Really?

Not a real post, but an admission that'd I've been absent from blogging for nearly a year now. Facebook is easier, so there it is.

No pix, no time

But I will say hello. Hello.
Happenings here.... busy with Telluride TV as I am now the (interim) Executive Director. We have to move our studio which is no small task since it's 25 years worth of equipment, tapes, dvds, and STUFF. Ugh. I had hoped when I moved to Telluride that I didn't have to organize and do a move for a long, long time.

In other news, we just returned from a 4 day trip to Sedona, Arizona. Nice and beautiful, but all in all we both prefer Telluride. The hikes and restaurants were a bit of a let down, but we really enjoyed getting away, especially since it snowed here while we were gone!

I am not sure how to find the time to continue to clean, cook and run my house. Time has become increasingly scarce as my commitments to EMS and Teluride TV have increased. I am now wondering how I did it all with my 60 hr weeks at CNN and a family of five. Calgon, take me away.

Food is Good

Today kicks off a sort of food orgy weekend in honor of the NCAA Tournament. In the crockpot, NC-Style pork for pulled-pork and in the frig, some homemade potato salad is brewing. I'm pretty sure I won't do more than have a taste, it's just not my thing. But it's a lot of fun to cook special things for my basketball obsessed and food crazed husband.

Can email recipes if interested. Enjoy the madness!

I am a Basketball Widow

March Madness has begun, but the Big Dance is not even here yet. Still, that has not stopped my husband from monopolizing both TVs and DVRs to watch these conference tournaments. He has taken a temporary leave of absence from skiing, and has taken up watching round ball more than 12 hours a day. I am banned from the TVs and nearly all normal semblance of life.

I do get into it once the brackets are set, and I can bet against him. He thinks that watching all this basketball helps educate him as to the quality of each team that makes it. I know better. We've been together for nearly 14 years. Even his kids can beat him in Brakectology just based on what cities or colors they like better.

So, instead of lamenting about how I'm being ignored for 30-plus days, I choose to embrace the humor in how I will beat him in my picks for the NCAA Tournament. And still, I will cook Brats, make pulled-pork sandwiches, and pretend like I care about which team has the most McDonald's All Americans and is still floundering (UNC Tarheels)...blah blah blah.

Because at the end of the day, he is still my cute honey.

What are the chances?

Today Jim and I were riding the ski lift with another couple, a fairly common event with pretty typical conversation. Only none of us could have predicted what would follow.

First, the back-story. Jim and I were honeymooning at a small resort in Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands in November of 1999 when suddenly, on a beautiful, sunny day, we were told we must evacuate. Hurricane Lenny was on his way, and it was not safe to stay. The next boat to Tortola (the island we needed to fly out from) was leaving in 20 minutes. We hustled to our room and quickly packed, well crammed our stuff into our bags and high-tailed it onto the small boat. There were two other couples who left with us on that first boat out. One of the men introduced himself as an OB/GYN from Grand Junction, Colorado.

Our experience was surely memorable, but that doctor was the only person we remembered from that chaotic day. Perhaps it was because of our love for Colorado and then the purchase of what was to become our home here in Telluride. In fact, when we first moved here and I went to my new gynecologist in Grand Junction, I asked him if he knew of this guy, though I could not remember his name.

So here we are this morning riding the lift, engaging in idle chit-chat when we learn that this couple is from Grand Junction, and they have a small cabin on Wilson Mesa, not far from where my doc also has a cabin. Jim asked him if he knew of my doctor and he did. In fact, he too was an OB/GYN there. Jim then began to tell him of our adventure and how we evacuated with a guy who was an OB/GYN from Grand Junction, and we can't remember his name, only he could not finish the story. He was interrupted with a very loud "that was me, that was us on that boat!"

Home for and now home from the holidays

Christmas Eve brought us all together at my folks house for a wonderful evening of celebration, eating and laughter. Our granddaughters were especially scrumptious and cute.


Then we celebrated New Year's Eve at my sister and brother in-law's cabin in the North Georgia mountains.

Games and dancing dominated the evening. And a little snuggling with my niece Ryan and nephew Jake (who is now officially going by his middle name "Eli").


I love this picture. We are so excited that Eli is coming to live with us this summer and go to some cool Telluride Academy camp programs.

And then there was "EMT" Ryan, who learned from Aunt Sue how to take blood pressure. She actually does it right!

But come on, she's 11. So there had to be some fun while "manually stabilizing c-spine!"

Here's a rare shot of my sister and I actually wearing some color! We are both big fans of black and brown!

Throughout our stay in the ATL, we got to fight traffic, visit, and do some babysitting. Roxanne, who just turned 2 yrs old, loves books.


And hugs from Mimi.

Is it just me, or do these guys sort of look alike? (Jim & son Justin)

We ended our trip with Kaitlin's move to UGA. She has the actual move-in photos, but we like this one.

And a big thanks to my mom and dad who hosted us (and our two dogs!) for nearly three weeks!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year to you all, perhaps late, but genuine.

A Cooking Fool

So since the cold weather started a few days ago, I have what feels like a primal instinct to hunker down and cook. There's something about the snow falling, the chill in the air, and the craving for, well, food. And I just love to look at recipes online, read reviews and then somehow blend what I read with my own instincts and taste. Cooking, and at times baking, has become quite the hobby.

