Spring 2016

Spidey loves gardening

We are comfortably settled in Denver.  With the routine of our daily lives, we forget to update the blog, even though in retrospect, we have been pretty busy.  So we have several to post and this is the first of several.

As is usual during our time in Denver, we are delighted to spend time with Charlie.  He's four and the changes and development are fun to watch and enjoy.

Language development is always a challenge.  At four, we notice that he is now comfortable with time and understands past, present and future--but sometimes his language skills don't always keep up, especially irregular past tenses.  Doesn't every past tense verb end in 'ed' ?

Mowgli (ignore larrge foot)

He sleeped over with his friend Oden the other night and cutted his finger and bleeded.

A few weeks ago, Oma, Opa and Charlie went to see Disney's new version of The Jungle Book. Even though the movie comes in at close to two hours, he was transfigured for the entire time.

When we got back to the condo, he asked Oma if he could be Mowgli and if she would make him Mowgli pants and hair.



We won't reveal the secret to the costume, but needless to say his Mom and Dad do not want him to wear it out of the apartment--but when he is visiting with us, he whispers to one or the other of us, "will you call me Mowgli forever ?"

Mowgli with hair and apron

He even insists on wearing his Mowgli costume when helping Oma or Opa cook.

And now we have Batman

Other superheroes, like Spiderman, Batman and Ninja Turtles make their appearances, depending on what is clean at the moment, but the Jungle Book is definitely a favorite right now.

First day of "Train to the Plane"

Getting onboard

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know what big Denver boosters we have become.




In late April, the city opened up its "Train to the Plane" rail line, and on Opening Day, April 22, the three of us waited in line with a lot of our fellow Denverites, to catch a free ride on the new train.

Larry's Mom with new Great Grandson, Gus

Thirty-seven minutes from Union Station to the airport--leaves every 15 minutes and for us seniors only costs $4.50 each way.

Larry used the train a week later when he flew to visit his Mom in Georgia.

His Mom will be 88 this July, still lives on her own and drives around her small town, Danielsville, to church, the grocery store, etc.

Larry's sister Sandra lives just a half a mile away, so is there whenever she is needed and his brother Dale and sister, Glenda are close by as well. Their being there makes our being 1500 across country easier.

Gus, his Grandma, Glenda with Bradleigh and Dad, Brian

While in GA, Larry and his Mom were able to visit with his sister, Glenda, and Glenda's son, Brian and to see the newest Great Grandson, Gus, and his big sister, Bradleigh.

Brian and his family had just moved into a new home and it was an opportunity to visit and see the new addition(s).

NC Ladyslipper

Larry also attended an English Country Dance Weekend at the Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, which is about a two hour easy drive from his Mom's home.

Although Larry still enjoys Scottish Country Dancing and attends classes a couple times a week in Denver, we are both finding English enjoyable--a little less active and easier on the aging body.

Springtime in the NC mountains is always beautiful and one of the favorite and most interesting sights as you walk through the woods is the Pink Ladyslipper (a native orchid).

Larry at Denver's Botanic Garden

Springtime in Denver can be a die cast--one day it is 75 or 80 and the next day there is a blizzard.

This spring we had a full blown blizzard that shut down the city and brought two feet of snow to the surrounding area--and that was just one of the four snow storms we had in April.

More Denver Botanic Garden with close-ups below

Still Spring does triumph over Winter eventually and we always enjoy spending a mild spring day in the Denver Botanic Garden.

What a treat and what a great boon to the city and its citizens and visitors.

Pretty scary !!

Besides the Botanic Garden, we have a fantastic Art Museum which we enjoy.  Recently they have had a special exhibit of Japanese Samurai paraphernalia placed in rooms with enlarged (huge) photos of portions of silk screens.

The detail on both the armor and the silk screens was amazing.  Who would have thought that going to an exhibit, basically, of armor could be so engaging?

As we always say, come visit !

Settling into Denver

Charlie and Opa Ice Skating

We returned to Denver at the end of January in time to celebrate Charlie's 4th birthday.  His party, complete with jungle decorations and a surprise visit by a gorilla, was quite the smash.

At the Broncos parade--all players, their families
 and cheerleaders, mascots, etc. rode on Fire Trucks so
 all could see them, or else all we would have seen
 was the back of this little boy

With all the excitement about the Broncos and the Super Bowl approaching, it was a fun time to return.  We defy anyone to spend any time here without loving the Broncos.

Charlie, "Bronco Bear" and the Blue Bull
 (though the Bronco's mascot is a horse, of course)

Guess what their colors are ?  We are avid fans and after the win, we even went to the welcome home parade, one of the more than one million to do so.

With Peyton Manning's retirement things are a bit up in the air, but everyone still looks forward to the new season.

Bryn and Charlie with us on a Zoo outing

Our Charlie time has been the focus of our lives here, proven by all the pictures in this blog: Ice Skating, Hanging Out Downtown, Going to the Zoo, Enjoying the Snow, Going to Playgrounds or just Picking him up at School.

