This & That

Before and After

Julie and I flew from our respective homes to Denver, where Lynne picked us up so we were there before the retreat and after it. We stayed with her mother, who lives right across the street and she was so gracious to let us invade her space. 

When we arrived, it was quite warm. When we drove back from NM, it was raining and there was even a little snow. Right off the deck of the house was a spectacular view of Pike's Peak with fresh snow on it.

We also traveled to Garden of the Gods, which is an interesting collection of sort-of random red rocks just happily sticking up in the foothills. 

You can see just the tip of Pike's Peak through the clouds. Such an interesting and beautiful place.

Old Town

From the retreat we traveled back to Albuquerque, where we had lunch and I was introduced to the wonders and the differences between red and green chili and what Christmas really is (a combination of both). We also wandered around Old Town Albuquerque. 

We saw some Native American dancing in the square. 

I cannot imagine wearing and dancing in these costumes. It was in the mid-80's.

Stopped in at the Rattlesnake Museum. We didn't go for the full tour, but Lynne had to replace a video that had been watched just too many times by her son.

We saw a beautiful old church and I even managed to find a nativity for my collection. 

And we stopped by a local candy shop where I found some Pinon Toffee for DH. From here we drove up to Santa Fe where we had dinner (more delicious southwestern food) and stayed the night before driving back to Colorado.

Beforehand

Before we headed to the retreat, we met Karen in Albuquerque and we went up a cable tram to the top of a nearby mountain. Now, those who know me well, know that I do not like heights (oh yes, there was that whole Eiffel Tower thing....),  but the tram car was quite large and as long as I didn't look down, I wasn't hyperventilating.

We had lunch at the top of the mountain and then walked down a short trail to take pictures and have our picture taken. 

And let me tell you, even going this little way, we felt every inch of those 10,000 thin air feet.

 

The Retreat

So yes, I was gone last weekend to my first ever scrapbooking retreat. I'm starting with the middle of events...and Lynne, Julie and Karen, if you want any of these photos specifically, LMK and I will email them to you.

Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday we were here, scrapping in a big red gymnasium-type building. This place grows apples as well as provides retreat facilities. I don't know if you can see it, but there's a little bunny off to the right of that sign. He posed very well for the photo.

There are lots of "vintage" things on the property.

And the Indian Paintbrush was in full bloom.

This is a group of ladies I've known for about 7 years. We were all on the design team of a now-defunct scrapping website. We've kept in touch through the Playground of Memories site that Julie, Lynne and I are in charge of. This is Karen, who lives in New Mexico, and Lynne, who lives in Colorado.

And this is Julie who lives in Florida...you know, the place with the thick air. She's texting her DD, who REALLY missed her. We scrapped until the wee hours and had a lot of fun just laughing and getting to know one another better. 

95 Years Young

Yesterday I had the great honor to help host a birthday luncheon for my friend Irene.

Isn't she beautiful? She turned 95 yesterday and my friend, Gail, and I fixed lunch for her and a group of her contemporaries affectionately known in the area as "The Wild Bunch." The Wild Bunch is composed of about 10 widows who have known each other for quite a number of years. They get together about once a month for lunch to celebrate whatever birthdays have happened since the last time they met. The youngest of the group is just over 80 and the eldest will be 97 this year. And they are all just as proud as they can be of their ages.

Gail and I are Irene's visiting teachers. LDS wards (congregations) assign 2 ladies to visit a few gals in the ward every month. Every lady has a set of visiting teachers, so I have a partnership who comes to see me each month and Gail and I visit Irene and 2 other ladies. We keep tabs on them, see if they need anything and this is especially important with the widows in the ward, as well as the younger ones who are having babies and might need a meal or a break now and then. If there's a problem with a family, like sickness, surgery, or a death, visiting teachers are the first ones called to help. 

It is so fun to see these ladies get together and talk and laugh and tell stories on each other, and it's something I look forward to every year mostly because I really love this lady.

Birthdays

First, thank you for the birthday wishes!

Now,I want to introduce you to someone.

This is my friend Irene. I visit teach her (church visiting) and she is just one of  the most amazing women I know. I want to be just like her when I grow up. I learn from her every time I'm with her.  She turned 94 this week and a group of us did a luncheon for her and several of her contemporaries.

This is a group of widows in our general area who have become known as "The Wild Bunch." They get together about once a month to have lunch and chat.  They range in age from early 80's to 96 and are a really fun group to be around.

But Irene is special. I've known her for about 18 years. She has had my boys do weeding for her. She has written to my boys while they were on their missions, and she asks about them every time we visit. She tells me she loves me every time she sees me.  She's such a great example to me. There are so many things we can learn from these older women about aging gracefully, being content, showing concern for others and being of service throughout our lives. I love Irene and with each passing year, I worry that someday I'm going to have to live without her daily example. I don't want to think about it. I just want to enjoy her loving attitude while I can.