Let's Do This - 47 Virgens

Hi -

First thing's first. We're going a bit out of order (I mean, why not? One has a certain level of freedom when one has so neglected her blogging duties that she finds herself with 47 virgens to discuss) because I made a deal with Kate Clinton (well, her PR person, actually) that I would mention her Girl Splash event in exchange for a copy of The Marrying Kind cd.

I got the cd in the mail last week, and now needs must mention this. So - please follow the links and consider participating. This is one of the wisest, funniest women to grace the stage in a long, long time and you will not be disappointed (lest you think I'm just blowing sunshine her direction because I got a free cd, I encourage you to look back and find other references to her brilliance and wit in previous entries. I'd do it, but I've got these other 46 Virgens to discuss.)

So - the Virgen above is from July 15th and is explained above.
Now, let's see. We're actually going to continue going back in time, which is horribly backwards, but, again, I cite the freedom one has when one has such a big pile of work to do. The choices in method are endless.

The Virgen above is from July 18th and represents the lovely impromptu afternoon my partner and I had at Boulder Reservoir. We rented a canoe and paddled around a bit - realizing that the wake from the speedboats was not quite what either of us were into. Mostly we swam in the cool water and relaxed and talked about other ways to find ourselves paddling about the waters of Colorado. Some good ideas came out of our ponderings, so we'll see where those go.

July 17th. Two friends just had the most amazing little baby, and we went to visit them this night. I find myself more and more leaning in this direction, which is both exciting and terrifying. It's a big commitment, so I won't act until it's more exciting than terrifying, which could be never, but could be next year. Who knows? What I do know is that when I see one of these wee creatures right now, I think, "I want to do that." A friend wisely counseled to never do it unless it's absolutely all one can think about, and I'm not there, so I'm not there. Regardless, their baby is a little dreamer who makes the best little squeaking sounds.

July 16th. I found out at the beginning of the month that I was being "restructured" at work, which means that my position ends on August 5th. Like the chiropractic procedure it sounds similar to, it's painful and brings tears to my eyes right now, but I expect that the benefits of it will be clear soon enough. To that end I have been filling the internets with resumes and cover letters - as expressed by the Virgen above. There are some great positions out there and, while it's not the best time to be cast out in to the market, I trust that this will end up being a good thing and I'm curious about what my What Next will be. I'll keep you posted.

July 14th. Roasted chicken with potatoes and beets. Delicious.

July 13th - my work situation caught up with me today and I felt very much like this chicken these girls are so thoroughly plucking. Slather me in butter, tuck me into a pan, throw me into a hot oven, and promise I'll come out of this experience something delicious. Promise.

July 12th - a little more optimism this day - more like a freshly cracked nut, exposing her delicious worth to the world. Yeah.

July 11 - we had a friend in town from Phoenix and spent the morning at the Longmont Farmer's market before heading up to Ft. Collins for lunch and a New Belgium tour. At the market, my partner bought a garlic that was so tall, when I lost her in the crowds, I just looked up over the swarm of heads for the bobbing garlic bloom. Found her every time.

July 10th - my partner had mentioned a few months ago that she wanted to learn how to brew beer. Me being the elephant memory darling that I am, acted on those words months later and got her a home brew kit for her birthday in May. She said at the time that she wanted to wait until this Phoenix friend visited to brew her first batch, so we did. It's in the coat closet as we speak and should be bottled tomorrow. I don't know why, but this is something I can picture my partner really getting into and enjoying.

July 9 - blooming, blooming. Focusing on the blooming.

July 8 - Cowboy Junkies and Son Volt at Ogden Theater with my partner and Phoenix friend. I learned this night that I've aged out of shows that don't have chairs and do have bad sound. My clue was when the theater staff woke me from where I had fallen asleep on the steps, leaning against the handrail, with a "Ma'am - you can't sleep there." Yep - like a good wine, I've aged.

July 7 - I've been working with a curandera to move through some of the family ugly and one of her suggestions was to take a full moon floral bath this night. I did and it was glorious. I recommend it to anyone who needs to clean off, center, and clarify. Regardless of your belief system, what could possibly be bad about soaking in flower petals? That's right - not a damn thing.

