We arrived back home last evening from Fort Collins, CO.  We were up there to help Erin and Nathan with a “baby project”.  Erin’s art studio is being made over into a nursery for baby Cartmell.  For four days, Erin, Nathan, Doyle (and a couple of hours me), worked on building a shelving unit that fits one wall (eight feet tall, eight feet wide?) with 30 cubicles I believe, 15 inches deep.  It is beautiful, stained black and waxed.  We all learned a lot!    I spent the days doing organizing projects and cleaning, as Nathan’s parents arrive this next week.  For my birthday breakfast Erin and Doyle made me Eggs Benedict and for dinner we went to the Taj Mahal restaurant in downtown Fort Collins (it was delicious by the way) and then we had ice cream cones from Walrus.  It was fun being with Erin and Nathan, even though we all worked like crazy! 

We left on Saturday to come  home and had to drive south to Alamosa, and then Chama and Dulce to avoid the fire.  We avoided the fire, but the smoke was something we couldn’t avoid.  We traveled for an hour or more through smoke so thick we could only see a mile.  It was eerie and disconcerting.  I felt so sorry for all the people that have to live in it.  I can’t imagine!  I felt like I was smothering, even though I wasn’t of course.  The smoke got into the car, even though we had the air-conditioner on (and only circulating inside air).  I’m not sure anyone with allergies or asthma could drive through it. It felt like it was evening, but it was only 3:30 in the afternoon.  The pictures show what it looked like as soon as we got through it.  Alamosa didn’t have the smoke, it ended about 10 miles before we got to the town.  I prayed a lot going through the smoke, for the fire- fighters and the people who are living through this.  Please continue to pray for the people affected by this horrible fire….actually several fires combined.  Hopefully South Fork and  Creede will be spared.  I worked for a summer between South Fork and Creede at Wagon Wheel Gap  and have been wondering how that little resort where I worked is faring.  It is so sad, and the loss of tourist revenue must be heartbreaking for the people who depend on visitors in the summer to survive!

We are back home and finally beginning to feel like we’re in the land of the living.  That’s because the day after we came home, I came down pretty sick.  To put it mildly….I haven’t been that sick for a longgggg time.  I am still weak and tire easily.  Doyle was just totally exhausted.  He did have the intestinal bug for a few hours, I had it for four days!  YUK!  But today, other than being tired and a bit nauseated, I feel more normal than I have in more than a week.  It was a pretty normal day.

I was called up at about 10:00 a.m. this morning by my “milk” lady.  “I have a problem” she started out.  My heart sank, I thought, oh no…she doesn’t have any milk for us, the cows tipped over her bucket, or some such thing, but no….she didn’t have enough milk jars (gallon jars).  She asked if I could come over right away with my jars, and of course I told her I could.  So, off I went to the farm to get our milk.  It was nice visiting with her.  She  had rave reviews for my daughter-in-law Heather.  And she had to ask if my other daughter-in-law was as nice as Heather.  Of course I told her she was!  So then we talked about how wonderful it was to have such a lovely family.  (And of course it is!)  Then I ran some errands, came home and Beth dropped off the eggs from the farm in Bloomfield.  She had to go there today, so saved me a trip.  Heather and boys stopped by very briefly to pick up their eggs and milk and then I started my bread.  I also started drying some herbs.  My greenhouse is overflowing with herbs and they must be tended to.  They are drastically getting out of hand.  I have kefir started and dinner soon to follow.  A couple staying over tomorrow night on their way to L.A.  So….I’m back to my normal.