Bryn and Grant on the slopes

Bat Man, need we say more?

We enjoy every minute.  He is at a really cute age and does something to give us a smile or make us laugh each time we are with him.

Of course it is wonderful to be with his parents, too.  One of our most fun times was a trip to the mountains for skiing.

Bryn and Larry on the slopes

Larry and Bryn skied, Grant snowboarded, and Sue and Charlie played together at the rented condo.



Charlie wore the Bat Man pajamas that Oma and Opa brought for him 24/7 the entire time we were there, proudly showing it to anyone who would exclaim over it (under his outer wear if outside).  He sauntered around Winter Park protecting all from the "bad guys".

Ashley Brown and Sue

We have also been gifted by visits from friends.  Our friend, Anita's, daughter, Ashley, from Portland, Oregon, and we even got to spend time with Anita herself.

She, Ashley, her son, Justin & family, and some of Justin's in-laws spent a week at Copper Ski Resort, so we traveled up the mountain to see them.  They are a sweet group and we loved being with them.

Tom Eshelmen with us both

Our friends, Jeanne and Tom, came for a conference and we were able to spend some quality time with them.

More with Tom, as it was Jeanne's conference--she is an Episcopal priest--and it was a church sponsored gathering.

A cock-eyed view of our favorite M.L.King Memorial
with Tom taken by a young girl in City Park

We were able to tour Tom around Denver a bit, something we have fun doing.  As can be seen from most of the pictures in this Blog, except for snow days, Denver is full of big blue skies and wonderful sunshine.  We are loving it here !

Spider Man unmasked at the "web" jungle gym
with Opa

Our day-to-day lives are pretty mundane.  We are getting used to our new "home"--a condo (on the 20th floor) in a high rise.

It is the first time either of us has lived in an apartment (as permanently as we live anywhere these days) since our college days.


Yes, it does feel small.  Thank goodness we have a very long vista view towards the Rocky Mountains from our balcony. Looking out gives us more of a feeling of space.

We're hoping no one plops a 60 story building between us and the mountains.  We fear this,  as every parking lot corner in the city seems to now have a huge hole, a crane, and some sort of high rise building going up.

70 degrees one afternoon and waking up to this
surprise the next morning

We are probably pretty typical retirees:  exercise a little, read a lot, eat too much, find entertainment at the movies or local performing arts center or by watching TV.

We tell ourselves we'll find some way to volunteer our time, but haven't yet.

We've been mightily entertained by this year's Presidential Election cycle.

Yet another Bat Man outfit, with friend, Oden at school

Who knows the outcome, but it has been a wild ride.

We have plans to tour some National Parks in CA and OR in May and visit friends in both places and then to fly east to visit Sue's family, as well as Erin and Johan in June.

At the zoo with his map which told us it was "28 miles" between exhibits

Other than that we are here until the travel bug bites for a longer trip somewhere.


We are always ready for visitors and have a second bedroom, empty, just waiting.  We hope to see whomever reads this, whenever !

Bat Man climbing Spider Man's web

No caption needed--he's on duty !!

Adios Mexico

La Paroquia, San Miguel de Allende

After a lovely three months stay in San Miguel de Allende, we took our leave on January 26th.

As in the past, we enjoyed our stay, but, perhaps not quite as much as we had in our last few visits.  San Miguel, unfortunately, is becoming a a victim of its own success.

Automobile traffic and pollution are more noticeable (or at least to us) than ever, and there are times when you feel overwhelmed by the tourists.  Still, it remains a magical place and a great place to relax and escape the winter weather.

La Virgin de Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico

Larry really enjoys the opportunity to improve and practice his Spanish and the Mexican people are overwhelmingly kind, hardworking and gracious.

Before saying adios or farewell to Mexico, we spent three days in Mexico City visiting with our friend, Carole Reedy.

We used to call it DF (day-effay), distrito federale, as many of our Mexican friends had taught us, but now, thanks to a new national law, it is the City of Mexico (CDMX), (ciudad mexico), with many of the same powers of other Mexican States.

Enjoying our luncheon

 It is always so much fun to visit with Carole, who has lived in Mexico for nearly 20 years.  She is American born but has come to love the country, its people and its culture so much that she became a Mexican citizen.

She is a great guide to the City and in previous visits has introduced us to many of its museums and cultural attractions, including the Corrida or bullfighting.

Templo Mayor ruins in the Zocalo

One day during our stay, after a delicious and relaxing lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the ruins of the Templo Mayor (the main Aztec Temple, dating from before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520), we visited the nearby Department of Education (Secretaria de Educacion) to marvel at the Diego Rivera murals.

The murals were painted by Rivera from 1923-1928 and tell the story of the Mexico Revolution.

