"Colorado or Bust" or, in this instance, perhaps it was "Colorado, Busted"

Shortly after returning from my two weeks in WY (and Steve's week in Canada followed by his week in Mexico), Steve and I headed for Colorado last week. I was only slightly "busted," and the week there was just what the doctor ordered. We attended the National Federation of Fly Fishers' Conclave in Loveland, and also had the opportunity to spend time with my childhood (4th grade through college roommates!) best friend Janet Stoddard Jewett and her husband and daughter Emily. I had warned Janet (and other friends with whom we always connect at these annual Conclaves) that shopping was out for me this trip. I took plenty of great reading material for the "down" times, and was able to get out enough that I had a great time. Even in retirement, I find it difficult to make time for reading all the great books on my list, so I quite enjoyed greater opportunity than usual to do that.

Steve taught an all-day class on building fly plates and I sat in on that. He assisted with a BBQ for The Fly-Tyers Group at Sylvan Dale Ranch another day, and I agreed to handle the registration and other miscellaneous duties for that . That was enjoyable, as well. The only day Steve had free was Wednesday, so he and I took a day trip to Estes Park. Despite my not being able to do a lot of walking, we found a really neat art gallery (where I got a great print--a stand of Quaken Aspen titled "Tall Dalmations"--that really reminds me of "home") and another great gift shop, where Steve found a beautiful handmade wood box. We love to find special little things to add to our home that remind of us the trips we take.
I spent Friday with Janet and had a fabulous time. We spent a considerable amount of time at one of her favorite places in Loveland, The Master's Art Gallery. I looked up their website and was touched to read the following explanation for the name chosen for the gallery: "The Master's Fine Art of Loveland. We call it The Master's because it's the Lord of all creation we want to honor...from the front curb to the back fence and everything in between!" The proprietor (Linda) was a sweetheart of a woman and we spent quite a bit of time visiting with her, as she told us the story of her weaving which was hanging in the gallery. At some point, I plan to write and ask her if she would possibly write out the part she narrated for us, but in summary, the weaving depicts the Life of Christ. WOW! Half way through, I stopped her and said, "I don't want to miss a single word but, before you proceed, do you happen to have a box of tissues?" I couldn't stop crying. "Amazing" doesn't do it justice. This is one picture I sincerely hope you will click on to enlarge, in order that you can see the various elements in the weaving that depict the life of Christ, such as the "swaddling cloth," the straw depicting the manger, the wood depicting carpentry, the plaited thorns, the beam with the nails, etc. Again, amazing!
They were having a special showing at the gallery for the weekend. The featured artist--Dan Chen--is a Chinese wonder who resides in Oregon. What an incredible talent he was!!!! And so personable. He is outstanding in not only one medium, but many: painting on silk, metal sculpture, oils, and the list goes on. Dan became interested in art at age three, while watching his self-taught father paint. His father loved art and got Dan interested but then set it aside himself and spent his life going about making a living for his family. Dan said his father passed away in 2002, but a few years before he did, he made a trip to visit Dan. His father had no idea what Dan was doing. When his father saw the amazing things that Dan was producing, his interest in art was rekindled. Dan's father spent the remaining years of his life passionately creating art. It made me think that the father had given the gift to his young son, and when the father was old, the son gave the gift back to him.
Dan began a project this year--the Noah's Ark Project--which I believe he said will be an eight-year project. As depicted in the photo, each segment of the ark can be removed. Dan sculpted 12 pairs of animals (in the ark piece displayed on the wall above the ark), and said he intends to complete 24 more each of the next 7 years, and finally, Noah and the people. How I would love to see the project when it is completed! Dan works in so many mediums and seems to excell in each. Not only does he paint on silk, but he designs from metal the frame holding his silk artwork, and into that frame, he incorporates the same subjects as in his artwork on silk, e.g. the same flowers and birds.

There are three foundries in Loveland, and MANY wonderful sculptures, a number of which are in the front and back yard at THE MASTERS. A number of my favorites were sculpted by a Loveland-grown woman--Julie Jones--a mother of "five active children," which likely accounts for her obvious love of children, as depicted in her sculptures.


This last sculpture is unlike anything either Janet or I have seen before. The sculpture itself is of a tree trunk and branches, with little birds, but as you can see, the sculpture is sculpted in such as way that the shadow it reflects on the wall behind it is of something entirely different; in this case, the Master Himself. We were awed by it. Janet said the first time she saw it, she refused to believe it was "real;" rather, she thought there was some kind of "trick," displaying the other photo on the wall. But, no, it is as it appears. Linda (again, proprietor of The Master's Gallery) found this well-hidden secret artist working in a church less than a block from where the Gallery is located in Loveland. Undoubtedly, the world is full of hidden talents, many of whom are touched by The Master's Hand and reflect His goodness in their art and works.


