Out the mouths of sassy babes….

Monkey and her Uncle monkey played three games of tic tac toe today. She won two and they tied the last. They had the following exchange after the final game;

Monkey: I don’t want to play anymore.
Uncle Monkey: Well at least you beat me twice.
Monkey: Oh, I have won more than twice.
Uncle Monkey: Really? How many games have you won?
Monkey: About ten thousand…. Now it’s ten thousand and two.

Oooohhh the sass on my girl!!

Hmmm…. the warm glow of the Rocky Mountains…

So far I have missed two exits to and from Boulder due to mountain ogling and prairie dogs.
On the way to Hatchet’s house the other day I missed my exit because I was busily showing Monkey the fat and happy prairie dog colony that had sprouted along the sides of the highway. Happily, missing the exit meant I got to drive towards the mountains and stare lovingly at them longer. How I miss their ever present profile against the sky!!
On the way home I missed the exit for the highway because I was too busy watching the sun light the clouds behind the mountains in golden gleaming rays.
I feel my muscles unclench a little more each time I get to look at that lovely backdrop. I seem to be able to breathe the thinner Colorado air, resplendent in it’s late summer crispness, more deeply, and to relax more while doing so. Hmmm…. yummy Colorado air!!
It’s funny, I took the mountains for granted while I lived here, generally using them as a compass point to orient myself with, but not imagining that other landscapes in other places would seem emptier, more naked, because there were no mountains spiking up into the sky.

A good day…

Today was a good day. Mom and I took the kids to the mall, where Monkey ran around like a fiend in the Petri Dish and Otter practiced his standing. We were there originally to find Croc’s and petti pants, but failed to leave with either.
After the mall we went to Las Delicias for real Mexican food.
Mmmm…. chicken flautas in guacamole…. mmmm.
After our food arrived, Otter began looking from dish to dish, and person to person. He was watching us eat with a great deal of interest, and began to get his little sad face when he realized there was no plate for him. Poor guy! He really wants to eat!

I took pity on him and gingerly smeared a tiny bit of guacamole on my finger and offered it to him. He sucked it right off my finger, happy as could be, and began to scoot towards the bowl. I gave him a few more tastes, but really not much, as guacamole is a little too complicated to be a first food. (The recipe they use there if fairly simple, it is not the three-alarm chipotle pepper madness I make, but more of an avacado whip.) He loved it, and was much happier sharing in the feast than he had been watching it.

After lunch we returned home for a lazy day of snuggling and reading before dinner. Then I left Monkey with my parents and took Otter to the Village Inn of my youth to meet Coni for coffee. She and I haven’t had the chance to sit and talk for a long time, so visiting with her refreshed my soul. Coni is one of my Angels, and has been as long as I have known her. Having the chance to talk with her for hours was an amazing gift. I feel more at home, and more relaxed, than I have in a long, long time.

Home is beginning to work it’s magic.

Managing life with chronic illness requires savvy spoons