Eats and Tunes

Sunset over Rocky Mountains on our drive to Boulder...

Good music, great musicians

Yummie food - cheese/olive/almond dip...very yummie

fiddle, harmonica, banjo, guitar and laughter...wonderful combination

Roger on Bass doing a solo

more good food

Terry and Roger

Roger's friend from Japan -going to college in Missouri, this young man can play the guitar with amazing speed and acuratacy... just amazing,

Julie's friend, Julie, Belinda

Singing and fiddling at the same time! Just very fine music
Jack on the clairinet December 30, 2008 - Terry and Colleen invited us to their home for a barbecue and music fest, Jack to bring his instruments! Being able to leave work a tad early, HOORAY, we drove to Boulder, awed by the beautiful sunset over the Rocky Mountains. Traffic wasn't too bad and we made the drive to Boulder (Jack at the wheel) in about an hour. The Conant home was decorated for the season, festive, bright and cheerful. Virgil greeted us with resounding barks and wagging tail...how fun!

Terry was hard at work pulling pork for the barbecue and Colleen with last minute details. Shortly others arrived, cousins Belinda and Nori and their sons Roger and Kioshi. This gathering was a celebration of Roger being home from Japan for the holidays. Roger is a teacher working a small town north of Tokyo. The town is actually a ski resort and is flocked with Austrailians during the ski season. Friends of Terry and Colleen arrived and we feasted on pulled pork, coleslaw and Terry's secret recipe barbecue sauce - tangy and fruity with the nice hot bite aftertone...very yummie. I never did get a picture of the main meal...too busy enjoying!

Once dinner was done and all were fully satisfied, off to the music room downstairs and the blue grass extravaganza...complete with banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, harmonica, violin er fiddle, and clairnet/sax. After a couple warm up songs things really harmonized and flowed with blue grass finese. Julie (Darcy's daughter) treated us to a powerful blues vocal. All instrumentalists did solos that wowed. It was a wonderful evening. Visiting with family and friends, good food, good music, who could ask for anything more. Grace and Peace to you...and a VERY BLESSED HAPPY NEW YEAR! !

GREEN MOUNTAIN TRAIL!

This is the "Green Mountain" trail.

view of Metro Denver from the parking area

Horse riders have the right of way...

Beware of Mountain Lions ...and rattlesnakes, but it is too cold in December for the snakes. This sign tells you what to do with Mountain Lion encounters and highly recommends carrying a BIG stick if walking the trails.

Yep, the Green Mountain Trail. Says so right there.

Last night I was watching the public access channel here. The city of Lakewood was doing a presentation of horse riding trails in that city, as well as recreation spots. (by the way, in some areas the riders have to scoop the poop, the same as dog owners in a city...that's a mighty big bag to carry when full...) There are at least three reservoirs and several parks and open wild lands for public use. Then the host brought up the William Frederick Hayden Park on Green Mountain... GREEN MOUNTAIN!!! My heart did a leap and immediately I went to Google...good ole Google...and searched it out, sure enough there it was! In Lakewood! Only a 15 minute drive from where we live! I was so excited. So, off to bed, nursing my nasty cold and hoping to feel better today for a drive in the country.

Well today came and I was feeling pretty crummy still. Wicked sore throat, congestion, cough...aarrrggghhh. That isn't going to stop me though...I want to see Colorado's Green Mountain and check out Lakewood. Jack needed to get new reeds for his clarinet, so we were set for a trip....feeling lousy and all. I just didn't care. I didn't know what we would find in Lakewood, but I was determined to go. It was a bright sunny day here in Denver. Very bright. I couldn't see our GPS very well and took several wrong turns which didn't sit well with the helpful navigator in the passenger seat. After 2 or 3 U turns, a couple wrong turns and a run stop light that nearly got us both killed...thankfully the guy in the big white truck saw us, cause I sure didn't see him. He honked and honked and honked at us...and I don't blame him one bit..I did apologize to him...he harumphed off. I was also thankful for Vermont plates, some how that eases my conscious a bit, I can claim stupid out of state driver...but then that sure doesn't leave a good impression of Vermont for these Coloradoans. Anyway, we made it to our anticlimactic destination. A parking area with a port-a-potty. The trails and signage confirmed our location at the Green Mountain Trail. It was windy and cold...even though the sun was bright and warm. I got out of the car, took some pictures. The views were nice. The hill...a hill...maybe in the spring it will be green. I was told by some helpful gas station direction givers not to try to climb the trails because this time of year they can be slippery and the Mountain Lions are about as well. They also said the view from the top is spectacular of metro Denver in one direction and the Rocky's in the other. Well, maybe another time. We drove to the music store, Jack got his reeds. We took a different direction back home via Dartmouth street. The theme of the day was finding familiar names. Off Dartmouth St was Jackson St. , that made us chuckle a bit. Now, snuggling in throws and lots of liquids and rest. Hope I feel better tomorrow. The views from the parking lot were nice.

