Of Hammocks, Hamlet and Hard Lessons - oh, and Baked Beans, too

The kids put me on a hammock quest for a few weeks. They've always had a romantic idea of summer and lounging in a hammock. We kept an eye on them at Target. I liked the rope one because it would not collect leaves or water. Ellie liked the striped cloth one because she loves anything stripy. Ethan wanted one with sticks at the end because it would be more comfortable that way.

At first they were out of our price range. Then they began to go on sale. I watched them when they were at 30% for over a week. Slowly, they were selling. I was hoping for 50% off, but the rope hammocks sold out before that point. I did a bit more research and took the drive even though I had hoped they'd go down. Next was the hunt for "S" hooks that could hold the same weight as the hammock. Once found, we were on. The kids are groovin' in the afternoon. I tried it, but I'm not so taken with them.I much prefer watching the kids have time from the comfort of my rocking chair on the porch.

Another thing that reminds me of summer is the Colorado Shakespeare Festival up at the University of Colorado. Larr and I used to go see all three performances every year. We'd even buy a mug with that year's poster on it. It has been years since I've been but last night I decided to go to the preview (dress rehearsal) night to see Hamlet. It was very cool in a nerdy, academic way. We were just to the part where Hamlet is having a play put on to see if his Uncle/Father emotionally responds. (The play is about a man who kills his brother to marry his wife - just what Hamlet suspects has happened). As Hamlet launched into the famous "To Be or not to be..." speech the thunder clapped and the lightening illuminated the night sky. IT was the very height of drama. But then the rain followed. Very quickly we found ourselves in the hallway while we waited for the rain to pass. It only intensified. After 30 minutes or so they sent us home with promises of being able to use our tickets another night. I was bummed, but that is weather in Colorado in the summer time.

Firecrackers are also a part of summer for us. Ethan is so drawn to them, always has been. Today he cashed a work check and had me deliver him to a firework stand. He was smitten with the heaps of lovely, brightly colored options. He filled his basket with a few of his favorite things - fountains, smoke bombs, spinning flowers and the like. When they rang up his order he found that he had spent much more than he planned. He put a few back, but still felt bad. In the end he spent $42 on fireworks. He felt both excited and buyer's remorse even before we were a block away. There are no returns so it had to become a hard lesson. Next year he will only take as much as he is planning to spend, and no less. He'll just have to take that lump with his tea and try to enjoy the fireworks anyway. I think he'll manage, somehow.

And finally, a recipe. Every 3th of July our city has an AMAZING fireworks display. We get together as an extended family, celebrate my niece's birthday, have a BBQ and watch the fireworks. The menu is always the same. Here are the beans that are out of this world. They are wonderful, but not very diet friendly. We have them every year:

Kathy's Baked Beans

3 cans (16 oz) Baked Beans, drained (we use VandeCamp brand)
1 med. Onion chopped finely (or 1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix)
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dark Corn Syrup
1 tea. Paprika
1 tea. Basil
1# Bacon, cut into pieces

Place everything in a crock pot. Stir to mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or overnight). If you are in a rush you can do the crock pot on high for 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!

There is also another wonderful Baked Bean option over on the Kevin and Amanda recipe website. You can view it here.

The Small Struggle Between the Ideal and Living the Real Life - Or, Gosh, Is It Really July Already?

Every year I have these ideal plans of how I will use my time during the summer. They seem so logical and doable. But, life happens and I rarely follow through completely. I have found that many of my friends have the same problem. Take today for example, I thought I would have all rooms in our house deeply cleaned by now and that I would simply have to do upkeep cleaning. I also thought that I would have all of the various gardens in check, too. I thought teaching my online classes would happen in smallish bits each day and that I would be knee deep in some creative projects by now. I thought I would have grip on making my bedroom actually look like a bedroom that has some cohesive design. Alas, it is not the case. Many rooms have been really cleaned out, but the closet upstairs is till wanting attention. The laundry seems to multiple when I am out of the room doing other things. I am indecisive about how to decorate my bedroom. I have parts of the front, Hosta and veggie gardens close to under control, but the weeds are winning. The only creative projects that I have are in my head and waiting for their turn to come. The online classes are happening in bigger chunks since they rolled out a new, very different version. I have gone from knowing the answers and doing things quickly to having to play "guess how to use the application" nearly every day. I have wrestled with the impulse to hangout and rest a bit more versus doing exercise or cleaning. The one thing that is true and good is the time I spend with the kids. I feel so happy and lucky that at 12 and 15 they are still happy to do things with me. I spend much of my time each day dealing with them, whether it be to have a conversational breakfast or to drop them off at a friend's house and pick them up again, or planning an outing for a group. That always trumps my best laid plans. I think it was John Lennon who said real life is when happens when you're not looking.

