We lost our beloved Audie, my mother-in-law last night. She is now walking hand in hand with the Lord. She was at home, surrounded by her family when she passed. Thank you all for your prayers.
David
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Just a brief note
Things are pretty quiet in Sunshine. Milo and I enjoyed our morning walk and only saw two cars. We are ever vigilant. We finish our out bound walk at Ruby's house and return by the same path. You never know when the friendly neighborhood bear will show up. It's a cool 81 degrees today. A far cry different from the 100+ degrees down the hill in Boulder. Sunshine is a great place to get away from the heat. I have been sleeping outside on the deck for the last week or so. (No, I'm not in the dog house) I have noticed an increased activity in the number of "shooting stars". Could we be approaching another meteor shower? I'll bet so! Our sky is so clear that even the big dipper gets lost in all the stars. The Milky Way can easily be seen on any clear night. Little wonder I have become a star watcher.
LUNAR IMPACTS: There's a meteor shower on the Moon tonight. Like Earth, the Moon is inside the Delta Aquarid meteoroid stream. Unlike Earth, however, the Moon has no atmosphere to shield it. Meteors on the Moon hit the ground and explode. (continued below)
"Keeping an eye on the Moon." Photo credit: Jimmy Westlake. July 27, 2006.
Some of the impact flashes might be visible from the earth. When the sun goes down tonight, train your telescope on the crescent Moon. Look left of the crescent where the lunar terrainis dark. Split-second flashes of light could signal Delta Aquarids hitting the ground.
Well, I have rambled on enough for today.
May the Lord be with each and everyone of you out there in J-land.
Smiles,
David
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Joe's going to work
Milo, Mark (my BIL) and I all left this morning at 7AM to raise the flag. Mark is leaving for Iowa this morning. It's been an extended vacation and I'm sure he is excited to get home. After spending six months in Iraq, he has a rather long "honey-do" list. Mark helped me put a new rope up the flagpole. We also put a new loop in the rope. My neighbor Wain, has a Garrison Flag that we are going to hoist on Sundays and holidays. The Garrison flag is about 3 times larger than the one we raise on a daily basis.
We had some fun while Mark was here. Last Sunday we went flying with Wain in his airplane. We flew over Sunshine, over the continental divide to Winter Park, turned north over Rocky Mountian National Park and the followed Trail Ridge road over Estes Park and then back to Longmont CO. It was a beautiful day to fly.
My friend Joe, is going back to work soon. Joe works construction. He has a unique construction job, he is building the International Space Station. Here is the latest press release:
NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis is set to embark on a four-mile journey to Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Monday, July 31. First motion is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 28 for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.
The fully assembled space shuttle vehicle, consisting of the orbiter, external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, will be mounted on a mobile launcher platform and delivered to the pad via a crawler transporter. The process is expected to take approximately six hours.
I married an Angel. Janice and her sister, Anita, have been sitting with their mother, Audie, 24 hours a day. They are even sleeping on the floor in her room. Audie is resting all the time now. It won't be long. Hospice has been wonderful. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Morning drive
My youngest son, Mike, is taking a summer school class. It starts at 7:30 in the morning and ends at 12:30. The classes are held at Fairview High School on the south end of Boulder. That's not bad but, it is a 35 minute drive each way, twice a day. My lovely wife, Janice, works for the Boulder County School District and has the summer off. Until recently,Jan has been the one to take Mike up and down the hill to school. She is a true angel. She has been maintaining a 24 hour vigil since her mother came home from the hospital. More on that in another post.
Janice is not leaving the house so the job of taking Mike to school is mine, all mine. Keep in mind, I usually raise the flag at 7:30. Not now. I'm 18 miles away, in Boulder at 7:30. I am now raising the flag on my return trip home. In the Army we honored the colors at 8AM. I guess I am back in unison with the Army. The colors are being raised in Sunshine, Colorado at 8AM.
So where does that leave my o' buddy Milo? Home sitting in the driveway without his morning walk. He is not a happy camper. This morning as I started down the driveway I looked a Milo. He had on his "sad puppy face". Those sad eyes and droopy ears, tail hanging down... melted me. I stopped the car, opened the back door and said "come on boy"! Two bounces and he was in the back seat. Mike and I rolled down the rear windows and listened to Milo's tail beat against the seat. All the way to school he had his head out the window. He did not bark once, even as we passed other dogs. What a trooper. Several of the other drivers took a moment to say "HI" to my puppy dog. His tail just kept wagging. As we approached the house I had but one thought........."I wonder how long it will take me to wash the windows?"
