Leg #3 Colorado, and into Utah - halfway there

I'm putting too many photos into this, and none of them is edited. Is what is. I hate, hate that word, 'busy', so overused these days and worse yet, as a badge of honor. So I won't use it.

Let's just say life is full in the nicest of ways.

We've been here in northern Idaho - I call it the smokestack, but I believe native Idahoans call it the panhandle - just over two weeks. We've unpacked, put away the suitcases, stocked the fridge, done a bit of shopping for things we needed to live here six to eight months; we've gone to several movies, (Light Between Oceans, To Joey with Love and Magnificent Seven), eaten lunch by the lake, had kids over, had grandkids over, gone to see them, watched the trees begin to turn, enjoyed the canadian geese that fly over our little place every single night honking their heads off; we've sipped wine at night and made plans. We've slept, and then slept some more.

So we ordered wood floors for our little place - just the dining room and living room, but the carpet is not people friendly, and in spite of multiple cleanings it's stained and bugs me to death. So we ordered floors to be installed sometime in October. Who knew wood floors were so complicated? Worse than the cereal aisle at Walmart. We settled on an engineered hardwood that is multi-colored, and we're thinking we'll like that much better under the dining room table, especially the next time we have anyone over for spaghetti.

Our Texas home isn't started yet, but we think it's close. That means we have at least six weeks til we have to be back there to check on construction, and sign off for them to start putting up sheetrock. So we decided to finally, finally, finally take our 35th wedding anniversary trip. It started with a trip to Italy, booked, then cancelled. Then buying a camper which we took out for one night and loved, but decided that wasn't going to be the trip. Then we decided to make a ten day drive through Washington and  Canada. That was before we drove 10 days from Texas to Idaho, at which point we decided neither of us could stand the thought of getting in a vehicle to go any further than the local grocery.

You know  you're worn thin when even a cruise sounds like too much trouble. Too many people. Too many announcements over the loud speakers. Too crowded elevators. Too much song and dance. Too much entertaining. So we are leaving this Sunday for an all-inclusive in Mexico, where we will sleep late, lie on a beach, sip pretty beverages, look for shells, read books, and change into clean clothes to eat supper before turning in for a good night's sleep. I will knit. Cub Sweetheart will not.

So the suitcases are back out on the bed, ready to be filled. So far I have 3 books, (Night Circus, Elizabeth is Missing and a Debbie MacComber) my straw hat and our passports. I have been known to delay packing, then throw everything in too fast, which results in not packing underwear, so I'll have to put some thought to it.

I'd hoped to post all the photos from our drive up here, but there are too many and not enough time, so I'll put leg #3 here, and catch up the rest after we get back home.

Leg #3 was from the Denver area, across western Colorado to visit my sister and her husband and daughter's family, then on into Utah. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

We saw antelope. That was it. 




Snow in August!










Our family calls these 'kissing tunnels' Must kiss someone!




He hides me in the cleft of the rock...

Kiss, kiss!












Bridge love





















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In all the trip, seeing my 91 year old father, my mother who has dementia, and my sister and her husband who is very ill, we didn't take photos of people, except two of my Dad in his garden. Seeing people you don't know if you'll ever see again, or won't see again, is just too hard. So I hugged long, then went back for extra hugs and kisses, and tried to etch faces in my mind and heart, something I think we tend to neglect in this day of selfies and iphones full of photos that never get printed out. 

Comments

I miss your sister's blog days and am so sad that her husband is ill. I enjoyed your family blogging so much. It's my favorite kind of blog-a conversational peek into your lives.
Bev said…
Hey Beth, I miss my sister's blog too - her writing voice, and her recipes! We are beyond sad about the situation with her husband, but they are doing as well as can be expected during this difficult journey. Thanks for your gracious comments and for stopping to say hello.
gayle said…
I want to say the same thing, I love to see a new entry from you and miss Barb's blog. Your Mom was bright and I am sad to hear her status. Stay busy and happy.

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