Caribou Ranch Tromp

Me, Emma, Craig and Randy.

We finally got some fresh snow and quite a bit of it too. Enough to be able to get out on the snow shoes again and tromp about in the snowy paradise. We headed over to Caribou Ranch Open Space close to Ned, this is a great place to x-country ski or snow shoe. This 4 mile trail is closed to bikes and dogs so I never see this trail except in the winter. It's lovely and the old ranch is very cool, what a great place to have lived.

Me and my Honey..

It's been a strange and long feeling winter for me. I'm ready for spring, ready to ride my bike on dirt trails and not snow packed dirt roads and paved bike paths. I'm ready to put away the running shoes for awhile, even though it's been fun at times, served it's purpose and I've gotten better at it this year I'm not a runner and it doesn't feed my soul the same way riding does. I'm thinking next winter I may start climbing indoors again, maybe, I kinda miss climbing and wouldn't mind integrating it back into my life a little bit. I'm one of those people who can't have too many activities, I need to focus on just one or two. I also like to be outside as much as possible, thus why I'm not a gym rat, that and I can't afford it!

Ringo the Dingo.

We're heading South and West soon, to Arizona for the Scottsdale Arts Festival and a little down time to ourselves with our bikes. I'm looking forward to it in the same BIG way that I look forward to it every year we've gone down there and that would be the last three years in a row. Who knows how much longer that will last. I just hope Phil's World in Cortez is open and not buried under snow, fingers crossed. Tromp On!

Recent moments with my family...

Amelia Josephine Apfeldorf aka Baby Dough

Nelson aka The Big N

Aaron aka SweetPea and Uncle Craig aka Craigarino at the sledding hill., Purcellville, VA, 2/10.

Another Good Blog...

Petsapalooza by Jenny Mendes

I was recently turned on to Sarah Wilson's blog. She's Australian and she has an auto-immune disorder. She's discovered how to take care of herself because of the disorder, once again finding the lesson or blessing in the thick of it. In one of her most recent blog posts she shared a study that discovered 5 factors that have been found in communities where the population lives to a ripe old age. 5 characteristics these people share. Check it out if you have the time..

Nic's Night Out

The Ladies from Left: Emma, Brynel, Kelly, Megan, Nicci and Me.

Saturday night some of us ladies got together to celebrate our friend Nicci.
Nicci battled breast cancer in 2009 and she is finally done with her chemo and radiation. She is young, she is my age, younger and has a beautiful family. She is an artist as well and a deeply creative and feeling individual. She has been a true inspiration to me, her courage and ability to accept her situation and yet fiercely fight back is something to behold. Nic has the ability to see the blessings that come from something difficult. I'm proud to know her and draw strength from her example. She is one of the good ones, all of the women that came together that evening are strong and incredibly good and kind. Nicci has a strong tribe of friends that I'm proud to be a part of.

Love

Inhale, Exhale
By Betsy Walton

I know it's not Valentines Day..I don't really celebrate it anyway..really love should be celebrated every day, in every little thing you do whether it's drinking a warm cup of chai or listening to a friend, listening to music or being with your mate. At any rate, I really like these words from Karina the Gluten Free Goddess, I copied them from her blog.
"Love is messy and complicated and often the timing sucks. Love asks us to get dirty. To risk authenticity, not sugar-coat its opposite. Love doesn't depend upon perfection. It thrives in imperfection. Love seeds itself in the broken places. It prefers the company of weeds above roses. And love doesn't require being polite, being correct, being right, being the best. Love asks us to hurt. To stretch beyond what is bearable. To feel scared. To lose control. To be ridiculous. "

Here's to all the different ways love exists within us, love can be quite messy and that's okay.

January 22nd 2008

Josephine Helinski Davis.
I think this was a passport picture, though she never did get to go overseas like she wanted to.

It's been two years since she left us, I find that hard to believe at times. I'll never forget the moment my sister called me and I could hear in her voice what she hadn't yet told me and my world came tumbling down around me.

Mom, Karen (in the background) and Me. We were such a team, always tight. I must be about 3 here, my sister would be 17 months older than me. My Mom in her early thirties.

Time does not heal all wounds. You learn to "walk" with it. And to experience joy along with deep sorrow.

My Mom is still very much alive in those that she touched with her kindness, love and generosity, I carry her in my heart and memories each day of my life.

Karen and Me, a reflection of our Mother.

Winter Inspiration

Ice, rock, water..inspiration for new pieces I'm working on in the studio.
I've been watching Boulder Creek on lunch time rides over the last few weeks as it's frozen and thawed and refrozen. Pattern, colors, contrast of light and dark, lines, texture, beautiful.

Just squint your eyes almost closed and all of these things come out and you're left with a composition.

Winter inspiration.