“There Is Something Sweet In This September Air. Something Familiar But New. Something Light And Easy.

June 1, 2018 | Mesa Lakes Painting

Perimeter Trail

[05|20|16]

From what I recall, we only did part of the perimeter trail in Ouray this day. I remember finding it way more tiring than I was expecting! This is a classic trail. It has so many dimensions--waterfall, gorges, baby baths, aspen groves, meadows that open up to views of Mt. Abrams, Hayden Mountain... I did do the complete trail the year before in July 2015. I think there was a bit of renovation completed on the trail between those times. I also remember specifically that I did not do any online research prior to hitting the trail, and I went and asked the Visitor’s Center where the trailhead was. Oh, only right across the street! But I do wish I had read this blog post first, from Rocky Mountain Hiking Trails. Below are a few half-assed shots of the part of the trail that we did. I probably didn’t have enough strength to lift my arm. Oh, and it looks like there were some pretty trees in bloom in town, too. 

Interested in updates made to the trail? This’ll help you out. 

Are your parents still with you?

Yes

Then you are rich. You are a millionaire.

Felicity Colorado – instagram.com/caseymac

Deceptive scale of Goblin Valley

sennarelax

 Terme Di Saturnia, Tuscany

Creamed Avocado and Lime Chilled Pasta

Ingredients

1 1/2cup dry shell pasta or short pasta of your choice

1 ripe avocado

handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

1 1/2Tbsp lime juice

3Tbsp mayonnaise

1tsp garlic paste

salt & pepper

chopped cilantro and/or jalapeno for garnish

Instructions

Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain well, set aside to cool.

Peel avocado and remove the pit. Put it in a food processor together with chopped cilantro, lime juice, mayonnaise and garlic paste. Blend it until it’s creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in a refrigerator if you have time.)

Transfer the avocado sauce to a medium sized bowl. Add cooked pasta and toss them well. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and/or jalapeno on top.

Notes

I used chopped jalapeno on top for garnish but you can also put jalapeno in a food processor to blend in the sauce for spiciness.

How To Make an Epic Charcuterie and Cheese Board

On Witness and Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by Pandemic

The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief.

My Beloved died in January. He was a foot taller than me and had large, beautiful dark eyes and dexterous, kind hands. He fixed me breakfast and pots of loose-leaf tea every morning. He cried at both of our children’s births, silently, tears glazing his face. Before I drove our children to school in the pale dawn light, he would put both hands on the top of his head and dance in the driveway to make the kids laugh. He was funny, quick-witted, and could inspire the kind of laughter that cramped my whole torso. Last fall, he decided it would be best for him and our family if he went back to school. His primary job in our household was to shore us up, to take care of the children, to be a househusband. He traveled with me often on business trips, carried our children in the back of lecture halls, watchful and quietly proud as I spoke to audiences, as I met readers and shook hands and signed books. He indulged my penchant for Christmas movies, for meandering trips through museums, even though he would have much preferred to be in a stadium somewhere, watching football. One of my favorite places in the world was beside him, under his warm arm, the color of deep, dark river water.

In early January, we became ill with what we thought was flu. Five days into our illness, we went to a local urgent care center, where the doctor swabbed us and listened to our chests. The kids and I were diagnosed with flu; my Beloved’s test was inconclusive. At home, I doled out medicine to all of us: Tamiflu and Promethazine. My children and I immediately began to feel better, but my Beloved did not. He burned with fever. He slept and woke to complain that he thought the medicine wasn’t working, that he was in pain. And then he took more medicine and slept again.