There's a fish in the percolator

As much as the holiday season brings time off from work, festivities, family, friends and a lot of good cheer, I always feel a sense of relief when it is behind me. I view it as this growing ball of energy leading up to an explosion, only to start quiet, small and new come January 1st. I did have a really nice Christmas as Mom, Dad, and Robert made the trek to visit me. Though the weather reported some storms over the mountains, it wasn't so bad as to keep the family away. They came on Christmas Eve around 2pm and the boys were delighted to see their Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Bob. We had tea and snacks. We went to Christmas Eve mass at St. Mary's Church and then came home to a simple dinner of sandwiches and soup. Dad and Robert were tired so they called it an early evening-Robert got my bedroom with the TV in it so no doubt he chilled and watched my newly ordered Satellite TV. Mom and I watched a cheesy Lifetime Christmas movie. Sunday we woke up and opened gifts. I made brunch filled with ham and cheese quiche, bagels, muffins, toast, and turkey bacon. I took a nap; Robert and Dad went on a drive; mom and the boys relaxed in the living room. We had dinner reservations at The Red Barn, a local restaurant that serves down home food in a comfortable atmosphere. We had dessert at home-a warm fruit compote over toasted angel food cake; played the game Operation; crawled into bed at 9pm. The family left on Thursday and I headed to work. I got many wonderful presents, including car seat covers, Starbucks gift cards, books, and such...but my favorite gift is the Twin Peaks series on DVD! Mike and I spent our first Christmas Break together after we met in college watching the series that we borrowed from Jason and Jessica. I had been really itching to see it again, and so I just finished the Pilot and the first three episodes. As Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman were about to drink coffee served by Pete Martel, Pete suddenly says "Don't drink that! I just discovered there was a fish in the percolator!" It was too late, and Agent Cooper's perfect cup of coffee had already touched his lips. They just don't make dark humor like that anymore.

I found myself recently struggling with a bit of the doldrums. Not sure if it was due to holiday stress, the cold, the snow, the darkness, working in hospice, being far from friends and family...but I lived in a "poor me" state for a few weeks blaming everyone and everything for not being "happy." But then I had a pretty big realization. I realized that I had made everything that I had wanted and intended happen. I wanted to become a hospice social worker and now I am! I wanted to move away from Denver and explore new places, live in a smaller community and now I am doing it! I wanted to live in a house with lots of space and beautiful views and I achieved that! It is a really powerful realization to have, as it reminds me that all of this is what I have wanted to move forward with my life. As I began coming out of my melancholy state, I realized maybe my melancholy is attributed to lacking "a little color" in my life. One of the dangers of living out in the country is once I come home, going back out again takes mental and physical energy. This is a sentiment held by many people I have met who live in the country. They say, "Do whatever you want to do before you get home, because when you get home that is it for ya"! And then I find myself sitting at home, at night, in the dark, feeling lonely. Well, all that will change as I was inspired by Oprah's January O Magazine to add color in different ways. To me, adding color isn't just wearing a pink t-shirt or bright socks or eating off of red plates-adding color is doing something new and different everyday to keep myself engaged and feeling challenged by what there is to discover.

Yesterday I decided that I would do just that...engage and discover. The past few weekends I have spent at home, so yesterday I decided I needed to get out. I drove to one of my favorite destinations: Ridgeway. The drive is so very pretty along HWY 550.

 I stopped at the Dennis Weaver Memorial Park off the highway on the way toward the turn off to town. Dennis Weaver had a family home in Ridgeway and died there in 2006. This park is a little piece of heaven!

It sits along the Uncompaghre River and it has a very spiritual feeling to it. At the beginning of the park, there is a beautiful poem written by Dennis Weaver:

As you walk into the park, there are a bunch of stones and a beautiful Eagle statue soaring in the sky. The stones are spiritual objects as described on this plaque that is located in the park:

Then another little plaque with a "Prayer Stone Stack" poem on it...

The park itself has this huge stone stack and an Eagle statue in the center. Around it, people have placed stones to represent prayer, solidarity and empowerment. It is a really beautiful sight and I could just feel the energy coming off of the various stone stacks.

