“Clockwise from Top Left: Long view from Mesa Verde, Cliff Palace through the binoculars, Serious Texas BBQ, Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde, Colorado”

When I was on my three month journey into the wilderness and backroads of Colorado after Mr. Virgo died, one of the places I visited was Mesa Verde. This is such a mystical, ancient place. Whenever I am here, I can feel this amazing energy and peacefulness. I truly love showing Mr. FixIt places that I have been. I love watching the awe on his face. The long views in the west are unlike anything we have back east. He keeps saying how glad he is that he has his own personal tour guide!

“Heading into the Weminuche Wilderness”

Joyful abundance! Mr. FixIt is such a great traveler. I love showing him places he hasn’t seen. As a matter of fact, he told me the other night his neck hurts from swiveling back and forth, trying to take it all in. We arrived in Pagosa Springs on Friday afternoon. This is where Mr. Virgo and I lived in 2008. He was the General Manager for a 4200 acre luxury resort here and I did the marketing and catering. It was a short-lived position as our job was to try to turn their losses into profits and try as we might, it was not to be. This is the nature of being a fixer. If you can’t, they close and you lose your job. If you can, they sell and you lose your job. We didn’t really expect to be there long term.

“Clockwise, top left: Hollyhocks, Toes along the San Juan River, The view from Independence Pass, and….Baby Boo!!!!!”

It was a beautiful day for a baby! We had a leisurely breakfast and headed through Aspen and up Independence Pass. Mr. Fixit ooooohed and aaaaahed all the way. He’s never seen the likes of Colorado’s beauty. We stopped at the top of the pass and I was going to walk out to the windy point to take pictures but I could hardly catch my breath at 12,000+ feet elevation so I elected to stay in the car taking slow, deep breaths. I was glad to get down lower.

“Yesterday’s mudslide west of Glenwood Springs.”

I had two epiphanies yesterday. The first was the full realization that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. On occasion, I wonder in the back of my mind if it was the right thing to do selling my house. I sometimes wonder if I should have kept it and rented it out for income. Then, we drove through Glenwood Springs yesterday…on a Friday afternoon…on Mountain Fair Weekend. It. Was. Insane!

“Views from Loveland Pass”

We got a slow start yesterday. We cleaned out the truck and packed, checked and rechecked to make sure we had everything, then almost pulled away without my brother’s package we waited for. Once we retrieved that, we were on our way! We drove over to the west side of town, down through Golden, then out Clear Creek Canyon and picked up I-70 at Idaho Springs. I love starting out my trips that way. The canyon immediately makes you feel like you’re in the mountains and you don’t have to run the gauntlet that is Floyd Hill.

“A Glimpse of Heaven in the Colorado Night Sky”

I knew this would happen. I blinked and a month flew by. I left on this journey exactly four weeks ago. Time is such a weird thing after loss. On the one hand…it flies. On the other…it stands still. I got some quality time with my Colorado family. Mr. FixIt has been here almost two weeks already. The package I’ve been expecting for my brother arrived yesterday so now we can pack up and go off on a little adventure on our own before the wedding.

“Finally had a chance to visit with my friend, Michelle.”

I’ve been writing a daily essay here for over six-and-a-half years now. I’ve heard from numerous people about odd things that have happened since their loved one died. Things that make them feel comforted…like they’re being watched over. Signs from Heaven. With me, it’s bluebirds and angel pennies.

You’ve all heard of “pennies from heaven”. Folk lore says found coins come from angels throwing them in our path to remind us they were here. Something happened yesterday that was downright eerie…but in a wonderful way.

“The Impossible Burger…the best alternative to meat I have ever tasted!”

Back in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, I was on a real health kick. Like…Mother Earth News health kick. I made my own tofu from scratch. I made our yogurt and granola. I even made homemade Grape-Nuts cereal. While we weren’t vegetarians, we WERE pretty poor because I was working to support our family of three while Hubby #2 was in medical school and residency. Our food budget was trimmed of many luxuries like steak and roasts.

“God’s promise.”

There have been so many times in my life when I felt I had no hope. I didn’t know about spiritual warfare. I didn’t know the enemy was the one whispering the lies about me into my heart and mind. My life had long stretches of darkness and it wasn’t until I became a Christian that I started to see light at the end of the tunnel.

“One small step…”

It was a sultry summer night…Sunday, July 20, 1969. We had been watching the news over the previous week or so about the astronauts that were going to walk on the moon. I was all of sixteen…that magical age where you’re caught somewhere between Barbies and boys. We didn’t have screens on the windows but it was too hot to leave them closed. We absentmindedly swatted away the mosquitoes as we ate ice cream and stared at the flickering grey screen.