This cooking jaunt started with wanting to make Jim a little treat, so I made cranberry bread. That didn't seem to satisfy the urge, so I went on to make a new chicken piccata dish that night and then spent an inordinate amount of time on foodnetwork.com and epicurious.com. What followed was peppermint bark, chocolate fudge, lemon-chicken soup with veggies and pasta, and a homemade tomato sauce for my meatball and spaghetti dinner party Friday night. Not to brag, but I don't think I'll be buying anymore of the jarred tomato sauce that I seemed to be just fine with all of these years. And really I don't have to brag because I have a very appreciative husband who loves to eat. He knows if he piles on the compliments, I'll be spending even more time in the kitchen.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving will be one of only a few that we have not been with our families. We opted to visit Atlanta Christmastime instead when everyone will have more time off work and school to visit. It works out for my school schedule as well. Jim and I will definitely miss our families back East next week.

But it'll all work out though as we're set to have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday here in Telluride. About 30 or so people will gather for a pot-luck dinner at our friend's Billy Bob and Peggy Sue's house followed by a gathering that weekend with our good friends Deb and Rick. We are looking forward to being with our dear friends here in Telluride and will reflect gratefully our good fortune during this holiday.

We hope you all enjoy your holiday, your health and your good fortune. We have a lot to be thankful for.

Top Ten Reasons to Live in this Small Town

10. You can't get lost.
9. There is not a traffic light for at least 35 miles.
8. Your grocer, banker, and well everyone knows you by your first name, or at least they know your dogs.
7. The UPS driver knows your dogs by name and leaves them treats with every delivery.
6. There are 300 days of sunshine each year.
5. There are 300 inches of powdered snow falling on our ski mountain each year.
4. Your vote really counts. Our amazing library actually was approved by one vote.
3. You can walk not only to the coffee shop, but the bank, post office, and even your doctor and dentist.
2. The Town Mayor lives up the street and returns your calls within 24 hours.
1. Bears, elk, deer and coyotes are your neighbors and are almost as cool as your human neighbors.

Riley is Seven!

Today is Riley's 7th birthday.

We adopted her in December 2002 in Alpharetta, GA from the Humane Society. I do not have any puppy pictures from then in my computer, but you'll have to trust me when I say she was the cutest little 3 lb. fur ball you've ever seen. Older and aging dog Marvin became a big brother.

Riley learned to steal bones and toys from Marvin by pouncing on his tail and chewing on it to distract him.

Riley soon discovered the wonders of Telluride, off-leash freedom, hiking, and waterfalls.


Next it was Riley's turn to be a big sister.

She was not quite sure what to make of Boomer.

But very soon they became and still are inseparable.



Riley is a great big sister, though it's not so hard since Boomer worships her and is never far from her side.

When we hike people always stop us to ask what kind of dog she is (mutt).

People call her Diva, Princess, Foxy and all kinds of little pet names.

And she knows how to suck up and get good loving.
Here is a Riley sandwich from Jessica and Kaitlin many summers ago in Telluride.

She loves her Kaitlin. Whenever we say Kaitin's name, Riley jumps on us and looks all over the house for her.

This is our friend Corrine trying to comfort Riley during this year's 4th of July fireworks.

To us, she's just our little Pookie. (I know, we are mush-bags. But she really is a little Pookie).



Happy Birthday Riley! We love you!

The Simple Pleasures in Life

My friend Suzette in Charlotte recently posted on her blog some simple things she enjoyed in her home and encouraged others to do so as well. So, here's my attempt at capturing the essence of life inside the Lillypad.

First of course, there's my reliable husband Jim. The dogs and I always know where to find him, and always know what he'll be doing. Note this time he has laptop and book combo going.

The flat panel TV is a much appreciated material asset, especially during college football season.

We never get tired of our sweet babies. They fill our house with love... and dog hair.


I find humor in the fact that our kitchen table doubles as our place to eat and my office.

I've always been a fan of mud rooms. Ours is critical to our way of life serving as storage for nearly everything you'd want to put your hands on regularly: shoes, coats, skis, recycling, dog stuff, and more.

We're really happy with my paint job in here. Much more rustic, clean and comfortable than it was when it was four different shades of white and gray.

Then there's the generosity of our friend Sandy who recently gave us this beautiful framed painting that fits nicely into the space at the bottom of our stairs. The aspen tree theme has somehow taken over and is featured in three out of four framed pieces on our walls.

Sandy sold her house and downsized. She also gave us this cool antique "dry sink" that looks great in our basement (only place it would fit, literally) and serves as wonderful storage.

Also in our basement, the LEMONADE bathroom. It's our campy little bathroom for our guests who stay in the Igloo (it gets cold down there). Another paint job brought to you by Susan, though I am thinking that the true yellow pop doesn't really show in this photo.

I'll always love this photo from our wedding, our last dance. And I love the framed saying our friends Billy Bob and Peggy Sue gave us when they learned we were moving here full-time. It reads "Life is too short not to live in Colorado." Touche.

And finally, at the end of the day, I love getting into our comfy bed, in our tiny room, in our little house, in this beautiful box canyon.

No Photo Necessary

Emergency preparedness is underway at the Lillypad. Well actually our car. We've heard from several friends here that we need to have certain safety equipment in our car for the winter, especially with me commuting so far for school at night. So, I am compiling a plastic bin that will be stored in the Jeep with the following: first aid kit, flash light, flares, hat, gloves, bottled water, beef jerky (food snack that will not expire) and a sleeping bag. While I have no intentions of spending the night on Highway 62, it is exactly for that reason -- the unplanned emergency. Could be another accident that causes me to be sidelined for 3-5 hours. All I know is that these nice folks who have lived here for 20+ years tell me I need to do this. It's life in the mountains, and it's still oh, so good.

Beautiful Fall in Telluride

The house still looks purple despite all the competing color surrounding us!


This morning's hike up Eider Creek. Great color, great time.


Our Town.