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.

A little schizoid

No theme to this post, but lots of photos.

On our hike yesterday, we came across a large skeleton of some animal torso. Riley thought there might be something yummy left, but other, bigger animals had beat her to it.
Folks have been asking me if the Aspen leaves have been changing. Not so much on most of our hikes, though the local paper just featured a photo of changing leaves on a tree in town.

Fall is definitely in the air with temps about 40 degrees in the mornings then warming to temps in the 70s for the day. Still hiking in shorts and t-shirt for all you Southerners who think we are "cold" out here.

A rare break to snap a photo. We hardly ever take our camera on hikes, but when we do, it's nice to capture the moment.
Forgot to post some photos of our first party in the Purple Lillypad last week.

Beautiful evening with good friends.

Boomer's Birthday

Hard to believe that this little puppy is our 5 year-old Boom today.

Boomer started his birthday by taking an enormous dump in our basement. He's had an upset stomach on and off, and that's his new and unfortunate habit. After force feeding him an antibiotic, we all went on a hike where he did his typical, joyful frolicking. For Boomer, every day is his birthday.
Let's not forget about Big Sister Riley who showed him the ropes from Day 1.

And shared her favorite spot on the sofa.

Until he found his own spot "in" the sofa.

Boomer loves his life in Telluride. He hikes everyday.

And he likes to watch football with Jim.

But most of all, he's our Boom.