slidergirl

Welcome home Cynthia. I'm happy for you to have had a good time on the cruise. I know all about a "too small" mouth. When I was a kid, we had one dentist in town. When my permanent teeth started to come in, he said my mouth was too small for all of them, so he yanked the first molar that came in on the bottom. Never noticed a problem without it all these years! Melody - we finally got a little bit of ran overnight. It came with some lightning and thunder. I was still awake at 2am and I could see the lightning through my bedroom window blinds. It did chase some of the smoke away. We have our annual Arts Festival in town next weekend. It's a huge thing. All of Main St. is shut down and turned into a sea of artwork. Several thousand people a day cram into 4 blocks of town. It's literally tent-to-tent people all the way down the street. I'll stay away. Too many people, no air, way too hot (and hotter with our temps now). It used to be fun to go, but as with all things as they get popular, just too much now. I have tickets for the county Rodeo anyway -that would be too much time outside in the sun to do both. OOTD: my very old Athleta hoodie mini dress. It's always a good summer standby. Going to settle in and watch the Opening Ceremonies.

Yes, we're back on the Olympics track! We're lucky in that we've done excellent maintenance of the facilities we built for 2002 so that major expense isn't there. I didn't feel that we were overloaded with guests in 2002. The couple of times I went up to our Main St. when I wasn't working at the track were not crowded. I got to go to one medals ceremony/concert (Dave Matthews Band) the night before I started working at the track. It was down in Salt Lake. It was a tad crowded to drive & park. Same with Opening & Closing Ceremonies. Maybe we'll get more activity since Park City is more of a known place. Still won't bother me. Back then I still had my "big house". the now-ex and I hosted some of the skeleton athletes we got to know over the years that weren't selected to compete. Great Britain, Jamaica, Canada, US. It gave them a free place to stay so they could still be a part of the fun with their sliding friends.

Yep, it's been checked multiple times over the years when I've used it. Nothing torn, nothing broken. Just a little dirty from that log of usage - it shows it's travel character.

Lucky you in Colorado Springs! Looks like it came up from the South and missed Utah. We had just enough to wet the cement on the back patio. The fields and hills are looking all brown and dry already. Our forecast is no precip for the next 10 days. OOTD: Woolx Tshirt and my black flowered bike-short-length tights. Cool and comfy!

If you are looking for something to binge-watch: on Prime, Gino's Italian Escape. A travel/food show made for British TV. It's a nice easy show to watch. Nice locations, easy recipes to cook.

My Osprey Sojourn 2-wheeler has inset big off-road wheels. I've had it since 2010 and have not blown a wheel yet. I get my experience with all sorts of luggage is from working at hotels and currently a resort lodge. I've dragged more bags than I have wanted to - big, little, 2 wheel, 4 wheel, ski bags, golf bags - you name it. I'm still a 2 wheel, soft-side person.

I hadn't done white port before, either. Once in awhile I've done red port as an after dinner drink with some chocolate. It's definitely not a drink I'd do alot. But, that white port & tonic is very good! OOTD: still hot, hot, hot. Denim shorts and a Woolx Tshirt.

At the last hotel I worked at (not my current lodge), I would asked for a ginger beer from the guys at the bar when my stomach felt a little off. They had Fever Tree. and they had Fever Tee tonic, too. It's been fun trying different drinks that I would never have done before. Easy and simple ingredients are the best - no fancy fou-fou for me!! Now I might get some of their flavors to see how they taste. My little hamster wheel is starting to spin up again. Spain and Portugal. Food, wine, antiquities, beach. Uh oh. I can see another month-long venture in my brain, Way too much to do!! OOTD: hot, hot, and smoke. black Woolx sleeveless shirt and my denim shorts. I have to run to the pharmacy for yet another refill. Wish I could get them all syncronized...

I cannot stand waiting after my appointment time because someone is running late! At least text me so I can adjust my schedule. Supposed to maybe get some rain later today. I hope so. It's to freakin' dry everywhere. After having my first gin & tonic at Jose Andres' restaurant in Vegas, I've been having some more here at home. I remember having one a long time ago and hating it, so I never tried before. I bought a little bottle of Hendrick's (the one used in Vegas) and Fever Tree tonic. Pretty refreshing in the evening when it's 82 degrees in the house. I read up on some other uses for tonic and came across one that uses white port instead of the gin. I did it last night and it was tasty. OOTD: another hot one so just shorts and a Tshirt...

