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The Great Veggie Caper and Serious Subterfuge

In the early years, I took a lot of pride for feeding my kids nutritious meals. We had vegetables, a starch and some meat because I wanted them to be well balanced. I think I did okay on that front. Nobody can accuse my kids of being unbalanced. (Me? That’s a story for another day.) They gobbled up what I set in front of them. Or at least I thought they did. Unbeknownst to me, there was subterfuge going on in those angelic little heads. My kids could display the most innocent looks possible — …

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Creepy Crawly Kiddie Critters

My middle son was a soft-spoken little guy who never made a fuss. He loved to go outside and walk around on our back deck looking through the fence, up at the trees and down at the yard. He pointed to birds. He talked to squirrels. He didn’t miss a thing. I kept an eye on him out on the deck. With a baby in my arms, I looked out the window and saw he was pointing towards the house — his little mouth forming words. “Bug Mom, bug” he said as I opened the window. “Bug, mom, bug.” He was so calm …

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Spooky Guy in the Utah Mountains

You never know what (or who) you’re going to find when exploring through the mountains. Take Utah for example. We discovered the largest living organism in the world in Utah’s Fish Lake National Forest —it’s one hundred and six acres of aspen trees grown from a single seed. Trees in the “Pando Clone” are 80,000 years old and they’re connected to a root system weighing in at 13 million pounds. The U.S. Postal Service named it as one of “the Wonders of America.” It was a beautiful …

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Choosing Recovery: A Wildfire Remembrance

It's been a decade since the Black Forest Wildfire swept through our community, destroying over 14,000 pine covered acres, burning over 500 homes (including ours, see below), structures and killing countless pets and most tragically, two of our neighbors. Edith Wolford's cabin, before the fire: After the fire: an all-too familiar scene Tragedy manifests itself in different ways. For some, they can't get past the lifetime of possessions they lost, as well as homes where some raised …

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How We Braved Hot Waters in Winter

We sure picked perfect days to stay at the Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort located between Salida and Buena Vista, Colorado. Descriptions of the Resort and what fuels the Hot Springs can be found on their website. The resort was beautiful and the food was great. And thank goodness, swim suits were required attire. I had an unexpected experience at a hot springs where we stumbled upon their clothing optional policy. What a surprise to discover that! (Maybe I’ll share that story in a future …

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Doug’s Manly New House Project

Never in my life would I have imagined I’d be taking pictures of a septic tank. But here we are! Doug decided to take his do-it-yourselfer skills to the next level by installing a septic system for our new house. Estimated date of house completion is December 2023. Boy it’s been quite the journey! At first there were the measurements. I never knew you’d need to be so specific when dealing with, well, you know. But it does. You need precise locations to get the right flow (again, too much …

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Grocery Shopping Pet Peeves

I’m not crazy about shopping. Especially when it comes to grocery shopping; my goal is to get in and out as quickly as possible. It’s an exhausting process to make all those decisions, so I try to be efficient. I make a list and ALWAYS try to eat something beforehand. Otherwise, you know what they say, you’ll grab anything in the store that looks like it would taste yummy. For me, that would be everything in the bakery department and the ice cream aisle! Coupons have never been my thing, and I …

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Are you a Cabin Mama too?

Whether you grew up in a cabin, adopted one as you got older or relish the lifestyle that comes with cabin living, you can be a Cabin Mama too! You'll know you're a Cabin Mama too if you... relish living in the woods, enjoy wood smoke and campfire smells on your clothes, have a love/hate relationship with squirrels, love the looks of knotty pine, use pine cone fire starters, jealously guard your stacks of firewood, can cook over an open fire, love the smell of …

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Colorado Dinosaur Bones

We got the heck outta town a few weeks ago and drove up to see the Dinosaur National Monument. We spent a few hours (and $25.00 entrance fee) cozying up to a collection of dinosaur bones embedded in the side of a rock face. The National Monument and the Dinosaur Quarry is located near Vernal, Utah at the border of Colorado and Utah. Both me and my Mom have always been fascinated by geology and what can be found within the rocks that cover our earth. Mom jokes that she’s almost as old as the …

