Love Where You're At

A thought has been running through my head of late - how much I "think" I hate living where I do. It's small, ugly, cactus growing, barren, hick place of a town. . . So we start thinking of selling, moving to somewhere that the cactus don't grow so proflific, somewhere that we have at least a store (we do have a post office although no postal delivery), a place that is green with grass and flowers and more than a thousand people.


So we looked, we looked in Florence where we lived for so many years. I realized you really can't see the sky from there, and how I love my view! I have become really good friends with Pikes Peak, she shimmers in the morning sun, I know what time of year she is at her most beautiful from my vantage point. I know how she can glow bright pink during the winter sunsets! Right at this very moment, she is snow capped (a lot of snow too!) and the sun is shining brightly on her top, and shadows are crossing over her from some large clouds that are forming. There are dark clouds behind her that just accents her beautiful brilliant white top!


Then there are the foggy mornings, when the "river valley" is socked in with fog, there was a

morning this last week like that. Fog so thick and we could see the tops of the fog, and the sun was shining brightly here! What a beautiful sight! Or the fog laying over the Federal Prison - with the lights just poking out of the fog which gives the prison a look of floating. Not that a prison is a pretty sight anytime, but watching it float on a cloud is a unique sight!

And January 1 - midnight - watching the fireworks out my kitchen window or on my front porch. Sit up the spotting scope - what a treat! And if the currents are right, we can even hear the booms from the fireworks. I suppose the 4th of July would be good also - but we head to the mountains to beat the heat!


How about the days when the deer are feeding right out the door, or the coyote that walks by - not at all bothered by a human taking pictures of him.




My daughter comes out and marvels at the peace and quiet and the views. The grandkids come out and go 4-wheeling, all on our property. (I encourage them to take the path that will knock down the smaller cactus!) And I think to myself - this really is not so bad!








So there is much to be said for living where we do - and the choice to not leave this, is a good choice. For us.

I will always miss a larger city - I love the size of Pueblo, and would live there (I think??) but could I leave the peace, the quiet, the views and most of all, could I leave America's Mountain? I was raised in the San Luis Valley where we were surrounded by mountains, the Sangre's on the east or East Range as we called them. Like Pikes Peak, always different, always beautiful.

So no matter where I live, I have loved it for one thing or another, (well that might be stretching it when I remember the Philippine Islands!) but for the most part, every part of the world we have called home has been delightful in some way. Home truly is where the heart is.

Until then. . .

Katie Graduates

Our 5^th grandchild, and our 2^nd granddaughter – Katherine Jo Crussell graduates from Florence High School this evening. She actually finished in January, and has been attending college but tonight is the “official” walk!

We are very proud of her and wish her only the Best Choices throughout her life!

I remember the night she was born – just an hour shy of Halloween! As we were standing outside the room, we heard “It’s a GIRL” and we were all so happy!! After a string of boys – we needed a girl! And what a girly girl she is – and what a pleasure for us!

We love you

Katie Bird!

Is This Expected??

I am finding the more I Blog - the more I can think of to Blog about??? Anyone have some duct tape to stop the fingers?!! I just have (what feels like) an endless list of subject to Blog about - and I like the idea of a way for my grandkids to "know" me!

Seriously - Can we change the name to Bleep - don't you believe it's a far prettier word than BLOG?? Can I add a Bleep. . . I am Bleeping. . . Do you Bleep. . . hummm, now where in the bleep was I??

Till next time!

Garage Sales with Daughters!

I decided to go to garage sales with my daughter in Pueblo West this morning. I got up early, got going early, was out of the house early, and we started going to garage sales not long after they started – but we were always a “day late”! There really was nothing either one of us needed or wanted. Even at 9am, many said they had already sold about everything. There were so many mini-vans running around Pueblo West this morning – pretty comical! (Even though I also was driving a mini-van!) But initially, there were hoards of women going from sale to sale! And Jenny and I were among them!! But not ones to give up – we bravely continued on, trying to find someplace that had something either one of us wanted. That’s the competitive spirit in us. . . hahahaha!

