Colorado Reunion ~ Nesting In and Catching Up

Yipppppppppppppie ~ my first FULL day in beautiful Telluride. Up early to kinda bounce around my new digs (didn't know there was a breakfast served downstairs - silly me, it is a Bed & Breakfast). So now I have a closet of food and there's more for me in the kitchen! I make a combo of my favorite cereal and their fresh fruits 'n berries. Delicious munches as I eat my "breakie" out on my lil sunny deck (had to paint the view from my deck for you!!), drinking in the yellow of the nearby aspens and vicariously romping like the dogs running along the river trail below. My aim is to get out soon and hike up Bear Creek Valley.

I do get off on my hike ... choose this yellow lil' pearl from my quaking aspens to install in my journal. The hike is invigorating with the sweetest smelling air! I feel so alive and energized that I tend to ignore the rain sprinkles. Once back from my hike I hustle to meet a friend to whom I've shipped my paintings that will go in the Tellluride Gallery of Fine Art Show. We lunch at the "Brown Dog" and I trundle back to the room with my big box. My evening involves unpacking the paintings methodically, photoing the positioning so that I can re-pack them to ship back home safely. N-o-o-o-o-w you know how detailed I can be!!

Next day I have learned that to miss the rain showers during my hike, I need to get going earlier. So I'm up, and off. After the same enlivening hike I bip over to my friend Hether's home to visit. A peer artist whom I've not seen in probably near forty years is there and we catch up. Hether is returning the glass bowl to Anna after it had traveled for fourteen years, finally to be here in Telluride when Anna, who now lives in Oregon, is here too! Then, Hether's son (now remember I used to live with Hether and her son was an ornery young pre-teen then) drops by ~ and ~ oh my!! Not only is he a grown man but he's a head taller than me and has broad strong shoulders (and some grey hair too!) I just had to capture his playful spirit and his kind heart clearly visible here as he holds one of his two Chihuahuas ~ such a size contrast!

My evening meal was a joyous reunion. One of my most dear friends in Tellluride had kind of disappeared from my world. Not responding to birthday cards 'n letters, I'd given up on her. Then, just before I came to this Reunion ... I get a birthday card from her! Who believes in serendipity? So my meal was a sweet reconnecting with my friend Linda. The Mexican restaurant is noisy and hurried, but the connection was warm and we agreed to a more private meal at her home later. Such a full, rewarding day . . . I'm lovin' my reunion with my beloved Telluride. I even fantasize . . . is there some way I can live here again? Hey, we can all dream, right?

The Western memorabilia - well, I just had to gather some part of the wild atmosphere - are collected from some of my travelings through Telluride - had to have the "Cowgirl" card. Most of you know I'm a closet cowgirl, right? Well, you know now :)

Some "Sweet-est Favorites" before Flying Off to Telluride Reunion

This has gotta be one of my happiest memory journal pages. Following some trips or events I like to just sit down after the fact and nest into what was the very, very "favorite-est" parts of that time. It is with this page I did just that for my "Women's Journaling Alpine Retreat 2013". On our final retreat day we'd all assembled delightful, diverse lil' "Harvest Books". Kind of what we in brief, had "harvested" from each of the rare and rich spirits of the women at this retreat.

T'was one of the most riotous and creative times at the entire retreat and I wanted the nest my book securely in my journal. I adore my book, with it's tumble of word descriptions in the middle page and then, the individually designed page by each retreat participant, chattering joy, inventiveness and personality across the small, folded pages. It's such a treasure, so unique! I chose this copper, iridescent envelope which I cut off so as to display and make accessible my fold-out book. I loved the "serendipity" of the rusty, copper-ish fishing hook and Chef Izzy's simply elegant business

card residing so cohesively on the page too. Truly a statement of tender gems my life has been sprinkled with ... reminding me I am absolutely blessed.   :)

And not much less charged with happy energy, the opposite page starts chronicling my Telluride Reunion trip. For not much less than a year, I'd made my decision to make this travel down memory lane. And as it unfolded, not only did I get to reunite with many friends but, I was able to show at THE gallery of my dreams too. This page gives you a peek out the final plane flight that took me from Denver over miles of exquisite Rocky Mountain terrain into Montrose. It was just east of Gunnison that I began seeing the small clumps of yellow dotting the mountains below. Oh WOW - - it was my beloved Aspen trees in their golden autumn garb. I nearly cried. Some of you know how connected my heart is to these trees ... many times tears have come to my eyes just being under these lovelies. And it really grounds me to my Colorado roots.

When I reached Montrose my ole' friend (as in having been a friend for forty five years) picked me up with hugs and excited conversation. We shopped for groceries for my next week in a lil' B&B and settled in to meet her new husband. Their cozy home cuddles up against the eastern slopes of the long valley leading to Ridgeway and seeing ole' familiar territory where I'd so long ago lived stirred my heart. We barbecued dinner in their front yard barbecue (which you see here) then, moved inside as the evening cooled.

Boy, did I feel like I was home. I folded myself into the deep mattress and covers of Colorado nights, smiling at the anticipation of the coming days.