Colorado Discovery Map Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas Telluride Travel Fun: Colorado community radio fundraising Guest DJ Day KOTO Mountain Lodge Telluride Travel Fun
by maribeth
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Tuning into KOTO Now and Always
This is a big weekend in Telluride. It’s Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, more casually referred to as Blues & Brews. The air is crisp, there’s a dusting on the peaks, the aspens are changing and the town is poised to say goodbye to summer with its last big music festival of the season. For those like me who are currently not in T-ride, you can tune into this great big musical extravaganza at KOTO.org. Of course you can–because KOTO is the heart and soul of our beautiful mountain town known worldwide for its first-rate music festivals. In addition to broadcasting performances by talented artists such as Ceelo Green, Tab Benoit, John Hiatt and Samantha Fish, interviews with artists by our radio station besties will also be aired during set breaks. So thrown down your tarp, fire up the grill, serve yourself a cold one and party Telluride style. That’s exactly what I’ll be doing from my special beach destination here on the Outer Banks.
If you tune in this weekend or if you’ve listened to KOTO before, you know that our Telluride radio station is all about community. One of the best community-oriented events on KOTO is Guest DJ Day. I was honored to be a part of it this year and wow, I never thought it would be so much fun. But it was! It was one big love fest. And who doesn’t like love? I had an hour on Friday, August 19 to schmooze up the airwaves to raise money for our community radio station’s summer fundraising campaign. And it was all about sharing the love.
The timing of my Guest DJ Day was especially poignant since I had not been on the air in a long time. What a way to make a comeback! Plus, it was the eve of my birthday weekend, so it was a great way to kickoff my celebrations.
Thank you to our beloved Ben Kerr, the driving force behind KOTO, for engineering my show. Thank you to the whole KOTO staff for all your efforts all the time and for making me feel so welcome. I am so grateful to my guy, Steve Togni, for his support and his generous donation of the grand prize of a two-night stay at Mountain Lodge, the beautiful property he manages in Telluride Mountain Village. As usual, he was an interesting and articulate guest. He’s a radio natural, which is why I’ve been trying to convince him to have some fun spinning tunes at KOTO.
Merci mille fois to Johnny Gerona, owner of The Village Table. After Johnny closes his restaurant that we all love so much, he might infuse the KOTO airwaves with a different kind of global dish. It was lovely to have Noah Sheedy, Director of the Telluride Ski & Snowboard School, come by to show support and talk skiing with us. All those smiling faces! Peter Hans, the guy who makes most adventures happen at Discovery Map, called in from a beach in Rhode Island. He brought us some extra sunshine and also chatted about the world of travel.
Thank you also to everyone else that called in, texted and donated to KOTO and Travel Fun, my talk show on travel. You helped me raise a good amount of money for a good cause. Best of all, you’ve inspired me to get back on the air soon. I have the start of the winter season, perhaps just before Thanksgiving, in mind; so stay tuned.
I’d like to once again showcase all of those businesses that generously donated premiums that were used to incentivize donations to Travel Fun. Please patronize them and thank them for supporting KOTO.
Mountain Lodge Telluride and The View restaurant
Counter Culture Kitchen and Catering
It is so wonderful to be a part of the greater Telluride community. It’s so rewarding to be a part of KOTO. Long live community radio! And remember that you can be an active part of KOTO and one of Telluride’s best-loved music festivals by tuning into KOTO this weekend.
Beauty Colorado Discovery Map Elderly Parents Fashion & Style Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Music & Dance Norwood Outdoor Adventures Restaurants Shopping Skiing & Snowboarding Spas Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel Fun Writing & Books: Arena Hair Studio Aveda Telluride Spa Cindybread Artisan Bakery Colorado Counter Culture Kitchen and Catering Discovery Map fundraising Guest DJ Day kittens KOTO La Çocina de Luz Maribeth Clemente Mesa Rose Kitchen + Grocery Mountain Lodge Nails with Mandie Norwood Sawpit Mercantile SOL Paddle Boards summer 2022 Telluride Telluride Coffee Roasters Telluride Ski Resort The Peaks Resort & Spa The View The Village Table Travel Fun
by maribeth
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KOTO, Kittens and Kookiness
My Friends and Me at KOTO’s Purple House on Pine
Leave it to KOTO, our beloved community radio station here in Telluride, Colorado, to bring me back into the fold. I’ve been wanting to get back on the air with Travel Fun, my talk show on travel, and start blogging again for quite some time. But life has kept me occupied with other doings and it has been hard finding the time for these two favorite ways of being in touch with you.
My last post, which highlighted a photo of my mother and me fresh from the hairdresser, was in March 2021. Sadly, my sweet mama passed away that following July and exactly three months prior to that–in April–my dear brother, David, succumbed to his three-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. Needless-to-say both left a gaping hole in my heart as well as much to do, including clearing out a large family home stuffed to the heavens with belongings and an abundance of memorabilia. The fact that all of that occurred back east–a great distance from Colorado–in the height of a pandemic and after much caretaking made it all the more complicated. But I’m back in Colorado now full-time slowly picking up the pieces of my life after having been intimately involved in theirs for many years.
KOTO is the heart and soul of Telluride. Most of the community, its visitors and folks tuning in from afar turn to our little radio station, an NPR affiliate, for all kinds of musical entertainment, talk, news, the avalanche report and other important announcements such as a lost dog report or road closures and traffic slowdowns due to a mudslide or elk crossings. Plus, they regularly broadcast most of Telluride’s big music festivals, including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival and Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. Its audience is truly worldwide. So when the bright and shining Cara (Pallone), Executive Director of KOTO, asked me to be a guest DJ for KOTO’s 2022 Summer Fundraising drive, a live one-hour segment Friday, August 19 from noon to 1pm, I was deeply honored and also somewhat daunted; I knew that this marked a time when I was to put it in gear.
