My Colorado

I have been debating this for a few days now.  Maybe I shouldn't write anything about it. It is the reason this blog has been sitting silent for so long.  After all, this blog is basically a business blog- to inform our customers about  new products, fabric, ideas, etc. Sometimes we throw in a little family post in from time to time.  But nothing heavy.  Nothing too thought provoking.  Just fun.

But it happened here.  Again.  Here as in Colorado.   I think the word Colorado has been mentioned on the news about a bazillion times since Friday.  I am sickened.  I am mad.  I am heartbroken for the victims. I feel just as every other American does.   But I refuse to let the actions of one define my state.  My home. That isn't Colorado.  It isn't my Colorado.    

Which got me thinking.  About all the things I love about this state.  Here are a few.

Whenever I till someone from a different state that I live in Colorado, they think this:

The mountains.  Um, not so much.  They are beautiful.  But I rarely visit the mountains.  I've been skiing.  Once.  In the 9th grade.  We live on the plains,  which look more like this:

Beautiful, huh?  Well, sometimes it's beautiful. Just not now- we are in a severe drought and everything is a nice shade of brown.  I do love Colorado corn fields:

And wheat fields in July:

Here are some other things I love about Colorado.  

Downtown Denver, or LoDo.  A fun place to be.

Colorado State University.  My whole family graduated from here.  Hopefully our kids will choose it too. Not to pressure anyone.

My beloved sports teams.  The Broncos, Nuggets and Rockies.  I almost left the Rockies off the list. They are unbearably awful this year.  A W F U L.   But I still love them.  And it's still fun to go to Coor's Field.

One of my most favorite places on earth to be.  The Colorado State Fair.  For the livestock shows- not the rides.  But this is the only picture I could find.

And the snow.

Just kidding.  I hate the snow.  But it was a pretty picture.  And it looked sort of refreshing after the 100th day of 105 degrees.  I am exaggerating about the 100 days.  But not by much.  It is seriously HOT here this summer.  

So those are just a few things I love about living here.  I just wanted to remind myself about all the good things.

I in no way am personally connected to any of the victims of last Friday.  I didn't know any of them or their families.  I just share the same state.  It does give me kind of a weird feeling knowing that one of the three movies my husband and I ever have seen together was at that theater.  And my son was born at the hospital President Obama visited on Sunday.  But other than that, I have no connection. And like everyone else, I pray for the victims and their families.  I want to know about and remember them.  Not the horrible act.

So now that I got that post out of the way, I can post about something a little more fun.  Even something about sewing.  We have our new Label Crew project for August finished.  I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

 

 

Comments

[chaussures umbro]

yeah, natural and beautiful scenery！ i seems that i can feel the fresh air and thank u for your sharing!

[Cassie]

Love your post about Colorado. I was born in Salida and lived most of my life there. I now live in Missouri (we call it misery). My son is a jr. At CSU, so we are able to go back often. One day I will make to see your store. My heart and prayers go out to all the families that were affected by the tragedy in Aurora. God Bless...

[terry]

So enjoyed your pics of Colo. We lived there for 25 yrs. Raised our children there just on the east side of Morrison. Been 14yrs since we have visited and at times i do miss it so.. Thank you for the reminder of why it is such a wounderful place to live

[Pam Williamson]

Thank you for the beautiful reminder that we do live in a wonderful state!
Pam in Fort Collins

[Wanda]

What happened last Friday night was unspeakable but the state of Colorado is not at fault. The state is beautiful and as evidenced by the hospital's decision to waive fees, filled with beautiful people. I have relatives in Colorado Springs and Boulder but no one was involved. I live in Florida and had two teenage daughters go to the midnight showing of the movie friday night. It was their first midnight show and I had my reservations. We went over safety before and after the movie. I couldn't imagine safety during the movie. After friday night they're thinking they'll be passing on the midnight show. I'm glad they made the choice so I didn't have to make it for them. Keeping Colorado in our prayers.

[Sarah Rothe]

Lovely words. You're right - when I think of Colorado I think of the snowcapped mountains. I live in Australia and I guess we only know of the stereotypes. My landscape is the same as your plains landscape! I live in rural South Australia on the plains and my Dad is a grain producer. It's very green here at the moment, but in summer it's brown and crunchy like your picture!

[Janet]

Loved your post and reminder of your beautiful State. We've had a family reunion at Durango, Gunnison and Grand Junction. Loved Silverton and the great Chuck Wagon show outside of Durango .. it was tons of fun! Our state experienced a similar event several years back at Trolley Square in SLC by a young Bosnian man that didn't fit in here much and killed several shopping for their sweethearts on Valentines.
Our thoughts and prayers our with the families that have been affected and devastated by this horrible event.

[Jeanne]

Lovely. Lovely state, lovely sentiments.

[laura huffman]

tragic, no one anywhere in the world is immune. this happens all over and it brings heartache to all even though they may not live there. I know the world is sending prayers to all involved. this act does not define your area. praying for the victims, and all people affected.
your area reminds me of my area, minus the mountains. very rural here. thank God we are receiving rain.

