Here in Ouray, Colorado it appears March will be going out as a hybrid of Lion and Lamb. After a few weeks of mild spring weather with high temperatures sometimes near 70, Mother Nature turned back the clock and decided to let winter stick around for a bit longer. About a week ago the temperatures started falling, or should I say springing, back towards winter climes. With the lower temperatures came some spring snow. It has been snowing on and off for the last week – sometimes a little, sometimes a lot! Within the last 24 hours it has snowed about 12 inches. Over the last week it has probably snowed about 24 or more inches here in town at 7800 feet. Who knows how much has accumulated at the higher levels. This final day of March started out sunny with plenty of blue sky, but by noon had turned to grey sky and the scent of snow in the air. March can be as changeable as the tides.
The good thing about spring snow is that the ground is no longer frozen and it tends to melt fairly quickly on the streets and sidewalks while covering up the brown spots from previous melting. By melting quickly, that means less shoveling. However, what shoveling there is to do is with wet snow and can be like moving around wet concrete.
The other thing about this time of year is the locals can get complacent about their driving and think the road conditions are better than they actually are. Just yesterday I was shoveling the sidewalk in front of our stores when the local emergency siren located above City Hall went off. The emergency siren is a throwback to the mining days when the siren would sound three times to indicate that there had been an accident at one of the local mines and all local emergency personnel were needed. That still holds true today. The Ouray Volunteer Fire Department and Ouray County Emergency Services still use the siren to call out the volunteers to respond to an emergency. So, the siren went off about 11am and the sirens on the emergency vehicles started wailing and heading northbound. I found out later one of the long-time locals had tried to negotiate one of the well-known curves that was still icy and ended up in the Uncompahgre River. Luckily she was ok as was rescued before hypothermia had taken its toll.
The other thing about this time of year is the results of our buying trip to Denver at the end of February. The merchandise has started to arrive and most of it is T-shirts. That means checking it in and then folding those shirts that don’t get hung up in the showroom, and we are talking numbers of shirts in the thousands!! Folding, folding, folding, keep them shirts a movin’. It is like in the autumn we get the autumn foliage and in the spring we get spring foldiage.
That’s it for this March Madness. I plan to submit more in April and not be such a fool.
One last thing: If warm weather in the fall is called Indian Summer, is cold weather in the spring called April Fools? I take that back. Whatever it is called, here in Ouray we just get Ute to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Ouray
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
St. Patrick's Day Eve
March 16, 2009
It’s St. Patrick’s Day eve. I’m already practicing. Some of us seasoned drinkers refer to such “drinking days” like Cinco de Mayo, New Year’s Eve, and St. Patrick’s Day as Amateur Night. That’s when the amateur drinkers come out to play and embarrass themselves. Leave the serious drinking to us pros. :-)
It’s a slow keyboard day here in Ouray, but I plan to submit more in the coming days, after I get over my St. Patrick’s Daze.
Speaking of drinking daze, we are noticing the spring break crowd coming into Ouray. Unlike Florida, Padre Island in Texas, and Baja Mexico, the spring breakers coming into Ouray are more interested in the ice in the Ouray Ice Park than the blended ice in margaritas and Long Island Iced Teas.
One last thing: What do you call a frigid flirt in New York – a Long Island Iced Tease.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day eve. I’m already practicing. Some of us seasoned drinkers refer to such “drinking days” like Cinco de Mayo, New Year’s Eve, and St. Patrick’s Day as Amateur Night. That’s when the amateur drinkers come out to play and embarrass themselves. Leave the serious drinking to us pros. :-)
It’s a slow keyboard day here in Ouray, but I plan to submit more in the coming days, after I get over my St. Patrick’s Daze.
Speaking of drinking daze, we are noticing the spring break crowd coming into Ouray. Unlike Florida, Padre Island in Texas, and Baja Mexico, the spring breakers coming into Ouray are more interested in the ice in the Ouray Ice Park than the blended ice in margaritas and Long Island Iced Teas.
One last thing: What do you call a frigid flirt in New York – a Long Island Iced Tease.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Back in Ouray
Well, did March come in like lamb or a lion. It would depend where you are, no?