And maybe you thought I was just horsing around in my little town of Norwood, Colorado?
Me Down on the Farm in Norwood
Admittedly I love the peace and tranquility of this old ranching town less than an hour from Telluride and I have been hooked to the Netflix series “Heartland.” But you can take the girl out of Paris but never Paris out of the girl. As much as I’ve embraced a more down-to-earth lifestyle in Colorado, there’s still a big part of me that’s every bit of a Parisian sophisticate.
With KOTO’s Summer Fundraising theme of Across the Universe, I thought I’d dust off my cowboy boots (gardening clogs, actually) and tell you my story.
I’ve been a travel writer since the late eighties. I lived in France eleven years and have traveled back to Paris and the French provinces considerably since I moved back to the States in 1994. France has always been my specialty but since I moved to Colorado over twenty years ago, I have also become passionate about and well versed in the American West. I authored five books on France, three shopping and touring guides to Paris, one shopping and touring guide on the French provinces and one travel memoir entitled A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France. I segued into travel writing after I had created a shopping service in Paris, called Chic Promenade. During those years, I lead people on the discovery of off-the-beaten-path boutiques and also arranged behind-the-scenes visits of the big names such as Hermès, Dior and Nina Ricci.
My Travel Memoir: Tour of the Heart
I’ve traveled extensively throughout the world to places as far-flung as Guilin, China, and big parts of Morocco and Nova Scotia. I’ve written about many of these places at my blog, www.BonjourColorado.com. I’ve fallen way behind on posting there because I have been involved in lots of family doings since 2016. But I’m back at it now!
In past years, I’ve freelanced for Forbes, The New York Times Syndicate and a number of other outlets. I currently write online content for Discovery Map, a company that publishes those colorful, hand drawn maps that you find in about 150 destinations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. For them, I’ve written about great places to visit such as the Outer Banks, of North Carolina, Cape May in New Jersey and Bozeman, Big Sky and Livingston, Montana, to name a few. And yes, I even wrote about Telluride because there’s a Discovery Map here as well. I have to admit it’s the longest and most inspired writeup of all that I’ve done. I also recently wrote a blog for them entitled “Summer Travel Woes: How to Make the Best of Your Airline Experience,” which anyone planning to hop on a plane anytime soon should read.
Steve and Me at Telluride Jazz Festival
I am happy that a few special guests will be chiming in during my big Guest DJ appearance on Friday. Steve Togni, General Manager of Mountain Lodge Telluride and also my partner of almost fourteen years, will be there to talk about the hospitality industry in Telluride and also to tout a very special Mountain Lodge premium that he has graciously donated.
John Gerona, Owner of The Village Table in Telluride Mountain Village and another of my favorite persons, said he’ll stop by. That will give us the opportunity to thank him for providing a super convivial and delicious dining experience to the community for the past ten years.
On Duty as a Telluride Ski Instructor
Noah Sheedy, Director of the Telluride Ski & Snowboard School, will be popping in as well. I’ve been a ski instructor in Telluride for almost nineteen years, a profession that has helped to balance out my writing career–and me–in many ways. If KOTO is the heart and soul of Telluride, then Telluride Ski Resort encompasses a good part of the rest in our majestic mountain town.
Peter Hans, the driving force behind Discovery Map, will be calling in either from their headquarters in Waitsfield, Vermont or from his sailboat in Newport, Rhode Island. We’re similar in that we summered together up in the Adirondacks, both lived for a long time in Europe and then settled in quaint mountain towns in America where we continue to live out our passion for sharing travel and ski experiences with others.
Victoria at Her Paris Boutique
If the lines aren’t too busy, I hope to have a special phone call from Paris from my friend, Victoria Wolff. I met her during my Paris days and her boutique, Wolff et Descourtis, is still my all-time favorite address in the City of Light. Her family has been in the textile business since 1875 and at her Galerie Vivienne showcase (and online) you can buy the most magical shawls you’ve ever seen. La beauté française est extraordinaire!
Mountain Lodge Telluride
And yes, I have rounded up quite a few premiums–or gift certificates–from some of my favorite places within the region. The grand prize is a Mountain Lodge premium for a two-night stay in a one-bedroom residence, valued at approximately $1500, at this beautiful slopeside property.
Mountain Lodge: A Great Place to Party
And here’s the fabulous news:
ANYONE DONATING A MINIMUM OF $25. TO KOTO WITH THE TRAVEL FUN DESIGNATION WILL BE ENTERED INTO DRAWINGS to win my premiums. That means that if you make your donation at KOTO.org or call the station at 970-728-4334, you have a chance of winning either the grand prize of two nights at Mountain Lodge or one of the other great premiums I’ve also rounded up. The drawings will take place at the end of my Guest DJ segment, which is Friday, August 19 from noon to 1pm MST. Remember that you can tune in online at KOTO.org if you’re not local. Note that your chances of winning are quite strong, since I likely will not have a gazillion donors. You can enter as many times as you want as long as you make a $25. donation each time. Tell your friends and family! I will start out with the Mountain Lodge drawing at about 12:50pm MST and make my way down the gift certificates listed below with their corresponding values:
Aveda Telluride Spa, one of my favorite spas in T-ride has generously offered one custom facial valued at $170. and one custom massage valued at $150. Merci mes amies!
