To Love a Dog...

When Simba died a couple of months ago the grief was overwhelming. I moved thru life aimlessly for days. When The Mister and I could finally start talking about it and slowly moving beyond our sorrow we talked about maybe someday adopting another dog. Someday. That was a step for me because I had always said ~ when Simba is gone, I don't want another dog.

One friend told me ~ I know you are grieving but I hope you don't wait too long to adopt another dog. There are so many dogs out there who need love and you two have so much love to give.

Another friend recommended just walking thru the kennel. If there is some soul there you are supposed to have, Simba will guide you.

Another friend said ~ there is no timeline on when to adopt another dog. Trust your feelings.

As time progressed we talked about waiting a year ~ let's do some travel while we're not tied down, etc. Big talk. Because soon it was ~ well, we do have a couple of reliable petsitters when we travel... maybe in the spring, after the snow is past.

So no one was more surprised than me when a couple of weeks ago I found myself yearning for canine companionship. I never saw this coming. I realized, though, that at this stage in my life I'm working from home ~ I'm here almost every single day. And I was used to having a buddy in the studio with me. She was comfort and good for a laugh now and then. She reminded me to take a break, go for a little walk and get outside to clear my head.

Soon the talk turned to ~ well I have a birthday coming up (November 8). The Mister asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said, "A dog."

"What kind of dog?"

"The one in the shelter who needs the most love."

Of course we didn't wait for my birthday. Yesterday late afternoon we were out and about and he says, "Would you like to stop by The Dumb Friends League?"

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"I guess so."

When we pull up in front of the building we notice a tall friendly staff member walking a cute little dog. Neither one of us said anything but commented to each other later that we both noticed the dog.

Once inside we checked in at the front desk and the same dog is on a leash behind the guy (his name was Ben) helping us. Again - we both told each other later that we had the same thought - we kind of wanted to see that dog. We chatted with Ben, telling him about our beloved Simba - a basenji/blue heeler who had recently passed.

Off we go to walk thru the kennels with our little check sheet.  We walk thru two or three times and began making notes. We could list 4 dogs we would like to visit with. They were all beginning to look the same except for one ~ Sophia. So we decided, let's start with her. And, honestly, she was the only one we were truly interested in.

As we are walking up to the desk Ben stopped us and said, "I have the perfect dog for you two. Come here and just take a look at her on the computer ~ it's not a great picture, but she's a rat terrier mix and just the sweetest thing. So mellow, so loving. She was almost adopted yesterday but the couple needed a super hypo-allergenic dog and she just wasn't quite right."

We looked at the picture of this sweet dog he was going on about and that's when the tears started forming. 

It was Sophia. And Sophia was the one we had seen outside when we pulled in. And Sophia was the dog behind the check-in desk.

We looked at Ben and said, "You're not going to believe this. She is the only one we wanted to see."

Ben was so happy. We were so stunned. So as we waited in the little visitation room - sitting on the floor waiting for Sophia - there were more tears. It just seemed like we were being lead by the hand to adopt this dog. Oh, Simba...

Of course our meeting went well. Of course it did! And I knew after the first time she smothered The Mister in puppy kisses it was all over.

How could anyone resist that face?

We had a serious heart-to-heart about her living with us.

We learned that Sophia's one and only owner had to give her up because he was forced to move to a smaller apartment that didn't take dogs. She is so well-behaved it's obvious she was loved. She is 5.5 years old but we don't care. She's perfect.

She visits the Vet at the shelter one last time; we're given some short-term medication to take home for a tooth she had removed the day before, signed the adoption papers and bingo, bango, she's ours. There we are ~ in our car driving our new pup home.

I just kept saying, "It's Kismet - how we found her and how she found us. It was all meant to be."

We went back and forth on ideas for names. Sophia is a lovely name but it is rather sophisticated for such a little furry bundle of joy.  We finally decided ~ it's Kismet. And we will call her Kizzie for short.