It’s so enjoyable to spend time with my daughters, I wish I could spend more time with all of them. I have so much fun with them, laughing , talking and curing all the problems in the universe! I had a daughter in 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1976. For a period of time I wondered if I would EVER have a life without pre-schoolers, a time when I could again speak grown up language!! When my third daughter turned 5 – I said there would be NO more, she turned 5 in October and I found myself pregnant again the next month. I am ever so certain that baby was MEANT to be here. She knew we were not complete until she made it down! “Mommy, Daddy, don’t forget me, please, don’t forget me!” So in August our last daughter joined our family! Sometimes my heart just bursts at the joy these four daughters bring to my life. The older they get, the better it gets! Or is it the older I get…??!

Before our life on Earth, I firmly believe we all knew where we would go and we had friends and family in the spirit world before birth. I find joy in knowing that these four girls knew they would be with us, a family, growing up with love, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, mom and dad and each other. There is a bond between these girls, and as young kids – I shed tears knowing they were destined to grow up hating each other!! They fought so bad at times. . .! They are all four, such lovely women and I adore them!

So this little blog about the evils of garage sales, has turned into a love letter to my daughters! Not that they don’t know how much I love them but it never hurts to tell them again I guess! Next time I will send a love letter to my dog okay??!!

Until then. . .!

The "Good Old Days"!

This is my family in 1955. It goes without saying I am that cute little girl!

What a wonderful time, we lived on a farm, in-between Del Norte and Center. My dad grew rocks! Laugh if you want, but I KNOW that was his best crop. He had someone with a rock picker come in and pick the rocks, and by the following year - they were there again. Something about that land out there, just tons of rock. All small sized - 6-10 inch rounded river type rock. (If you drive in the SLV now, you will see piles and piles of rock where rock pickers have piled rock from the fields.) One of the ways of dealing with this rock today is to roll them back down into the ground, leaving some top soil above. Not sure if this method is working though. Must (at one time) been a massive lake/river there to have created all those rounded rocks. And the rocks are only in places - so it's a geological formation. I know it was an ocean, and a large lake, but unsure of where all those rocks come from! Oh dad attempted to grow alfalfa, potatoes, even grew pinto beans. He raised sheep, we had our own cows for milk and our own chickens for eggs.

We didn't have a lot of meat to eat, and had a lot of bread and gravy! Homemade bread always. I remember bread from a grocery store - tasted like candy! Wow, it was SO good!

We had a good life out on the farm, we were so very poor, but so happy. How many times did dad tell us he was the richest man in the world. We were pretty self sufficient, mom grew a garden which was canned in the fall and we lived off that throughout the winter.

We had propane, I don't remember what we heated with though. I remember when dad made the monumental purchase of a StokerMatic stove for the house. It had an auger which took coal into the fire box and the end result was a ring of "clinkers"! Seldom any ashes, just lifted that ring out.

My mom would go into Del Norte almost daily, she helped her parents throughout her life. In the end, she either lived with them to care for them or when they got too bad, she moved them in with her and my dad in Alamosa. My grandmother and mom would do a lot of canning together in the fall. I learned very young, that there were certain things I could do without rather than have to prepare them for canning! (Peas and Pears to name a couple!)

We had an electric meter out on a yard light pole in the barnyard, that my dad would go out and read every so often. Back then, people were honest enough to read their own meter or possible smart enough??!! Once a year or so they would probably audit all the meters. We had a big wooden, hand crank telephone - and to get a phone call was something! And to get a long distance call - or make a long distance call took some doing. Took a long time to get a long distance call through and was very expensive.

We had a car (52 Ford) which served us well for many years. Dad had his pickup. Gas was always a problem, as was the propane,and electricity because of the money situation.

On occasion, we would have company, wow, what a thrill for a little girl from the valley! We would have these people come who told of far away places, even places like Kansas! Then one time, a first cousin came to visit who had been in the service and brought us gifts from Japan, Holland and other distant places. OH - I think I must have been totally speechless to think I knew someone who had actually gone to these places!

I have went on long enough - so until then!!!

My First Award!!! Thank You Becky!

Springtime brings the fragrant Lilac's back, my favorite flower. I can close my eyes and smell them, Welcome Spring!!