First Colorado Saturday [two Saturdays before this, way back around 19 December], feeling pretty fine, we made it as far as the first gate up Dry Creek…
…then stopped by Dean’s to hear about painting and Venice and paintings in Venice…
Sunday despite sore feet Aggie and I ventured further upcreek but L., who’d been shoveling snow, turned back with Lefty…
At the second gate I too turned back, to edit fotos, start studio explorations and load ice chests for the morrow’s expedition…
Early Monday down the dirt and up the Interstate to Tinseltown Mall in Pueblo for the 9:30 showing of “Star Wars, the Franchise Awakens”, which is lots of fun and touches on each and every trope of the original, bigger and better of course and, as aforesaid, lots of fun. Unlike “Fury Road”, whose sequels only George Miller can imagine, the product-placing Disney guys are pretty obvious about what exactly will be next, and when, even if some of the action figures reached stores before the cutting room floor. Dunno if I’ll be back next installment to see the first female Jedi, but it’s obvious both Mark and Carrie can use the work and may the farce be with them. Anyway, lots of fun, followed by shopping, but where’s my 1:24 diecast Gigahorse replica? Not in the Obama Booth at Jorge’s, though the the pork and avocado burritos were as good as ever…Pueblo, Pueblo…
We were home well before dark and over the saddle to Leon’s Solstice Party which, unlike its more inclusive predecessors, was this year attended mostly by local growers. Once the many potluck dishes stranded in the kitchen were brought to the attention of those wrecked in the rec room things became temporarily livelier, a fun if strange evening, ending pleasantly buzzed from breathing the airs [not shown] for the walk back over the hill.
Tuesday we went a little further up the creek, then dropped in on the Post Office’s Bad Pam for a dose of her unpleasant recalcitrance…
…this aggravation on our way to Shii Koeii Farm did not dampen our enjoyment of a walk in the winter gardens and lavish lunch with Mark, Val and their sweet young intern Jean [soon returning to Georgia to start a farm of her own], the conversation wide-ranging, left-veering and, at the end, Bad Pam-bashing. Apparently we are not the only humans her idiot ways dismay.
After lunch we returned by way of the P.O. to collect our morning packages, which according to the BP’s inflexible and arbitrary ‘rules’ are never available until after HER lunch, then home.
Christmas Eve Day to La Veta about the sore feet…
…and back across Yellowstone to the P.O. where the Good Pam [both our postalians are named Pam], full of Christmas cheer, had…
la dee da, three paquetes for us, and home in time for lunch.
Christmas Eve was dinner with two dear friends, two ducks, two sparkling wines, an as always excellent Pleiades red, and much much more, wrapping up the evening with eccentric music videos [none shown] from the former Eastern Bloc…
…a light snow falling as they were leaving, a heavy pile of dishes within…
Christmas Day came up cold, crisp, windy and bright…we opened some surprising and unexpected presents,
… took a very abbreviated walk and while skyping the kids [not shown, either] were treated to snow flurries,
…all of which quickly blew off, followed by duck quesadillas.
Then up to the cold studio – door was left open, another story – Christmas Day finally ending with Christmas Eve ducks redux and a quiet evening. A Merry one for all!
Next morning ten at nine and fifteen by noon, allegedly heading for twenty;
And after, afternoon Saturday studio, snowing, snowing; Terje Rypdal’s “Odyssey” on the not-quite-perfect ipod and myriad ravens raving about among the piñons…
Sunday cleared off bright and cold and sparkly; we waited to walk…
…then went to the forest and back gingerly in snow-over-ice…
Monday it’s all of eighteen, again wait until eleven to walk a little bit into the Big Woods…
Snow disappears despite the low temps, and least on the southern exposures…
L. finally finishes her extremely labor-intensive re-visitations of Soft Toys and packs them away for their trip East, ending the Sewing Machine Saga [maintenance including but not limited to ministrations from a vintage hair dryer] for the moment…
…and so…
Happy New Year, happening pretty quick here…already, in fact.
M