Articles by Colleen

You are currently browsing Colleen’s articles.

Greetings from yesterday’s hike at Castlewood Canyon! We met a former coworker of Greg’s, along with his wife and two adorable pooches. The wind was wild and woolly up top, but down in the canyon, it was cooler and only mildly breezy, thank goodness. With gratitude to recent rain and snow, it’s looking quite verdant for these parts. The babble of water was a pleasant addition to the tree breezes and dart of hummingbird sound track.

I haven’t a clue what these tiny flowers are, but there was a profusion of them dotting the trail, smelling rather exquisite.

Pike’s Peak! How I love seeing it from different angles and distances. In Arvada, atop the hill on Wadsworth, some seventy miles as the crow flies, it looks equally lovely, and a reminder of home while visiting my parents. It’s funny how I have no memory of it as a young person on my every day route to high school. How curious what grabs our attention at different ages.

Alan gives Seurat a view above the oaks. It was very much appreciated!

Emily and Alan were our most stellar company! They also endeared themselves to me by loving the green chile (updated recipe here) and prickly pear margaritas (scroll for recipe here) I made for our picnic lunch. Woot!

The hike was the cherry on top of an action packed four days. On Friday, my Aunt Mari and cousins (Stephanie and Stella) came for a visit before a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (recently voted #3 in the nation, I think). I am not a zoo person, but am happy to fill people with food on their way. We shared a fun meal of mac and cheese and fine conversation.

Saturday brought Michael and Mary for one of our epic sleepovers. We indulged with pizza (the wood-fired oven is doing swell!), a nectarine and rhubarb cream pie (no photo, wah!), a riff on a famous Chimayo Cocktail, puzzling (a 500 and a 1000!), jewelry making (three bracelets by myself and Mary), dog walking, espresso sipping, and of course, the lovely company of two of our besties!

They also spoiled us with a new pan for the wood fired oven, a cool homemade smock for yours truly, and a very fine loaf of homemade rye bread, which we are still enjoying, slice by glorious slice.

We are full up on love, excellent company, and wonderful food. Yes, ma’am!

Tags:

Always excited to see each other, even just to share our morning coffee. Truth.

That time I bought a hammock-y bed for Juniper, so she didn’t have to be so hot and bothered on the cement of the porch, and she trembled in fear when sitting on it. No Mommy, you cannot make me like it or use it!

Latest jewelry creations. I am pleased as punch with how they turned out. That being said, the turquoise at left and silver & brass at right are examples of multiple failures finally gotten right. Each is probably the fourth iteration of the same or similar combination of beads not looking right for literally years. I’d string them, think they looked good, bring them home and decide otherwise. The message is to keep at it. Edit, edit, edit. Try, try, try.

The garden is off to the races, ladies and gents!

These are two of about one hundred nectarines! If they aren’t ravaged by birds, squirrels, raccoons, or hail by the time they ripen, it’s going to be one heck of a harvest!

Jeff came for a visit! We celebrated my birthday with a nice morning hike; pizza in our wood fired oven – that’s a Thai style, with my peanut sauce, chicken, peanuts and green onion up yonder; homemade ice cream – peanut butter with Reese’s cups and banana cheesecake with walnut polvorones, both STELLAR; AND, last but not least, a very fun evening of Terraforming Mars. Always the best of times. ALWAYS.

Prescribed

I believe in kindness.

Also in mischief.

Also in singing, especially

when singing is

not neccessarily prescribed.

Mary Oliver

Tags:

Too Short

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.

John Burroughs

Tags:

Ritual

I have been thinking about the word RITUAL a lot lately, especially in contrast to habit. I have many habits. Here are my dailies: One – Work out every morning Monday – Friday. Two – Walk Juniper every morning and most afternoons. Add an evening walk for most of summer-like weather. Three – Sauna upon return from first walk. Four – two lattes, very, very hot lattes. Homemade cashew or almond milk.

After coffee, I am literally all over the place. Some days, I eat right away, others no. Some days, I bathe; some days, I blog; some days, I read; some days, I watch a show (or a hundred). Some days, I eat very healthy, others definitely not. I should also add that since Weight Watchers, I weigh myself every Monday morning. I want to be within my healthy range. Before WW, my doctor told me I was five pounds from overweight for my size, which was not fun to hear. I consider myself to be maintaining if I am within two pounds of goal. It creeped up to five last Monday because, surprise (!), my eating habits are wildly unpredictable. I am inconsistent on the vegetable intake, love sweets and Cheeto-type snacks, and pizza, oh and not counting every calorie every day. It gets tedious.

So last week, as Greg is in a similar boat (go figure, since we share most meals!), we went back to counting calories (via Cronometer – which is awesome and I’m not being paid to say so!) and am down 2.2 pounds. I think this will be the way of it from here on out. Habitually weigh in on Monday, maintain the exercise schedule, sort of watch the weight until it gets to five pounds, then restrict. It feels reasonable. Doable.

Now for the ritual part. I have, for many years, craved ritual in a BIG way. I feel the empty space where it ought to be. As yet, I have not found anything that resonates. My Dad has read the bible every day of my life. I have tried. Greg has tried with me. It is simply not for us. I do not like the message or the language, especially how it is filled with negativity. A lot of people meditate, but again, I try (a couple times a week, at least) and find my mind wanders far too often about every. little. thing. I know letting go of this is the point, but it’s been years, and I clearly need something different. For me, I believe it needs to be an ACT. A movement, a drawing, a watching, a reading?

In Pittsburgh, we tried a “Not Church” group of secular humanists. It sounded so good on paper! Fun people gathering in community to further knowledge about themselves and the known universe! But, but, but, all they talked about was church and Christianity and how this was not that. What?! At least we tried.

So, HI! This is me searching for that Goldilocks THING. My mind remains open to possibilities.

« Older entries § Newer entries »