A picture of the Walker kids

I love this picture of Cody & Tara under Nonnie's jasmine arch.

The Smoky Mountains

I just finished a three day trek through the Smoky Mountains. It reminded me of life on El Camino in Spain. It is amazing how as much as I excercise i do daily, it still took my body a while to acclimate to all the climbing. I was carrying a 20lb pack and traversing many creeks and streams. The path often turned into streams and visa versa. My friends and I camped by a lovely stream, built a fire and cooked luxrious meals, by camping standards at least. I was a little hesitant, because there are a lot of black bears in the area. Each night we had to hang our food on a wire pully system set up at each of the campsites. Although we didn't run into any bears we saw some of their poop. Trust me tracking bear piles is indeed scary. In the end, however, we only ran into a small harmless snake, not very exciting. Well I have to go to work now, talk to you all soon.

Happy Easter!

This is an Easter basket Gavin made at school. Happy Easter everybody!

Dating on the Downswing

Well, things have fizzled out here in my dating life. The woman I met in Walgreen's has apparently stopped calling.

We had two dates -- one planned, one spontaneous. Both dates involved having lunch, but the second involved grocery shopping. Both of us needed to buy food for home, and so we went together. Sometime into the following week, all two-way communication stopped. No more emails or phone calls from her. I called several times and left messages, but I gave up yesterday after the final call.

I don't know why this happened. She does work two jobs, and there were obvious lifestyle differences that had already come up, although I would have at least appreciated a phone call indicating a definite reason why things shouldn't or couldn't continue.

Well, I tried, and so did she, but this has got to be the shortest dating streak I've been through. One woman, two dates, and that's it. I wish I could say I learned something from this, but there wasn't enough time to bring up any life lessons. All I can say is that I dated her.

I'm OK. I'm a little disappointed, but OK. I have other things to do, and I know other people who will appreciate having me around when I do something away from home. Life goes on. Maybe next time I'll find someone that I can connect with better.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Kristi!!!!! I am having a glass of wine for you (well maybe just a little bit for me also). Enjoy the day.

I am off to NY

I have finished my second trimester of school and the dreaded anatomy test is over! It took me three full hours and part of the test was to draw muscles of the body from the front and back--basically draw the human body without skin (or fat). It was tough but I am learning so much.

I fly to NY tonight for Jeff's grandma's 95th surprise birthday party. I haven't been back since I moved out of my aptartment last May. It'll be a quick trip but we have it scheduled out already. Jeff and I are meeting there at the diner we would eat at many weekends. We have plans with several different friends for various meals. We'll see Amy. Jeff's family will all be there for the party. We'll see the art exhibit up for the friend who was killed by a train last year--he is an amzing artist and was one of the good ones (humans) in life. I'll also see the Courbet exhibit at the Metropolitan Art Museum. Should all be good--despite the forecast for rain all weekend.

Gotta live while we can--pack it in!

CNA

Well -  I did it.  I passed my exam to become a certified nursing assistant.  I am not as excited as I should be because now this means I have to go work.  

I have been offered a position at my neighbor's work.  She works for assisted living.  I could get certified there and pass meds and make an extra $1 an hour.  I am also going to look into Denver Health and Rose.  I have been told by a girl in my class that her boss at Rose is desperate.  We shall see.

I will keep you all posted.

By the way - my schedule is changing next week.  I will be in school MTW 8:30 to noon.  No more afternoons.

Take care

Little Hams

Just transferred over recent photos. This is my favorite from Mindy's birthday--Becca and Aidan steal the show! (By the way, I've updated my art blog with new work. Check it out--just scroll down a bit to see the latest work.)

Spring Has Sprung

Well it is starting to get warm here and I can feel spring on the horizon. I am on my second week in my position as sous chef in the kitchen. It is going fairly well, although it always takes some time to get used to a routine. I can't complain, though, as far as kitchen jobs go this one is good. I work four really long days, but then get 3 off. I got a book on North Carolina and hope to explore its vast network of national parks and biking trails. You wouldn't think it, but the smoky mountain, Blue Ridge and park of the AT are all here. It is very peaceful in the small town of Mill Springs where Cooperriis is located (it’s about the size of Elbert). I am going to start some classes in the Asheville area soon, but I am enjoying not having to drive everywhere and try to enjoy my time here on the farm. I will post some pictures soon. I plan on taking some on my next day off. The house is going well, although frost is preventing the laying of pipes and pouring of concrete. I will most likely be coming out to Colorado at the end of April beginning of May to close. I plan to stay a few days and visit with everyone. I can't wait to see everyone. I really do miss all of you. Anyway that's all for now.

Mom's learning to blog

Hi everybody,
This is a test and I am learning to blog following Jill's instruction. Every day more memories pop up about your dad. I will learn how to put them in for you.

A Crazy Horse Story

Saturday was my first official day volunteering at Greenwood Wildlife Rehab Center. It was pretty slow, so we were all going to leave an hour early at 4:00. As I was getting in the Geo, I noticed a strange shape maybe 25 yards in front of me. It looked like a horse lying on its side with its legs straight out. My first thought was that it was dead, but as I walked over to investigate, she moved her head - just a little. She had somehow ended up lying on her side with her left legs stuck between the second and third wires; the second one cut into her armpit and her inner thigh. I ran back to the trailer to get help. Fortunately, the manager and animal tech were still here. The tech, Lauren, is in vet school and is an experienced horsewoman, so she knew what to watch for, be concerned about, etc. One big concern was that the horse was having trouble breathing because of all the weight on her lungs due to her position. We cut the fence wires and got the mare on her feet, but she ended up on the Greenwood side of the fence, so we had to walk her through the Greenwood property to get to the pasture gate. In the meantime, the manager, Gabriele, called the dude ranch, and they were sending someone out to assess and treat the horse's injuries. All in all, the mare had some pretty nasty cuts from the wire, but they weren't bleeding profusely (i.e., cut arteries), and she was a little lame. Not bad, considering. If I hadn't seen her, she would have died. I think I would have noticed her when I arrived at Greenwood at 1:00, so hopefully, she had been there only a couple hours. Not bad for my first day on the job!

Amazing Chocolate Cake

I got this cake recipe off of allrecipes.com and it is AWESOME. I made it for Mindy's birthday and everybody loved it, so I am posting it here for those who ate it and those who need to!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
"A dense chocolate cake for those of us who can't tolerate wheat or gluten."

SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 1 -10 inch round cake (serves 16... this cake is RICH so you can't eat much)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate ( I used almost two bags of Ghiardhelli bittersweet chocolate chips)
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.

Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill
the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.