still more traditions...

There are still more things to write about; though with last minute "everything" before leaving for Portland tomorrow, it is easy to forget the meaningful memories of this joyous season.  One such tradition, that I took a few moments out of my morning to do, is the rhyming Christmas card.  The poem has been a tradition my mom started before I could even speak - I think.  As Advent gets busier and busier for Mom, the card is often finished and/or mailed during one of the twelve days of Christmas.  I thought this year I would do her a favor and send her my lines instead of ideas for my lines.  Then Auggie e-mailed me his ideas, and I sent her his lines.  Then this morning I saw that Miki, Dad, and Nick sent me their ideas.  So I sat and typed up a few lines to help Mom out.  I have no intentions of taking over the tradition, but it is a lot of fun, and I always love a challenge.  peace and blessings...tori

time for bed

Time to go to bed!  What a fun day I had!  As a treat to myself, and to make up for some long hours of grant work, I gave myself the day off....TO BABYSIT EZRA!!!  What a fun little man he is!  I will try to upload a couple of the many pictures I took.  At six months old, he is a real charmer.  We played in the mirror, ate applesauce, played in the saucer, chewed on blocks, had a diaper change and outfit change (because of slobber, not the diaper), practiced standing, talked on the play cellphone, and so much more.  It was a real treat, and I am glad I could do it.  After dinner with Mary and Mary Pat, I am ready to crash.  peace

the reason for the season

Yes, there are all sorts of reasons people now find to celebrate Christmas...gift-giving, house decorating, cookie and candy making, etc.  Growing up in a Catholic family, the holiday always comes back to the expecting parents traveling by donkey and becoming a holy family.  Family is what it is all about, and mine is no exception.   My mom has consecutively celebrated Christmas with her family in Portland all the years of her life (a good daughter knows not to give away her mother's age).  Last year was the first without Grandpa, but the tradition lives on.  In my thirty-one years, I have spent all my Christmases in Portland with my family (and Mom's side of the family), too.  In fact, not a one of my siblings has missed either.  It is a real treasure to gather and celebrate together.  Granted, none of us are married and have in-laws who fight over us, though a few of us are celebrating with multiple families this year.  So come Christmas my parents will be beaming at the four Ford children sitting around the tree.  I can say for myself what a blessing it is, what a tremendous blessing it is to be so close to my family.  peace -

kris kringling...

Most are familiar with "secret Santa" gift exchanges among offices, classes, and clubs.  Kris Kringling is where it all began.  Growing up our parish had a a couple Kris Kringling opportunities: family to family and family to "shut-in".  I remember doing the "ding-dong dash" after leaving a package on the steps of a house and hoping nobody was looking out the window.  The exchanges happened all Advent long, and in the week before Christmas, our family would ring the doorbell and not run away or just sign our name.  Meanwhile, another family would be ringing our doorbell, too.  When we dropped goodies at the home of a shut-in, you didn't run as great a risk of (w) being recognized or (2) having an old lady mobile enough to catch you.  It was always great fun!   I suppose this really evolved from St. Nicholas, the wonderful bishop who tossed the bags of gold coins secretly to the poor father who lacked the money to marry off his daughters.  Mom still sends out packages of goodies for December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas.  As kids we set out shoes outside our door before we went to bed.  When we woke up, our shoes would be full of nuts, chocolate coins, a tangerine or two, and often a pair of pajamas or slippers.  In college I remember having to go buy a nutcracker for the box of nuts I received (who can imagine needing to pack a nutcracker when you move into the dorms?).  How fun!!

my Christmas trees

The norfolk pine was actually the Christmas tree last year or maybe a few years ago.  It is a bit of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree....

my nativity scene

I got a little carried away Monday night tidying and decorating.  After putting up my nativity scene, I hung five stockings at the fire place.  I sewed them for the five us in the Columbine House, so it looks a little silly having all five in my one bedroom apartment.  I also hung my ornaments in the ficus and norfolk pine trees on my table.  It was a lot of fun pulling them all out.  I also hung some metal bells my dad was pitching last Christmas.  They are on my back interior door - a sort of Christmas security system, if you will.

a plate full!

Another favorite tradition, that would have been taking place right about now - years and years ago, is the "Merry Christmas" plate.  The Dorsey family would come over, and together the six of us kids would paint a ceramic plate for our teachers.  Once fired, it would be filled with pumpkin bread, chocolate peanut cluster, sugar cookies, spritz cookies, and any number of homemade treats.  The Dorsey kids could paint whatever they wanted, and we all painted the same thing.  We also painted a plate for Grandma Dieringer and a plate for Grandma Schaller, who said it was a waste because they always broke in the mail.  It was a fun tradition, and my mom and dad have quite a collection of them.  Many years I was honored to draw the design, including the manger scene with a holstein cow.  Likely, right?  It was a fun tradition that I revived last year at the Dorsey-Ford pre-Christmas breakfast.  I brought paper plates and coloring crayons.  It was a lot of fun.  Kelly's husband Seth took the prize with his creation; however, his breakfast got cold.  All in all we had a lot of fun!  Ahhhh...the memories!  peace and love...

the snow!!!

I think this is technically the second snow!  It was a good three inches or more piled up behind my apartment when I tried to drag the compost and recycle bins back from the alley this morning!  No snow day, but I did get to work late since I carpooled.  love and all!

the helmet pic

Finally the picture of the helmet - not worn as of this snowy day!!

A new scene

There is a new scene on my mantle.  Among the plants are a couple sheep, shepherds, musicians, an angel, and Mary & Joseph.  I received my first nativity set years ago, but for some reason never brought it to Denver.  So I pulled it out of the closet in September and forgot it.  But it arrived today in a package from my dad with a book he wants me to read.    The Advent wreath being the first tradition I mentioned, today it is the Nativity scene.  Usually when we began pulling Christmas decor out of the storage room, there was a special collection of boxes marked "fragile".  Inside was an old set of figurines that were chipped and glued back together: Mary, Joseph, a donkey and cow, sheep and shepherd, and an angel.  The three wise men and camel came out later.  There was also a mouse that sat in the manger scene, just like in the children's book.    By the time I was in high school, our old nativity pieces had been relegated to the Sunday School prayer service.  We started collecting a new Fontanini set.  Mary, Joesph, and the animals have been joined year after year with a few more pieces.  It went from sitting on two coffee tables to filling the top of the piano.  We would usually collect mosses and greens when we collected greens for the Advent wreath.  We would lay garbage bags and then cover them with the mosses, greens, and pine cones, you know - just in case Bethlehem looked like the Cascade Mountains or Pacific Northwest.  "/   Of course, Baby Jesus doesn't arrive until after we Ford kids went to bed on Christmas Eve.  And the three wise men and their camels and guide don't show up on the scene until January 6th, Epiphany.   peace and blessings...

Advent at last!

A week ago a cold was rooting itself in my head.  I was three days away from turning in my grant.  And not least of all, Christians celebrated the "New Year" with the first Sunday of Advent.  Fr. Don likes to say that we are not actually preparing for the a baby to be born, but we are preparing our hearts and ourselves to receive God anew.  God wants to pour God's entireness and love into our beings, so we can be Christ to each other.  But sometimes we are too full of ourselves to make much room.  I'm terribly summarizing his great homilies of the last two weeks, but I just wish everyone could hear him.  If only we worried about living our faith as much as we worry about how much we spend on gifts and if people will like what we got for them.  Goodness!  And the truth is that I still worry about that other stuff.  We all take time to be how we want to live.   But I'm drawn to this season of waiting because of the rich traditions my family shared.  So I am going to try to post as many of them as I can remember:   I miss the Advent wreath.  I still remember the prayers we would say for the different weeks (though not terribly well).  We made placemats with the little candle shaped cutouts with each week's prayer typed up.  Mom laminated them at the advent fair, and we would pull them out in December.  There was also the ring of different prayer cards, too.  Mostly it sat on our dinner table, which was when we took turns sitting by the window, so we could light or blow out the candles.  Dad loved to make the wreath larger and more beautiful each year until it took up a whole place at the table.  When we were little, the wreath was in the living room, and Nicholas singed his eyebrows or arm hair - maybe something caught on fire?  Last year I was climbing Mt Piltriquitron in Patagonia, and at the "refugio" where we stopped to snack and have a beer on our way back down, Peggy pulled out a birthday candle to light for the first week of Advent.  Ahh...the first sign of advent are the candles and the wreath!   peace and blessings...