[suzk]

that was a great post. I always thought of Colorado as the first picture you posted until my niece and nephew moved to Denver. I was shocked by how flat everything was when you turned your back on the mountains. Now, I haven't seen much of the state, mostly Denver, a quick trip over the Continental Divide and Colorado Springs, where my niece was married. However, I think it is a beautiful state and I'm glad my nephew stayed out there...he loves it (and he lives in Aurora!) Too often our cities and states get defined by some form of negative notariety and people just don't get to see how beautiful the area is or how great most of the people are. BTW, I'm from New Hampshire...my favorite state. :0)

[ga447]

Hi, I live in Eastern Nebraska and drive to the mountains to visit my sister. We had a tragedy happen where a nut case went into our High School shot rounds and killed the Assistant Principal, also a crazy drugged kid went into Von Maur and went shooting away and killed I believe many. The world has changed and it is scarcy.

[Sue]

Thanks for the post I think you said what we are all thinking. I love the pictures I think most of us forget Colrado has plains. I grew up on a wheat farm in Eastern Washington and except for not being as flat of land...it looks the same. I now live in the land of green...but instead of snow we get lots of rain.

[Patsy Booher]

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm sure it made you feel better.

Although our world is filled with many bad things (and actions), we need to remember the good things (and actions).

Take care.

[Lee]

A year and a half ago I had exactly the same sentiments as you. When my town makes the national news, it is not a good thing. What happened in my town really wasn't what Tucson was, or is, or will be. So, I feel your pain and I know that it will be there for a while. But I also know that healing will occur and the communities of Colorado will come together in amazing ways.

[Mary Chamberlain]

First thank you for posting. I have the same issue with my blog. I find myself so concerned about ideas other than creative ones that sometimes it has to come-out on the blog.
Second. You live in a State similar to where I live. Oregon. People think of the super green 'side' with trees...lots of green trees. Maybe the coast or Bend. Rarely the other HALF of the state (where we live) the flat high dessert half. Where trees don't really grow, and things are rarely green. We also get HOT and SNOW. Short days in the winter, super long ones in the summer.
Thanks for posting, and for making such wonderful fabric/creative ideas!

[Cheryl - MA]

Such a sad day for our Country. When I think of CO I think of a more forward thinking area of our Country. A place where people care about keeping the country clean, recycling, leaving a positive footprint on the land and in the air. A modern day "Hippie" if you will. Not only is CO beautiful and clean, it has some of the most wonderful caring people I've ever met.
And yes, we need to learn about the victims and their families and send out our prayers and positive thoughts for them.
BTW there is no reason to take it as a reflection of your state, he's from CA and just happened to be going to school and living there. He is not a reflection of the kind of people who gravitate to CO.
God Bless you all, and thank you for your post.

[Lindsi]

What a beautiful post. I moved from Fort Collins last year and I miss it all the time! Go Rams, I'm an alumni as well.

[Pam]

Good positive post.
Enjoy your blog and fabrics.

[terriaw]

Good for you - what a great post! I love seeing Colorado from your perspective. I used to live in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, so my Colorado would be all about the mountains, the snow, skiing, hiking, mountain rivers, red stone, blue bird skies, people working any job they could find just so they could live in such a beautiful place, independent business owners, knowing people where ever I went. Thanks for sharing your Colorado with us! Looking forward to your next label crew project, btw.

[Stephanie in MI]

It's a horrible thing. I didn't even connect it to the other shooting in CO. I don't think it has anything to do with your state. It's just the way things go. CO is beautiful and has many wonderful people. I skied a lot in CO growing up, so that is my image of CO. My heart goes out to all the families involved.

[randi]

This is a lovely post. I live in Canon City and feel much the same about our state. It's tragic what happened and I am praying for everyone involved.

I don't anyone personally, but one guy (Caleb) lives about 10 minutes from me. A friend and I are going to make a quilt for his wife who just delivered their baby. It's a really sad situation.

I do like the Colorado pic you posted, and then the "actual" pic of what it looks like where you live. It's like that where i am too. No giant mountains and lakes, just small hills and some cactus with some farmer's fields interspersed! :)

[Margie Carey]

Some of my happiest memories of childhood are the visits we made to Colorado to visit family. Coming from Kansas we saw plenty of the 'plains' as we traveled westward. As a matter of fact, the only way I knew we weren't still in Kansas was the 'welcome to colorful colorado' sign as we crossed the border. I would strain my eyes for the first glimpse of the front range and it always took my breath when I saw it. It still does. I try to get there every ten years and will head west again this September. I can't wait to squint my eyes again looking for that first glimpse. Thank you for the preview!

[Suzette]

Oh man-now I'm homesick! I grew up in Golden, CO but now live in NC-a long way away distance-wise and culture-wise. But you said it yourself-when you tell people you live in Colorado-they think of the gorgeous state that it is, not about the atrocities committed by mentally ill monsters.

[eileen]

well said post!! you truly do live in a beautiful state with wonderful people--the actions of those trying to protect and/or save others is truly inspiring. awful things happen everywhere and to fantastic people. that's just life and we cannot control others. thanks for sharing

[nicolette]

You live in a beautiful place. I always love to see pictures of other peoples homestates!
I’m from The Netherlands and even in our tiny little country we have had to deal with some horrific acts of crazy and mental sick individuals.
I will remember Colorado by your beautiful picture of the reflecting mountains!

[Dolores @ A Labour of Love]

So tragic. Your Colorado looks so normal, you just don't expect such atrocities.

[Joanne]

Thankyou for sharing your beautiful state. I am from Australia and we too have been been swamped with the sickening, heartbreaking actions of one individual. Seeing this post i will try to remember these images when i hear the word "Colorado" rather than the awful images. xx

[Ina]

Mental illness. Heart breaking consequences for everyone including the family of the mentally ill man.