GoodBye to Kiddie Land or Turning My Nephew into an Adrenaline Junkie

Here's Amy with Orlando (in orange) and Angelo.
I thought the transition would be a bit more gradual, but it wasn't. It came on line a rush or water. It started yesterday with an innocent trip to Elitch Gardens, the local amusement park. Grandma Gay used Orlando's 11th birthday as a reason to get us all together for a day of fun. The bigger kids went on the roller coasters and the big rides. Angleo, Orlando's younger brother, started out in Kiddie Land. He had been happy there for years. We expected it would be the same again this year. We met part way through and he went on the Farris Wheel with his mother.

Grandma Gay had us all meet for lunch and ice cream.
When the conversation turned to what people were going to ride. Ang did not want to be left out when the big kids turned to go on the Boomerang.At first Ang was just going to watch, then Orlando talked him into giving a try - and that was the end of Kiddie Land for this kiddo.

While the big kids were riding the Minderaser (or the Mind Blower, as Grandma Gay calls it), the boomerang, Twister II (an old school style wooden coaster, the Half Pipe and other adrenaline rush inducing rides, Amy (my sister), Grandma Gay and I went on the Ghost Blaster ride, shooting at the targets in the ride with the laser guns.

It was also a chance to take some nice photos of Kaylah and Aleah. Aleah is a Snow White look alike with her lovely, soft skin and her deep,dark black hair.

The kids enjoyed the wave pool and the Pirate's Cove Water Playhouse. We went on lots of rides. Grandma Gay, Robert (my brother) and Aleah had enough and went home around 4:00. The rest of us were diehards, staying until the park closed.

Amy and I stayed for a bit of the Loverboy concert. She made me laugh when she said, "Tam, just imagine, this is our first concert together." Then about ten minutes later we both agreed that it was too loud, so we left.
We had a great time visiting while the kids went after every thrill. Little Ang was exhausted but refused to give in. He was a trooper, going to the very end. I imagine that he was asleep in the car even before we got to the main road. With a stay of about 12 hours, I am sure we got our money's worth from our time at Elitch's.

The Wonderful Nature of a Loving, Gentle Grandfather

Mowing Grandpa's lawn has been Ethan's job for many years. I don't even remember how old he was. It started because he broke a $1,100 window that had to be replaced. After he paid that off he saved for a computer. With Ethan away at camp this week, Ellie had a chance to step in and give it a go. She was nervous. The lawn is large and has a hill. She was worried that she would not do a good enough job. However, Grandpa reassured her that she would be great and that he would help her. And he did. He was oh so gentle and wonderful about it. He gave her instructions in small bits, made easy to understand remarks on how to improve and walked along with her the entire way. In the end the lawn looked great, Ellie was proud and the two of them became that much closer. I am so thankful for such a man in our lives.

A Creative Challenge Gets Me Scrappin' Digi Style

I love the Jessica Sprague site. I took her "Get Organized" class so that I would wrestle all of the digital elements I have into a manageable system. This week she is celebrating her 2nd blogiversary with a week long party full of freebies and daily challenges.

For her day three challenge she offered up 11 movie posters for inspiration. I was not so moved to take part yesterday, but today was a different story. I was enthralled with what I saw others do with the ideas so I jumped right in with photos from recent events.

I haven't even blog about Ethan's time at Hammer In, yet.

If you like mine, you ought to go over to the Jessica Sprague site and check out what other people created!

