Shmoo. . .

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Pat

Can’t quite do it yet. . .clean the window. We lost Abby in March of this year and it’s one of those things I feel that if I wipe those shmoo marks away, another part of her is erased. Maybe it sounds silly, but I can’t get those back again once they’re gone. I don’t know – I may keep them, and they could still be there when it’s our time to leave.

Do you ever have feelings like that? Little pieces that are hard to let go when a loved one or pet dies. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, unless like in this case, you’re a clean freak (which clearly, I’m not) and need to have everything spotless. So, here they are on the sliding glass door below and on the one upstairs.

I know one day, they’ll be washed off, and gone. It still won’t take away the wonderful memories we had with her over the 14-¾ years she was with us. A part of her will always be with us, whether the marks remain on the windows or not – shmoo stay as long as you want!

That’s life, though, the big things and the little things. All of it! Some tug at your heart and are deep and others surface that you barely notice. I wouldn’t trade any of it as it makes me feel alive . . . connected to a bigger existence.

Sometimes, I wish I understood those things I feel but can’t see. I know something is there. Hubby said he was halfway asleep and dreaming the other night, when he noticed Abby come running into the bedroom and jump up with her front paws on the side of the bed – then she was gone. A brief moment between 2 worlds.

Another day of living and reflecting, that’s the beautiful thing of this life. We all have these many moments throughout our day. Sometimes we pause to notice and other times we barely have time to breathe let alone stop and feel moments. I get it. But, maybe in reading this it will give you a pause long enough to pump the brakes and just breathe to take it all in.

Thank you for reading and spending your time with me over here.

Pat at the ‘ol kitchen table

What the . . .

Posted on August 30, 2026 by Pat

I had one of the most unthinkable things happen to me today. I lost my wedding ring. I was working in the yard, pulling weeds, when I felt it was missing from my finger. It’s a naked feeling after almost 60 years of marriage this December. A sinking in my heart and a sick feeling in my gut.

As I’ve worn it throughout the years, I’ve sometimes put it away in my jewelry box, because it was too tight. I even had it resized one time and now, in going through better eating habits, health improvement and losing weight, it got real loose.

So, I began retracing my steps and thought I could use a magnet (but turns out a magnet does not attract silver). Hubby came out to help, and we both were combing the yard. And Thank you! Thank you! – he found it! It was in the container of weeds I last pulled.

I don’t remember how many times he has come through for me over the last 60 years, finding things I’ve lost, recovering me from things I’ve gotten myself into that I can’t get out of; he’s even saved my life 2 times (literally). There’s never been a dull moment, and it’s been quite an adventure living with me. Guess you could say I keep him on his toes.

Oh, the stories and what will I come home with this time. From catching the oscillating sprinkler to the bottom of our van and continuing to back out of the driveway, stretching it to its limit, while it was still attached to the house. To coming home and having to explain why the vent on top of the van was gone and how that happened. And another time, when I called to tell him my fob had just plopped into the lake (that time he used the magnet on a long pole).

I’ve told some of these stories right here in some of my posts over the years. And in the retelling of them, I still can’t understand how they could have happened, but they did. Just like losing my wedding band today. Now, that was devastating and would have been hard for me to get over, if he hadn’t found it.

So, here we are – another day in the life of an aging couple, helping each other, loving each other and enjoying these golden years together in a beautiful mystical place. Wonder what tomorrow will bring. Ah, it’s a mystery – what will unfold and reveal itself to us, as we journey on this path together one day and one step at a time.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the read and it tickled your heart and warmed your soul.

Pat from the ‘ol kitchen table

This Old Tree

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Pat

Old Dead Tree - © Jim Ruppel — **Old Dead Tree –** © Jim Ruppel

This old dead tree brings up a lot of warm feelings for me remembering back when it was alive and thriving in my over 40 years having lived here. I remember when it stood tall and noble with outstretched branches inviting the birds and squirrels to come while proudly shading the ground below. It was strong bracing the wind and storms for so many years giving life to all around it until it had no more to give.

