ghost bike, pensive pets, alcohol fail

I was thinking I might go for a quick bicycle jaunt to the library, but it's sunny and 97 degrees, so i said "nah". I realize 97 doesn't sound so bad to many, but here, it's a whine worthy temperature. I opted to stay here in my dark house, measuring 77 degrees. No need to turn on the AC just yet.

We did get out for a coffee walk earlier, so I haven't been totally holed up like a cavewoman. 

SOURCE

• Speaking of bicycle jaunts, [a woman bicyclist was killed] last week in a local traffic mishap. I've been following the story as it happened at an intersection undergoing a construction project. I had biked through the area about an hour before the tragic accident.

So far, from everything I've heard about it, the woman did everything right. She dismounted her bicycle, she was led through the intersection by one of the construction workers. Still, she was hit by one of the trucks involved in the project. So strange.

There's an ongoing investigation. Bottom line, she's gone.

• I happened to be in that area because I was feeding Wolfgang's cat again last week. Wolfgang and Meego traveled to California to visit my in-laws. Chaco was there too as he had come out for a little over two weeks and had a preplanned trip to visit his CA friends.

Ella on a walk,
prior to the dreaded BOOMs

Meanwhile, we were the pet sitters. Chaco's dog, Ella, stayed with us. She does NOT like fireworks.

Fireworks are illegal here, especially in lieu of half the state currently being on fire. But that never stops the criminals.

So it was nice to spend some time with Chaco. A lot of his time was spent working at his local office and visiting friends, but we got quality time in as well.

• The five of us did make it up to Helms Deep - our property in the hills. Helms Deep is what we call it, so that's it's real name as well as it's blog name, so be it.

It was nice having the extra muscle to do some trail bustin'. We haven't been up since because... well... whining about the heat again.

• Lastly, Magnum and I have proven, once again, that we are failures at alcoholism. We had somehow amassed a collection of undrunk beers - bottles and cans. We just don't drink the stuff at home. Some of it was leftover from potlucks that ended up at our house. Others, we'd bought thinking we'd drink it. Pffft.

I pondered if there was a way to donate it, but food pantries don't accept alcoholic beverages. I mentioned it at work yesterday, wondering if maybe the college food pantry would take it. But we're pretty sure they wouldn't. Then Party Girl mentioned her drinking running group had an upcoming camping trip and would gladly take the cans. Problem solved!

We also had a few bottles of Modelo in stash. I checked the expiry date - November of freaking 2024?!

Down the hatch drain.

That's the end of the two years beers.

 

unexplained

I was in the math center a week ago, happily tuting away, when I looked up and saw a printout posted on a bulletin board. In the middle of the flyer was a photo of adjunct instructor and fellow tutor, Greg.

I thought, "Oh, what's this? We doing instructor of the month or something?"

Then I noticed the "In Loving Memory of"

WHAAT? I was shocked. Friendly, mellow, patient Greg? Passed away??

I had no idea. Neither did many of the others I talked with. He never looked unwell or in any discomfort. He was, I'm guessing, mid 60s, and seemed quite healthy. Loved his grandkids, enjoyed golfing...

Magnum says maybe it's one of those cancers you don't know about until the end. Maybe?

Still feels strange to think I won't be chatting with him anymore. My colleagues in testing were equally shook.

• Speaking of testing, I worked last Saturday with Party Girl. It was a busy day with lots of annoying little fires needing extinguishing. I didn't get much catching up with her until we were closing up. What's with all these people and their issues? Didn't they know I had Party Girl tea to catch up on??

But I did know that she was in a much peppier mood when I worked with her on Friday and then Saturday than she'd been the week before. Things are not great at her dad's facility, but minisculy improved. She's given her husband the what for, and he's taking note. No more mention of her moving out, making him buy her a house.

In short, he's having what seems to be an emotional affair with a long ago girlfriend - The One Who Got Away - from back in high school before his first wife (Party Girl is wife number 2). They talk on the phone and text regularly. I don't know if she lives nearby, but he should pick a lane.

• Speaking of picking a lane, I'm going to lay it all out with my PEO chapter at our upcoming meeting that people either need to step up and take an office or we don't have a chapter anymore. Sad but true. I'm not going to keep us afloat for another year just so we're in this same boat next February. We'll see how it goes.

But I'll be patient and calm and caring. 

It's what Greg would do.

wintering

Back to work tomorrow after a 2-week hiatus. Part of me is chomping to get back to being a somewhat productive member of society, another part of me is thinking, "y'know? I could get used to this".

