HAPPY BIRTHDAY NASA!!!!

Gosh....I am amongst those that can recall dashing outside to view Sputnik going overhead!!! The Russians launched their satellite on October 4, 1957. This event became a catalyst for then President Eisenhower to create legislation to establish the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). NASA was officially open for business on October 1, 1958!! HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY, NASA!!!

IKE AFFECTS A FELLOW FOLK ARTIST......

Although the news media seems to have moved right on past Hurricane Ike, those that were caught in its path have not moved on. They are still suffering the affects, and will be for some time. I hope that we will not forget them, and will continue to help in any way that we can. I want to bring attention to a fellow folk artist, Susan Dean, of Threadbare Primitives. Susan is located in Anahuac, TX, just East of Trinity Bay, where Ike traveled through on it's way North. Anahuac is in Chambers County, which suffered great destruction from the winds and the water of Ike. Susan and her husband are now back in their GARAGE, but their home is not structurally safe for living. As they await word from their insurance company, they must do what they can to bring their lives back toward normalcy. One of the ways that we could help Susan, a working artist that depends on her business for her well-being, is to visit her website and MAKE A PURCHASE OR TWO!!! Yes, just that simple!! Susan has many wonderful patterns, as well as finished goods and supplies. Her designs are whimsical and easy to use, and I should know!! I own most of them!! HA!! Pattern addict #1 here!! I encourage you to visit Threadbare Primitives, do some shopping, and keep Susan and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Prim Blessings to all, Trudy

The Presence of the Crow.............

I love crows (oh, really?!).....and almost always have two or three that come to visit on a regular basis. As Mike left for work one morning recently, he saw this guy on the neighbor's roof, and low and behold.....there were actually two of them visiting!! I hear their distinct caw...caw....caw....while I am working, and have to stop, get the camera, and try to find them. They are wise and beautiful birds, and one of my favorites!!

A Day at Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO!!

What a fun day was had by all, as we rode the light rail into Denver, and spent much of a day at Elitch Gardens, the famed amusement park!! Granddaughter Sadie had the most fun of all!!

IN THE DAYS AFTER IKE........

We must not forget all those that were so badly affected by the hurricane just days ago.....many that will never be able to return to their homes, since no homes remain. When I see the photos from areas like the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island, I wonder how anything survived such destruction. Two organizations that are at work to provide assistance and aid to the victims of Ike are the American Red Cross, and the Humane Society of the United States. With this disaster coming right on the heels of Hurricane Gustav, both organizations are badly in need of donations to help fund their missions. Every dollar makes a difference. If you haven't had enough media coverage, here is a link to a gallery of photos that will certainly bring the level of the affects of this storm into reality for you. Please keep the victims of Ike in your prayers and thoughts.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

HALLOWEEN FUN!! TAKE A PEEK!!!

Hop on over to Johanna's blog, Johanna Parker Design, and scroll down a couple posts to find out how YOU can get these great labels to use and enjoy on some of your Halloween projects!! Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us, Johanna!! And....for anyone that happens to be in the Denver area this weekend....Johanna will be offering her fine works of art at a fun show in an even more fun shopping area!! You can find all of the specifics for the show on Johanna's website!! For those of you that love Halloween, you will find lots and lots of superb works of art to add to your collection in her wonderful work!!

Beautiful Lilies!!

Mike brought home a beautiful bouquet of lilies for my birthday a week or so ago, and this morning I want to share a couple shots. Sadly, I apparently failed to take a picture of the entire bouquet!! Guess he'll have to buy more lilies!! :)

Sharing and Passing Along!!

Thank you to Kim of The Smiling Goat for awarding me with another special honor award!! I love awards!! I have finally made time to search my bloglist for those that have not yet, or not recently, received this award, and here goes!!

The rules for this award ....... to choose 7 bloggers whose blogs I love to visit, let them know that I have chosen them, and post the links here!!
What a hard decision!! I have a giant list of blogs that I love to visit, full of creativity, photos, and all kinds of info that is such joy and inspiration, fun and relaxing, and a great way to rejunenate, too!!

