Mango Potcake, Evinrude and Jackson Oliver.
BESTIES FOREVER. #bros
Archives for category: Cats
Wow April flew by! A quick update on some fun things that happened:
It got warm for a few nice weeks of spring skiing and hiking.
And then everything froze again, leaving us with an epic freezing, windy very blizzardy closing day (as usual) and some of the best skiing I had all year!!! Including a the hike up to North St Pats for a top of the mountain closing day party. I even got the ski blades (powder blades) out for a few runs before the season was over!
The next day, mud season was back!
The cats went to the vet and have been put on a diet. Evinrude has become a bit of a food obsessed maniac (whats new?) while Jax has decided to conserve all energy reserves and spend his time finding comfy places to sleep, and sleeping. All day.
We went to Moab/The Canyon Lands (post to follow!) for a few days of camping and lying in the sun.
It was a glorious vacation from the fickle mountain weather and a welcome break before the ridiculous, dog-filled week of Steamboat Spring Break, where everyone goes somewhere nice and leaves their dogs with us! Wonderful: Seventy four dogs wonderful. But we survived!
AND we are fostering a little Sugarglider for some friends! Missy, AKA MissDemeanor. Mango sin’t sure about her…she smells funny and makes strange noises. BUT she is pretty cool! She is getting used to us and coming out to eat while we are around now. Favorite snack: apples and PB!
Currently the weather is pretty gross here and we are holding out for warmer days and the ability to plant our garden! We have a lot of seedlings planted and coming up, ready to go in the ground (when it thaws…)! I will post about them later but its everything from beets and carrots to tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers! I can’t wait until we start getting a harvest! The rhubarb, garlic and asparagus even peeked out of their hibernation this past week! In lieu of outside jobs, I have been working inside on starting my kombucha culture (first batch success!), a ginger bug for ginger beer making (still in the works) and TONS of sourdough creations. The $4 breadmaker I got from the thrift store is already well used.
AND I’ve gotten a head start on an epic spring clean and some epic plans for summer! In the works: some running races, hopefully another triathlon or two, lots of biking, hiking and other local adventures. Also: a backpacking trip down south and possibly a few weekend trips including Portland, Big Sky and a concert at Red Rocks.
Happy Spring!!!
Halloween is almost upon us! This year, I’ll be spending it in Chicago with Allison and co. I figured, since its probably wayy cheaper to drive my artwork there then it is to mail it, I will take it myself! Among visiting AO for a few days in Chicago, I think Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills and a few other stops are on the agenda!
But since Halloween and the deco involved is one of my favorite holidays, I decided that I couldn’t live through the end of the month without carving a pumpkin. So I brewed up some chili and a batch of cornbread and Peggy brought some margaritas and Megan brought some caramel chocolate apples and we spent the evening designing, carving, roasting seeds and chatting. Peggy and I stuck with the doggy theme…I tried to do a portrait of the Mango Dog.
Other news here is that it has been a crazy mix of snowy and beautiful, sunny, mild fall days. A little confusing, but I think I kind of enjoy it! Plus, any snow accumulating up there on the mountain is a great thing! Mango and the cats have been getting along, and Evin has decided that the dog might even be a good source of food scraps and hes taken to watching the dog bowl and the dog at all times and rushing in when he sees a window of tasty opportunity. Jax is still hanging out up high on the top of the cabinets, but he has ventured in a few times to give the dog a sniff.
Thats about it! I am looking forward to Chicago adventures and hopefully some skiing in the next few weeks!
We are officially residents of 345 8th St. AKA, The Church! It has been a busy few weeks, but summer is here and the moving is done. Summer work starts this week as well! So I will be working three days a week with the Steamboat Parks and Rec as a group leader for the kids’ summer camp. Much like last year’s summer camp job, only different people and different place…coincidentally a three minute walk from my house! I am also continuing to help Peggy out at the RK Pet Ranch…basically the best job ever. So I’ll be there two or three days a week depending on her busy-ness there. Its going to be an amazing summer.
Living downtown has proved to be incredible. Walking or biking everywhere and being just houses away from great friends is pretty cool! Sunny and I quickly got to work planting a garden and getting the front yard in order. So now, along with our zucchini, yellow squash, three different varieties of tomatoes, rosemary, basil, mint and parsley, we have a place to sit! A little adventure to the Milner Landfill (or..Milner Mall as it may be) landed us with an old cable spool and four chairs for $15, which we set up in the front yard and have made use of almost every day since. Outside morning coffee and a book? Yes, please!
This is the front yard form my bedroom window..
The boys fell in love with all of our windows immediately.
And the baby birds! 
Evin is beside himself about the baby birds.
A few days ago, I got all my supplies in order in my new studio at the Red Contemporary Gallery here in Steamboat. I will be there Saturday afternoons and whenever else I want…which will be all.the.time. Its great to have a space to hang my work up and gather ideas and thoughts together. Plus, I get to leave messes out and just create!
