Wander Life

The Holiday Season

Well, I know I've been quite delinquent in my posting lately.  Not for lack of happenings, mind you...just for lack of sitting down and typing it out.  So, here's what you've missed - a few scenes of Colorado fall-turning-to-winter:

The above was what the nearby Poudre River looked like a month ago.

And here's more like what the yard outside my window looks like now: 

Yep, plenty of snow.  But along with snow comes...Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The former is over and done, and the latter seems about in full swing.  So, here are a few pictures of the holiday happenings thus far....

For Thanksgiving, Roomie B & I drove to Minnesota.  It was a good time all around - good food, good folks...and even took in a Holidazzle parade in downtown Minneapolis and A Day In the Life of an Elf display at Macy's.  Fun, fun.

 

And on the way back down to Colorado, we swung by South Dakota and took in the scenery.  After all, as their license plate slogan says, they've got "great faces; great places."  So true.  : )

And we even stopped by the Crazy Horse Memorial.  I'm not sure if you've heard of this little project that they've been working on for, oh, about 60 years, but anyway, if it ever gets done, it'll really be something. 

After the Thanksgiving trip, then, it was time to start getting in the Christmas spirit.  So, B & I got a tree and threw a Christmas cookie exchange party for our office.  

Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures during the party, so you'll just have to imagine what this place looked like with 20-some people enjoying the festivities, but here's a few shots of the aftermath, anyway: pretty tiring but lots of good cookies in return.  (Oh, and, of course, the fellowship was fun, too.)  : )

 
And that pretty much catches us up to speed.  (Oh, it was also B's birthday this past week, so we had some good times involved with that, as well - some good meals, a play in Boulder, a Japanese lunch with co-workers and more...but somehow, I didn't get any picts.  So, you'll have to take my word for it: it was fun.  : ))

And this coming Friday, I'll fly back to Brush Prairie to celebrate Christmas with my fam, so I'm sure there will be more pictures and stories to come.  Until then, I hope this holiday season is, thus far, a merry and bright one for all of you!    

        

A Snowy Colorado Weekend in November

It's snowing.  B is out being a good samaritan by taking a co-worker to the doctor, so I'm just sitting here by the fire, trying to catch up on some things.  The house is clean, the bills are paid and the laundry's in, but, of course, there's still stuff to do.  I have a book and a fire, so that's pretty tempting...but I've also got my laptop, so I guess I can try to get a little computer work done.  (I also need to start working on grad school applications some time in the near future....) 

I don't have much to report - 'twas just a week of work and now in for a snowy weekend - but I figured I could update a few sidebar items (friends' links & books).  Plus, I just wanted to say hi.  : )

For Thanksgiving this year, I'm driving with my roomie to Minnesota, so that should be a good time.  Weather permitting, I guess...but it would have to be pretty bad to stop us.  Last year, we drove the 19 hours from here to Washington, so the 14-15 hours this time should be a snap.  : )

Anyway, that's the latest.  Oh, also this week, two of my co-workers' wives had babies, so that's been pretty exciting.  Welcome Daisy and Eden into the world!

Hope everyone has a good weekend, and, as they say in China, "Wear more clothes!"  (Which is not actually a comment about modesty but instead a friendly piece of advice to stay warm as the weather starts getting colder.)

A Few More Pictures

I'm back in Colorado, back at work, back running with my roommate (we did another [much smaller] half marathon this morning)...but nothing that I've taken pictures of.  I'll try to capture the next snow storm we have, but for the last several days, it's been anything but snowy (sunny & low 70s).  My sister-in-law did put up the pictures she took at my Grandma Larson's funeral, though, so I'll share a few of those.  If you want to see them all, go here.

Thanks again to everyone for the kind words.  Here's little Meddy (dressed as Elmer Fudd for Halloween) to say, "Thank you for being a friend!"  : )  

Have a good weekend.
 

95 Years of Pictures

My family and I had been working on a slide show for my Grandma Larson's slide show for most of the week - quite a life.  The funeral yesterday was a wonderful time of remembering a more-than-wonderful lady, and I'll share some of those picts soon.  But for now, here are a few from the life of Harriet E. Larson, grandma and pie & cookie maker extraordinaire....

  
 
 
 

Remembering my grandmas

I don't really have the right words to describe this past week, but I did want to share a few picts (my sis-in-law has all the pictures from my Grandma Stout's funeral here).  The service on Monday was a great time of celebration of her life and time to be with family.  Below is a picture of her surviving grandchildren (one cousin has passed away). 

After Monday's events, I spent Tuesday with my dad and aunts cleaning out my Grandma S' apartment and spent Wednesday with family and hanging out in Portland with my sister.  I was set to fly back to Colorado today (Friday), but in the early morning of Thursday, the Lord decided it was time to call my other grandma (Grandma Larson - who lives with my parents) home, as well.  So, I am delaying my return to Colorado by another week and am glad I can be with my family during this time.  My Grandma Larson's service is Friday.

Losing both of my grandmas in such a short time is hard to fathom, but I'm thankful that they were both such a presence and influence in my life for 30 grandma-love-filled years.

