From start to finish...

I have had a bad case of the Mondays!   I am not sure if I would have consulted my calendar, that my day would have gone more smoothly, and that I would be in bed by now!  I knew I had to be at work pronto this morning!  I drove, despite the beuatiful forecast, because today was the beginning of three days of packing seed packets for distribution to over 2,000 households of DUG's Seeds & Transplant Program.  Laura manages it beautifully and had arranged for a number of us on staff to pitch in with getting the boxes of seeds sent over to the center for packing.   I pulled in right at 8 am, hoping I hadn't already missed her.  She said her goal was to be there at 7:30 am, but that was indeed early for a Monday.  I had missed her, but Michael was finishing loading his truck.  I got all but one of the boxes left in my little coupe, and while we were about to repack the box into a bag that would fit, Laura's intern came in and offered to take all of them for me.  I graciously refused since (1) I didn't want to have to unload them all and carry them around to the other side of the building to the street and (2) I figured I would drop my car off at home on the way back and bike to work.  I had tossed my bag at my desk and raced off.   Halfway there I realized I hadn't written down the address, though I remembered the cross streets.  I didn't have my phone or calendar (where it was written down).  There was no "rec center" where I thought I was supposed to go, so I pulled over a couple blocks away and asked a kind old man if he knew where the East Montclair Community Rec Center was.  It turns out he was a member at the Montclair Rec Center and went inside to check on his rec card to see if it listed the address.  As it did not, he gave me directions, then followed me there to make sure I got there.  Really a very sweet old man!  Very generous of his time to help a damsel in distress as myself!  I was terribly confused because the center was about a mile SE of where I thought I was going.  There was a less helpful but equally sweet old man at the desk who insisted on finding where I was supposed to drop the seeds by loudly telling everyone else in the building what I was supposed to be doing, though it was becoming quite obvious to everyone else that I was in the wrong place!    A quick call to the office confirmed that I was right on the money for my original cross streets, but it was a mix up of the East Montclair Community Center and the Montclair Rec Center that hindered my direction getting.  Alas!    Having dropped off the car, I sped off on my bike back to the office, only to realize I'd forgotten my helmet - oops!  And then once at the office, I realized I had other meetings that would have been easier by car - until they ended up being canceled.  I would have known if I opened my calendar, at which point I would have been reminded that I was working till 9 pm tonight, attending a class.  Luckily, I had leftovers from last week in the fridge at work and had time to come home and get dinner before the class.  And then tonight while brushing my teeth and getting ready for my shower, I realized I didn't send Laura my LiveWell update for the next newspaper - she'll have my hide, except maybe she didn't notice yet!  I should be asleep.  I will be soon, and then I can wake up fresh tomorrow and get the day right!

Luck o' the Day!

I am a bit tired and a little bit sunburned on my forehead and nose!  Ooops!  I was thrilled to finally make it downtown for the St. Patrick's Day parade (though we still have a couple days till St. Patrick's Day, Denver did go all out for the parade yesterday).  A friend has been inviting me for years to hang out at her family's large street party, and after cold weather and lame excuses in years past, I went to bed a little early and planned my travels to take full advantage of the fun.  The bike ride to Jennifer's warmed me up, and I locked my bike up there to reunite at lunch time.  The mall ride got ridiculously crowded, but we were all trying to get to the parade route before it started and would block our access across the street.  I saw friends from Metro CareRing days and bookclub.  It was fun to talk to everyone, but even sillier was getting tipsy before noon - Guiness after Guiness!  My goo'ness!  I hadn't figured on the sun, so I was a bit red in the face when I made it to 1 o'clock brunch at Jennifer's.  Even better, Tom had driven his truck to escort me and my bike home for a long nap and hydration.  All in all, I am ready to do it again!

gorgeous day

So I really want snow or rain or something...the sun is amazing, don't get me wrong!  I enjoyed walking to the coffee shop with Jennifer and Andrea today.  We even got to sit by the open doors with the sun shining on our arms and faces.  And then walking back and hanging out in front of Jennifer's place was beautiful - too warm at times.    But really what a treat to have gotten to have a date with Betty.  I haven't gotten to spend anytime with her lately.  We're both such busy people.  I had asked if I could take her to dinner and a movie as a thank you for her three weeks of hospitality last summer.  So we went to see a movie playing only south of town, and without a car Betty won't walk that far.  It was a lot of fun.  She got to have her buttery popcorn, and then we had healthy salads at Watercourse as a treat afterwards.  It was a very special evening for me!   peace

dish duty

It is super exciting~   SAME Cafe (soallmayeat.org) is this delicious cafe where you pay what you want for your meal.  Brad and Libby source as much of their food organically and/or locally and serve up soup, salad, and pizza.  There is usually a couple choices of each, with at least one being vegetarian.  I think I have written before about how I like going there after church on Saturday - good food, good company because Mary works that shift, and always a good time.    Last night Tom came with me after church to get some dinner.  I had eaten their food for lunch (brought in for a DUG training I had all day) and was excited to see what was still on the menu and what had changed.  The place was packed!  They were recently the cover story of Westword magazing (www.westword.com), so I am sure the word was reaching new folks.  I didn't see any of the usuals, but there was a line!  Tom and I found a seat close to the counters, and I helped serve up cookies and refresh the tea.  Tom tried to troubleshoot the ice/water machine that wouldn't work.  As the crowd died down, we got some grub and conversation with Mary.  But it picked right back up again.  The dishwasher finished volunteering, so I stepped in to help.  Tom, too!  We washed dishes for an hour, and I'll admit my back started aching a bit.  But we had fun - teasing and talking with the other volunteers.  It was such a rewarding night.  And I was pooped!  Ready for a nap after work and before church, I came home and slept like a baby!   If you see this in time, or can figure out how to search for it on line, NBC national news will air a piece on SAME Cafe on Monday, March 10th - 5:30pm MST.  best!