Following this feast for all the senses, Janet and I paid a visit to The Cupboard in Fort Collins, where she works parttime. The Cupboard, as the name implies, offers anything and everything a "foodie" could want, from kitchen linens and dishes, to sauces and spices and gadgets. So much fun!

Janet treated me to lunch (we visited for more than 2 hours over a yummy salad!) at Jay's Bistro, and then dropped me back at the Embassy Suite at 4:30, just in time to meet Steve and head for Janet and Bob's home. Bob outdid himself in preparing a feast that was not only delicious but beautiful! Talk about "foodies," and I say that with the greatest amount of respect. He started us off with tiny little hors d'oeuvres consisting of perfectly cooked steak bits nested on a bed of horseradish sauce on tiny toast triangles. He said these had been served to them at Trapper Lodge (a guest lodge next to property owned by my family when I was growing up in WY). He followed this up with scallops on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with crisp bacon and a yummy dressing. This was all before dinner! Dinner consisted of chicken, a wonderful corn dish (which I believe Janet gets credit for), and a fresh tomato, basil and Buffalo mozzarella salad. And finally, if that were not enough, Janet served for dessert fresh peaches over vanilla ice cream with homemade cookies. As someone famous says, YUM-O! And I mustn't fail to mention that we FINALLY got to meet Janet's and Bob's beautiful--inside and out--daughter Emily (her hubby had to work so had to head back to WY early; we'll meet him next time). I told Emily that she truly was "the frosting on the cake." These are wonderful friends and it was so great to have the chance to reconnect.

Happy Birthday, Gingersnap!

Our beautiful granddaughter Brittany turned 15 on May 13. We tried repeatedly to find a time for the entire family to get together to celebrate Gary's birthday (May 10; Mother's Day this year), Mother's Day, and Britt's birthday, but to no avail. So, we finally celebrated Gary's birthday with his family (see earlier post) and, last evening we celebrated Britt's birthday with Jon's family.

As you can see in the picture, Britt has the most beautiful (and thick!) red hair. Her Papa (who has a nickname for almost everyone he knows well) nicknamed her Gingersnap, and that stuck. We have a relatively small family here so I generally ask the honoree to choose her/his own menu. Britt wanted (and got) the following:
Grilled Tri-tip (Papa was in charge of that; he's Master of the Big Green Egg)
Mashed Potatoes
Corn-on-the-Cob
Hot Rolls (w/ Huckleberry Jam, from MT)
Tossed Salad w/ Roped Provel (Britt calls it "that creamy cheese that comes in little strings" :)
Cheesecake

It's hard to believe that she's already in high school and will soon be driving. Where does the time go?!! Thankfully, even as a teenages, she is a sweetheart and a joy to have around which, of course, at this age, happens less and less, as she's busy with friends and activities.

I used the tiny vases again (most of which are crystal salt and pepper shakes from garage sales or flea markets) and made individual bouquets (see photo). These were prettier than last week's inasmuch as we now have more flowers in bloom. Britt particularly loved the "purple ones" (the Iris); I particularly love them because I transplanted the Iris bulbs from both my Mother's and my Mother-in-law's yards.

My "Baby" Turns the Big 4-0!

I guess my blogging style could best be described as "Feast or Famine;" I go for several days/weeks without blogging, and then can't stand it any longer, so I take time out and blog several things that have been on my mind. Today is the "Feast" side of blogging, depending, I suppose, on whether or not you enjoy reading them (I do enjoy thinking about the events that shape our lives, and recording them for the benefit of our children, grandchildren, and beyond who, hopefully, are or will be interested).

Our older son recently celebrated his Big 4-0; amazing, when one considers that I'm simply not old enough to be his mother. Regardless, we had Gary, Sara and Reed for dinner last evening to celebrate Gary's birthday. We usually have an all-family dinner, but the kids' current work schedules make it next to impossible to have them all at once. Later this week, we will have Jon's family to celebrate Brittany's recent birthday.