July 6 - Indigo Girls at Chautauqua in Boulder. Heaven, heaven, heaven on earth. This was the night I got the "restructuring" news, so it was just exactly what I needed.

July 5 - I assume dinner involved garlic, basil, and fresh mozzarella, and so, I trust that it was delicious.

July 4 - we went camping for a night in Rocky Mountain National Park - just long enough to whet our whistles and have us looking at calendars for longer times in the pines.

July 3 - open me up and show my amazing, just like this squash blossom. Please don't fry me up before I've had a chance to bear fruit - no matter how tasty of a snack I'd make. Wait and see - there's something really spectacular going on here. Put the flour and oil down and just wait a minute.

July 1 - blue and open and expansive and ready for something just magnificent to happen. (I just realized in flipping through my book that I missed July 2 when taking pictures of this mess of Virgens. It's a river scene and lovely and marks my desire to be in the mountains).


June 30 - whatever I did today, it was not lead my herd of sheep through a tree-lined walk, so it goes without saying that it wasn't exactly perfect.

June 29 - flowers and blooming and enough.

June 28 - finished the MS 150 today. That's right. 150 miles over two days. I cried - no, sobbed deep cathartic sobs - as I crested the last hill, knowing that I had actually accomplished what I had set out to accomplish. That's a powerful feeling.

June 27 - end of first day in Ft. Collins, resting after 75 miles on my bike for Day One of MS 150. Such a good experience.

June 26 - my power was all abstract and fuzzy like this image of a horse.

June 25 - more flowers. More yes.
June 24 - I've been drawn to mountain lions lately - a fine image for my current path.

June 23 - growing strong and tender like this little tree. Yep.

June 22 - first of two visits with curandera. She said that badger was going to help me root out some of the old pain so I could move on. Perfect - thanks, Friend.

June 21 - Happy Solstice. Here's magic to all. Good things ahead, all good things.

June 20 - speaking of good things, I made homemade hot fudge this night. Wow - amazing. Sadly, I made it again when our Phoenix friend was here and that batch was more like a Sugar Daddy, only chocolately. That first batch, though, wow.

June 19 - I don't know but trust that it involved ice cream, which means that it must have been good . Maybe this was the day I got my ice cream maker at a garage sale? (Coming back to present for a moment, I used aforementioned machine last night to make fresh peach ice cream - wow. There is just no comparison to home made ice cream - I don't care what the brand is.)

June 18 - eggs for dinner? Totally possible.

June 17 - another day, another dream of the barn to come.

June 16 - open to the possibilities.

June 15 - I do love flowers.

June 14 - rest and peace and trust that it will all work out and work out well.

June 13 - big bike ride this morning to practice for MS 150. 27 miles and I could have gone more - and did, two weeks later.

June 12 - happy hour in Boulder at Brasserie Ten Ten. Mmm - I love evenings with my love, a beverage, and well made finger foods.

June 11 - chocolate cake. Ok.

June 10 - tending to the garden. Growing, growing, growing.

June 9 - tending to my mental garden. Also growing, growing, growing.

June 8 - I've connected virtually recently with some folks that I haven't seen in many, many moons. Now that I live in CO again, the chances of running into (purposely or otherwise) these people are up and I was imagining what that would be like. I imagined explaining my different look from high school by saying that my meat is just a little more marbled now, that's all. I still have the good muscles and such from my youth, they're just currently coated in some swatches of flavorful fat. If I were in a butcher's case, I'd be the prize cut.

June 7 - I want my work to take place in a place like this. And so I shall.

June 6 - gardening, gardening.

June 5 - again with the gardening. Tis the season.

June 4 - Guess.
June 3 - Seattle on my mind, dreaming of that little coastal cabin under the shade of some magnificent peak.

June 2 - owls, owls, everywhere right now. Also not a bad thing.

June 1 - so not transitioned back from our great trip to the greater Seattle area. There's more for me in that place - I'm curious to see where our relationship goes.

Okay - you did it! Hooray! That's no small task - getting through 47 Virgens. Nice work. Give yourself a hand.

Now - get off the computer, give your eyes and hands a rest and go find something delicious to experience.

Here's to that - here's to stamina and where that takes you. Here's to time off of computers, and here's to catching up.