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed, called, texted, sent Facebook notes, etc.  It may be a while before I get a chance to get back to you, but know that it really does mean a lot.  For anyone who is interested, here's the link to the obituaries for both of my grandmas: Harriet Stout; Harriet Larson (yeah, both my grandmas were named Harriet : )). 

On a happy note (because, hey, both of my grandmas were happy, fun people! : )), my roommie B & I did the Denver half marathon on Sunday...and survived.  It was a great time of running (and running...and running) with a huge mass of people, and we even got a picture to prove it.  : )

 Hope everyone has a good weekend, and again, thanks for your prayers and thoughts.
 
 

Grandma Love

My older bro just sent me these pictures that he came across.  This is me with my grandma when I was five years old.  I don't know how I felt about the dress, but my grandma was a keeper.  : )
 
 

Grandma

Thank you, all, for your prayers for my family.  My Grandma Stout passed away early Friday morning, and, though, of course, we grieve that she is absent from us, we celebrate that she is now present with the Lord.  I'll be going to spend time with my family and honor my grandma's life next week.

As for life in Colorado, here's a quick summary: we've had our first snow (a couple of inches Thursday & Friday...and still on the ground today); we had a baby shower for a friend yesterday at PF Chang's; saw "Wicked" in Denver on Thursday night (excellent); the Denver half marathon that B & I are running is in one week; and we made Baked Alaska tonight for dessert (tasty).

Enjoy the sideways pictures.  : )     

Today

Today, my lil' bro ran the Portland marathon (2:32 - good job, lil' bro!); it's 40 degrees and raining here in Ft. Collins; B & I made crepes.  Some ordinary things; some extraordinary; some marking a change in season.  But the biggest thing, of course, is that my grandma is going off of life support today.     

In church, we've been going through the book of Ecclesiastes, and I've appreciated the timing of it.  It seems like there's a time to laugh and a time to cry not just in different seasons in life but also, sometimes, each day.  Today, I can celebrate, I can mourn, I can do ordinary things, and I can ponder something momentous - the life of a loved one.

And through it all, I can say, "This is the day the Lord has made!"  I hope you all have a blessed day....

Rocks! (Last of the summer catch-ups!)

Ok, I've set my mind to finishing my summer recapping...especially now since it is decidedly fall (I'm thankful that it's still sunny, but it doesn't look like we'll be getting much higher than mid 50's to mid 60's any time soon).  Plus, I've got to finish catching up, so I can start doing some new stuff. : )  (For example, I'm seeing Wicked, which is coming to Denver for one month only, next week, and my roommie and I are doing the Denver half marathon in two weeks.  Fun, fun.)

So, now, here's the rest of September's highlights: The Killers concert at Red Rocks and then some hiking in Boulder.  (This is the same hike I did with my sister when she visited for my b-day - it's a good one. : ))

As you can see, it's a pretty sweet ampitheatre.  I didn't take any shots of the actual concert...but trust me, it was a good one.

And here's the Boulder hike I did with AY & B.  We then had pizookis at BJ's on Pearl Street.  Oh, and we also visited a meadery.  Who knew that mead was so interesting (or even that it's still made)?  Well, it is...and it's pretty tasty, too.  (For those of you who are now Wikipediaing "mead," I'll save you the trouble - it's wine made from honey.)  So, there ya go: don't say I never taught ya anything.  : ) 

So, there ya go.  Now...time to get outside again while I can.  : )  Hope you all have a great weekend!  

Grandma & Continuing Summer Recap

Ok, first off: my grandma (my dad's mom who lives in Vancouver, WA) is in the hospital.  So, that has been the main thing on my mind this week.  But at the moment, I'd rather have a distraction from stuff that's beyond my control.  So I'll just ask that you continue to keep my family in your prayers, and I'll keep you posted on how my grandma's doing.  Until then, here's some more recapping of the summer....

So, let's see...in the last post, I promised you Tour de Fat pictures.  But probably, I should explain a little about what Tour de Fat actually is.  Fort Collins, Colorado, is pretty much known for two things: Colorado State University & New Belgium Brewery (makers of such popular beers as Fat Tire, 1554, Skinny Dip and many others).  So, put the two together, and what do you get?  ...Ok, on second thought, let's not venture there.  : )  Totally unrelated to the university (though a good many participants are students there, this is totally a New Belgium thing), the brewery sponsors an annual multi-city bike parade & festival called Tour de Fat.  The main point, I think, is to promote bike riding, so basically, people just ride there bikes along the designated parade route through town.  And dressing crazy is optional...but seemingly preferred.  : )

So, anyway, over Labor Day, I had a couple of friends (CL from Idaho & LH from...well, originally Montana, but she's been in Baltimore and is now moving to Denver) from my ECHO/Florida days visit, and what should be happening that very Saturday morning?  You guessed it: the Fort Collins Tour de Fat.  We decided that instead of participating, it would just be more fun to watch (with coffee in hand).  : )  So, without further ado, here's a glimpse of Tour de Fat: 

(And I have no idea why I can't get that one to rotate, but...you get the idea.)  : )  Anyway, a fun time was had by all.

Also, while C & L were here, we had to, of course, do a little hiking.  'Twas a great visit (for me, anyway...but I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it, too : )), so thanks for coming out, guys!

And I guess that's good enough for now.  Some more hiking pictures and a concert yet to come....  Stay tuned.  : )