Steamboat Springs

We had a delightful time in Steamboat this weekend. I will be posting pictures/stories for the rest of this week.

Whenever we go to the ranch I feel a compulsion to take a lot of pictures. Steamboat Springs has changed so much just in the last 10 years that I've been going, and it feels like there is a way of life that is being lost. More restaurants, hotels, and traffic and fewer glimpses into the agricultural origins of the town. Skiing and tourism have run out most of the family farms and ranches. BILs family has been in the valley since the late 1800s so they have deep roots, but the way they run their business will eventually have to change. There's no way around it. So every time I go I try to document their life as it is now so there's a record.

I'm no Pioneer Woman, but I'm doing my part to maintain an account of ranching life in the Yampa Valley.

Big Boy

A few days old and seven weeks premature, then one year later with his great-grandma.

St. Patty's In Review

Nephew turned one--he's officially a big boy now! We'll be seeing him this weekend at his big boy birthday party that he'll be sharing with my grandmother, who turns 85 on Friday.

My cousin, her husband, and their four children were in town for the night. They live in Mozambique so it was a rare treat to see them. We had our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner followed up with a viewing of The Incredibles while the adults got caught up. It was such a fun evening! The Mister and I need to plan a trip to Africa. Their descriptions of Cape Town, in particular, were intriguing.

Image via UpNorth Memories

Holidays Abbreviated

We're leaving on Wednesday so we're trying to fit in as much family and friend time as possible before Christmas. Last night was quality time with the Nephew (and his parents, but they're just the vehicle by which Nephew is transported for quality time with Auntie), today with Best Friend and In-Laws, tomorrow night with some folks from church. Getting together with Mom and Middle Sister when we return in January. The to do list is getting shorter and the suitcase is getting heavier--almost time to leave!

The photo is from Paddington, the neighborhood with Sister-In-Law lives.

Photo by aschmidt1978

Happy Birthday!

Father-in-Law's seventh birthday was on Pearl Harbor Day. (In a strange coincidence, the Mister's aunt, Mother-in-Law's sister, was born that day.) The family had the radio turned off for Father-in-Law's birthday party so the family didn't hear about the bombing until the next day. Several members of the Mister's family served in the war or have had a lifelong interest in the war. Father-in-Law taught Modern European History (specializing in WW2) at Metro State for 30+ years. His textbook is still in publication. A couple of his brothers served in the war. The Mister's cousin is an amateur historian and has three books published about the war in the Pacific(here, here and here). I have found, on more than one occasion, that my love for history has come in handy at family gatherings!

Happy birthday, Father-in-Law!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you have a lovely holiday! We're at the in-law's on Thursday and hosting at our house on Saturday. I'll be doing the bird using the Real Simple recipe that has never failed me. The crescent roll dough is in the fridge (homemade--I'm a snob), the pickle assortment has been purchased, and the napkins are in the washer right now. We're just about ready!

Just a few of the things I am grateful for:

• The Mister, who has been my rock during a very difficult year.
• My family.
• The roof over our heads--after years of moving it's so nice to know that I don't have to stockpile copy paper boxes! Although, I am finding it's a hard habit to kick...

Home on the Range

The Mister and I are off to Steamboat for the weekend to visit Little Sister and BIL. We have a hectic weekend of nephew-cuddling, hiking, BBQing, and sleeping in planned.

BIL's family has been ranching in the Yampa Valley since the late 1800s. His Grandma is the Grand Dame of Steamboat and is regularly profiled in magazines and newspapers. BIL's family is committed to preserving the ranching traditions in an area that has very quickly become a popular tourist destination and a town where you have to have at least a million dollars to get into the housing market. Here are a few pictures:

Little Sister and BIL got married in the meadow. This is where they had their ceremony.

The cows live on some very valuable and beautiful real estate.

This is the original homestead (built in the late 1800s). It's known as "The Bunkhouse". Little Sister and BIL lived there for a year before they bought their house. You can see the chinking in between the logs. It's heated in the winter by a cute little cast iron stove.


This is one of the barns on the property. It's in a bad state so they use it only for hay storage. BIL hangs Christmas lights off of it during the winter because you can see it from across the valley.

I will take more pictures this weekend. Grandma's house (the main building) has a wonderful story and history, too. Then of course there's the hot springs, the marmots, T-bone the crazy ranch dog...it's a good thing our camera holds lots of pictures!

Mother's Day in Photos

Arrived

The peonies are here! I stopped at Whole Foods yesterday and bought a bunch to make my own Mother's Day floral arrangement. Pictures coming...

I'm hosting my mother and MIL on Sunday for a tea party. It's a perfect event for chocolate chip scones, so I'll be whipping up a batch of those tonight. My recipe is loosely based on Ina's classic.

Photo found here.

Here We Come

We bought tickets to Australia last night! Our credit card is whimpering but we're so excited I can ignore that. Sister-in-Law and future Brother-in-Law live in Sydney, so we're going to visit them over Christmas. How am I going to wait 8 months? I'm not good at waiting…

Photo found here.

Good News

My nephew was born last Monday, on St. Patrick's Day! Little Sister gave birth 7 weeks early, so Nephew took us all by surprise. The Mister and I were able to go visit him in Steamboat on Friday. He's very small, 4 lbs. 10 oz., but he's making progress in leaps and bounds. We're so blessed!

