old info... 11/08 (first update)

Hi all...
I am going to try to get in the mode of sending semi weekly updates by email... for some of you who hear from me regularly this might have some repeat info so you can skip it but for others it may be a better way to keep in touch and keep up with goings on in life.
First, I hope you are all happy and healthy.
Second, I am happy and healthy.
Third... here goes...
A lot has gone on at “the Lazy F Ranch” this past week... the whole gang has had a decent time with Clifford enjoying some snow and Brad and I surviving another week of work. Brad has gotten the music studio finished out so that he will have a very nice room to make music in (instead of the unfinished garage). It was done yesterday so he is moving stuff back in there which will mean I get my side of the garage back so we are both very happy. We also did some ground work that was way overdue above the garage and had some work on the erosion that was happening in the driveway area. It all has come together VERY well and we are both pleased.
In the past week I have met with my “English in Action” student and that went well. After spending years complaining of the Hispanic folks in Aspen who haven’t learned English I decided to do something about it and started volunteering for English in Action. I went to their training sessions etc and got paired up with a really nice woman who wants to learn English and who they thought I would work well with BUT she is from Indonesia and not Hispanic so I haven’t “done something” about my original complaint but she is great. Her name is Shinta and she is married to Katut and has a daughter Sekar. We have been working together for a few months and she is improving significantly in her English and is trying to teach me to make Indonesian food in return. She cooks for me every week since we usually meet after a very busy day of work for me so she feels bad for me and feeds me. Her food is EXCELLENT! Brad gets left-overs and loves them. We meet 1x per week for an hour or so and we are working on her learning English so she can better teach her daughter (who is 4) and so when she gets back to Indonesia she can work with people there to improve her country.
AMC (my practice) bought part of a building in Aspen and the plan is to move into the space next April. We have finally gotten approval from the local planning office so construction will begin this week. We can’t wait to be in a place we own (or the bank owns) and that is not old and about to fall down. We will miss the charm of our old place but it will be nice to keep the weather outside (currently when it rains outside it rains on our patients inside too) and not to have to share the space with another practice. It has been a little ulcer provoking thinking about financing this project with the current economy but we have been very frugal saving money for construction and we just found out we may be able to get a pretty decent loan that would work very well for us. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Last night Brad and I were invited to the local Rabbi’s house for dinner. It was VERY nice and very educational. There were about 15 people around the adult table and several more at the kids table. The food and company were awesome and we all left “rolling” out of the place with our stomachs stuffed. The Rabbi spoke for a while during the dinner about faithfulness (not blind faith as other religions accept and expect) and questioning. He said that you don’t need to believe in God to be a good Jew since it is really actions and not rhetoric/thoughts that are important (at least that is what I got out of it). He was fascinating and very welcoming as was his wife.
Finally for this week’s installment, I got a video from Jeff today that was a conglomeration of home movies from our family’s past. It was GREAT to watch and brought back MANY memories. We had more adventures and got a long better than I remembered! There was skiing, sailing, swimming, sand dunes, playing in the rain, Grandpa’s house, other Grandpa’s birthday party, etc etc. What fun and THANK YOU for sending that. Anyone who hasn’t seen it can be subjected to my memories anytime through that video.
Again hope you are well and more anon!!!Love, Kim