angledge | Entries tagged with friends

Well, we haven't even gotten a full work week into our glorious new Administration & here are three ways that I, a pinko Commie liberal, have personally experienced getting owned:

Earlier this month, I was invited to join the Board of a local environmental non-profit, the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership. I attended a really great briefing on their big watershed restoration project for 2025 - a plan to protect & restore a type of habitat called iron fens. Iron fens trap carbon, increase water retention, & sequester heavy metals, improving water quality & water flow stability while providing a minor buffer against climate change. But, one of President Trump's first acts on Monday was to suspend spending under the Inflation Reduction Act, which was the funding source for this project. Therefore, this project is now in limbo.
My boss & I had a frantic phone call this morning regarding concerns from one of our Native American employees: Navajo folks are getting caught up in ICE sweeps & the Trump Administration is questioning the birthright citizenship of Native Americans. (You really have to stop & admire the irony of that for a moment.) We are debating what to do to keep our three Native American employees safe while they go about their personal & professional business in the land that their ancestors have occupied for tens of thousands of years.
One of my friends, who identifies as non-binary, reached out to me in the midst of a panic attack on Wednesday when, as part of their company being acquired, they were sent an HR form asking them to self-identify their gender identity so the acquiring company can use the information for "federal and state Equal Employment Opportunity record keeping". They finally decided to be honest & identify as non-binary, but what a world where someone has to weigh their honesty, self image, & mental health vs. a sense of safety & financial stability.

We are making America GREAT! /s

Current Mood: cold
Current Location: The Kingdom of Winter
Current Music: "Misty Mountains" from The Hobbit

music link

A WhatsApp conversation with

chaosvizier this morning:

angledge: So my brain completely let me down in a life or death situation on Sunday.

chaosvizier: This doesn't involve another shed full of dynamite, does it? *

angledge: Nope

angledge: A* & I were coming home from Grand Junction after dark. A* was driving.

angledge: I was looking for animals. Sure enough, I saw a big old elk on the left side of the road, looking like he was going to come across.

angledge: "Brain", thought I, "we need to relay this information to A* forthwith!"

angledge: What did my brain do? Did my brain direct my mouth to say something useful like, "A*, elk on your left!"

angledge: No.

angledge: What I did end up saying was, "T-t-t-t-t-t!!" & I threw my hand forward in an imperious STOP gesture.

chaosvizier: Bwaaahahaha

angledge: Luckily it was enough information for A* to hit the brakes & look around. We didn't hit the elk.

angledge: But godDAMMIT Brain, really??

chaosvizier: "Yes ang, tit tit tit, I like them very much, what's your point?"

angledge: Thank goodness he didn't think it was an invitation to ogle me lol

chaosvizier: A* grasped the true meaning as opposed to grasping something else 🤪

angledge: The sound I made was more "Teh-teh-teh" than "tee-tee-tee". Not quite sure how to convey the wordless burbling.

chaosvizier: It's t-t-t-t-ted! He's c-c-coming to k-k-kill me!

* The shed full of dynamite references an old work story I conveyed to

chaosvizier a few days ago about a time when my old job had me & my intrepid co-workers detonating some abandoned sticks of dynamite at a mine site. We somewhat underestimated the quantity of TNT that was involved & wacky hijinks (although no injuries) ensued.

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: The Kingdom of Winter
Current Music: Stupid Brain is playing Unchained Melody on repeat forever

The last few days have been a bizarre mixture of good & bad.

Good:

A surprise visit from M*! They had a stressful week at work & decided to come decompress in the mountains for a couple of days. They arrived late Friday night & left Monday morning. We did a little bit of hiking & took the dogs down to the San Miguel River for some splash time.
We also made an awesome peach cobbler on Saturday night, using Palisade peaches Annie bought at the Ridgway farmer's market.
After church on Sunday, we went to an art festival in town, which was surprisingly large, varied, & GOOD! I bought a sweater made from alpaca wool that I suspect will be my new favorite thing this winter & we both bought some spice mixes.
Sunday night, we sat out on the deck with Alan & Annie to watch the Perseid meteor shower. There were a couple of show-stoppers - extra-bright shooting stars with long tails. We also saw Starlink, which actually freaked M* out a little bit.

Bad:

Poor Shadeaux had truly hellish diarrhea starting Thursday afternoon & continuing through Monday morning. She was doing very poorly on Saturday until she finally ate some chicken, rice, & psyllium husk mixed with diluted bone broth. This morning, she ate a bowl of regular dog chow with some rice & chicken & she seems to be feeling nearly normal. I'm giving her a probiotic & keeping my fingers crossed.
On Monday morning, the basement toilet backed up (unrelated). I am sure I don't need to belabor the details on why that sucked.
Also on Monday morning, Alan & I learned that two of our good friends in town (C* & J*) are getting divorced. They are the couple that owns the Beaumont Hotel (where we held our wedding reception). They just sold the hotel, & I guess they're calling it quits on everything. It's really sad - we love hanging out with them & we had no idea things were going badly between them. They're both planning to move out of state.