At least it will be an easy transition since tutoring won't get going for about another month, I just have my teeny schedule in testing. The new person can't start this week as originally planned, so I got two extra shifts until she starts next week.

The weather has been so mild here. Magnum and I went for a longish bicycle ride today. We were just going to ride for coffee, which we did. It was so nice out, we decided to take the long way home, which we did. It was SO nice out, I talked him into taking a longer long way home. Surely, this won't last.

So we have warmth, no snow. It did get cold enough last week for the ponds to freeze over. I got this pic of my goose neighbors waiting for the morning thaw out.

Speaking of enjoying the outdoors, a woman was hiking nearby on New Years day and ended up getting [killed by a mountain lion]. So tragic, and it's terrifying to think what her last moments were like.

Stay safe, please!

June parade, and Grinch no more

Last weekend, I volunteered at a happy/sad event. Happy/sad because it was well attended fun meant to raise awareness after tragedy.

[Ollie's Bike Parade] is a charity organization that grew out of the death of 10-year-old Oliver Stratton. Ollie was killed after he was hit, while riding his bicycle, by a woman who was texting while driving. She received the maximum penalty of...drum roll... one year of work release. Talk about salt on a wound.

This was the second annual Ollie's Bike Parade. It was a beautiful day featuring lots of vendors, food trucks, lots of cute kids and their families, and yes, a cute and colorful bike parade around the CSU campus. The organization is about raising awareness and advocating for stiffer penalties for those who choose to text while driving.

And of course, there were somber reminders

Fifty-five ghost bikes representing 55 traffic related deaths of bicyclists in Colorado in 2024. Those children's bikes are the hardest to fathom. Sheesh, there was a tricycle among them!

Another large tent featured stories and mementos of several victims. It included pedestrians and motorcyclists as well. Ollie's ghost bike was in that tent.

Now, I've driven in the area where Ollie was hit. It's a residential area with wide streets, high visibility, and homes of young families. It's almost like one would have to go out of their way to collide with anything, let alone a person.

Yeah, don't text and drive. Please.

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Speaking of advocates, Grandboss is on my A-list now.

In the past, I've whined here about Grandboss. He's the biggest sufferer of Main Character Syndrome I think I've ever known. Woe to anyone who gets caught in one of his super boring stories about himself.

Apparently, I started working for him in June of 2021. I don't work as much in testing as I used to as I've gone more over to the tutoring side of things, but I'm still a "valued employee" of the testing center according to Greatgrandboss - my boss's boss's boss - Grandboss's boss.

Each month Greatgrandboss sends out emails to our organization, recognizing anyone with work anniversaries, so I made the June announcement... kinda.

Yeah, he totally misspelled my name. Both first AND last. He closed with:

"This group of employees brings so much positive energy in our spaces! We appreciate you and we’re glad you are here!"

So all of us in the testing center are having a good laugh at Greatgrandboss's blunder (because really, who makes a big deal about these anniversary emails?) when Grandboss chimes in on our team chat

Fully making fun of Greatgrandboss, but more importantly... he noticed.

Admittedly, my last name is often misread. 

My last name is Barker

Okay, be honest. What did you read?  Did you read Baker? Look again.

I've had this problem my whole married life.

Greatgrandboss went above and beyond, however, by mispelling my first name too! Yet, not only did Grandboss catch the error right away, he quickly informed Greatgrandboss about the mistake, and Greatgrandboss sent me a follow-up email, dripping with apology. 

Afterwards, I felt toward Grandboss like the grinch. You know the scene...

We'll see how many boring stories it takes to shrink my heart back, but I'm not holding my breath.

shooting star and a limp biscuit

Lately, I've been contemplating how much longer I wish to stay on working at the testing center. I've been slowly increasing my tuting while simultaneously decreasing the testing. They are two distinct positions at the college - two different bosses, two different pay buckets. 

I'm now down to two short shifts per week in testing plus the Saturday rotations. I enjoy tutoring more, which does coincidentally pay a little better. I'm coming up on four years at the testing center. It was the job that got me in the door at the college, and I picked up the math tutoring later, after getting to know some of the "math people". 

I'm actually a bit surprised at how many students sign up for in-person tutoring with all the other resources at their disposal. But there seems to be no shortage of requests, and I can seemingly add more hours at any time.

