some busy weeks...

really not much to say except working hard... had some minus 30 nights and minus double digit days... got out into some powder one of the days but otherwise haven't seen the sun since getting up before it comes up and getting home after it goes down... will be done with the insanity and back to regular craziness 9 days from now...

x games week

Twas a fun week with some relief at work. Slowing just a bit and it was the last week of Jenny helping us out so she now knows our system ans was able to help. Jenny is the new doc we will be having join us full time in October and staff/patients loved her. That is good. Then Friday night went to see Brad play music with a new band he is part of at a Jewish service in town (the Mozeltones) and it was fun. My first service and possibly my last (I did like the Mozeltones so may be enticed back once in a while but not often!). Brad will play with them maybe once a month in the future. After that we went to my friend Shereen's house for a fantastic dinner (Shereen was "splash" in our splash/crash/dash triathelon last year). Then we had an impromptu visit from Ken, Holly, Satori, Bodhi and their dog for the weekend. It was spectacular and we did a lot of cross country skiing past Ashcroft which was STUNNING! Then Ken joined Brad in another music event tonight playing at Highlands and they had a blast. Overall great fun/friends/food etc. Now back to reality :) Oh yeah, and I had my 10 seconds of fame featured on ESPN this weekend when a discharge note I wrote ended up on the show. That is all the fame I want :)

my first sign language teacher

So last week was fun. NY was not as "yuck" as I had expected it to be (see last blog... I even enjoyed it... ESPECIALLY the awesome restaurant that Jeff brought me to that last night and the great company of him and my folks that evening) and then got back to spend a spectacular bday at home with Clifford and Brad doing what I love including spending quality time inside and outside my fabulous mountain home. The hiking was incredible that day and I was so caught up in it that I was late to meet Shinta who had made me a fabulous bday cake. I continued to do a lot of hiking and enjoying not being in the office for the rest of the week. Fri night had a great bday dinner at Brad's folks and then Sunday had a great time skiing and later went to the deaf camp to give a lecture to the deaf women's snowshoe retreat group. There I met up with my first sign language teacher Dorothy Wilkin who I hadn't seen since around 1981 when I took her AWESOME sign language class. I had taken the course to get an easy A and instead she opened my life to amazing adventures and fun. To pass her class we had to wear "maskers" to make ourselves deaf for a whole weekend and write about it (amazing eye opener), go to a party of hers with all of her deaf friends and leave our voices downstairs, and go to dinner with her and only sign the whole dinner. It was a fantastic course and I learned a ton. After that course I immersed myself in the deaf community in Rochester and went on to do an interpreter training course and get my masters in deaf education. I had expected to teach the Deaf before the course but only in an "oral" environment. The education she gave of teaching me language and culture opened my eyes to a whole new world and made me a better person. I told her how much she changed my life and she mentioned that another student from that first class I took with her had gone on to get a PhD in Linguistics and is now working for her in ASL (American Sign Language) research. Pretty cool having 2 "doctors" still involved in the Deaf community coming out of 1 class! A tribute to how good she was.

in NY... YUCK...

Last week was busy with work. It is NOT slowing down like it usually does after the New Year. This is good for business but hard on staff. Fortunately we have the best staff we have ever had at AMC and I am very happy about that.
Worked the full week. We have Jenny C, our new hire next 10/2011, visiting to do a rotation, learn and help out. Interesting to see again why we don't bring in residents/students during on season. There is NO time to teach. She is doing a good job but it is still hard.
Sat flew to NY to celebrate some birthdays and visit my mom since she couldn't come to Aspen after breaking her hip. She is finally turning a corner and it looks as if there is some healing on the xrays. She moves around quite a bit (better with 1 or 2 crutches than without them). We had dinner with Jeff in the apt Sat night after I arrived (Thai) then yesterday we went to a movie and then to dinner with my uncles in New Rochelle (Indian). It was the first time my mom has been out and she did great and the food and company was very enjoyable. SO, all is well so far. Today is a walk in the park with my dad, a museum with my Mom and Dad and then dinner with Jeff down near his place. He gave me a great hat for my bday (will have to put in a picture later). All is well and can't wait to go back to my beloved CO tomorrow. In my absence Brad has been taking care of Clifford, had a GREAT gig at the Belly Up (which I wished I could have been at) and has been doing laps snowboarding around our house! Life is good :)

2010 ends and 2011 begins...

