Dang, it's HOT!

Last year we had a few consecutive days of 100 degree weather. We've only hit that one or 2 times this year so far, but over 90 has been hanging on for awhile (despite a mid to upper 80s break here a week or so ago). I don't know if its because I'm getting older or what, but I just am not able to hang out in the heat. I've been thinking that maybe the peri-menopause has been really kicking in, they say it can last 10 years before menopause actually hits. Ughh - not looking forward to that! Feel like I just can't cool down enough. Nightly cold showers are about to become a regular thing.

The last couple of nights (Thurs and Fri) I hung out with some old friends of mine out at the Chatfield campgrounds. I haven't been able to stay out there, but went out after work each night. It was my friend Donna's B-day on Thursday, so 2 of her sisters, her mom and mom's boyfriend were out there, as well as her son Joey (the kid to whom I credit my nickname) and his friend, Mark. Dena brought out steaks and they cooked up baked potatoes and had salad and a few hamburgers, too. A good meal! It was good to see Dena and Mary, I hadn't seen them in about a year and a half. Well, I'd seen Mary a couple of times, but wasn't at a point where I could catch up to her to say hi.

Last night, I was pretty wound up due to some events at work (more about that later) that had me pretty upset, so met my friend Karin at the Platte River Grill for a quick and dirty drink (tell you what, it sure calmed my ass down - if my blood pressure was high, this was my drug to regulate it!). Then I went out to the lake where we had pasta (sauce and meatballs made by Donna's brother George - the chef of the family) as well as a Cajun boil that George made up with crab, shrimp, corn on the cob, a huge artichoke, etc. Good food and great company. Then we made smores! All in all it was a fun night, with a little bit of family drama mixed in. I really needed to calm down and I accomplished the goal well! It was a beautiful night in the outdoors with a cool breeze blowing and to actually see the stars again. . . wow, reminds me I need to get out into the great outdoors a lot more often!

We went to Sam's Club today to pick up the new Harry Potter book. They were plentiful and cheaper than at the bookstores, a little over $19 after tax. I decided to re-read book 6 first, to reacquaint myself with the previous happenings, before reading this last book. They are such easy reads, but so much is happening that you really need to read them a couple of times to get everything to sink in. I really do enjoy the books. The outcast kid (yet, well known - even if he doesn't know all that know him) who really has to battle to know and understand his identity. Some people look at it as witch craft and therefor, refuse to read or let their kids read the series. People - its JUST A STORY!! If folks would just intrepret what it is really about - hardship and getting through it all because of good friends who stand by you at ALL costs, then they would really understand what the series is about. Heck, a mom who was struggling to raise her kids on welfare wrote this series, I'm sure as a way to really face her own inner struggles as well, and has made the best out of her fortune. Don't these people get it???

Back to reading, tonight is going to be the warmest evening yet. Hope I can sleep . . .

Been Awhile!

I've taken my time putting anything new on my blog. A lot has happened, so probably need to do this in a few entries.

My cousin Bret came out to Colorado with his friend Shawn. The hotel I got them ended up only having one double bed (it was the Inn Town Suites at Federal and Hampden). The type of hotel it is, they "kind of" take reservations and can't guarantee the type of room you will get - more of a first come, first served deal. It was inexpensive, however, which is all they wanted. Shawn was sick the entire time they were here, he made it out a couple of times. When they got home, he went straight to the hospital to find that he had pneumonia (Bret suspected). He was in for several days.

With that happening, I didn't get to take Bret many places to see many things. They went downtown once and to Gunther Toody's for breakfast (Shawn used to live here, so he still knew a lot of the folks that were working there). I got to take Bret to Loveland with me for a dentist appt, then drove around town a little so I could show him where our old farm used to be. He went to Benson Sculpture Park to see the beautiful statues while I was occupied. We went to the Blue Parrot on south Broadway with my roommate that night for dinner - good Mexican food! That Friday, we went downtown to the Colorado Historical Museum. Only spent an hour there. I'll have to go back, as it is about a 3-4 hour walk around to really see everything. They went back to Ohio that night.

Next time, Bret said he is bringing his best friend Randy out - he's a "cultural" kinda guy, so we'll do some really fun stuff. AND, we'll go into the mountains.

That's all I have to say about that - I'll write more later!