It has been energizing to find a little time to do something creative. I've been so busy with teaching online and trying to get the house deeply cleaned. I took a break from all of that yesterday so that I could take part in the Bike to Work day. It happens every third Wednesday in June. I did not actually ride to work, of course, but I wanted to get out and be in the middle of it all. I rode down to the REI Flagship and found a big party going on. There must have been about 200 people there. Stations were set up all over the city. Various organizations and businesses set up breakfast stations. Some even gave out a little schwag. At REI I had orange slices, played a bike related trivia game, got a few protein bars, a few stickers and some fun bike buttons. They gave me enough for each girl on our biking team. I was excited to share them. Ellie tells me nicely that those are an adult thing and that she does not expect the girls to actually want them. Oh well. I think they are loads of fun. I'll share them with the moms if the girls do not want them. At another station I got water and a special bag to keep cold things cold for a while. A couple of girls were on the trail with signs, clapping for every cyclist and pretending that we were having a Tour De Colorado. It was all silly, fast fun. It felt good to finally be on my bike again. It was so much fun that I think I might have over done it a bit as my muscles were a bit soar later in the day.

Now, I think I'll go back to scrapbooking...

Of Mountains, Trains, Leadership, Pack Horses and Departures - A Full Day

Yeah, we like to use our weekends to the fullest around here. Saturday was a grand exaple of that. We were up and out of the house just before 7:00 a.m. in order to get to the Mike Horgan Hill Climb in plenty of time. Ellie prefers having about an hour on site before her race starts. This was the first hill climb of the season, and it was a big one. The junior start out at Nederland High School, west of Boulder. The hill climb was just 3. miles, but the grade is quite steep most of the way. She was tired even before she began since she had around three sleep overs, a full day and evening at the amusement park and then another visit to Lakeside Amusement Park on Friday night. She was tired enough to not even feel much like a racer. She still did okay, coming in second place. She is usually faster than the girl who came in first place. She used to feel like she was good at hill climbing. Yesterday shook her confidence. She said, "Hill climbing is good for those who are tiny. I am not tiny anymore." More than half of how you perform is in your head so we will have to work on this one. This was a race that was an accomplishment, and not so fun. For much of the course it is a 17% grade. That doesn't sound like much, but it kicks more people's butts.

We had fun while we waited for results. She loves to chat with her friends. She and Dad also kidded around. She was silly and did not want to look at the camera for any of the photos.

Ethan did not do this race partly because I thought we would not have time for that and taking him to camp. It is also a much harder race for those who are 15+ years old. They start out in Boulder and race for 18 miles. That trek includes going up Magnolia Road, the steepest paved road in North America (or something like that - it's killer!) He elected to spend the time wandering around and adventuring in the woods.

After the race was over we took Ethan to Tahosa where he will be on the youth staff for week two of the Big Horn Leadership camp. He was pretty excited. He gets to be the head quartermaster. This means he is in charge of getting and handing out all of the stuff, including the food. This is the job he hoped for. I think he will also be teaching Pioneering (how to make stuff with logs and rope.) as well as Orienteering. We had fun getting ready for camp. Each day has a silly theme including Future day, Romans and Eguptians, Cowboys & Indians, Pirates and Ninja and Midieval days. He took a toy ray gun, a sheet for a toga, a whip, lots of pirate stuff and a few other things. I also made him a purple robe for a creepy campfire story about the Purple bishop who kills campers and wraps up their clothes in purple cloth. We made a purple robe and found purple glow sticks. He will then slink around in the woods after they learn about the story. The boys think it will be fun. I think he will have a grand time.


On the way home we took a detour to go and see the Moffat Tunnel. It is a cool spot that we have visited many times. Larr was hoping he might get a glimpse of a train coming through. As luck would have it, one happened through about ten minutes after we arrived. He had a blast taking lots of photos. Then we hoped in the van and raced to the intersections so we could watch it go by. My favorite was when they passed by on the bridge. The engineer smiled, waved and honked the horn. I love things like that. It made me feel like a kid again, with the thrill of the engine, the rush of excitement as it goes by. It makes me forget the dirty dishes that seem to be ever present in the kitchen sink or the dirty clothes in need of laundering that seem to multiply overnight. It helps me live in the moment.


