Maryland adventure/hard labor/fun visit

Whee, I'm back from yet another whirlwind trip. This one was a unique one for the summer; helping Heather get her house ready for sale. Any of you who have done this know it's a giant pile of work. This is a very short post as I didn't pick up my camera at all, no time. Projects were a'callin. Just a few iphone snapshots.

Heather and Lily

Heather has an animal menagerie at her house which makes things interesting. Two dogs and 3 cats. And at least one thinks she is a person. Too bad Lily couldn't help with painting.

Crab cake at Skipper's Pier - yum

Picking crabs - a Maryland tradition. Too much work for me 

You're not going to see the blood and guts projects that went on in every direction inside and out, just suffice to say we got a lot done. Hopefully I'll be able to post photos of the finished house to show you. It's a really cute house in Southern Maryland very close to the Chesapeake Bay in case anyone is looking in that area. Instead we saved a little energy at the end of each day to go out to local restaurants. Nova (sushi), Lidos, Paladar, PF Changs, and Pirates Cove. Some felt like old home week. After all we did live in Maryland for 20 years.

Dinner at Paladar with Heather and Brian

Dinner out with Heather and her guy Brian. So nice to finally meet him and a gorgeous summer night added in. All we had to do is wash off the paint splatters to look presentable.

So back to the mountains for me and Mark flies in tomorrow for 2 weeks. Good stuff. If you look at the cover photo, somehow in the 6 days I was gone fall is coming at full speed. Whaaaat... Next the golden glow of aspen.

Company, cattle, haying, and waning summer

You'll probably be happy to know this will be a short post after the mega long previous one. Our two weeks of company is winding down with Krissy and Calvin closing up the schedule.

Lots of overlapping guests which made it lots of fun. The whole Texas Adams clan (well, now there are two Eastwoods in the mix).

Haying is going on with a vengeance. The Ohio Creek Valley is famous for their hay, a lot even goes to Kentucky for the race horses. All the signs of fall approaching.

Dinner at Garlic Mike's courtesy of Krissy and Calvin. So sweet of them. Garlic Mike's has a new river bar area which is quite cute but I don't think too many people know about it yet. We only looked after eating dinner but I'll definitely keep it in mind.

And this is the story of the steer that followed me home. Well, not quite, he followed me, mooing occasionally to make sure I stayed in sight,  until he saw other cattle in the far distance. He evidently was in a grass eating coma and was lost. It was a little strange encounter but felt friendly.

I have pulled out the suitcase again. I leave tomorrow for Maryland to help Heather get her house ready to sell. Packing some very strange items such as gardening gloves and paint stained shorts. Yes, manual labor here we come!

Fun week with company

Been a full week of fun! Lots of activities for everyone. Heather leaves today and Krissy and Calvin replace her. Paul, Sherry, Katie, and James are here until Tuesday. Mark's flying out tomorrow. Makes your head spin, right?

The big annual Crested Butte art fair was happening. Not just local but the big guys who travel on the art fair circuit all over. It covered the entire main street in CB. Weirdly, there was a painter there from an area in Naples we're 5 minutes from. Small world.

Definitely cousins

We went back for the final day of the art fair with Sherry and Katie. Just a fun laid back town. Food was also a high priority - breakfast at Paradise was the choice.Yum.

Look for the tiny kayak - scale is immense 

Young bald eagle for our viewing pleasure

Next up our scheduled boat tour down the Black Canyon. First time for all 7 of us. Slightly rainy, open top boat and a hike with 232 steps down to the boat. Makes for adventure right there! It was gorgeous and my photos do not show at all the immensity of those massive rock walls. Highly recommend it.

In between activities lots of deck time. It's the gathering place you know...

the water is an emerald green color -  depends on your angle

We somehow separated in boys and girls groups for a couple of activities. The girls went to Gothic and Emerald Lake and the guys went to play golf. Still snow up there and its the middle of August. Gorgeous area and we did homage to Tiffany and Chris (they got engaged here).

Finished with lunch at the Stash and ice cream at Third Bowl. Perfect!

Lots of back and forth to our community stream. The restoration is truly amazing.

And the ladies - courtesy of Heather's magic camera and self timer. So much fun and laughter...