MKTilden

Dog on the Rocks

Quincy Ready to Go. Funky Photo taken in HDR, processed in Photoshop CS5

**********************************************************************************************

Knitting?  It's not happening. It's not diagnosed yet, but my right arm is still just not working right. Probably still has something to do with my neck but who knows. I can get in about 5 minutes, but then I'm done.  For the day.  With Everything. Typeing on here is not so hot either, I now use a pen tablet, instead of a mouse, and that seems to help. I also type a lot just pecking here and there.  And, I've taught myself to do a lot of things left handed on here.  It's slow but it works.

I miss my knitting.  And, my knitting friends, which sadly seem to have fallen away as well.  If it was something I said or did, I'm sorry.  We sure did have some fun times!  Man, the laughing that went on!  Knitting was fun, but it seems to be gone now.... Sad

**********************************************************************************************

Red Rocks Ampitheater is the place to go if you want to walk massive sets of steps and if you want to meet a ton of other dogs.  It's also the place to go if you want to see Nine Inch Nails, U2, Neil Diamond, Wynonna Judd, and everyone in between play in concert.  During the day- Workout Torture, During the night-Eardrum Torture.  Take your pick.  Har....

Today marks my first day of "doing the rocks" 9 times in a row. I've never made it this far and I'm pretty proud of  myself.  Getting off my butt and doing something feels GREAT! We have a system...

1 time up the outside "white" steps (concrete, smooth regular intervals of about 20 steps evenly spaced) then back down

1 time up the "Red" steps, the interier steps on the inside next to the seating (rough red rock steps two at a time with a long stride in between)

1 Time up the middle "seats," see the #'s up there? and see my friend's leg?  Those are the seats and they really are about at knee height. 

This is a SET.  Rinse and Repeat three times and you have "Done the Rocks" 

Soon we will add to the set with climbing all the planters and running up the "white" steps.  Yes, running.  And, we've gotta get all this in before the end of October beginning of November when we get our normal first snow.  Gotta do it....  I'm skiing more than 6 times this year.  I will.....

My legs work, my feet are in good shape (but you may remember all these steps are how I broke one of them in the first place), I'm pretty healthy, I've got a great family, great husband, great kids, great friends, and a great church.  What more can a girl ask for?!!

A dog that likes to do steps too?  Check Check!

Walk With Me?

I like to walk Red Rocks Ampitheater in the early morning.  My girlfriend and I meet and have a good walk up and down many, many times all those steps that you see there.  I know that I've posted about this before, but it's that time of year.  Ski season is just around the corner and I'm already out of breath.  Eeesssshhh!

 

Huh, my iPhone takes GREAT photos!  I didn't even Photoshop these!  Anyone want to meet me tomorrow morning? I'm bringing Quincy...!

Ciao!!!!

Tuba

Uhmmm... I might have asked a guy if I could hold his tuba.

Blue

One of my favorite color families is the ever popular BLUE. So yesterday I walked by one of our Blue Spruce trees out front and I just happened to glance at it and was struck by just how many blue hues I could see in there.

Deep deep in there are heavy dark blue green tones, then moving out towards the sunlight the deep colors move to a smokey grey green blue.

Color. It moves me. Does it move you?

The Broadmoor Hotel

Weekend in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor Hotel. Long walks, spa time, golf, good wine, and good friends.

Sent from my iPhone.

Math? Wha....????

Is it bad when my 6th grader is explaining to me some sort of math thingy and I just stare at her as if she is speaking some made up language from the time before Christ. (Oh wait, maybe that really is when it all was made up???) 

Her: So, when you have the absolute value, and the blahdy, blah, and then you add in the total value of the rational number.....

Me: Uhhhhmmm ?!?

Her: See Mommy?  See?  Look right here - it's so easy!!!!  Just solve for the variable in this exponent and you get the factorals in the permutations of the....

Me: Oh, I know that word! Exponants.... that sounds familiar. But, wha...?

Her: (exasperated) Wow Mom.  Really?

Me: sigh... yeah. 

 

Well..... Hello!

I guess I've been absent for quite some time.  Is anyone still here? I haven't been posting for a few reasons but it doesn't matter.  We had a GREAT summer and the kids are back in school, everybody's been healthy (thank goodness) and the routine is getting back into place. Thank goodness!

I'm here now and I think I'm going to do a blog overhaul.  It's time. 