Test administration is fine, but truth be told, there is little to no creativity in that job. I do enjoy my coworkers. All of us part timers are similar in that we have other things going on, and don't wish to work in testing full time. All of us except for Star.

Star, as I've mentioned before, is young, intelligent, hard-working, without many obligations outside of work. It was a mystery to me as to why she was languishing at this part-time job, and now I get it. I get it, because she's announced she's leaving to accept a full time admin offer from a nearby medical research center. I realize she was building up her administrative experience to enable her to move on to bigger and better things.

So, good for her! Her last day working with us was yesterday, and it was certainly bittersweet. I'll miss her but I'm super happy for her. 

Thursday morning, I arrived for my short shift to find Sarge running around, still getting things set up while testers were starting to show up.

"You opened by yourself?", I asked

"Yeah, Boss texted", he explained, "Biscuit (Boss's cat) lost the use of his back legs. Boss is taking him to the kitty ER"

Well, that didn't sound good. Sure enough, Boss texted us a short time later. Biscuit had a big ol' stroke, so Boss had him put down and sent for aquamation, a process I was unfamiliar with before Biscuit.

Bottom line, it's probably not the best time to tell Boss I'm gonna leave.

In other news, the PEO year came to a close and the new year has begun. I agreed to stay on as Prez for one more year. ONE more. Magnum and I visited the big greenhouse down the road last weekend, and I picked up these little plants of appreciation for the other officers from the past year.

They are drought resistant, we'll see how long we can keep them alive.

New slate of officers heading back to the philanthropy trenches:

weekend mash-up

I'm nursing yet another spider bite. A couple of weeks ago, I had three - count 'em, three - spider bites at various locations on my head. Annoying, itchy, oozy things. I assume a spider was in my bicycle helmet when I unknowingly put it on? Then it had a munch fest?

Friday morning, I woke up with another telltale bump. This one on my chin. It has oozed for the last couple of days, and I think we're almost done, but sheesh.

Us at our flashiest

Magnum and I racked up another year of wedded bluster bliss this week. That makes 33 of them so far. Egads! 

No big celebratory antics, just mutual acknowledgement and back to it. We're both so dang low maintenance, and that's probably the biggest factor in our "success".

In this week's news, certainly the devastating fires of Maui caught our attention. We've had our fair share of scary wildfire in Colorado, and I think of Hawaii as being in the tropics and not as susceptible, but, sadly, no.

And on a local sad note, the local bike club planted yet another ghost bike. This one a memorial for a 10-year-old boy. 

Heartbreaking. 

Ghost bikes shouldn't be this small.

The work week ahead looks good with Boss and Assistant Boss away at a conference. I honestly can't imagine how one fills a whole week at a Testing Conference, but they're off on their adventure, and maybe the mice will play.

Fall semester classes begin a week from tomorrow. *WHOOSH* ← The sound summer makes as it leaves the chat.

in search of

"He's somebody you should get to know... It's worth it"

I've been following news coverage of the search for a missing young man in the Colorado wilderness. He's been missing for over two weeks now, so it doesn't look like there'll be a happy ending. He went out for a trail run and never came back. His car and phone have been found, but no sign of him.

Other than this blog, I don't really participate in social media. I have accounts on f4cebook, 1nstagram, P!nterest, R3ddit, but mostly just lurk. Never been a tweeter.

I have an app - Strava - I use for tracking running and bicycling. It sort of counts as social media too, and some use it for following, commenting, and giving likes or "kudos", but I just use it for tracking. Often with news stories like this for the missing person, I'll find the person on Strava, and such is the case here with Daniel Lamthach.

It's eerie to see such an active log that abruptly drops to nothing, knowing that teams are out searching for him. Seems he was in the area working as a volunteer for a mountain ultrarun, and he himself is an ultrarunner. He clearly has many friends who share his love of the mountains, and from his shown activity on Strava, he is certainly fit and experienced enough to handle the conditions. But that's not to say things can't go wrong. 

Monsoon season has kicked in here, and while we welcome the cooling rains, it's understandably hampered the search efforts. We had a true downpour here last Wednesday night into Thursday -causing some flooding and generally soaking everything.

I went for a run in the morning and had to go up and over this underpass

But at least it wasn't as crazy as this other underpass a little further down the path.

Might have been okay with a kickboard.

But it was a nice welcome change to be out and about in the quiet drizzle of the morning. I appreciate the people out working to find Daniel and hope his family and friends have answers soon.

a little back and forth

 I'm sitting here looking out my new office window.  So clean and shiny 😊.  New windows are installed, and it's nice to have that completed.  The new windows are currently naked because we just can't adorn them with the crap old blinds we removed.  On to some new blinds and we'll call it good.

