Monday, September 7, 2009

rocky mountain highs and lows


Rest easy faithful fans as I have returned.  I spent last night and this morning catching up on all the doings in blog land.


I actually had a pretty good time, all the drama notwithstanding.  Well, the drama wasn’t blatant but you could tell it was rumbling under the surface.  Everyone was on their best behavior except for the niece who was doing what she has done since the day she was born which is to play her parents one against the other and they let her do it.  Neither parent wants to be the parent, they want to be the best friend so the child is spoiled and manipulative.  No wonder they got divorced.  Add a new, no nonsense type wife into the mix who gets blasted from both parents where the child is concerned and, well, I'm sure you get the picture. 


It was fun seeing all the cousins and sister and brothers and spouses, nieces and nephews. uncles and aunts.  Most of us there live here in Houston, one family group from Dallas and Austin, but we really don’t see each other much except at one of these functions.  Still, I’m glad it’s over with, glad to be home.



front door...five toed imperial dragon with flaming pearl


The best part of the trip was the part that came before the event we actually traveled for.  We got in early Wednesday, picked up the rental car.  We drove from Denver down to Colorado Springs to meet the architect that gave us a really great job last year.  He showed us some plans for a few other houses he is working on that he is going to try and get some art glass in.  He arranged for us to go over to the house and see the work we did last year which was really great.  It’s a beautiful house, contemporary Asian style, a very nice aesthetic.  



interior doors



master bath shower and toilet enclosures



shower enclosure


Afterwards, we headed back up to Denver and beyond.  We got caught in a traffic jam, not rush hour, turned out to be a wreck further up, which delayed us some.  Made it up to Boulder where we stopped for a break and called our friends in Nederland just to find out that Billy was there in Boulder getting ready to catch the bus at the station just across the street from where we had stopped.  So we picked him up and headed to his house.  Nederland is a small community about 20 miles up Boulder Canyon in the mountains.  It’s a beautiful and fun drive.  We had a great time with our friends, spent two nights and took two hikes.  


Tomorrow I’m going to post some pictures from the hikes.

15 comments:

  1. I was so hoping you would come back with pictures from the installation of your work! I'll look forward to more pictures of the mountains. (Lovely one you posted.)

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  2. ellen look at that glasswork!!! can you believe that?!!! it's gorgeous, stunning, incredible . . . i had no idea!!! do you ever see your work and wonder how it came to be?!!!
    i liked your take on your poor niece and how she has wound her parents around her finger. it's really not that hard to do, but it's really hard to undo and shows up in adult relationships where it gets very ugly!
    have a peaceful day. steven

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  3. Wait a minute, Ellen, that glasswork is your creation? Seriously? I need to sit down...

    ...catch my breath...

    My God. That is incredible art. Just amazing stuff. I need to read further in your blog to get the lowdown on this intriguing work you do. The photos are sensational.

    But what I really "felt" most in this post is the power of niece-i-poo who seems to be wise beyond her years in the ways of getting her way. It's tragic really. Anyone with children knows the fine line between being a conscientious and generous parent and an cunningly manipulated over-indulgent one. Then, one step beyond that is the breeding ground for enabling children to become brats who feel their every whim is an entitlement. I've been all those parents and my kids hit all those landmarks. Luckily, I've finally found the middle ground and have appreciative self-sufficient children. Not sure which came first and which is a product of the other, but who cares.

    Love your posts as always and am so glad we are new blog buddies.

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  4. I want to live in that house! Gorgeous!

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  5. I appreciate the fact that you do not report fuming at the traffic jam. I always fume.

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  6. Amazing glass work. Sad about your neice.

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  7. Your glass work is incredibly beautiful. You have such wonderful talent. I'm glad you got to see your work installed in this home and that you shared it. Family dynamics can be weird. I'm glad you had a good time in spite of this. Looking forward to your photos.

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  8. Welcome back! The pictures are wonderful!

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  9. Mary Ellen - Glad you enjoyed them.

    steven - thank you so much. Mostly when I look at it I think that it's possible that a piece or two might survive for centuries, like the Roman glass they dig up. That would be cool.

    Alix - that ain't the half of it. There is another little dramatika around the matriarch (my MIL) of this group. - yep, my work. Thank you. And I'm very glad to have found you as well.

    The Bug - You should have seen the view from her balcony.

    mo - Oh I fumed but it turned out to be a karmic delay and the result was worth it.

    The Things We Carried - sad yes. Thanks and so nice to have you drop by and visit.

    Hilary - thank you so much. you are quite talented yourself with the camera. It was so nice to be able to see it in place.

    Fireblossom - thanks for the welcome. I missed everyone.

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  10. You are so talented! Your work is lovely. Welcome home!

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  11. Your glasswork is really awesome! I wish I could do something like that. Well, I'm glad YOU can. Great post!

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  12. Hi Ellen

    lets hope you get some more of that large scale glass work...and I look forward to your hiking pics...

    Happy days

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  13. I want to take a shower in that stall.

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  14. Ellen, have you crafted any art glass of spiders?

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  15. The glass is so so so beautiful! Wow!

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