We will never forget her first night home. She hopped from the floor, to the ottoman, to my lap and jumped square into a pile of pillows on the couch. It was the cutest damn thing I've ever seen.

This morning I felt a joy I haven't felt in a long time. I took little Kizzie outside for a short walk. Back inside I fed her; she inhaled the food. Her little tail was going so fast I'm surprised she didn't fall over. I stayed in the kitchen to tidy up, turned around and saw this.

And I suddenly realized ~ every morning from now on my day will start like this. With this little soul looking to me for her every need ~ and the unconditional love I will receive in return? Well, you can't put a price on that.

When the sun rose I took her for a little longer walk.

Back home I gathered my things and headed up to my studio. I looked at her and said, "Come on Kizzie! Time to go to work." She flew up the stairs and took her place. 

Right where she should be.

Tonight we will give her her first bath and fluff up that adorable coat. She'll don her new collar and her new tag and it will all be absolutely official.

She is Kizzie. And she is ours.

Be Kind to One Another

When I left Iowa at 19 I spent a short stint in Canada then moved to Colorado. Since September of 1974 I have called it my home. So I have officially celebrated my 39th year in my adopted home state. And over those 39 years I have made a LOT of road trips across the vast state of Nebraska to visit my family in central Iowa. In the early years it was just cheaper than flying with little kids. In the later years it was because we couldn't bear to be without our Boo for a week, so she always traveled with us.

After our trip in 2012 we knew that she didn't enjoy traveling that far anymore. So even before we knew she wouldn't be with us for the 2013 trip we had decided to leave her home in the loving care of our pet-sitter. Sadly she didn't make it that long.

I told The Mister that if I had to travel by car across Nebraska one more time my head would explode. (No offense, Nebraska peeps - it's just a very long, straight road to drive with the same scenery for 39 years.  Yikes.)

So we decided to fly ~ but also mix it up a little and see some country we haven't seen that much of.  We decided to fly into Minneapolis, spend some time there and rent a car to make the three hour drive to Mom in central Iowa.

We left our home at 5:45 am last Saturday (taking time to make breakfast and weigh our bags.) We parked in the outlying airport parking, snagging a parking spot 40 feet from the bus stop. Oh and as luck would have it, the shuttle bus pulled up right behind us. And we arrived at Denver International Airport as the sun rose.

Someone had booked our seats in the emergency exit row where there is no place to stash your bag under the seat in front of you. I'm a girl. I have to have my stuff.

 

So we joked with the ticket agent and bingo bango - we have better seats. The Mister thanked him for saving our marriage. 

We were fortunate to be among the first to board and our flight attendant instructed everyone as to their designated spot for carry-ons. She requested we put ours under the seats in front of us. (She and I got along fine.) I watched her as the remainder of the plane boarded. She was friendly and smiled but every inch of her 5' 100 lb. frame was all business. If she told you that was your overhead bin space, you listened. She joked and called herself "Judy the Baggage Nazi."

Get this - the pilot came out and talked to everyone. First thought, of course, omg the flight is delayed. Quite the contrary ~ he was welcoming us all and said if it was alright, we would be departing a bit early.  We arrived in Minneapolis 20 minutes ahead of schedule. As we left the plane I paused to thank Judy the Baggage Nazi and told her I had never been on such an organized flight!

Next step was to pick up our rental car. Someone had requested the wrong size car so the Hyundai Sonata we had hoped for wasn't available. Again, humour and patience paid off. The girl at Avis went above and beyond to find one for us. We waited. She came back and said, "You've got your Sonata!  I stole it from Budget."  

The Mister to our Avis agent, "Don't you own Budget?"

Me to our Avis agent, "You do now!"

Again The Mister thanked her for saving our marriage and we left fast friends.

So we check in to the Marriott (10 minutes from the airport) and have an afternoon to kill. Mall of America (MOA) is across the street, so what the hell ~ let's go see what all the fuss is about. We're walking, we're walking, we're walking. We stop in a few shops. A new carry-on bag with a padded shoulder strap was in order; my shoulders were killing me.  (Hey my carry-on was heavy but both checked in bags were 36 lbs and well under the weigh limit!)

