It is Monday October 10th. Just look at the photos. They say it all!!

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After our travels in the USA, I flew to London for a 2 week visit with Justin, my eldest son, whilst David returned to Australia to spend some precious time with his mum.

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21st July 2005

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado: (36 hours ago)
Imagine a personal performance, just for you, by Mark Knopfler (ex Dire Straits), the legend of rock, blues and Gibson guitars. Then the thrill of being invited on stage to accompany him!!
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Well the last day of school finally arrived. We cleaned and packed away all our classroom stores, covered bookshelves and then got ready to party and farewell the teachers who were retiring. Kristi had been up very early in the morning preparing for the event held at her house. By the time Patty and I arrived things were in full swing. After a delicious lunch we had the speeches and songs and the sad farewells. THEN the highlight - KAROKE!!!! I think I will be able to make my fortune by NOT showing the videos I took!!!! Read the rest of this entry »

The Bolder Boulder is an annual 10 km race through the streets of Bolder and up to the University. It is probably somewhat like the City to Surf in Sydney although no big hiils to climb. Thousands of people join in to race or watch. We of course watched. However we did walk 3 kms to the finish line. Katie and Jessie did the right thing and trained for weeks before and then did brilliantly as the photos will show!!
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Well… planet Boulder has certainly served up some titillating spring surprises. Less than 3 weeks ago we had 2 feet of snow on our deck. For the last week we’ve had unseasonably hot weather. Basically spring didn’t happen, leapfrogging straight into summer, which has everyone and everything confused… But what about the wildlife!! Read the rest of this entry »

Here is an example of cultural vocabulary differences. Read the script for “Neighbours” (the American Kind) - the reality show will be out in 2006. The following is an excerpt from this show. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you very much Pam for hosting Jessie’s Wedding Shower. It was a great afternoon.
To see who got the bouquet ……… Read the rest of this entry »

Last Saturday night we had an “Italian Night” with a few of our neighbours. Great food, great company, great night.

28th April 2005

Spring arrived - it was a great 2 weeks! And down it comes once again - our whole world is white. Not the delicate sprinkle of icing sugar white - more like the Michelin man white! We’ve had snow on and off all week. Last week we were being entertained by the antics of resident chipmunks and squirrels who were overcome with love, lust and spring friskiness. This weather will certainly have dampened their enthusiasm. It is seasonally late, although when it stops, it will melt very quickly - perhaps a couple of days. 8″ Monday night, 7″ last night, 5″ today (Thurs). Barbecue anyone??

29th April 2005 - and they wouldn’t close the schools! (Estes Pk did!)

Some of the incongruities of Springtime in the Rockies… apple blossoms defying the elements … tulips with attitude… our Subaru in my school’s sub-Arctic carpark, which had basked under a swathe of greenery only 4 days before…. kids running into school at 8am, not out of love of learning or the thrill of breaking down the frontiers of knowledge, but the fear of a cold, excruciating death! These photos were all taken today. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, there is a great custom here. Each month there is a teacher appreciation day. The parents of each grade thank the teachers of that grade by providing lunch. Last week it was Grade One’s turn. We had an amazing lunch AND a masseuse to rub our tired shoulders - all courtesy of the Grade One parents. The staff said it was “the best”.
A group of parents suggested a night out at “The Rio” for Katie and I.

You guessed it! Poor David what was he to do? We only have one car so it became a night out for the girls plus one! Look the following pictures and you’ll see who had the best time!! Read the rest of this entry »

Here are a few more pics of our lovely house up in the mountains. We are half way through Spring but last night received about 8 inches of snow. It is an amazing experience to live in such a contrasting environment. We live about 2 days drive from the snow in Australia and so to have it so close is wonderful. We have enjoyed making a fire each night, drinking red wine, reading books ……. and doing the whole snow experience. Even though the warm weather makes an occasional appearance we still relish the snow continuing.

Our house is surrounded by tall pines and sits quietly waiting for our arrival each night. It is a very welcoming place and we really feel as if it is “home”. Holly and Peter have decorated it with some beautiful pots, sculptures and works of art. It is very comfortable as a winter home but looks as if it will transform into just as lovely a summer home. We miss the ocean but the mountains well and truly make up for our temporary loss.
We will add to the collection as the year progresses and the seasons change - if the seasons really ever do change here!!!

