Happy Birthday, Shawn!

Even though today is a travel day for us, we wanted to join the celebration and send our love on your birthday!

Wishing you a special birthday, although we know that every day is special for you and your beautiful wife and adorable kids...such a loving, fun, delightful family! We are looking forward to many more years of happy times together and hope that, perhaps some year, we'll be able to celebrate your special day in person.

Lovin' Life ~~ With You and Yours

  Bev & Rich

Friday in Aspen

Looking across the street from our third floor window this morning, we saw a pair of black billed magpies on the limbs of this tree. I was able to get this photo of one but unfortunately neither of them ever turned so that I could a side other than the back...still...

This is my second favorite bird but until this morning we thought they were also called cowbirds...not so. We saw many of these along the road throughout the northwest this past summer but I could not get a photo. I love the iridescent blue on their back which doesn't show up very well in this morning's light.

Rich came very close to restoring the Buckyballs back to the cube shape that they come in. In case you have been wondering, Buckyballs are 216 tiny balls of rare earth magnets that can be made into an infinite number of configurations. It is quite a challenge to get them back into a cube shape though and here is Rich's first attempt...

Bill and Deanne walked over for breakfast this morning and we all enjoyed coffee & tea in the skier mugs we bought to commemorate this trip celebrating our 25th Anniversary. Did you know that our anniversary was yesterday???? haha I've talked of little else this week, huh?

This is our last day and they are not skiing today. Rich just got back from the FedEx store where he shipped his skis home. They enjoyed another great day on the slopes at Buttermilk yesterday though.

The town is readying itself for Winterskol so we'll stroll around to watch the preparations.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Anniversary Mugs!

Yin & Yang ~~ A 25th Anniversary Treasure!

We enjoyed another delicious breakfast in the dining room at our hotel to start our special day.

Rich gave me this lovely silver necklace to commemorate this special anniversary. The lovebirds, our initials, the luminescence of a pearl...it's perfect!

Sometimes, in the most unexpected place, an absolute treasure will be discovered. At the end of the block from our hotel is Carl's Pharmacy. We have shopped there many times during our trips to Aspen because it's an amazing place to browse with nearly everything you could ever want packed into the two stories of this small store. Therefore, I was not surprised to find the SILVER EDITION Buckyballs for Rich. I did not, however, expect to find this perfect little gem...

Just look at how closely its shape resembles an Aspen leaf and how an Aspen leaf's shape resembles a heart...such natural beauty.

Now, look closely at the center of the dish...do you see the Yin & Yang? Aah, yes!

Yin is female and yang is male. They fit together as two parts of a whole.

The principle of yin and yang is represented in Taoism by the Taijitu (literally "diagram of the supreme ultimate") diagram. The Taijitu is one of the oldest and best-known life symbols in the world, but few understand its full meaning. It represents one of the most fundamental and profound theories of ancient Taoist philosophy. At its heart are the two poles of existence, which are opposite but complementary. The light, white Yang moving up blends into the dark, black Yin moving down. Yin and Yang are dependent opposing forces that flow in a natural cycle, always seeking balance. Though they are opposing, they are not in opposition to one another. As part of the Tao, they are merely two aspects of a single reality. They do not merely replace each other but actually become each other through the constant flow of the universe.   From Wikipedia

What a treasure, a perfect representation of our lives, discovered unexpectedly on a crowded shop shelf in this historic silver mining town that we love and in which we too have so much history. Not only on this special anniversary, but every day of our lives, I love thinking of Rich and I as "two aspects of a single reality."

Lovin' Life ~~ And Discovering Treasure

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

Leaving the Pitkin County Courthouse January 13, 1986 after getting our Colorado Marriage License.

In Judge Brooke Peterson's office after he performed our marriage ceremony.

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary Dinner at The Wild Fig.

Lovin' Life ~~ Hoping for Many More With MOAO!

Snowmass = Heaven

There is always a difference of opinion when we're here with Bill & Deanne. Out of the four ski mountains at Aspen, they prefer to ski at Buttermilk while Rich (and I, when I skied) prefers Snowmass. Snowmass is massive, over 3,000 acres of skiable terrain with many long, cruising, intermediate runs. They skied at Buttermilk Monday & Tuesday so today was Snowmass. After we got back to the hotel this evening, Rich commented that today he was in heaven.

Free ski buses run continuously to all four mountains. Here is the crew this morning crossing from Bill's & Deanne's hotel over to the bus stop where I am waiting.

Have you ever wondered if Heaven has a logo? Well here it is, the stylized Aspen leaf between the words Aspen and Snowmass on the ticketing center at the Snowmass Pavilion.

Deanne took a day off the slopes so she and I wandered through the Snowmass Village Mall and found a little bakery where we could chat and catch up without the guys...you know how it is. I took a couple of short movies of their first run, then Rich took our camera with him.

He shot this after they got off the chair lift at Elk Camp. In the far distance, at about the center of the photo, you can barely see peaks in the clouds. Those are the Maroon Bells of the Rockies, three peaks in close proximity to each other.

Rich and Bill at Elk Camp standing in front of the "Bells"

Bill ready to head back down to the base from Elk Camp.The valley below appears to go on forever.