Tamara and I made it through the Denver Gift Show and did a lot of buying for our stores. The fortunate thing is that most of it won’t be delivered until May and it doesn’t have to be paid for it until July or August. We heard a lot of positive stuff from vendors about their sales being up and hearing from their customers that attendance at the national parks, resorts, and destination locations (of which Ouray is one) is projected to be up for 2009. The reservations for lodging in Ouray for the summer season are up for this same time last year. People just want to get away.
The exit from Denver was another adventure. We were going to drive back the same way we had come in from Ouray (minus the flatbed tow truck), but as we were heading in that direction to get on the main highway over Monarch Pass and through Gunnison and Montrose, I missed the turnoff for highway 285. We figured out how to get back to it by a detour. As we got close, I turned one street too soon (nowhere I’ve been has as good as road signage as California) and had to make a U-turn and finally got back on another highway that would take us to our desired 285. On the approach to 285 there was some road construction, and with no warning signs they had the exit we needed to take blocked off. It was either continue to the next exit, turn around, and get the exit from the other side, or take a couple more miles and get to Interstate 70 – the route we normally take. Screw it! I-70 it is!
Then the worry was about the weather over Vail Pass, which gets snow at the drop of any barometric pressure. Having not yet had breakfast, we stopped in Frisco (that would be Frisco, Colorado not San Francisco, California, which hates being called “Frisco.”) at a familiar diner from the past and had our repast. The weather looked good ahead and we forged on to the west. The only memorable thing about the trip was seeing big-horned sheep along side the highway as we got close to Glenwood Springs, but then, we see those along the highway just north of Ouray.
We stopped in Montrose to pick up some crystal products for one of our stores, get the cat out of kitty jail, pick up info from our accountant, get supplies at Office Depot, beer and wine from the liquor store, food from the grocery store, gas for the Expedition, wash the Expedition, and head the last 35 miles to Ouray. Can you tell we don’t like going to Montrose and do as much there in one trip as possible?
Driving into Ouray we could see that no snow had fallen during our absence and the ground was looking barren and brown. With March and April being the wettest months, it is just a matter of whether the wetness will be in the form of rain or snow. Snow would be preferred at this point.
So things are back to abnormal and we have customers coming into the store. There are 25 ice climbers from Spain in town this week who have been coming in the store for clothes and souvenirs to take back to those left at home. We call that type of buying “guilt gifts.” Even though I lived in Southern California for 35 years, I was not much assistance when the Spaniards were asking me questions about their potential purchases. One guy bought a child’s t-shirt and I finally figured out he was asking if the shirt would shrink. Then he was asking if the child’s shirt he had selected came in a larger version for women. Of course not. I was pretty worn out by the time they left. Maybe someday I’ll finish those Spanish tapes I purchased years ago. The trick will be finding a tape player on which to listen to them.
Today it has been snowing on and off between times when the sun comes in and out.
One last thing: If rain creates rainbows, can snow create snowbows?
Tamara and I made it through the Denver Gift Show and did a lot of buying for our stores. The fortunate thing is that most of it won’t be delivered until May and it doesn’t have to be paid for it until July or August. We heard a lot of positive stuff from vendors about their sales being up and hearing from their customers that attendance at the national parks, resorts, and destination locations (of which Ouray is one) is projected to be up for 2009. The reservations for lodging in Ouray for the summer season are up for this same time last year. People just want to get away.
The exit from Denver was another adventure. We were going to drive back the same way we had come in from Ouray (minus the flatbed tow truck), but as we were heading in that direction to get on the main highway over Monarch Pass and through Gunnison and Montrose, I missed the turnoff for highway 285. We figured out how to get back to it by a detour. As we got close, I turned one street too soon (nowhere I’ve been has as good as road signage as California) and had to make a U-turn and finally got back on another highway that would take us to our desired 285. On the approach to 285 there was some road construction, and with no warning signs they had the exit we needed to take blocked off. It was either continue to the next exit, turn around, and get the exit from the other side, or take a couple more miles and get to Interstate 70 – the route we normally take. Screw it! I-70 it is!
