The one that got away

I saw this painting in Cheyenne, and really wish I would have bought it. The dealer wanted $65... I wanted to pay $50... I ended up leaving it behind. But now, I can't stop thinking about it.

On a related note...CLOWNS!!!

These I didn't buy, and hope never to see again. EVER.

Casper, The Friendly

One of my favorite things to do is to go antique shopping at quirky out-of-the way flea markets, thrift stores, and vintage shops. It's a real thrill to spot someting fantastic hidden in the middle of all of the junk-- A bit like treasure hunting. Or an archaeological dig. Or playing the slots, maybe. You walk in a store, and never quite know what you're going to find. Even on days when I don't find anything at all, it's still fun to poke around the shops, looking at all of the little curiosities.

I haven't been able to do much thrifting out in England. The part of the country we live in doesn't really have very many antique stores, and the shops that I have found don't really seem to have many mid-century (50s, 60s) things. It's all Victorian, which is nice but not really my scene.

To get my antique fix, I took a jaunt up through Wyoming with my friend Lisa. We traveled  a few hours north on I-25 and stopped in all kinds of little towns along the way: Cheyenne, Chugwater, Wheatland, and Douglas. Lisa is the only person I know that loves antique shopping as much as (maybe more?) then me. Her house is filled with fantastic vintage treasures, and she has a great ability to spot interesting, beautiful, and often valuable things buried in the shelves and cases. It's great fun to shop with her.

By the time the trip was over, we had nearly filled the Element with all of our booty. It was a really fun and interesting trip. The best place by far was a little antique shop we popped into in Wheatland, WY called "Muriel's Treasures." It had an upstairs and a basement, and every booth had something interesting. And *cheap*! I got Matt a fistfull of amazing vintage belt buckles, all $2 each. I also found a few Christmas presents for my brother that there's no way I can possibly wait until Christmas to give him. (I think I might lure him over to the house tonight to give him one.)

Casper, the end destination of the trip, was a little sad. We had a list of maybe ten different antique shops to visit, but when we got there we realized that all but two were out of business. The town seemed a little depressed, a little on the skids. Still, everyone we met was very nice, incredibly friendly, and helpful.

Here are a few snapshots of the great retro neon signs in downtown Casper:

It took us so long to get up to Casper that we decided to stay the night at a bed and breakfast called the “Sunburst Lodge.” When we called, the woman who runs the place said the lodge was about 20 minutes outside of town, up Wyoming mountain. We headed up to the lodge as the sun was setting, and we incredibly glad that we hadn’t waited any longer, as the place turned out to be waaaaay up in the mountains and pretty tricky to find. The GPS we were using gave us bad directions up the mountains and ended up bringing us up on this narrow, twisty dirt road in the middle of nowhere. (Side note: I have had a falling out with Lisa’s GPS. That machine and I have a very turbulent relationship. There are very few things I hate more than frustrating, unreliable technology. I feel sorry for Lisa, who had to bear witness to me yelling and cursing at the GPS as we drove.)

The mountain road that we got lost on was only wide enough for one car, and took us through some pretty deep forest. It was like the opening scene of some sort of horror movie—Lost in the mountains, non-functioning GPS, terrorized by Hill People.

Lisa drove (yay Lisa!) while I navigated, and eventually we were able to re-orient ourselves and find our way to the lodge. It was a harrowing drive, but once we got there, the lodge was pretty darn spectacular. It was really new, huge, and all of the furnishings and finishes were swanky and luxurious. The beds, I must say, were incredible. Lisa slept on a temperpedic mattress, and I got to try out a really fancy “sleep number” bed. (Which I now covet, and really want for my own house.) Although Lisa and I both had a vague fear of a dead of night bear attack, we slept really well. Cozy and comfortable.

Here are a few snaps from the lodge:

Sunset on the mountain.

Lodge great room.

Second floor deck.

View from the lodge.

Nancy, the innkeeper, was a real character. Maybe she had been up on the mountain too long, or maybe she was just tired of playing hostess to strangers every night? She was very gruff… almost grumpy. Kind of a prickly, don’t-mess-with-me Mountain Woman vibe. Lisa and I arrived about a half an hour later from the time we originally estimated arriving at the lodge and Nancy seemed pretty miffed at us. Even when we explained that we had gotten lost on the mountain, her reaction was definitely less than sympathetic. She seemed tired, harried, and about to snap at us at any moment. But, weirdly, it didn’t make me angry. Normally, I’m really put off by unfriendly people, especially in the service industry. But she was so gruff, it was almost adorable. She was a cartoon character come to life. It’s hard to explain. Lisa and I both talked about it later… It’s like we both really wanted Nancy to like us. As though we could crack through that gruff exterior to reveal the creampuff inside.