But speaking of calling it good, it's that time to look back on the year that wuz.  2021 feels like it went by fast, or is it just me?  I'm thankful for much. A quick recap:

January was significant in the rolling out of the COVID vaccines.  Since I worked at a nursing home at the time, we got first dibs (actually, "first dibs" were mandated...)

I bicycle commuted several miles for work.  Winter commuting was... fun

Ran a few races.

Inked some Inktober.

Bought two bicycles ,
BUT I sold an old one too.

Took one of those bicycles along with the fam to the mountains for some R & R.

Completed a horticulture semester course and mainly learned that I have much to learn.

Left the nursing home after taking a job at the community college.

All in all, another good year.  The state of the world is not ideal, but is it ever?  I'm trying to stick with the adage of controlling the things I can, etc...  Our family has enjoyed good health and relative prosperity, and I'm ever grateful for that.

On the somber side,

The world lost Malcolm.  Not a week goes by where I don't think of that kid.

Then, we lost the wonderful Michelle.  These two left us so quickly and unexpectedly.  

And I'm certainly grateful for them too - for the privilege of knowing them.  

AND, I'm always grateful for you blog friends - old and new - who stop by here and also keep me entertained at your sites.  Looking forward to more oversharing and whatnot! 

Okay 2022.  I think I'm ready.  Please play nice?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

 Share your favorite (remembered) moments of 2021.

if I say I'm fine, I'm lyin'

I still can't quite believe it.  I lost another friend.  

Wonderful Michelle - wife, mom, daughter, friend, business woman, and so much more - succumbed yesterday to fucking COVID. 

Michelle is another of my sisters in P.E.O. and flawless.  Two weeks ago, she was fine.  Now she's gone, leaving a husband, four kids, one grandchild, and many many friends.

Rest In Peace, Michelle 💓

always be

It's highly probable that my and Malcolm's paths wouldn't have crossed after we went our separate ways after leaving our jobs at the old folks home.  We were a generation apart, just coworkers really, I didn't know his family or friends outside of work.

But then came the day he died.  I doubt I will ever forget finding out.  It was a Sunday, and the evening shift was clocking in.  One of the girls, Ella, looked to us all, "Is it true?  Did you guys hear?  About Malcolm?"

She pulled up posts on Instagram from mutual friends, none of them stating it in so many words, but leaving little other option.  Walk chalk messages and hearts, "RIP, Malcolm"... what else could they mean?  

We all pulled out our phones, looking to see if anyone else knew anything, the younger crew Snapchatting away.  It couldn't be true.  Could it?

I texted him.  He never texted back.

Shortly after, it was confirmed to us from HR.  It's been over three months now, and think of Malcolm often.  I think of silly things that happened at work.  It was certainly not a glamorous job at all, but it was one that was rich with teamwork.  I don't miss the work, but I miss those coworkers.  

Watching all these kids going back to school, and freshmen moving into dorms, I think of Malcolm and his family.  He'd planned to start at the university this fall and major in business after taking the year after high school off because of the COVID lockdown.

I think of the lost potential and the void he left behind.  

His  mom reports that they still get middle-of-the-night chalk messages that mean so much to them.  He would have turned 20 last week.  His dad posted:

Yep, he would like that.  And it's easy to "give a little thought" to Malcolm.  

I see the sunrise, just like the other day

We started out as coworkers, and eventually I was sort of his boss.  Malcolm was one of the young "pups" of which I found myself the den mother.  

When I  think of Malcolm, I think of how patient he was with the elderly residents in his care, kindly coaxing them out of their confusion or loudly but gently asking them to "PUT IN YOUR HEARING AIDS".  Like the rest of us, he tired of wearing the gowns, the N95 masks, etc. but he did it without complaint, looking forward to when the residents could come out of their rooms and socialize.

And mostly, he was just a sweet kid.

In the  kitchen, he was known for his "legendary" breakfasts.  Working the day shift, we could order anything for our breaks, and the cooks gladly obliged while we all marveled at Malcolm's metabolism.  They loved his huge orders, and he was also their "go to" whenever they needed a taste tester for new recipes.

He once casually asked me what my favorite lunch special was, and I voted for chicken saltimbocca.  The next time the cooks prepared that dish, Malcolm took it upon himself to stash a serving away for me.