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The following is written by David as you have probably already guessed - somewhat different to my Aspen posting!!!

Try, for a moment, to imagine a small city (about100,000 pop.) which has evolved through the collision of 3 distinct cultures over the past 400 years. The Pueblo Indians of northern Mexico have lived around Santa Fe and Taos for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. Their villages were made of red mud and adobe (reinforced mud). Now, mentally fuse the pueblo architecture with the colonial Spanish conquests of 400 years ago. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone has to go to Aspen. Not only is it a beautiful place, it is a place full of interesting people. No movie stars this time though! Jo and Gordon Amann (friends from Australia) came with us for some skiing, sightseeing, eating, shopping and generally just hanging out doing the Aspen thing!!!! Read the rest of this entry »

Bro and Scally were our beloved cats. Sadly Scal died 18months ago and Bro earlier this month. We miss them.
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What another great weekend. We drove Friday night to Dillon to stay with Barb and Dan, ex-exchangees who spent a year in Coffs Harbour at Sandy Beach. They are the sort of people who make you feel as if you are just another part of their extended family as soon as you walk in the door. We also caught up with Jarred and Curtis, sons of the Twiggs and Miles (teachers in Coffs). They are working the ski season at Keystone. and obviously having a ball!
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Thought it was time to make a few comments on my school, especially after this week. What can I say!

Looking towards my classroom

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What a great weekend! Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park with CITEL members and Aussie exchangees. Dianne led us all up the mountain. We had beautiful sunshine up to the top and then it began to snow lightly for our trip back. It was fabulous, slipping and sliding, making snow angels and then back to Ian and Trish’s for a Chilli lunch. What a great day and a great bunch of people!

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We have just returned from a long weekend at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs with our friends from Denver, Susan and Jeff. It was a weekend of relaxation, walking and shopping!!! The hotel was fabulous - a real silver service experience. If you ever happen to be in the area you must visit a shop called “Luma”.

It is the most beautiful shop I have ever been in - full of beautiful hand made jewellery, clothing and art works! We also had a trip to the Garden of the Gods - another amazing experience. The photos don’t really do it justice. A further bit of shopping in Manitou Springs just about cleaned us out. But not quite! On the way home we had to call in to Castle Rock outlet stores and the mastercard was flexed once again. Oh well, it’s only money isn’t it! Read the rest of this entry »

All our lives are tapestries and, wherever we live, our habitat is the fabric that supports the rich threadwork that defines our experiences. Part of the underpinning fabric of living in Sapphire Beach is SOUNDS. The continuous crash of the surf, the staccato of morning kookaburras, the warble of currawongs, people laughing, talking, the sound of vehicles, the splash of fat tropical raindrops, the seabreeze in the branches….. it’s all there…. but we don’t hear it. Living in the mountains in winter it is silent. The silence is deafening. You don’t hear people, or vehicles, or even weather sounds. Snowfall is silent. At night, we need to turn on an outside light to see if it is snowing. Windows are all double glazed for heating purposes and this also reduces sounds. Consequently when you do hear a sound, you are very aware. Last night I awoke to the howling of what were possibly coyotes. It was quite moving, i.e. I moved quite close to Jeanne. She, sleepily and blissfully unaware, nuzzled up to me, after all this was Valentines Day. With any luck, if a ravenous carnivore came through our glass, I could probably wrestle Jeanne’s floppy body to a position between it and me. We had already had a close encounter with wildlife earlier that evening. Zipping home along Old Stage Rd in the darkness of early evening, a deer suddenly appeared in our lights about 10 metres in front of us. It had decided to cross the road. It happened in an instant but we were so close I could see the look of fear in its dazzled eye. I have seen that same look in Jeanne’s eyes when I’m driving on mountain roads. I braked instantly and swerved as slightly as a mountain road will allow. Jeanne closed her eyes waiting for the impact. Fortunately the road had no snow on it, our Subaru has ABS non-skid brakes, and it is All Wheel Drive. We missed Bambi by a heart beat! It was almost a Valentine’s Day massacre. The car stayed in control too which was reassuring for future encounters. It has snowed throughout today. If Bambi had charged across tonight instead, the same spot of road now has 3″ of snow and ice to contend with! Ah but these are just more of the threads in our tapestry.