As it turned out, Nancy was much friendly in the morning. We must have won her over somehow. We sat down to breakfast together, and she told us stories of going UFO hunting on the mountain. It was a really interesting experience, much more memorable than staying at a Motel 6.

Project Declutter

I love the blue Colorado skies, but man… It’s HOT here. I’m all sweaty, all the time. (TMI?) In England just last week, I was wearing sweaters and long pants. Here, the thought of a sweater makes me want to stick my head in the freezer. Or fill up a kiddie pool with crushed ice. Or put a snow cone down the back of my shirt.

You get the gist. It's hot.


In the middle of the hotness, I got the uncontrollable urge to do a massive cleanup and reorganization project around the house. We had only been here a day, and it was as if the entire contents of the house had exploded all over the floors. It’s such a small house, and there’s just not anyplace to put anything. We only have one closet in the entire house, and it’s been full for years. Now, the basement is full. The storage shed is full. There’s nowhere left to spread out. It's impossible to keep this place clean and clutter-free.

I decided that we immediately needed more places to put things away, so I started clearing off shelves. I cleaned off Frankie’s bookshelf, organized her toys, made up a pile of things for the Goodwill. The biggest part of the project was a massive cleanout of the books that Matt and I have accumulated over the years. Mercelessly, I cleaned everything out and made a gigantic pile of books on the bedroom floor. It took five trips with a giant wheelbarrow to get everything out of the house and loaded into Matt’s car. The entire hatchback of his car was full of books. I can’t even begin to estimate how many we gave away. 200 books? 300? More? The guy at the Goodwill filled 2 shopping carts, a big box, and part of one of those big rolling bins up with all of our books. Even he was amazed, claiming he was going to be telling the story of the “book family” for weeks to come.

I thought I was going to have a hard time saying goodbye to the book collection, but it wasn't at all. I use an e-reader these days, and can't even imagine actually picking up an old-school paperback. Honestly it felt so good to let all of those old books go. Still does. And there’s so much more shelf space in here now. It seems much less cluttered, especially in Frankie’s room.

Now, time to relax with some Chinese food. Yay!

The Buzz

I was driving through town yesterday, tryiing to focus on staying on the RIGHT  side of the road. It's a bit of a brain fry, trying to flip around all of the rules of the road to American-style. I was doing a decent job, when all of the sudden a giant grasshopper leapt from somewhere in the depth of the car smack into my cleavage.

It was startling, to say the least.

I was proud of myself-- I didn't freak out until after I pulled over and jumped out of the car to dislodge the creature from my shirt. Getting smacked with a grasshopper is definitely an unwelcome surprise, especially when driving.

In related insect news...

My car had been sitting in the cul-de-sac so long, that a colony of wasps decided to take up residence in one of the wheel wells. We drove the car through a high-pressure care wash and knocked the nest off, but now there are a ton of angry, confused wasps buzzing around the car 24/7 looking for their house.

I'm pretty sure they're plotting revenge. The sting-y kind.

Home Again, Home Again

22 hours of travel, door to door... That's one long trip! We're home, though, safe and sound. The blue skies and the hot weather are a bit of a shock to the system, but it's a nice change.

It's good to be home.

The Friendly Skies

I'm writing this while sitting in the fancy-schmancy Business Class lounge at Heathrow Airport. We're hanging out here on a four-hour layover, waiting for our flight to Denver. I've never been in one of these airport lounges before, and I think I could really get used to it. It's quiet, has big cozy armchairs, loads of tables, and a constant stream of food on a 24-hour buffet. There's even a serve-yourself bar (beer, wine, and cocktails) and a mini-fridge with all kinds of fizzy drinks.

Here's Frankie, eating bacon and relaxing.

The only downside to the trip is that we had to leave the house at 4am to get to the airport on time. But hey... free bacon!

Ennerdale Hike

On Sunday, we took a family hike at Ennerdale lake. It was a little grey and rainy, but also a very cool and pleasant day for a walk. We headed down the trail at the side of the lake, and took in the spectacular scenery.

This might sound a wee bit crazy, but I actually have really grown to love the weather out here. It always feels like a crisp fall day (and fall is my absolute favorite time of year). True it rains a lot, but it’s worth it to be able to have all the lush green trees, flowers, and grasses. And yes, the sky is grey quite a bit. But it seems to make me appreciate the patches of blue sky all the more.

After suffering the punishing misery of the weather in Florida, I really appreciate a place where it’s always pleasant to be outdoors. We don’t need air conditioning, because it never gets that hot. We don’t need screens on the windows, because there aren’t many bugs. Special bonus: No mosquitoes!

I could really get used to living in a place with weather like this.