Thankful for Thanksgiving Pt III - Franti

Oh my goodness!!  What a caper to a great Thanksgiving Break!  I purchased two tickets each for both nights of Michael Franti and Spearhead's Harvest Ball.  Jennifer and I dodged wet snowflakes as we hurried over to the Fillmore Friday night.  This was my first concert sans crutches....and it has been a while.  My physical therapist forbade me from jumping and doubted I could make it two nights.  Well - I did not jump Friday night.  I danced and danced and danced some more.  I bumped into Nikki's friend Greg, and it was fun to catch up with him before it all started.  This guy Mike Relm opened with a really awesome video/musical performance of spinning records and audio/video feed.  Then for the next two and a half hours straight, Spearhead rocked the Fillmore!  Almost all the songs were from Yell Fire or All Rebel Rockers; the ones that weren't were Peter Tosh's, the Beatles', or Gerry's (Long Distance Runner).  Jennifer and I were pretty close to the stage, and the energy was amazing!  After the show he stepped down to the floor.  I made my way up and got to squeeze his hand - wow!  I was so thrilled with the night.    After slushing our way back to JD's apartment, we ate pumpkin empenadas, re-hydrated, and said good night.  I didn't want to deal with snow in the morning, since it was still just wet.  Saturday I slept so late!  Mary woke me up to tell me she had gotten a ticket.  She and Tom came over before the show, and we all went to church before grabbing a bite and heading over.  Tom and I stuffed ourselves for the second time in the week.  We found spots on the floor, and unfortunately none of us were impressed with the "rappers" that opened.  Finally they finished, and again Spearhead rocked for about two and a half hours straight.  They played a few older songs, fewer from Yell Fire, and new covers (including a poorly executed Casey Jones).  I didn't notice so much on Friday that Michael had the lyrics in front of him for the other songs, but he had a hard time Friday with the lyrics.  Casey Jones got all goofed up, and Mary and I were both suspicious.  The shows were pretty similar set lists, though a totally different audience and feel.  I certainly didn't mind dancing around to the same awesome tunes.    I was beat when the show was finished, though equally elated.  We walked back to Mary's car and ate pumpkin pie.  I was already starting to feel the awful stuffiness and soreness in my sinuses and throat.  After two late nights in a row, I slept in really late, but still my body felt blah.  I am not sure what I have, but eating six cuties (the little tangerines) and drinking hot tea hasn't really relieved anything.  The ibuprofen helped reduce any temperature I was feeling, and the salt water rinse helped drain my sinuses temporarily.  Now I need to try it again and tuck myself back in.  This is a horrible week to start off sick!  But hopefully, Wednesday at 3 pm, the grant will be finished, turned in, and I will be home in bed!  If I can only keep it together until Wednesday at 3 pm....   I gave all my energy to the music...it was so good...I can still hear it...it was so good....<snore>

Thankful for Thanksgiving Pt II - The feast

Thursday: Straight to the kitchen!  The potatoes and gravy were ready, but I still had a huge green salad to prepare and then biscuits to roll and bake.  It was a fun day, though.  Everyone converged back on Tom's apartment, where two folding tables had been assembled with chairs for the four o'clock feast.  Tom was babying his 12 pound slab of beef, and everyone else was nursing a whiskey or cocktail of some kind.  Daniel, Tom's brother, and I took on Tom and Julie, Daniel's wife, in a couple games of dominoes.  We left it a tie because the kids and food were both needing attention.  Tom's friends Forrest and Karen arrived with little Will and two more dishes.  Wow - once all the food was on the table, there were steaks, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, biscuits, corn casserole, gravy, green salad, fruit salad, and green chilies.  Ooof!  I ate stuffing, both potatoes, corn, and a biscuit, and I thought I was finished.  I did try some fruit salad, but only a little.  When the pumpkin pie was served, only half of one of the two pies got eaten!  I took the three kids for a walk to stretch my legs a little, but to no avail.  I would have to wait for a piece of pie for breakfast.  I guess all the snacking that started at noon did me in.  Especially those pumpkin empenadas!    More games and playing ensued after dinner, but by 8 pm I think everyone had headed out.  We were all so pooped from eating.  I made it up only a little bit later.  I kept thinking about how a year ago I celebrated Thanksgiving in Argentina on the farm before embarking into Patagonia.  Crazy how time flies!!!   My favorite part of the feast was a really nice grace that Daniel offered.  I felt honored, so far from my own family, to be with such a great family.  My heart was really filled with an awareness of how blessed I am.  I am blessed!

Thankful for Thanksgiving Pt I - Casa Bonita

Sadly, the days off from work are nearly over.  It was a nice break after some really long days.  I still have a couple long days ahead, but at least I got to enjoy being thankful with Tom's family.   Wednesday: I cooked up a storm!  Tom was hosting his family from New Mexico, and he enlisted me to help with a few dishes.  I left work early to make mashed potato casserole, gravy, and the biscuit mix.  It took a lot longer than I expected, so I got stuck in horrendous traffic on the way to dinner.  Ahhh DINNER!  I finally got to find out what everyone was talking about when they said the food at Casa Bonita is awful.  The menu offered nothing vegetarian, though a few combo plates had single meatless items.  Lucky me, they offer a "cheese deluxe", similar to the chicken and beef "deluxes", which are all you can eat and come with sopapillas.  The "cheese deluxe" was three cheese enchiladas smothered in fake cheese.  There was guac and lettuce on one side and beans and rice on the other.  Since it was all you can eat, I asked for more...of the guac and lettuce.  Tom's brother and sister-in-law had also never been, so we reveled in the newness, and quickly learned to hope not to come back.  Well, maybe they liked it.    I took off with the kids to wander around, watch the "cliff divers", and head into the arcade (the kids got tokens free, I think).  I was ready to head back to the table, as the game room was too much excitement for me, but then it occurred to me that left at the table was Tom, his siblings, and his parents.  No spouses, girlfriends, kids...  I had no idea when the last time they were all together was, and I could only imagine what they might be talking about, so I let it alone.  Gratefully, we made our way back to Tom's for more merriment sooner than later, all the kids with their new prizes from the arcade.   What a full day!

That whole quote about...

how you should believe in the power of a small group of people....   Denver Urban Gardens (my employer) sponsored a movie at the Starz Denver Film Festival today.  The Garden was the movie, and the film maker spoke afterwards - all very inspiring.  I don't want to give away the ending, but it was national news two years ago that the country's largest community garden, 14 acres in South Central Los Angeles, was bulldozed.  The documentary about it follows the legal proceedings and fight of a committed community to preserve the garden, their agricultural way of life, and a sense of justice.  Despite ultimately raising the money to outright buy the land, the owner would not sell.  It was also questionable how the owner came by the land.  The story was well told through the lens of the people - on both sides of the argument.  It reflected that at all levels of power, it is difficult to stay the course or right and good.  And while the bulldozers knocking over papaya and apple and banana trees was horrific to watch, not all stories get to have the happy ending we want to see.  The real thing to celebrate is how people can come together and raise their voice as one, how people have power collectively to stand for something.  I give it 5 stars, and if you can find it, encourage all to watch it.   peace out - tori

Nothing exciting...