I love handbags but I've never been into name brand bags. I'm more of a Marshall's/Kohl's whatever bag is on sale gal. But over the years my Mom-in-law and BFF/SIL have sent a few Vera Bradley's my way and I think they are kind of works of art. So when walking into the Hallmark store in MOA looking for something else, I stopped by the colorful Vera Bradley section in the front of the store. The bags aren't within my normal budget but I did fall in love with an extremely colorful one. (As Emile Zola said, "If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist will answer you: I am here to live out loud!") When I saw it had a padded shoulder strap, the deal was done. However... I kind of wanted to see the rest of collection in that pattern and theirs was limited. 

I asked the friendly clerk about that and she said if I really wanted to see all of them the Vera Bradley store was one floor down. And she said it genuinely and with a smile. So I finally found the store, took a quick look around and promptly took myself back to the Hallmark store and the nice lady and bought the bag from her.  Because she had been generous and honest and kind.

Considering every loop around MOA is a mile, we did our 5 miles. We found the delightful Napa Grille and plopped our sorry tired behinds down in seats on their patio. Our friendly server brought us our kale, chicken, roasted butternut squash and goat cheese salads. They were quite yum.

And so began our salad tour of the Midwest. And the oh so healthy side of fries almost every time.

As we were leaving I found our server to thank her and I found myself saying something Charlie's Gannie always said - what his Mother always says - "Have a happy life, sweetheart."

 

The Mister and I remarked as we were saying good night that wasn't it interesting how smoothly the day had gone. Even with a couple of bumps kindness begat kindness; laughter begat laughter and patience paid off.

 

There's a lesson there, grasshopper.

 

Balance. What a Concept.

A few years ago I would have done that circular hand gesture to my head (ala CA-RAAAAZY!) if you would have told me that this weekend I would practically be doing cartwheels (ok I can't really do cartwheels - that's why I said "practically." I faked them to make the cheerleading squad) ~ when for four days in a row my blood pressure has been in the 120's over the 80's.  Woohoo!

So, although most of the credit is most likely due to a new medication (yes, I hate the fact that I have to be on medication but I have no choice) I would like to think that I've made some lifestyle choices that have helped as well.

First ~ I had the luxury of having a couple of weeks off in July so I was able to step away from work a bit and do other things.  Like move my studio to a larger space.

This was quite a job - moving and organizing everything. 

But now that I am settled in, it was so worth it!

I had a few play dates with my Mister - Steve Martin, Edie Brickell and the Steep Canyon Rangers were fun.  We had a great dinner at Lucy's and a fun show at Comedy Works with Sherri Shepherd.  We had another great meal at Tamayo and then it was on to Cirque du Soleil and Amaluna. Next week we have dinner at Lucy's again and then on to Comedy Works to see Kevin Nealon.

Cirque never disappoints.  Ever.

Rather than drive 22 hours (round trip) across NE Colorado and Nebraska and halfway thru Iowa again (because after 39 years my head would explode if I had to do that One. More. Time.), when we visit my Mom for her 95th birthday in a couple of weeks, we opted to fly into Minneapolis. We'll mix in a little culture, art, shopping, great restaurants in the Twin Cities with our visit to Mom in Iowa.

And we're planning long-term for some very cool trips.

I'm really working on letting go of stress and unnecessary drama.

I'm being pro-active about my health - asking questions and pushing authority. Yeah, that's the rebel hippie chick making a comeback!

We hired a housekeeper. So oddly enough I now sit in my studio creating while every other Friday some little cleaning angel comes in and cleans my whole house.  What a concept...

My Mister recently was tested for food allergies and since - as he says - he is allergic to just about everything but oxygen  ~ we've made some big changes in our diet. I was tested, too, and although my results aren't in yet, I'm assuming I will have many of the same restrictions. And besides... we're a team.

So I rid the pantry of everything containing gluten, dairy, eggs, soy and beef.

