ODDS AND ENDS

*** Zia went under the knife today. Hopefully, his plant-killing instincts will be lessened. His baby-making skills are now gone.
*** Went to coffee with Grandpa Al today. His mother (Elsie) came over from Munich with a much older man, married him and had two kids (Marion and Tom, who was always called Pat, having been born on St. Patrick's Day) Then he left for Florida with another woman. Great-grandma met Grandpa's father when he moved into a boarding house she owned. He adopted her first two kids, then they had Grandpa and Aunt Kay. Great-grandpa was an English Quaker.
*** The wedding presents we got Eddie and Stephanie were a Kuerig coffee cup holder and a gorgeous koa wood small box I ordered from Hawaii. Plus we put in an autographed beer can from Christmas.
*** Party in Vail Friday night, wedding Saturday at 2:30, cocktail hour and dancing after, breakfast buffet the next morning. I will take pics for you!
*** Not many fireworks displays still on because of the fire danger, Georgetown and Rockies still on as of now.
*** Abby and I done with Breakout Kings, on to Life.
*** Paul Jolie arrives July the 8th, probably at God-knows-how-late. Your room is now the coolest in the house (100' today), and smells like eucalyptus which I put on the dresser. Took down your nasty postcards..

BASEBALL GAME-6/16/13

Today we take you through a day of baseball. Ready for Father's Day at the Rockies!

Sunny and warm.  Perfect weather.  As always, waiting for Sam on the front porch.

                                            Video of my favorite part! Sorry I couldn't  get it right-side-up.

Rockies vs. Philadelphia. Walt Weiss bobble-heads.   Club level trade-in. Baked potato bar, chili cheese dogs, salads, ham. "Let's go out for our favorites - baseball and a slice o' ham!"





                                              
   If this video doesn't make you homesick, nothing will.
                                                              
Strawberry margarita (best drink ever!) and a Singletrack.
                              Candlesticks. Always a good idea.

                                                                     Still sunny, but unseasonably cool. Yogurtland after; original sour with hibiscus/guava. Raspberries,and as it should be, one lychee.

JUNE WEEKDAYS

Weds.4:44 a.m.:  Woken by Sam emptying the dishwasher. He needs to be at work by 7:00, usually leaves by 5:00. Where does he go, what does he do? It probably involves Starbucks. Maybe an attempt to meet girls by sitting in a friendly manner in the same seat every morning, hoping he looks approachable. Or some secret civil engineering game-changing project. "We knew he was up to something, but who would of thought he'd be the one to invent the temporary bridge inversion!"
8:40 a.m.: Denver Post, the wildfire season begins. Three big ones - Black Forest one forces evacuation of 2500, Royal Gorge burns 3800 acres, threatens the bridge over the Arkansas river. High temperature of 91' today.
10:30 p.m.: Home from getting Grandpa Al blue Gatorade and two bananas. Watched one episode of Breakout Kings with Abby - our new Netflix series.
5:25 p.m.: Did yoga, spin. Yoga teacher back from Las Vegas on a birthday trip with 18 women. Mentioned she had won 8 of 11 categories in belly dancing nationals there two years in a row, everyone knows her from those years. 91' in shade, haze from fires over whole area. Sam home grouchy because, yet again, did not eat lunch. Leaving for Boulder after rush hour.
8:15 Boulder: Rachael shocked I am spending the night. "You have a bag??" She thought we would hike, picnic, drink wine, shop on Pearl Street in an hour and then I would drive an hour home?      We have a good time walking the neighborhood in the quiet pitch blackness. No haze, but no stars either. Bed early.
Thursday: Coffee, IHOP, REI, liquor store, dance-clothes shop (shades of the Pretty Woman shopping scene - "No, Miss, you don't just buy toe shoes, you make an appointment. It takes an hour to fit you!"). We hike up Chautauqua with two terriers (Jack and Lola), and drink warm Rose from the bottle and look out over Boulder. Next,we go back and watch What Not to Wear.
Me: "Susan went to school with John Frieda's son."              (to be perfectly accurate, turns out it was Paul Mitchell's son)
Rachael: "Tell her to tell him his dad gave me dandruff!".
7:00 p.m.Home: Two of four runways at DIA closed from fire-haze.
9:00 p.m.: Sam makes Honey-Vanilla Crepes with fresh cherries and honey Greek yogurt.
Friday 10:30 a.m.: 360 homes gone in Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs. News says people spray-painting phone #s on horses and letting them go, hoping they'll be okay and someone will call about them later. Off to do errands, with Abby driving. Aim for maximum efficiency in the a.m., as the afternoons are a waste.
4:34 p.m.: Cooler weather (91' here) better for fires, mandatory Co. Springs evacuations cancelled. Sam home, wants to go to new Fast and Furious. No humorous work stories.

