Denver, Boulder, Estes Park and Glenwood Springs

I got to spend a week in Colorado. I am so in love with the state, but I was told to come back when it snows. Apparently, black ice is a dangerous thing.

We flew into Denver, and that was fantastic. We got to see the Red Rocks Amphitheater. Emory saw a few shows there in his teenage years. We also got to see Golden, which is a super cute little spot. That night, we got to do a Boozy Ghost Tour, and the other people on that tour really made it a blast! The teachers were so welcoming and funny, and there was one who was after my beating heart! We could totally be friends. We heard a ghost story, and I said, "Ohhh, creepy," and she said, "That's so awesome!" I just knew when we locked eyes that we were kindred spirits. She's getting married on Halloween. She stays in all the haunted hotels. All of those teachers made our ghost tour fun as heck! And the tour guide was very interactive, asking us stories.

We drove to Boulder next. I had the brilliant idea to do an ebike tour. I have no idea why when go-karts scare the vegan marshmallows out of me! This was way worse because of the turns and the steep inclines and oncoming traffic.... but the views were fantastic! I got to see so many sites that were on my list for Boulder! I got to see Pearl Street and Dushanbe Teahouse! We visited a few parks that were so fabulous! We should have done a little hiking, but timing is everything, and we didn't leave much room for extras. My heart is still slamming at the thought of that ebike tour! The guide was fantastic, and he took such great photos of all of us. I did run into the grass a few times, and once I almost hit a fence. Emory says I should have had a little more trust in myself, but I panicked.

Estes Park! We did the Rocky Alpine tour!!! Our guide answered every single question we had and even the ones we didn't know we had. She was an expert in nature. We were going to walk up the stairway, but the air was so thin, and I took a few steps up the path and noped out. The earth was so sensitive that if you stepped off the path, the bottoms of your shoes could ruin the whole ecosystem. We ended up in the gift shop for a hot second. 

We stayed in the Stanley Hotel and had drinks at the wine bar. We walked the maze, which was pretty small, but still really neat. We saw elk! At first, I had no idea what we were looking at, but we took pictures, and guests said this was the rutting season. They were all very well behaved in front of us. We did a Stephen King Tour for The Shining. That was a creepy good time. We ended up going to another bar. No scary bumps in the night. I do sleep pretty darn hard, so maybe there was something I slept through it but nothing spooky. 

Glenwood Springs!! We climbed up to Hanging Lake. We had to get passes to do it, and I have never been so tired in my life. I cried when we got to the top. I have a favorite poem, but reaching the top really gave me a new perspective on the words, "when you reach a destination you thought you couldn't make." I'm not kidding. I really did cry. The view was spectacular BUT the climb!!! Wow! I couldn't catch my breath. My legs were jerking, and the muscles were completely strained. It was SO HIGH UP!!! The stairs were all rock slabs.

We rewarded ourselves at the Ironwood Hot Springs. Funny thing was, it kept drizzling. We didn't get out of the water until it started to hail, but even the thunder and lightning didn't keep people out of the water, so we climbed back in. There were so many pools, and Emory was silly enough to try to cold plunge which was 55 degrees. Too cold for me. I think it was too cold for him, too, because he couldn't catch his breath. We stayed a long time there, but the sun was going down, and it got really cold really fast.

I will continue this story on the next post. This is getting so long. 

Writing update:

None.... but deeply inspired. 

Halloween Horror Nights, Community Library Boxes and Writing

• Watching: Timestalker  (so good and very artsy)
• Eating: BBQ Big Roll Grill Seaweed Rolls
• Mood: Antsy

I JUST watched the opening ceremony for Halloween Horror Nights on YouTube! My heart started racing with excitement. I won't be going this year, but I can still watch and dream. I called Ann, and she was a little confused about the whole excitement thing. We talked about how expensive it is, but also, last time Emory and I went, we really felt it in our bodies. I don't know if this is what aging is like or if we're just not physically healthy enough to be standing for 8 hours straight on cement, but it was fun when we went last time.

