, of course, gated, and there were lots of zoo staff around. 

American Eagle

We almost missed the eagles. They were actually below us, in an area terraced alongside the mountain. I felt sad about them, but in reality, they're living sort of a nice life. Both of the eagles were wounded to the point of having to have their wings clipped. The sign said that both were found injured, with wounds to their wings, so the reason we were able to see them in that fashion was because they really couldn't fly. 

One thing I noticed is that they try to give the animals some kind of exercise and stimulation. The eagle enclosure did have lots of perches, and the skyline view was up in the air, for the birds, at least. But this was the one shot where the bird was actually looking at us, even though he(?) was on the ground. They had a relatively quiet place there, which was probably for the best, all things considered. 

Sleepy guy

I don't know - I'm kind of ambivalent on that. Is it better that they're living, even in a zoo, rather than having died of their wounds? These birds hold so much symbolism for so many of us: both as the USA and as Native Americans in their culture revered them. It's something I have to think about. 

You have to love the comical face in this porcupine. This is the American version. They had an African one and that bugger was huge! It looked like a low-slung version of a dog, and jeeze - the quills on the African one looked to be almost 12" long! This little guy just climbed up on his limb, and as I watched, he fell asleep. And stuck out his tongue. How cute is that? In all truth, he wasn't anywhere near as cute as the otters were, but I wasn't able to get a good photo of the one otter - he was swimming so fast that we were just fascinated watching him. 

Vulture

Nothing says "zoo" like a vulture... In the enclosure alongside the giraffes were a rather decent selection of birds. The Kid spotted the vulture before I did. He was just sitting there, kind of eyeballing the tortoises. Which were moving, by the way! 

There were a lot of birds that could, I suppose, have flown away, but didn't. I'm not sure what they were, but I did recognize this one. 

What I appreciated about this place, as I said, was that so much of it was open. They were building, and expanding - they're raising money now for their new habitat for both penguins and hippos. I handed over five bucks for the cause... As long as they continue their research and learn more about how to safeguard what Agent Orange and his minions are trying to kill off, I'll try to help combat the scourge to our planet. 

We went to Green Line for lunch - a burger joint with THE best burgers. Seriously, I even ate onions. And I hate onions! 

This is, of course, a hole in the wall. The best places usually are. There are about 6 things on the menu. That's it. You don't really get a choice with the burgers, except "loaded" or "not loaded" -- but you can add bacon. We split an order of fries. 

So much for Whole 30 -- but I figured I walked that burger off at the zoo, so I wasn't totally worried. I was a bit concerned, because aside from my own feelings about onions, they usually disagree with me - heartily. But these were sauteed onto the top of the burger, and I just ate 'em. And they were fantastic. 

This restaurant is a favorite of Kid #1, so of course, I texted this photo to him and said, "Guess where we are???" As a mom, I'm entitled to drive my kids nuts. It's in the rules. 

This is one of those places that you really don't find unless the locals tell you about it. The special that day, which was really, really tempting, was pulled pork. I love pulled pork, and I'm always ready to taste a new version. 

But I'm glad I got the burger. 

After that, we found a local yarn shop (see below), and then we headed back to the condo. The kids were supposed to go hiking, but as we said - this was a day when things didn't go the way we'd planned. They ended up not hiking. Actually Kid #1 took Kid #2 to his house, and I got about an hour to myself. 

I needed it. I was planning on hitting the yoga studio near the condo, but a quick Google search told me that the class time they had was from 6 - 8 p.m. that night. I was due at their house around 5-ish, to attend a gig at J.'s studio. 

We only stayed at the party a few hours; both of us were tired, and since I'm not a drinker, it was time to go. 

Knitting...

Ewe & Me, a yarn shop in Colorado Springs. I poked around with the intention of writing a review, but you know what? The vibe was off. I think it was because Kid #2 followed me into the store and the guy (turns out the husband of the owner) was kind of giving him side-eyes. He was obviously with me, so I don't know what the guy's problem was. 

I only felt like he wouldn't have appreciated me interviewing him or taking pictures. It's a nice little shop, and apparently, they were planning a move to larger quarters at the end of the month. There was a group there knitting, and I bought these beauties - to support indie dyers and local spinners. Doing my part for the wooly economy. 

The blue one on the left? The dyer was actually there. Both are really nice yarns, and both are destined for shawls. 

The prices were about what I expected, and their sock yarn collection was pretty impressive. The kits were pricey, but then, I think kits usually are. Not too much in the books or needles department, but lots of frou-frou: mugs, bags, etc. 