Many Talents

All the musicians particpated
Pastor Don Haymon - he actually smiles a lot in his messages..just didn't catch him right...but wanted to include him in this blog

drumming in unison

YouthOne did the best...and I mean it, B E S T version of Little Drummer Boy I have ever heard

beautiful voices - Sis Kelly

Tom with his new trombone and Jack with his new Saxophone

Oh Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy, Emmanuel, Christmas Carole Medley...the YouthOne members, orchestra, choir, praise singers... a night of celebration and worship. A time to hear from the Word of the Lord, a time of prayer and an opportunity to give. A powerfully impacting video "God Is With Us". Fellowshipping with those of like precious faith, fellowshipping with our Lord, His Spirit filling the sanctuary. I sobbed through the entire service, it was so moving. It is an honor have the opportunity to partake of the wonderful true meaning of the Christmas season. To know Him ... to be known by Him, marvelous beyond words expression.

Chili and Santa and Christ's Love

Calavary Apostolic Church Academy annual Christmas Chili Luncheon and gift exchange was a fantastic success. Jack and I were so happy to have been invited to attend and share the festivities with the children, their families, the Academy teachers and church members. The chili was a delicious homemade delight. Corn chips and cheese topping, lemonade and ice tea completed the meal. Of course desserts were abundant - cookies and cup cakes and brownies.

Santa arrived just in time, greeted with happy squeels and jumping anticipation. Each child had picked another child's name so the gifting was abundant. The scriptures tell us to "put on Christ" in attitude and action. In our fellowshipping we have witnessed this in others and been able to be a part the giving and spirit of love of Christmas. Pastor Haymon spoke briefly about the giving message of Christmas and offered prayers of Thankfulness for the blessings of God upon us followed by prayer for those less fortunate. To live Christ is to give of ourselves for others benefit and is our gain. Giving and love, forgiveness and opportunitites to encourage, uplift and strengthen those in their lives and walk with Christ. Jesus the central theme through the celebrations.

"UPPER CLASS" Party

Calvary Apostolic Church in Denver holds many festive gatherings for the holiday season. Youth, Adults, Calvary Apostolic Academy and we "Upper Class" celebrate Jesus in fine and festive fashion. Food and more food. We ...the "Upper Class" that is, joined this evening at a nice restaurant and enjoyed fellowship, food, laughter and a round of good ole Yankee Swap, Colorado style. An afternoon snow squall coated the roadways and made travelling slick and slow going. Several who had planned to attend thought better of the travel in the heavy after work commuter traffic and stayed home. They were dearly missed.

Tomorrow, I have off! Hooray! We began 10 hour work days a few weeks ago, and 4 in a row I find tiring. Tomorrow is the CAC Academy Christmas Chili Luncheon. Jack and I were invited to attend. MMmmmmm. How nice it is happening on my day off!

I read the blog and saw the pictures on my daughter in laws Northern Apostolic Mom of their Christmas tradition tree cutting and decorating...it warmed my heart so very much.

Merry Christmas all!