Loss

A decision has been made that has left me reeling. I am devastated, and while everyone else in the family seems to be moving on, moving forward, I feel stuck. Left behind. There's this ache in my chest that's been there for three months and doesn't ever move or get better. I keep wondering what would have happened if a different decision had been made here, or different words had been said there, but I have also known deep inside for a long time that this was the outcome we were headed for. This wave has been building, finally smashing into me, washing over me, and I am barely able to keep my head above water.

In the interest of good mental health and recovery, I've been trying to take good care of myself. Getting regular sleep and exercise, writing, sewing, spending time with people who will listen and care. The Mister has been a huge help, so has Henrietta. This weekend was one of the last hurdles of the transition into our new family life, so I'm hoping now to move forward with the rest of the family. To start swimming instead of treading water.

Image via geishaboy500

What I'm Reading

Father-in-Law gave me books he was done with a few weeks ago. He was a modern European history professor for 30+ years, so his collection is heavy on World War I and II. Started Back to the Front last night and was immediately intrigued by the term "accidental historian". I think I've seen it somewhere else, but I can't be sure. Certainly most of what I do could be deemed "accidental"; many of the topics I'm currently interested in came about as I was reading/researching something else. There was the Civil War phase, then the Florence Nightingale phase, then the Abraham Lincoln phase, then a random jump to World War II, Winston Churchill, the Russian Front, then the Romanovs...many other phases...now World War I!

Grandpa

My grandpa died last Thursday, July 12th. My parents, sisters, and the Mister and I were all there as he slipped away. We held his hand, praying and singing, as his heartbeat slowed and his breathing became shallow. His passing was beautiful, loving, peaceful, and painful all at the same time. It was such a privilege to be there and know that he wasn't alone; he was with people who loved him.

At his funeral service yesterday the minister told all of us to collect stories about him from the other people who had come to pay their respects. I didn't do this with as much focus as I should have, because I didn't feel like I had the emotional reserves to keep myself together, but I did hear some good tidbits.

Everyone talked about how kind he was. How generous he was. About the twinkle in his eye. He took a second job so my mom and uncle would have some of the "luxuries" like a special gift at Christmas. He was instrumental in getting cabins built for a camp up in the mountains. He drove for Meals on Wheels. He drove a local pastor to and from his doctor's appointments when the pastor's MS got too bad. He did numerous odd jobs around our house, building the fence, constructing steps next to our steep driveway, and fixing anything mom needed taken care of.

All of my friends adored him. People I haven't seen in five or six years still ask about him. Another uncle (related by marriage) remembers traveling through Colorado in the early 70s and staying with Grandma and Grandpa. Their car broke down while they were there, so Grandpa loaned them his beloved baby blue Bronco so they could explore the mountains while their car was being repaired.

We heard a lot about that Bronco. My fondest memories of childhood involve riding in it to go on some grand adventure. He loved to go four-wheeling. He loved towing the trailer on the back and going "camping". My mom's uncle said that he was always confident they could get that trailer through some of the most impossible terrain. Mom remembers several times when Grandma got too nervous and she would get out and walk while Grandpa took that Bronco to its limits. We all loved to hear Grandma squeal his name when we'd go around a corner and see what we were going to attempt next. I think I still have dents in my knee from Grandma's grip.

During the course of his career, Grandpa was a school bus driver, mechanic, and Director of Transportation for the school district. Several of the women who came yesterday were former bus drivers. I was surprised to see so many women and mom said Grandpa found them to be better drivers. He especially liked to hire farmer's wives because they were familiar with heavy equipment and knew how to handle the buses. He took pride in his work.

When I married my husband I think I also married, in some ways, my grandpa. They have similar personalities. Their walk is identical. They are strict about attention to detail and doing things right. They think before they speak.

He golfed. He fished. He walked every day until the Parkinsons took that away. He climbed Mt. St. Helens when he was almost 70 years old. He loved pecan sticky buns, Dairy Queen, and Jim Beam. He loved me.

I miss my Gamba.

Just Finished

Stayed up too late last night to finish The Memory Keeper's Daughter. My goal is to read 52 books by December 31st--I was inspired by my cousin's goal to read 100. So far I'm pretty far behind schedule because the most intriguing books right now are the ones that are loooooonnnnnnnggg.

I enjoyed this book, there are some unexpected twists, but I don't think I'll read it again. Hey, I have an idea! Maybe I'll send it to my cousin....so she can fall behind on her reading goal, too!

RIP

My folks have a small assortment of animals on their property just outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming. About a month ago they had to put the dog down as she was very old and starting to suffer. Last weekend they had to put one of the goats down as he was sick and not going to recover. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love dogs and goats, so it's been a rough month. My tribute to Little the Goat*:
Fortunately, Mom and Dad still have Big* (the other goat) and the llama, Molly Mocha.

I'm still trying to figure out how to steal one of those cute baby goats from the petting zoo at the Stock Show in January. I'm willing to create the distraction, I just need someone to put the goat under their shirt and run. The Mister wants nothing to do with this plan, and that makes me sad. He has no sense of adventure.

* I take no responsibility for these names. My sister named them and she's lost all naming rights for eternity as a result. The llama came with her name, so there was no arguing about that.