Well that is not exactly true. But over the last four days I have worked forty-one hours, and tomorrow I expect to put in another ten or so. I shouldn't complain because plenty of professionals work eleven hour days regularly, but it just doesn't feel right to my tight shoulders and computer eyes. I am working on a monstrous grant. Unfortunately the level of evaluation expected is beyond anything I have done before and anything I have a passion to do ever again. And while it is an important funding source, it was down graded in what we can ask for (by 100Gs), so that I am putting in hours and hours and hours makes it feel like a lot of work for a diminished pot o' gold. It isn't due until December, but I really want to enjoy a Thanksgiving Holiday and to be thankful for a solid four days away from work! The exciting news is that Mary may Thomas is back in town. Jennifer helped her surprise me by keeping a secret that Mary and her dad would join us for drinks and eats after church last Saturday. What a great surprise!! And more exciting news is that my tickets arrived for Michael Franti and Spearhead!! I am going to both Friday and Saturday shows with Jennifer and Tom respectively. My physical therapist said no jumping and be careful, and she predicts I will be unable to do more than stand on Saturday night. My friend Jessica from DUG will be there, and hopefully Mary is going to get tickets, too. And extra exciting are the plans for next week when Tom's family arrives from New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday. I look forward to helping prepare Thanksgiving dinner with Tom, though there will be no turkey for anyone. He is making prime rib, and I don't have to help with that one. I will be making the Ford Family Mashed Potatoes, though I think I will try Colorado red potatoes in the recipe. I am looking forward to the fun - eye on the prize....get through a few more long days and then be thankful! Be thankful!

FIRST SNOW!!

Shoot, I still haven't uploaded a photo of my new helmet, though it has nothing to do with snow.   Yes-- the snow has finally arrived.  After a balmy Halloween and a rather dry first half of Autumn, the snow came only one week before the record for the latest snow fall in Denver (Nov 21).  Crazy!!  It was quite pretty to look at, and even handier, I stepped out at lunch time and used a rag and the snow to "clean" my car.  Evidently some birds missed their cue to fly south, and I happened to park under their toilet branch - gross!  So the sun has been flashing on and off as the clouds blow by, and everything is drying back out.  But I think at Tom's house he got an inch.  We don't ever get that much in my 'hood.  Supposedly some mountain elevations will see 6 - 12 inches.  Oh...if only I was a skier this year.  tori

Helmets!!!!

I am a big fan of helmets - not helmet hair, but the safety accessory for your head. I now own three. A friend joked that if you're lucky, you only get one brain in life. So why wouldn't you protect it? Of course I own a bike helmet. I bought a new one after my accident long before I even bought a new bike.

When my first ski season post-accident came around a year and a half later, I went out and bought a helmet - powder blue. Some say people do more reckless things when they're wearing a helmet because of a notion that the helmet will keep them safer. I didn't get it to start playing in the terrain park, but as in biking, helmets protect my noggin from other people. It's a little banged up, but will have to sit on the shelf this year as I sit out another ski season (boo hoo!).

My newest helmet - pictures to come shortly, I hope - is a motorcycle helmet!!! Tom got me a stand-in for my birthday, so I could start riding with him. It wasn't "the" one, but was my first. We've checked out helmets here and there. I want a brown and orange one, which isn't a likely find, so he got some paint and started planning a design. Then the fun began. Saturday we found a used helmet in sparkly blue with some airbrushed streaks. Tom loved the paint job, but the helmet fit me. He hated the thought of painting over it, so when we found - get this - a SPARKLY ORANGE MOTORCYCLE HELMET, he considered it an act of God to save the blue helmet from being painted over. All in a day, we bought this orange helmet, Tom polished it up, and then he added his artistic touch with some coppery brown zig-zags (think ZZ Top) that wrap around the sides. It's way cool! And he resized the liner of the blue helmet, so we will be sparkly together!

I know...rididuclous! It's the little things that make me smile. I'm sure my little brother won't even be excited for me. Alas...

fall is here

Again - no pics, but just imagine tearing a dark grey-blue strip of construction paper with all its jaggedy edges and laying it across the bottom of a pale blue sheet of paper that has been streaked with darker cottony shapes of chalk, and then gluing on the chunk of cotton in the top of a vitamin bottle after you fringe it in pink and stretch it out a bit...the view outside looks sort of like that.  The leaves are rustling in the wind, and every now and again one lets go of the branch and blow up into the last patches of luminescent sunlight before falling out of the sky and into a corner of curb where damp and decaying leaves have already fallen.  Some still crackle and crunch under foot, and some scape along the ground in the wind before you can step on them.  

Tis the season for tea and squash and soup!  And drippy noses and watery eyes!  And piling on blankets and lots of warm layers!  I may be grumpy at the loss of the long days and the warm bike rides, but I do love this season, too!  peace to you...and many crunchy leaves under foot!  tori

A Moment of Domesticity!

Well, really quite long moments strung together all day long!  I am pleased to have just finished canning 5 pints of applesauce and 4 pints of pears!!  Whoopee!!!  I will have fruit all winter long from my cupboards!  It really is exciting to me that I know how to do these things, even if I still call home to Mom for tips.   Thus far this harvest season, I have preserved: -an ice cube tray of basil pesto (makes it easy to freeze in quantities you'll use) -an ice cube tray of thai basil and cinnamon basil -an ice cube tray of cilantro -a pint of cilantro pesto (consumed already!) -24 oz of peach salsa (3 jars) -two quarts of peaches (frozen) -17 quarts of garlic dill pickles -5 pints of applesauce -4 pints of pears   What a prideful person I am!  I admit it, but in this not so lush environment, where the growing season is a bit short, it is important to extend the season however I can.  And while my garden of pots was not terribly plentiful, there are perks to working in the urban ag field.  For instance, 80 pounds of fruit at less than $2/lb - peaches, cherries, apricots, plums, apples, and pears!  Delightful!  And the basil all came from a friend's garden.  My broccoli is finally flowering, so I look forward to stir fry this week.  And my strawberries are still putting out half a dozen a week.  My lettuce is small, but tasty - ate most of last week, but I hope it will grow back.  And finally cilantro is coming up.  I think it is a terribly tricky herb to grow, so I think I will transfer it into the house to see if I can keep it alive.   Anywho...no reason to be thinking so much about food...I ate dinner...a few hours ago... Wishing you peace and blessings and the smell of cinnamon and apples and pears to speed your way to sweet dreams!  tori

I love to talk about food!

I am not apolitical, and both family and friends know I can get on a soapbox.  But I really do believe people need not to be told what to think or do; rather people need to be empowered to be critical thinkers.  I think it is only too often people choose apathy, choose the prime time line-up instead of using brain-power, and choose soundbites....but not my friends and families.    So in the spirit of a long a read before bedtime, I offer this link to Michael Pollan's article, or "memo" as he refers to it, addressing Mr. President-elect about something we all too often take for granted: food.  It is easy to assume that we can go to the store to get what we need.  Or for those who cannot, it is because they either do not have the money or don't have a near-by grocer.  The truth is, like clean air and clean water, food can become a scarce or costly resource.  The article is long, quite long really!  I think it is well-worth the read.  But read it critically or don't.  If you do read it, I would be delighted to discuss it.      http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?em   ciao- tori

no pictures of this weekend...

So after arriving late on Wednesday, Friday night I dashed home from work, furiously harvesting at three gardens.  A freeze was expected, and who knew if the tomatoes would make it, or anything else!  I tossed an overnight bag together and ran out the door with garden treats and birthday cards and gifts.  We celebrated family dinner in Castle Rock for Oren's birthday.  It was a lot of fun, and Baby Ezra is so stinkin' cute!  So why didn't I pull camera out?  As the party ended, I said good-bye to the guests, pleased I would get to sleep over and not drive home.  The pleased feeling wore off early Saturday morning when Tom and I left Castle Rock at 6:15 am for a quick trip to Miami, New Mexico.  One more birthday to celebrate!  His goddaughter/niece Maya celebrated the seven on Friday, but we all celebrated with pizza and cake and a brief power outage on Saturday.  This Thursday she will get to celebrate with Chuckie Cheese in "the big city" after she visits the doctor to get her cast off, but we were happy to be the consolation party at home.  She got Pop n Hop, a game like Trouble.  I thought of Miss Maddie-moo, who I hear has come to love the game and asked for playdates with Grandma to try her luck.    Sunday mornning we were up early for church with his parents, and I had to laugh at the older woman in church who told me she couldn't remember where I live, as if we'd ever met before.  Just small town gossip, or is it church life?  Tom reminded me that everyone knew who he was when we went to church and had sixty people over at my parents' house looking at him knowingly.  Anywho, we had a quick visit with his grandma, who was impressed I knew Spanish.  Gratefully she didn't ask me to speak it, or her impression of me may have soured.  After visiting with all the other households, away we went...back to Denver!   So now I am here, at home.  I bough groceries and have a full fridge, somewhat of a novelty, as it hasn't been that way with all the coming and going.  Tom's family is coming here for Thanksgiving, so I don't know I have anywhere to go until Christmas.  I am sure I can come up with something if I get bored, but right now I am looking forward to getting to read the paper, cook some meals, and catch up with friends I haven't seen in eons...like Britta and Ryan, who I picked up from the airport tonight, and Marycate, who I ate dinner with afterwards.  Hooray...

