Mischievous Missy

I love it when a friend asks something of you and there is no hesitation, no thought, just an immediate response of 'YES, of course!' I received an email a few weeks back from my friend Janet asking me if someone they love very much could stay with us for a couple of days as she was passing through Denver. There it was, no hesitation, no thought, just an immediate, 'YES, of course!.' Well, fast forward to last Wednesday, when the lovely, Audra, showed up @ our front door. She has been on a cross-country adventure for the past two months and having quite the life experience for a 22 year old! We are now, part of her story, as she is of ours, and I venture to say, for the rest of both of our respective lives. I say it often, on Facebook, 'Come, I will feed you!' Well, our new sweet friend loves to eat, so it has been joy and a delight to feed her. We even made pasta together! She was so excited to learn 'how to', and then of course, knowing that there was food @ the end of the process was a huge thrill for her. It is clear, this has been a good visit. Audra has had, even as I write, some very important family time here as well. She has summited a mountain of 14,000 feet, she has made pasta for the first time and we went horseback riding together. The 12 Mile Stables, which I blogged about last year @ this time, came up in conversation, and lo and behold, she wanted to get up on one of those horses, as did I, so, on Sunday, off we rode into the sunset.

My horse, named Missy, turned out to be very very mischievous, as she kept on insisting on going off the 'assigned' path to grab large mouth fulls of greenery. I just did not have the strength to yank her very stubborn self back. As it turns out, it was quite humorous, and she was such a sweet girl. It seems that part of the reason why she was able to 'get away' w/ such behavior, was that my saddle was not in the center. I was leaning to the left, so no matter how hard I tried, Missy had the upper hand, and clearly she knew it. By the end of the ride through our Cherry Creek State Park, I was practically holding on for dear life as the saddle had slipped so far to the left!! Audra and her horse, named Kat, were riding behind me, so Audra had a good laugh or 10, watching me try to do the impossible!! We had so much fun, came home, made the pasta from the dough we had prepared earlier, and thankfully, neither of us was too sore the next day.

So, thank you Janet, for asking us to let Audra stay with us for a couple of days, which has now turned into almost a week. As a Family, we all have a new friend for life, and it is no surprise, we love her too!!

'Don't walk behind me; I may not lead.

 Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.'

Albert Camus

The view from 12 Mile Stables.. 

The lovely people in front of me and our Guide.. 

Me, enjoying the view, while leaning to the left...

On our way back to the stables, really leaning!!!

Audra, and Kat, after our adventure....

A sweet moment with Audra and Kat...

Missy, totally laughing at me, knowing she had made out like a bandit...

Pasta making, 101...

Wordless Wednesday...Seriously, No Words Necessary....

Food, warmth, shelter...grateful...

Coronado Island...Thank-you....

View from our hotel of the Coronado Bay Bridge

View from hotel of downtown San Diego

Terrace (loved the terrace) of our room with a view..

Big California skies, the Pacific on Coronado Beach

Mussels and fries @ Chez Loma

We parked in front of this historic bungalow everyday @ the beach...

Historic Hotel Del Coronado...125 years old!!

Sand castle sculpted in front of Hotel Del...w/ Jimmy!!

Where we did not stay (one of the Del's Villa's)...lol...pretty!!

Chandelier in lobby of Hotel Del!!

Sunrise...

...and sunset...

This is how our vacation started...we boarded the plane, excited that our vacation was finally upon us. I smiled @ the man sitting next to me in the window seat, Jimmy was on the aisle. Window man and I engaged in very small chit chat. I noticed his accent. As always, curious:

Me: Where are you from?

Him: (short, momentary hesitation) Iran.

Me: (still in conversational mode, not thinking the worst) So, why are you going to San Diego?

Him: My wife's mother died.

Me: Oh I am so sorry. Last year at this time, my Mother died. I know how you feel.

Him: Thank you.

He went on to explain to me about the Iranian community in San Diego, that he lives in Denver. I told him that we were going to San Diego to celebrate our 25th Anniversary, that it was a happy occasion, that I hoped his next trip would be a happy occasion. I offered him some almonds, he said no, and put his hand over his heart. I had my Chaim Potok novel in my lap, he watched cartoons for the rest of the trip. We landed w/out incident and said our good-byes.

We had a wonderful time on Coronado Island. We wanted to go to the beach and eat fish. Anything over and above that would be icing on the cake. Just being there, smelling the water, waking up w/ the sun, seeing the pristine cleanliness of the Island, pastel colored bicycles everywhere, children pedaling freely, shiny cars reflecting the palm trees on their well polished bodies, knowing we were very very close to Tijuana, dreaming about buying a condo or a time share for our next trip back to Coronado (stranger things have happened) all added to the depth of our visit to Coronado. The icing was thick.

We planned the trip so that it would be the few days before the 1st anniversary, or yahrzeit of Mom's passing. I said to Jimmy, this was either a really good idea, or a really bad one. As it turns out, it was a really good idea. The anticipation of how bad the day might be was erased by the whole adventure. My gratitude of being by the ocean, the long walks on the beach, all took away the sting of the day. Honestly, I was glad that the first year w/out Mom was behind us. So, here we are, back from sea level to 6000 feet in the air. A seamless transition, this time...looking forward to the continuing adventure....

Wordless Wednesday

Griddled croissant with chive cream cheese, Smoked Salmon, and onions!

From my Pinterest board, 'Food Glorious Food #2'.

Whole Foods Block Party, Sunday, 7/17!!

Whole Foods is closing down Waterman Street from Wayland to Butler! Join us for an afternoon of family fun, charitable giving, and delicious food! There will be live performances, music, games, kids activities, outdoor artist gallery, raffles, and did we mention food? Hope to see you there! Sponsored by Waterman Whole

Foods Market and East Side Monthly.

Tiny, Tiny Tiny...

Yesterday was one of those days at the beach we will remember for the rest of our lives. The weather was warm, the sky was blue, blue, blue, there was just a slight breeze, the water was clear (no red tide), the rocks were abundant as the ocean was really bringing it up from the bottom. Jimmy and Edward played allot in the water (as I scoured the beach over and again for stones), the food, delish. I came away with my yellow bucket almost full of rocks, some smooth pieces of small shells, even a piece of beach glass. But THIS TINY SHELL is what took my breath away. I just couldn't get over it. There it was on the shore, surrounded by thousands of small, very small pebbles, (almost sand, but too grainy), and some larger rocks as well. I guarded it carefully, I knew I had to keep it safe and intact. I just had to get it back to our spot on the beach where my camera was tucked away. I knew that in it's own small way, this tiny shell would keep yesterday forever in our memories...remember the day when.....