tails from Colorado (See what I did there?)

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd share a little of what I'll be up to this week. I'm staying at my sister Debi's house while she and her family are away on vacation. I do have other family here, but everyone is so busy with work or a flooded home and insurance struggles that it made sense for me to come here to stay with their animals. They have a beautiful Golden Retriever and two kitties. Cowboy lives on the main floor and the kitties live in the basement. I am so glad to be able to do this for them! I know what it's like to need peace of mind when traveling and leaving your animals at home. We have been there and done that! It's also fun to be here and to be able to spend time with my sister Lisa who also lives nearby, her daughter and her family and her son. I'm getting my fill of quality time this week!

I shared what I did already on Sunday, but yesterday I met my nephew Jaret for lunch at Black Eyed Pea. Have you been to one of these? I think we used to have one in Memphis that I ate at years and years ago, but it's like a homestyle cooking restaurant. I had the Irish Pie bowl that was delicious! I'll eat the rest of it for lunch or dinner one day while I'm here, because it was so much that I could only eat about a third of what was in the bowl. It's roast beef with carrots and green beans, with gravy, covered with mashed potatoes and chives. After that, Jaret and I met Lisa over at her old house, the one that was flooded while we were in the Cape Cod.

First, I am the youngest of my sisters and Jaret my nephew is only eight years younger than me. He's more like a younger brother than anything, but I love getting to spend time with him. So, you'll remember that my sister's house flooded while we were on vacation—almost one month ago, and all of her stuff is still sitting inside the house. It's been such a disaster for her! She had to fight them over removing the carpet and she's fought every step of the way since. Would you believe that the boxes in her basement are STILL sopping wet? Call me crazy, but there should be no water left anywhere in that house. Even one of the windows has condensation between the glass panes because of moisture still in the air! Yesterday while we were there, the men were packing up her things to store in a warehouse until she's able to move back in. We were able to get a few more things for her to take to her temporary home so that she can make it more homey and put all of her holiday decorations out. 

I was SHOCKED to see the condition of her house. I have seen pictures, but nothing prepared me for what I saw while I was there. And some of it looks so normal still, because her stuff is still sitting out. So, after they move everything out that is salvageable, the rest of the ruined furniture will go to her  garage and will be thrown into the Dumpster they bring to her house. It's just so sad...and I know it's all stuff, but my sister has worked so hard to have the beautiful home she has and she had just gotten everything exactly how she wanted it, and then this happened. She's handling it so much better than I am! After we filled up the three cars we had there, we took it all to her new home, along with the load she'd already taken over this morning. (Side note: it's when I go up and down a bunch of stairs at this elevation that I start feeling the altitude issue! I was so winded from all the aerobic activity at this elevation.) When we left her house and were following her back, that song Jireh came on and I was singing it and worshiping and crying all at the same time. She is so strong and she just never quits.

Well, I didn't mean to get all off onto that topic, but I wanted to share it with you. On a completely vain note, I was feeling cute when I left for my lunch with Jaret yesterday.

It was cold here yesterday morning! It was around thirty two, therefore, it was cold enough for me to do this while I drank my coffee.

I had my usual Saturday morning routine, on a Monday. It's nice not having to rush off to be anywhere while I'm here! I had coffee, I watched a Hallmark movie, I read blogs (I never do that on Saturdays) and took my time getting dressed and doing things here, like emptying the dishwasher, vacuuming the dog hair and straightening up. I'm living out of my suitcase this week instead of unpacking, which is new for me. It's not terrible. All the while, Cowboy followed me everywhere. Into the bathroom while I did my makeup and hair, into my room while I made the bed, back downstairs when I was finished. He's funny and taking his roll as my guard dog seriously this week. I adore him! 

Look at him staring that bird down that was perched on the fence. I don't know about you, but I hate birds! This one kept dive bombing him and flying toward me. Just ask my best friend—she was on the phone with me to witness it all firsthand. 

I came back to Debi's house to feed Cowboy his early dinner, then afterward we went on a short walk to get their mail. 

This is a huge improvement over our attempt at this yesterday! I'll take it. I wanted to go further, but he kept trying to come back into his house, so I gave up and called it a day. I met Lisa for dinner at Logan's Steakhouse (so GOOD), then came back to get cozy, wash my face and watch Gilmore Girls all night. So, I'm not scared to be here alone or anything, but I keep finding myself being lonely at night. I'm thinking of seeing if Lisa will spend a couple of nights here with me this week. Maybe Wednesday and Thursday, but we'll see. Cowboy will have to share me, but I don't think he'll mind too much. Look at the beautiful trees here, though! I'll never get tired of seeing Christmas trees growing out of the ground.

And the trees are brilliant with color right now. It's the perfect time of year to be in Colorado. 

I love looking into the distance and seeing the Rockies! It really is beautiful here. The sunsets and sunrises are all spectacular! It's fun seeing different scenery. As for the rest of the week, I'm not sure what it holds. It turns out that my little great nieces are ALL sick now, so I'm praying they make a turnaround before I have to leave. I may be helping Lisa out some today with meeting crews at her old house, but otherwise I'll be staying in at least for the first part of the day. I have Bible reading and Bible study homework to catch up on, so I'll have lots to keep me busy. I'll leave you with one last picture—me with the only cat that I could catch long enough for this. This is my nephew Austin's cat, Pippin. She is the sweetest little kitty!

I've been sending him pictures like this and other videos I've caught of them. So, that's about all I'm up to: the pets and seeing my sister a ton. We're going to dinner again tonight...I know she'll be glad to have this day behind her, because it'll be a hard one for her with her work. Thanks for reading, friends! Love to all.