I'll wind one of these up when I finish Close to You and see what I can do. 

Close to You will probably be finished this weekend. It's going to be too hot to do much of anything, though I do have a gem & crystal show at the studio tomorrow, which will take up my afternoon. 

I know. I could be knitting, but the gems and crystals will be cool. 

Bellabeat Report...

Quick report on the Bellabeat. I'm enjoying all the ways of wearing it EXCEPT that I don't feel like it records accurately, with me, at least, when it's clipped to my shirt during the day. At night, I clip it to my pjs, but during the day, it works best for me on the necklace or on my left arm. 

I'm adding meditations manually, and unfortunately, since being back from Colorado, my water intake has gone wayyyyyyyy down. Gotta get back to that. I need it. 

Random Picture...

I was in one of those weird FB "challenges" to post 7 covers of my favorite books, without a comment. Of course, the person I challenged says, "I only read e-books." Pffffffffth. 


Anyway, this is seriously my favorite yoga book. It also happens to be the first book I bought on the subject. As you can see, I've read it. Read it again. And read it again. I've read it out loud to my Yin classes over the years, and turned many people on to this author. 

She's one of those teachers (and there are only a few) who, if she said, "Come and be a trainee of mine," I'd totally be gone to wherever she is. 

Her style of writing is clear, unpretentious and down to earth. You feel like you can grasp some of the more esoteric aspects of yoga because she doesn't "dumb down" what she says. She's very precise in her use of language. 

And her yoga story is compelling. You want to read more from her, and it feels like you're right in front of her when you're reading her books. 

Anyway, it's far, far past my bed time and morning will come soon. Catch you soon! 

Back to The Knitting...

Yes, we'll continue with the trip, but I need to update you on the knitting. Among other things, too.

So - knitting. I got the chiropractor to adjust my wrists (it works but it hurts a bit, because my hands are still tender!). Tonight I got another point done. So it's on to #15... After that, 3 more to go and I'm done with the current "Close to You" shawl. I do want to do this one again, but not right now. I will look at a few other patterns I've stashed in Ravelry and I'm pretty sure that something will strike me when it's time to take up the needles again.

I haven't had a chance to do much on the traveling green sock because I've been walking at work. In between shifts, we have a couple of hours. So the person I work with has decided we need to walk. Only if it's raining do we not walk.

Today, we walked almost 5 miles in a little over 1.25 hours. Lucky for us, it was breezy, but I'm so quick to burn (even with sunscreen) that I carried an umbrella. Maybe I need to carry a parasol! Anyway, I was laughing because of the breeze -- it created a drag on the walk, so maybe I got a little more exercise than I would've done otherwise.

So, needless to say, unless it rains, the green socks won't see any appreciable knitting time till this shawl is done. I'm so close.

You know how, when you're working on a project, you get to "that point" where you're just going to push on regardless of any other project? That's where I'm at with the shawl.

No, I haven't added the fringe to the 2-Hour Shawl. No. I haven't started the other shawl either. But I'll power through the shawl this weekend, and get it blocking. Then I'll start on the shawl that's in the bag.

I don't think this is going to require strong blocking, like the first one I did. Difference in yarn weights. I'll show you what it looks like after I finish it.

The Garden Grows...

My milkweed has taken off. The tomatoes need topping, and I have to get in and thin the radishes. Hubby tried (thinning the radishes), but he didn't get very far. I also have to thin the carrots, while I'm at it.

The dill isn't as tall as I thought it should be. We thinned it out last year, and maybe we went a little too far. But the rest of the front garden is moving along. The brown-eyed Susans are going well in the bed by the gazing ball.

Also, I'll need to get the hummingbird feeders up. It's going to be a hot, steamy weekend, and I'm sure they'll be looking for nectar. I have a large red "cover" for the one feeder, and that should keep it a little more shaded because the front yard faces west.

Otherwise, I do plan to stay inside, with the A/C, and just veg. And knit more.

Red Rock Open Space...

Like a mitten

So. After we'd done Garden of the Gods, we found Red Rock Open Space. It's kind of off the beaten path, but we saw it on the way to Garden of the Gods, and made a commitment to get there afterwards, if there was time.  J. said it was "too open" for her. Well, yeah, but if you're living in the middle of the prairie, like we are? That's "prairie with rocks." We love that!

Grow where you can... 

One of the rocks that struck me reminded me of a big, red mitten. I mean, there's the thumb, and the body. It was laying sideways. There were people hiking with us, but luckily, we had peace and quiet while we were there. The signage said that mountain lions were there, and believe me, some formations made us feel like we were being "shunted" toward what would've been a great place for the big cat to pounce... but the only wildlife we saw, aside from the baby birds, were bunnies.