BBBRRRrrrrrrrrrr

Winter has hit the USA with a vengeance! From East to West coasts the wind and rain, ice and snow and low low temperatures have moved in to stay for a while. We heard of the terrible ice in New England...New Hampshire and Massachusetts particularly. We prayed for everyone we knew and didn't know for that matter - safety, warmth and a quick return to normalcy. The Midwest has been hit with blizzards and frigid temps. More prayer - it is what we can do in these kind of circumstances, with assurance they are heard. Chicago, that windy city - is just that, windy and snowy and cold. The west coast has had it's winter furry of storms and snow and more snow along with the cold. Ski areas are ecstatic! Winter snow and sport enthusiasts are energized. The beauty of the season has momentarily taken a back seat to winter's fury. Here in Denver we snuggled down for a quiet Sunday afternoon, the the snow falling outside, only to realize our furnace wasn't firing. It was getting cold inside. I had just bought a wool blanket at the Army surplus store. How handy. The fix it men were here last week, yet it is still out of order...our furnace that is. A quick call to the emergency service guy and he was here in an hour. Got it going and showed Jack how to kick start it if it stopped again. An electric space heater and some hot chocolate and we were toasty warm. We watched church service on the Internet, not daring to leave before the repair man arrived...nor after he left to make sure all stayed running..Internet church, a very nice thing. Again, the furnace didn't start as the inside temperature began to dip. Jack, in usual fashion and not wanting to get chilled again, followed directions given by the fix it man and added some special touches of his own...."IN THE NAME OF JESUS...stay on and work right" followed by a gentle tap on the apparatus. All has worked well since!

A malfunctioning part will be ordered and the unreliable firing apparatus will be replaced. Enjoy the snow and winter beauty. Stay warm.

God bless you all

Getting In Shape

In Denver, the altitude is high. As we drive around many are walking, jogging, riding bikes. Denver has a multitude of bicycle and walking trails safe from traffic. It has taken about 2 months for me to feel like I can walk at a steady fast pace without gasping for breath. I am still not fully aclimated, but felt it was time to go ahead and DO something. So, in true Yankee fashion and not wanting to overdo or hurt myself, I have enlisted the assistance of a personal trainer who will walk me through some exercise regimes and slowly, safely increase as appropriate. Now this young man graduated from a midwest college with a degree in physical fitness and personal training. He is well qualitfied and able to help me with this new endeavor. He also works as the GI tech in the Endo unit at PSL. Not his most desirable job, but it is an income, he had done the same thing in Ohio where he grew up, and PE Trainer jobs in Denver require a Masters...so he will be off to College in Colorado Springs in the not too distant future. I will post my progress slow as it may be. You notice, I have not put an actual picture of me here. Nope. 2 months of minimal exercise and healthy appetitie have taken their toll.

Grace and Peace to you, and the Lord help me. He made us, I want to take the best care of this body I can.

PARADE OF LIGHTS

For the past 35 years a local Denver TV station, along with other community supporters as well as the City of Denver put on a pageant to celebrate the Christmas season. The Parade of Lights is one of the major events. The lighting of the city is a wonderful tradition. The Zoo, Botanic Gardens, parks, businesses, all decked out in lights. Nice. Tonight Jack and I went to the Parade of Lights. Lots of marching bands, floats, good fun and cheer. No lack of the demonstration of the true meaning of Christmas either. Christmas Carols played by the bands. Christian themed floats and groups proudly and beautifully participated and were welcomed by the crowds. There were secular floats and other themed floats as well, all very well done. Joy and Peace and Good Will toward man were common themes. Fire trucks, horses, huge balloons of fun characters, dancers and local news agencies joined in this wonderful magical night. Fortunately it wasn't too cold., though the dry 40 degree air was a bit nippy. Jack and I dressed in layers, brought our soft blankets to sit on and snuggled to keep warm. It was an eight block walk to and from the grandstand where we watched with delight. After, we came home to a homemade pizza and then off to bed quickly for Jack while I blog and post pictures here and there (FB). Tomorrow we will see how our bodies fared the nights activities. For now, we had fun and are pooped. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
By the way...the best float was the Nativity scene, "He will be called Immanuel"...complete with 3 wise men decked in kingly clothing riding horses decked in kingly horsie outfits following the float. ..this is, after all Denver ...in the West...no camels around here, it was really fun.

Denver County Government Building - decked with lights. The opening of the parade was the lighting of the building - Jack and I were sitting directly across from it and it was spectacular!

Lighted float of Toys in Toy Land

me

Jack

Snow plow from Denver International Airport...the kids just loved this...the float was nice, but I didn't get a good picture.

Christmas Nativity scene - Jack and I liked this float the best of all.

Nutcracker float

Another colorful lighted float

Dennis came floating by...and the wind picked up, the balloon floated over the grandstand much to the delight of the children, oooos and aaaahhhhhs of the parents, and a bit of a worry for the handlers. An unexpected drift. It was fun though, and all got under control very quickly.

Ship of Lights

Black Hawk Fire Dept truck - no parade is complete unless a firetruck is included

Good ole Rudolph delighted the kids...and there were thousands of them having a grand time.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

a