A Hike and Raindrop for My Body and Spirit

The day after the Commonwheel Art Festival jury, I worked on getting all the information sorted out and getting the checks copied and deposited in the bank. I walked to the Commonwheel and the copier was in pieces! That paper jam a couple of days ago must have been much worse than normal, so no wonder I couldn’t fix it. I decided to wait a day to deal with the checks, then realized I could photograph them and that would work just as well as a record as making copies.

My arm was still pretty sore and I had a call from my friend who does a class for Raindrop Technique using essential oils to confirm the time she needed me as the “demo body” and she had an opening the next day. She needs some work done on flyers and letterhead that need changing since she no longer owns the School of Inner Health to reflect her new business name and session fees. That made it easy for me to say yes to exchange some (healing) time for (computer) time.

I mentioned I had a chance to go on a hike in the morning before the session and was thinking of skimping that training that she invited me to, and she agreed the fresh air would do me as much good as a training. And she wanted to be the “demo body” for that training anyway.

So I started my Friday out with a massage and some Craniosacral work on my aching body. My knees and my arm all felt much better when she finished working on me. I was kind of spacey when she was showing me what she needed done, so when I did work on it, wasn’t totally sure all she needed done on two flyers and her letterhead. And none of the past versions were anywhere to be found on either of my computers. After a quick search, decided it would be easier to just create them from scratch and not waste any more time. Could have been done three computers ago and not transferred well to each upgraded computer over the last few years.

At 11:00 am, I was to meet someone from the Chamber to loan the Parking Signs with Arrows to them for the WineFest happening on Saturday. That went very smoothly. Lucky I had had the Zeb Boys pull all the signs to the front a few months ago, as those were behind heavy stuff and would not have been fun to get out if they hadn’t been moved forward by those strong young men.

I was signed up to go to StarGazers for Martini Shot. The first set was fun. During the break, I caught up with a couple of women friends and got to talk to the organizer to be sure he totally understood why I was a No-Show last Friday. Raccoons and my very sore shoulder and being filthy at that the time I would have normally left my house. He did and cracked a joke about being filthy in different ways.

The second set started with a very loud drum roll and the volume of all of the instruments was turned way up! I could not handle that, so left. Was probably a good idea since I had to get ready for the hike the next morning and it was good to get to sleep early enough to not feel tired when I woke up.

This was my second “stroll” hike with the Singles group and it was not as well attended as the last one, but met a couple of interesting women. I do hope the one calls me to help her get connected with some people I mentioned she might like to know. She took my card, but didn’t give me a way to call her, though on the site, I probably could find her, but that is just more work for me that I don’t need right now.

It was a lovely day, not many waterfowl were to be seen, but I just relaxed and enjoyed the walk in the sunshine.

I got to the healing session location too early. So drove home to eat and picked up my Grade B Maple Syrup that a group of us had ordered. The Cog traffic was horrendous, but I got home and fixed myself a quick lunch, then went back using the highway rather than driving back through Manitou Springs.

The ladies at the session were all ones I had met before. Two bought my “Discover Essential Oils Books” and one has a business in Fort Collins and she wanted to buy 6 copies wholesale. We set a time for her to come to my house and do that the next week. Watched a video about using essential oils on animals that was very interesting.

Just before the session, it began to rain, then hail. I felt very concerned for the WineFest. When driving home, I drove around Memorial Park, and it was filled with people. There was a perfect parking space, so I stopped and chatted with Leslie. Yes, it had rained and hailed, but people had just sheltered under tents and then came back out when the sun was shining again. But the ground was very muddy as the grass was not in good shape before the event, no water since last September has it in very bad condition. I was very grateful that this event went so well for all the effort our Chamber Staff put into it. And they said the signs worked really well. More people road the shuttle than any time in the past.

My roommate and I did some gardening and I am sure I worked more on the computer as that day ended. I also connected with my cottage tenant to assure her we would watch her big kitty while she was away for a week.

On Friday, I had tried to print the Images I wanted to enter in the 46 Views of Pikes Peak gallery show, but neither printer made them look good. I called Walgreens and asked if they could make 6″ by 4.25″ prints and I was told “yes.” Since the deadline was on Sunday, I decided to wait and take them to get printed on Sunday.

Sunday, when I went to get my images printed and was told that no, they only did 6″ x 4″ prints. Tried two other places and the same answer. So I decided to create 5″x7″ images to print, but hadn’t paid good attention to the price increase for those. I hurried back to Manitou, as I was working the afternoon shift at Commonwheel and this was the first day we would be using the new POS System. It is very slick and easy to use. But I was a wee bit tired, so when I was checking out I wasn’t as on point as normal, but since I had only had one sale, it was still easy. There were lots of people in during the shift, but no buyers. Though one gentleman who I had shown his lady some pricey pieces of jewelry, turned and whispered back to me as the were headed towards the door, “I’ll be back.”

On Monday I created 5″x7″ images by adding white border. I was shocked by the cost at Walgreens, so I went to my least favorite place to shop, WalMart. They had a better price on prints done in 1 hour, so I narrowed my choices down to 8 prints to see how they would look. I was scheduled to remeasure the park with two other Festival committee members at 3:30 and I did not have what I needed in the car. I drove home – cursing myself for not thinking ahead and putting the needed items in the car when I left earlier, but then, I hadn’t expected the price glitch or the time glitch to get the prints done.

The prints looked great. Just couldn’t take them to KRCC that day, as I would just make it to The Fields Park in time to meet everyone. I had forgotten sunscreen and had called the Commonwheel to ask someone to call one of the members to bring me some. It was a very sunny day and I did not need to get sunburned!