Mesa Rose Kitchen + Grocery
Mesa Rose Kitchen + Grocery in Norwood, the best address in Norwood for fresh foods and a real community vibe: two gift certificates, each worth $50.
Coffee from Telluride Coffee Roasters
Telluride Coffee Roasters, the premiere coffee purveyor in Telluride that also has an online boutique: $70.
Arena Hair Studio
Arena Hair Studio: Sandra Arena, my gal in town (Norwood,) who knows how to make me beuuuuuutiful: $60. gift certificate for any service.
Beaucoup de Breakfast at The View
The View restaurant at Mountain Lodge Telluride, excellent food and drink with spectacular views: $50.
Loving La Coçina
La Coçina de Luz, super fresh Mexican food restaurant: $50.
Cindybread: Pains aux Chocolat Just Like in Paree
Cindybread Artisan Bakery, an all-time délicieux bakery in Lawson Hill: $50.
Sawpit Mercantile
Sawpit Mercantile, a fabulous pitstop for barbecue, gas, liquor and other much-needed goods: $50.
Nails with Mandie
Nails with Mandie in Naturita: one of my new West End discoveries for having my nails done: $40. gift certificate for a pedicure.
The Friendly Folk at Counter Culture; photo credit: Michael Mowery Media
Counter Culture Kitchen and Catering, for great takeout sandwiches also in Lawson Hill: $25.
Thank you to all that have generously donated gift certificates that will be used for my KOTO fundraising campaign!!!
Remember that if you donate $100. you will also be entered into two separate KOTO drawings: one to win a brand-new SOL GalaXy paddle board and the other to land yourself a two-night stay at The Peaks Resort & Spa package.
Our Happy Place with Our SOL Paddle Boards
Steve Paddling at Sunset in Norwood
And if you donate $50., you will receive a KOTO sun shirt (in addition to being entered into my drawings). Super cool. The supply is limited, however, so act fast.
Note that all proceeds are tax deductible and all go to KOTO.
Once again, in order to be added to all of my drawings, donations must be paid in full by the end of my show by let’s say 12:50pm on Friday. So break out the plastic!
With added luck, I might even have some additional premiums come Friday.
The Superlative Setting at The Peaks Resort & Spa
In terms of music, I, of course, I will be playing some French and maybe some Chinese and Moroccan tunes as well. I’ll also have bluegrass, which I’ve come to love since I’ve been in Colorado. And since I’m originally from New York (upstate) and love Frank Sinatra, I’ll definitely be playing “New York, New York.” I’d also like to work in some Dooby Brothers and/or Eagles because they remind me of summers spent at Lake George, New York.
Had I not taken a hiatus from Travel Fun, my talk show on travel, I’d be up to almost nineteen years of doing radio at KOTO. Yet between the pandemic (when I only did a handful of shows remotely) and spending lots of time back east for family matters, I’ve had to take a break from doing my show. I look forward to being back on the air on a regular basis very soon. For Travel Fun, I’ve enjoyed interviewing all kinds of people about travel, beauty, fashion, food and wine and a variety of other subjects including one program entitled Sex, Travel and Fun. Travel, of course, can be very exciting. Guests on my show have included lots of locals, many second-home owners and a good amount of “outsiders” I contacted because I thought KOTO listeners would enjoy hearing what they had to say. One such example is Graham Watson, renowned photographer of the Tour de France bike race.
I’m most definitely an avid listener of KOTO. I love radio in general, so much so, in fact, that I don’t even own a TV.
In past years, I was very involved with volunteering at KOTO events, which was always fun and super interesting. I hope to get back to that soon as well. Some of my most memorable gigs included being in charge of the green rooms for KOTO Doo Dahs and other happenings. I did this for Jackson Browne, the Subdudes, Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett, Michael Franti and some LIp Syncs. I was also in charge of KOTO merchandise for Bluegrass a number of years and yes, I had my stints working the KOTO beer booth at Bluegrass and doing endless hours of decorating for the fabulous KOTO Halloween parties. A lot of this I did with Jumpin’ Jan, which made it all the more meaningful.
KOTO is my family. I love being a part of the ski school family and my KOTO family. I started both in December 2003. That was when it was not very popular to be writing about France. (Remember Freedom Fries?) So I switched up my life and the rewards have been far better than I ever could have imagined. A very well known travel writer once told me that having a radio show is a great way to build your audience. Far more than that, however, it has made me feel very loved. I have truly enjoyed working with KOTO staff and DJs and it has been fun, too, when people recognize my voice and say things like “oh, you’re the travel lady.”
If you’ve made it to the end of this story, you deserve a glimpse at my kittens. They are the ultimate kure-all for all kinds of kookiness.
It’s a Star-Spangled Blue-Eyed Holiday Everyday with Our Kittens
Thank you to Amy Peters for her great coverage of this summer’s Guest DJ Day in the Telluride Daily Planet and the Norwood Post. Her piece, KOTO Radio Takes Over the Universe, will tell you even more about what’s happening at KOTO and what’s in store for all on Friday, August 19.
Colorado New York Outdoor Adventures Telluride The Northeast Troy: Colorado Outdoor Adventures Ski Magazine Snowshoe Magazine snowshoeing Telluride Telluride Ski Resort Telluride Ski School The Adirondacks The Rockies trekking Troy Tubbs Snowshoes upstate New York winterfun Yaktrax
by maribeth
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A Different Winter: Trekking and Snowshoeing Through Caretaking
Mom and I on One of our Better Days After I Finally Let Her Out of the House to Have Her Hair Done
As the freshness of spring shines upon us, I am hopeful for brighter days. I think we all are!