MISCELLANEA

Trip to Boulder -
Sam coins term "crotch-noodle". Noodles you have dropped in your lap and returned to the bowl. As in, "Whoa, that one was bad, I think it was a crotch-noodle!" Both Abby and Sam laughing so hard they start crying. "Seriously, the rice was this [--------] far from coming out my nose!"
After an $86 trip to Hazel's mega-liquor store, where we witness a drunk student car vs. parking post accident, our car's occupants hassle pedestrians:  "I like you!", "Have a nice day!"

Southglenn -Chester's highlight of the walk this morning with Abby and I: Four rabbits!

Weather - 79' high, 54' low (cold at night!).
Sun - Up at 5:33, sets at 8:23

Tricia's Room - Clothes, detritus on floor, filling closet and drawers, on bed, on desk. Looks like you just stepped out. What did you take?? Hello, Goodwill truck.

AVOIDANCE

Things I have done today to avoid calling Charlotte, a terrifying woman at 
Hawaii EUTF (Employee's Union T-something F-something):

--Peruse Westword movie review Heart of Fartness - Hangover III. Director casts "rich, entitled fraternity dicks as underdog heroes". Sounds way bad.
Wonder about band "Trampled by Turtles".  Slow music? Ironically fast music?

--Cat tricks me into half-hour nap with loud purring and perfect positioning on corner of bed.

--Salted caramel latte with popcorn. Surprisingly good combo!

--Assemble and put out giveaway box on porch for Lupus, although Lupus has clearly come early and left empty-handed.

--Youtube. Rogue Traders. Andy Griffith banjo song Dooley. Yahoo News.

--Thought about calling Grandpa. Nah.

--Thought about cleaning house. Oh, now you're being funny.

--Thought about prepping dinner. Yes, quite the comedian.

--What does Coors Field stair guide Anna do for a real job? Elevator operator? Movie ticket-taker?

--Acupuncture. Thinking many people would call it torture, as I have electric current connected to many places. (But it was wonderful when it was over).

PAST NEWS: "No goats in the Parlor Car! If I said it once, I said it a hundred times!"
                       Susan had indie movie filming on train, updated Bonnie and Clyde.
                       She played an extra, white makeup with red lips. "I looked a hundred years old!"

SATURDAY

The sun arrived at 5:45 on Saturday morning. The day was startlingly bright; the air was still, the birds were busy. We go to Jason's Deli for lunch - Sam, Rachael, Abby, Daddy and I. Very crowded, people overflowing onto the patio and into the 80' day. We sit inside. Rachael's order - steamed vegetables and vegetable soup. I have a mini ice cream cup appetizer. We take a couple pics for you.

On the way home, sibling pinch-fighting reveals the uncomfortable fact that Sam  has named his nipples. Since the question will haunt you:  "Titty Roosevelt" and "Poke-ahontas". Disturbingly, they are male and female. More disturbingly - siblings.

Now home, I call Abby (who has gone to King Soopers with Rach). Simultaneously, Sam calls me on the house phone. I talk with a phone at each ear. They yell at each other across the supermarket aisle. Sam wants to know if I have just a little Dawn dish-washing liquid, just one or two squirts. I dare not wonder why.