Then the worry was about the weather over Vail Pass, which gets snow at the drop of any barometric pressure. Having not yet had breakfast, we stopped in Frisco (that would be Frisco, Colorado not San Francisco, California, which hates being called “Frisco.”) at a familiar diner from the past and had our repast. The weather looked good ahead and we forged on to the west. The only memorable thing about the trip was seeing big-horned sheep along side the highway as we got close to Glenwood Springs, but then, we see those along the highway just north of Ouray.
We stopped in Montrose to pick up some crystal products for one of our stores, get the cat out of kitty jail, pick up info from our accountant, get supplies at Office Depot, beer and wine from the liquor store, food from the grocery store, gas for the Expedition, wash the Expedition, and head the last 35 miles to Ouray. Can you tell we don’t like going to Montrose and do as much there in one trip as possible?
Driving into Ouray we could see that no snow had fallen during our absence and the ground was looking barren and brown. With March and April being the wettest months, it is just a matter of whether the wetness will be in the form of rain or snow. Snow would be preferred at this point.
So things are back to abnormal and we have customers coming into the store. There are 25 ice climbers from Spain in town this week who have been coming in the store for clothes and souvenirs to take back to those left at home. We call that type of buying “guilt gifts.” Even though I lived in Southern California for 35 years, I was not much assistance when the Spaniards were asking me questions about their potential purchases. One guy bought a child’s t-shirt and I finally figured out he was asking if the shirt would shrink. Then he was asking if the child’s shirt he had selected came in a larger version for women. Of course not. I was pretty worn out by the time they left. Maybe someday I’ll finish those Spanish tapes I purchased years ago. The trick will be finding a tape player on which to listen to them.
Today it has been snowing on and off between times when the sun comes in and out.
One last thing: If rain creates rainbows, can snow create snowbows?
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Towed to Denver
This being the last day of a short month, a short entry should be in order.
Tamara and I left Ouray on Tuesday, February 25, to attend the Denver Gift Show. Things were going well until we reached Fairplay, which is a small town 80 miles southwest of Denver. As we slowed down to the city limit speed, I felt a pop in the rear of the truck and a grinding noise. Thinking it was a blown tire, I pulled over to the side of the road to check it out. As I toured around the Expedition, all tires seemed fully inflated. A check under the check did not reveal where the noise had come from. I got back in the truck, started driving, and did not notice any more noise, and decided to continue driving toward Denver. About 3 miles on the other side of Fairplay, the noise came back with a vengeance and increased volume. Fairplay was not playing fair. Deciding that things were not going well, I turned around and headed back to Fairplay, where a small garage still had activity visible inside, even though the sign said CLOSED. The three workers agreed to look at the truck, and after one of them took off the lug nuts to the right rear wheel after burning his hands on the hot hub, he surmised it was a break failure and possibly even a broken right rear axle. Luckily, the garage was a AAA tow service with a flat bed truck, and we ended up being towed the rest of the way to Denver. That is a heck of a way to save gas.
The truck was towed to a Ford dealer in Denver, but by now it was nearly 7:30pm and the service department was closed, as were any nearby rental car agencies. We called a friend of ours in Denver who we had known in Southern California. He came to the Ford dealer to pick us up, took us to Denver International Airport to rent a car, and we headed back to our other friend’s condo who had been gracious enough to let us stay there, even though she was out of town on business. So our plan to arrive in Denver at around 6:00pm and have a leisurely evening was replaced by a hectic evening and arriving at 11:30pm and going straight to bed.
I’ll probably write more later, but for now as February nears its end, so ends this tale.
One last thing: Can money be held for ransom?
Tamara and I left Ouray on Tuesday, February 25, to attend the Denver Gift Show. Things were going well until we reached Fairplay, which is a small town 80 miles southwest of Denver. As we slowed down to the city limit speed, I felt a pop in the rear of the truck and a grinding noise. Thinking it was a blown tire, I pulled over to the side of the road to check it out. As I toured around the Expedition, all tires seemed fully inflated. A check under the check did not reveal where the noise had come from. I got back in the truck, started driving, and did not notice any more noise, and decided to continue driving toward Denver. About 3 miles on the other side of Fairplay, the noise came back with a vengeance and increased volume. Fairplay was not playing fair. Deciding that things were not going well, I turned around and headed back to Fairplay, where a small garage still had activity visible inside, even though the sign said CLOSED. The three workers agreed to look at the truck, and after one of them took off the lug nuts to the right rear wheel after burning his hands on the hot hub, he surmised it was a break failure and possibly even a broken right rear axle. Luckily, the garage was a AAA tow service with a flat bed truck, and we ended up being towed the rest of the way to Denver. That is a heck of a way to save gas.