First, it is amazing to me that a year has passed so quickly... it is TRULY AMAZING... starting with "End of a Decade" and ending with "dueling breaks" with the following in between...

Belize- the vacation that might not have been, an "ah ha" moment, a totally yucky spring weather wise, my first raft trip and my 8th year anniversary, almost 12 days of camping and another fabulous "Strawberry", a great July, Martha's Vineyard, Mt Sopris, Las Vegas (and the gecko girl tattoo), Shari joining the AMC family (I tell her almost daily how happy I am she joined us), Brad's Bday weekend and other spectacular Sept camping, Rally to Restore Sanity from afar, the awesome "Sky is Falling Party", Thanksgiving with the girls, prepping for and doing the Summit for Life with my staff, the Mastodon find, the wrong and then the right car, Shinta becoming the teacher, etc etc...

During my last week of 2010 Anne took me to the "Crystal Palace Review" at the Wheeler and it was fantastic. And because I worked for New Years Eve and was on call tonight Brad took me out for an early New Years at a very nice restaurant and then we went to see the Mother Puckers play the Aspen Police (who brought in ringers from up and down the valley)... The Mother Puckers were winning at half time when I left.... it was VERY fun. A great way to end the year. Brad went to some parties but managed to get home just at midnight to watch fireworks with me and Clifford at our house as the year changed over. Tomorrow (today) we do our traditional New Years Day party at Lee and Steve Rittvo's.

I look forward to another fantastic year in 2011. I expect some good times with my family, more wonderful time with Clifford d-dog hiking and playing, another year of celebration with my long time partner Brad, continued work with a currently and hopefully continuing fantastic staff (with Jenny joining us towards the end of the year), another great "Strawberry", and adventures in Nashville and "Burning Man" which will be some exciting new experiences for me.

Lots of love and peace out to those who read this and to the universe...

dueling breaks

ok I am getting sick of family and friends dueling for the biggest breaks of the season! Stop it. Mom, no more hip fractures, Marty, cool it with the back surgeries and my friend/patient, this is the last season you miss for breaking things as you have enough metal in you. Ugghhh... Please all... rubber side down from now on!
Last week was good except the breaks... On season has COMPLETELY hit and EVERYONE has uri's etc... the snow is good up top but hard on the bottom and so people are breaking things... that keeps us busy at AMC.
I didn't get much exercise until the end of the week and then it was good with some skiing/hiking/sledding/boarding. Next week is a FULL week of about 70+ hours so no exercise then but hopefully will figure out some time to do some. Also will get to see a good show Tues night after work since Anne bought me a ticket to the Crystal Palace Review (I LOVE THAT SHOW). Brad will have the week off but will work at home on an IMENSE project.
Hope you are all happy and healthier... Happy early New Year!

ruby horse thief

Brad's dad had surgery Monday and it was a rough week for him and his family. My mom also is recovering from her surgery... also a rough week for her. I have been helping out as I can with Marty close up and mom from afar. I luckily have not been in surgery and had a decent week of hangin with my dog. We even took a FANTASTIC hike at Ruby Horse Thief. The river below had been floated by us this summer with Brad on great camping trips and Clifford and I decided to see it from on top of the canyon. Twas a beautiful day and a great almost 10 mile hike. This weekend we plan on going to Brad's office Christmas party. And then it is getting ready for a VERY busy next several weeks with full on on-season happening. Lots of jets/planes flying in and out.

I will be sending healing thoughts through the ethernet to Marty and Ruth and to anyone else out there who needs some good healing.