Worth the wait

This past weekend I spent some time in Estes Park with my friends Jeff and Tina Graham.

Jeff's mother is a artist (painter) and was suppose to be part of a studio tour but she mixed the weekends and ended up being out of town so Jeff and I held down the fort trying to peddle our own wears. He with his engraving and me with my piddly checkbook covers. Due to poor attendance the weekend lacked a sale for any of us with the exception of the two water color originals that I bought of Mrs. Graham's. After knowing the Grahams for over 30 years I was way over due!

The weekend was not a total loss. The Grahams have a lovely home with a beautiful view in Estes. It was very peaceful and the promise of elks sightings had me anxious for the evening to come on Saturday. Well, it came and went and no elk! A few deer in the distance and more eagles, hawks and mountain blue birds than I could count but no elk. Until on my way home on Sunday.

This had to be the most incredible sight I've every witnessed of the wild life kind.

There was a small crowd standing on the sidewalk next to the golf course. I was following Tina out the "back way" and all of a sudden she is pointing at the golf course. There lay the biggest animal I think I've ever seen. My jaw hit my lap and I about wrecked my car! He was massive. Fortunately, one of the golfers had the good sense to pull his gold cart a little closer so there was something to "compare" his size too. The photo still just doesn't do it. He was beautiful.

So, here is the photo of the elk and one of my favorites which I hope to send to Mrs. Graham to have her paint.

Kharen

The Last Goodbye

A sad day. I put my darling Maltese dog TC to sleep this morning. I thought I was ready for this and didn't think it would be so hard to do but I was devastated as he collapsed in my hands after he was given the shot to go to sleep for the last time. All I could do was cry and tell him how sorry I was. I couldn’t even come home this evening until later because I knew he wouldn’t be there and I had to put away his things. He was my loving and loyal pet for 17 years. I will miss him very very much.

Lost and Found

Hello Family: As I post this I actually feel as though I've found something that I've recently lost. A sense of family. I don't mean my immediate family. Joe is here. I talk to Amber every day. I talk to Brandon (although not enough) on a monthly basis. My sisters are within a short drive, an email or a phone call as are my parents and my step daughter.

I'm talking about the members on the extended branches of our family trees. And as someone some what "lost and found" said to me yesterday ..... "We don't do this enough. We don't spend the time together as much as we should". He was right. We only make a point of it when there seems to be a purpose...good or bad.

Joe echoed the same sentiments. Not enough time is spent with family and friends.

We recently lost Jim Cook. Husband to Janet, my dad's cousin. I am so sad to know that even though we have recently only seen each other at holidays and family get together's that we won't be seeing him again except in our hearts. So, I've posted one of my favorite photos of him here.

But out of this I found family that I know means a lot to the Marti side of the family that I have not seen in many years. Although yesterday was meant to celebrate Jim I felt a little extra celebration to be able to see Carl, Margaret, Nate and Mitch Marti. It has been many years and for me it made the day a little brighter just to see them there.

Janet...Please know that you are loved and cherished. And, that the celebration you had for Jim not only celebrated your love for him, and our love for you both, but the opportunity to bring family a little closer even if for a day.

You are in our hearts, always.

Kharen

Joe vs. The Barn

Neglected....That's how Joe was feeling when I forgot to put what he was doing while I was on vacation.

No, really. I did forget to mention what Joe was doing while Sharen and I were hangin' with Mickey and friends.

He spent the better part of a week and a half in Indiana tearing down and restoring part of an old barn on his Mom's property.

When we were there last year the roof and a good portion of the barn had caved in so Joe, our friend Mark Wilkin and Joe's brothers dug in, knocked down and rebuilt it over the course of about 5 days.

The rest of the time Joe and Mark did a little fishing, spent some quality time with Joe's mom and brothers and drove from here to there.

Oh, they took a little side trip to Cabellas in Nebraska. That's like Michaels craft store for hunters, fishermen, etc.

I'm proud of you Honey. You did a wonderful job and I'm sure your Mom truly appreciates what you did.