I'm not a frequent Amazon shopper, but I do Kindle books and Audible books. I'll look there for some items that are hard to find up here and the electronics are sometimes good. I had been looking all over for these storage boxes and didn't find anything I liked so finding these on Prime days was a good thing for me. To get electronics, I do enough research that I know that certain things are available on Amazon and don't need the help of a sales person. I don't do clothes - I did buy that big parka there because one of my owners bought hers there and I loved it. The rest, to me, is like "fast fashion" and I'm not into that. There were some online articles on some travel goodies on Prime Day sales - nothing I didn't have or want.

Did anyone find any good things on Prime Day? I only picked up some storage boxes that I do need, I was thinking of replacing my old "dumb" TV with a newer smart one, but nothing that would fit in the space was on sale. OOTD: hot and smoky today, so I'm staying inside today. running shorts and a tank top for my attire.

Purple - that dress is gorgeous! It reminds me of a starry night. Mr. Squirrel is doing fine. He comes and goes. He has a little nest in an old shutter cover above my back patio screen door. He's hilarious - he'll climb up/down my screen door to get to the food, then hang upside down on the screen to eat a little. He'll relax in the crook of the down spout next to the shutter cover. From there, he can jump into the trees and then onto the fence where he'll scurry to where ever. He's fun to watch. No fat bears in the neighborhood - they live about 2 miles away up in the woods on the other side of the highway. We are slooooowly cooling down to the upper 80s. Last night I was baking - 85 in the house. It was a little tough to get to sleep.

It's a moose. Our neighborhood backs up to a large wild area, so wildlife are frequent visitors. The mama moose seem very comfortable to bring their babies here to relax in the shade of our trees. The wild behind us is all scrub and bushes so no shade. We're a small neighborhood and we all love and protect the moose as our own. I've lived here since 2009 and the moose have always come here. Hot, hot, hot. My body does not do well with heat so I'm just hunkering down in my house with my ceiling fans going. "Cooling off" to the high 80s for a few days starting tomorrow, then it goes back up. Ugh

OK. NEW RULE: NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO GET SICK OR INJURED OR REQUIRE SURGERY!!! I think we've all been beaten up enough. Melody - that outfit looks very nice. I looked at Athleta and nothing called to me. BUT, I went back to Sundance over the weekend because they did an additional 60% off on things already on sale. I picked up 2 shirts for $11.99 each instead of $62 each. There were a few more I would have bought but they were out of my size. Every time I put on one of my shirts from more than a year ago they are just hanging on me. Grrrrr. Mammo went fine Tuesday. Nothing seen. My facility is very nice - they give out warmed gowns to put on. OOTD: off to hair stylist today, it's hella hot - 96. Since I have no place lined up for a vacation, I've decided to "dress up" to go there this summer. So, it was a gray Tshirt with my long Natural Life patchwork "old hippie lady" skirt and white high tops. I did not go "commando" though... 😸 Lois - I loved your elk photo. I got a photo Tuesday of our neighborhood mama moose and her baby. This was in the walkway between my street and the next one. they've been hanging around for the past 2 weeks.

Yep. We already have some big fires going down in S. Utah near Bryce Canyon NP and Zion NP. No rain expected here, too. Red flag (high heat, low humidity, wind) warnings. Have to go out to get my mammo today. While I'm out, I'll go to the market, buy more sparkling water and get my med refill from pharmacy. OOTD: Tshirt dress - easy to take off for the mammo and will be cooler than shorts (yes, I've learned that lesson!)

Lois - the wind comes down off the mountains into the valley. We just get used to it. It takes awhile to acclimate to where you are wearing shorts & Tshirts when it's in the high 60s. But, the wind does make a little chill. And you found out why jean jackets and a little Patagonia jacket is standard issue 😉 Yes, it's exceptionally dry up in the mountains out here. Lip balm becomes your best friend - I carry it all the time! This weekend, here in UT, we had "red flag" warnings. That means high winds and very low humidity (under 12%). It's going to be smokin' hot here in the mountains of UT this week: upper 80s to actually 95 on Friday!!! Extremely rare. Over the hill where I get my oil changed, the temp is 90s all week with a possibility for 100 on Friday. I absolutely won't be going anywhere except to my mammo appointment on Tuesday and my hair stylist on Thursday. I will be wearing as little as possible!!!

