December 8 ~ 11, 2014 ~ Fort Worth, The Mountains and the Nutcracker

December 8, 2014 ~ Fort Worth, Texas

The Grand Valley and an
Ariel View of Grand Jucntion on my flight to FW

The second week of December my cousin Cathy called to let me know that my 96 year old uncle was in the hospital. He possibly had a heart attach the previous week and had 'gone down hill' since then. So much so that he had no energy and would not get out of bed and that was not like him at all.  Multiple test were taken and thankfully Dr Irad M. Cochran, known to his grandchildren as PopPop and whom I lovingly call him Uncle I, did not have a heart attack!  As it turned out, he had Pneumonia! Once this was discovered, he was put on the correct medication and has been recovering very nicely. After talking with Cathy, we decided that he was well enough for a visit and since I was near and could fly (Thank you Amelia for working for an airline) I decided to visit him.  I called my very fabulous, sweet, childhood friend from my Grapevine years, Susan Butler who lives near him. I asked if I could stay with her and being the dear person that she is, she immediately said "absolutely" ~  that she couldn't wait to see me and would be able to take me to see him. So I flew to Fort Worth Monday morning, December 8th, and not only did I stay with Susan, she chauffered me to see Uncle I on Tuesday and then picked me up that evening, with 2 adorable grandchildren in tow!  It was so sweet of her and I am so thankful to have kept such dear friends like Susan in my life!

I have not had much time with Uncle Irad this past years ~ I had only seen him on a few visits to Texas and he had visited me in Maine and my sister, Drusie, in R.I.  So having a full day just to relax and talk with him was heaven.  First I have to say that he looked great.  He was back to his old self and was recooperating from his pneumonia very nicely.  We talked about his sisters (my mother and Aunt Burna) and we talked about my Grandparents, and Great Grandparents and so on and so on.  It was truly interesting.  Mom, who had written genology books about her family, would have loved to have been in on the conversation and I know she would have expanded on a few details.  Uncle I loaned me a couple of binders of family documents, which I am going to reorganize and give back to him in the spring.  I can't wait to dig into the history and read the stories he has.  

When he took his nap, I spent time with Cathy and her husband, Guy, as well as my cousin Curtis.  It was such a gift just to sit and talk about our lives.  Cathy was the minister at Moms funeral in Fort Worth 2 1/2 years ago.  It certainly was so nice to catch up again.

Later that evening Robyn Ricks Stewart, another school friend from Grapevine, came over for dinner.  Now the day was complete! It has been too many years since I had seen Susan and even more years since Robyn and I had seen each other.  There is nothing better than old friends having a yummy Italian dinner and then sitting around on the floor remininissing!  Priceless!  Except that a few other good friends from Grapevine were missing and I am hoping to catch up with many of them in the Spring when I am planning to come through Texas on my return trip to Maine. Of course, I get to see Cathy Anderson Simmons when John and I visit Walla Walla, Washington later this winter.

Cousin Cathy, Uncle Irad and myself

He looked so good!

Visiting with Cathy

It was so good to see my cousin Curtis, 
who I have only seen once in the past 50 years!

 Pictures Mom put together of our linage.
Thats Uncle Irad, in uniform, on the bottom left.

Uncle Irads Retirement
certificate, at age 90 

I never knew that my Aunt Betty, Irads wife, had made all our Christmas Stockings.
I still have mine, which looks very much like these.

Old Friends: Susan, Robyn and myself

Grapevine Highway Sign
Funny, I know, but had to take the picture! 

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December 10, 2014

Flight back to Colorado- Love the Rockie Mountains
Not much snow yet

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The Grand Mesa 

Mt Garfield and the Bookcliffs

From the Air

Mount Garfield is found just to the north and east of Grand Junction Colorado.  It is the eastern most major peak in the Bookcliff Mountains,  the Bookcliffs  are an older range of mountains that run mostly east to west.  See the link below.
It rises to an elevation just above the six thousand foot level. In respect to the local topography it is two thousand feet higher than the floor of the Grand Valley.  It is five thousand feet lower than the top of the Grand Mesa which attains a height of  eleven thousand feet above sea level.   It must be noted that the Grand Mesa deserves the title GRAND by virtue of  it's own merit.  It is the largest flat topped mountain in the world, and lies to the south and the east of Mount Garfield. The Colorado river lies between. The original name given to the Colorado River in the early days was the Grand River.  It was from this name that the valley, the mesa, and the City of Grand Junction received their names.  The first buildings in the city were near the junction of the Gunnison River, and the (Grand ) Colorado River. 

(http://www.bookcliff-group.com/Mount-Garfield.html )

I never realized how absolutely flat the Grand Mesa is

First view of the GRAND MESA
from abov

Mt. Garfield fro above, with Route 70 runnig along the side

The Bookcliffs 

Mt. Garfield with the Bookcliffs running to the West.

This is a differnet prespecive
of the land in front of the Bookcliffs
 than I am use to seeing 

One of my favorite photographs of the Bookcliffs~
I would love to have a counter top that looked like this!

The Grand Valley with the Colorado Nation Monument
Park in the Background taken just before landing.
More on this mountain range to come.

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December 11, 2014  The Nutcracker and the Moscow Ballet

The Avalon

Moscow Ballet’s acclaimed Great Russian Nutcracker performance was held at the Avalon Theatre Thursday evening and Amelia and I were so luckly to be able to get tickets with Amanda's help!  "..Exclusive to the Great Russian Nutcracker is the stunning Dove of Peace, with 20ft wingspan, and created by 2 dancers moving as one; Russian folk legends Father Christmas/Ded Moroz and Snow Maiden/Snegurochka who escort Masha and Nutcracker Prince to the Land of Peace and Harmony; life-sized Matrushka Dolls; and whimsical 10ft tall silk puppets. New in 2014 is an authentic Russian Christmas puppet play and Masha’s magical Toy Cabinet. Wearing intricately detailed costumes, many with shimmering Swarovski crystals, the award-winning principal dancers and corps de ballet bring Tchaikovsky’s master score and the holiday season to life!...*  Local Grand Junction student dancers between the ages of 7 and 16 were selected to perform side-by-side with the professional company of 40 Russian dancers...

It was a beautiful evening of Ballet!