The truck was towed to a Ford dealer in Denver, but by now it was nearly 7:30pm and the service department was closed, as were any nearby rental car agencies. We called a friend of ours in Denver who we had known in Southern California. He came to the Ford dealer to pick us up, took us to Denver International Airport to rent a car, and we headed back to our other friend’s condo who had been gracious enough to let us stay there, even though she was out of town on business. So our plan to arrive in Denver at around 6:00pm and have a leisurely evening was replaced by a hectic evening and arriving at 11:30pm and going straight to bed.
I’ll probably write more later, but for now as February nears its end, so ends this tale.
One last thing: Can money be held for ransom?
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The White Gold of Telluride
After living 4 years in Colorado, I finally went skiing in Telluride yesterday. The last time I had gone skiing was in Winter Park, Colorado 10 years ago as was mentioned in the previous post. The weather was great as we loaded the ski gear in Expedition at 9am and headed out of Ouray, but not before stopping to load up some orders to be delivered to Rocky Mountain Scenics (RMS) customers in Telluride. Thus, the entire day would be a business trip since the plan included taking pictures of the town and the slopes.
I had put on my old ski bibs that were probably about 15 years old. They also had some tears in them at the leg bottoms because I had used them for ice climbing and had caught my crampons on them a few times. It made them look like that down jacket of the physical therapist mentioned in the previous post. I pushed the stuffing back in and wondered if the Telluride chic on the slopes would notice.
The first stop was at the ski rental shop. I got some 160 carved skis, and some front buckle ski boots. That was the first time in a long time I wore front buckle boots as all my previous boots had been the state-of-the-art-at-the-time rear-entry types and my last skis had been straight edge 210s. Some new goggles were also in order since the last pair that had been stored in my boot bag had deteriorated. The boot rental place also does business with RMS, so after I had the ski gear fitted and paid for the goggles, I asked how much for the ski rentals. The owner, Eric, said, “Comp,” I said, “Sweet” and Tamara and I headed to the slopes. Tamara is fortunate enough to have bought her gear before the financial crisis.
By the time we parked the truck at Mountain Village (a community up the slopes from Telluride), put on our boots, and skied to the bottom of the lifts to purchase our lift tickets, it was noon thirty. We asked the ticket seller when the half-day price kicked in. She responded, “Noon.” Sweeter! Since Tamara and I knew we were good for only a half day of skiing, anyway, this fit in with our plan and our budget.
Having made it to the bottom of the hill with little incident, I was getting my ski legs back – just like riding a bicycle. On the advice of Eric, we road a lift high up the hill and took a long, easy green run down the groomed ego snow. The next time we went up even higher and took a 4-mile green/blue run back to the same starting point. By now we were getting a bit bored with the easy stuff, but first a break for some food and a beer.
After sharing a chicken sandwich and each having a New Belgium Fat Tire, we headed for new terrain and adventure. On the way up on the chair lift, I finally spotted some more steep runs and some with bumps. Once off the chair lift, I directed Tamara towards the blue run with the bumps. She has never been thrilled by bumps, but we headed down. I had been carrying my camera in a small backpack all day, and halfway down the first bump run I took a spill. Tamara found me falling to be amusing. No spills, no thrills! By the time I reached the bottom of the bumps I was feeling my confidence build. Tamara slowly made her way down. She likes long straights and speed.
Once we reached the bottom again, we took the same chair up. This time Tamara opted for the groomed run as I headed back to the bumps. I was able to navigate the bumps non-stop and non-spill but lots of thrills, and Tamara and I ended up back at the chair lift at the same time. By this time we had gotten our fill of the first day of skiing, and jumped on the gondola to get back to the parking structure. We both agreed it was a great first day and had to return to do it again soon.
