Mass In The Fields

Every year the Migrant Ministry of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community sponsors two masses for the field workers. I have been to a few, but yesterday it not only was a mass, but there was entertainment along with pizza and dessert. The celebration included Sister Molly's 60th anniversary of being a nun and Rev. Msgr. Jorge de Los Santos celebrated his birthday plus 25 years of being a priest. Sister Molly has been active in Migrant Ministry for most of her life!

Volunteers brought table and chairs and set them up. Others placed the food on tables. An altar was set up and a young woman sang while another lady played the guitar. It took many hands to get ready for the celebration and when it was all over, it took just as many hands to take everything down.

The camp is near Platteville and surrounded by corn fields and yellow sun flowers. The area where the mass was celebrated is rough with rocks, patches of weeds, out door potties, laundry hanging on a fence and no trees for shade. It is an area not conducive to a home. The workers live in poor conditions to earn money to take back to Mexico to support their families.

The workers' lodging is in an apartment-like building and I heard that it is four men to a room. I am sure the workers appreciated having a mass, having people who cared, the entertainment, the many bundles of donated paper products and the food. I found out that all of the workers are from the Guanajuato area which is in Central Mexico.

When you think about people working under the hot sun and doing back breaking work, it makes one appreciate the crops of corn, cucumbers, onion, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, cabbage, peppers and beans that end up at grocery stores and on our tables.

After the Folkloric Ballet dancers performed, everyone lined up to eat pizza and dessert. I got to practice my Spanish with a lady and her friends. They, of course, wanted to practice their English!

Congratulations to the Migrant Ministry for a job well done and for helping make the day a success!

"Every time we sit at table at night

or in the morning to enjoy the

fruits and grains and vegetables from

our great earth, remember that they

come from work of men and women

and children who have been

exploited for generations."

Cesar Chavez

Sunflowers and Sunset on our drive home!

Italian For A Day

The Festival Italiano at Belmar took place on September 10 and 11, 2016. I have never attended this festival but I decided to drive to Belmar and see how Italians celebrate. Flags galore flapped over the fifty-eight booths. I know there were fifty-eight because that's what the calendar of events listed. As I walked around I saw booths of delicious looking food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, ices and gelatos, t-shirts, colorful dishes, Bocce games and anything Italian one could imagine! I thought I heard Spanish being spoken but no, it was Italian.

The display of food made my mouth water and I took pictures of the ones I found to be interesting.

I saw flags on poles flying and men dressed in tights and joined the crowd to see Gli Sbandieratori,  the Flag Throwers from Florence, Italy as they performed. Two snare drummers and one trumpet made spectators take notice.  It was scary to the large flags flung twenty feet and then catch the flagged pole as they came down.

The Bocce games were being played by men and women. A tiny ball is tossed onto the green lane. Everybody then tries to come as close as they can to the small ball. If two or more are close, a measuring tape is brought to check who is closer. I am sure there is much more to the game, but this is what a Bocce man told me.

Two stages on opposite ends had continuous musical entertainment and I listened to a man sing love ballads. Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra songs were popular along with other Italian singers, bands, and orchestra. I suppose one could go to the festival and just sit from ten-fifteen until eight and listen to the different singers and groups. The sausage man, the chalk artist and the beautiful dishes makes Festival Italiano a fun thing to do!

I have saved the best to last. As I wandered around I saw a booth with Capuchin priest advertising a trip to Rome. I started to go ever to see how to enter when firemen hunks appeared before my eyes.

I think it is too bad that the Capuchin's are next to the Calendar Firemen because I noticed everyone was going over to see the golden firemen with tight bodies, me included, while guy in the brown robe did not get too much attention!

The end of a fun day at the Festival Italiano at Belmar

Celebration at Cheese Cake Factory

Yesterday we celebrated a friend's birthday. She absolutely does not look her age. She is young and fun loving and for the occasion we rode the B Line Rail Service to Union Station. There were five of us who knew nothing about riding the train and one knowledgeable one.  She directed the lost lambs trying to buy tickets, (round trip for seniors cost $2.60) getting on the train, finding our way from the gate to the downtown shuttle and experiencing the way Denver has changed.  I commented that I felt like I was a tourist in another country!

Sitting at a large round booth we could see our reflection in the many mirrors surrounding the booth.
As we waited for the waitress, the birthday lady opened her gifts of bracelets, necklace and a book. Most of the gifts were jewelry except for my gift of  Isabel Allende's, The Japanese Lover.

After perusing the large variety menu we were ready to order.  Salmon, chicken salad and a hamburger were ordered and everyone enjoyed their meal. Since one of the ladies also had a birthday, two sundaes with a candle were brought out and the waiters sang Happy Birthday. What a fun lunch!

On our return, the 16th Mall Shuttle was taking forever to arrive so four of us decided to walk back to Union Station about five block away. Our rush to the train left us a bit breathless but once we were seated in the train we gave a sigh of relief and enjoyed the ride home. The two waiting for the shuttle, we hoped, would make the next train!

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday God Bless you

Happy Birthday to you

Seventy Miles Per Hour

Yesterday I rode the commuter rail train from Westminster to Denver and it took about twenty minutes or less. The silver train came thundering into the Westminster Station where tickets are purchased from machines.  My ticket was a round-trip ticket for $2.60 and the smooth ride took me and my friends to Union Station. I liked that could park in a indoor, multi-layer garage for free; more if car will be parked longer that 24 hours. Some people boarded pulling suitcases while others put their bikes in special racks.

