Merry Christmas!

Rene and I want to wish all our two and four legged friends and family a Merry Christmas! May your tail wag heartily today; may you feel the joy of the season right down to the tips of your toes; may you spend meaningful time with loved ones.

Holiday Decorating

The Friday after Thanksgiving I always decorate the house. I was pleased with myself to find my "Christmas Box" well organized from last year! Note to self: Put things away organized this year…

Dad made me a gingerbread house. He said I can eat it with my coffee, but it is too cute to munch on! Mom bought me the little vintage deer at the Horseshoe Market. And these trees I had in the Christmas Box. Makes for a sweet little display!

Some baubles I found. I have a whole slew of ornaments and a tiny tree. 

So, a bowl is the next best way to display them!

My tiny tree

I picked up this little village at the dollar store last year. It sits in the entryway with a string of lights, and makes for a warm glowing welcome when I get home.

My dear friend and neighbor, Mary, and I live in the "corner" of the 1st floor of our condo. We have begun decorating "our corner". Here is our little tree!

And, my favorite decoration of all…I keep her up all year long!

Here's to the start of a festive, loving, warm, and bright holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving 2016!

This Thanksgiving I have been engaging in a "30 Day Gratitude Challenge" and it has been a great reminder of all the good things in my life. Every day I wake up and think about "what one thing will I be grateful for today?" and then, after identifying it, I honor it by doing something special around that thing.

Today I am grateful for gratitude! As a way of thinking and living, gratitude can take us out of worry and fear for the future, regrets from the past, and let us just be in the moment. Today, I plan to do just that…"be in the moment!" Enjoy the cooking, cleaning, eating and being with family and friends moment by moment.

For you, I wish you a grateful Thanksgiving, too!

Snow Shine

Yesterday into today was our very first snow! This year, our fall ran exceptionally long. It was beautiful, but got very dry. This morning the sun was out, and I love "Snow Shine" days like this! Bundled up together, Rene and I ventured out to the Great Lawn Park. I have been working through a 30 Day of Gratitude Challenge this month; my gratitude today was the energy I had when I woke up to tackle a number of things with a smile! I have some art projects to finish up for tomorrow's craft fair, and my friend's greyhound's birthday is today so we are having them over for dinner! Rene and I snuck in a walk, and now I am off to the store.

Making it through times of uncertainty and change

I haven't posted on this blog in so long! I have been tied up with Soulful Transitions, keeping up with the blog there, Facebook updates, etc. Life seems to have taken a rhythm where there isn't much to write about…I make stuff, sell stuff at craft shows, repeat, and nothing really of note comes up to write about. That is…until just this past week. The future of my business is very much on my mind lately. Well, even just the future in general. In light of a historical election and an uncertain future I have noticed a slight haziness to reality. I heard someone say the other day "we are all getting over Trump Flu." I feel like I did after 9/11. I remember walking in Wash Park and everything seemed to be hazed over by a reddish, dirt like haze. Even the other day I felt kind of sick, lethargic, I just wanted to sleep all day if I could. None of my flu-like symptoms has anything really to do with the "right" winning the election because I don't think of Donald Trump as a conservative politician. I told myself early on that if Ted Cruz or Jeb Bush were the next president I would muck through those four years until another ground breaking or ceiling crashing liberal came to the forefront. My shock and dismay isn't around conservatism, per se…it is around the man elected as president and the intentions of many of the people whose vote put him there.

I am not one to protest an election; I believe in democracy and that, contrary to our president-elect's pre-election rhetoric, that the American election system is not rigged (although, now I may be questioning that after all). But I do protest hate, ignorance, oppression, white supremacy, nationalism to the extent of discrimination and all the other nasty parts of the human race that seemed to rear its ugliness during this election and beyond. I think of my friends' kids. All the girls whose mommas are raising them to be strong women of character. I think of those girls who now have a president to look up to that was caught talking about grabbing a woman's private parts, who has been married 3(?) times, and has been cited as stating ugly comments about women's looks. I think of my friend's boys, who have this as their role model…a man on television mocking a disabled reporter, talking of Mexicans as rapists, and objectifying women. A man whose incendiary comments have led to hate crimes against Muslims and young children of Mexican descent to cry in my teacher friends' arms for fear they will be sent back to places that are not home to these children as America is home to them.

Don't even get me started on the health care system. While the Affordable Care Act made health care available and affordable to millions of people, it will most likely be changed so much that health care, once again, won't be available or affordable. For myself, paying out of pocket for my health care, I am scared that I won't be able to afford whatever comes down the pike. That my dream of being a small business owner will become stifled under this overwhelming cost and I will have to put that dream aside or choose to go without, which is a scary notion unto itself.

I think, though, what really has impacted me the most is that I was a part of such a ground breaking presidency back in 2008. I believed so much in Obama and to elect the first African-American president during my lifetime was historical! Mike and I caucused for Obama and we went to the DNC here in Denver as alternates. We were a part of history. I think about how disappointed Mike would be to see the two steps forward and four steps back we are taking with a president-elect whose constituents in many parts of the country live so fearfully that they espouse hate rather than unity.