I've been making some elements and papers for digital scrapbooking and having fun with that.  I've been painting and drawing and getting back to my original roots.  Things that don't involve much as far as very fine motor skills.  My arm is still such a bugger! I just can't type as much, or knit as much and not doing both of those things is really soooo sad to me.  So, with that being said, I'm VERY happy doing these other things, and having a lot of fun.  Here's a little peak:

The first picture is a small preview of the things I've created and the second photo is kindof a fantasy face.  I'm doing some special things for special someones and this is the begining.  I've NEVER done faces in this much detail before and I need to get some practice under my belt, not to mention learning how to do hair! (graphite, Prismacolor Premier colored pencils, Golden fluid acrylics.)

Thats my story for now.  What's been going on with you - those that are left.  Leave me a comment!

Miss you all!

Mary-Kay

 

Olympic Knitting 2

On opening ceremony night we all settled down to cast on for a new project at Stacey's house.  Everyone brought great stuff to eat and yummy stuff to drink.

I had to have everyone tell me what was being said on the TV since my ears are full of who knows what gunk from this cold, and I can't hear a darn thing.  If I were my Papa, right then I would be sitting in my recliner with a cigarette between my fingers, grousing, "If you young people would just quit muttering and mumbling, a decent person could hear what was going on! Now TURN UP THE TV!!!"

Also, I might have had a little to much of a peach martini...Sharron makes them STRONG! Oh, but they were good!

 

So, on my own Olympic knitting, It's day 4 of the Olympics and I seem to be progressing pretty fast.  I've finished both fronts, and the back.  However, I just ripped out the top 5 in. of one front since I can't get the decreases quite right.  It has one of those "At the same time" things, which I HATE with a passion! So, that is screwing me up big time.  

Here's a sneak peak of the long amount of stockinette.  So, I have to re-knit the top of one front, seam it together, then pick up all the sleeve edges and the front and neckline edges for the deep ribbing.  Hopefully, I can get this done pretty quickly...

My next goal is a possibility between two items.  First, to knit a red and white Maple Leaf hat, or, to finish spinning up some VERY soft and very purple roving that I'm enamored with right now. I haven't decided. I think the hat is more appropriate.  It's pretty cool, and I think it might have to be a gift for someone who is sending me a gift from way up north where the Olympics are happening. Gotta love my Vancouver-ite Family.  Hi guys!

Knit on, sistas!

Olympic Knitting

Is anyone else casting on for something new for the Olympics tonight?  I'm going to a party at my friend Stacey's house for the opening ceremonies.

For those of you who aren't knitters, a very famous knitter The Yarn Harlot, started the "Knitting Olympics," where one chooses a project to knit, casting on during the opening ceremonies, and binding off during the closing ceremonies.  This year I'm really going to try and do it!  That means I have two weeks to achieve a gold medal.  Think I can do it?  Are you going to join me????

Project: Rooibos - Re-named "Olympian Vest"

Yarn: Red Rocks Fiber Works Bulky Merino

Yardage: 3 skeins for a total of 705 yards (each skein 235 yds,, 8 oz.)

Needles: size 9

Skiing Breckenridge, CO

Byron, Kid 1, Me (all squinty-eyed), Kid 2, My Daddy, and My Mom

 

On Monday we decided to play hooky and stay up an extra day at my Aunt and Uncle's place in Breckenridge and ski for the day. Both my dad and I are up on the hill for the first time in almost 3 years.  Me, because of my foot surgeries, and him, because of his back surgery. It was an AWESOME day.  Bright, sunny, fresh snow, and skiing.  What more could you ask for?  Ok, I know, I would ask for the last screw left in my foot would stop poking up out of the top of my foot, but really, that might be asking too much.  Other than that it was all great!!!

Let me tell you about my Aunt and Uncle...Whenever they are up here, they give us a call to see if we can meet them for a ski.  And, when we do my aunt spoils us with asking if we can stay the night when there is room, and feeds us very well.  My uncle Bo and I are kindred spirits, loving all technology, and what it can do.  I could sit with him for hours (and I have) talking about the latest, and greatest, and why we need it.  I just love them both so much.  Even though they have 10 grandchildren of their own, they treat my kids like one of the pack.  That's the best part. 

With that, I need to get busy around here.

Have a GREAT day!

Photo taken by Kid 2