A Trip to Phillie

After hosting everyone for Japanese-y family dinner, I emptied my refrigerator and packed my bags for Philadelphia.  The Community Food Security Coalition was holding their annual conference there on the topic of access to healthy foods - a theme of policy work for me at Denver Urban Gardens.  The trip was great, exhausting, and overwhelming with great works happening around the country.  I was especially pleased to arrive early enough to participate in a couple field trips to see some wonderful gardens and projects in Phillie.    I also snuck in a visit with Ron and Megan and their daughter Elena.  Ron and Megan were roommates of mine in Jersey City years and years ago.  They recently moved to Phillie to be closer to Megan's family.  I wasn't sure if we could meet up because I had one window of free time on Saturday afternoon.  There was lots to do, but it just so happened they were a dozen blocks from where I was staying on Satuday afternoon.  They came into town to see Bruce Springsteen and Amos Lee perform in front of the art museum in an Obama rally.  Lo and behold, Jessica, my coworker, and Zev, her cousin/my host, were planning to walk down there, too.  It was great to see the three of them, and we visited until they had to catch the train home.  What a treat!

Fall Colors

Having returned from Portland late on a Wednesday, I only had one week to hang out in Denver before leaving for a conference in Philadelphia.  That weekend, I begged Tom to take me to see the fall colors, I mean color.  Saturday I had a brunch date with Minerva and a movie date with Jennifer before church and a dinner date with Tom and his friends, so Sunday, I bundled up and got ready to ride!  Tom and I took the motorcycle up to Kenosha Pass for picture taking and my longest motor cycle ride yet.  It was potentially training for a trip to New Mexico, which would be about four times as long a ride.    The colors were magnificent.  My bum was a little sore, but not bad.  A slight sprinkle of rain made the ride up a little exciting.  We packed snacks in the saddle bags and hiked around briefly in the pass.  There were so many people, but I managed to snap some photos sans tourists.  I could snap pictures all day, but they don't do justice to the magic of being in the trees and seeing the blue sky and the evergreens in contrast.  Alas...   The ride back was "fast and furious" - not really any faster than the way up, but no stops for us because I needed to get home for the Community Garden Cook-off and Party.  Jake Nistler met me there, and we had a great "catch-up" as well as a conversation with the distiller at Stranahans.  What a great weekend!!

A Trip to Portland

Once again, time elapses, and posts do not make their way to this blog.  Ooops!  But really, when you hear all the things I have been up to...   So Tom joined me in Portland as a surprise to my dad, who turned 60 in September.  Tom and Marty took on my dad and Nick in some serious putt-putt misadventures.  All the while, my mom, sister, and I were working on wedding to-do's for Miki.  There was a large and loud and really enjoyable birthday party for my dad, which lasted many hours of prep, party, and more party.  I think we celebrated four or five days in a row.    After Tom headed home for work, I got to spend time with all my goddaughters, with my grandma, and with the fam.  Miki, Mom, and I went wedding dress shopping - lots of fun watching Miki change clothes so many times.  Sadly it took no effort on my part, which I could have used after a full breakfast with Miki and high school friend Dr. Maryanne.  Sophie, Ava, and I had our traditional lunch date during a school day.  Amy's three girls entertained me to no end...I was thrilled they were not shy of me!  And Grandma and I got to visit Grandpa with a few roses and dahlias.  What a full week!

It's been a while since I posted last...

So much happening...   No I wasn't arrested in the protests of the DNC; I have just been doing other things.  The DNC did create quite a ruckus in town - an historic week for Denver.  I did turn my TV on for the first time to hear Obama's speech, but I busied myself with all sorts of other things all week: a visit to Castle Rock, dinner with Jake Nistler, a garden tour and other work, and hosting family dinner.  It was great to hear stories and see pictures of friends, but I stayed on the fringe.    Labor Day weekend I went to New Mexico to hang out with Tom's family, wander around the galleries of Santa Fe and Taos, and soak in a hot spring.  We had a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting out of Denver for the first time in a very long while.  We took my car, which got 48 MILES TO A GALLON!!!  That's my big brag.  It was fun to go through Taos and up 285 reliving the infamous trip with Mary and Jennifer one Thanksgiving eons ago.  I like the clouds in Tom's glasses and the view behind us at the Rio Grande Canyon.    So yes, I have a car now.  It means I am getting around a bit better, which is great since I pushed it a little too much on the bike and have had to ease off.  I have gone back to rolfing with Cathy at Golden Touch, which has my body feeling less out of whack.  But I also just started with a new physical therapist, who tripled my exercises.  This is good for muscle building, but I make a lot of faces trying to get the last half of each done.  Such a wuss!    I am thrilled to have finally harvested three red tomatoes from my plants.  There are a lot of green ones, but I want red ones!  I also ate two delicious red strawberries from my vines.  I thought of little miss Mia and her love of berries.  If the sun comes back (today is grey), I hope to get another dozen berries.  They haven't reddened yet.  And there is one cucumber on the vine!   My plans for domesticity were thwarted this weekend - no little cukes and dill at the farmers markets I went to.  And the basil a gardener gave me are two non-pesto varieties (cinnamon and lemon), so after hunting down pine nuts, I didn't get to freeze pesto either.  Oh brother!  Maybe this next weekend will fare better.  I did freeze the basil, so if anyone needs lemon or cinnamon basil, let me know.    I have lots to do around the house, so I better not dally...peace...

a new home

Hello...   a link to my new address   It's been a while since I mass e-mailed folks, so I thought it was about time to send another message...mostly so you know my new address.  Word on the street is that I am not to be stopped from biking everywhere I can.  It's hard to believe I was on crutches a month ago, though I still feel the reason why.  Six months of crutches and four weeks of physical therapy, and now I am doing immensely better and am capable of living on my own even.  I have a little problem area, which my PT now thinks may be a weak low back rather than a "lazy butt".  Fourth of July was my independence day: my first night in my new place, though I keep laundry/game dates with Betty on a regular basis.  I am getting back into the groove of life and soon will join the club of car owners again (God willing), which will get me even further than my bike.    Work in the gardens has been great.  Even in my own plot of pots in the backyard, I have tomatoes ripening.  Hopefully the broccoli and squash will not be far behind, and then the lettuce, beets, and spinach get September.  I am grateful I was able to work with the kids in the garden for the end of our sessions, but they start school next week, so things are taking on a new shape at work.    Jazz in the Park is over, so yesterday we had our first other gathering of the family.  Attached is a picture from our family gathering last night: Tom, me, Ahna, Oren, (baby) Ezra, Gabe, Char, Hafner, Claire, Jennifer, and Mary.  Wednesday night we will begin our tradition of dinners again.  I think I will have to hit the thrift store to get some more dishes before next week when it is my turn to cook.    Feel free to reply with a note of what you have been up to and how summer has treated you.  For Denver friends - any ideas of how to celebrate the DNC besides getting out of town?  I hope you are all well, and many thanks for those who helped and prayed me through my recovery and move.   tori     tori ford toriindenver.blogspot.com

happy birthday to me...

