August in Review...

Hello my dear friends,

So I'll bet you are wondering just where has this French Laundry chick been?  August is kaput!  She posted ONCE.  What happened?  Well, for starters, we went on vacation...see if you can guess where???

Nope, not the beach...but it is the tallest sand dune in North America.  And it is right here in the state of Colorado.  The Great Sand Dunes National Park was one of our stops on a week long grand tour of southwestern Colorado. 

The kids loved it...nothing better than running full speed and jumping off of the huge dunes.

We did some hiking at some beautiful places like Maroon Bells outside of Aspen.

 

And Lost Lake in the Grand Mesa National Forest...check out that aqua water!  It really was that color.

 

The pups came along and did pretty darn good.  Momma Bella...

And even Diego, aka Little Bit...who in their right minds travels with a 12 week old puppy?  Seriously, who?  We OBVIOUSLY are not in our right minds!

I enjoyed getting reacquainted with our beautiful state.

Some of the many cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park.  These amazing structures are over 1000 years old.

We visited Bishop's Castle.  It's an interesting story.  You can read about it here.  One man, working for over 40 years building his castle...

There's even a dragon.  He presides over the castle.

We came home for a few days and cleaned like fiends getting ready for my brothers' visit and then came the first day of school.  Could my boys be more excited?  Really?  Is it possible?

A couple of days after school started, the much anticipated visit of my brothers arrived.  My bros and their wives came down from Texas to celebrate my birthday.  I turned FIFTY.  50.  The big 5-0.  Began my 6th decade of life.  Over the hill.  SHREEK!!!

Despite the slightly disconcerting nature of the number, it was a WONDERFUL birthday.  We had a great dinner at a local Italian place.  My whole immediate family, my 2 brothers and their wives, and my BFF and her husband shared the day with me...I feel so blessed.

We did a lot of this in the couple of days the siblings were here...

We took in the local sights such as Garden of the Gods, one of my favorite places in Colorado Springs.

The uncles took pictures of the nephews...

We took pictures of each other...

Mr. FL reminded me of one of the many reasons I love him...

He loves our kiddos and I love him.

And a good time was had by all.  They returned to Texas and we enjoyed a second bloom of many of our flowers in our garden and enjoyed the cooler weather that almost always seems to come with the arrival of August.

And that, my dear friends, is where August went.  Time flies when you're having fun.  I hope to get back into the groove of posting and sharing with you some of the many ideas that are rattling around in my head.  I hope my U.S. friends have a lovely long weekend and the rest of you have a great normal weekend.  Enjoy the weather while it lasts...and look for beauty everywhere.  It is all around you.

Until next time,

A little older and hopefully, a little wiser.  LOL!

Art, Puppies, and Birthdays...

Hello my dear blogging friends,

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted.  Wassup with that???  I apologize for the random musings, but I just have been in a real blogging doldrums.  Nothing I particularly have to share that I think would be of much interest.  I know we all go through this from time to time, so I know this too shall pass.  One thing I do want to share is the beautiful mixed media art book I got from the very talented Judy McCallum.  She is from Bakersfield, CA and she is an amazing artist.  This book makes me so happy just to look at it.  Makes me want to go play in my studio instead of just organizing it (yes, STILL). Enjoy looking at some of the beautiful pages she has made with fabric and lace...yum!

Part of my busy-ness as of late is with regard to my little sweet pea Bella.  Bella the Yorkshire Terrier had a visit with a Yorkie gentleman friend back in March (on purpose) and the result was...

These two precious ones.  A little girl who, after about 24 hours of life, had to try to explore every inch of their pen, gaining her the temporary name of "Dora the Explorer".  Her brother, by default, became "Diego".

They were so cute.  My house smells like doggie pee, but it has been fun.

We had a deal with the stud's parents that in lieu of a stud fee they would get a puppy.  We were going to sell the second pup. 

Yeah, like that happened.  Diego is now a part of the family.  My house still smells like dog pee, but I love the little stinker and this too shall pass (the doggie pee smell, not the love for the doggie).  Moving on to more random, unrelated thoughts, once a year, in August, I always try to buy some pretty gladiolas as they seem to be cheap and they are my birth month flowers. 

This birthday is a big one-holy cow!  I am taking a week off work to "celebrate".  I am actually excited as my two brothers and their wives are coming up from Texas to help me commemorate the 50th anniversary of my natal event .  One has only once before been to this house when he was in Denver for business (drove down for dinner) and the other one has never been (yes, I actually have been here 13 years-time flies).  We've seen each other, just in Texas at my dad's before he passed away and at their homes, but I am very excited to have my ELDER siblings come to visit me.  So, I know I am rambling about nothing in particular, but I hope you have found something that will make you want to come back.  I love reading your comments and while I am sometimes very slow at responding, know that I read and cherish every one.  I hope to be able to share some pictures of my eldest son's room which has been a work in progress as well.

Until next time,

Linking up with:
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Feather Your Nest Friday