So.....I will randomly chose 7 blogs, in no special order, and want to honor them with this fun award!!

Annie of Annie Beez Folk Art

Erika of Erika's Cupboard

Peggy of Hidden Haven Homestead

Donna of Moonchild's Primitives

Suz of Surprise, Delight, Joy

Cindy of The Gathering Room

Mo of Wings and Paws Primitives

The award rules, ladies, are pretty easy!! Have fun!! I know.....the choosing is the hard part!! We are blessed with soooo many cool blogs out there in blogland!!
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

HAVE FUN!!! KNOW THAT YOU ARE SPECIAL!!! Hugs, Trudy

IN THE PATH OF IKE.....

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those in the path of Hurricane Ike. Being somewhat of a news addict, I was glued to CNN most of the night, hoping that all those in the path of the hurricane would be okay. I am amazed at those folks that chose to stay behind, and not head to safer surroundings. I'm even more amazed at the nerve of the reporters. Not sure if that is heroism or stupidity!! I lived in Southern Florida during David, and that was enough for me!! Then came Andrew. Although my many years in Austin brought bad weather days from the hurricanes in the Gulf, it seems that Austin has been spared from this one.

While the hurricane was making the move across the Gulf, a front moved through Colorado, bringing fresh snow to the high country. This is a picture of what I saw this morning, as the overcast skies and clouds had cleared during the night, bringing my wonderful view back to life...although the humidity haze still lingers. Fall is definitely in the air!

Let Us Never Forget ......

As we take a moment to reflect on this day 7 years ago, and send prayers and thoughts to those directly affected, may we never forget that we were all affected, and America was changed forever.

God Bless America

United We Stand

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

HELLO, SEPTEMBER!!

Goodness!! Where does time go??? Here it is already the middle of September...and much has taken place since I last posted......my birthday, my computer dying, my new computer purchased, my continued fighting with change, my not liking the new operating system, the new operating system not liking my printers, and on and on and on and on and on!!!!

But......Fall is arriving rapidly here in the Front Range, and snow has arrived at some of the upper elevations. Today is our second cool and dreary day this Fall, with one day last week bringing morning temps in the low 40's!! YIKES!! This morning it is still only 51 degrees, and I have not seen the sun. That's rare. I love sun!!

A couple mornings ago I dashed out early to attempt to get some shots of the very interesting fog bank that was following the lake and river, hanging in the valley, looking most interesting. I didn't get good shots, but am sharing some interesting ones from the morning with you. Enjoy!!

THE ROCKS OF PERRY PARK!!!

I will always have many, many favorites things, favorites places....and rocks are one of my favorites!! Not far from our home is a wonderful area, Perry Park, with some amazing rock formations...and of course then there is Red Rocks, which is even closer to us!! I love the scenery and nature of country drives, and one of my favorites is the drive down toward Perry Park, which runs through a valley with fabulous farms and fields, cows and horses, old barns, newer barns, and lots of great rocks!! I will never tire of taking this little jaunt!! These shots were taken on a very stormy weekend a few weeks ago..so the sky is NOT the beautiful blue that we most often have here in Colorado. Although I like to visit the area, I'm not sure I would be content to live there...since bears and mountain lions are an issue!! Enjoy the rocks!! This should bring many memories to life for you, Cookie!!

REMEMBERING TASHA ON HER BIRTHDAY......

Today, August 28th, would have been Tasha Tudor's 93rd birthday, but as we know, this remarkable lady passed away in June of this year. I understand that her family will be spending the day remembering her with a beautiful cake and hand cranked honey lavender ice cream! YUM!! Here is a suggestion for others, taken from the email I received from the Tasha mail list......"As we celebrate her birthday and consider the gifts she offered everyone, we encourage others to do the same: take a moment for tea, plant a special flower or read through a favorite Tasha book." I have spent time this morning working with my own flowers, not quite as lavish as the gardens that Tasha loved and cared for, but still a touch of color and beauty in their own way. May we all take a moment to remember Tasha once again, and celebrate her and her contributions to the world of art and nature. The flowers that I am sharing here are wildflowers from a recent trip up to the Mt. Evans area and Guanella Pass. We miss you, Tasha!!!