This commuter rail train, which is different than the light rail, is a fast and comfortable way to travel and by looking at the map it looks as if there will be three lines; B, G and R. Eventually, the RTD trains will go throughout the metro area; Lone Tree near Parker, Jefferson County Court House, Arvada, Westminster and Denver International Airport.

On our return, an announcement keeps repeating which gate the train to Westminster would be on and it all sounded so professional!  Looks as if the Denver metropolitan area is coming into the future with comfortable and fast moving RTD trains!

Nederland Surprise

Who would have thought that about an hour's drive from Arvada, there would be a large musical Carousel with colorful animals going up and down? Even though I have lived in Arvada for many years I did not know of this fun and interesting surprise! One of the workers said, "Maybe you did not know of our Merry-Go-Round because it has only been here about six years."

How the Carousel ended up in Nederland is a story in itself. Cards covered in cellophane hang around the circular building and give the entire story about the Carousel. I will paraphrase what I read:

While in Vietnam, a Marine. Scott Harrison, had a small music box that he would listen to and he would picture a merry-go-round in the mountains. When he heard there was a frame in Utah for sale, he purchased it and brought it to Nederland. It took him twenty-six years to carve the many animals that would be in his carousel. On Memorial Day, 2010, the carousel opened and it was dedicated to fallen veterans.  Two of his Marine friends have a place of honor in the round building.

Every kind of animal imaginable is scattered throughout the round building and even if you don't ride, it is an interesting and fun place to look at all the creative creatures. To ride the carousel costs one dollar and Scott hopes it can always stay at that price for children young and old!

The music, which is not the typical calliope merry-go-round music, is upbeat and happy and played on a 1913 Wurlitzer band organ. I thought the Carousel of Happiness is an appropriate name because it did make me happy to hear the music, to see the beautiful, colorful animals and to see everyone smiling and enjoying going around and around!

Carpet Coming Up

My fifty year old carpet will end its life on September 6, 2016. If my carpet could talk, imagine all the stories it could tell! It has been through a lot and still looks great. Why am I having it taken out? Because the dark green carpet is outdated! It has managed to stay looking good after raising two children, visits from four grandchildren, four dogs, parties, friends, spills, and my feet walking on it all those years. You would think that where heavy traffic passed over the carpet that it would be threadbare, yet it looks exactly the same as when it was put down.  Underneath the carpet I have hardwood floors and I feel it is time to pull the carpet up and get my floors stained and polished. After all, if I don't like the wooden floor, which I am told is oak, I can always re-carpet.

Around 1965 hardwood floors were not popular and everyone seemed to be carpeting their floors. Now, it seems that wood floors are the in thing! After it is all done, I will blog again and show everyone the transformation!

I have removed all the pictures from the walls, taken lamps out, and anything I could carry into other rooms. I am ready!

September 6, 2016 around 10 a.m. the two men arrived ready to pull up my carpet. They moved the big stuff out of the room; couches, television, and end tables. Interesting to see them cut through the carpet every 36" and then peel back the pieces. They rolled the carpet pieces up and took them outside. Then they did the same thing with the mat. The floor looked great after everything was removed. I thought they were done but the hard work began next. With a spatula type tool the floor was gone over to remove any staples. Then one fellow with a heavy hammer like tool began striking the wooden braces along the edges and I could hear him grunting. For about an hour there was a lot of noisy banging. All I could think of was that it was back breaking work.

A large push broom was used to sweep up any debris. And then the noise began! A large sander began working its way across the room and the noise was like a jet running its engines. Once sanded the floor is a light wood and it looks great. Next the water-base covering will be put on and after about fifteen hours I will be able to walk on it. So far, I am pleased with my move of ripping up the dark green carpet and letting the natural wood be exposed.

It took all these tools to get my floor ready for putting on the stain. The second day was clean up and spreading the two coats of stain and then the wood finish. The floor looks fresh and brown and I don't even miss the green carpet. Looking at the floor reminds me of the floors I used to dance on!

"So glad I got the green rug up,

because this is more my type of cup.

My feet enjoy the wooden floor

a thousand and more times more!"

Am I In Germany?

The Black Forest restaurant serves fine German and American food and it is located about one hour away from Arvada. I remember when the restaurant was between Blackhawk and Central City and around the year 2000 the restaurant moved to Nederland, Colorado.

The large building, looking like an Alpine Lodge was built in Nederland after the move, yet the authentic German food continues to be served. I really do not know what authentic German food tastes like, but as my friend and I were outside reading the menu, a lady said, "If you want real, authentic German food, this is the place. I have eaten in Germany and this place is very close to what they serve in Germany." A brochure explains that many long-time patrons consider the dining experience to be one of the best in the country.

Going up the warped, wooden steps and hanging on to the splintery hand rail, we made our way to the entrance. As we entered the restaurant, I
could see that the large place had few customers. The ambiance is of a hunter's home with many elk and deer heads on the walls.

Our late lunch began with a green salad and red cabbage. I ordered the Filet of Stroganoff  ($18)  and my friend ordered the Fresh Calf's Liver ala Berlin. ($13.50) and we shared an apple strudel with ice cream and whipped cream. Delicious and different!

The room we were in had a lot of glass; windows and ceiling. The bright room had tables made from what looked like trunks of trees, throughout the room there were thick tree trunks from floor to ceiling. On one wall a water fall gurgled pleasantly amidst lots of greenery. I found the room to be very comfortable and we were able to converse because it was quiet. The room is known as the Garden Room, yet, the brochure mentioned a meeting room, a hunting room, a lounge, and rooms for a casual meal or for fine dining.

My friend told me about a Carousal in Nederland so after eating, we headed out to see the Merry-Go-Round. When I saw the beautiful animals and heard the lively music, I knew it had to be another blog!