I turned in my skis and gear and Eric asked how it went with the carved skis. I responded, “They made me feel 10 years younger, but I know tomorrow I will feel 10 years older!” The pain was already setting into the bones and of the muscles used in the day’s activities.
We went to the RMS customers and delivered the orders and took additional orders. By the time we left Telluride it was nearly 7pm. We had intended to stop at the new brewery in Ridgway, but when we reached Ridgway it was getting late. The brewery does not serve food and our stomachs were growling, so we headed to a nice restaurant, Drakes, and had a wonderful dinner. We got some of the staff into trouble because we talked to them too much, or should I say they talked to us too much. We enjoy talking to people and getting to know them.
Thus ended our day, and it was good.
On another note, for some reason when I buy Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and take it home, I always store it in the same place – second shelf to the left side of the refrigerator. And, I always make sure the labels are turned out toward me. Maybe in a past life I was a product placement director for movies, or maybe I’m very anal. And another thing, why is there no “d” in refrigerator, but there is one in the fridge?
I had put on my old ski bibs that were probably about 15 years old. They also had some tears in them at the leg bottoms because I had used them for ice climbing and had caught my crampons on them a few times. It made them look like that down jacket of the physical therapist mentioned in the previous post. I pushed the stuffing back in and wondered if the Telluride chic on the slopes would notice.
The first stop was at the ski rental shop. I got some 160 carved skis, and some front buckle ski boots. That was the first time in a long time I wore front buckle boots as all my previous boots had been the state-of-the-art-at-the-time rear-entry types and my last skis had been straight edge 210s. Some new goggles were also in order since the last pair that had been stored in my boot bag had deteriorated. The boot rental place also does business with RMS, so after I had the ski gear fitted and paid for the goggles, I asked how much for the ski rentals. The owner, Eric, said, “Comp,” I said, “Sweet” and Tamara and I headed to the slopes. Tamara is fortunate enough to have bought her gear before the financial crisis.
By the time we parked the truck at Mountain Village (a community up the slopes from Telluride), put on our boots, and skied to the bottom of the lifts to purchase our lift tickets, it was noon thirty. We asked the ticket seller when the half-day price kicked in. She responded, “Noon.” Sweeter! Since Tamara and I knew we were good for only a half day of skiing, anyway, this fit in with our plan and our budget.
Having made it to the bottom of the hill with little incident, I was getting my ski legs back – just like riding a bicycle. On the advice of Eric, we road a lift high up the hill and took a long, easy green run down the groomed ego snow. The next time we went up even higher and took a 4-mile green/blue run back to the same starting point. By now we were getting a bit bored with the easy stuff, but first a break for some food and a beer.
After sharing a chicken sandwich and each having a New Belgium Fat Tire, we headed for new terrain and adventure. On the way up on the chair lift, I finally spotted some more steep runs and some with bumps. Once off the chair lift, I directed Tamara towards the blue run with the bumps. She has never been thrilled by bumps, but we headed down. I had been carrying my camera in a small backpack all day, and halfway down the first bump run I took a spill. Tamara found me falling to be amusing. No spills, no thrills! By the time I reached the bottom of the bumps I was feeling my confidence build. Tamara slowly made her way down. She likes long straights and speed.
Once we reached the bottom again, we took the same chair up. This time Tamara opted for the groomed run as I headed back to the bumps. I was able to navigate the bumps non-stop and non-spill but lots of thrills, and Tamara and I ended up back at the chair lift at the same time. By this time we had gotten our fill of the first day of skiing, and jumped on the gondola to get back to the parking structure. We both agreed it was a great first day and had to return to do it again soon.
I turned in my skis and gear and Eric asked how it went with the carved skis. I responded, “They made me feel 10 years younger, but I know tomorrow I will feel 10 years older!” The pain was already setting into the bones and of the muscles used in the day’s activities.
We went to the RMS customers and delivered the orders and took additional orders. By the time we left Telluride it was nearly 7pm. We had intended to stop at the new brewery in Ridgway, but when we reached Ridgway it was getting late. The brewery does not serve food and our stomachs were growling, so we headed to a nice restaurant, Drakes, and had a wonderful dinner. We got some of the staff into trouble because we talked to them too much, or should I say they talked to us too much. We enjoy talking to people and getting to know them.
