Our New Kitty!

Yesterday, John came home for a surprise, 3 day break! While he was catching up on some zzzzz’s I went exploring at the Denver Dumb Friends League (animal shelter about a mile from our home). I was only looking…until the saddened eyes of a particular kitty caught my attention. I roamed around, giving all the kittens and cats equal attention. Then I headed home and woke John up, insisting that a cup of coffee would help him recover from his lack of sleep over the past 2 days. Still sleepy eyed, we got into the car and drove back to the shelter.

Upon entering the crazied atmosphere of the Kitty Karnival (an event put on by the shelter to help adopt out cats and inform the public about care for their pets), we saw our future house mate. Little, fluffy, and so garsh darn cute! We put our name on the list to spend some time with her (someone else had beaten us to her!). Lucky for
us, they chose a different kitty and we fell in love with kitten #A398756. The experience was touching because we spent some time in the room where our kitty had been staying. We really felt like animals on display! Loads of people were watching and pointing and tapping at the glass. I’m not sure, but I think they wanted John to dance in that small glass room. We knew this kitten was right for us. At one point she went up to the water dish to get a drink, and another kitten hissed at her, sending our kitten flying for the shadows. She peered around, cautiously awaiting her turn. When we had her alone, she cuddled right up with John, falling asleep in his arms. She really is cute and cuddly. After a long night of name searching we decided on calling her Regan (after one of our favorite comedians). She is 2 months old and loves to cuddle. She also has a cold and has been sneezing a lot (John and I think she may be allergic to us!). Check out John’s blog for more information (and about the surprise that Regan left for him last night!).

We can’t wait to introduce you to the newest member of our family!

Celestial Seasonings

John and I decided to put on our best hippie clothing and head out to Boulder for some “herbal remedies.” Tea. Over 100 flavors, some hot, some cold. Celestial Seasonings offers daily tours of the factory where the tea is produced and packaged. It really is amazing to see all of the varieties for sale and sampling. I’d highly recommend the Strawberry Iced Tea.

Two hippies in Boulder started the company. They thought the natural herbs growing near the mountainside provided the perfect place for their business. Boy were they right!

Along the tour they take you into the sealed off peppermint room. You might be saying to yourself, “big whoop!” But when that door starts to open and your lungs fill with that potent aroma you know there’s no forgetting that moment. Ever. It starts by filling your lungs, and then it kinda burns your eyes and throat. It clears out your sinuses before your first breath even leaves you lips. During the next 30 seconds, most of the tourists left the room for fresher air. What a delight! They say the peppermint is so strong that they need to keep it away from the other herbs to keep it from permeating all the other flavors. Imagine that. Peppermint get’s its own room. Lucky!

As with most tours, one of the best parts was the packaging. Unfortunately, Celestial Seasonings does not allow pictures because some of their equipment was designed special for them and they don’t want the secret to get out (just think of the payout!).

Our second favorite of the tour was the amazing paintings that are displayed throughout the buildings. The paintings we saw are displayed on the actual tea boxes that get shipped out. Very fun, bright and relaxing images go with every box of tea.

Mini-Golf (part 2)

Mini-golf (from the winner’s perspective)

I don’t mean to put down my sore loser of a husband, but when it comes to mini-golf, he’s got a few lessons to take in aiming through windmills and around obstacles! I remember getting about 3 holes-in-one yesterday. And if my math is correct (and by my John’s post it’s probably somehow faltered) he got zero (I made sure to spell that one out so that there was no confusion). He’s a great competitor regardless, and I look forward to beating him at games in the future. We’ve now played mini-golf on each coast as well as a few states in between. In case anyone is actually reading this, I am not that great at the larger form of golf and could really use some lessons.