Restored in the 1990's, they are truly marvelous to behold and study. With very few other tourists or visitors, we were free to wander and explore to our hearts content.

We had planned a stay of half an hour or so and ended up staying more than two hours.  For us, the murals were far more interesting and fascinating than others we had seen in the National Palace or elsewhere.

 Rivera was an avowed Communist and wholeheartedly believed in the Mexican Revolution and through these murals wanted to celebrate its successes in redistributing land and ending illiteracy and generally improving the lot of the Mexican campesino.

His overarching theme seems to be summed up in a banner above one of the murals which loosely can be translated as "True Civilization will be harmony of men with the land and amongst themselves."

Freda Kahlo handing out guns

One of our favorite murals features Freda Kahlo, Rivera's wife and an artist in her own right,   distributing arms to the campesinos.

Although they seemed to have loved each other very much, Rivera and Kahlo had a tumultuous and troubled relationship.  Her fame has perhaps surpassed his in recent times.

Our photos can not do justice to the beauty of the murals nor the impact that they make on the viewer.

We felt so fortunate to be able to see and experience them in person, and should you be in Mexico City--don't miss them!

The Secretariate is a huge complex and after we had finished looking at the Rivera murals, we started to leave only to realize that in another part of the building there were some works by another famous Mexican muralist, David Siqueiros.

We were not as taken with them as we were with the Rivera murals.  They are very monumental and abstract--so perhaps a little less approachable.

What a great way to close out yet another visit to Mexico.  Thanks once again to our friend Carole for turning us on to this great find and for always being willing to share her Mexico City with us.

Now we are back in Denver for the foreseeable future.  It is great to be back in our own place and to be near Bryn, Grant and Charlie.  We got back in town just in time to help celebrate his 4th Birthday--an important milestone.

And to experience Super Bowl 50 with a million other Bronco fans !  It was a SUPER welcome !!

Patzcuaro Adventure

On the sunny square with Susie

 We had such a nice, if short, visit to Patzcuaro--a small city in the Mexican state of Michoacan, with our friends, Mart & Bob Larson and Susie Morgan.

Our drive there took a little over three hours--which was just about right, since the five of us were crammed into a little Nissan Versa.

A couple resting near our rental house

Unfortunately, our drive back to SMA took about seven hours, as we got delayed for more than three hours outside of the city of Morelia.  A gasoline truck overturned (just about five minutes ahead of us), and the police had to close the road to clean up all the spilled fuel.

But we are so happy that we made the trip.  Patzcuaro is very different from San Miguel de Allende.

Although a town that attracts a number of tourists, you notice them a lot less.  It is quite peaceful with many colonial style buildings and some beautiful vistas.

Sue posing with a Gertrude namesake

We rented, through AIRBnB, a wonderful three bedroom house just a couple of blocks from the picturesque and charming main plaza. It was very comfortable and full of local arts and crafts.


Some of the highlights included:

1. The Gertrudis Bocanegra square that honors a female hero of the Mexican struggle for Independence;

Entire history of Mexico on one wall

 2. A 1942 Martin O'Gorman  mural in the local public library, depicting the history of Mexico.

Mexico, unfortunately, has experienced so much corruption and violence and its people so much repression, even today.  The mural was a great history lesson as well as an exceptional piece of public art.

Card Catalogue

It was interesting and nostalgic to see and use the card catalog--something that most American public libraries have abandoned.

The card catalog, though, was the mainstay of most libraries throughout the 20th century and still can be very useful. (You can take the librarian out of the library, but you can't take the library out of the librarian.)

Larry, Mart and Bob in the Casa de Onze Patios courtyard

3. A beautiful and historic old convent, called the House of Eleven Patios (Casa de Onze Patios) that featured a wide variety of small stores that sold local arts and crafts.

Unlike many tourist sites, the shops all seemed to be quite different, often specializing in one type of craft like textiles, lacquer goods, musical instruments, toys, or jewelry.

We spent a couple of hours walking around and shopping.  It was so peaceful, entertaining and interesting.

4. A very interesting museum (Museo de Regional de Arte Popular) where a guide lead us through rooms displaying local crafts from prehistoric times to the present.

In the center were ruins of an ancient prison, where some wall portions were still intact and showed dots prisoners had dug into it to mark the days.

Lovely fountain and courtyard in a smaller building

Same building as above, but showing balconies

Larry and Bob posing at nice fountain in Casa de Onze Patios

Display of figurines in Museo Regional de Arte Popular

View from middle balcony of our rental house

Larry in our rental house bedroom, ready to leave

Bob, Susie and Sue seated; Mart and Larry standing

Even though our AIRBnB house had a great and fully equipped kitchen, none of us really wanted to cook.  Fortunately, we found a great local restaurant called Lupita's.  We ate a couple of meals there and had a great time relaxing and being with our friends.

There are so many places to see and visit in Mexico--and we have done so few--but we know that we have them to look forward to.