Poco Mountain Girl

Cash and I headed to Nederland this morning to return a library book.  It was sprinkling a little, and we saw this amazing full rainbow.  The second-from-top photo is of a cattle farm along the way whose barns and houses are painted light pink, always giving me the sense of a perpetual sunrise/sunset.  The rainbow framed it beautifully, and added an additional dimension of timelessness.

We went around another curve as we headed toward the Indian Peaks, and Cash gasped, “Mama!  The rainbow is over the mountains! ” And it was.  We spent the morning at the park and the library, and headed home, still basking in the sweetness of rainbow love. 😉

Once upon a time there was a dragon.   He was very lonely.  He longed for a friend.  One day he was walking through the forest when suddenly he saw a little bird.  At once they became best friends.  They lived happily together.  After many years together they thought to make new friends and to build a tree house.  They accomplished much together.  They both were looking up at the sky at a rainbow.  “Well, we have done lots together,” said the little bird.

By Zia

We had the very best weekend. Two of our old friends from Kansas City came for a spur-of-the-moment visit, and we had a blast. Cindy and I talked and laughed for hours while the guys hung out.  Will and Caleb went hiking in the mountains during the day, and in the evenings it was a wild free-for-all with the kids and Will throwing balls and stuffed animals over Cindy’s head and making “baskets” on a chair. The goats wanted to come in and join the fun, but we made them watch through a crack in the door.

We all went to eat at Chipotle just before they headed out. The kids have some great new poses.

Caleb, David, and Will–the big bad guys.

And Cash, the littlest big bad guy. 😉

Cindy has been one of my very best friends for a long time. It was so good to see her!

Oops–I forgot the double chin-eradicating head-lift pose. Like I care, haha. I was too busy trying to contain my giant smile.

I made this Tree of Life necklace for Cindy while she was here (with her and myself perched in the branches, haha).

I also made an apple pie while they were here. Cindy and I conspired to make it a little healthier by using coconut oil and butter in place of shortening, and using erythritol in place of half the sugar–none of which exactly brought whoops of joy from David.  The consensus was that it was good, but not as flaky as a shortening crust. And although I really like erythritol as a sweetener, just don’t ever sprinkle it over the crust in place of sugar–it leaves deeply browned spots. Despite all that, it felt really good to bake a pie with in-season fruit and the crispness of fall in the air. Have I mentioned the aspens are turning gold now?

They were gone all too soon–their visit was short, but so very sweet. As much as I love these mountains, it’s also great to see people I love once in a while. 🙂

This is me while they were here:

Minus the feather and the giant eye, of course.  Zia made it the other day–how do you like all those sharp teeth?

Speaking of teeth, she lost a tooth last week–the day before school picture day! Here she is in the school bathroom fixing herself up for the photo shoot. She decided to dress as a cowgirl. 🙂

I’m sprouting some avocado pits on my kitchen windowsill. It takes 20 years or so for an avocado tree to grow big enough to bear fruit, which is a wilting thought, but I might as well start sooner than later. I’ve got six of them in water right now.

I found these plants rooted in a cup of water at the library with a sign that said “free to a good home”. I took them home and potted them–does anybody know what they are? Some type of spider plant or something.  I’m loving my growing collection of greenery–I’ve also got some tiny jade plants I sprouted when Cash broke branches off my jade tree.

Moving on to the results of my 30-day arm challenge: I’m still puny, but my arms have definitely grown a bit and are stronger, considering it was such an easy workout.  I’m upping the challenge from 5 lb. weights to 8 or 10 for the next month. Be afraid.

Flexing my hardest.  Notice how proud I am of those muscles.

A few random things: David put new leaf springs on the Mustang (he had to cut the originals out) and also replaced the brakes. He comes in sweaty and sore after working on it–which of course earns him lots of female brownie points.

We found a use for our retired baby gates, although the goats quickly found out they could hop over whenever they wanted to join the family for dinner.

Our new kitchen cabinet was delivered, which we are replacing our not-used dishwasher with. More importantly, it shipped in a box, which Cash quickly moved into.

Trust me when I say this space used to be a large junk pile on our basement floor. I donated or threw away most of it, and sorted the rest into containers. I seriously get a high from getting rid of stuff.

Finally, a rare glimpse into my sweet and precious closet. No before pic, and for good reason.  I pruned down my wardrobe–this shows just about the entirety of it–got a few organizing bins and shelves from Target, and hung a string of lights for ambiance. This is where Mama goes to be alone, kids–or when she goes on one of those weird trying-on-all-the-outfits-in her closet sprees.  Don’t worry, you’re not alone–Dadda doesn’t get it, either. 😉

Just a little spur-of the moment photo snapped in the midst of my day.  (If you have a picture worth a thousand words, I’d love to see it. Please link up in the comments!)