Life has been quite interrupted for me and I’m writing this from upstate New York where I have been taking care of my my 87-year-old mother. I arrived here the first part of January, quarantined for a good week in the Adirondacks and then settled in with my mom at her house in Troy, New York.
ADK Frozen Lake Fun
I wrote the below story quite a while ago but wasn’t able to post it to my blog due to mysterious technical happenings. Those problems still have not been resolved but I found a backdoor way of finally posting this story. It’s a little out of date at this point, however, I hope you’ll still find it of interest.
This blog SNAFU is illustrative of the issues I have been dealing with and how I find my way around them as I figure out how to best help my mom and take care of the family home. (Built by my grandfather, Mom’s father, it is sixty-plus years old and in need of attention as well. But my mom wants to live out her days here, which I totally understand and I will do everything I can to make that possible.)
Yet I’ve been so overwhelmed! I call it living in the blender. Holy smokes!
Out of respect to my mom, I will not reveal all that I have had to deal with but I can tell you it has been a full-time job. Anyone that has found themselves in this role knows what I mean by that. I’ve looked back at the freedom of my life in Colorado–the joy of waking up at 5:30am in order to head off to the mountain long before the lifts start to turn–with a combination of longing, awe and gratitude. I’ve never taken my job as a Telluride ski instructor for granted and I certainly never will in the future. It is a true pleasure even though that, too, can be exhausting.
Troy Country Club Road: A Great Place to Trek Next to Our House in Upstate New York
Not being in Colorado has been rough at times; just different at others. I have been very much needed here. And as hard as it is, I am grateful that I am able to be here to help my mom. As the old adage goes, “getting old is not for the feint of heart.” I just wish we would have had more snow–boy, have I been envious of the March storms out West.
Troy Country Club Golf Course/Snowfield
ADK Trek
Interspersed with all of the doings for Mom and her house, I still was able to recreate some in the snow. By the third week of February, I was even able to go skiing. (I hope to post a story on that at a later date–maybe for spring skiing?) I feel so fortunate about those few forays!
Since I moved to Colorado twenty years ago (from upstate New York), I have morphed into someone who embraces snowsports more than I ever would have imagined. Skiing has become my life in winter. So since I didn’t have much time for skiing, I found other ways to feel the calm of surrounding myself with snow, beautiful snow. I found other ways to work my body in the cold, crisp air. I delighted in the sweet and toasty sensation of coming inside and sipping a hot drink after playing outside in a winter wonderland, even if I was only able to escape for an hour or so.
Yes, I found ways to enjoy the beauty of winter. And most of all, I have found better ways to cope with all that I have to manage here. Spring has sprung and with it comes the prospect of dealing with all with more serenity and calm and also hopefully, the possibility of doing some nice hikes and walkabouts in the fresh air as the flowers begin to bloom. The upsets and breakdowns over all that I need to respond to here have lessened. I am fully assuming this role and I will see it through.
Wheelchair and Snowshoes: This Winter’s Equipment
I hope you like the below story!
Snowshoeing and Snowtrekking: A Different Kind of Winter Fun
Me Near Telluride After My First Big Snowshoe Outing
Have you ever heard of Snowshoe Magazine? I just checked it out online. It’s pretty cool in a laidback, crunchy granola sort of way. Kind of like snowshoeing itself.
Coming from a very ski-oriented family, I grew up with Ski Magazine. As a twenty-year resident of Colorado, skiing became my way of life. And since I’m a ski instructor, it’s included in my annual membership to PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America). But Snowshoe Magazine, well, such a publication never crossed my mind.
I’ve thought very little about snowshoeing–or anything other than skiing–all these winters. And yet to my delight, I’m finally giving it a go and enjoying it.
I knew this winter was going to be different from the ones I had experienced in Colorado. COVID has made everything different for everyone. But little did I know that it would shake up my ski world. Yet when I was given the option by the director at the Telluride Ski & Snowboard School early fall to sit out the season without it effecting my priority, I eventually realized that that was the sensible thing to do. This was to be my eighteenth season and skiing has become an essential part of who I am in winter; it was hard to imagine not being out on the mountain with the rest of my “ski family.”
View from a Bridge: Frozen Creek
But family matters back east and an inherent fear of catching the virus made me think twice about it all. I felt grateful–I still in fact feel very grateful–to the resort for granting this opportunity. Normally, if you sit out a season the counter is reset at zero and that would have been a real bummer for me, since at year twenty I will receive my lifetime pass, a brass ring of sorts for Telluride Ski Resort employees.
So I pulled out a pair of Tubbs snowshoes that I had purchased long before I moved to Colorado to see what fun I could have with them. I had only used them once during my time in Telluride and that was to do a full-moon jaunt to an igloo that’s built annually up at Lizard Head Pass. (I remember the hike downhill left me with agonizing hip pain the next day and lo and behold didn’t I have to have a hip replacement a handful of years later.)
This year I was in T-ride just past the new year and then flew back east to help out at home. Early season was not blessed with an abundance of snow and I was recovering from surgery (this time for a hysterectomy!), so I was in no rush to head out to the slopes. By the time I started to ponder how I’d feel going out for some turns without wearing my big red uniform, the holiday season was upon us and I knew I didn’t want to have to deal with any lines. (When teaching, we have our own line, which is rarely long at all.) Plus, the thought of not hanging in the lodge for a hot chocolate, a bowl of chili or a cold and frosty (out of uniform of course) made the idea of a ski outing seem rather daunting no matter how sweet the turns. This is especially the case in December and January.