FIRE IN THE SKY!!!!

As evening falls on the Front Range, and the sun begins to set behind the tallest of the mountains, I most often grab the camera...and take the same shots, night after night after night.....never tiring of the beauty of these magical moments. Tonight was another of the grand performances...and I am sorry that the Democrats are gathered down in Denver at the Nuggets playground and missed it!! But, if all goes well, there will be a replay tomorrow night as they gather at the Broncos playground for the final night of the convention......where they will be gathered OUTDOORS, under the sunset and the stars, partaking in a moment of great American history. Enjoy the fire in the sky from this evening!!

I AM HONORED!!! I GOT AN AWARD!!!!

Isn't this special!!!!???!!?!?! I have been honored with this wonderful award, by TWO, yes two of my visitors!! I received this award from Andrea of Bracken Ridge Primitives and from Debbie of Country Gatherings!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!

The rules for this award are that I am to choose 7 bloggers whose blogs I love to visit, let them know that I have chosen them, and post the links here!!

What a hard decision!! I have a giant list of blogs that I love to visit, full of creativity, photos, and all kinds of info that is a joy!! So.....I will randomly choose 7 blogs, in no special order, and will choose those that have not yet received this honor of the I Love Your Blog award!!

I would like to honor these 7 fine bloggers, randomly listed:

Martha of MJ Ornaments

Cookie of Curds and Whey

Deena of Nestled in the Singing Woods

Johanna of Johanna Parker Design

Jean of In the Garden with Miss Jean

Cathy of Hazelruthe's

Heidi of Crabby Gabby Dolls

The award rules, ladies, are pretty easy!! Have fun!! I know.....the choosing is the hard part!! We are blessed with soooo many cool blogs out there in blogland!!

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

CONGRATULATIONS USA OLYMPIC ATHLETES!!!!!

The USA has shown such great talent in so many sports during this Olympic spectacular, and this morning (middle of the night for us here on Mountain Time), my favorites, the men's basketball team.......WON THE GOLD!!!! WHOOOOOOO!! WHOOOOOO!!! WAY TO GO, USA!!! Congratulations to all the athletes, and to Denver Nuggets player Carmelo Anthony.....GO NUGGETS!!!! The basketball boys played undefeated in Beijing, with every game a show of superb talent from all players and all teams. This Redeem Team, as they have been called, has definitely shown to all of us that NBA superstars CAN play together as a winning team!!! A special thank you to LeBron James for his leadership for Team USA!! CONGRATULATIONS on the 118-107 win over Spain!! Congratulations on bringing home the gold!!!! Congratulations to all!!!!

NIGHT VISIT TO THE BALLOON FEST 2008

We returned to the Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival this evening, in anticipation of the mass illumination of the balloons.......but, due to the wind, it was not very mass!! Several balloons attempted to inflate, but the weather did not cooperate. One finally made it into position, and I can only imagine how cool it would have been to have many up and glowing!! I have included a few shots from dusk, but sadly I missed the herd of 8 or so deer, mostly bucks with good size racks, that came running by.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN BALLOON FESTIVAL 2008

The morning was perfect for the first mass ascension of more than 40 hot air balloons from the Chatfield State Park launch site! Although we normally watch this event from our home, this morning we drove into the Park and watched from a hilltop as the balloons were being inflated, with a few at a time rising up and sailing away!! I have shared a few select shots, although I took a zillion, of course!! Apparently the returning pink rabbit is the LARGEST hot air balloon around...and as we watched it land, it IS HUGE!!!! I hope you enjoy the color of the festivities!!