Archive for November, 2012

Somebody Owes Me Money

Saturday, November 24th, 2012

My Wedding Dress Still Fits on my 10th Anniversary!

Dennis and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary today. Yay, go us!

When we were married, one of our guests bet me 100 bucks that I wouldn’t be able to fit into my wedding dress in 10 years. Of course, they lost the bet, but darned if I can remember who it was who bet me!

Drats. So, as proof, and just in case said person is reading this…you lose!

Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

Thanksgiving With Friends
On Thanksgiving, we watched the Lions football game and then stuffed our faces with a table full of food. As proof of the awesome spread, see the above picture. We were relieved that Dan and Joan were able to join us to help consume it all. Of course, they brought some extra food with them, but this just added to the awesomeness!

Day Hike – Crater Lakes, Moffat Tunnel, CO

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Moffat Tunnel Trailhead
What a weekend! Climbing the First Flatiron with Doug, followed up by a lovely day hike to the Crater Lakes in James Peak Wilderness with Erin and Josh. Super duper fun…I wish all weekends could all be this rad!

James Peak Wilderness Kiosk at Moffat Tunnel
I met up with Josh and Erin really early in the AM. We drove in Josh’s jeep to the trail head at the Moffat Tunnel. Hiking ensued lasting several hours. We meandered our way up to the lakes and stopped briefly for lunch. It was fairly breezy and chilly, so we didn’t loiter for long.

Clare Hiking in the Snow, James Peak Wilderness

On the hike back to the car we saw lots of people with dogs and skis heading out for the afternoon. I thought it was a bit late in the day, but maybe they were just going to be out for an hour. On the way back to Denver, we stopped at Very Nice Brewery in Nederland for a pint (or three!).

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Rock Climbing – East Face Standard Route, First Flatiron, Boulder

Saturday, November 17th, 2012

The Foothills of Boulder, CO in Fall
I finally got to lead the even pitches of the East Face of the First Flatiron. I had led the odd pitches before, but not the even pitches. When Doug suggested climbing the route, I was oh-so-happy to oblige!

Doug and Clare Summit First Flatiron
It was a nice fall day, with chilly temps in the shade and a crispness in the air. Winter was definitely around the corner and I was a bit sad to say goodbye to climbing season.

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Erin’s Birthday Party

Saturday, November 10th, 2012

At Erin's Birthday Party
Erin is Fear and I’m Loathing. It’s a personal joke that even we don’t fully understand!

Dennis and I went to Erin’s birthday party. There were a fun assortment of people there; mostly librarians and climbers. Obviously, I felt more at home with the latter, but I was oddly intrigued with these librarians.

My aunt is a librarian, so my prior experience was a very biased sample. This collection of librarians, however, are almost the polar opposite of my aunt; young, hip, relaxed, engaging, and just a tad on the crazy side. Not to say my aunt wasn’t any of these things in her youth; there’s no way I’ll ever know!

Erin is a home brewer, so of course there was an assortment of tasty beers to try. She also had a large pot of lentil soup bubbling on the stove, a whole loaf of specially baked olive bread with a tapenade, and extremely addictive cupcakes. I found the combination of hearty fall foods really complemented the choice of beers. Well done, I say!

We stayed for as long as we could and then said our goodbyes. If you are ever invited to a party by Erin, my recommendation would be to attend. Two thumbs up!