typical colorado

each school morning, gabrielle is picked up by a big, yellow school bus and chauffeured to school.

"have a nice day, gabi!"

and each afternoon it drops her back home to me.

"welcome home, gabi!"

i treasure these moments because i know that they are all too fleeting.  

years ago, i used to walk ben to the school bus each morning and meet him again each afternoon.......then it was sebastian's turn.  just stay little a little longer, baby.......  

let's go on a colorado sightseeing tour.......

along the way, i will introduce you to typical colorado scenes.

rocky mountain majesty

                              snow                                                                        creative wooden structures                                                     

                loved and pampered jeeps                                                          pine trees galore

            "it's a jeep thing, we wouldn't understand"

               hefty, dirty pick up trucks                                                            wooden fences

                      animal tracks                                                                          animal carcass

                                                                                                     in our neighbor's yard, all that remains are a deer's      

                                                                                                                             antlers and ribcage from a recent mountain lion kill

wooden houses and log cabins

landlocked boats - you see this a lot in the summer too.

there just isn't much water 'round here....

and..........

fender-benders.......

unfortunately, this is my car.  we had a huge snowstorm hit last evening causing havoc at rush hour.

i was on my way home with gabi after her piano lesson.....

all of a sudden we were hit from behind....all i could see in my rear view mirror, was

the broadside of a huge suv.  we both pulled into a parking lot and out of the car 

jumped gabi's p.e. teacher from school.  i adore her and gave her a big hug......

she felt shaken and very, very sorry.

it will all be ok.....

it's hard to catch ben these days.......

i haven't been able to snap a photo of him lately for the blog....got ya!

he's doing fine......and happy as a clam with a controller in his hand......

i took a picture of sab too, but somehow deleted it.

he was on the computer, checking facebook.....

typical colorado after school sights......

spinach pie.....

we are having spinach pie for dinner.......

this, served along with butternut soup (recipe featured in an earlier post) and crusty loaf of bread

is one of our long time family favorites.......truly!!

Spinach Pie

recipe given to me by a friend, years ago in australia

4 eggs

5 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups milk

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (tasty cheese - aus.)

3 cups chopped cooked spinach (i put in tons more)

salt & freshly ground pepper

1. Whisk eggs, oil and milk together.  Pour into combined remaining ingredients.  Mix until well blended.

2. Pour into greased pie dish.  Bake at 425 degrees (200 C.) for 45 minutes until set and browned.

Serves 6

and we end the day 

with another typical colorado scene......

a gorgeous sunset behind the mountains......