I can honestly say that, although he was so young and I'm old enough (and then some) to be his mom, I'm a better person for having known Malcolm.  He found a new job about a month ago and left our care facility after deciding he didn't want to get the COVID vaccine just yet.  I told him he'd be greatly missed, but it was a good new opportunity for him.

He tragically died last weekend.  He was just 19 years old, taking the year off before starting college because of the pandemic.

From what we've been able to gather without being too pushy, he smoked some weed that was - unbeknownst to him - laced with fentanyl.  

Dammit, Malcolm.  Damn world.

This whole work week, we've shuffled along like zombies, trying to remain cheerful if only in appearance.  A couple of residents have picked up on it, and I confessed that I'd unexpectedly lost a good friend.

They offer sweet words of comfort and encouragement since, heaven knows, they know grief, having lived as long as they have.  I still couldn't bring myself to tell any of them that it was Malcolm we'd lost.  

Rest In Peace, sweet Malcolm. 

 

I still hear you and believe I see signs of you letting me know that you're still here with us, but just out of reach.  All these little coincidences...

I'm grateful to have known you.  

I'll never forget you.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: light

one of the good ones

I didn't really know Jackie that well until we were in high school.  She was from a large family, and I knew her sister, Laverne, better as she and I were in the same grade.  Jackie was a year older.  My boyfriend and Jackie's boyfriend, Andrew, were good friends with each other, though, so the four of us would sometimes hang out.  

She was sweet and sort of quiet back then.  She doted on her boyfriend, and never seemed to have anything bad to say about anyone.  She was mature and responsible for her age.  I think growing up in a large family often does that.

We grew up and moved on, left those boyfriends behind.  Jackie and I reconnected several years ago through facebook, and I was impressed by her travel adventures and her good looking, successful family.  I always knew she'd be a good wife, mom, aunt, grandma... such a large family!  She earned accolades through her many years of government work as well.

There are several friends from high school I've no qualms about losing touch with.  But I was glad to still be friends with Jackie and Laverne, even if just through facebook.  Jackie had remained her sweet self, but added some sassy!

So I was a bit frightened when Laverne shared that she and her husband had tested positive for COVID a few weeks ago.  Thankfully, they both weathered it, and she was so grateful.  Whew.

Then... a few days ago, Laverne shared that Jackie was sick with COVID.  She was in the ICU on a ventilator.  

Jackie passed away yesterday. 

RIP, sweet Jackie.  You will be greatly missed by so many.

P.S. I know you let Andrew win at Atari.

in the hearts of others

 I was at work on Monday, and one lady resident wasn't feeling well.  I asked her what she'd like for lunch, and she apologetically said she didn't care for any.  Other than that, she seemed her usual friendly and talkative self.  

I mentioned to my coworker, young Mick, that Marilou didn't feel like having lunch, but maybe we could check a while later.  He seemed surprised.  He's known her longer than I have.  

"Hmm, she always looks forward to lunch.  I'll go see", he said an headed toward her room.

Young Mick was able to get her to order some lunch, good ol' young Mick.  But when her lunch was ready, alas, she turned it down when I brought it.  We kept it warm for her in hopes that she'd feel better in a bit.  Mick came back with it a second time.

"She said she didn't think she could keep it down"

Aw, well.  GI issues show up all the time.  She'll be back to it soon enough.

I went to work on Wednesday and learned that Marilou died Tuesday night.  This is the first death of a resident with whom I was familiar since I started working at the facility.  I'm just two weeks in, and I know it goes with the territory.  But Marilou?  There are others who seemed closer to death's door.

My coworkers were visibly shaken even though they've been through this sort of thing before.  They dried tears and carried on.  

I was thinking of young Mick.  I remember the thoughtful concerned look on his face when I'd told him Marilou didn't feel like having lunch and his determination to urge her to order something.  Mick had the day off on Wednesday, so he wouldn't know about Marilou until later.  

When I started this gig a couple of weeks ago, I had to focus on understanding the workflow, the logistics, the "system".  I was impressed at how well my coworkers knew the needs and quirks of so many residents.  Over time, the "system" has become more second nature to me and I've been able to get to know the residents and hope to soon be caught up with my coworkers' memory banks.

