Bees

 I love a new pair of shoes - especially when they have bees on them!  I can't wait for the weather to stabilize so I can wear them to work!

Kokedama

                                                 G and Bug and I did a kokedama class at Dig!

Germany - Lake Tegernsee

In March 2024, I went to Lake Tegernsee, one hour south of Munich for work.  It was a beautiful lake at the base of the Alps.

 

Hollywoods

                                                Lydia and Oak in their "Hollywood" glasses!

 

Home Sweet Home

 While we are at the cabin, my neighbor sent this pic of the house with beautiful clouds in the sky.

Sweet Lydia

Sweet Lydia was supposed to be a service dog but she was just not made out for it.   Instead, she is a pup who is living her best life of hiking shenanigans as evidenced by this video.

Sourdough

Our whole family, thanks to Uncle B, has sourdough starter.  G and K have been making sourdough bread but I have never tried.   This is my first attempt!  It went very well!

 

Wildflowers and Dogs March 2024

Jim and the kids went skiing at Dodge and I had a houseful of dogs by myself.  So what do I do?  Load them up and go on a hike to see wildflowers!

 

Ahi

Ahi turns 16 this month.  And she is getting super old.  She has a kidney failure and dementia.  She does a "walk about" for a couple of hours each night after dinner.  It's part of the dementia symptoms.  But she still enjoys a daily walk and attacking the labradors.

 

Big Bend National Park

In February 2024 I went to Big Bend National Park in West Texas with my backpacking girlfriends, Susan and Shannon and our hiking friend, Liz.

We flew into El Paso Texas and then drove to Terlingua Texas where we stayed in a little house along the Terlingua Creek for a week of sight seeing.  

Highlights were a river float on the Rio Grande, hikes in canyons, including a slot canyon, exploring the ghost town of Terlingua, being in a wind/sand storm in Boquillos Canyon and a mural walk in El Paso.

This was a slot canyon that we had to be careful that we would be able to get back up the ledge before we went down it.

 

These were murals in the barrio in El Paso.  We did a walking tour and loved learning about the culture and community.

5 Year Anniversary

My team did the kindest thing for me at work this week.  It was my 5 year anniversary at work and they planned a surprise zoom call that they called "Urgent Escalation".  But when I jumped on it was all of them wishing me a happy work anniversary.  Then each of them took turns telling a story, memory or impression when they first met me.   It warmed my heart and filled my cup like nothing I have ever experienced at work. 

These folks mean the world to me and I really care that they are happy, learning and fulfilled.  And what they told me is that they feel it.   One of them told me that I went around the room at one of our Summits and said something I appreciate about each of them.  And when I got to her I said that I appreciate that she is a "quiet thinker".  She said she had never been so seen and heard at work before that.

There were tears from everyone.  And the last one was from Rick, who was my first coworker before I started building the team to the 14 people it is now.  He brought up a picture of me holding his baby who is now almost 5 years old and talked about all the things I have supported him on in his personal life.  There was not a dry eye in the house.

People always pressure me to retire and they can't understand why I don't.  This is the reason why.  These are amazing human's that I am surrounded by at work.  99% percent of the time work gives me energy.  The other 1% of the time, things like this happen.