Tuesday I hopped on a west bound plane. A client was flying me out to paint a picture for her. She promised to wine me, dine me and entertain me, in exchange for me slopping some pigment around on a canvas. I wouldn’t go to such extreme lengths for most clients but this one happens to be one of my favorite people.
The flight was uneventful, which is the best thing possible in a flight.
I arrived at Denver International at 9:00 and my sister picked me up. (She’s the client. Don’t tell anyone.)
We dropped my bags off at her house and drove into Golden. Golden is fun; a pretty little touristy town completely dominated by the river and the Coors plant. What’s that smell, you ask? That’s the smell of money, dear; the sweet, hoppy smell of money.
The snow melt off the mountains has the river running a full foot higher than usual and the rapids right around main street are tremendous. A few hundred yards upstream, kayakers, tubers and even one paddle boarder were taunting the angry water and daring the river to drown them. So far, the river hasn’t claimed any extreme sportsmen this spring.
We did a lot of window shopping but didn’t buy anything, which is unusual for us. Finally, we stopped in at a microbrewery and ordered something called an orange creamsicle…there was no ice cream in them but they were delicious. After the fortifications, we continued in our stroll and wound up in a nifty little shop selling handmade soaps. Margy bought some things there.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, filled an entire cart with goodies, then went home and made dinner.
Jeff has this new thing that we referred to as a ‘heat stick’. You fill a big pot with water, insert the heat stick, set to the desired temperature, then seal the meat in bags, put them in the pot and let the hot water cook them to perfection.
We made a giant salad while Jeff cooked four huge chicken breasts. When the chicken had been submerged for the required length of time, we shook them out of their baggies, sliced them up and tossed the chicken in the salad.
If the heat stick cooks everything as well as it cooked those chicken breasts, I want one. The chicken was tender, juicy and delicious yet done all the way through, which is hard to do.
After dinner, we watched several episodes of the Grinder, which I hadn’t seen. Hoo boy, that’s a funny show. It flies deep into silly territory, skewers society’s obsession with celebrity, yet Fred Savage’s character allows the show to keep one foot firmly anchored in reality.
Wednesday, Margy and I went to the art supply store. Turns out she doesn’t want a painting…she wants a big ass painting.
She had sent me copies of the two photos she wanted me to base the new painting on, so I brought the paints and brushes I thought I’d need.
Then she bought a canvas that’s four by six feet.
I told her we were gonna need more paint.
And some big ass brushes.
Oh, and we went to the Botanical Gardens! Margy’s been volunteering there for years and she had a job to do. It was super fun! She had on her volunteer t-shirt and a badge so we got to go through all sorts of doors marked “staff only”. I followed her around and even though I had no badge or t-shirt, no one questioned me.
We spent an hour emptying and refilling roach traps in the tropical green house. Margy’s back is acting up so while I followed her all over the green house, I carried the box of foul smelling roach traps.
The traps are glass jars, filled to the half way point with a pungent mixture of beer, apple juice and bread. Oh, and dead roaches.
I decided that if anyone questioned my lack of a badge or t-shirt, I would tell them I was fulfilling my community service hours.
After emptying the traps, counting the dead, refilling and setting the traps back where they needed to be, we spent the next few hours wandering around the gardens. One of my favorite things to do!
I’d been in Denver’s botanic gardens with Margy before but never at this time of the year. I think I was there in very early spring or late autumn. It was really nice to see them at their summery best.
We had lunch while there and everything was very tasty. They offer home made ice cream. It was delicious.
For dinner, Jeff, Margy and I went back to Golden. We had cocktails at a speak easy called the Golden Moon. I had something called the Serenity Firefly Class because how could I not order that when it’s on the menu? Jeff got a C3POld and Margy got something cucumbery and refreshing.
Then we walked down the street and over the river to the Mountain Toad, where we had beer and ordered two fried shrimp and catfish plates from a NOLA food truck. The food was good, the drinks were good and we had a great time.
Thursday, I attacked the big ass canvas. After I’d worked a few hours, Margy took me to the house they’re flipping with their friend, Steve. Then we walked around a lake not too far from Margy’ house. Not Crown Hill lake, which is very close but a different one. The neighborhood is up and coming and the views are spectacular.
That night, Margy and I went to a wine tasting at the country club. Jeff met us there when he was done with the 27 holes of golf he plays on his one day off. Everyone at the wine tasting was friendly and only out to have a good time. Then, we had dinner at the club. The dining room opens up onto a huge deck with a 180 degree view of the mountains. We didn’t sit out there because we could see giant rainstorms coming over the mountains. We sat near the open wall to the outdoor deck and watched as lightening put on a show. The storms passed slightly north of us but we felt the breeze as they passed us by.
I don’t remember what we did. Oh, yeah; we walked around the lake early before it got too hot. Then I painted for a few hours and in the afternoon we went to the pool. Andy was already there with a crowd of his pals and he did a few fancy dives. We didn’t stay too long; it was very refreshing.
We had to get home and cleaned up for a dinner party at the neighbor’s behind M&J’s house. They’re very good friends and I first met them nearly 20 years ago, when we all had tiny kids. The party was small, just 7 of us. We had make your own pizzas, which Kevin cooked on the grill. It was such a good idea! We all had the same thing, yet tailored to our individual tastes. We took our time over dinner, then moved to the very fancy fire pit, surrounded by matching black Adirondack chairs. We drank wine and talked until Jeff said he had to go to bed. So we tottered back through the hedge and up to the house. It was after 11:30! Jeff was on call and really needed to get to bed.
Saturday, Margy and I met her friend Linda at the lake and we did a long, fast walk. It was hot and I felt the altitude but it was great to get my sweat on. We came home, had lunch and I worked on the painting all afternoon. I thought I might be done but I’m not happy with the central figure yet. I’ll work on him again tomorrow. He’ll have to be right then: I’ll be out of time.
Saturday night, after a fabulous stir fry dinner at which we were joined by most of the boys including three of Andy’s friends, we watched Hail, Caesar!, the Coen brothers latest movie. It was entertaining, with a lot of promising characters and situations but nothing went anywhere. It was a joke without a punch line. The dancing sailors scene, featuring Channing Tatum made the movie worth a look. While we were doing that, the boys set up the outside projector and watched something else.
Sunday, we went to mass then I finished the painting. What a relief.
Then Margy and I went to Golden and walked a few miles on the Green belt. Eventually, we wound up back at the club pool for the third day in a row. It was in the high 90s and since the drought broke two years ago, the Denver area actually gets humid! The water was cool and felt fantastic. We stood up to our necks in it, watching a thunderstorm roll over the mesa. The lifeguards closed the pool two minutes after we got out.
The storm rolled over town just north of us but we only got a few sprinkles. Then the sun came back out, Jeff cooked burgers on the grill and Margy and I took the dog, Banjo, for a long walk after dinner. It was a glorious evening.
Now that my kids are grown and Margy is taking her youngest off to college in two weeks, there’s no reason in the world not to do this more often.
Getting older definitely has its perks.