Catchin' Up

HI!

Just back from 10 days at beautiful Palm Desert, CA with great friends Anthony and Sue. This year was special since it was with our new friends and it was a sort of escape from the Denver winter. I have thoroughly enjoyed the winter ...... variable weather; one day cold, blowing snow, below zero, bad traffic, dirty car, bundled up, etc. Next day in the 50's and 60's, sunny, no wind, wearing shorts and a shirt, enjoying the outdoors. What a diversity.

Today is 63 degrees, bright and sunny. Forecast for tomorrow is for snow accumulations around 2", low of 15 or so and highs near freezing. Good day to stay inside and watch.

Deb's into her adventure, leaving me to fend for myself for the next six weeks or so. Today, I almost felt like I was back in CA. Trader Joe's opened it's first Colorado store about 2 miles from our downtown home.

I was there because I need to cook for myself. Up to now, I've been a pretty good prep chef to Deb's mastery of delicious and complicated dishes. I decided to dip back into our Sonoma cookbook and make the Tangy Black Bean Soup for dinner. So far so good, but tasting is a little ways off yet. It does smell like the soup Deb makes.

I learned a couple of things from cooking the is soup ..... 1) don't clean the floors in the kitchen until after you're done prepping, and 2) you can't get garlic smell of your hands if there's no stainless steel sink around!

Wish I could say that we've dug dirt on our new home; can't though. It feels like it's close though. Steve the Builder says that the permits might be issued soon and he's talking to his excavator ...... hopefully about digging our dirt! Now it's sit back and wait.

The reason I'm back into the Sonoma Cookbook, other than having to cook my own meals, is that Deb has inspired me to drop a few and get back into shape. I was really surprised, when I got to Denver in October, by the effects altitude had on my physical capabilities. Granted, I let go as we packed up the Alameda home and moved, but I expected to be able to do more without huffing and puffing as much. We exercised in Palm Desert at sea level and the difference was dramatic. I breezed through workouts that I would have worked hard at before we moved to higher ground. Coming back to Denver, I find I can do the amount of work that I want to with out hurting, and I actually feel good about my level of fitness again.

Advice (is worth what you paid for it) - if you go to higher ground and exercise, don't drink copious quantities of alcoholic beverages the first few days, drink lots (that's LOTS) of water to avoid headaches, and cut back on caffeine. That'll help, but still expect to feel the effects of altitude.

Have a great day!

Phil