On the bright side, my activist self has become reignited. Lucky for me, I am surrounded by friends who I can get fired up with. Social work friends, where our ethical fabric is to stand up for the marginalized; teaching friends who are with children every day impacted by decisions adults make; spiritual friends who believe in the divinity of all people (yes, including the haters). With the help of my friends I am hoping to integrate these parts of myself-my belief in social justice, my desire for systems that provide rather than restrict, and my core belief that we are all divine creatures of God. This is the time to challenge myself to bring all these parts of me together. I am not sure how I will do that just yet; do I become more activist? Do I attend my Mile Hi Church services more? Do I volunteer with immigrant families? I do not know…but I am sure it will show itself as time unfolds.

And my passion for my business…for Soulful Transitions…flew through the roof this past week. The positive messaging, the emphasis on self-care, gratitude and being in the moment is more important now than ever before. At the craft show on Saturday, many people stopped by and commented on how the brightness of my table and the positive messaging was just what they needed during this time of uncertainty. I see Soulful Transitions as a change making engine as well, staying the course with "high energy vibrations" of love, positivity and light rather than "low energy vibrations" of fear, despondency and depression. If every day I wake up walking in the light rather than the dark I know I can be a change maker during this time, however that looks.

Greyhound humor

I love my girl!

Colorado Fall 2016 Courtesy RMNP and Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Sometimes, I just need...

Since I have been working solo, I have had a hard time telling myself it is okay to just take a break and take care of my own needs for a little while. I suppose working from home I sometimes feel like I am taking care of my needs, somewhat, since I don't have to be up and out to another location by 8am every morning. However, today I realized I have been taking care of everyone else's needs and putting mine on the back burner, which was why I was feeling lethargic and unable to make decisions today.

Working from home, I sometimes put extra pressure on myself because I know I am the one in charge of whether I am successful or how to improve things. I also find working from home I can be a little tornado. I might make breakfast but then jump into a project and not clean up the dishes; I may have a few loads of laundry going that need to be folded and put away. So, by the end of the day, I not only have my work projects but also to finish stuff in the home, too.

I also have found myself to committing to a lot of things here at my condo because I am on the HOA board and figure "since I am around" I could pitch in with things. So, I managed to get myself as the leader of our landscape committee, as well as be in charge of a multi-family yard sale that will be happening in two weekends. I also continue to volunteer for the greyhound rescue doing home visits prior to adoption, and that can take up to 3 hours for one assignment. On top of those things are the needs of my own precious grey Rene, and also to make sure I am there for family and friends.

This morning I awoke with many various possible intentions for some "me time". I will go on a fall color drive! I will meander the Botanic Gardens! I will get coffee at Barnes and Noble and browse the bookshelves! I was finding that I was putting as much pressure on myself for accomplishment in my downtime as I strive for in the professional, volunteer and personal arenas. In the end, I plopped on the couch and watched some DVR'd shows in my comfy clothes, I took a nap without putting on the alarm, and I grocery shopped for food that will make an enjoyable dinner.

A "Farm-tastic" Labor Day Weekend

I decided I needed to reconnect to nature this weekend, so wound up at two of my favorite local farms.
Saturday I ventured to Berry Patch Farms, in Brighton, where I make at least an annual trek if I can in the fall. They are a "pick your own" kind of place and they also have a farm market with fresh produce. I decided to pick some flowers, basil, and bought some spicy hot, roasted green chiles for a stew.

Just such a cute farm!

Gotta love this prayer below…

Final product from the flower picking!

Today, my neighbor and dear friend Mary and I went to Chatfield Farms at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It is located near Chatfield Resevoir. On the property there is an old schoolhouse, a historic homestead, lots of walking paths and a small butterfly house.

I have lucked out so much having Mary as a neighbor, grown into a friend. We occupy units on the first floor "corner" of our condo building. We are, literally, two neighbor peas in two small pods.

It felt so good to have a few hours feeling like I was someplace else. It doesn't take much to reinvigorate my soul and prepare me for the seasons changing!

7 years today

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. -Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet

Western Slope Road Trip 2016

I satisfied my need for my Western Slope summer by taking a very long and scenic road trip. My itinerary? Stay in Glenwood and go to the pool; Spend time in Carbondale and Redstone; See a friend in Paonia; See a friend in Grand Junction; Enjoy the Palisade farmer's market and get some peaches; Take a scenic drive along 141 through canyon country where I never explored before; go to the Dennis Weaver Memorial Park in Ridgway; revisit my old town Montrose. All completed! Today I head home, but wanted you to enjoy the trip, too, with some photos!

Hotel Colorado

Carbondale Labyrinth

 Why I love Carbondale So… 

The Crystal River in Redstone

View from near the summit of McClure Pass

My Paonia

Real Palisade peaches!

The contrasts of Palisade color against the brown mesa

Gateway/Unaweep Canyon area

I love the Double L Ranch landscape outside of Ridgway!

Cooling off tired driving feet in the Uncompaghre River

Happy Trails!