I've been reading & listening to a lot of audiobooks lately (thank you, Libby). My recommendations:

The Divine Cities Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett. A post-apocalyptic world with a murder-mystery feel. What happens when your society has direct connection to the power of the gods - & then those gods are murdered?
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver takes the story of David Copperfield & sets it in Appalachia at the outbreak of the OxyContin crisis. Reading this novel while my mom (who lives on the edge of Appalachia) is dealing with pain management issues following her latest back surgery was chilling, to say the least.
Project Hail Mary written by Andy Weir & narrated by Ray Porter. This audiobook won the 2022 Audie Award for the Audiobook of the Year. Reminiscent of The Martian, it's another great hard-science action adventure with the survival of humanity being only part of the stakes! Ray Porter brings the nerdy main character to life & the choice to incorporate minimal sound effects was a good one.

In other news, after many years of dilettante gardening, I have made a startling discovery: using fertilizer increases plant health & produce yields!!! Wait until I tell the farmers.

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: Ridgway

music link

This is the big month. I'm having friends & family descend upon Ouray County starting June 11th. My parents arrived on June 13th & they are planning to move out here! They're looking for a house in Montrose, the "big city" of ~20,000 located a half-hour north of Log Hill Village.

June 16th is Mom's birthday. We're having a dinner at my current favorite restaurant, the Lazy Dog Saloon, to celebrate her birthday & kick off wedding festivities.

The BIG DAY is June 17th. Wedding is at 11 AM, reception will run from noon to 3 PM. Alan & I will spend the night at an undisclosed location. This will also be my parents' 57th anniversary.

Sunday June 18th is Father's Day & we're having a good-bye brunch at our house.

My five-year sobriety anniversary is June 20th.

I'm actually calm (so far). Work is crazy, but work is always crazy. I'm in decent health & decent shape - I actually weighed myself this morning & I'm at the lowest weight I've achieved since moving out here in August 2020. The wedding planning is nearly complete. Money is tight, but I think we can get everything paid for without too much stress (or borrowing).

I'm ready to become Ms. Angela Todd.

Current Mood: loved
Current Location: Ridgway
Current Music: "Cast Iron Soul" by Jamestown Revival

Two of Alan's older brothers (Jim & Kevin) & their wives (Stephane & Olivia).
La chica, & I honestly can't believe it took this long for her to get it, considering her job.
Doctor Nick & his family.
Our neighbors across the street: Justin & Annie, & their kids, Carver, Willow, & Ava.
Aunt Nancy & Uncle Paul, & possibly cousin Calvin & some of his kids.

So far, everyone is doing all right, but Uncle Paul was in very bad shape for a while due to severe underlying conditions. It's a mix of vaccinated, boosted, & unvaccinated people.

I felt sick earlier this week & took a Abbott BinaxNOW home test, which came out negative. I was almost - almost - disappointed. Omicron isn't anything to covet, but compared to Delta, it does seem like the kinder, gentler COVID. And it feels nearly inevitable that everyone will catch some variant, sooner or later. Why not get a mild one & then have the super-immunity granted by Moderna/Moderna/Moderna/infection?

Current Mood: restless
Current Location: Ridgway, CO
Current Music: Christmas carols still stuck in my head

Sleep: I cheated & took an Advil PM along with my nightly 5-HTP & magnesium. I fell asleep around 11 PM, I think.

Program: Prayed this morning, on my knees. Body position really does affect focus. Then I went to the Attitude Adjustment meeting. I tried to meditate in the afternoon, but it was interrupted by Shadeaux whining too much.

Work: I got more done today than the three previous days combined. Weird work-related thought this morning: People used to retire at 55, which for me would mean I only had 9 years left to work. Even if my goal is to retire at 65, that means I only have 19 years left – a long time, but still a finite length.

Food: normal breakfast (coffee w/cream, keto casserole, cheesy biscuit), lunch was a Freshly meal (chicken with ratatouille style vegetables & a terrible broccoli rice), dinner with B* at Ritual Social House (mussels, antipasto sandwich, too many fries, tonic water with lime juice)

Exercise: I walked to/from York Street, probably about 40 minutes total walking. I took the dogs for a short afternoon walk. B* showed me how to set up Samsung Health on my phone – it’s going to start counting my steps. It has a heart rate monitor on the phone! Need to explore that more.