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Camping with Hubby at Flaming Gorge

We visited Flaming Gorge. There’s nothing like a camping trip to strengthen the bonds between husband and wife. Thankfully Doug did all the preliminary research, made reservations, and got us safely to the campground after we visited Dinosaur National Monument. He’s great with logistics. All I had to do was sit in the truck and let him do all the driving. He also packed the truck, unloaded the truck, set up the tent and the canopy too. Then he carried both kayaks 98.367 yards down to the …

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The Engineer’s Wife

I married an engineer. You’re talking to a woman who doesn’t balance her checkbook, goes by the rule “good enough IS enough” and cooks by the seat of her pants. As my former boss knows all too well, the term “planning” is anathema to me. Risk assessment is a phrase I’ve never much dwelled on. Project management scares me silly and “measure twice, cut once” is a lesson I still haven’t learned. Enter my wonderful husband, Doug. He balances his checkbook to the penny, glories in the magic of …

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The Bigger the Fur Balls the Better

Animals are funny. Never thought I’d say this, but they seem like they’re almost human. We are step-parents to my daughter’s dog, Penny, a lovely chocolate lab. She’s won our hearts, but that doesn’t mean she’s got us wrapped around her finger (or paw). Take feeding time for example. We have a routine where we let her out for her morning relief before filling her food dish. She’s barely finished her business outside when she makes a mad dash up onto the deck, through the door and over …

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Cooking With Pearls

My siblings and I have a talented Mom who turns tuna, noodles and mushroom soup into a feast fit for a king. Our memories are filled with bubbling pots of savory stews, creamy casseroles and mouth-watering desserts. Mom made liver look good. She dedicated her time and creativity to keep six stomachs full while my Dad worked non-stop to feed his happy horde. My brothers watch the Food Network. For fun. They glory in barbecue, brisket, spices and sauce. If you want their attention, just …

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A Mechanically Challenged Cabin Mama

My husband brought home a tractor. It’s big, green and comes from Mr. John Deere. And he’s as happy as a pig in “you-know-what” moving dirt around. I was amazed at how many levers and controls are on the thing. The owner’s manual is about three inches thick, but he worked his way through it in just a few hours. He’s an engineer, so to him, this how-to guide is like a romance novel to the rest of us. Then he hopped right up in the driver’s seat and took control of it like the macho man he is. …

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Cats Gone Crazy

There I was, wrapping gifts on my bed with plastic bags, wrapping paper, boxes and ribbons laying around. Both cats were in the room and they were having a heyday playing with the paper clippings and plastic wrappers. (My cats as kittens) It was a beautiful summer day and I had both the big windows open looking out over the distant hills and the street below. The breeze fluttered through and made for a very calm and peaceful afternoon. But then it happened. Missy got herself tangled up in a …

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Big Beautiful Birthday Surprise

I was beginning to learn that Doug had a great sense of humor and was also good at springing surprises on me. My birthday was no exception. As the date approached, I coyly let him know I didn’t have any plans for that night. Being the gentleman he was he said, “Well, of course we’re going to have to celebrate! How about supper out that night?” And I said yes, with a smile. He arrived at the house to pick me up with a long narrow box wrapped in birthday paper and urged me to open it before we …

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How I Met the Man of My Dreams

I wasn’t looking. And despite my sister’s encouragement, I wasn’t eager to meet the guy she kept saying was a very nice man. She’d worked with him for decades and had even showed me his Facebook Page. Nice smile. Good looking. But I’d gotten used to being on my own lo’ those many years and frankly didn’t want the drama. Then she invited me to a Military Appreciation Day concert. Mom, Dad and my sister were planning to go. She added, “Oh and Doug’s coming too.” Great! Pressure. “Okay but just …