Lois - we are each other's opposite!!! I'm definitely a land cruiser, but appreciate a water-based vacation now and then 😸 Harrison Ford is a local up there. I don't know if he still is active, but he was a helicopter pilot (in his own copter) for the local search & rescue. Yes, food prices can be a bit on the high side in a resort area. It's one of the problems living in a resort town. There are only a few places here that don't charge "tourist" prices that I will go to for a meal. Part of the price I pay for living up here. Back in the day, restaurants would have "locals only" or 2-fers in the summer. I do miss that!! Melody - there is cream on that shave ice, right??? yum!

Just in case: Cotopaxi just introduced a new 32L pack, the Mente. It's more of a traditional daypack, toploading.

Elk wearing velvet - beautiful! It's that time of year where all the antler'd animals still have the velvet on their antlers. Someone here in town got a shot of a moose in velvet yesterday. It brings another level of majesty to these animals. I hope you had a fantastic time on your land trip! You picked a great place and got some of our best weather. Sorry you creaked up your neck, though. Give it a good soak when you get home. Safe travels!

OK. to try to help out: Look at the Camila Kimono on the Natural Life website. Ignore the young girls as models - if you look at the reviews for things, the age groups are a majority of 50+ women - us old hippie ladies. The kimono is extremely light so it's easy to pack and not take much room. The only thing you'd have to add is to take an old wrap tie or belt and use it to hold it together when you're in your bathing suit. It could also be a light wrap to wear out and about and look a little sassy. The price point is excellent, $55.

Lois - rafting on the Snake is fun! Did you do the big rapids in the canyon or the fast water through the fields? My small workgroup way back in the 90s would do rafting trips up there. Some owned their own rigs and we'd do the rafts and some would kayak. Great access for anyone who wants to do a raft trip on a river. Did you see any eagles on the trip? Gosh, you have a great week for this trip!! My endocrinology visit was successful. My A1C got lower. My morning glucose readings were all in the low end of the desired rates. Well, all but 1 and I knew that one would pop high. About all I can do to lower the A1C more now is to force myself to eat more proteins and get out and do more exercise. But, she was happy with how it's going. My weight fortunately seems to have plateau'd. I can't afford to buy more clothes if it went lower. And, the urine test was successful! I will remember cranberry juice next time, though. I just remember my poor athletes taking up to an hour to produce the sample for the drug testing people after the races - we'd have to hold all the awards ceremonies (including the Olympics) until they were done. Maybe that is stuck in my brain... Trader Joe's update: The Horchata Ice Cream and the Root Beer Float popcicles were back!! I ended up having a small "holy cr$p" moment at the end. Before I left the house, I noticed that my fridge was pretty empty and I needed a refill on my condiments and pantry basics since I'm cooking more at home. So, I bought more things than usual, but they'll last awhile. Other than the 2 things at the top, nothing new sparked anything for me. But, it's the beginning of the month so the summer specials haven't shown up yet.

Lois - great photos from Yellowstone/Grand Teton. It really is one of my favorite places. Later this afternoon, I've got my 6-month checkup with my endocrinology NP. It should be good. My problem is with the urine test, always is. I think I have "shy bladder" when it comes to producing "on demand." I do all the tricks my athletes did at races when they were picked for the end-of-race testing. Water, coffee. I'd love to add beer to that, but I have to drive 😸 Since I'll be down in the Valley, I'll make a TJ's run. I hope they still have the tub of cheese that is the insides of burrata, minus the outside of the burrata. It worked really well as a "dip" for my cantelope chunks. I'll probably pick up more of the sous vide chicken thighs - they were very good. OOTD: denim shorts and sleeveless, but ruffled, Vneck Tshirt (from Sundance catalog). White leather high tops. It's going to be 90+ down in the Valley today.

I was going to ask you how "full" Yellowstone Falls was. It's early enough in the season that it should have been getting good results from the snowmelt.

Cool cocktail! What is is made from?

Lois - the area around Jackson is indeed so beautiful! Did you see any "fluffy cows"? 😸 Purple - it's good to know you have some caring co-workers! Watch yourself and have a good time in that cooler weather in Chicago.