Rich...in Heaven.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Sunny Warm Days in Heaven

A Fun(ny) Day at Buttermilk

This is such an exciting post for me, almost as much as if I'd been there. I have ski photos to share with you! Just look at them on Buttermilk Mtn; it's obvious that they are having a blast!

Note: They may ski ~~ but I have Photo Shop...ta da

When Rich came back to our hotel, with Bill's camera in hand, he excitedly gave me a couple of ideas that he and Bill wanted me to Photo Shop of Deanne. Here they are...

Oops, it appears Deanne is nearly buried in a snow bank...teehee

Oh no, she must have fallen right out of her boots and skis when she biffed this time!

Good grief, just look at that silly orange hat...and I thought she was a fashion maven.

When Bill and Deanne came to get us for dinner, I innocently clicked through all the photos of the day and, each time one of these came on the screen, all three of them guffawed. I guess I had a successful day too!

Tonight there will be no restaurant review, but perhaps nothing could have dazzled us after last evening's dining experience.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Guffaws!

Ute City Restaurant

One of the many pleasures of Aspen is the variety and deliciousness (if not before, that's a word of mine now) of the restaurants. On previous trips here, we have eaten some amazing meals. Last night's repast may have topped them all for me.

We selected the Ute City restaurant which opened in the fall of 2009. The food was divine, the atmosphere was warm & relaxed, and the service phenomenal. Isn't this dining room simply lovely?

As we were finishing the last delectable morsels of our entrees, I realized that I had not taken one single photo of the food. Perhaps that's a kindness to all though, since you are not here to partake for yourselves.

Bill and I had Pork Medallions which were served with Apple Chutney, Sage Spaetzle, Goat Cheese, and Wilted Greens...oh my, oh my! Rich had the "best" Braised Beef Short Ribs ever ~ and he loves braised short ribs ~ that were served with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes and...???  Deanne had a tasty Bib Lettuce Salad and an excellent Beef Tenderloin that was served with Creamed Greens and...??? Oh shoot, I can't remember all the unique sides that accompanied Rich's and Deanne's entrees because I was totally immersed in my own culinary fantasy-come-true.

Here is a photo of Rich and Bill that I did manage to take before any of the deliciousness began arriving at our table.

Our waiter was knowledgeable, attentive, and had a bit-more-than-slight London accent so I kept him talking as much as possible...haha Seriously, he has worked in Aspen for twenty years so had some interesting stories to tell. He also mentioned to the manager that we were in town for our anniversary and we received complementary desserts in celebration. It was another of many perfect evenings in this special town.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Perfect Evenings

Monday in Historic Aspen

This is the block that includes our historic Hotel Jerome. To the far left side of this photo is Carl's Pharmacy and the blue building is the Aspen Times.

Anyone interested in a dip in our hotel hot tub this afternoon? Or perhaps just lounging by the pool?

Or maybe you prefer to relax and chat a bit on a bench here in downtown Aspen?

This is a view of Aspen Mtn., aka Ajax, and the ski runs coming down the face into town. Yes, of course I was standing in the street taking photos.

Rich and I enjoyed a most delicious breakfast at our hotel this morning; I have to include a shot of one of the chandeliers and recessed ceiling in that dining room...oh my! Our hotel opened at Thanksgiving in 1889 so there is much heavy, gorgeous wood paneling and trim everywhere...fabulously historic!

After breakfast, Rich met Bill & Deanne to ski at Buttermilk. He just got back to our room ecstatic over his afternoon on the slopes! He wore his favorite ski jacket today...this one has some history, a great story about the custom embroidered Columbine flowers (the Colorado state flower) that were applied at a shop in Aspen years ago to repair it after the jacket got caught and torn on a lift here.

Lovin' Life ~~ And History

Farkle on a Snowy Day

When we landed in Aspen yesterday afternoon, we wondered where the snow was. Sure there was snow on the ground but there was also brush showing through. By the time we walked back to our hotels from dinner, it began to snow, continued all through the night, and all day today ~ heavy snow much of the day today.

These were from our hotel room window this morning...

Late morning we rode a ski shuttle to Buttermilk Mountain just to check it out because it was snowing too hard and was much too overcast for any of our three to ski today.

So what do you do when you have traveled to Aspen to ski and it's snowing so heavily that you can't see? You spend the afternoon in the lodge at Buttermilk playing Farkle...what could be more fun???

Deanne has turned out to be a 'Champeen' Farkle player...now there's a title to wear with pride!!

Lovin' Life ~~ And Snowy Days at a Lodge

Our Most Special Place

No time for one of my wordy posts...hey, I heard that sigh of relief. Here we are on our January adventure, the one I mentioned in our Christmas letter. Can you guess where? Here are some clues....

This is not the motorhome...

Our Beloved Rockies...

Here's a huge clue: An Aspen Leaf...

Rich at the airport with the Aspen Leaf carpet...Oh, come on now!

Bill and Deanne were waiting for us in the lobby of our hotel (just wait until I get time to show you photos of our room!) and of course we walked through downtown to enjoy the beautiful lights and character of our favorite place in the world...Aspen, Colorado!

Lovin' Life ~~ The Four of Us in Aspen!