Wow - it was just a year ago I was celebrating my birthday in Portland, the big three - oh!   My birthday sort of started a couple weeks ago when Joyce and Andy's package arrived, but I held off opening it, just kept looking at it next to the front door.  A package from home arrived on Thursday, so I stacked it with the other and waited until today.  Last night, out to dinner with Tom, a gentleman I recently began seeing, and his friends, the servers came over with ice cream and a "happy 21st birthday" - oh sure, give or take ten years.    But today it is.  I decided tearfully last spring while talking to Mom that I couldn't possibly come home.  This is my first year without Grandpa - how lucky to have had the thirty years together!  I am still sad sometimes that I don't have him physically in my life, but I am grateful he is with God.  I talk with him sometimes.  I had a little cry about it today and was grateful to talk with Grandma and Roxy and Abba.  Auggie and Nick talked to me tonight, and I got a great song from the three M's.  Mom and Miki had to wish well early since they are both out of the country.  I had a pretty leisurely day...sleeping in and breakfast, lots of phone calls, and a BBQ with my friends.  Mary and Jennifer put in lots of prep time, and I enjoyed having them in the kitchen.  Andrea and Shaun came over and entertained me as I tried to light the grill.  Jenny stopped by after church, and Britta and Ryan popped in after a hike.  It was lovely and low key.  Five of us caught WALL-E at the movies, and now I am pooped!    Today, I am grateful for my friends and family.  I appreciate that I can walk on two feet and carry things in both hands (things that are not crutches).  And I feel blessed.  peace

It's official...(me new address)

So I decided it is time to share my new address...I'm not going anywhere soon. My checks still say that I am on Columbine, and the newspaper is lost in circulation, but everything else is here:

2300 Williams St #1 (80205)

I think you can go to google's map page and see it on street view - the one on the NE corner of 23rd and Williams. Pretty neat! There was a request for some more pictures, but I might wait a week, so I can try to do a little tidying. I don't want to show you the stack of legal papers next to the couch - still working to recover costs from the state for the accident. And there are cardboard boxes of this and that all over. My room has a path cleared to the bed, but I need to pull the table out of the closet now that the bed is in, but I need two hands and two feet for these little projects. If you know me well, you might guess it will take more than a week to do any of these things, but I am feeling ambitious.

This morning I crutched out of bed and poured myself some orange juice. I crutched out here to the living room to check e-mail, and when I sat down in the chair, my left hand started to curl. It is okay now; I have massaged it and stretched it, but I think I pinched a nerve or something. Scary how little things can change so quickly. My neighbor Andrew's new bike helmet arrived yesterday in the mail, and he was telling me how he's been hit twice by a car - neither time with a helmet! Lucky man! Deb was justifying the whole cause of helmets with her line that "you only get one brain", so why wouldn't you protect it? Oh, how fragile our health is!

Random thoughts for a Saturday morning - should be watching cartoons, but I haven't had the inclination to turn the TV on yet. For now it is a glorified plant stand. I think i will put on some music...

A day of "first"s...

This has been one exhausting week - seven nights on my own...tonight will begin the second week. I worked from home because we had a staff party last night at our director's home, and everyone was doing their own thing for work. I wasn't sure if I got to the office how I would get home. It was fine because I brought plenty home Thursday in anticipation. So after not seeing anyone, I was thrilled to have Deb stop by for a beer and some conversation in the afternoon. And then Char and Belinda both agreed to come and hang out, so I whipped up some mini-bowtie noodles with a cilantro pesto I made and froze. They brought vegetable and fruit salad. I made some garlic toast and opened some pickled beans (a little sour) and uncorked a bottle of wine, for my first little dinner party. My neighbor Laura joined us, too. It was a fabulous impromptu evening with the ladies. Jennifer and Brian stopped by later on for a bunch more conversation. Hooray! Even if everyone has to carry my plates and glasses and serve me, I felt a little more at home/"normal" getting to play hostess. But now I am so tired, my eyes are drooping. My neighbor Andrew just pulled out his guitar on the porch, and I am fighting the sleepies because I love listening to live music like this. Ah well...I am ready for dreaming...peace out

A real adventure

So taking the bus really doesn't sound like an adventure, but being on crutches, those were some big steps to get up! Tuesday I got home from a full day at the office. Laura has been so good to help me get to and from the office. So I crutched into my place and dropped my bags. I checked my e-mail and saw a note from Betty saying to come by soon. So, with no plans for how I would eat, I decided to check out RTD's map of buses and see where I could go. The westbound #32 stops at 22nd and Gilpin - a near two blocks away. It stops a block from Betty's house. Hmmm...I called her up and invited myself over for a grilled cheese, the end of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and a number of rounds of Skip Bo. Her grandson Austin left after he finished his fried chicken, but after an hour or so of computer games, he came down for some Skip Bo, too. Pretty soon Betty mixed us up a couple cocktails, and cards were flying! It was a lot of fun. To get back on the bus, it is about two blocks from Betty's house, and then it's only one block away from my house. But it was late, so she called me a cab. I don't think I have ever ridden a cab by myself in the US. Interesting, huh? Well, it made for a really fun evening! She invited me back this weekend and insisted I bring my laundry. Sometimes I can't argue...

Night Number Four

Oh, I am so exhausted... My hips are both extra achey - my right hip and my right knee and my right wrist are all begging for attention, as if they were injured...and they are for having carried me around so far. It is hard to believe that four weeks ago I was walking myself - sans crutches - to the surgical table. And just four nights ago, I was finally brave enough to sleep in my new home - without the security of having someone just feet away to make breakfast or carry my bag. As it stands, I am in good hands...my neighbors are all amazingly wonderful - watering my container gardens, carrying things in for me, and offering to help. John and Laura are the other first floor folks, and I really like them. We've talked a few times. And they are the reason I can post...I am going to give them a bit of cash for use of their internet service. A good deal for me! Did I mention I am pooped? So this message will just have to go to bed like me! tori

Independence Day!

I miss Betty. After twenty-three nights of amazing attention and care, it was hard to cut the new umbilical cord I had grown. I have had a lot of help over the last twenty-five day from a lot of people, and I know it! But it is an exceptional person who opens her home to you, includes you as one of the family, prepares all your meals and delivers most up two flights of stairs (even going to the store to get things you would want – a six block walk each way), lets you invite colleagues and friends into her home and take calls at her number, changes sheets and towels, launders all your clothes and linens, and then asks if she can help pack your old home and unpack you in to your new home. Betty and I watched “Death at a Funeral”, “Down in the Valley”, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, "Lovely and Amazing", “How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer”, “Lars and the Real Girl”, “Reservation Road”, “Shattered”, and a couple more. We played Quiddler, Yahtzee, Skip Bo, and Dominoes. Her grandsons were there individually and played games with me, too. I was invited to family outings with her daughters and their families. So when Betty returned with her grandson Austin on Wednesday, she hoped I would stay another day, so we could hang out. I stayed, but was out with friends, so we didn’t get to hang out. I offered to stay another night, since (1) I still didn’t have sheets on my bed and (2) didn’t get to hang out Wednesday. This morning, after a wonderful breakfast and a couple of games, Betty carried all my belongings to [Claire’s] car, unloaded all my belongings, made my bed, wanted to water the garden, but there was no water, and then helped clear out the recycling and give-away clothes. She told me I didn’t have to leave, and there is a big part of me that would be happy to never leave. She told me not to cry, and I told her I had something in my eye. Congratulations to me for taking my first shower, listening to music here for the first time, and soon…my first sleepover. This is really a day of independence for me, but I am reminded by my heart how great it is to be in relation with people and not cling to my independence too much. For a country that struggles to do “the right thing”, we could all take a moment in our celebration of our independence to appreciate all the people we depend on for meaning in our lives, for food on our tables, for the laws that govern our society (even if we don’t really agree with our government), and for caring for us when we need it. Peace.

Four years ago now...

I was in a lot of pain, but at least they gave me some ibuprofen in the emergency room.  It was a Friday, and I was supposed to be camping outside Canon City the rest of the weekend with Chris.  I couldn't really find a comfortable position with the bruising and abrasions on knees, ankles, right hip, tail bone, shoulder...little did I know four years later I would be on crutches, still recovering from someone else missing a red light.  How my life has changed...and who knows what would have been different if I made it across the street and down Colfax to Streets of London for happy hour with Andrea?  I may not have met Rebecah and Cathy - amazing caregivers and healers.  Who knows where I would be today had my life "stayed the course" it was on?  It is hard to believe four years have passed, and sadly I wish that I could say I felt better, that I hadn't been continuing to suffer from the pain of it all, but it's been one helluva ride.     I am indebted to so many who have cared for me over the years, covered for me on the job, driven me places or loaned me a car, helped to soothe the pain, talked me through the fear, nursed me back to "health", prayed for me, picked up prescriptions, rode bikes with me in the first ocassions back in the saddle, encouraged me when I felt brave, held my hand crossing the street, prepared meals for me, laundered my clothes, watered my plants, packed and cleaned my house, moved me from one home to the next, gave me something to smile about, and hugged me when I needed it.  I am a believer.  God provides.

