Heart Hope by Olga

Last week while having lunch with a friend she asked me if I had ever heard the story about the python snake. Her husband had told it to her and I think it is worth repeating, even if you have heard it before.  There was a girl who had a python snake. She gave it the full run of her house—it could go anywhere and sleep anywhere it desired.   During the day, the girl would feed the snake mice, rats or other small creatures. At night the python curled up at the foot of her bed right next to her feet. It didn’t keep her warm, since they are cold-blooded creatures and it really didn’t cuddled close to give her love; it was just there.  The girl began to notice some changes in the snake. It stopped eating and this concerned the young woman, but what really made her worry about her python is that instead of curling up at the foot of the bed, he began stretching out on the bed next to her. Since this was odd behavior for her snake, she thought it best to call her veterinar...

I have always been enamored with the Sit ‘n Spin toy. I have wondered why every child loves them and will fight for a turn on the circular base turning the wheel for lots of fun and laughter.  Since the toy not around when I was a child, I never got to experience the swirling and whirling entertainment. So recently when my grandchildren and our neighbors were having fun on it, I thought why just stand on the sidelines watching…just try it. You probably all know that the suggested age for the Sit ‘n Spin toy is from 18 months to 5 years and I am a bit past that stage of life, but who cares.  I shooed all of the kids out of my way and sat down on the toy, but when I tried to turn the wheel, it didn’t move, so I just pushed myself around using my hands against the floor. It was an entertaining sight for the kids who were howling and probably thought I was crazy, but I can say that I did it while probably not too many people my age can say that they have ridden on a Sit ‘n Sp...

A good healthy dip. Serve with veggies, chips or crackers. 3 1/2 cups black beans 1 small onion, diced 1/2 green pepper, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T ground cumin 1 1/2 t olive oil 2 T chopped fresh cilantro 1/4 c vegetable broth   Drain and rinse black beans if using canned. Place olive oil in skillet set over medium- high heat. Place beans in food processor and pulse several times. Add vegetable mixture and pulse a few more times. Add vegetable broth in small batches to thin the dip to the desired consistency. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 10 days Add onions, peppers, and garlic and sauté about three minutes, until vegetables are fragrant and starting to brown slightly. Add cumin, stir well, reduce heat to medium and cook another two minutes. Makes eight 1/2-cup servings!  www.hearthope.org

Every summer in June and July kids from across the country converge in our area for the Vail Valley Lacrosse Shootout. There are games going on morning, noon and afternoon on every field from Vail to Edwards. Parents, friends and siblings cheer for their favorite teams. And there is a flurry of activity in grocery stores, the local Wal-Mart and especially restaurants. In our new Qdoba there was a group of handsome young men who were part of the Shootout. My husband Tom was seated outside when the boys exited the restaurant with their food. One of the lacrosse players was angry because Qdoba had run out of sour cream and was causing a ruckus, using foul language. My husband who was seated at a nearby table knew that I would not appreciate the language, so he politely walked over to their table and asked them to clean up their conversation when I came outside.  After a few minutes of being seated one of the players walked over to our table and apologized for the poor behavior of hi...

Have you ever been on an Indian hunt with a 6 year old, a 5 year old and an almost 4 year old? Well it has become one of the highlights of my summer over the last couple of years. It all started last summer when my grandson Will and my next door neighbor Jackson wanted to climb on the berm that encircles my neighborhood. We created an adventure by hiking up the steep incline by grabbing onto weeds and wedging our feet on rocks to make it to the top. Once we arrived at the summit we began spying for Indians since the boys had been told that there were lots of Indians in Colorado.  This year little Molly wanted to join in the fun and the activity was expanded because we began looking for real clues of who had been there before us. On our adventure we saw evidence of cool things like: Snail shells Tree stumps Deer poop Half eaten flowers Dynamite ( it was really just sprinkler heads) Bear claw marks on trees Flattened grassy areas that had been a resting spot for deer, foxes...

The cutest little mutt named Gremlin has been visiting our office frequently over the past couple of weeks. My friend and co-worker, Gabe Shalley is one of the local foster parents for the Humane Society which means that if a dog has been abandoned, injured or given up by its owner, she will care for the dog until it is adopted. Scruffy looking Gremlin is one of the dogs that had been mistreated, so he is quite skittish around people. Since I love dogs I thought it would be fun for Gremlin to visit my desk which is about 20 yards from Gabe’s, so I went to get him. Walking him back to my cube, he kept looking over his shoulder as if to say, “Where is my security…Gabe? Where is this person taking me? What is she going to do to me?”  However, we continued sauntering through the hall, and I was thinking that once he was in my lap he would feel safe and comfortable. Wrong…I lifted him into my lap and then tried to get back to work, but Gremlin was shaking and looking around. I quic...