Foothills beyond the rocks

Standing on one of the rocks, I got a great picture of the long view. I love the contrast of textures and colors. Again, the aridity of the area really kept surprising me. The bright greens, then the rugged rocks, and the dryness of the air. I mean, it was in the 80s for air temperature, but with the dry, it didn't feel like it. The breeze off the mountains also helped.

You'd think that, after hiking all day, we'd be exhausted. Well, we were tired, but somehow, the energy of the place was there. We wanted to go back another time to try a couple more of the trails. Spoiler alert: we never did get back...

But it's definitely a place where we'd go again if we made the trip out.

God lights

One thing I remembered from Montana: when it's near time for the sun to shift, it shifts dramatically. One shot I took, I saw what my great granny used to call "God lights" -- where the sun streaks through the clouds and makes light patterns very interesting. I took a shot as we were leaving, and noticed that the "God lights" were strong in this picture. It's not touched up or retouched. It's just the way I took it.

We were hoping for rain, which never materialized. Not to put a damper on our trip - but because they so badly need it.

When we got home, we learned about a big wildfire southwest of where we were. It's sad to see the devastation, but again - Mother Nature has a way of doing it up right.

The land will recover. I'm sorry for the loss of people and property. I can't even imagine.

Tenacity

I couldn't imagine this burning. But it could. There are Buddhist teachings about impermanence, but I don't think we really have a grasp on that. We all know in our working brains that life is also short. Life doesn't last in its current form. But in our emotional brains? It's a different story. We tend to think it's going to be "this way" for the rest of our lives.

Not "this way" in the current state of unrest, chaos, and dysfunction (and I'm only thinking about Washington, not globally...). But "this way" in that my family will always be constituted the way it is now; nobody gets older or gets ill; everyone is where they are and nothing changes.

Yet everything changes... This park reminds me of it.  Looking at the trees clinging to the cliffs and being as green and vibrant as they are? That's amazing. That's something that I will have in my brain for a long, long time.

As we hiked, we just felt some sort of magic in the place. Both of us commented that we should, by rights, be totally exhausted. But we weren't. 

Stink-eye from baby birds

We found "Contemplative Trail" and thought, "how hard can that be?" Well. It was an "intermediate" trail! Wasn't a walk in the park, after all. We got a shot of a nest that we think may be eagle babies. Hubby thinks not, but I'm still wavering. Didn't see a parent, but the stink-eye one of the babies gave us? Definitely eagle attitude!

I mean, look at this up close. Tell me what you think. I'm going to have to post this to a birder friend and see what she's got to say about it.

I'd love to think they were eagles. They were certainly big babies. And the nest was pretty high up. I'll let you know what my bird friend says.

We got to a part where there was a scent. We couldn't identify it, but it totally enveloped both of us. A mix of floral and spice, like a conifer. I took a shot of a juniper tree, and got some other lovely root shots. It was a real wake-up call to see the trees growing out of the rock. I mean, talk about "bloom where you're planted." This is a true testament to fortitude and willingness to live.

I did have Kid #2 take some "awkward mom doing yoga" pictures. I'm always on the lookout for those kinds of opportunities, and sometimes they work. And sometimes I realize I need to work on my alignment! I drop my back knee in Warrior, if you're interested. I had my Monday night students work on this - lifting the kneecap to engage the quads makes the pose more stable.

Kind of like a tree clinging to the side of a mountain. Rooting down to grow up.

Random Picture...

Tonight, Quinn wanted ALL THE PETS. She was just clingy. I love that she's affectionate. It was hard to knit with one hand, though!

She's still in her Thundershirt, and will be for a while, till a nasty cyst clears up. Poor baby has more, and we're reluctant to get them operated on unless we absolutely have to. We would love to find a magic solution to this problem.

We've tried diet, supplements, medication... It's just the way she is. I'd say that that's the worst part of owning an Elkhound. Some are very prone to cysts, and they can be very obnoxious to deal with. There's been many a time when I've held her head while Hubby cleans something out, and the poor baby is just shaking. But she trusts me. Oh, she trusts Hubby, too, but doesn't like it much...

Tippi is zonked out alongside Raisa's crate. It's almost time for bed; I didn't sleep well last night, and I've got a long day tomorrow.

I need to close. I want to knit, but realistically? I need to hit the sack. That nearly-5-mile walk did me in. I have to teach tomorrow night, so I'm hoping the walk is a bit shorter tomorrow!