Christmas Week

I give up on placing these but the order is almost correct and I'm sure the posting process will change them around a bit. The idea was to illustrate the progression from Christmas Eve and Boden reading the Night Before as part of the group for the first tiome to talking to the Blacwells on skype. Then christmas breakfast at the Kelloggs including sticky buns produced by Rico and frajitas from kate - good start to the feasting. We had a break at the park with basketball and sliding for the younger members and swinging for the elderly. Then Mom and I headed home for a lunch and stockings on the deck - a first for Christmas. The final views in these shots are of opening gifts at our place followed by Christmas dinner of steak and kidney pie and an attempt to connect on skype with Coburns and Blackwells. No luck but we had talked (skype) to the Blackwells on Christmas Eve and were able to see Julie and Matt on Boxing Day - a real treat. We hope we can get our camera to work every time in the New Year.

Earlier in the week, Mom and I had gone for several short hikes on beautiful, high 50s, afternoons. We took one along South Boulder Creek where the water gurgled and the sun picked up silver in the bark of the trees - a remarkable thick and crusty texture on the lower and fatter part of the trunk and then a smooth, glistening bark on the higher levels. That with the golden grasses in the background and a few tall, dark, almost black, thistles provided some lovely, textured viewing.

Yesterday I skied at Eldora with the Kellogg guys. We all did a run from the top and I took up the rear - Boden scoots right along making small turns when needed always appearing to move at a steady pace, fully under control. Reid showed how well he has adjusted back to skis from the years on the snowboard by skiing backwards down several stretches on the runs we took on the smaller mountain. Rico, as always, is a pleasure to watch. It was windy but sunny and not frigid - a bearable day temperature wise and a good test on the willingness of all four of us to ignore the wind and enjoy the day.

Today Mom and I drove up Sunshine Canyon to Gold Hill and down Four Mile Creek to view the area of the September fire before the ground is covered by snow in Thursday's predicted storm. It was truly eyeopening. The fire was so choosy - jumping roads, ignoring one home and taking the neighbor (30 yards away) to the ground, leaving sections of green trees in a field of black trunks and charred ground, burning on two sides of Gold Hill but not touching the town. Some of the erratic burn must be due to the efforts of firefighters, but some must be just the impact of nature acting erratically. We ended the day at the movies seeing The King's Speech - an excellent show having already garnered many award nominations. It is the story of King George VI's struggle to overcome his stammer which he was able to do well enough to have his wartime speeches become a rallying cry for the British people and Empire. I remember some of them, but never knew the details of the persevance and struggle it took for him to achieve the result. A very uplifting story, very well acted, and a provider of some interesting insights into King Edward, his abdication, and pre-war Britain. I recommend it highly on many levels not the least of which is its historical insights.

So that what's been going on with the Kellogg seniors. We've bought some fruit and vegetables in case we don't get to market until a few days after our predicted snow - I doubt if it will be up the the Boxing Day blizzaard in the North East - but it doesn't hurt to get a little prepared.

First view - Indian Peaks from Sunshine Canyon Dr. Second view - Outside Gold Hill - note the black, green, and scorched brown areas and the tiny house in the bare area at the left.