Puppy!

With excitement and some trepidation, we are going to welcome a new puppy into our family at the end of May.  She is an Australian Labradoodle so she will be a medium sized dog when she is full grown.  Right now she is a cute little puppy as can be seen by her 5 week photos.  Her "puppy name" is Olga, as the local breeders named all of the five puppies in the litter Viking names.  After you have a look at her, name suggestions are encouraged.

This Is Ridiculous

April 23, 2013.  This is our fourth snowstorm in two weeks in Denver.  No spring at all - just winter.

The Caliber Collection

I have a new bracelet that I purchased from The Caliber Collection.  It's made from steel from weapons melted down as a result of a gun buy back program in Newark, New Jersey.  Part of the proceeds from the purchase is used to fund future buy back programs.  I love this idea, and I love the bracelet.  The number on it represents the serial number of one of the weapons used in the melt down. 

Denver Spring (??) Weekend

March 24, 2013

March 23, 2013

March 23, 2013

Cruisin'

We returned on Sunday from our first Caribbean cruise.   While the cruise was very relaxing and we came back totally refreshed, it was weird in so many ways that I want to share a bit of the experience for those who have never done anything like this.

First,  the positives of the vacation. We had a great time with perfect weather, especially considering that it was 10°F when we left Denver.  It was wonderful being at sea for a whole week as we were virtually unplugged except for brief email checks. Our stateroom was spacious and very comfortable with our own private balcony.

Now, for the more interesting stuff.  Our cruise was on the Ruby Princess - a great big floating city that houses over 3,000 passengers and 1,150 crew from 43 different countries.   Somehow, when I was making reservations for this trip, I didn't pay attention to the size of the boat but instead concentrated on when and where it was going.  So it was quite stunning upon arrival to digest the scope of the ship.  There were 17 decks, and we figured out that the ship was about as long as five city blocks.  Initially, this was off-putting but we realized that we would be on this vessel for a week so somehow had to come to terms with the enormity.  And we did.  While I don't think that I will ever take another trip on such a big boat again, it was interesting and entertaining to observe.  With so many people all around us, there was no pressure to talk to anyone and we could be as anti-social as we wanted to be (which resulted in exactly zero conversations with other passengers).  There is great anonymity in numbers, which actually made the experience more relaxing.

It was a challenge to find quiet and restful spots on a ship with so many people, but we were up to the task.  We found the Sanctuary, which, as its name suggests, was peaceful and populated by crew called Serenity Stewards who were available to meet your every need.  For the privilege of quiet, we had to pay what the cruise line called "a nominal fee" and what I call twenty bucks for half a day.  Even though it seems odd to pay for quiet, it was well worth it, particularly when we would walk by the always crowded pool areas where some awful, depressing and very loud band was always playing.  Not to mention the throngs of people by the pool, many of whom should never - and I repeat NEVER - put on a bathing suit.

For reasons that escape me, we had two television sets in our stateroom that were literally about six inches from each other - one faced our bed and one faced our sofa.  There were only a handful of channels with one of them being a station that played old Love Boat reruns almost 24-7 (now if that doesn't sound like hell, then what does?).  I never realized when I watched Love Boat decades ago that it was a Princess line ship, but the cruise line still seems very proud of that fact as evidenced by their constant showing of this very dated show.  Of course, the big difference between then and now is that the Love Boat Princess ship carried 600 passengers and the Ruby Princess was about five times as large.

Here are some photos with some commentary that will hopefully give you a little bit of a flavor of the trip:

The Vegas-like decor of the Ruby Princess

More gaudy decor

Ruby Princess Exterior

Why we sought out the Sanctuary

View of beautiful St. Martin from Fort Louis

I took a picture of the beautiful turquoise water in St. Martin, only to realize that Nude Guy was quite delighted to pose for my photo at the edge of the nude beach while facing the regular beach.  Quite a surprise.

Where the Magic Happens

Several months ago, I saw a poster in an office that resonated with me.  I replicated the essence of the message, but not the artistic content, in a notebook, which is pictured above.

Just thought that I would share this thought because I have come back to it again and again.  When I think about the events that have brought me the most satisfaction, they are often way outside "my comfort zone."  But, as the poster said, that's "where the magic happens."

Wishing You the Best for 2013

Hello Readers,

It's been a while since I've posted anything on this blog.  The original purpose of From Grits to Granola was to chronicle my transition from Georgia to Colorado and to keep in touch with friends who are far away geographically.  But lately, I have backed away from regular posts.  

Now that we've lived in Denver for over two years, I am accustomed to life here, for better or worse, so there are few revelations now - the transition is complete.  Colorado is a strange state - very divergent in almost every way.  Half of the state is flat, ugly and rather plain.  The other half is majestic, beautiful and breathtaking.  Half of the state is ultra-liberal and the other half ultra-conservative.

Part of the reason that I haven't written lately is that I'm reluctant to bore anyone with the details of my day-to-day life.  Having moved a fair amount during my adulthood, it is somewhat sad - but I realize true - that as time goes by and there is rare opportunity to see friends, the friends are still precious but the relationship changes.  There is not the intimacy of knowing what each person is doing on a regular basis - it's more the occasional catch-up that includes only the highlights and low points, but not the mundane.  Yet often it's knowing the mundane that bonds the friendship.

My blissfully boring life has created a blogging quandary.  I am thankful for many things - health, family, friends and a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains.  I now realize that I will never feel totally comfortable here in Denver, but that's o.k.  My complaints, like cold, dryness and altitude, are really insignificant in the big scheme of things.  While Barry and I may be the only two Colorado residents who do not partake in what appears to be the primary pastimes of all other Coloradans - skiing and drinking beer - there are some positives.  I found watching the Presidential election close-up in a swing state to be fascinating, and I am interested to observe as the state tries to enact Proposition 64, being one of the first states in the country to legalize marijuana.  That said, it is my hope that we will not be living in Colorado to view the next national election close up.

My plan for the blog is to continue to post occasionally when I have some pretty photos or on the rare opportunity when I have something to say that I believe will be of interest to others.  By far, the best thing that has come from this blog is that I often hear from many of you in response to a post, and I don't want this dialogue to stop.  The blog has definitely done what I hoped when I started - kept me in touch with friends who are distant in miles but not in my heart.

A new year is always a new start.  So as the new year approaches, I will continue to make resolutions that I may or may not keep.  As always, my top two are:  1.  Have more fun and 2. Lose weight.  I would have thought that losing weight would be the universal resolution, but, to my surprise, I recently read that the number one resolution is in fact "have more fun."  Go figure.  The problem though is that my resolutions #1 and #2 can be contradictory at times.  My other goals for the year are to get involved with some new projects, one of which will definitely be gun control (even in a state full of cowboys).  I would love to hear what some of your resolutions for the new year are.

I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2013.