The last and maybe the greatest new update is that next week the boys and I will be adding another excellent guy to our family. Mango!
He will be traveling all the way from Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Fortunately, Mom and Dad were able to pick him up on their most recent visit and I will be flying down to Atlanta next Monday for a quick overnight puppy collection. He is adorable. I have promising hopes that Evinrude won’t even know he is a dog. We will see about that.
So in the next few weeks; stand by for art updates, puppy updates and if you’re interested, some recent foody adventures in the new kitchen including roasted veggies, and some rhubarb experiments!
Wow where did that month go? We are well into the middle of President’s Week, the mountain is roaring with riders, the snow is falling and its warming up ever so slightly here in The Boat. It has been, to say the least, a little busy here!
Since my injury (and still lack of walkability), they have given me the position of Feel Better Room Babe. I’d like to be queen, but Lenny decided babe sounded better. So we go! Basically, I’ve been spending my days inside with the sad little ones (and sometimes the sick little ones) who are not out on the snow. I have also been getting to do fun things like make treats (Kings Cake for Mardi Gras, Blondies for VDay and Cake Balls for…Presidents Day (?)) which has been pretty fun. I also get to be in charge of the after-work-beers. Basically, my job is glorious. Nonetheless, we are all pretty strung out from the three week work week.
But great things have been going on in the meantime!
First off, way back in the beginning of the month the Ravens won the SUPERBOWL! Which is incredible and may or may not (but who cares) justify the purchase of mostly purple snow boots and also the ability to wear my Ravens gear all the way through the off-season. 
Megan moved back to Steamboat and in with me a few weeks ago, which has been fun. And it is exciting because along with our friend Kizzy (who just moved back Monday!) we are in search of a new place to live for the summer! We have also been on a mission to set lots of cat traps..
A few weekends ago, Steamboat’s 100th Winter Carnival was celebrated in the expected style!! I wasn’t able to make a lot of the street events during the day, but we watched most of the finale from the roof of the liquor store and then headed out on the town to celebrate! Besides the massive firework show, one of my favorite parts of the show was the 100+ Nordic ski jumpers flying through the 0 of a flaming 100. And then the guy who set himself on fire and skied down. SO COOL. Sadly, it was Denton’s last weekend in town, but we had a great time while he was here! Plans for summer fun have already begun… 
Meg Rose and I went on a Valentine’s Day date to Mahogany Ridge and then to see the Vagina Monologues at a local book store, which was pretty awesome! Meg even made us chocolate martinis for the occasion! She is one of the best. 
Sal and Steve came in for a visit this past weekend. It was super fun- full of great adventures and lots of debauchery. They had fun skiing and visiting all of their favorite places from the summer. Steve met me after work on Saturday for some drinks and a little Hammerschlagen at TBar and then we went out to a new Mexican place call La Mex for Steve’s BDay and enjoyed a night out on the town!
AND Kiz moved back Monday (ah!). I made a jailbreak from work for the afternoon and Geoffrey and I went to pick her up from the airport. Once back in town, we made a crucial stop at Taco Bell before heading to the Bear River Bar for some music and welcome home beverages. Then we headed to the Rusted Porch to watch Tom play, which was awesome and also something I have been meaning to do for a few weeks.
That’s about it! I am currently biding the time until I can ski again, and hoping to enjoy some excellent spring afternoon runs down the [less crowded] hill. Also upcoming in the future are some great free concerts, more dollar bowling nights (the most recent one with my newly acquired nautical themed cane was pretty epic, but surprise! the cane does not help me become a better bowler..) and then it is on to St. Pattys Day and hello day light savings!
Working on some new drawings while my psoas heal! Productivity abounds! Except when we spend the afternoon in the hottub…
The boys have even embraced a new level of laziness.
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had some fun holidays and that the new year has started off right!
It has been pretty busy here in Steamboat, but when I look back on the last few weeks I couldn’t ask for better friends to have spent the holidays with. Some of the best times at work, on the mountain and around town as we all struggled to work every day and still find some time to celebrate. And it was marvelous. I managed to keep up with my running (super hard to do before work in the morning) and also get in a hike up the mountain on my new skins! I snowshoed up a few times last year, but skinning is so much better, because you get to ski down! I got to enjoy the New Year’s Eve sunrise and some solo groomer runs before work.
Since today is my first day off in two weeks (literally), I’m soaking it up! I just got back from my last long training run for the Charleston Marathon, which is is 15 days! I am pretty excited to head back to GA (even briefly) to see everyone I missed over the holidays. I am also excited to run on something other than ice and snow…and maybe in a temperature higher then -11. It doesn’t matter how hard you run in -11 it is still 40 degrees below freezing. So, despite being the crazy person who signed up to train for a marathon in the depths of winter in Colorado, I survived the training! And I am looking forward to enjoying the sea-level atmosphere and flatter terrain for the race!