Priest Lake View
So I decided to strap on my snowshoes and head out the door and venture into the San Juans on my own steam. My guy lives in San Bernardo, a little residential neighborhood about twenty minutes from Telluride. You can find The Priest Lake Trails, a wonderful nordic skiing trail system, right across the road. It’s one of the best outdoor circuits in the region all year long and much appreciated for its natural beauty and the fact that it has so far remained sparsely used.
As I clunked onto the trail, I was first shocked about how different snowshoeing is from skiing. As I say when I’m teaching, skiing–as well as snowboarding–is all about the glide. We encourage people to embrace the slide, something that is often a foreign concept for folks that haven’t been into snowsports much and work hard not to slip on ice or snow when padding about in winter. Indeed, I felt like a robot as I mechanically stepped forward in my snowshoes. So much for the delicious feeling of cruising down the slopes and setting your skis on edge, tipping and turning as you create your own perfect buttercream swirls as you head down the slopes. No, this stilted method of moving left me feeling like a multijointed superhero setting out to survey the land.
Rocky Mountain Outing
Yet as I dipped into the woods, something magical began to happen. My stiff robotic movements eased into a rhythmic walkabout and suddenly I discovered the bliss of being out in nature amid the quiet of the trees and the thick blanket of snow without having a soul around, let alone a skier or boarder zooming by me. (Or me blowing by someone else for that matter.) I discovered the supreme solitude of the forest and it was at that moment that I realized that that was exactly what I needed at that moment, it is exactly what I need this winter.
Life has been extremely chaotic. Between COVID and other crises, I have retreated into a more insular life. Yet I love the outdoors and desperately need it in the winter. (Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is what drove me to Colorado.) I love bundling up and braving the cold–even on a grey day. And then to head back inside and settle in to a nice hot cinnamon-laced mocha is one of the greatest joys of the season for me.
My Yaktraks
Since I’ve been back east in upstate New York, I’ve done that many times. I’ve snowshoed some and trekked even more. To me, trekking is going for an energetic walk on snow-covered trails or roads (or even lakes!) with my Yaktraks. For others, trekking is about venturing into the Himalayas. Either way, the joy of being outside surrounded by the illuminating effects of snow is a universal theme, even if it means just bopping out for a tour in your neighborhood.
One of the benefits of COVID is that more people have discovered the amazing benefits of recreating out of doors. I read a while back that many snowshoe suppliers sold out for the season–go figure! It is a great way to enjoy a blast of nature and have an aerobic workout in a short amount of time. I’ve become better at it and although it will never (EVER!) replace my love for skiing, it does provide a nice hit of winter fun.
Hudson Pointe Nature Preserve
Stockpiling in the Adirondacks Where Winter is Most Grey
So far I’ve mostly snowshoed on rather groomed trails and plodded along on some crusty snow in the northeast where normally I would have punched threw. They say that snowshoeing is primo on a powder day. Wow, coming from Telluride, I can tell you that people there live for powder days; people will ditch their nearest and dearest to find some freshies. (Ever hear of the expression “There are no friends on powder days?”) Somehow, I can’t imagine the same frenzy about heading out to find fresh tracks on snowshoes. But that, too, is likely part of the beauty of it all. Snowshoeing and trekking are so much about quietly communing with nature. Yes, now I can feel and hear it–fluff, fluff, fluff, ploufff.
I hope you will enjoy these pictures from my snowshoe and trekking jaunts in the Rockies, the Adirondacks and in Troy, New York. I quarantined for a week at Lake Luzerne (in the Adirondacks) and was once again able to experience the thrill of walking on frozen water. (The last time was decades ago.) Here in Troy, I’m delighted to have the Troy Country Club right outside my door, which provides a variety of terrain for treks and snowshoeing.
All this helps to make the challenges of COVID and caring for an elderly parent (my mom) much more manageable. I hope you find your fix this winter, too. It also makes the chocolate, cheese, wine and hearty meals such as stew with dumplings feel less self indulgent. If I keep this up, I just might become a regular subscriber to Snowshoe Magazine. And hopefully burn off a bunch more calories while breathing in the great outdoors.
Vintage ADK
Note that with all the snow in Colorado this year, there will likely be snowsport fun up through May.
Being Green Discovery Map Food & Wine Shopping Travel
by maribeth
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Favorite Online Shopping Recommendations 2020
Keeping It Simple with The Earthling Co.
I’ve been seeing photos on Facebook of people with their Christmas trees up, presents wrapped and sent, cookies baked, cards written and all kinds of other folderol completed. Now they just seem to be sitting around waiting for the full-on merriment of the holiday season to begin.
Well, I’m not one of those persons. I still have pumpkins and gourds in my house and only a few festive preparations accomplished. But I typically do don my interior with lots of red and green and then I leave it up until the end of winter! (It’s an alpine thing.) When it comes to shopping, I somehow seem to pull that off, too. Thankfully there’s not a whole lot of gift giving going on between my family and friends and overall, I try to keep it simple. I have ordered some things online (one for you, one for me) and have another order sprint lined up for today and tomorrow. So if you have some shopping to button up, throw it into gear so that you can send your purchase via standard shipping. Otherwise, you’ll have to opt for priority mail (which is how I typically send my own packages in any event).
Since the pandemic, we’ve all been doing a lot of online shopping. Like so many, I’m taking advantage of the one-click shopping on Amazon more so than ever. But oh, the emails they send out! (No, I don’t feel like reviewing those Home Techpro Rug Grippers that I have not yet found the time to adhere to my throw rugs. I’m sure there’s a way of turning off all of those notifications but I haven’t found it yet.) And then there’s Duluth Trading Post, Pendleton, One Kings Lane and an endless stream of online store emails that clog my inbox whether I’ve made a purchase from them or not. It all has become a necessary evil though.