It was difficult to pass by Marilou's room on Wednesday, but I'll take it as a sign that I'm getting better at this job.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
5. A blog post inspired by the word: better.

another good-bye, salt withdrawals, and more ink

Another week in the books.  Inktober has me slacking on blogging a bit, but I'm never truly gone from here... 😇

My P.E.O. chapter lost another sister this week.  This was somewhat expected, so unlike when Tiffany died, not as traumatic.  Jeanie was 90 years old and had been in failing health for about the last month or so. 

Although physically frail, she was a total hoot and sharp as a whip.  When she'd had to go to the hospital when the problems began, the security guard informed her that he had to check the contents of her purse.

She told him, "Okay, but it's full of dope!"

Dude had no sense of humor.

She was ready, though.  After she was able to go home from the hospital, another friend told Jeanie, "I'm praying for you", and Jeanie replied, "Well, thanks.  But please don't pray for me to get better.  I wanna go!"




And she did.  She'll be greatly missed.  Rest In Peace, Jeanie. 











We spent time with Magnum's mom and stepdad today.  They live in a senior living community nearby, so we went for brunch in their dining facility.  It's a nice place, really, with a plentiful variety of food.  Gotta say, though, I was having sodium withdrawals.  Everything was so devoid of salt, and I fear I may be a salt-aholic.  The pumpkin spice pancakes were good, though - my first pumpkin spice anything of the season. 

And thank you to everyone for the tooth hole/ sinus sympathies.  I'm feeling almost normal now.  A few more days and I should be cleared to blow my nose, and I'm so looking forward to that!

Inktober continues, and me with my head still above water...

(day)dream

I have a memory from when I was about 8 years old.  I was sitting on the back stoop of our house on a sunny afternoon.  The back of our house faced to the west, so the sun was bathing me in warmth and light.  It felt good to just sit there.

My family normally came and went through our back door, not the front.  As I was sitting there in the sun, my dad came around the corner after walking home from work.  He seemed a bit surprised to see me sitting there.

"Oh, hello sweetheart", he said, "what are you doing there?"

"Nothing", was my fabulous response.

He just smiled and said, "Well, that's just great."  And no, he wasn't being sarcastic.

I hadn't really thought about it until he said that, but it was pretty great to be sitting there with the sun bathing me in warmth while I did nothing.  I was probably daydreaming.  This was in the days long before 8-year-olds or anyone else had constant stimulation from a cell phone.

Yesterday, I decided to dust off my pens.  Inktober is nigh!  The prompt this week for Illustration Friday is "dream", and I thought of sitting on my back stoop daydreaming the afternoon away.  I drew this guy sitting and doing nothing.

I recommend it - sitting and doing nothing.  Just not, y'know, forever.  Obviously.

And speaking of contemplation.  On a very sad note, my first big sis died this week.  Sandy was my oldest brother's first wife and a big part of my formative years. 

She'll be deeply missed.  

broken bones and bon appétit?

On Friday, I had to get my commuter bicycle from the shop and decided to ride the bus to pick it up and then ride the bicycle back home since there's a stop right at the bike shop.  I was waiting in the bus shelter when a middle-aged guy hobbled over and joined me.  He was wearing a back brace like what furniture-and-appliance movers wear.

"How's your day going?", he asked me in a somewhat slow drawl.

"Not too bad", I replied, "how 'bout you?"

"Well... my ribs are still broken", he said, explaining the back brace and lack of furniture and/or appliance.

Taking the bait, I asked him how he'd broken his ribs.  Without speaking, he pointed animatedly at my bicycle helmet in my lap.

He went on to say he'd gone over the handlebars of his mountain bike, told me a little about his bike (a nice one) and mountain biking in Moab, Utah.

As he was talking, though, his speech was rather slurred.  I wondered if he was mentally challenged, but that picture didn't actually line up with the high-end bike he described and adventure trips to go biking in Moab.

His bus pulled up,  and I said good-bye since I was waiting for the next one.  He stumbled/weaved/staggered his way to the bus, and it occurred to me that he was quite intoxicated.  Self medicating?

I plan to go shopping later today and get ingredients for some decent vegetarian dishes.  One does not live by PB&J alone.

I've been finding appealing recipes and pantry lists but have yet to cook anything.  Enough research already!

Tiffany's memorial service was yesterday.  As expected, there was quite a large turnout, and not a dry eye in the house.  But the service was very well done, I think Tiffany would be happy with it.

So I've lost my vegetarian mentor, but not the inspiration.

we're not in Kansas anymore. Or are we?

Yesterday afernoon, I'd just gotten home from tuting at the library.  This particular library is about a mile and a half away, and I typically ride my bike to/from. But the weather people predicted "severe storms" for right about that time, so I wimpily drove.

