Argo the movie

We could have chosen to go to the new James Bond movie that opened this weekend but instead of fighting the crowds went to see Argo since it has been getting such good reviews.
We enjoyed it a lot and it brought back memories of the Iran hostage crisis. It is based on the real life events. I was pregnant with Phillip when the hostages were finally released in January of 1980 after being held for 444 days. It was a very tense time for our nation. http://www.fandango.com/argo_v542623/plotsummary

I only vaguely remember hearing that some other Americans escaped with the help of the Canadian embassy where they had secretly fled. They apparently escaped also with significant help of the CIA and one man in particular who risked his life to go in and bring them home all under the guise of looking for a middle east location to film a science fiction fantasy film.

It was all an elaborate hoax but it worked! There is language in the movie and a few glimpses of violence for which it got an R rating but it is still very worthwhile to see.

They also really nailed the clothing and glasses and hairstyles of that era. If our children want a glimpse of their parents era go to see the movie or rent it for that alone.

Our Busy Girl

We had a wonderful visit with our granddaughter and her parents last weekend. Callie is 18 months old and is quite a busy girl these days. She runs and climbs and even participates in a gymnastics class. One of her favorite things to do is to run and fall into her inflatable swimming pool full of plastic balls. She does this in her nice big family/playroom room downstairs. 

We had the pleasure of accompanying her and her mama to the park for some playtime and watched her climb the big long ramp up to the slide over and over and slide down by herself. She’s not a baby anymore really. She’s one of the kiddos. It is fun to see her paying attention to and interacting with the other kids.

She also has a fascination these days with figuring out how things work like the latches on buckles and on her swing at home. She will work and work at it until she can hold the ends and make it click together and then want it unlatched so she can try it again.

She can very plainly say uh-huh when you ask her if she wants to do something or have something and she also will plainly tell you nooooh if she doesn’t want it. I figured out when I got home that she speaks with an Irish dialect. Here is a sentence from a book I am reading by Jan Karon set in Ireland. “My da was a builder, I grew up with a hammer an’ saw.” Callie calls her daddy da too. Maybe someday soon she will add another syllable but for now he is just da.  

The Builder

I have a weekly date so to speak with my grandson. I babysit while his parents go to their small group. Sometimes S. is able to come too but sometimes he has meetings for our church that night. As long as I don’t have to drive on icy roads there and back I am a happy camper. In just two weeks time Maverick has gone from figuring out that his mega blocks (like Legos only bigger) fit together and can come apart to being able to sit there and build them up into a tower and search for the ones he wants to use next.

It also surprises me how it holds his attention. He sat there for a good twenty minutes building, first putting them together then taking them apart over and over again. I tried to get some pictures of him. He is not sure about the flash on my camera so he stares while waiting for it if he sees me get it out.  I asked him to smile once and he squinted up his eyes funny but I didn’t capture it.

He was in his jammies and wanted to play with the blocks rather than read books which is usually what he likes to do at bedtime.

We got to see our granddaughter build a tower out of blocks the other night on Skype. Just regular blocks but she stacked them to 7 or 8 high before they fell. These kiddos are growing up too fast!

Last look at the window boxes and pots

I took a few pictures to preserve the memory of our window boxes and pots this summer. They didn’t get pounded down to a pulp by hail for once, so they grew tall and lush thanks to the Miracle Grow. The only ones that are still around are the two that sit in front of the garage and can be pulled in to the garage at night.

I picked all the green tomatoes before the first big freeze a couple weeks ago and put them all in brown paper bags to ripen slowly in the garage. It’s working! Wednesday we had a homegrown tomato to eat on our tacos.

The wind has been ferocious the past few days a true sign of fall and winter. The wind even blew over a rather heavy park bench that has been sitting out in the backyard. Ugh!

Last Hike of the Season?

On Saturday we tried out another new trail in the Roosevelt National Forest near the Red Feather Lakes in northern Colorado. We had researched it on the Just trails website at http://www.justtrails.com/trails/mount-margaret/ and thought it looked promising. That website has been so helpful and is written by a young couple from Laramie. It has photos of what the trail heads look like and comments about how difficult the trail is and what to expect. Obviously it is only applicable to our particular region of the country but it is a great resource. You locate the vicinity you might like to hike and then click on the “pins” to get more information on the particular trails.

We located the Mount Margaret trail head and intended to just go a little ways to see how we liked the trail. We arrived after lunch and most people both hikers and horseback riders were on their way back having started out earlier. The parking lot was mostly full of cars as was a separate area for horse trailers.

We ended up going a couple miles in and back. We connected to a trail over to Lake Dowdy because we  wanted to see the lake. It would have taken another mile and a half to get to Mount Margaret and it was clouding up and starting to rain.

The trail was very easy but did go up and down following the terrain. There weren’t any rocks or boulders to climb over so it would even work with a jogging or big wheeled stroller.

We wondered if any of the aspens still had leaves and did see several groves of the golden leaves in more sheltered spots. Many leaves have already fallen and the wind and cold predicted for the next few days will probably strip the rest off.

After seeing the shore of Lake Dowdy we hurried our way back to the car and I did have to put on my rain jacket and S. put on his emergency poncho due to some light rain showers. The trail is nicely maintained and marked. The outhouse is new and clean and doesn’t smell. Yay!

We crossed one little bridge over a stream but otherwise the trail just meanders through the quiet still forest. There was only one other car left at the trail head when we got back in the late afternoon. Another enjoyable hike but maybe the last one as the season is changing. Our weather forecast is for highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's for the next few days.

This trail is not close to the High Park burn area from the fire this summer but on the drive up there you can see the northernmost part of the burn area off in the distance to the south. It will be an ugly scar for years.

Sweet Home Charlotte

I returned Saturday from a short trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, my first visit ever. What a contrast to where I live, here people have to plant and nurture every tree that grows because they do not naturally grow except along the river beds. In Charlotte forests thrive and must be cleared in order to build streets and neighborhoods. Trees line just about every street and boulevard and in the older neighborhoods form a beautiful canopy over the roads. There seem to be many broad leaf varieties and some pines. I noticed acorns and walnuts crunching underfoot in many of the parking lots with trees around. The large trees also make for some blind curves and difficulty reading street signs when driving around.

Charlotte has a beautiful skyline and wonderful amenities for its residents like a light rail line system into Uptown and opportunities for many outdoor and cultural activities as well as sporting events. It is attracting many young professionals as a banking center and there are many transplants here from other regions. Southern hospitality can still be noticed in the friendly and relaxed way that people interact. The local realtor couldn’t have been kinder in devoting her time to giving us a two day tour of the neighborhoods. The local servers chatted and answered questions about the cuisine. What a great place to live!

E #2 will be leaving Colorado this week to start her new career there. Here are some photos of the area with the last ones of her new home in a condo on the upper level looking out over the woods and pool. Photos include: the leaf canopy over a street, some homes in the historic area, Uptown skyscrapers with Em, welcome sign, whitewater center, her new office, and finally her new place.