Mood: Decent. I think walking in the morning helped me get going.

Relationships: Somewhat annoyed with M* today, for no good reason.

Grats: 1. B* made it here safely from Houston! 2. I have my doggos back for the weekend. 3. The snow was pretty this morning & is already melting off.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Location: Haert-bed
Current Music: Rihanna something

music link

Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Step 3: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

You don't have to understand God to complete Step 3. You have to make a decision. In today's meeting, G* said that some people want to have a spiritual awakening as a precondition to doing the steps. But, he pointed out, the steps suggest that you don't have the spiritual awakening until you've done the work. Do the work, get the prize. So Step 3 should basically be: "OK, I'm going to try this." Several people shared that their sponsor had them do Step 3, formally pray the Third Step Prayer on their knees, & then told them to immediately start writing their fourth step. You've decided to do the work - get busy.

B* just called me - she went out this weekend. She's trying to sober up now & get to a meeting at 3 PM. Her sponsor told her to call people who care about her - I'm touched that she chose to call me. I hope she can get back on track.

Current Mood: snuggly
Current Location: Haert
Current Music: "Glitter in the Air" by P!nk

In the maelstrom of last Friday, I forgot to mention that last Thursday night I gave a few of my floormates a demonstration of an authentic American folk art: jack'o'lantern carving.
Kristin, my Norwegian flatmate, learns how to scoop the goop out of the pumpkin.

Kristin, my Norwegian flatmate, learns how to scoop the goop out of the pumpkin.

They were unbelievably enthusiastic over this one little lame grinning pumpkin. Selina had a fit today when I announced it was time for Jack to visit the magical kingdom of the rubbish bin, but after Hsin-Yi took this picture, off he went:
Right before Jack went crash in the trash.

Right before Jack went crash in the trash.

( Introducing the Royal Family )

Current Mood: content
Current Music: "Wreck of the Sloop John B" as covered by Cayuga's Waiters

( memorial )
Mark is standing furthest to the right.

Caption: Charlie, Joan, Cindy, and Mark at IGLA 2001 in Toronto.

Current Mood: grieving
Current Music: "Will the Circle be Unbroken"

This is a really obnoxious post. I'm feeling a bit unglued by the return of the evil nightmare, & therefore even more needy than usual. I've disabled posts because I don't want anyone to feel obligated to post a cheer-up message. ( In fact, no-one should even feel obligated to read it. ) I think it helps just to write it down & get it out of my head.

song lyrics

Current Mood: distressed
Current Music: "Deconstruction" by the Indigo Girls

Saturday's barbeque was quite a success, I'd say. We ended up with about 40 guests total, & had a crowd here from 2:00 PM 'til about 11:00 PM. Of course, the Hive (& Doreen) spent the night, & carried on until 2:00 AM or so. Not to mention having started early with a party on Friday night that didn't wind down until nearly 4:00 AM.

Highlights:

effrontery FINALLY PROVED HER EXISTENCE by showing up & meeting the Hive. Take that, unbelievers! She's REAL!
The neighbors within earshot received quite the education on the current state of lesbian sexual practices by overhearing an out-of-control game of "I Never", which took place on the front porch, after many beers. Hoo boy.
I received rave reviews from the crowd when I debuted the first meat dish I've cooked in many years, the succulent Meat-On-A-Stick. Here's how it's made: Cube steak, then marinade for at least four hours in (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, a dab of dijon mustard, parsley, onion salt, basil, oregano, & rosemary). Spear steak pieces onto shish kebab skewers & sear over high heat on grill. Serve warm, preferably while still on stick.
( And the Quote Board speaks for itself )

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: "Untouchable Face" by Ani diFranco

( Friday night - Vanida )

( Saturday - Snyder family visitation )

( Sunday - softball )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "So Many People" by Vanida Gail

Profile

Angela

The Phoenix

December 2025

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

Syndicate

Page Summary

Week One of owning the libs.
Brain fail.
Weekend of EXTREEEEMES.
June 2023.
Soooo many people with the Rona.
Arrival day for B*.
(no subject)
American folk art
My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today
Lesson No. 1 in Ang Management
post-party patter
Playing catch-up again

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Dec. 29th, 2025 08:56 pm

Ang's Journal

Serving No Purpose Since 2003

Entries tagged with friends

Week One of owning the libs.

Brain fail.

Weekend of EXTREEEEMES.

June 2023.

Soooo many people with the Rona.

Arrival day for B*.

(no subject)

American folk art

My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today

Lesson No. 1 in Ang Management

post-party patter

Playing catch-up again