So, thanks to adding "a little color" to my life I have now found a gem of a destination where I can find peace and inspiration. There are other things happening in the area which will add a little color, too. Laff In Comedy Night will be starting a 2 Rascals Brewpub in January, which I have heard is a must to attend. January is Montrose Writing Month sponsored by the library. You commit to a certain amount of time per week to writing, and then February 3rd there will be an open mic night and party celebrating our writing milestones. February 11th (my birthday!) I am going to take an Aromatherapy Class at the Delta Montrose Technical College. And March 1st I am going to take a class on how to paint with alcohol inks at the college. In between, I plan to usher in 2014 as a fresh beginning, a new start, and hope for good luck as I eat up my black eyed peas and collard greens on New Years' Day!

May 2014 have color in store for your life!

XO Mel

A night on the town

Last night after work I drove to Grand Junction to spend the night. There is a group from the GJ hospice office who go and do the "paint and drink wine" event at The Palette. I stay at a hotel about a block away right on Main Street and so I can walk over and walk home. It is really fun! The room was packed. The painting we did is called "Snowy Eve". I left my camera at home so I didn't take a picture of mine, but here was the model from which we painted:

If you go with someone each of you can do one side that when connected makes one whole picture; or you can do the whole picture which I chose to do. It seems so simple when they start teaching us but the little details can make or break the picture! Mine turned out okay, the only complaint I have is that the little white dots that are supposed to be stars ended up looking more like large snowflakes on mine!

Today I slept in and drank some coffee. I walked on the treadmill and ate breakfast at the hotel. I just came back from a trip to Mesa Mall and will be checking out soon. I realized that I should take advantage of using the Internet one more time!

My lovely little dog sitter's car got stuck in my driveway this morning as she was going to her part time job. I didn't really think about that being a problem for her because I thought the snow melted enough, but she doesn't have a 4WD car. I think her dad is heading to my house to get it unstuck and I offered called AAA for her. Thank goodness I got rid of the Jetta and bought the Subaru before the snow!

I do dig Grand Junction the more I come and visit. The main street is super cute and the city is just enough "busy" without being overwhelming. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods and good hiking is just a few miles any which way. As much as I like Montrose, sometimes I wonder if it is too small for me...But I am glad I have at least this year to get to know all the different areas of the Western Slope, experience the seasons, drive around visiting patients, and getting my groove going to see come September, when my lease is up, where I might end up next. I may stay in Montrose another year, or move someplace else...but I am giving myself time to figure it out!

I did have a cute experience the other night at home...I was watching a movie in the living room and saw something on my porch out of the side of my eye. Since no one ever comes to my house I knew it wasn't a person; rather, it turned out to be a big deer on my front porch peering into the windows. He was thinking to himself, "Boy, it looks warm in there!" Chester and Stanley were busy chewing a rawhide and didn't notice. I just enjoyed seeing his big face and eyes in my window!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

...This was the song I was singing this week because of the weather we had! The calm before the storm on Tuesday was a really cool inversion of weather. I live up on a mesa so when I left my house, it was sunny and lovely out. As I was driving to work, there was a huge cloud hanging low to the town and dense fog and snow as I was driving through the cloud. It is like when you are on an airplane and you are traveling in the blue sky while looking down at the clouds.

The winter weather literally took Montrose by storm. Tuesday night into Wednesday the wind was so blowing so hard that I finally understood what Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz felt like!

Wednesday morning my drive into work took 2 hours. Montrose got hit really hard and the roads weren't really plowed. Once I got into Delta, it was a smoother drive. People keep telling me that this was an anomaly and Montrose gets less snow than Denver. Let's hope so...

The weekend has proven to be very festive and fun thus far. Friday night I saw the neighbor High Schooler perform in a 1950's musical "A Taffeta Christmas." I love high school musicals and plays, the kids try so hard and I enjoy watching teens doing things they love to do. Last night I had dinner with Robin and we watched the last part of the town Parade of Lights. We then moseyed over to a Bed and Breakfast owned by a gal who is the person you want to know in Montrose. She had musicians playing  and so we sat there and had a good time. I got on her email list for the Women who Wine events, another thing that is a must-do in Montrose. Today I am heading over to Delta to hear a Christmas concert. Every year my family goes to something Christmasy. Tonight they are seeing a concert in Denver, so I thought I would see my own in Delta! Should be Merry.