Pooped!

Oh, I can't remember how I used to do multiple full days in a row. It feels as though two in a row might do me in! This morning Betty left the hous shortly after sunrise. She and her grandson Blake flew to Virginia to return Blake home and pick up the other brother Austin. It's not that I do not appreciate everything Betty does for me, but that saying about not knowing what you have till it is gone comes to mind. Navigating the kitchen for breakfast was tricky. To get the glass and pour the juice is not difficult, but if I don't want to drink it standing at the refrigerator, then I have problems. Sliding bread from one end of the counter to the next was not as tricky as getting it across the kitchen to butter it and add applesauce, which had to come from the fridge. Oh bother...this is what it is going to be like...I am probably going to start calling people to take them up on meal offers because dinner is not as easy as toast and juice. So two days of work in a row at the office...I actually made it into the garden briefly yesterday and out to an agency for youth programming tonight. Both were harder than I expected, and tonight may have been the straw that broke my back. It is easy to know when I have gone to far, but it is hard to sit in a chair wondering how much more I can do. For four years I have overcome the pain to try to live as normal a life as I can, as active a life as I can, because ultimately I know that those two qualities contribute more to my health and happiness than never hurting. If I had to give up skiing, biking, walking and hiking, and all the other physical stuff, I would have to be vigilant about what I ate, so as not to gain weight and create more stress on my hip. These things I think about...So all this for nearly four years, and now I am supposed to back down at the slightest twinge. It is difficult to unlearn the perseverance through the pain, though if I can persevere through the recovery, maybe I won't have pain again? We'll see. Tomorrow makes FOUR years. FOUR long years! It makes me want to cry. Feeling like I do tonight doesn't honor the hard work I committed myself to do to get better. All the counseling and physical therapy...nearly two years before I felt comfortable biking again...getting over the fear... And if I am lucky, I will settle my case against the state for causing all this before 2 July 2009. Here's to hope! tori

End Of Columbine Days...

Oh bittersweet! The Columbine House is officially not ours. Jennifer and I had our walk through with John last night, and then he locked us out. No more keys, no more of so many things...just holding on tight to memories. The house looked so strange so empty. I felt like I should have taken lots of pictures of the space, to fill in the blanks with the movies in my head, the scenes of 2,192 days and nights like a flip book. Only I never saw the end coming so abruptly... So bittersweet - an end of an era...nostalgia and sadness to walk away (not very well admittedly, as the jarring of my crutch handles keeps me rooted in reality)...but to be done with the dusting, the cleaning, the scrubbing of walls and venetian blinds, the washing of stairs and and floors...what a relief!!! John commented on things untouched and windows cloudy with dirt, but they aren't my dirty things anymore. Now I can start shifting my attention to my new place at Williams. On Sunday I hung up some pictures - Erin's chickens are in the kitchen, my panorama from Resolution Peak is above the mantle, a frame Erin painted hugs the mirror in the bathroom, and Picasso is behind the plants in the living room. I need a handyman to help hang plant hooks in the ceiling, so a few plants can make room for others. And hopefully, if I (or Jennifer?) can get my bed made, I will plan to start staying there in Wednesday. I'm not quite independent, but July 15th gets closer every day! loveyoumeanit...

a not too lazy Sunday

While I feel like I am no doing much, it still takes great effort to do the little I do. But it didn't take any effort to think good thoughts about my dad all day (we talked yesterday and left messages today). This morning I woke up feeling pretty uncomfortable in my own skin. I popped my percoset and stretched out on the recliner. Betty brought up the paper and some good morning conversation. Later she made me an omelet - delicious! - with tea and juice and grapes. We talked about family and growing up and how I got to be so responsible and independent. It was a nice slow morning, and I didn't feel up to managing the stairs just yet, so I stayed as comfortable as I could in the recliner. Mom and I talked briefly, and she suggested that I should see about getting a wheelchair for things like going to the park for jazz in the evenings. What a great idea! Then I would have a place to sit! Betty offered to walk down to St. Paul's and wheel one back, so while she did that, Britta and Ryan stopped by (after taking my bike to the shop to be fixed). It was pretty funny to me - Britta called and asked where the bathroom was and if the door could be open when she got here. Well, I move as quick as I can, but it is definitely not two stairs at a time. And when I reached the second floor I realized I needed to go back up to get my key to the front door. I was five steps from the bottom when I saw her coming up the steps. She made it to the bathroom, but I had a little giggle at the whole predicament. It was nice to sit in the backyard and talk with them...until my amazing bike tech called from Denver Bike and said it was an easy fix - PHEW!!! Britta and Ryan took off, so they could deliver the bike to my new home (won't get to ride it for a while) before heading home. Hooray! My heroes! And the best part is that they celebrated six years of marriage last Sunday, and today I wished them a belated happy anniversary and apologized for not saying it sooner, to which Britta replied that it was the third time I wished them a belated anniversary this week. Hee hee...guess I don't remember everything I said, Miki. Brian, a colleague, picked me up for a work meeting at two, which was only about four blocks away. I felt pretty stupid trying to get in work mode while the percoset was making my mind swim. After a couple hours, he took me back to Betty's house to rest my brain. We played some dominoes and waited for a super special dinner. Jon and Vernita made eggplant parmesan - such a special treat. They stopped by on their way to Jazz in the Park, and the conversation was a treat, too. I had two pieces and had to restrain myself. Betty and Jennifer only had one piece each. Jennifer helped me and the little travel wheelchair get to the park. I dared not miss it, since it is our "family dinner" now and Mary and Hafner's last one before they leave for Mexico on Thursday. It was a real trek to get into the park, but I enjoyed seeing Mary and Char and other friends. I especially enjoyed stopping at Lik's for a treat on the way home to Betty's. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my doctor and will try to go to the office to do some work. We'll see...to bed for me now. PS - I pooped again, what a relief! "/

So tired...

I cannot nap! I am having a tough time actually napping, though I feel so exhausted. Today I had a pancake and then napped, but I couldn't fall asleep. It may have been my sheer excitement about finalling pooping this morning! Phew! That was tough! But I couldn't sleep. Betty and I had a little sandwich before Minerva stopped by with ice cream from Liks - YUM! We had lots of fun talking and talking and talking. Betty and I played games today, but really I feel like I didn't exert myself much. Rudy and Nancy picked us up for church and then treated us to dinner at CityGrille. Such fun! So how can I be so tired when I am not even moving a lot...whoosh! And my hip feels so sore along the outside and along the inside incision - which looks like it has weeped a little on the new band-aid. I also think my right leg is a bunch longer than my left, which makes things a little tough. It is easier on the crutches when I wear my left flip-flop, but not the right one. Random thoughts before I go to bed. Well, tomorrow, maybe I will try harder to nap! Happy early Father's Day to all the gents...

Thank God it's Friday!

Today I showered!! Woo hoo! I got up and had a yummy pancake before Betty left for Metro CareRing to volunteer. Still no poop! Mary gave me a bottle of stool softener leftover from her hip-scope surgery last year, and maybe they've gotten old - sure aren't working in a hurry! So of course after breakfast comes naptime. A short nap, to be sure, because my next visitors were on their way: Jessica and Stephanie stopped by after youth garden programming for a work meeting. (Anna Belle told me slowing down would be hard, and Fr. Don prayed I would have patience, but it's so hard!! I figured if I could ease my way back into work, it would be easier on my body.) I was embarrased to look so bad, but I smelled even worse. So after lunch I had some quiet time - read the paper, tried to nap, worked on my computer. And then...the moment we've all been waiting for...SHOWER!! I took off the bandage, which I sort of miss because of the padding it provided. The pads were really gross and full of dried blood. Across each of the incisions is an asterisk of medical tape, and they look gnarly, too, but they stay on. So with the help of a little plastic chair in the shower, I got clean. Betty even changed sheets for me, so I could enjoy my freshness a little longer. I didn't have any plans for my Friday night, so Betty invited me to join her and her children to the grand opening of Jonesy's Bar. It is only a couple blocks away, so we walked. I had an Izze, and her son-in-law joked that if I shared my percoset, they'd share their beers. It was fun to hang out with them - I was a bit woozy, but my hip hurts more toward the end of the day. It is especially sore on the outside. I did schedule a doctor's appointment for Monday, so I will learn more about the "fall-out" of my surgery. later...

