Greetings from Colorado!

We have arrived safely and are having a great time reconnecting with family. The kids picked right back up where they all left off and are really enjoying each other's company.

This area is mountainous and beautiful and I've been slipping out for long hikes amid the wildflowers, pine trees and craggy boulders. Yesterday I came upon a group of 5 young mule deer who were grazing just a couple of meters away! We all stood still and stared at each other-- it was a magical moment!

Today I borrowed a dog and went for another hike. Have some great music with me complements of my own personal dj. :-) When Rodrigo y Gabriela came on we both broke out into a joyful run! What a pleasure!

Now comes the real vacation

Am packing right now: we'll be leaving this afternoon for Colorado to visit my brother-in-law and his family. Just in time-- we really, REALLY need a vacation! See you when we get back in June!

Mini-vacation

I'm taking a mental health day. Skipped class and am eschewing the phone / housework / and other sundry responsibilities. Just got back from a great long hike with Bethany and Rufus and am going to go flop down on the couch with a cup of coffee and Zafon's book.

Bittersweet

yin and yang: is used to describe how seemingly disjunct or opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn... Yin and yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, which constantly interact, never existing in absolute stasis.

We just got back from visiting a beautiful boy who is quietly dying in his parents' living room.

And yet, how can I not smile through my tears when I think of three other lively little boys hamming it up in the back seat of our car?

Are we having fun yet?

It's been drizzling and gray for days now, and that suits my mood perfectly. Because right now life? Life seems to be filled with endless precipitation.

M's cousin is admirably braving the indignities reserved for those who are busy sloughing off this mortal coil. We might get to see him this weekend, which would be nice, not only because he's a pleasure to be around, but also because I think it will probably be the last chance we will have.

I talked to an old friend this week and was stunned to hear that she'd had her husband arrested for beating her senseless (literally!) in front of their two children. It's astounding for me to realize that someone who has always seemed so nice is capable of something so horrendous!

Another close friend is going through a rough time with a partner who is suffering from mental illness. And although this obviously doesn't affect me directly, I love this friend dearly and my heart goes out to both of them. I hope the fog lifts for them soon!

And then there's just the whole situation with Chrysler, which seems to be moving in the right direction, but which still provides a level of background anxiety that seeps over into some of my dreams.

That said, we are leaving this afternoon for NL to celebrate my MIL's 65th birthday and M's grandma's 99th birthday. So there is a ray of sunshine squeezing its way through somewhere! (Update: I just got back from a failed attempt to pick up the present I'd had made for my MIL. For some reason it's MIA and we have to leave for NL in a little over an hour and a half. I'm off to buy a bouquet of flowers so that we don't have to show up empty handed. and maybe after that I'll have a good cry...)

Other than that I think it's time for me to batten down the hatches and wait for the storms to eventually pass...

In spite of my melancholy I had to smile at this video that Schmutzie had on her linkblog today. I wonder if you can make it through this video without smiling? Go ahead! Give it a try!



Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years) playing impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic. He'll be 90 in February.

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh....

I know it's only Saturday, but I've already had such a nice weekend! And it's not like anything spectacularly interesting happened, in fact, maybe it's been so enjoyable BECAUSE nothing spectacularly interesting is going on.

This morning I sat out on the balcony in the sun and got started on Carlos Ruiz Zafón's new book-- Das Spiel des Engels. I've been waiting for it to come out since last summer when I devoured read Shadow of the Wind, which is one of my all-time favorite books. (Interestingly, I just noticed that the English version won't come out until June 2009!? I'm surprised that they were so quick with the German version!)

Had a nice lunch with M and the boys and then took a long hike in the woods while they attended a friend's soccer game. I started out on one of my regular paths, but then broke off and followed deer trails, deep into the woods, through a copse of trees, which suddenly opened up into a flower-filled meadow.

Have I already mentioned that I live in paradise? (at least in the warmer months...)

This evening some friends popped over with a bottle of excellent wine, and we gorged ourselves on freshly-roasted almonds and had some lively, entertaining debates.

It's getting late. Time to close this and go lean on my sweetie for a while with Zafón's book and a cup of decaf...

Soothing diversion

Had my German exam this morning and think it went fine. I've worked really hard in the past couple of months in preparation and all the practice really paid off. I'm completely wiped out now, though, and am slumped in my chair and surfing aimlessly. Schmutzie posted this link which really appealed to my overstimulated senses...

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.