I'd driven under relatively clear skies and dry roads, so I was all "PFFFT" at the weather people.

I had the radio on as I was padding around the house when a weather alert came on.  Just vaguely paying attention, I heard things like "tornado...", "rotation...", "take immediate shelter...".  I peeked out one of my windows and saw... nothing.

So I went outside and looked a little to the north and west and... HOLY DOROTHY AND TOTO!  Dark dark clouds, including an ominous cylindrical shape.

Just then, Meego arrived home from his work, from where he'd gotten a better look at the storm.  So we did a bit of "storm chasing" a.k.a. we wandered around the neighborhood trying to get the best look.  Our view was mostly blocked by houses and trees and such, but someone from one of my facebook groups got this shot from the south:

As we wandered, the wind increased rather dramatically as the temperature rapidly dropped.  The weather alert said the storm was moving east, but it seemed to have shifted a bit to the south as well.  Novice storm chasers that we are, we took off running for home as large raindrops began to pellet us.

We got there just as it started to pour rain.  The dogs were in their dog run in the yard, all, "Get us the hell outta here!!"  Meego, the dogs, and I then made a beeline for the house.  Yeah, about 2 minutes after we got inside, things settled down to a calm shower. Figures.

Thankfully, the tornado didn't fully form, and the storm continued out of the area, but it made for some excitement.  The photo taken above shows it sitting about over the Air Force Academy which is near to where we live.  It was eerie to be out there looking at the sky and hearing the Academy alert sirens.  I almost expected Godzilla to emerge from the mist ala [THIS]

He didn't.  Shucks.

In other news, sweet Tiffany passed on yesterday afternoon.  The family kept her on life support until sometime yesterday since her sister arrived from out of town on Wednesday.

I was able to visit Tiffany one last time in the hospital on Tuesday.  It was rather surreal.  Her eyes were open most of the time but not looking at anything in particular.  Her tongue and lips made some occasional slight movements, and she swallowed a few times.  I'm told this is all just basic brain function.  I held her hand, and it was very warm.  I'm not sure if that was because of the increased sedation she was under, to stop her seizures.

But I did feel her presence, and we had a "moment", otherwise alone in her room in ICU with no other sounds but the calm steady breathing pace from her ventilator.   Strangely peaceful.

Mood:

"Tornado Warning"
referring to the hairdo

on this sister's day

There are so many things I admire about Tiffany.  Her adventurous spirit, her overflowing positive energy, her dedication to STEM education, her charitableness, her inquiring mind, her true friendship...

I mentioned in my last post that my usually bubbly friend Tiffany had an unexpected reaction to a medical procedure and was in a coma.  In summary, she was having an out-patient surgical procedure (the family hasn't specified) and was administered the anesthesia propofol.  She went into cardiac arrest, the medical team immediately performed CPR and got her heart restarted in about a minute and a half.

She never regained consciousness, but her brain showed signs of response to stimuli in the first few days.  We were all hopeful that she would wake up and begin the long road to recovery.  After all, this is Tiffany.  She's a young, energetic, healthy 41-year-old.

Sadly, she got worse.  She no longer showed much brain response and seizures increased.  MRIs showed pervasive brain damage...

I can hardly believe I'm writing this.

She's been taken off of life support and will go soon to hospice care in her parent's home.  It's expected she will go "Home" soon after that.

I know Tiffany from P.E.O.  She's one of my sisters.  I don't have any biological sisters, but I love all of my P.E.O. sisters, and we are all grieving.  We had a meeting yesterday, but didn't get any business done.  We spent the meeting writing notes to Tiffany that her family would read to her.  There were lots of tears and lots of snot.

But honestly, there were lots of laughs, too.  Big laughs between tears and hugs and snot.  We may have not gotten any "business" accomplished, but it was still a damn good meeting.

Tiffany's nephew with his favorite Aunt

Tiffany, I'm so grateful that in this vast world in this relatively tiny blip of time I'm on it, my path crossed with yours.  I'll miss you like crazy, but know you'll just be on another great adventure.  

See you on the other side, Sis.

football, snow, and sad

Happy unofficial end of summer.  Labor Day weekend is upon us

This was a good and busy week, so it's nice to be at the weekend.  I did tute for a few hours over the weekend, but it's all good.  Nice students.

