Thanksgiving in Denver

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Thanksgiving in Parker to celebrate with Diana and Daniel, and we had a wonderful time. The Stuckys surely know how to put on a spread, and it was so wonderful to use my mother's china and silver once again. It had been since 2004 - just after Mom died - that I have eaten from that china and it felt so good. Besides the wonderful food we shared, we put up Christmas lights outside, tried out their Solo Stove, helped water their grass, and played with Eliza - as much as she could be played with. Although it was a short trip, it was a memorable one.

The Visions of Fall

We spent plenty of time in Holy Ghost this summer and fall. Besides making terrific progress on the Ranch, we cherished the beautiful trees and the wonderful rains. We hosted many wonderful guests, took long walks up the Canyon, visited with our Canyon friends, and had a blessedly beautiful summer. A few pictures encapsulate our summer better than words.

Coincidences of the Interesting Kind

We had a very interesting football season, all with our tailgating friends. But the most fun day was the first game. We had arrived the night before, and after many of our guests arrived, the party to the west of us arrived. Since they give their tickets away a lot, we had no idea who would be there. When the black SUV drove in, we waved to the occupants and went on with our tailgating. Not long after they got set up, Don walked out of our RV to see Gene Taylor, our AD, standing there. Don commented to him that he (Gene) was currently being interviewed on the radio - ah the marvels of technology - and although we had no idea why Gene was there, Don took it stride. But then we noticed that Kevin Lockett was at the tailgate; and Darnell McDonald; and several other KSU players. And then it dawned on us. Our new neighbor for the day was Jordy Nelson. We introduced our dogs to his daughter, Adda, who said to us, "That's my daddy's name." And soon we introduced the dogs to Jordy who kindly allowed us to take a picture with him.

We thought that his crew was only there for the day, but we found out later that he would be there all year. We hope we didn't scare him off with our crazy crew and that he will be back next year :)

Memories and "Stuff"

Back in the day, before children, I subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens. I kept the subscription for many years, and one of my favorite parts of the magazine was a page called The Man Next Door by Burton Hillis. He always had a series of fun comments, and then he followed with a short story or philosophical discussion that seemed to always hit the spot. One of my favorites was about the value of good neighbors, but I am not sure where that one is. Today I came across the following one, which hit me hard, as I have been trying to clean out my house. I thought I would share it (and save it here so I can throw away the July, 1985, piece of paper): I sometimes wonder if other people have as much trouble getting rid of things as we do. Typically, Chris and I will dig in with a will to clean out a closet or empty a room, only to give up the job in frustration in a few hours. "Can't get rid of that," one of us will say. "It might come in handy." The "that" might be a crate of canning jars, or a book we've been meaning to read, or a broken lawn mower. Just the other day, Chris appeared with a boxful of old snapshots she'd found deep in a closet. "We haven't looked at these in years," she said. "I'll bet we can throw most of them away." Sure. We spent two hours going over those pictures, and managed to throw away 13 photographs of people we didn't recognize. It was almost as bad as the time we spent most of a day going over old clothing. At the end, I caught Chris slipping a tattered and faded swatch of flannel into a drawer. I smile, but said nothing. It was all that was left of the security blanket our Rosemary had dragged around the first three years of her life. It's hard to throw away memories. Burton Hillis It's hard to throw away memories. And with every Daulton Doll, Hummel, depression-glass bowl, or salt cellar I try to give to DAV, I put it back because I can't stand to dispense with it. How do I send the dancing Marilyn Monroe statue that my grandmother had in the kid's room and lighted with blue Christmas lights? I don't. And the baptismal gowns we wore oh so many years ago? They are still with me. We are getting to the age where we need to come to terms with all of our collections . . . but it is hard to throw away memories.