Category Archives: Holidays

Thankful

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I love Thanksgiving. It is the only holiday that we make a concerted effort to simply reflect on what we are thankful for along with our loved ones and our abundance of food -our sustenance. It is not about excesses or commercialism. It is about remembering what is really important. And although Thanksgiving is not until tomorrow, I thought I would give thanks a little early.

I am so very thankful that I grew up with such a wonderful dad. While it still pains me that he is not here anymore, I have to remember that this pain is just love inside out.  

I am thankful for my health and the health of my loved ones. Without your health, life is much harder.

I am thankful FOR my loved ones. Without the people in our lives who we love so much, life would have little meaning. I would even include Schnoodle, Kitty and our chickens as my “people” in this one. 🙂

I am thankful for our opportunities. Even when we sometimes worry or complain about them, my life is better because of work, because of our rentals, because of the opportunity to live in Puerto Rico! How great is that!?

I am thankful for our comfortable life. I have a warm house, food at all times, clean running water, transportation, entertainment  and more. Some may say they are not all the most important, but they definitely make life a little easier. A foundation for you to achieve your own dreams. I am thankful for all the people in all sorts of various ways who help keep our lives possible in that way.

And I am thankful for you! By taking the time to read our blog, you show that you are interested in our lives. Thank you for supporting us, engaging with us in great dialogue, and even becoming new friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Poker Memorial for Dad at Cattlemen’s in Greeley

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Thursday night we went to a poker memorial for my dad at Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in Greeley. He had talked about getting his poker group together along with us (his family) for months before he passed. He gave his best friend, Mory, some money to cover a nice meal and said to have a good time on him when he was gone. He was just that kind of guy. He loved poker and gambling and he loved his friends and family. It was a fitting tribute. And we felt him there that night.


The group at dinner

We had a large group come out. Most of his regular card crew came as well as their significant others. We all commented that we should have done this before. The wives had never met the other wives (it’s mostly a boys’ card club, but women are welcome), but they knew all the men from many, many years of rotating houses and fixing the food. So it was nice to fit the family with the card player. And we even had links we didn’t know were tied to Dad! (Greeley is a small world after all.)


Pre-dinner conversation

We had a nice meal that Dad would have approved of. He loved Cattlemen’s Restaurant here in Greeley and its western theme really fit with who he was. We toasted and told stories of his serious love of cards.

Then we got started with the poker. We had so much fun! We were laughing and joking and remembering his little sayings, like how Queens were Queeches, Kings were Cowboys, Twos were Deuces and other random fun stuff Dad taught us. I remember being four or five years old sitting on Dad’s lap playing cards with this and other groups. It was just a part of him. So this night was a perfect memorial.  And he was so forward thinking to put this idea into motion even before he was gone.

The night was wonderful. I felt like I had had a second chance to be with Dad again. We even dealt him in a hand of seven-card no peek and the first card turned was…a Jack! But it also left me nostalgic and longing to really see him. To hear him laugh, hoot and holler, joke and bet. To see him slide the poker chips around in his hands. To watch him bluff -something I can never muster enough sneakiness to adequately pull off.

And with all these memories, my feelings of sadness and loss welled up by the end of the night. But I know that I only miss him so much because of what a great hole he has left. In me, my family, and even this great poker group.

Dad’s perspective- he would be smiling

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Winter Wonderland in Greeley

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Well, it has happened once again. The first snow of the season. A blanket of white drapes itself over our whole landscape. Colorado is so strange. This weekend we had 80 degree weather. You would think it was summer if not for the  lack of leaves on the trees and the yellow coloring on those that remained. It was gorgeous and sunny. We went for a walk by the river and hung out outside. Then Tuesday we had our first taste of snow, but it didn’t stick around.


Brrr out back

Today I have the day off as it is Veteran’s Day. So I slept in, nice and cozy. Britton still had to work, so there was no rush in getting up. When I finally roll out of bed it is WHITE. Everywhere. Cold, fluffy and white. A winter wonderland in Greeley. Kitty was sitting at the back door and so my aunt Laura (who is staying with us) let him in. He is an outdoor cat, but we are not that “cold” and so we let him in if he is being good. And he is. He loves warm soft spots, just like me. And that’s where he ended up. On our bed curled up beside me.


Kitty Snuggling up next to me in bed

Schnoodle, on the other hand loves the snow. She presses and nuzzles all around and in it and just gets completely covered in snow clumps all over her fur.


Schnoodle in the Schnow 🙂

The chickens tolerate it, but they obviously don’t enjoy it. How can you peck and scratch when everything is wet and cold? So they keep to the side of the house where the overhang protects them from snow. We had thought about moving them and their coop into the greenhouse for their winter home, but just hadn’t done it yet. Maybe this weekend we’ll do that. It stays relatively warm in there and they have a dry area to walk around on.


Greenfoot avoiding the snow

It’s hard to believe that in just a few days Britton will be in Puerto Rico. No snow there. While it is certainly beautiful this shiny, shimmering snow, I think I could try a life without it in the tropics for at least a little while…

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Halloween Party in Greeley

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Last night we went out to a Halloween dance party in Greeley. My friends Shana and Marjorie are in a belly dancing group and have performances now and then. This one was a Halloween costume party and everyone was encouraged to come dressed up. Shana dressed as a nun (which is doubly funny since she is Jewish), Britton went in his afro wig as usual, and I dressed up as a bunny rabbit. We saw some other pretty creative costumes like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (a flight attendant with diamonds on her outfit), the Mad Hatter, and Smegal (sp) from Lord of the Rings.


Leah (aka Lucy), Shana the Nun and Me the Bunny

Before we left the house I noticed that my black and white bunny outfit looked an awful lot like Schnoodle, so she even got into the festivities:


Schnoodle Rabbit and Cassie Rabbit

Shana changed out of her nun costume into a hoodlum get-up. She says, “I left the habit for the hood”.


Lorena, Shana and Me after Shana’s costume change

Our friends Lorena and Adriana came out with us after the dancing and we had drinks at Coyote’s Grill just a block over from the dance studio.


A bunch of misfits: Britton, Adriana, Cassie, Lorena, Shana, Leah at Coyotes

While we were over at Coyotes we started to see people coming in in black tie attire. At first we thought they had had a costume party too, but no, they were coming from the Greeley Chorale. It was quite the mixture of people. Our group dared me to walk through all the tuxes in my bunny outfit, and I did to their cheers. It was pretty funny.

We took the Corvette out so it was a fun night all in all.


Britton drove the Corvette with an afro

On a side note, I loved my fake eyelashes but I could never wear them daily, what a pain!


Check out these long lashes!

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