Tesalate Towels
I’d like to highlight, however, a few quaint online boutiques that I’ve ordered from these past months, unique emporiums that offer terrific gift ideas for you and those on your list. (They’re small-ish, which means they don’t send out as many mailings as the biggies.) For brightly-colored beach towels that are great for any kind of outdoor or indoor fun, go to Tesalate. With a sea of patterns, a sand-proof material, and the possibility of buying one sized for two, the beach towels from this Aussie company will brighten every day as well as every situation for you.
If you love the earth and want to try harder to protect it, order your soaps, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers and the like from The Earthling Co. I was saddened to learn that due to COVID-19, there’s been a dip in recycling. Ugh, just think of all of those plastic bottles, caps and bags washing up on our shores or just collecting in our lakes, oceans and in the bellies of marine life and birds. I finally made the plunge to switch to bars for most of my toiletry and kitchen products and was delighted to discover that they work quite well. Plus, they keep my conscience clean. Give them a try!
My Ruggable Rug Brightens Up My Kitchen Almost as Much as My Kitties
Many of us have been focusing on beautifying our homes and gardens these past months. I’ve brightened up my home with some rugs from Ruggable. I love their cheery designs and best of all they are super easy to clean. That’s a big must for people like me that have lots of pet traffic. (See if you can find three cats in the above photo of my kitchen.)
Ruth’s Toffee
Ooo la la: A French Lady’s Dream from Henri’s Reserve
The Real Deal from Alpen Schatz
Last but certainly not least, I encourage you to click through to my Online Shopping page where I feature some of my favorite boutiques. This is online shopping par excellence, or in other words, for those that like the charm factor. If you type in the coupon code, Bonjour, you receive a 10% discount. From delicious homemade candies by Ruth’s Toffees to the best-ever handcrafted toys for cats and dogs by Purrfect Play to champagnes from top boutique vineyards curated by Henri’s Reserve and more, you won’t be disappointed by ordering from these unique purveyors. Many also offer e-Cards, which is also a great way to shop online. Keep in mind, too, that gifts don’t have to arrive by Christmas Day; the Christmas season all the way through the new year is most welcome for most, especially since shipping is so clogged up these days. Champagne for the New Year? Pourquoi pas?
Alpen Schatz remains one of my perennial favorites for all kinds of finely-crafted gifts, including home décor items, clothing, fashion accessories, pet collars and more from Europe. Alpen Schatz means alpine treasures and shopping in this treasure trove of a boutique will give you that festive touch all year long. Great news: There is now a UK-based site for all those that want to order across the pond. Be sure to type in the Bonjour coupon code.
Map of Florence by John Petach
For a travel-oriented piece of art, see my write up on John Petach, also at my Online Shopping page. Now that we’re not traveling as much, offering art fashioned from a map of a beloved destination seems more appropriate than ever. Scroll down on my Online Shopping page to learn more about John’s work and be sure to type in (or mention) Bonjour for the added 10% discount.
For more travel-inspired online boutiques, check out my Discovery Map story, Navigating Online Map Gifts.
And once you’ve completed your shopping, you might want to kick back with a hot chocolate or wine and read more travel-inspired stories from some of my Map Geek posts for Discovery Map. My last two are particularly holiday oriented.
Whatever you do, don’t stress. It’s not worth it. Famous last words–I’m just looking forward to putting up a few decorations and tossing my pumpkins out into the garden for any critters that can make use of them.
Happy shopping!
Purrfect Play Paradise
Colorado Discovery Map Health & Fitness Travel Writing & Books: Colorado COVID Discovery Map gratitude healthcare during COVID travel during COVID travel stories
by maribeth
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Giving Thanks
Thank you!
Hello, it’s me. I’m still here. I have composed many blog posts in my head to you these past months but it has been hard putting my thoughts in writing. Like so many people these days, I’ve been rather overwhelmed with life. And yet there have been many bright spots, a lot that have involved enjoying wonderful meals at home, tuning into concerts and movies online, embracing paddle boarding and picnicking and other low-risk activities, mostly with Steve, my partner of twelve years, and our three kitty cats. I’ve also poured much love and energy into cultivating my garden and settling into my little house. I’ve done some writing, mainly for Discovery Map and, in fact, I recommend you check out their Map Geek Blog where you can read stories that I think you’ll find to be both entertaining and informative.
I know how to make the best out of every day and every situation and I try hard to do just that. Thank God! Sometimes though it’s more of a challenge than others. Focusing on gratitude even in the darkest times helps a lot.
Summer Fun
As you can read in my recent Caring Bridge post, entitled Hoping Against Hope, my brother, David, continues to battle cancer very hard. He truly is an inspiration and there’s no doubt that his positive attitude has buoyed many of us up when we have felt great despair.
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t such a feeling person but there’s no doubt that vulnerability can also be a strength. It definitely fosters compassion.
Like so many, I hold my feelings in my gut. I’m hoping that I’ve hit the reset button on that–at least for the most part. As I wrote in my Caring Bridge post, learning last May that my brother still had cancer thrust me into a high state of anxiety. I thought that after his laryngectomy last February that he’d be cancer free. By early August my stress began to manifest itself into severe abdominal pain. It took a while to figure out the cause of it and lots of Oxycodones and wines to manage it but it was finally corrected the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. That’s when I had a hysterectomy and aside from some post operative pain and discomfort, I could tell right away that the surgery had worked. Time to say goodbye to the Oxies, the heating pads and hot water bottles and to enjoy wine purely for its taste rather than largely for its medicinal benefits. (I had even gone so far as to buy a bottle of whisky recently; anti-inflammatories just weren’t working.)
