Tradition

Today is Christmas day and we are headed up to Idaho Springs to go swimming in the Indian Springs pool.  This is a family tradition that dates back several decades when a planned Christmas Day ski trip was vetoed because of extreme cold.  David's sister said, "Let's go swimming instead!"  So most years we head up the road to the pool.  It is fun swimming beneath the palm trees and then letting someone else do the cooking as we eat a non-traditional meal of burgers at the restaurant there.  We usually go with my sister in-law and her husband and over the years we were joined by my parents (now gone) or my granddaughter and/or other good friends.  This year it looks like it will just be the four of us as children and grandchildren are in other places.  I will think of all while drifting in the warm water.

Merry Christmas 

We just got back from Idaho Springs - sad to say that the restaurant in the hotel is closed so we had to search for food.  About all that was open in town was the Subway so we ended up going to Central City where we had dinner at one of the casinos!  Oh, Well.

Getting Published

I was honored to be asked to write about being a Peace Corps Volunteer for a book written by my friends Nora and Nestor Mercaco and Alok Sarwal. The book, "Voices from Colorado - Perspectives of Asian Pacific Americans" has the stories of many Asian Americans here. There were four RPCV's who served in the Philippines who were included in the book. My story "My Life in the Peace Corps - a Summary" was condensed for the book.
The release party was like year-book day at high school. People whose stories were in the book were collecting autographs from the others who were there.

Home to Holly Springs

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I like the stories about Father Tim. This one takes him home to Mississippi after many years. He confronts his past with several surprises. What he finds there shakes him to the core. A very satisfying read.


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The Appeal

The Appeal by John Grisham

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is another scary Grisham plot. I live near an EPA super fund site in Colorado but not as horribly bad as this one in Mississippi. I don't know what is more awful, the toxic waste or the election of Supreme Court justices?


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Out of the deep freeze

Today the temperature got up to a balmy 33 degrees (Fahrenheit). Yesterday it only got to 2 above. When I left for work yesterday the temperature was -14 (up from a record setting -19 low for the night) I was working at the airport at a gate which was extremely cold because the doors from that jet bridge and others near it had to be open to let passengers on and off of the planes. (gee, if we could only have kept the doors closed, it might have been warmer!) We were all bundled up but were restricted to wearing official uniform items (or black or blue which wouldn't clash with what we had to wear.) The Starbucks in the boarding area did a booming business. To those who complained about the seeming lack of heat in the concourse I only had to say, "Well it is December and this is Denver." Funny thing is - last week we had a day in the 70's!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Candy Cane Murders

Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hannah Swensen follows a trail of candy canes and finds yet another body in her Minnesota home town of Lake Eden. Hannah owns a bakery called "The Cookie Jar" there and seems to always find the bodies. This one is Santa, who was just inside the Lake Eden Inn giving presents to children from the County Home. Sprinkled among her adventures in trying to solve the mystery of who killed Kris Kringle are wonderful recipes for Holiday quiche, Peppermint Martini and eight different cookies. Several of the cookie recipes use crushed candy canes as ingredients - yum!



Well worth the quick read.




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