P.S. Thank you to Mark Wilkin for going above and beyond the lines of friendship to travel all the way to Indiana, work from early morning until dusk (with very few breaks) in the rain to help Joe and his family. You are a true friend. And, thanks to Robin for letting him go!

Love,

Kharen

Magic!

Bippity, bobbity, boo...(or something like that)!

I saw a t-shirt not long ago that spelled out "Supercalafragilistic..." yada, yada, yada. It made me think about how you really "spell" out magic. You don't. You have to find it.

So, that is exactly what Sharen and I did the week of May 12 - 16. We spent a few days in Orlando, Florida with family and the Magic Mouse.

Aunt Sandy and John graciously put us up in their home. It's always very comfortable (and beautiful) there and it gave us a few extra hours with them. We didn't have many as they were off to a conference in Boston that Wednesday. Thank you so much Aunt Sandy and John.

We also spent a limited amount of time with Butch. We had dinner with him when we arrived, spent the better part of a day with him and then went to dinner at Wolfgang Pucks and to Cirque de Soliel la Nuba on our last night in Florida.

But, we did take some time to ourselves! We spent a day at Epcot and a day at the Magic Kingdom.

We road my favorite ride in Epcot, Soarin' but not before we took a Behind the Seeds tour of the hydroponics used in the growing of some of the plants and vegetables used at Disney theme parks and restaurants. It was very, very interesting.

We ate a wonderful meal in "Tokyo". We took lots of pictures....or Sharen did. I ran out of room on my memory card. We saw a show performed by Davy Jones (of The Monkeys fame). John didn't think we should tell anyone that! We spent a little time with Crush from Finding Nemo and found a few Nemo's and other very strange fish in the small aquarium in the Coral Reef area. We stayed to watch the fireworks over the lake in the middle of Epcot. It just gives you goose bumps and I've seen it three or four times now!

The next day we went to the Magic Kingdom. Is it just me or does that place get smaller as I grow older? We rode all the typical rides....Haunted Mansion, Small World, Space Mountain (yes, I said Space Mountain). We ate the typical frozen banana and Mickey shaped ice cream bar. We saw some new things like the Pirates of the Caribbean (remade to include things from the Johnny Depp movie) which was a little disappointing since it was the main reason we choose Magic Kingdom over Sea World or Animal Kingdom. We had our picture taken with Chip and Dale just like we did several years ago.

We stayed for the fireworks here too and we almost missed a real live Tinkerbell flying through the air! She must have been on a very high wire and she just "flew" past. It was a very nice night and a perfect ending to our two days to ourselves.

We found some Magic in the down time we needed. Our feet hurt from walking all over but our hearts were full with the special time spent together and with family and the beauty of Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

Kharen

Guilt Ridden

Okay....Guilty as charged! I am obsessed with having the cutest grandchildren in the world. Even though one of them tried to rip my face off the other night at dinner (I still love you Claire) and that two of them went on their first trip to the zoo without me (photos to follow from "the other" grandparents) and two of them live just to far away (new photos to follow of them as well) Joe and I still feel very, very lucky to have such beautiful children that have such beautiful babies.

Told you I was obsessed.

Hugs,

Kharen

Vegas Baby!

Well I hope that Ryan and Amber had more fun with Dad and Jane in Vegas than I did with my friends for the weekend . What's all the hype about??? If you don't have money for gambling or shows what else is there to do?

I walked (much cheaper than a taxi) to many of the hotels hoping for at least some kind of attraction to visit. Besides the beautiful aquarium at Mandalay Bay I was unsuccessful. The hotels are truly impressive in their decor and design but when you get down to it, they are very large, pretty hotels.

There were a few interesting stores but not many. LOVED the M&M store. Nothing like four floors of M&M's and M&M items to purchase. The Coke store right next to it was cute but not as impressive as the one in Atlanta.