Friday evening was the Rocky Mountain Showdown that pits the football teams from Colorado's two largest public universities against each other.  Magnum and I went to CU-Boulder - one side of the rivalry.  But honestly, I've not really been too concerned about the "big showdown" since much longer after leaving college.

But this  year, Meego is now a student at that OTHER university *gasp*, so I found myself being interested again.  B..b..b..ut, I don't know which team I was for.  Both?  Neither?

INTERJECTION!  Remember??

CU-Boulder came away with the win, and I was all, "YAY! / aaawwwww".  I guess I still feel nostalgic about the alma matre, even though it was so long ago.  Really, I just love Ralphie.  Everyone loves Ralphie...whom I have featured here before because she's a badass.

College football isn't really about football, it's about the mascots!





"Ralphie Running" is actually a varsity sport at CU, and those who make the cut really earn their letter, I tellya.  Not for the weak.

In other end-of-summer news, we have snow!  Well, up in yonder altitudes anyway.  I went out for a bike ride this morning and had this lovely view:

SOURCE

I know it's just a dusting, but kind of exciting for us boring people around here.  In fact, this isn't even my photo.  I was going to take one, but then figured there would be plenty on the internets.  yup.

On a sad note, I lost a classmate from high school.  It was all over fb because he was such a likable guy.  Really, I can't think of any bad traits whatsoever.  He was well-liked and quiet and introspective and musically gifted.  In my world, that's the makings of a *SWOON*, and I did have a bit of a crush on him back in those olden days.

So I'm saddened, not so much because a former crush has passed away, but for all the reasons why he was a crush. Gone too soon 💔

a mountain, a sweatlodge, and a sacrificial deer

First, we had to wait for Wolfgang to run up a mountain...

FREE official photo

Last Saturday was the annual running of the Pikes Peak Ascent.  Thirteen miles up the mountain.  (The marathon - up and then back down - was run on Sunday).


This was Wolfgang's third time doing the race, and he managed a new PR of a very respectable 3 hours 15 minutes, being the first of his buddies to finish and taking 6th in his age group











Eventually, his two friends crossed the finish line, and they all got off the mountain.  In the meantime, we'd been packing up the van for our trip north to the eclipse.  We made it out late Saturday afternoon, arriving in Chugwater rest area late that night.  Good ol' Chugwater.

It wasn't much further to Manters Camp, so we had most all of Sunday to play around and explore after we set up the large tent and got our campsite humming.  All of us except for Chaco, who somehow managed to get a decent sleep at Chugwater, needed a siesta.

We napped in the tent, not realizing that we hadn't removed the outer coverings of our windows, so the breeze did NOTHING.  We awoke in pools of our own sweat.  I just decided to refer to it as Sweatlodge time rather than naptime.  Supposed to be healthy, right?

Thusly refreshed, we trekked out to the surrounding boonies and found a real pretty getaway spot.  As it happened, Wolfgang had a gimpy foot that he'd injured while training for the Ascent, and the foot was really whining after running the thing.

As such, we didn't traipse around as much as we might have so as to not "leave the cripple behind".  Still, Chaco got in a bit of a climbing fix

Spot him?

That tippy top scared me, but I got close.


We were in an area of national forest and  broke out our camp cookware and ended up having our dinner there and just hanging out.

By the time we'd cleaned up and packed up, it was nightfall...  *foreboding music goes here*










Chaco was driving the country road back to our campsite, about 10 miles away.  Suddenly, a deer went scampering across the road in front of us.  Immediately, I thought,

"Hmmm, usually where there's one, at least one more is behind it"

Yup

We got him.  The sound was horrible.  I was pretty sure he was dead since we hit him just as he was emerging onto the road - in the head.  Chaco pulled right over to inspect the van and to make sure the deer wasn't suffering.

As expected, it looked like the deer had died instantly - hardly any blood.  His body lay "peacefully" parallel to and alongside the road, facing behind us.  I'm pretty sure we hit him in the head, and he spun around.

He took our passenger side headlight with him, but didn't damage the engine and only left a couple of small dents in the side door.

A clearer view in the morning,
after the late night duct tape job

We'll have to have the panel surrounding the headlight fixed before we can repair the light, but all in all, the damage was pretty minimal.

After we returned home, I took the van to the shop for an oil change and a once over.  As I explained the deer incident to the service guy, a young man in the waiting area chimed in.

"That happened to me once!  I wasn't sure if it was an elk or a moose, so I called it a 'melk'!"

So I replied, "Oh.  Yeah?"

I mean, what else do you say?