Not that there would be beef in the pantry.

Obviously booze is not off the table.

We're eating healthier.

And I promised myself I would resume (yet again) my morning regime.  Work the body, clear the head and open it to creative and positive thoughts.

Peace and love, baby... peace and love. 

And normal blood pressure. Even though I am now in my busiest few months of the year I am striving to hang on to this.  If I'm not careful I might actually find balance. Omg. What a concept.

Oh Deer...

When I take a second to plan for my walk (i.e., choosing the correct camera and lens) the results sometimes pay off.  I still can't find my spare battery for my Canon or my iPod, but that's another story.

Stormy skies (or the aftermath of stormy skies) - 10-20mm wide angle.

Feeling funky and fun ~ Lensbaby Scout and Fisheye op

But on most - since I try and hit the trail quite early - the 70-300mm w/a double image stabilizer - a lens I never would have bought for myself (the Mister can be quite generous) is usually a good choice. Because that's when the wildlife is about and in full wake up and grab some breakfast mode.  The timing (and the lens choice) did not fail me this morning.

I found this little girl

And then she found me and said, "I'm outta' here!"

But the best find was this trio ~ Mama and her twin Bambis.

She was a good Mama.  It didn't take her long to spot me.

The she was like, "We're outta' here, kids!"

"Come on!"

Exit Stage Left!

I said Left!

Sigh... Rebels - they were kicking up their little Bambi heels like gazelles!

I assure you ~ it was worth getting sand in my Keens. :)

And on a closing note... I've been inspired to start carrying "The Duck o' the Day" with me on my hikes again. (Rather than every shot being at dinner with a glass of wine. They enjoy nature, too.) It's a little challenge I like to give myself to find the most interesting backdrops/bokey. I've had a few printed on canvas wraps and oh my... I've created a monster (myself).  I see a whole new market opening up ~ baby nurseries, toddler's rooms/baths, people who won't grow up and have big houses... *wink*

So Water Baby and I did a little trial run on the trail this morning.

Oh hang on to your qwackers.. there will be more to come over the days and weeks!  

It feels good to back where I belong.  In nature.

Delicious Distractions

I'm fairly organized so looking ahead and knowing that this weekend I would either feel like celebrating or feel like being distracted (sadly it's fallen into the black hole of WTF??) ~ I'm glad we had plans for Friday night.

We love to laugh so we're always up for Comedy Works and there's a nice one not far from us.  Bonus points for making dinner reservations at Lucy Restaurant for a delish dinner before the show.  (If you're lucky Lucy the dog - who owns the restaurant... will saunter thru.)  Dine before the show and you're treated like royalty - both during dinner and at the show. Sherri was really cute; I like comedians who can make you laugh just talking about every day things in life (Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen come to mind, too).

My Asian Chicken Salad

really sinful waffle fries

And The Mister's Sesame Seed Ahi Tuna

Saturday found us at Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria for an early dinner.

Home made burrato (mozzarella wrapped ricotta cheese)

Followed by 

Beet, arugula and cucumber salad with yogurt dressing.

I missed The Mister's pizza but it looked quite yum.

From there it was off to the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield State Park to spend a crazy fun evening under the stars with Steve Martin, Edie Brickell and the Steep Canyon Rangers. They did not disappoint. Even though bluegrass isn't at the top of my list music genre-wise ~ you can't listen to this music and not tap a toe or quell a smile. And it just made me happy.  Happy is a good place to live.

And how nice of them to sign our CD.  They say "Hey" btw.  

And on a side note - that Edie Brickell (aka Mrs. Paul Simon) - absolutely charming.  I love her!  The Mister recalled a quote of hers I had posted in a previous post. When asked if her husband influenced her music:

"Asking someone to help you create is like asking someone to salt your food ~~ it has to be to your taste."  *Edie Brickell*

And if you are 100 years old like me you smile when you think of the other famous Steve and Eydie.   