I don’t know how old it was, possibly 150 years, as old as our state of Colorado this year. Think of what it witnessed in its lifetime – changes in the migration of wildlife, growth of the forest and fires in the balance of nature. Starting out as a baby itself, there was a lot to survive, and yet it did, no doubt, for many years. And there it stood, planted in one spot, doing what it was created to do – proudly and boldly be a tree.

I remember when our girls were young and we first had horses. There that old tree stood watching as we struggled to learn and communicate with these large animals, green in our efforts, and the many memories we made doing that. I could almost feel an approving energy and a smile happy to be a part of community and our home.

It watched over the years as our girls grew and all the coming and going of teenage life; and, then the grandkids, when they came with their rough play, dueling lightsabers, chasing each other around the yard playing hide-and-go-seek with the horses and dogs. Those were happy memories for us, and that old tree found its happy place too over the years, as we enjoyed it being there and the loving energy it gave off.

It was hard to see life fade in that old tree and how it still stood tall even after life ran its course and it was gone. There’s an empty space there, now, where it once stood but as you walk close you can still feel an energy of love and joy. If trees could communicate like us, I think that old tree would laugh and laugh at all the play, challenges, life and love that bounced around all over this backyard.

I love the thought of its life that once was and its energy that still remains and, with that, as long as we have our memories nothing is ever really gone – only the form has changed.

Pat from the ‘ol kitchen table

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This is the first of a new project my husband, Jim Ruppel, and I are collaborating on where, with his photography, he will pick a photo and send it to me to put a story to it. So, here goes. Hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts and suggestions, if you like. Thank you.

A New Year 2025

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Pat

Here we are at the beginning of another New Year. I wish you love and peace around the world. May we be kind to one another and the offer of hope far and wide.

God bless you.

Here is Kenny G – Auld Lang Sune (Millennium Mix 2010)

Pat at the ‘ol Kitchen Table

To Everything There Is A Season

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Pat

Merry Christmas everyone and wish for you a loving and happy New Year in 2022! I hope you have been well this year and, in spite of perhaps some ups and downs, life has been good to you. Here we are and to everything there is a season and this is the time to celebrate life and each other.

It has taken me all year to write, and I wanted to connect with you before the year ends. For me, it’s been a good year and I hope it has been the same for you given the challenges and obstacle courses we’ve had to maneuver. For me, it mostly has been a year of reorientation to regroup from 2020, the pandemic and the world in general.

I’ve found myself more in observation mode wondering where my place is in it all and I haven’t, until lately, found the words to write. There has been a feeling of ebbs and flows each day, as they unfold, not only in my personal life but in the lives of those around me and beyond. I have sensed a shift, though subtle, and notice the changes in me and my life as I practice love and being in the present moment.

How do I put into words what is going on in my life and throughout 2021? And how can that mean anything to you? I won’t attempt to catch you up in it all in this one post. But, in the past year-plus, we’ve had babies born in our family (our first great-grandson) and 2 great-nephews born to our niece and niece’s daughter – babies, such a fresh addition to life, joy of innocence and hope for the future.

We’ve also had loved ones and distant friends die while others are challenged with health issues. Life keeps nudging us along on this ride and we’re high one moment and then it gets messy the next. All the while, I feel we’re not alone.

But then, what better time than at Christmas is there to reflect and feel the spirit of love. The season gives us that opportunity to pause in our busy lives and take time to write a card or call a friend. It draws us closer in attempts to celebrate longtime traditions, though different, that still have meaning for connection when we haven’t had the time nor felt the need any other time of the year.

There is a strong stirring of spirit this time of year and a holiness, if you can quiet your mind long enough to hear it. I believe this time of year people want and try to be kinder in the midst of annoyances, cancellations and Covid restrictions. The expectations we put on each other are high but so is the spirit of this season to help us remember what is important. Just pull yourself away from the party or TV show and step outside one of these evenings and look up in the sky. Breathe in all the awesomeness and beauty that’s always there waiting for us to notice.

God bless you – everyone. I’m still here and wish you love and joy this beautiful Christmas season and a New Year full of new adventures and surprises.