FISHY FISHY!!

I "made up" a recipe, and everyone enjoyed it.  I was inspired to make some fish for family dinner because Ahna and Sarah were not attending.  They are even more strict vegetarians than I.  So I talked it over with my rolfer last night, and she recommended a fish packet of rice, vegetables, and fish.  I discussed it with my co-workers, and Scott recommended a fish packet with vegetables and fish with a white wine/butter sauce.  Well, I still needed to be lactose intolerant for Gabe, so I was thinking more along the lines of asian.    What I did prepare (with a lot of assistance from Tom): parchment packets of sweet potatoes, carrots, red bell peppers, onions, and brocolli rabe topped with a fillet of salmon doused with a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable broth, honey, ginger, garlic, and chili sauce.  And as Tom overheard me listing the ingredients, he included, "Love; don't forget love!"  The rice was on the side, and an extra packet of vegetables was steamed in case Sarah could make it (which she did, and I am grateful to have had something special for her, too!).  The other tasty and terribly unappealing looking dish was a reprise of mashed potato casserole - a small casserole dish was untouched at Thanksgiving and promptly frozen.  It always tastes good, but Thanksgiving wasn't yesterday, so it lost some of its charm.   Well, I best get to bed.  I had a rough start to my day, and now that it has quieted down, a headache is creeping in.  g'night....

I heart weekends...

And what a fun weekend to heart... Not only was the lovers' brunch yesterday at the Otto's home, but I don't have to work tomorrow!!  Woo Woo!!  Mary and I are going to stretch our legs in the front range.  Snowshoeing was a possibility, but with all the sun we've had, there certainly isn't going to be snow anywhere close.   I was delighted to spend lots of time with Tom this weekend, too, though he has to work tomorrow.  He has been cooking up a storm.  And while the saying goes about the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, it might apply to me, too.  Listen to these recipes: tomato & roasted red pepper soup with roughy, shrimp, and scallops in it with homemade tortillas on the side.  Campanella noodles with strips of vegetables sauteed in a tomato-y cream sauce with garlic and onions and pesto bread.  Yum!!  Vanilla and caramel ice cream...Oh goodness!  I am going to have to fast the rest of the week!   The other delight is that Tom likes thrifting.  We went and found valentines for under a pbuck apiece at the Goodwill on our way to the lovers' brunch.  It was a scream finding things for everyone.  I also keep finding these old orange bits and pieces - containers and jars and such for pasta or cous cous or whatnot.  The older the better.  It has been fun making fun of things and laughing at the odd things we see that someone else has given away, or wondering why they didn't give them away sooner.  Oh la...peace and love to you...

the meat run

Oh the warm days...is it Spring already?   So I haven't posted lately as I have been busy - oh wait, that is always my excuse.  But really Tom and I did make the "meat run" this past weekend.  I already stand corrected on "giving away all Tom's meat" because it wasn't given to me and I won't eat it.  Anywho, it was a nice couple nights and days down in Miami.  It started off with an early start (not as early as it could have been, but I admit I was the slowpoke) and beating traffic through Colorado Springs.  We made it to Colfax Tavern, otherwise known as the red building between I-25 and Taos that advertises "COLD BEER".  Roger, an old friend of Tom's, served us up some pizza - sans meat on half - and a couple pitchers of cold Shiner.  His brother Daniel joined us, too, though Julie had homecoming events and couldn't come.  I had a lot of fun watching and joining in on the banter across the table.  I really enjoyed myself.  Another highlight of the weekend was an improptu game of two-on-two, turn one-on-two, turn one-on-one.  Tom and I disembarked from Daniel and Julie's house to walk over to his parents' house.  On the way we discovered that his sister and family had returned from the homecoming parade and were loading up the basketball hoop to set it up in one of the bays at the firehouse.  So we helped out, so Maya and I could take on Andres and Dave.  It was great fun until Maya bailed out.  I really couldn't handle the guys on my own, especially with Andres amazing arm.  Then he bowed out, and I took my game up a notch since it was just Dave and I.  We had a lot of fun, but it wasn't over until Tom stepped in and completely blocked any hope I had of dribbling, shooting, or moving in general.  Needless to say, I was no match for his defense OR his offense.  It was an unexpected bit of excitement for the day!   Tom did make it home with a box full of jerky and a little cooler of steaks.  The "meat run" was successful.  Traffic was easy coming back with everyone at home or the bar glued to the Super Bowl.  We missed family brunch and football reluctantly, but neither of us cared about watching the game.  I didn't care about much of anything really - I couldn't keep my eyes open past Colorado Springs, and unfortunately my conversation skills were drowsy and incoherent as I continued to ask questions and fade in and out for the answer and my responses.    Back to work for now...tomorrow I hope to bike!  G'night...