Also on this day off, I am trying to get a few studio hours in. My friend Denton (who will be living with me for the next month or so) is in the next room at his recently set up “command station” which consists of not one, but THREE computer screens and a massive set of headphones. But, he says with the desk set up at the window, at least he gets the view! 
I feel the same way about my drawing table, which is set up in my room to face out on the mountain as well. It might be the best studio view I will ever have! Evin, on the other hand, is enjoying the new app I downloaded for him on my Kindle Fire. And Jax is wearing his new favorite cape.
Tonight, we are heading downtown for the First Friday Art Walk to see some sweet art, enjoy some tasty morsels and hopefully run into the rest of everyone we know. And tomorrow, I am hoping to spend most of the day skiing, since I have nothing else on my plate. Except batting at some rather large icicles..
Next week, I am heading out with some of my best friends on a hut trip in the 10th Mountain Division near Vail. Basically, we are going to hike (or skin on our skis) a few hours into the wilderness to stay in a hut for three days. There we will explore, hike, ski, relax, hangout and eat some excellent meals! I couldn’t be more excited for this adventure. Stay tuned for when we return!
Gotta love the brosky love!
With an awesome week of travelling behind me and a few more days of adventure ahead, I have to say–sometimes, its nice to stay stateside and go exploring.
The adventure started last Tuesday, smushed into the back of Lindsey’s Honda Accord. Blake and I shared exactly 1.5 seats next to a boat load of luggage. The rest of Lindsey’s life was packed in the trunk, which was not to be opened until the final destination, lest it explode. EL rode shotgun.
The first day, we drove up through Wyoming and out across Nebraska en route to Omaha, which we arrived in slightly before midnight. Deciding that we had no energy to go out, we crashed in a Marriott in the Old Market neighborhood for a few hours. We got up super early to meet our friend Lindsay for breakfast at a delicious little bakery before hitting the road for Chicago!
Eight hours, lots of energy drinks and a Cracker Barrel stop later, we arrived in front of Allison’s apartment in down town Chicago. We hurried to unload and then drove west to Allison’s boyfriend’s house. Chance was an excellent host and made a feast of steaks, chicken, roast corn and asparagus for us and a few of his friends. We hung out in his back yard for a while before calling it a night.
The next day was supposed to take us to Nashville, but I decided to stay on in Chicago for a few days and head to Culver with Allison and Brooke for the Labor Day Weekend. I spent Thursday and Friday touring Chicago on foot. I enjoyed a few good hours at the Museum of the Art Institute (see the photo below of part of Chagall’s American Windows), hung out in millineum park, the Navy Pier, Michigan Ave and Old Town. I also spent a good afternoon on the beach enjoying the waves of Lake Michigan. Thursday night, I went to a gallery openning at Zia Gallery in the suburbs with Allison. It was nice to do some artist schmoozing and also see some great work!
Friday night, we packed up the cats and headed out to Culver for a weekend with Allison’s family. While we did get a bit of precipitation that drifted up from Hurricane Isaac, it turned out to be a great weekend! We spent Saturday having lunch with Allison’s grandma, touring the equestrian center at Culver Academies (he horses there have Tempur-Pedic floors!) and watched movies while it rained. I made Beef Stroganoff for dinner and Allison managed to get the soaked wood to turn into a great backyard fire for s’mores!
Sunday, we woke up early and headed to the Tipacanoe River for a kayak float with some of the girls’ friends. Mr. Epley made 5 gallons of Sangria and supplied all of our kayaks. It was a blast! Then we headed to the Epley’s house for some excellent BBQ and an afternoon of card games. Allison and I also decided to check out the Angry Czech Brewery, a new Culver addition. It was great! I got a flight of their beer and even sampled the root beer.
Monday, it was finally sunny! Brooke, Allison and I took the boat out for a spin and then we picked up their friend JoJo and went tubing…so much fun. Then we swung back by the dock and picked up Allison’s parents and headed to the marina for a late lunch before heading back to Chicago.
After a quick Labor Day Outlet Mall stop, we made it to Chicago just in time for dinner, Chicago Pizza!~ And some excellent fro yo.
Tuesday morning, I headed out to O’Hare for a flight to ATL. I got into Macon around 3:30 and spend the afternoon tooling around with Mom and exploring the new backyard. A few more days and a ton of stuff to do here in Macon and then I’ll be heading back to Steamboat on Sunday!
Everything is everything in Texas.
Here are some of the greatest.
Food Trucks!~ Jalopy: Pulled Chicken Sandwiches! Literally…foodtrucks all over. Some of the best noms. Ever.
Like I said…
The river and GREAT views of the skyline…all over.
The Greenbelt…OR the trails by the river where I collected poison ivy. BUT the fact that there are hiking trails a 1/2 mile from Aldie’s home in the middle of Austin is amazing.
Hanging out by the pool. All.thetime.
AND this guy. Pintxo. ❤
Stand by for updates on: the rest of the adventure & Alden’s BDay!
Much Love.
and_the_cat 