First visitors...

So I was up earlier than I needed to be, but Betty was ready for me. I quickly popped my percoset, hoping to make the pain go away. Betty brought up the tray with toast and yogurt and apple juice. She also brought me the paper, which had a nice cover article about gardening with a mention of Denver Urban Gardens. About as quickly as I had finished eating and reading part of the paper, I was asleep again. When I woke up, it was time for lunch...time for lunch? Where does a day go?!? I worked my way down the stairs, so I could get a little exercise before lunch time. After smelling the roses and talking outside for a little rest, Betty made grilled cheese sandwiches. Since she learned at breakfast after brewing both coffee and black tea that I don't drink either, she made me hot cocoa for lunch. My first visitors came after she smoked me in Yahtzee - a surprise visit from Jennifer and her dad, Davis. What a treat! We talked for a good long while before Jennifer had to go back to work. She made plans to come back and have dinner with me, when Betty would be out volunteering. I made my way back up the stairs to rest, but couldn't sleep. Work and the move consume my thoughts, so I checked my e-mail and started taking care of work. My second visitor - also one of my firsts - Jennifer and I baked some corn bread Betty made and heated up some leftovers. When Dorothy stopped by to drop off Betty, it was good to hear all that she is up to these days. And then Betty, Jennifer and I watched a movie. Exhausting! All in all - I stink, but look forward to my first shower Friday afternoon. I am getting around on my crutches pretty well, but my hip is still sore. The percoset makes me a bit woozy, but it is better than being woosy from pain.

bummed out...

bummed out? drugged out? Or really, really blessed? I think they are all true. First of all, on my way to Betty's house to drop off my things for after surgery, a bungee got loose and caught in my back wheel, wrapped around the gear and ruined it. I was able to ride safely to Betty's house by the grace of God. Thank you, God! So blessed! Secondly, my surgery went really well, and Fr. Don found me just in time to give me a blessing before they sent me off to the other floor. The staff were all really wonderful. I was well-drugged and don't remember any of it. Unfortunately, when I came to in the recovery section, I was experiencing a lot of pain in my right glute (butt muscle) and side of my leg. I was writhing in bed trying to find a comfortable position, but it just hurt until I cried. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so I was really discouraged. They asked if I wanted to stay over, and I cried more and said I wanted to go home, but in the end I stayed to get the pain under control. I talked to a lot of people on drugs, and I mostly remember everyone I talked to, even my sister who said I would forget. So drugged out! Thirdly, my doctor showed me pictures of what they saw: some really pretty labrum and some "shredded" labrum. This they trimmed out. Unfortunately, they also found exposed bone on my femur head. The cartilage was damaged, and seemingly has been deteriorating a bit. They created three holes in the bone, so it would bleed - a micro-fracture. The idea is that it creates a cartilage like scab/scar tissue over it to protect it. I felt like I had an ah-ha for those days in the month after the accident when the pain was so deep I couldn't reach it or touch it. Because of this injury, my best case scenario went out the window. I expect to be on crutches for five weeks, and it will be six months before Dr. Bazaz thinks we will know how well the surgery went. Bummer, huh? But all in all, I am super blessed with friends who are taking car of me. Jennifer brought my blanket to the hospital; Mary stopped by for a visit; Britta and Ryan are taking my bike in for an estimate; Anna Belle and Minerva came to the hospital during gathering for a visit (and support when the doctor came to deliver the bad news); Johnson picked me up and took me to Betty's house; Erik made a shirt for me and left it at Betty's house; and Betty made me lunch and dinner, picked up my prescription, and is thoroughly taking care of me for a little while. Five weeks! July 15th is five weeks. That is a really long time, and though I struggle to do so, I need to ask for help. Minerva and her boyfriend and Andrea and her boyfriend helped me move big stuff into my apartment, but I need help packing the little stuff, my plants, my clothes, and getting stuff moved to my new apartment. I also need help cleaning the Columbine House. If you are able, I would be most appreciative. Or if you can just give me a ride somewhere, I will need that, too. Though I can bike on a stationary bike, I am not sure when the doctor will clear me for street biking. Thanks, friends. tori

parched

I can feel my mouth drying out. I brushed my teeth, and I guess I can dump my water on some plants because I can't drink anymore. No food or beverages until after surgery! I did drink a lot of water this evening, so I hope it is helpful to get me until surgery at 12:30pm (I will be biking in the morning and walking to the hospital - I will definitely be parched then!) instead of keeping me up all night peeing. "/ I forgot my camera to take pictures of my new house with even more plants after another delivery with my boss's truck today. However, after I showed it to Johnson and we walked to get some dinner, I picked up a sixer to stick in the fridge. Only thing in the fridge right now, but I figured a Deschutes Brewery Green Lakes Organic Ale will be just what the doctor ordered when I get back to that house. I met a couple more neighbors. John and Laura live on the first floor on the other side of the house. John said the dude that rides the Harley lives over them, and Jack, a young guy, lives over me. The guy below them just moved out. So that's the lowdown on my neighbors. They seem nice enough, though I am not a fan of the cigarettes. I look forward to our first cookout or something. Of course, I would want to try to plan something like that. "/ All right - I need to go to bed. peace

Tired...

To bed I must go! This morning I got up for a garage sale that was not to be. I wasn't in the loop that the rain was keeping our shop closed, but with a forecast in the 70s, I knew it would last. I made some eggs and potatoes and headed to the porch with the paper. As the sidewalk dried out, our first customer arrived. A young man from Atlanta starting residency in internal medicine here (I have great customer service, huh?) slowed down in front of the house and stared. I waved and asked if he was looking for the garage sale. Indeed he was, so he parked and checked out the remnants from yesterday. He walked away with a coffee table and a few lamps and left twenty bucks behind. I finished the comics and my juice as more customers arrived. I think I win the prize for biggest sell - sold the pool table and the Budweiser lamp that hung over it. We had a handful of other folks browse through books and such. We cleared over $350 (under $50 for me). The better news is that I moved into my apartment! Minerva is such a lifesaver. She and her boyfriend Eric came with the Metro CareRing truck. Eric could lift everything by himself, so my back is not nearly as sore as it could be. I did move as much as I could out to the front before they came. The first two loads went with my other lifeavers - Andrea and Shawn with their vehicles. I owe them all big time. Minerva left me at my new home, which doesn't have a name yet, and I started arranging furniture. It seemed like so much going over, but it seems pretty manageable once arranged. I still have clothes and a handful of other boxes, plus plants. They will have to wait for another week, unless I get really crazy tomorrow evening. I didn't take my camera, but maybe tomorrow I will stop by. The "before" video wouldn't load because it is too big. The "after" will look so different! One last thing before I go...I met my neighbors below me on my way out to Jazz in the Park. One is a drummer, as I learned during the day. It wasn't bothersome, so not a big deal, but I thought since I made so much noise moving in and now won't be around for a week, maybe they should know I am for real. So I knocked on door #2. Max opened up. I said that my name is Tori and I moved in upstairs. "Joy?" he asked. "No, Tori, short for Victoria," I responded. HE pointed to his hearing aides and remarked that he doesn't understand because he is hearing impaired. I repeated myself and finger-signed my name, and he thought it was cool I know a little sign - I told him my best friend all growing up through school is hearing impaired. He introduce me to his younger brother Josh, who is also hearing impaired and getting a cochlear implant on Wednesday. Next to Josh is Andrew, Max's roommate - the drummer. We all chatted for a little bit: they are students at Metro State, they both bike to school, they moved in at the beginning of April, and Andrew is in two bands. It was good to meet them, and I look forward to being neighbors with them. Well - I am pooped...over and out.

So exhausted!