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Dealing with Debris from the Black Forest Wildfire

Wow! It’s hard to believe so much time has passed. So let me catch you up on the wildfire story. Now we were dealing with debris from the Black Forest Wildfire. After we viewed what was left of the cabin and my brother’s house, we stopped at the town center where Red Cross folks were handing out shovels, ash sifting screens, tarps and other supplies. What a great group of people. I wish I could have been more sociable, but I felt like I was in a dream — basically pretty numb. The next …

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Critter Capers at Edith Wolford’s Cabin

Friends couldn’t believe I would leave my clean, spacious condo in town and move to an old, tiny log cabin way back in the woods. “One winter out there and you’ll beg to come back,” they said. “Think of the work just to keep it clean. You’ll cut off a toe; you’ve never chopped wood in your life. And what about the bugs and the bears?!?” They were right about the bugs. They crawled up out of the drainpipe, cornering me as I scooted to the back of the tub. I grabbed the shampoo and …

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The Black Forest Wildfire Made Us Homeless

So we were homeless, thanks to the Black Forest Wildfire. And now, all of a sudden, the wait was over and there was so much to do. I had to call my other children and let them know the house was gone. I called the insurance company and filed a claim. I had to get organized. I had to find housing. We needed clothes. I had to contact the phone and cable companies. Where would our mail end up? Would my clients be okay if I postponed their work? Did I have to cancel garbage pickup or would …

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How I Got My Horse Fix on Poncha Pass

I’ve been horse crazy since I was a kid. With long blonde hair, I pretended to be a Palomino. And my bedroom was full of plastic horse figurines. They were collectables, ya know. When we went to our Camp as kids, my sisters and I would gallop stick horses through the pines, whinnying and tossing our manes. We’d even snort, paw the ground and rear up on our hind legs. I found my horse fix any way I could get it! That’s why it was such a treat when my sister, during a recent family reunion, …

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Moving Out of the Townhouse and Into a Cabin

I can’t think of anything more fun than moving. (Did I just write that out loud?) It’s especially “enjoyable” when you’ve been in one place for decades and accumulated lots of stuff — kid stuff, office stuff, hand-me-down stuff, garage sale stuff, family heirlooms and day to day necessities. Yup, we’d pared down before, shrinking from a monstrous Victorian money-trap to a much smaller abode. I was ready. I knew how to do it. I girded my loins. (Can you hear the Rocky theme song?) I figured a …

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What Went Thump in the Night

One of the best parts of going to Camp was sleeping in the big bunkbeds Grandpa built into the walls of the cabin. But one night we had more excitement than we bargained for! There were two big beds downstairs and two upstairs, along with a couple of twin sized. Those beds were so big you could have one heckuva slumber party in them. They also made great trampolines! One night we girls decided to sleep in the upstairs bunkbed. As the sun started to set, we climbed the stairs into the dusky …

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Lollypop Farm

In Rochester NY where I grew up, the local branch of the Humane Society was affectionately known as Lollypop Farm. We kids loved to visit there because it had a barnyard with goats and sheep we could feed and pet. It was where you went to adopt an animal. It was also where you took the pets you could not keep. We always wondered about Lollypop Farm. Did all the pets there get adopted? Mom and Dad said they did. There were six of us kids. At one point, Mom and Dad had five under five. We …

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Horse Crazy Gal Finally Gets a Pony

How many of us will admit to being a little horse crazy as a kid? When I was a young ‘un, I lined the shelves in my bedroom with lots of little plastic horse statues, hoping one day I’d get to own a real one. When my parents took us six kids to a winter festival, we sat on a sled with hay bales pulled by a team of huge draft horses. I remember telling my mom, “I love the smell of horses!” (I'm the one in red) My sisters and I would pretend to be Palominos, Appaloosas, Arabians and Mustangs. …

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The Cabin Mama by Laura Lollar

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Cabin Mama Stories by Laura Lollar