I am so very grateful for having had this surgery. It almost didn’t happen. I’m sure you’ve heard how overloaded our hospitals are due to COVID and that there’s a big nursing shortage (since many are in quarantine). Well, I can tell you that it’s real. My doctor, Dr. Kimberly Priebe, called me about four days before I was scheduled to go in and explained to me how Mercy Hospital in Durango, Colorado–like so many of our hospitals throughout Colorado and the rest of the country–was loaded with COVID. She explained to me that if I went through with the operation, she’d want to keep me off the floor and have me stay overnight in a hotel rather than in the hospital. The plan was for her to check in on me there and to keep me as far away from COVID central as possible. With the help of Steve, it appeared that I’d be reliant on a sort of “Little House on the Prairie” nursing and doctoring, straight out of the post-op recovery room. “And that’s provided there aren’t any complications and that you meet all the criteria for being released,” my doctor emphasized.
This all felt daunting and pretty scary, adding stress to a situation that was to be more than just a walk in the park as it was. I’m so grateful for all the support and advice I received from loved ones and particularly a couple of close friends from the medical world that helped me to eventually give my doctor the greenligiht with confidence. “You need to get this done. You have to trust that the medical professionals will keep you safe,” said my brother Frank. It wasn’t an easy decision, especially knowing that all of my doctor’s other surgeries for that day had been cancelled, including for a woman that had Stage 4 uterine cancer. But I persevered.
So Steve and I drove over two hours to Durango in a snowstorm the Monday night before, sanitized our hotel room (with a complete spray down of alcohol) and stocked the fridge with the food and drink I had packed into our cooler. Steve brought a thermometer as well as a blood pressure monitor; he was ready to handle whatever situation was going to be thrown our way. (He also had all of his ski gear because I insisted that he hit Wolf Creek the day of my surgery, since there was no point of him stepping foot in the hospital. He lucked out because it was a powder day. He talked to my doctor slopeside and then later picked me up at the end of his ski day!)
Thankfully all went seamlessly and I am so very grateful that I was able to have the surgery because I can’t imagine having had to go on much longer with such pain. My wonderful doctor lobbied for it to happen because as is the case with most of the hospitals in Colorado now, mostly only emergent surgeries are scheduled these days. I’m also very grateful to the entire medical staff because I know they are all working extra hard in order to make up for the shortages.
This brings me to a full-on plea to all to wear your mask and take all of the recommended precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Please, if you are a non-masker or if you tend to be lax with your social distancing and such, know that it is very real. My heart goes out to all of our medical workers that have to be exposed to this virus in order to help us. Just walking into the hospital for my pre-op bloodwork and COVID-19 test a few days before my surgery gave me the willies.
I have, in fact, felt heaps of gratitude to all healthcare workers and their support staff the past few years as I’ve assisted my brother with his cancer battle. I am in awe of their skill, hard work and commitment to their patients’ well being. In all of our countless interactions, I think we only encountered a handful that were less than pleasant and maybe one that was incompetent–or at least made a significant mistake. These people truly are heroes and I salute them during this period of giving thanks and forever more.
It seems as though the reset button has been hit for my brother, David, as well. We all have the power to promote healing within ourselves but there’s no doubt that we need help (sometimes a lot of it) from those in the medical profession.
I am grateful for modern medicine and all of our healthcare workers. I am also very grateful for the friends and family members that have supported me throughout these trying times.
I just received my pathology report and there’s no cancer. Plus, it has been almost ten days since our little Durango jaunt and Steve and I have seemingly not caught COVID. All is well.
Here’s wishing all of you good health and healing!
Steve & Me this Summer
Discovery Map Travel Writing & Books: A Tour of the Heart armchair travel Discovery Map sense of place The Good Earth traveling from home Trip Fiction
by maribeth
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All Kinds of Armchair Travel
An Excellent Read that Takes Place in 20th Century China
As I outlined in my Discovery Map post, Traveling from Home, there are many ways to transport yourself to other lands through books, music, virtual museum tours–you name it! I’m sure you’ve discovered many as you’ve sheltered in place these past weeks. I don’t know about you but I have not been at all bored. All I need–at least in terms of armchair travel–is to experience something that evokes a strong sense of place. My favorite medium is books, which is a good thing because I don’t even have a TV (by choice).
Here’s a cool site where you can locate a book–fiction or nonfiction–by its locale: Trip Fiction. Want to read something that takes place in Hawaii? Or how about Germany? Africa maybe? Trip Fiction will suggest to you the titles that tell stories that take place in those lands and many many more. Check it out!
My Travel Memoir: A Tour of the Heart
As for me, my favorite read of late has been The Good Earth, by Nobel Prize-winning author, Pearl S. Buck. It’s a classical novel of Pre-revolutionary China and I can tell you, it puts you right there in China as you follow the farmer, Wang Lung, and his selfless wife O-Lan on their triumphs and travails. They had far more of the latter than the former, so needless-to-say, this story makes you grateful for the life you have today no matter how challenging it might seem right now.
On a much lighter note, I can’t help but recommend my travel memoir, A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France. I promise it will whisk you off to Paris and the French provinces where you’ll be able to sample lots of excellent food and wine along the way. As a gift to you, dear reader, I am offering the eBook version free tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. If you haven’t read it yet, please do check it out. Tell your friends, too.
