October

So what's to say about October?  We have had uncommonly warm weather for the month so Garth and I have taken advantage to the bike trails in Utah.  We have pedaled the entire length of the Legacy Parkway Trail.  It runs from Roy to the State Fair Grounds in Salt Lake.

Seeing the play, "Mary Poppins," at Tuachan and "The Marvelous Wonderettes," at Cedar City broke up the month a bit.  We liked the one in Ceder City better.  At "Mary Poppins," we were behind the back row on folding barstools.  It was awful.  Informing the purchaser of the $50 price tag for those miserable seats might have steered her toward a movie at the local theater instead.  We stayed at the Boehner's condo in St. George and had a very relaxing time.

Riding the Rail Trail from Coalville to Park City and back to Coalville is always wonderful.  It is a gravel trail, but very smooth and manageable.  Probably the biggest challenge was the Deer Creek Trail to Midway.  Basically, we had the wrong bikes for the trip.  Mountain bikes would have been better than our commuter bikes.  That trail was not graded very well and had lots of ups and downs, usually with loose gravel in the downs.  However, the breakfast place that we found in Midway made the trip back to the dam quite pleasant.

Since my mom and dad are off to Yuma, Arizona every fall, we had my mom's birthday party early.  It's always fun to get together for birthdays.  She's 81 this year and as feisty as ever.

I didn't put up any Halloween decorations, but I certainly enjoy looking at the work of other people.  I guess if I had the youth of the family closer I might do something.  I am lucky that my good friend, Conna, lends her grandkids to me for visits, parties, hugs, and kisses.

I enjoy riding the Provo River Trail.

My good pal Debbi Anderson and I ride most afternoons up the Provo River Trail and I have been riding to work on Mondays and Wednesdays because there is absolutely no parking at BYU.  It takes me longer to drive and find a parking space than it does to ride and I arrive in much better spirits when I ride.  I haven't figured out how to have pretty hair with the helmet, however.

I hurt my shoulder(s) while gardening.  One was a chainsaw accident, but don't ask.  The other was a snowboarding/ski/garbage bag heft combination accident.  After a few visits to the doctor, they finally injected both shoulders with cortisone.  Awesome relief!  That stuff really works.

September Blessing

On September 28, Margo Atlin Jane Frazier joined the Frazier family.  Hilary had close monitoring throughout her pregnancy because of the complications with Finn and because of the loss of Rowan Sage.

The great news is that she was delivered healthy and happy.  Mom, Dad, and Finn all did well with the new addition.  Hilary developed a pregnancy tumor on her gum that made life pretty uncomfortable in addition to the regular pregnancy and delivery challenges that come.  She had surgery a few days after Margo was born and is was removed.

I was able to visit when Margo was a couple of days old.  Dennen's mom was there right before Margo was born and helped out a lot with the management of hospital visits and watching Finn.

Margo is a pleasant and happy baby.  She basically has no problems and eats, sleeps and cuddles.

I had a delightful visit in Maine.  We had a great time at an apple farm where we sampled donuts and cider, listened to some bluegrass, and visited the animals.

Hilary and Dennen had a bit of a challenge trying to train Finn to treat her gently, but he got the hand of it after several squishing and pulling episodes.  Deciding that there is a difference between a toy and a real baby is not an easy task for a three-year-old boy.

Ride

Started out the day in West Haven. Delayed because of rain. Had a wonderful breakfast at the Comfort Inn with waffles fruit and yogurt. As luck would have it the rain stopped and off we went.

...sometimes it's good to put up a really bad picture just to make others feel good...

It was kind of a wet ride through Roy then Clinton

Clearfield

Layton

Kaysville. Eventually we made it to Farmington where they were having a huge dog show.

We had a donut and a Diet Coke at Harmons in Farmington. 38 miles.

Mourning

Today the Smith family suffered a loss. Upon the second diagnosis of my blue spruce tree, the arborist proclaimed that there was no hope. I remember my mother getting very upset about the loss of a tree and I thought she was totally overreacting. 

I would think, "What's the big deal? Just plant another tree." However, when you have babied trees along, watched their growth, and enjoyed their beauty, the loss is heartfelt.  We had a stunning display of Christmas lights on that blue spruce for several consecutive years.

There is an impact that the loss of the tree makes on the surrounding yard. First of all it's a big mess getting the tree out and hauling it off. Then, there's the replanting because of the shade lost for all shade-loving plants.

Goodbye hostas, goodbye inpatients.

It takes about 25 years for a tree to even come close to maturity. When I look at my lifespan, I realize that planting a tree will not be for me, but for future generations.

When we moved in, this lot had five trees.  We now have 35, with several lost along the way.

Coping with this loss will include chocolate, Diet Coke, and a trip to the nursery. Garth will need to get his chain hooked to ol' blue and commence yanking so the planting may begin. 

I think I'll start with the chocolate.

Give it up already!

This is what I saw at the post office today. Really, a Poinsettia in September?  

The good news is that it will probably make it til Christmas. The bad news is that the poor thing has been sitting there since last Christmas.

There should be a law that January 1 all poinsettias go in the trash!

I remember my dear sweet mother putting one in the trash outside of her home on 800 E. in Orem and some lady stopped and rescued It. Keep in mind that this was mid January.

How good can it really look come December?  Maybe it just needs a new bow.

And It Shall Snow....

Solitude in February - Last Year - Link

Breckenridge to Denver

Today we got to go see Katie, Sammy, and Garrett in Denver. 

This is Katie's awesome, beautiful front yard. We had a great visit and walked up to her neighborhood business district and had lunch and gelato at a little Italian restaurant. 

Sammy greeted us at the front door. 

Katie and Garrett just returned from Florida where Katie was able to see the fruits of her hard work. She helped design the outer parts of the Orion Space Shuttle. It was very rewarding for her to see evidence that all her schooling, training, and work actually produced something that NASA is going to blast off into outer space. She may have the opportunity to work on a satellite that will shoot asteroids as her next endeavor. 

Mom and Dad enjoyed seeing the Cardon's home and playing with Sammy. 

Garrett is working on a project which analyzes the brain changes in people with hearing loss. It sounds like fascinating and rewarding work. They are hoping to be able to manipulate brain development and changes so that people  will be able to interpret sound, perhaps tactally. 

We enjoyed the smiles, laughs, and hugs from Sammy. 

Breckenridge Some More

I often wonder about where sayings come from...

When I reached the 12,000 elevation level today on my run, I understood the meaning of "catching one's breath," as I reached and caught the lung which was dispelled because of my heavy gasping. On the up side, the vistas are absolutely gorgeous. This is an amazing place. 

Mom and I then attended water aerobics and did the underwater bouncing and moving about as we enjoyed a great session of B.S. with our new pal Sue the Italian. 

The Historical Society had another tour, "Denver, Dillon, and the Dam." It was done by the same lady that did our other tour and was very interesting. We learned a lot about the building of the dam and the tunnel that takes the water to cities further east. 

30% of the water goes to Denver. She then took us on a walking tour of Dillon. There's not much  to that city. 

She even made us climb a long flight of stairs in an old building to see the peep hole that the Rebecca's used to allow their members into their meetings. 

The bike trail systems here are amazing and the trail that I took from Dillon to Breckenridge was beautiful. It wound through lodgepole, quakies, and spruce along the edge of the Dillon Reservoir. 

We topped the day off with an amazing session of dominoes. 

My parents kicked my trash as I came in dead last at the end of the night. Good thing we weren't playing for money like they do with their pals.