// April 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
sitting in uptown Italian coffee shop
tempted by gelato at 7:56 with sun on foothills
cool ambient tones bounce, bass keeps time
as well as sandy blonde little boy
marching like rhythmic robot
step, step around display of coffee beans
$12.95/500 g
his dad bought him a croissant
just like me
only he doesn't have contraband clementines
on side
// April 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
This is a note for all people that move to a new town and want to be part of the community. Get a small job serving your community.
When my husband and I first moved to Colorado two years ago we did not know anyone. He had a consulting gig he carried over from Miami, I got a gig working with a consulting firm here right away. I traveled a lot and was home for a week then away for a week. Our circle of friends was non-existent as the summer started in 2008. Eventually I made friends through work and during one of my weeks off a co-worker and I decided to cook up a crazy Indian feast. It was a Boulder Farmers’ Market day so my husband left us in the kitchen while he rode down to the market. When he returned he had all kinds of produce, a delicious pine nut macaroon for me and news… he got me a job. I looked at him like I wanted to kill him, I already had a job and enjoyed my week off, but I heard him out.
If you know him he is a chatty guy. Well the bakers where he bought the macaroon from used a sweetener I am not allergic to and he was overjoyed he could buy me a cookie. After talking with them longer he learned they needed Saturday help for their bakery stand. He said I would do it. I have to admit, it was a pretty damn good cookie and I was in. The pay was not much, but it isn’t like I had a lot of people to hang out with on my week off.
So it was, I would man the stand on the Saturdays I was in town and my husband would take the shift the weeks I was gone. And oh my goodness, did we have a blast!! The both of us began friendly relationships with regular customers, other vendors, and quickly found ourselves as part of the community we just moved to. Towards the end of the summer the two of us would run the stand if the bakers were busy, in the winter we set up shop for them at the Fort Collins Winter Market, and we have become really good friends with the business owners.
Sadly the economy took its toll on the bakery and they are now defunct. We are still solid with the bakers though and consider them family. Their opportunity allowed us to engage in the local food community in such a swift way that I know who to call if I want someone to raise poultry for me, if I want someone to pull a raspberry bush off their property so I can grow one too, and I have a phone number to pick up stone ground wheat even if I want it in the dead of winter. I have met many good people thanks to our experience at the market.
Therefore if you are new to town, or just looking to have a great time meeting your community and the local food scene try to work a stand at a market. We have so many here in the Front Range. I know there are ads on craigslist pretty often during market season asking for help. And it never hurts to say hello to your food producers and see if they could use an extra set of hands.
// March 24th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
The phrase “God is projectile vomiting snow all over Boulder right now. I hope someone’s holding her hair back.” appeared yesterday in the twitterverse at about 6 PM MST by @OmidFarhang and was retweeted 6 times through the night.
We were dumped on. Pretty bad.
However this a.m. the snow eased up and now at 11 am MST the sky is blue, the snow is falling from every surface it stuck to, the tree limbs are lifting up from the ground if they did not fall completely.
I went out this a.m. to walk the property, check on damage, shake off the thin fruit trees, etc. All is good except a car that may need some repairs from driving home in the craziness last night.
fruit tree down... fruit tree up post shaking
Here is some of the tranquility in the aftermath. Click on images to see them in larger form.
// January 1st, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Uncategorized
Just reflecting on the start of the year with my guy for 5 years.
NYE 2005 – I went to L. A. (we had just started dating), he stayed in Miami. I missed him.
NYE 2006 – I was working at a field station in Costa Rica over Christmas so my guy came out to meet me for New Year’s. We rang in the year dancing on the sand in Puerto Viejo surrounded by fire dancers with fireworks being set off over our heads. Seriously, we ended up with firework debris in our hair when we kissed.
NYE 2007 – Quietly spent at our home in Miami drinking champagne and listening to sirens, gun shots, and fireworks in the neighborhood. FYI, we didn’t live in a poor part of town either, Miami can just be SHADY.
NYE 2008 – The evening was spent in the screen hut at the edge of a forest on a farm and hostel property in southern, coastal Georgia. It rained hard and my fiance at the time streaked the property obtaining a small bottle of champagne to toast the night. The next day we enjoyed a darling New Year’s brunch at the Jekyll Island hotel.