May you be safe, secure, entertained and informed during these COVID-19 times and always!
Discovery Map Health & Fitness Writing & Books: 2020 April COVID-19 Discovery Map Easter Map Geek messages of hope Passover Ramadan rebirth and renewal we are one worldview
by maribeth
Comments Off on April Showers Will Hopefully Bring May Flowers
April Showers Will Hopefully Bring May Flowers
Late April Sunrise in Telluride
As T. S. Eliot wrote in his poem, “The Waste Land,” ‘APRIL is the cruellest month.’ It has been extremely cruel to many, especially those that have perished due to COVID-19 and all their loved ones as well as those that tirelessly cared for them. It would have been easier not to feel such pain and to have remained in Eliot’s winter state of mind, numb and protected from all, as he wrote in ‘Winter kept us warm, covering.’ But it was not meant to be.
Already from this profound place, most of us have experienced a sense of rebirth and renewal, a recurring motif for the month of April and the most prevalent theme of the messages put forth in this year’s Easter, Passover and now Ramadan messages. I attempted to encapsulate this in a story I wrote for Discovery Map, entitled Map Geek’s Worldview: We Are One. I hope you’ll find a moment to take a look at it and that you’ll find some hope within it. Unlike T.S. Eliot’s renowned poem, April does not have to be the cruelest month despite the fact that it has indeed been very harsh.
Love to all!
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by maribeth
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I’m Thinking of You
A Good Sign: Heart-Shaped Tea Stain on My Kitty Dish
I’ve never been so consumed with thinking about people. I’m not dwelling or ruminating or obsessing about others. I’m visiting with folks. I’m spending time with my closest loved ones as much as I’m guarding the safety of those tight-knit families living in their one-room hovels in the slums of Islamabad. I’m hanging with my boyfriend who’s been working 12-hour days to keep the hotel he manages afloat and I’m rushing through the halls of a busy ICU with over-worked medical professionals. I’m sitting with the families that are grieving the loss of their loved ones while maintaining social distancing and I’m riding with that trucker who’s bravely making his way across the country to deliver goods without even being able to sit down at a truck stop to enjoy a good meal. I’m in the kitchen with that family that’s trying to figure out a new way of living, juggling working remotely with homeschooling and this new concentrated version of togetherness. I’m looking over the shoulder of that grocery store clerk who’s stocking shelves for a small wage so that we can continue to fill our refrigerators and pantries. I’m with that person fighting for his or her life on a respirator in the hospital. Indeed, it feels like I’m everywhere these days–at least in my thoughts.
My Partner Delivering the Goods Beneath the Cover of Darkness
Yet, I am all alone–at least from a physical standpoint. I was very sick for quite a while with presumably some kind of a Telluride crud that I picked up on the mountain while teaching skiing the first week of spring break. (I had a COVID-19 swab test, self isolated for over two weeks and then found out it was negative. It took ten days for the results to come back but even if I had found out that I was coronavirus free sooner, it was best not to be out spreading germs.) During this time, I saw a couple of friends who came by to drop off provisions for me, safely separated by the glass door of my foyer. My guy came by with care packages as well but as hard as it was, we maintained a good ten feet between us, knowing that had there been any less distance we would have been more tempted to fall into each other’s arms. And then once I received my test report, I was thrilled to carefully venture out to the store, the pharmacy and a couple of other necessary places on my list. (Thankfully liquor stores are considered essential businesses here in Colorado.)
Driving Up for My COVID-19 Test
Like many people throughout the rest of the world, I’ve been doing this for over a month. I’m not at all bored though. I have my reading and writing, cooking, cleaning and house projects, lots of radio programming (I don’t have a TV) and now that I’m better, I enjoy doing an occasional walk in the countryside surrounding my house. Plus, I have all of you. Really. I’ve never felt so connected to the rest of the world in all my life. All kinds of people, including old college friends, old boyfriends, my ex husband, friends in France, and so many more from the cast of characters that have played a role in the movie that is my life have filled my thoughts and dreams. Prince Charles even appeared in one of my nighttime productions last week! We were eating potato chips together sans gin and tonic unfortunately. I sleep as deeply as a Rocky Mountain bear during the month of January and wake up exhausted, perhaps because of all the visiting I do during the night. In pondering the symbolism behind these dreams, I’ve come to the conclusion that the night is just a continuation of how my brain has been functioning throughout my waking hours: thousands of loved ones and total strangers pop into my head over the course of the day and with each flash, I’m wondering consciously or unconsciously how they are doing. Best of all, I feel myself sending them strength and love.
Saying Hello to Cows on My Walk is Good Therapy
The expression “my thoughts and prayers are with you” has gotten a bad rap. Honestly. I believe in the power of thoughts and prayers more so than ever. And I feel like I’m working overtime these days to stay emotionally connected with everyone in this world, particularly those in need. We have all discovered the meaning of “we are one” throughout this worldwide pandemic. I feel for the people of Italy as their death toll reaches inconceivable numbers. I’m experiencing the horror and sadness that New Yorkers feel upon seeing the refrigerated trucks line up outside their hospitals for the storage of the dead. I’m fluffing up the pillow for that medic sleeping in his car. I’m feeling the excitement of that oh-so creative person that has turned her 3-D printer into a face mask-making machine.
Everyday I find myself having a good cry. I’m not at all depressed. I’m just full of empathy and compassion and although it can be tiresome, shedding tears is a wonderful release both physically, emotionally and mentally.