I'm cleaning like crazy. A few friends from the commune want to come over for coffee, and my place is cozy. I think I've mentioned that before. I can't do anything about the carpet spills, but this is a nice little setup. 

Mozart took me for a walk today. Sadly, we have coyotes, and the coyotes have to eat, so we did see a spot where something got thrashed. I feel so sick thinking someone lost their pet. 

I should walk these puzzles to the little community library box. Emory's theory on why it's always empty is because it's a bus stop and tons of people are there all the time. I hope that's true. My theory is a little darker and conspiracy-ish. 

We went to HomeGoods. Shouldn't have done that. We bought so much stuff - all food. Sue wants us to eat better, so when she comes to visit, she's going to be so surprised by the sheer amount of sugar we have in our house. The only thing I didn't see was Bones Coffee, which makes me sad. I really wanted another cotton candy coffee, but nope, none. We did buy pistachio cotton candy (actual candy, NOT coffee). It'll probably be Emory's to eat, lol. I'm not a fan of pistachios by themselves, but mixed inside treats, they aren't so bad.

Writing Update:

Werewolf Story: I ended up cutting a whole 1,000 words from the story. I think I wrote myself into a hole so that had to go. I'm still so bummed that the first draft was deleted by my Flash Drive. Never again! I keep copies of copies now. I used to keep copies of everything on four different devices. Now, I guess I got lazy.

I did not work on the two stories that people are waiting for. I don't know why it's so hard to get that going. I just open my computer and see hundreds of stories started, and just pick one that I want to build on.

Road Traveled, September Theater and Writing

Sue packed up her bags and said she wanted to go to a new commune for a bit. So she called me when she hit the road and said goodbye for now. I'll miss the heck out of her, but I know she'll be back. She loves California a lot.

Heck, maybe, just maybe she'll be back before the month is up. But you never know with the commune. They are the first ones to hit the road and call you later. 😊

Before Sue left, she gave me Spanish flashcards and a Spanish dictionary to help with my lessons. I'm excited to get this going. I feel like I understand a little, but still need the vocabulary. Steven asked if I could talk with the proper accent on the words. I can't. Crazy Cousin Nik said people would still understand me. I just feel like Peggy Hill from King of the Hill. She's so terrible at Spanish, and so am I, but I feel like I have the confidence to give it a try. My Spanish-speaking friends still ask what I'm trying to say, though. This is how I'm learning. 

I found a show that I really want to go to, but it's in Arizona. Actually, there are two shows I really want to see. The first one is my moon sister's: The Addams Family Musical theater show. The other is a puppet show called: I Know What You Did Last Breakfast Club.... Both would be so killer! It's that season, folks! Time to see shows. Get pumpkin drinks. Watch horror movies... okay, who am I kidding? I see horror movies year-round, but I do like the horror cake/cookie shows that come out about now.

I saw that there might be snow in Colorado when we go. The last time I dealt with snow I think, was in Flagstaff. I'm not big on the snow. I was talking to Ann, and she said that Tahoe gets snow. That's where my uncle is heading, and I asked what a person could do up there because Crazy Cousin Nik goes hiking up there, too. Ann said there are tons of little shops. 

She also said Donner's Pass is up there. That's some history right there! The people got snowed in and got stuck eating each other. Ann says that there are tours that explain everything. Cannibalism is the only horror trope that I don't care for... I think. I might actually have a few tropes I don't like, but that one makes my skin crawl. Yes, I know what I just said, and I meant it. I don't have the stomach for people munching on people. 

Writing Update:

B/B: I've been fiddling with this one for a little bit. I added a small sad bit to chapter two, and I'm not sure if I'll keep it. 

 

Little Vacation, In Boom Bookery and Writing

We decided to take a little trip to Temecula and stayed in a hotel that was right near the downtown area, so we ended up walking to it. My only complaint came from the heat! Boy, was it hot walking, but it was probably not even a block to get there.

We went into two olive oil shops. I love olive oil so much! We almost bought a black garlic olive oil and an Italian mix olive oil. They were both so delicious. You get a little tiny cup with some bread, but I can't eat regular bread, so I tried the oil by itself. Emory tried oils with bread. We just bought a gluten-free bread that I'm eager to use as a dipping bread. 

