Found more pictures

from the top: an airplane turned into a restaurant, th chapel that is 4 chapels at the Air Force Academy, from the top of Pike's Peak you can see four (maybe 5) states--plus you can get a little sick from being so high up in the air, something very funny??, the Arkansas River at the bottom of the Royal Gorge, a cabin from the gold-mining days--obviously very old, just trying to catch up. 3 posts in 2 days is a lot for me!

A few pictures

Carter's first horsebacki ride Bryan (son) Rich and Teresa (favorite daughter-in-law)

Advent calendar scarf. Same scarf in all 3 pictures in spite of how the color looks.

My TV interview that you might have seen

Okay so here's the scoop.
I've been quite annoyed since OKC sold my parking garage to Devon. They're going to use it for their employees only! la-di-da. It was a City owned garage, my taxes paid to build it (I wasn't the only one--other taxes were used too;) --and then they sold it and didn't even ask me if it was okay. Now this may sound silly but, about 700 people who work or live downtown (not counting the homeless) don't have anywhere to park now and it's making me really cross. The mayor talks all the time about how they're trying to make OKC Downtown a happening place.....but don't we need adequate parking for that to happen? People who were going to the County Courthouse for various reasons, people going to the library, or even people going to the Thunder Store,not to mention all the lawyers offices down there have to share about 15 meters and lord help you if your meter runs out cause the meter-persons love to write tickets. I had worn my Lady Eleanor to work that day and it was the only warmth I had so I wore it at the interview which was outside. My daughter-in-law said my questions were good but my shawl was great! And I feel better now that someone actually listened to what I was thinking. Do you s'pose I'll be discovered now and become a big tv commentator?? toodles Anita

Rules of the Universe-the Sequel

1. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
2. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
3. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
4. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
5. Opportunities always look bigger after they have passed.
6. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
7. There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness' (except for knitters-I added this part)
8. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
9. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.
10. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

I tried to download/upload-whatever it is we do to them-some recent photos and they wouldn't co-operate. It's a mystery to me--I'll try again later.

10 days from today I will celebrate--celebrate might be too strong of a word--let's say I'll observe my 60th. birthday. I really can't figure out how I got this old. I'm only in my mid-thrities at least until I look in the mirror and then I see my mother which isn't a bad thing but it is rather startling. I gotta wonder what the future holds and if I'll outlive the "disease". I've always believed in karma and I tell you sometimes I wonder what I was like in previous lives.

I will finish the Advent Scarf hopefully tomorrow. I'm really tired of this project. Maybe I can get some photos and get them loaded to show you. I've always closely identified with Oscar the Grouch and some days I just want to throw up my hands and say wtf.

and on that cheerful note I'll close.......toodles Anita

Rules of the Universe Part 1

My dear friend Joni (also my personal shopper but that's a different story) sent these to me and I'm going to share them with you in a series because they are funny, yet true! Here's the first 10.

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. Don't worry about what people think; they don't do it very often.
3. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
4. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
5. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
6. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
7. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
8. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
9. It ain't the jeans that makes your butt look fat.
10. The decrease in one’s metabolism is in direct proportion to the increase in one’s appetite. (I added this one from experience)

Tuesday my friend Rebecca, who is a wonderful gift in my life, picked Rich up at day care and took him to supper so I could have a relaxing evening knitting with my friends. After I broke my leg Rebecca and Kerri-her daughter-came over and cleaned my house, changed my sheets, did my laundry, and brought meals several times. She drove us around and helped collect wheel chairs and such things and was just so much help. I can never tell her how much I appreciate her.

Have any of you tried the new cupcake bakeries? Oh my gosh, they are so good and expensive but worth it.

OTN I'm about to finish the Advent scarf. I'm really going to try and get some pictures posted this weekend, I'm way behind.

Well that's it for tonight. I finally was drug kicking and screaning to Facebook like I need another computer place to read. Thanks for dropping by....toodles......Anita

Scenic Site Saturation

Yep that’s what I said—I reached the Scenic Site Saturation Point and I knew if I looked at one more beautiful site in Colorado that my eyes would explode. But it’s kind of hard to not see the beauty in Colorado.

We took a vacation last week to Colorado Springs and visited all the places you are supposed to visit there: Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs Cliff dwellings, Cripple Creek (yuck), the Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, Pikes’ Peak-where-I-ate-a-donut-and-thought-I-was-going-to-faint-not-from-the-donut-but-from-the-thin-air. Hard to breathe up there. I was rushing to the restroom thinking I’d better go cause if I faint I might wet my pants and that would never do. I didn't--faint or wet my pants. We also had supper and a music show at the Flying W Ranch, and another supper at this restaurant that is partly made from an airplane. Pretty cool. There are gift shops everywhere and I am a grandmother…do I need to elaborate? I didn’t think so.

I only took one project, my Advent Scarf, to work on and that was a mistake. Some of those lace patterns are just to complicated to work on in a crowd. So I knitted and tinked knitted and tinked knitted and tinked then finally gave up. Got it going again after we got home. So 13 hours of knitting wasted, but it kept me out of trouble.

I’ve had something of an epiphany but I’m not ready to talk about it yet.

PTSD??

It’s been a less-than-exciting 2-3 weeks. Every day is a brand new experience. As I've mentioned, one can have no expectations.

Almost 3 weeks ago now I put Richard in adult day care for his own safety. He’s had a heat stroke two years in a row and I’m just not in the mood to go through that again. I told him this was his job and he sort of accepted that. The first evening he told me he didn’t want to go back and I told him we’d talk about it and he went out the back door for a “walk” When he wasn’t home by 9:30 and it was also dark-thirty I got anxious and called 911 and 4 police cars, the police helicopter, some friends, and our daughters were all driving around looking for him. Finally at 10:34 he walked around the corner and strolled on home wondering what all the fuss was about. Of course he couldn’t tell us where he’d been and no one could believe that he hadn’t been spotted by somebody! The police ask me if I was going to make him go back to the center and I said you betcha I am. I felt like I had no choice. Course I did but the choice was leaving him home alone no fluids, not eating and getting sick and I couldn’t do that.

As you can imagine, the rest of that week and the next were pretty terrible but at least he didn’t walk off again. He’s now beginning to enjoy it just a little bit and it’s doing some good for him. He’s communicating better and talking a little bit better and he seems to be calming down some. He gets very agitated—part of the disease. He told me there were 3 women that wanted him.
My blood pressure has gone down since I’m not worried about him all day. His blood pressure is perfect but he has no stress.

That evening I was very stressed and Kacie said call your mother so I did and of course the minute she said hello I burst into tears. Partly from worry and partly from sheer frustration, I felt like I’d been trampled by a herd of buffalo. Anyhow, Carter, my 28 month grandson, heard me crying and was alarmed. He brought me a ball of yarn and said “ball” when he gave it to me, went over and scooped up my current project (which he’d pulled the needles out of earlier) and brought it over and carefully set it in my lap, then went back and brought my pattern to me. Oh and I got a hug and kiss too. I thought that was pretty perceptive for a 2-year-old to recognize that my knitting makes me feel good.

So it’s been a difficult 2-3 weeks but he’s doing much better and seems rather resigned. He really needs to be a bit worse to be content, as it is he kind of knows he really doesn’t belong there but…..there is no alternative.

OTN: Stranded socks, Advent Calendar Scarf