Although we are veterans of summer concerts at the city-based main location of the Denver Botanic Gardens this was our first visit to the State Park venue. It is beautiful - we sat on a large groomed lawn with about a thousand or two of our friends ~ a big stage looming to the west and the foothills in the distance as your back drop.

I used to be one of those crazy people clammering to get as close as I could to the stage ~ gotta' get the money shot!  But you just never know when you're going to get busted for being a "professional photographer" (anyone with a DSLR and anything other than a kit lens is sometimes deemed thus) ~ and after a few years and many concerts, I decided there is something to be said for being in the moment.  

And not stuck behind a lens missing the moment. 

So this is my crappy cell phone shot. 

My crappy cell phone shot of an [almost] full moon rising

and the thunderheads building on the eastern plains

Which reminds me of a couple of funny lines Steve shared:

"We are so happy to be performing here tonight for you and your cell phones."

And when the winds picked up at sunset (as they will in the foothills particularly) and the 500 lb speakers on either side of the stage started swaying dangerously from their hangers, Steve looked rather nervously (we had binoculars) at one of the stage hands and said, "Should we be worried, Mr. Speaker Man?"  A pause.  "Wait. I see one thumb up. Can I get two?"

(It was incredibly windy for about 15 minutes.  We discovered when we returned home - waaaaaay east of the concert venue - that our neighborhood had been under a tornado warning - sirens and everything. Simba and A-choo slept right thru it.)

So, since we've become - like - (I'm channeling my innner 12 year old) event addicts ~ coming up next Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna in August and a return to Lucy Restaurant and Comedy Works in September for one of our favorite guys Weeds' -  Kevin Nealon.

So take that biopsy results - whatever they may be!!  Bring it.

An Afternoon of Favorite Things.

I'm pretty easily pleased but I have to admit when The Mister and I discovered the Landmark Theater not far from our home, I quickly became one big theater snob.  

We reserve VIP seats online a few days in advance, walk into the theater, enter our confirmation number in the little magic machine and our tickets spit out.  We get a special number for the VIP restroom (no waiting in line and it's super clean and pretty) from the kid at the desk. 

We are ushered to our seats and the very friendly server takes our order (which he/she will deliver to our seats) - anything from a meal to Junior Mints to popcorn; soft drinks to beer, wine or a cocktail (soft drinks and popcorn are free btw) - and we settle into the giant leather recliner like-seats to enjoy our chosen flick of the day. 

And the best part (as if all that wasn't fantastic)?  No kids.  I have never seen anyone under 18 in the theater. And that, my friends, is by design. I don't know that it actually says anywhere that kids aren't invited to the party, but it is "understood." I have nothing against kids, but we've all had our less-than-happy movie experiences where crying babies - or God forbid teenagers and their cell phones - are present.

So, yes, my name is Cindi and I'm a Landmark Theater snob.

Yesterday afternoon it looked like rain

Although, much to our dismay, I don't think rain ever really materialized.

so I donned my new Toms kicks

Not only super cute and comfy 

but Toms partnered with Charlize Theron

and her African Outreach Project which

helps protect African youth safe from HIV/AIDS

and a portion of the sale of these shoes

goes to her charity.

and we were off to Landmark to let Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy keep us laughing thru a couple of hours of The Heat. And laugh we did. What a duo!

From there it was onto another of our favorite haunts Sur le Table.  Always dangerous... We were just going to stop by and check out a new Wűsthof knife I had been coveting. 

Of course we just had to have it to add to our collection.

(It actually is pretty cool - 

fruits and veggies don't stick to the knife when you slice.)

And - of course - we found other things we just had to have...

Prying ourselves out of the store before we broke the bank, we ventured on to another favorite haunt Hillstone in Cherry Creek for the sushi I crave every now and then and won't shut up until I get my fix. 

And refreshments were in order as well

Although The Mister's Moscow Mule was tasty

it just isn't quite the same when not prepared properly as he does at home

in his copper cup.

So that was my Saturday of favorite things.  It is delightful to have a little time to have a life. 

However short-lived that may be. *wink*