We found this antique store, and someone made sunglasses so freaking adorable! I really wanted a pair, but sunglasses don't last very long with me. I actually just broke my pink flower ones on this trip, but I'd only paid $5 for them, so not a lot of money. 

I found a little romance book store, and it was so neat. They had an LGBTQ section!!! I wanted so many books from that section. There were a few that fit right in with what I love to read, so it was time to get out before I $$$$$$ bought more books than would fit in our suitcase. I would love to go there again and just stay longer in that store.  

A bee landed on my hand after I used CBD oil that smelled so good. I guess the little bee thought I smelled good, too. 

The next day, we went on a tour of Temecula. It was so much fun. We made so many stops. 

I think one hotel I would love to stay at would be the South Coast Winery Resort and Spa. It's beautiful! I think I'd bring my selfie stick and take tons of photos of Emory and me. 

 Found this shirt and I should have bought it. It's so freaking funny, but I have two wine shirts and I don't want people thinking this is a hobby of mine. 😜

Writing Update:

I read a really good story that started at the end and is now going back to the beginning. It gave me a lot to think about with my Major Character Death story. I'm still debating about starting him off dying. If I do this, I might have to write the story a little differently. Goddess, I don't know if I can pull this off. It's so experimental for me. 

Arizona Dust Storms, Spider Tables and Writing

 I just got some pictures of the dust storm in Arizona. It looked pretty bad. Steven said that traffic had stopped on the freeway for about thirty minutes waiting for it to pass. I don't remember dust storms being that bad when I was a kid, but you could always see them coming because the sky would turn yellow in the distance, so you'd go inside at that point. I could be wrong, but these look like they are getting worse. 

I've been online shopping. It looks like either Halloween things are now in the stores, or these are old pictures of last year products. I sent the picture of the spider table to the communes, (mass text message), and immediately got phone calls. I guess they thought I already bought the table. 👻😂

Steven said he'd skip coming over if this were my table. Darlene agreed. I love this table so much! I would die to have this in my living room. They did make me laugh and all the comments that followed were great. No one liked the table except Emory, Danne, and me. Sue and I went to look at this table. It's $299.99. That's .... a lot, but the spider is pretty solid.

Do people expect anything less from me? This is my favorite season. I'm seriously thinking about replacing all my dishes with a Halloween set.

I finally went to Home Goods, and there are so many Halloween things out! I ended up buying Cotton Candy coffee and Fruity Cereal coffee.

Our internet was down, and I finally found out what Hell would consist of. I hate the lack of noise. Alexia didn't work. Cable wouldn't play. I was stuck writing, and with the internet down, I wasn't able to do any research for my work. I also realized that it's extremely emotionally draining to live in my head for 8 hours straight... writing. I need to have something that grounds me, and I think that's what music or TV does. 

I found these super cool bookmarks that I think Darlene should get for her book club. I sent the picture to Ann, and she thought it was funny. She laughed and said they would make a perfect gift. Emory said I could go ahead and get myself a bookmark if I really wanted one. I do! Which one would you pick? They are Cockmarks. I really think this would be freaking funny to give to Darlene, Ann, and Sue as a Christmas gift. 

Me: "I'm thinking about getting one of these."

Sue: "It's not like anyone will see it."

Me: "They might when I'm reading on the bus."

Sue: "You mean when you're reading on the wine tour bus?"

Me: 😏 "That's the only bus I ride."

Writing Update:

Danne heard of this 24-hour Outline Challenge. We're going to do it. She has a few projects that need outlines, and I have a LOT of projects that need outlines. I've been just opening my WIP and putting a few words on them at a time. 

Again, I wonder what I'm doing with my life because boy, I write and write and then burn out. 

Still wondering what I want to do with my dark major character death story. I'm editing a little on my vampire project. I originally edited up to 3 chapters on it, and then my flash drive ate the story. Now I'm working on this again, slower this time. Still don't know if it's worthy of publication. I'll have to give it to my beta to read and tell me what she thinks.