The measuring went quickly with these two very helpful people. I still haven’t had time to translate those new measurements onto the map, but it was helpful to determine we would have plenty of spaces and could even add another row if we wanted to go farther back to the West.

Our general meeting was that night and I did not have much of a report prepared, but wrote it up as the meeting progressed. I even remembered to bring the Job Sheet for members to sign up for their Festival Jobs.

Tuesday, I drove to get some supplements I needed and actually had a moment to see my dear healer and friend Vivian Rice at that office. Then I delivered the images to KRCC and they had no problem with them being a bit late, or at least that was what the receptionist said. The absolute deadline was June 7th for items that had to be postmarked by June 1st, so hand delivering them before that date was OK. Whew! I had put too much effort into this project to miss a deadline. And I rarely wait until the last minute to get things done, but it happened this time.

The rest of the day, I worked hard on many pieces of the Art Festival wanting to be able to take Wednesday off for a long hike if the weather was good and not feel guilty about not working that day.

My Tony Laidig webinar was about changing one’s mindset and one’s financial picture. It was one of his “tough love” sessions. And is actually part one of two or three other sessions that we will be having on the following Tuesdays.

I have been obsessed with taking photos of my Poppies and Iris and other flowers around town.My Iris are extremely beautiful this year. The ones from my parent’s Oregon home hadn’t bloomed much the last few years, but they are glorious this year. I really need to figure out a way for all of these photographs to create some financial freedom. I am trying to let my subconscious work on this challenge.

I have also signed up for two other courses. One to learn PhotoShop better and a 30 day book challenge. I am devoting this weekend to getting my Sustainable Event Book much closer to finished!

Wednesday my doorbell rang and I was greeted by tree trimmers. I instucted them to be very careful over the garden area. And they promised they would. I looked out when I was dressed and two guys were working with one in an area with nothing but weeds below and the guy dropping limbs above the garden had no helpers. I went out and told them they needed to pay attention more over my garden and my heirloom Iris from my parents home. This time they did seem to understand my concerns and worked more as a team on the garden side.

Wednesday was perfect weather for hiking in Lovell Gulch outside of Woodland Park. At the beginning of the trail we ran into two other artists out for a hike. We were just about a week early for the flowers to really be awesome, but there was plenty of beauty to be seen and I did get some nice flower and Pikes Peak photographs. I had in mind doing a 365 Views, or maybe just 52 Views of Pikes Peak before the KRCC “contest” came along, so I was prepared for that and have a different idea for my book. Just need to get it more solid in my mind. Will it have quotes? Or just locations? We’ll see. My hiking partner told me she has many notebooks filled with quotes . . .

We did the full loop. We left my house at 11 am and returned at 6:30 pm. It is about 30 minutes to the Trailhead, but my hiking friend wanted to drive up to Rampart Reservoir for the views. It was lovely. So I am not sure exactly how long we did hike, but we did the full loop. Many miles. We were both very tired at the end. I was very grateful that my knees did not pain me, and they actually felt better the next day than they have in weeks. So hiking is a cure?

When I got home, I decided to watch “So You Think You Can Dance” to really take a full day off. I love this show! And was really glad I did that.

Thursday I started a 3-day Lemon Fast with my Grade B Maple Syrup. It was also the first day that the big kitty, Louie was alone in the cottage. He did not seem to be doing well after his mistress had been gone all night. My roommate and I decided he needed to come spend her vacation with us in my house. Louie is a rescue Cat and hasn’t had an easy time since being adopted. He had some surgery before she took him home, then moved into a cottage nearby in the flood zone, and just a few months later moved here just in time for his mistress to leave for a week. He is a really big and loveable kitty. We both miss Kolohe who died a mysterious death last year just before the flooding in Manitou Springs. Louie lets my roommate walk him on a string and is very happy snuggling with her at night. I just hope he will be able to readjust to cottage life when his mistress returns  . . .

Zoltan who I am helping get a couple of books published came to my chaotic office and I set him some tasks to accomplish to get closer to being able to publish his book about a wild mustang. We are aiming at getting it done before I leave on the 22nd of this month. At least it should be a Kindle book, if not a CreateSpace book.

I didn’t go to any of the places I had on my calendar that day. Worked on Festival and Kathleen’s items. Made it through the first “fast” day with liquids and one banana. Just can’t take my pills without some food in my stomach or I begin to sneeze and feel queasy.

Friday and I met with the woman who was buying my books. She is very interesting and we would have talked longer, except she is allergic to cats and Louie wanted to rub on her, so we agreed to talk more another day.

Worked on lots of pieces for the Art Festival – Food Vendors in particular – and I keep finding things that need to get done relating to that part and had a couple of late applicants to look at. One was very good, the other, not a fit.

I had a “Tune-Up” at Sharing Inner Health and was able to have time to go over exactly what she wants on the flyers and letterhead. I will finish that up next week.

This magnificent Horse Chestnut Tree is in full bloom on the West edge of the property Sharing Inner Health offices at. It is very unusual for this tree to be seen in Colorado. I feel very blessed to have captured it in full bloom and shared it with my hiking partner when we were coming back into Manitou Springs after the Lovell Gulch hike.

Horse Chestnut Tree at Sharing Inner Health

I am not going to work on anything but my book this weekend, with standing breaks of clearing up my chaotic office. And probably some photos of the garden to get myself outside. That will be the last day of my 3-day cleanse. I am not good at this fasting stuff, and had to eat a banana and an avocado today.

The weather sounded like possible hail, and my roommate came home and we put sheets and tarps over all the garden areas. It didn’t hail and just barely sprinkled later in the evening.

Having caught up with this blog, but not my hiking one, it is way past my bedtime, so no photos, but may add some later. The Iris and Poppies really need to be seen!




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