Thus ended our day, and it was good.
On another note, for some reason when I buy Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and take it home, I always store it in the same place – second shelf to the left side of the refrigerator. And, I always make sure the labels are turned out toward me. Maybe in a past life I was a product placement director for movies, or maybe I’m very anal. And another thing, why is there no “d” in refrigerator, but there is one in the fridge?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
It Makes Me Miss the Dentists’ Chair
This is the second day in a row that Tamara and I have not had to go into work at the stores. It feels kinda strange. We haven’t had two days off in a row and just stayed home in a long time. We may head to Telluride on Thursday or Friday. We have some customers to visit and I hope to get in some skiing for the first time in nearly 10 years and also take some pictures for some new postcards and the 2010 calendar. The last time I went skiing was in Winter Park, Colorado. The parabolic/curved skies had just come out. I told Tamara that the following ski season I would rent some parabolic demo skis and see what they are all about. I haven’t skied since, mainly due to time and financial constraints. Maybe I’ll just take my old K2 210s and use them just to freak out the freakazoids in Telluride.
Geez, I just joined Facebook. What the hell is that all about. I guess it’s a good way to find people from the past and keep up to date with others in “the book.” If you have a page, shoot me an invite. Or not.
I went to a physical therapist (pt) this morning for some tendonitis in my left elbow. This was my second visit to her. Last Friday was my first visit and I arrived at 9am and the pt had not yet made an appearance. When she did arrive, she was wearing an old thermal jacket that was adorned with duct tape to keep the stuffing from flying out. Tamara recommended the pt because she uses LASER to treat the problem. I had no sooner laid down on the examining table when she starts telling me she does not tolerate authority, her views of the current political climate, and other subjects I really didn’t make the appointment to be objected to. Maybe this was her technique for diverting my attention away from what she was doing to my elbow. After the 10-minute treatment I made another appointment for this morning. I advised Tamara that I was not overly thrilled with the pt, but I would return for another visit. This morning she was there when I arrived and directed me to a different room than what was used at the previous visit. This time before I even had time to lie down she started talking about the snowstorm we were supposed to have last night that did not develop and how she wished she could move back to New York but the economy currently prevents her from doing so. She then started talking about her horse who had symptoms of tendonitis and that there was no one in this area competent enough to treat her horse – “They are morons.” O-Kaaaayyyyy. While she worked on my elbow she started talking about Telluride and the skiers there and how rude they were, but the snowboarders are ok (this is a woman at least 60 years on this earth). She then started ranting about the people in Telluride having too much money. For her, probably anyone who doesn’t have to duct tape their clothing has too much money. The treatment was finally over, and as I pined for the relaxing time I have spent in dentists’ chairs, I headed to the lobby. She didn’t come out to set me up for a next appointment, so I left and will probably never return to her for the rest of my treatment. I wonder how much it would cost to send her back to New York? Maybe she could ride her lame horse.
Have you ever watched politicians, entertainers, etc when they are addressing a crowd or on stage for an award or presentation and wondered who they are pointing to in the crowd and why? Are the people in the crowd major donors/supporters, friends, family, or are they exposing themselves?
Geez, I just joined Facebook. What the hell is that all about. I guess it’s a good way to find people from the past and keep up to date with others in “the book.” If you have a page, shoot me an invite. Or not.
I went to a physical therapist (pt) this morning for some tendonitis in my left elbow. This was my second visit to her. Last Friday was my first visit and I arrived at 9am and the pt had not yet made an appearance. When she did arrive, she was wearing an old thermal jacket that was adorned with duct tape to keep the stuffing from flying out. Tamara recommended the pt because she uses LASER to treat the problem. I had no sooner laid down on the examining table when she starts telling me she does not tolerate authority, her views of the current political climate, and other subjects I really didn’t make the appointment to be objected to. Maybe this was her technique for diverting my attention away from what she was doing to my elbow. After the 10-minute treatment I made another appointment for this morning. I advised Tamara that I was not overly thrilled with the pt, but I would return for another visit. This morning she was there when I arrived and directed me to a different room than what was used at the previous visit. This time before I even had time to lie down she started talking about the snowstorm we were supposed to have last night that did not develop and how she wished she could move back to New York but the economy currently prevents her from doing so. She then started talking about her horse who had symptoms of tendonitis and that there was no one in this area competent enough to treat her horse – “They are morons.” O-Kaaaayyyyy. While she worked on my elbow she started talking about Telluride and the skiers there and how rude they were, but the snowboarders are ok (this is a woman at least 60 years on this earth). She then started ranting about the people in Telluride having too much money. For her, probably anyone who doesn’t have to duct tape their clothing has too much money. The treatment was finally over, and as I pined for the relaxing time I have spent in dentists’ chairs, I headed to the lobby. She didn’t come out to set me up for a next appointment, so I left and will probably never return to her for the rest of my treatment. I wonder how much it would cost to send her back to New York? Maybe she could ride her lame horse.