Ever since Gary became an avid golf enthusiast, it has been our custom to include golf balls as part of his Christmas and/or birthday gifts. I told Gary last evening that his Dad and I decided we must be too busy or getting old (Nah!) because this is the first time we have not come up with some extraordinary way of disguising the golf balls. We have done everything from wrapping 100 of them individually and putting them in a large box of styrofoam peanuts (time-consuming!), to frosting the boxes in order to make them look like a cake (disappointing to 4-year-old Reed who was looking forward to eating it)(2008 picture below), and the very best, according to the kids, having the balls be the "innerds" of a very long snake that Steve designed and I sewed (2007 picture below). We had toyed with the idea of a scavenger hunt this year, but we simply didn't have the time or inclination to get it together, so this year's gift was boringly wrapped with paper and ribbon (but the wrapping did have both black and yellow labs on it; or as Reed put it, "Caesar and Samson!").

Kyra was here as I making preparations for yesterday's dinner and I noticed the name "Haricot Verts" on the thin, French green beans I was pleased to find at Sam's Club. I told her I used to read cook books like other people read novels, and especially liked the ones that included the stories of how the recipes came to be, or what they meant to that person or family. An example would be the Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, wherein I learned that the original bread recipe was developed by a loving mother who was desperate to find something her ailing child could eat, and later shared with other young patients referred to her by her son's pediatrician. These loaves were often wrapped in paper and carried to the city by her husband, who rode public transportation to work.

So, I told Kyra that the first time I ever saw the term Haricot Verts in a recipe, I had no idea what it meant (and it wasn't explained), and I couldn't find it in a dictionary at the time. I think I called the local extension service and talked with the Home Economist (it was in a recipe, afterall). Another term I had to look up in a later recipe was Merliton (vegetable pear). The steamed Haricot Verts (with carmelized Vidalia onions and bacon) turned out well last evening; I have never prepared a Merliton. :) One day, I hope to write (if even just for my family) my own narrative-style cookbook of faves.

It is fun to watch one's children grow into adults and become parents themselves, as in Gary's and Jon's cases. The greatest satisfaction for me is realizing that they finally have some idea just how very much we love THEM!

My personal version of Cinnamon Rolls is Gary's favorite "birthday cake," so I made those again this year.

Visting Teaching: An Inspired Program

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I want to blog today about one of my favorite programs in the Church, the Visiting Teaching program. For the benefit of those not familiar with this religion or this program, I will explain a little bit about the program and why I love it so much.

As in other religions, we have clergy who assume overall leadership for our membership (called a "Ward"); one Bishop and two Councilors, however, are not sufficient to tend to the needs of every man, woman, and child in the Ward. The programs of Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching go along way to help meet these individual needs. Most active adult members of the Church participate in one or the other of these programs; Visiting Teaching for the women, and Home Teaching for the men. Most often, two men or two women are partnered, and are assigned a small number (perhaps 3-5) of individuals or families to visit on a monthly basis.

The monthly visits, along with other interaction when possible, allow the Visitors to become better acquainted with the Visitees (you all understand the use of that word, don't you? :) It provides an opportunity for the Visitors to learn about the personalities, likes and dislikes of those they visit, as well as to be aware of situations that arise (and they occasionally do in all our lives!) where helping hands are needed and appreciated.

The monthly visits allow the Visitors to share a brief and uplifting spiritual message, and well as information or items deemed appropriate for that month or situation. Be it flowers from one's garden, bread or cookies from one's oven, or a birthday cake on the Visitee's birthday are all good examples of the opportunities to share and get to know one another better.

My many years, both as a Visiting Teacher, and as someone who has been the recipient of good Visiting Teachers, have taught me to love and appreciate this program, inspired by a loving Heavenly Father, who best knows His children's needs and how to meet them.

The two women ("sisters" is how we refer to one another in a church setting) who are currently my Visiting Teachers shared a birthday recently. They are such devoted Visiting Teachers--and friends!--that I wanted to honor them with a birthday luncheon. I have a new Visiting Teaching Companion (a woman I have wanted to get to know better!), so I wanted to invite her, as well, and the sisters we visit. A couple of them were not able to come to the luncheon this time, but those who were able seemed to have a good time. I know I really enjoyed having them. Following is a picture from our time together.

I served Tortilla Soup, Hot Rolls, Strawberry-Spinach Salad, and my own version of Pina Colada Cake. Several years ago, at one of our daughter-in-law Sara's bridal showers, the hostesses used crystal salt and pepper shakers as vases for tiny flower arrangements, scattered among the food trays on the serving table. I began collecting them at garage sales and flea markets and like to use them to make individual "bouquets" at each place setting. I don't have a lot of flowers in bloom this early, so for this Visiting Teaching luncheon, I simply used a single stem of a new (to our yard) full-sun, perennial (Dwarf Coreopsis) and, for the greenery, a stem of parsley. They seemed to enjoy it. If you maximize the picture, perhaps you can, too. :)