For all my female friends, I highly recommend you never stay at the Hooters Hotel and Casino. I never thought I would have an issue with tiny girls with tiny butts and, dare I say it, HOOTERS, but enough was enough. It wasn't just Hooters though. All the hotels has wait staff (mostly women) in barely there outfits. Average age had to be 28 years old.

If you ever get the opportunity to see the comedian Bobby Slayton I suggest you run the other direction. I've seen some bad comedians but this guy was the worst! I didn't even laugh through 3/4 of his show which is at Hooters and he's the headliner!

No one bothered to tell me that if you're gambling that the drinks are free. I had no clue! It's a good thing I don't drink much anyway. I could have at least had a couple of hundred dollars worth of sodas though.

These are my initial thoughts. I'm not done but will get back to this post when I've got the ringing from the slot machines out of my head.

Ryan's 21st Birthday

Ryan and I made our traditional birthday visit to Sushi Zanmi in Boulder for his birthday. We've been doing this I think since he was about 10 years old. He doesn't eat Sushi but enjoys some of the other dishes they prepare. I like the Sushi.

Over the years Eric (his dad) had joined us and then Eric's wife Dianne joined us. It was nice to have someone, Dianne, who also enjoyed the Sushi. Although it was nice having them with us I always thought of this as mine and Ryan's way to celebrate his birthday. This year we decided to go just the two of us on his 21st birthday.

He got there before me and was waiting at the table drinking green tea. I was surprised. I thought he would already have his first "legal" drink in hand. He stood up and I gave him the biggest possible mom hug I could. I told him I couldn't believe that he was already 21. It seems like just a few years ago and just a mile from where we were having dinner that he was born. I told hime that at the hour we were having dinner that I remember it being very peaceful in my hospital room just the two of us.

I digress. Back to Sushi Zanmi. We sat down and decided to order a Purple Haze to share. That's sake with a rasberry liquor added. When it came and I poured it into the little cups I toasted Ryan and before I could tell him it was hot and to sip it he downed it like a shot! I about spit mine back out laughing at him. He drank the next one a lot slower.

We had our dinner and then the lights dimmed. We've seen this before so we knew what was coming. One of the Sushi chefs plays happy birthday on this odd looking electric saxaphone. Well this time the chef obviously didn't have a lot of experience with the instrument because he hacked it to bits. We laughed pretty hard. They brought out the standard green tea ice cream with a candle in it and sang happy birthday. I gave him a couple of TOOL posters he had asked for at Christmas and a card I made him with a big 21 on the front of it. Although he say's he's embarrased I think he really enjoys it.

We decided to have one more drink and after a short visit to a candy store on Pearl Street we stopped into The Walnut Brewery. I had a glass of wine, Ryan had a Jack and Coke. We had a nice visit and then called it a night. He walked me back to my car and we said goodnight with one last hug and Happy Birthday. "Thanks Mom" he said "I love you". You know what babe? I love you more. Mom

I love this photo of Ryan and Amber. Amber turned 21 on December 31 and Ryan turns 21 tomorrow, January 31. To reflect on Kharen's statement, they've grown up so fast.

Ryan, Happy Birthday. You are the light of my life. Mom

They grow so fast.

They grow so fast. Funny, I found myself saying that a lot when Brandon and Amber were babies. Now, looking at our Grand children I hear the echo of my own voice.

Joe and I loved having and being around our families for Christmas! Having "little ones" in the house just makes it that much more magical.

Now Brandon is 24, married and has a baby girl. Amber is 21, and she and her significant other have a baby girl and Joe's daughter, Dani, and her husband have two, a daughter and baby son.

Thank you all for a wonderful Christmas!

Kharen

Hello, everybody.
Happy New Year.
Jane and I will be visiting Wingie in Sun City West January 11 thru 15. You can reach either of us during that time by cell. Please call if you need anything or anything happens we should know about.
Had my colonoscopy. My colon is in fine shape and functions very well, as opposed to several of my other body parts. Jane says this is graphic evidence that I am an almost perfect asshole, an observation several of you have already made more than once.
Big love. Mean it.