Larr and I finished off the evening by seeing "Departures". It is a movie that I have been waiting to see for some time. It is a wonderful Japanese movie about a young Celloist who has to get a job and becomes a person who prepares people for creamation. It is a tender, funny and sad movie. It made us laugh and cry. I was spent by the time it was done. I would definately recommend that you see it, if you like subtitled movies.

The Glenwood Springs Omnium- A Weekend Adventure

While the boys were at Winter Park gallivanting, Ellie and I were having a grand and exciting time in Glenwood Springs. We drove up Friday afternoon, right after we went to the Disney "A Christmas Carol" Train Tour. It was fun, but that will wait for another day.

A family from the team there, Two Rivers Cycling, invited junior racers and their families to stay on their land in New Castle. We knew the boys, Evan and Ryan, from the races, but we didn't know them very well. We were singing along to loud music, looking for the turn off when we missed it. Out of the corner of her eye Ellie saw Evan and his little brother happily waving us down. We turned around and followed them up their long, country driveway. On the left we enjoyed the sights of horses and llamas grazing on tender grass, soaking in the sun. On the right lay an empty field. Straight ahead we spied a large garage with a curved driveway that was home to many pieces of heavy equipment. Ethan would have loved that part. Next to it was a lovely home with great stonework. Once we got out of the car it was a flurry of talking. Both boys were excited to have us arrive and wanted to show us absolutely everything. We met the dogs straight away. Buddy and Max had to make sure we were a-okay. Once we got the all clear tail wag we put the bike in the bike room and went off to meet the horses. This was followed by a more subtle greeting by the orange cat, Iatola. He decided we could be friends. I carried him around for a while as he purred, I petted and talked. I also got to hold a few of the chickens. I love chickens. These guys did not seem to mind being petted. Later we got the tent set up. Other people arrive. Some we knew, others were new to us. It was a lot more fun than camping alone in some remote spot.

The next morning I made french toast for all of the kids there using eggs freshly plucked from the nests and milk from a nearby farm. Ellie raced in the 2009 Colorado Road Race Championship. It was a thrilling race. She came back much quicker than I had expected. She whizzed by in a tight pack of about 12 racers. Ellie was locked in the middle and could not sprint. I could see concentration and frustration on her face. In the end she came in second place. The other girl, one she had not raced against before, beat her by about 3". It was killer. She was disappointed as she had saved enough energy to break out a sprint and get in front of the pack. She and her team mate Stephen had led the pack many times over the 15 mile course. They took their turns at pulling the line. Others never took the lead. A few times they even got a jump, but then was swallowed back into the crowd. Her friend Ariana took first in her class.



After the race was over we spent the afternoon at the Glenwood Springs Hot Springs pool. The kids had a blast. I relaxed and visited with Carrie, Ariana's mom. Next up was a huge and fun party back at the Lake's house. I think over 100 people showed up. We had tons to eat and lots of people to visit with. After the party was over we fell into our tent, exhausted. Carrie had to go to Keystone so Ariana stayed with us. This allowed her to race on Sunday.

Sunday was a more relaxed morning. I made breakfast for the kids again. This time I had a larger crowd. They ate, smiled and were all quick to say thank you. The races were good, but the out of town kids all seemed to move a bit slower on their bikes. I guess the swimming and the party took their toll.

Ellie came in second again, but this time it was not a close ending. Ariana came in second as well. The races for the older boys was super exciting. One of our guys was in the lead and then got a flat. There was a mad dash to get a wheel from the truck and switch it out. In the end that young man took second place, too. Between races I took a short walk and did a little window shopping. I loved looking in the windows for "A Passion for Picnics." They had such wonderful table linens. It is a good thing that they were closed. I might have been tempted. I also looked longingly into the quilting shop that I would visit later in the afternoon. I made my way to Scared Grounds for a drink. I enjoyed their framed cards and art from cloecards.com

They made me miss my down sweet pooch. The girls got lunch and ice cream. Then we went back to watch the pro races. We were pleased to see so many kinds of women in the pro women's race. Some were short power houses. Others were long and athletic looking. The men's race kept our attention the entire time.


We were on our way home quickly after the races ended. I thought the exhausted girls would fall into a sleep quickly. Instead, they played and made silly music videos. We all wished the weekend would not come to an end. We are already looking forward to next year's race.