The ladies at work asked if I would get lots of rest this weekend to get ready for surgery, and I just laughed! Friday night: work the door for Mary's improv/sketch comedy show. Saturday: set up garage sale EARLY, pick up keys for new home, church, dinner with Nikki. Sunday: pack (now another garage sale day, so packing will be limited), move big furniture into new home, family dinner at Jazz in the Park. BUSY!

The garage sale was mildly successful. I am not really selling much personally. I am trying to help a few plants find new homes, just because I have soooo many (fifty house plants?). We have probably $50 in household housewares. The rest is Mary's, Hafner's, and Niffer's clothes and stuff. So Niffer and Mary made a bunch of dollars today, but maybe only a fourth of what they are selling. So....tomorrow we'll be at it again, though I will have to be coming through with furniture by the afternoon.

I did pick up my keys. And to make sure that the keys worked, I stopped by, took measurements, and took these photos. More to come...

Is my stress level inversely related to gas prices?

Nope - just a coincidence! And I still haven't purchased a car. BUT...after agreeing to move in with a friend, she decided Monday to sell her house and move out of state. Coinciding with "that time of the month", I totally breaking down. I called my mom on Monday and cried for some prayers. Work - house stuff - surgery - too much at once! All culminating in my head and calendar as a disaster - move out of the house on crutches? Yeah right! And where to?! Well, all the prayers worked. I saw an ad on craigslist that actually led me to a different website to a newly listed apartment recently lowered in rent, and after responding, it turns out I was the first to see it! I signed a lease this afternoon, pick up keys on Saturday (a good excuse to take a break from our garage sale), and will move in all my big furniture with Minerva and her boyfriend and the Metro CareRing truck. Had all this not worked out, my Dad or little brother would have joined me at the end of the month to move, but since the Columbine house will be vacated by everyone else by/on the 19th, this is better. It will be better for me to get this done before surgery, too. Surgery is on Tuesday at 12:30 pm my time. Please pray for me - I am trying not to make a big fuss of it. I feel like I should be a "big girl" about it and just walk to the hospital on Tuesday, have surgery, call my friend for a ride to my friend Betty's house, and get over it. A little bit of me doesn't think it is really that easy, but I want to believe it is. It's just not a good time for the Denver Family - everyone has stuff to take care of, work, or school. So I will stay at Betty Woolsey's house for a few nights. It will be better than living alone. I probably won't actually start staying at my new place until the week after when the crutches are gone. My new address will be 2300 Williams St #1, Denver, CO 80205. You can look up the place on google and do the street view - it is the NE corner, and I have the first floor apt with south facing windows. Anywho...what a relief!! In other good news, Ahna and Oren had Ezra Kyle Bersagel-Briese this morning at 3:313 am (c-section because he was too big for her birth canal) - 9 pounds, 21.5 inches. He is a cutie! I got to hold him at 10 hours old! Check out his webapge - littlehippie.wordpress.com. loveyouallsomuch...tori

So schreepy

Before I put myself to bed, I have to say that I partied like a rockstar with my buddy ToddieP, who came out from Nashville to see all his lady friends in Denver, and now I am paying the price.  I don't know how the hipsters do it.  Friday night we closed Sancho's, Saturday night we watched D&C until 3 am, and Sunday we watched Flight of the Conchords till 2 am.  Phew!!  Todd definitely has some magic spell that keeps him going...

 

Friday night we went to see opening night of Naked Coffee, a sketch comedy group Mary and Erik are both in.  It was great to laugh and laugh.  They were both really excellent.  Erik started with an info-mercial for "chafe away, a product necessary on those days you decide to go walk 13 miles", and I laughed remember the half-marathon we did a year ago.  Could have come in handy!  They did skits and videos and improv games.  It is still running for two more weekends if you live in the area. 

 

Anywho...work has been pretty intense as we gear up for growing season, but more importantly, get all the plants in the ground, so we have something to take care of all season.  Three more events this week, and then we switch into a more regular schedule.  This is really important because two weeks from today, I will be on pain killers and crutches.  Who knew after almost four years since that darn bike accident that the doctors would finally figure out why I am still having pain??  Dr. Raj Bazaz is my new hero for ordering the right MRI and finding the tear in my right labrum (look it up on goodsearch.com).  I go in for surgery on the 10th to have it "cleaned up" and hope to be on crutches for just a week and then take it easy for another week.  Offer up a prayer if you remember, but before then you can offer up a prayer for Ahna and Oren, who are due for their first baby on Friday.  We are all so excited and waiting patiently for the call that announces she's begun birthing.  And on that note, sweet dreams! 

pictures from portland

I am lousy at uploading photos, so I will try harder...

Grandma and Miki (now 29)

- funny how she's caught up to me and is now getting older than me "/

Auggie, Jean, Abba, me, Mom, Miki, Marty, Nick

Mia - to be 4 this summer

Monica - to be 2 this summer

me'n'Maddie - to be 6 this summer - my special goddaughter

Not a secret anymore...

I guess it was less a secret than a surprise! I flew to Portland Saturday morning and surprised Miki for her birthday. Her boyfriend Marty was in on it, and I walked in to church on Saturday night and snuck in next to her. She just laughed...incidentally she asked me the weekend before if I was going to come home and surprise her for her birthday. I'm not a terrific liar, but I fumbled over a comment about needing to start biking right away if I was going to get there in time. She claimed Saturday night that she actually didn't think I would, just said it because she remembered the time I surprised Abba for his birthday. Saturday: breakfast with Nick (who just lost his tonsils) and Dad, lunch and grocery shopping with Mom, a nap, a couple hours with Grandma, church, dinner and wine tasting and pictionary with Miki & Marty & Lana & Jenny, plus a sleepover Sunday: breakfast and a walk, picked up Erin from the train & walked to Saturday Market - Blossoming Lotus - Powell's Books - Waterfront Park, prepared for party and then partied with Miki and family Monday: LONG walk with Erin, harvested Grandma's rhubarb, lunch at Lucky Lab brewery, an hour of play with Amy & her girls, took Erin back to train station, sushi with Abba & Auggie & Miki & Marty, packing Tuesday: took Nick to pick up his motorcycle and paycheck, visited with Grandma, took Ave & Sophie out to lunch, had a tea party with Amy and the girls...left town! I really didn't need to go into all the detail, but I wasted no time on this short trip to Portland. I missed visiting with a lot of people, as my last two trips were three weeks long and afforded a lot of time for visiting (& sleeping). I came back and got a sore throat and a cough. Yuck! But I did bring sunshine to Portland from Denver, and rain from Portland to Denver - very good weather for both. Now back to apartment and car hunting...

at peace??

you know...i feel like not much can surprise me anymore. When things change in life, one expects things to go good and bad. On the one hand, we loathe the bad news, but it generally makes the good news that much better. These are the random thoughts that pass through my heart and head as I cope with a little "backlash" from decisions I've made. It just goes to show we need balance in our lives. So the story goes that I am a night owl. I am a great procrastinator, and while I know I need to go to bed, it is easy to keep finding reasons to stay up. I am a notoriously great dreamer, so I have nothing to fear in sleep. Yet all the same, I find excuses to closing my eyes. I remember from early days at the Double-D how my siblings and I would reassure our parents with obnoxiously wide-eyes that we were not tired yet. The fireplace surrounded by aunts and uncles and their friends always looked more fun than our sleeping bags laid out in rows on the carpet squares on the loft of the A-frame. "FOMO", a friend called it: Fear Of Missing Out. So why can't I just put my head to pillow and let tomorrow morning come? What could I possibly miss out on at this hour in this quiet house? Or maybe it is just my attempt to pause the changes that keep coming at me...When I quit my job to spend time with family and with strangers on the road, I didn't realize that the cyclone of change would sweep me up even as I tried to re-orient and settle. The Columbine House is dismantling...terribly sad, I know. I have lived here two months shy of six years. Wow!! A long time, indeed! It is hard to imagine going off on my own or with another friend, but the time is not far off. Gratefully, much of my decor is still packed from my trip south of the equator. If anyone knows of a plant-friendly home not far from here, give a holler... The time has come that I cannot procrastinate from yawning...g'night...