Last weekend was a very busy weekend. FAC was a big success. Carrie and Alex had their wedding up on the hill (the band played well into the darkness). The newspaper published an article on what a great cycling road we have up here. They failed to mention the bears and the mountain lion. And Tyler Hamilton, our neighbor who is an Olympic Gold medalist and world renowned cyclist sponsored a bicycle race up Sunshine Canyon. I wonder what this weekend will bring. FAC anyone?
Keep the prayers coming for Audie. Hospice is here everyday. She has been receiving a few guests. Dennis and Suzie will be home from Hawaii this weekend. She will have all of her children with her.
Smiles,
David
Friday, July 14, 2006
Friday Afternoon Club
Living in the mountains has made construction of a new home challenging. When My FIL went to lay the foundation for our home he had to blast out a lot of rock. In one corner he ran into bedrock. After six sticks of dynamite he gave in and just built on top of it. The result is the waterfall in the entry room. The sound of the water falling is almost deafening. We put in fountains to give us water circulation so we do not run the waterfall often. It is still a nice water feature. I added the plants and lights (like the blue one on the left). This is what you see when you walk into our front door.
Our neighbor, Pavel, is hosting Friday Afternoon Club today. Looks like I had better find a nice bottle of red wine and some snacks. We will welcome Jennie and Mike, who have arrived in Sunshine for their stay at their summer house. For those of you who are not familiar with FAC, it's a Friday after work (or school) party. Friends (in our case the whole neighborhood) get together for a social gathering. You only need to bring some food and beverage and a good attitude. It should be a fun evening.
We had a visit from Hospice today. Audie, my MIL, is pretty much confined to her bed, although she can still walk with help. Hospice has delivered a hospital bed and all of the accessories. We have moved the bedrooms around and she is in the room across from ours. With a baby monitor, we can hear her call when she needs us. As hard as things are right now, she is in good spirits. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
David
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Morning walk 7-11-06
Milo and I started down the driveway this morning around 7:20AM. He is so funny. Milo gets all excited and almost pushes me through the door when I open it. He runs out the door and chases the imaginary bunny rabbits waiting in the parking area; then he bounces ahead of me as I start down the drive way.
We arrived at the flag pole just short of 7:30. I normally raise the flag with just the 3 dogs, Milo, Plato and Maui. I have been honored this weekend with a special guest. My BIL, Mark, has returned from his tour of duty in Iraq. Mark's name is on the top of my list of names that I have been reading since January. On this special weekend we raised the flag together, took 3 steps back and saluted our country's colors. We continued our walk all the way to Scooter's house. We threw Scooter a doggie treat and then returned home. Thanks to Deb for asking...He is home for good. Now he can sit down at the VFW and "chew the fat" with the old guys.
It has been raining in Sunshine since Friday. The forest smells so clean and fresh. Sunday, we saw a bear by the side of the road. He was just sitting there, minding his own business. When I returned with the camera, he had tired of empty pine cones and moved on toward greener pastures. Sunday was a good day for a road trip to Estes Park. We walked through the little shops downtown and dodged the rain drops.
We have some new neighbors. A family (with a dog) has moved into Dr. Paul's house.
The Sunshine reunion (SCSSYYSR) has been postponed for a later date. On a related note, would you all please pray for my MIL? Cancer is so cruel. Your prayers are so powerful, thank you.
Until next time, Smiles,
David
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Safely Home
We arrived home safely. It was a long three day car ride from Seaside, Oregon to Sunshine, Colorado. I could probably write a book about my observations but that would violate my "60 second" rule. I have driven that road so many times I don't even need a map anymore. Maybe, some day, I'll write another book, one about my travels through the American West.
Some thoughts....Why do the Seagulls land and face the setting sun as it sinks into the western horizon? This was the first time in my memory that the wind wasn't blowing in Wamsutter, Wyoming (the garden spot of the state...J/K). I stopped to take a picture but decided not to. Who wants a picture of nothing? It seemed strange driving up our driveway. In Oregon, plants grow to their maximum potential. The trees are 100'-200' tall. Here at home, they are only about 50' tall. Why would a sane man take his wife, her sister and two teenagers on a 14 day car ride? Did you notice there weren't any people in the ocean? It's only 66 degrees! Burrrrrr!!!! Any way, it was a fun trip.
Milo was soooo happy to see me. He was bouncing all over the driveway. His tail was wagging so hard and fast, it almost knocked me over. We took our morning walk today and raised the American flag. Today we wished America a "Happy Birthday".
Smiles,
David
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