Have you ever watched politicians, entertainers, etc when they are addressing a crowd or on stage for an award or presentation and wondered who they are pointing to in the crowd and why? Are the people in the crowd major donors/supporters, friends, family, or are they exposing themselves?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thai-ing one On
Here it is, Presidents’ Day, so we survived the Valentine weekend. There was no snow this weekend and it helped in getting visitors into town and into the stores. All the hotels were booked this weekend. Tamara and I worked the two stores on Saturday (and Tuesday through Sunday), as we normally do each week this time of year. After closing at 5pm on Saturday we went to a wedding of another business owner in town, Michael, who also moved here from California shortly before we did nearly four years ago. He is a photographer who bought a building which used to house a local bar, The Portal, and turned it into a photography studio and retail store that sells items from Southeast Asia. Michael likes Southeast Asia and the women from there. The woman he married on Saturday is from Thailand. I guess you could say Michael finally Thai-ed the knot.
After closing the store on Friday, another friend of mine, Bob, who owns Switzerland of America Jeep Rentals, and I went to O’Brien’s Pub for a couple of beers. Bob is the husband of Brandy, who was mentioned earlier as being our teammate in the spelling bee. Bob and I sat at the bar and tried not to end up spilling beers. We had the Stone Brewery Pale Ale. Stone Brewery is in our former state of California, so we are familiar with its beers, such as Arrogant Bastard. Tamara and I even went to a beer tasting dinner years ago at one of our favorite brew pubs in Long Beach, Belmont Brewing Company, that featured a selection of Stone Brewery beers. Yummy dinner, yummier beers! Anyway, Bob and I had a couple of twenty ouncers. It was some kickass beer and the alcohol content was a bit high. High alcohol content and high altitudes here in the San Juan Mountains make for some quick highs. I tell people that drinking beer at this altitude has saved me a lot of money since I don’t have to drink as much to get a good buzz. Another good thing about living here in this one-mile square town of Ouray is that we walk almost everywhere. That eliminates the drinking and driving combination. Of course, drinking and then walking home to our house on Oak Street can be a challenge – both because of the altitude and the uphill climb of Oak Street. It tends to sober one up just a bit.
After closing the store on Friday, another friend of mine, Bob, who owns Switzerland of America Jeep Rentals, and I went to O’Brien’s Pub for a couple of beers. Bob is the husband of Brandy, who was mentioned earlier as being our teammate in the spelling bee. Bob and I sat at the bar and tried not to end up spilling beers. We had the Stone Brewery Pale Ale. Stone Brewery is in our former state of California, so we are familiar with its beers, such as Arrogant Bastard. Tamara and I even went to a beer tasting dinner years ago at one of our favorite brew pubs in Long Beach, Belmont Brewing Company, that featured a selection of Stone Brewery beers. Yummy dinner, yummier beers! Anyway, Bob and I had a couple of twenty ouncers. It was some kickass beer and the alcohol content was a bit high. High alcohol content and high altitudes here in the San Juan Mountains make for some quick highs. I tell people that drinking beer at this altitude has saved me a lot of money since I don’t have to drink as much to get a good buzz. Another good thing about living here in this one-mile square town of Ouray is that we walk almost everywhere. That eliminates the drinking and driving combination. Of course, drinking and then walking home to our house on Oak Street can be a challenge – both because of the altitude and the uphill climb of Oak Street. It tends to sober one up just a bit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