NYE 2009 – We were drunk off our butts plastered on Jameson Irish Whiskey and Guinness. Flogging Molly was playing a NYE show in Denver and we drank and danced the night away. After the show we went to Steuben’s for the one night of the year they serve Chicken and Waffles. It turned out the kitchen was not open for a while so we drank and danced some more before we had our food and made our way home.
NYE 2010 – Vast contrast to the year before. We had planned a low-key evening at mellow house parties but one friend’s daughter picked up a stomach flu, another friend had to cancel because her husband was sick. Instead we met a friend at Dushanbe Teahouse for an early toast, I had a tea/fruit juice sparkling infusion. We went home and changed to return to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art for their New Year’s Silver Ball.
Here is the countdown, the screaming, the bag pipe player doing Auld Lang Syne, crowd doing the universal Ole, Ole, Ole, then the bagpipe man jamming with the DJ. Please be patient, just before I focus on the bagpipe guy I remember my point and shoot only works well with horizontal orientation. My bad… and I was sober.
As the museum emptied we decided to walk up to the last night at bside lounge. You really couldn’t tell the place was closing down when we showed up, we couldn’t get near the door.
Instead we walked further west to The Bitter Bar were James was tending the night and very welcoming. For being a swank Boulder location he brings a good deal of personality to the establishment. He made me a pot of Evening in Missoula tea.
And an old-fashioned with a bootleg 17 year-old rye for the hubby.
It was a fun evening in Boulder. We meant to be low-key but did dress up and get social. Best wishes for your 2010! It is a year we are greeting with much love.
// December 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
I have been looking for the fun craftster scene since we moved to Colorado. There are a lot of cool crafty people here who upcycle and create, but I have not found the craftster scene yet. That is until today. I followed the trail from Friday’s re-nest post on 23 handmade craft shows to Hello Crafts post on the shows from last week. Low and behold, Holiday Handmade in Denver, CO. Yeah it was this past weekend, yesterday and Friday to be exact. No problem though, the link took me to Fancy Tiger Crafts and Denver Handmade Alliance. I will be heading into this craft store the next time I am in Denver on a weekend afternoon, I will also be following both online.
However I do not live in Denver, a little further north. In my hood I love the lab space at Common Threads in Boulder as well as their consignment clothing store.
Also this past weekend in Longmont was the holiday market the local farmers market puts on at the Boulder County Fairgrounds if you wanted to buy local in person.
If you want to craft and/or upcyle yourself my fave stores are the Salvo on 33rd just north of Arapahoe, the Humane Society Thrift Store on Arapahoe and the Resource Yard on 63rd to find bits and pieces of projects to work on.
// August 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
In honor of Stephen Colbert decreeing that Boulder is the TEA BAGGING CAPITAL OF AMERICA, and all the giggling I did here is my latest post. Hell, I giggle at the Celestial Seasonings Tasting Room where they have their certificate for the Guinness Book of World Records World’s Largest Tea Bag. Anyway I am doing my round of up of mate lattes in this area.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Even Better-er Know a District – Colorado’s 2nd – Jared Polis | ||||
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Something all of you countless Ossumniss readers should know is that we here at Ossumniss headquarters are a frugal lot. I don’t really go to coffee shops and tea shops. I buy my quality tea in bulk from Pekoe and make an exquisite cup at home just the way I like it. That is until one day this past January when I had to kill some time at a coffee shop and took a gander at the mate latte to make it worth my while. The Cup in Boulder, January 26th, around 2 PM. I remember this occasion because my husband was getting his one and only tattoo that day next door at Rising Tide.
I ordered. The barista prepped. I took that pint glass of frosty green to my lips. The green was like an avocado mixed smoothie. The scent was complex like dirt, with grass, topped with dirt, and a touch of cow juice. It was earthy and delightful. I sipped gently from the foam. Ahhhh, I was hooked. (more…)
// March 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
My hubby and I were helping our nephew out with with his Flat Stanley project. We dragged Stanley around Boulder and surrounding areas for some pictures. We did the voiceover for a slideshow in one shot as a rehearsal but kept it for the final cut. The movie is light since it is for a young audience. Without using too many iMovie tricks this is what we pulled off and it is silly and OSSUM.
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