Hello and welcome to An Altitude Problem, the blog that's finally gonna just have to make time. I keep thinking that one of these evenings, I will have nothing else to do, the creative juices will be flowing, and I will not be distracted, and then I will write. I have been waiting for a week for yesterday, a day with no arrivals, so i could do all the things I have been saving, like write, clean out the jeep, give the dog a bath. Instead, I rode bike, then went to work anyway, and now today I need to do my work for today plus work ahead for Friday, so that tomorrow, another day with no arrivals, can be spent in Denver.

I did clean the house the other evening, but now the dog has dragged out...let's see, a king-sized pillow, a banana peel he (disobediently) grabbed off the counter when we weren't looking, my deodorant (ditto with the bathroom counter) a pair of underwear that he stole from a drawer left open, and a hanger (the kind from the dry cleaner with the cardboard bottom, which is now lying in slobbery shreds all over the floor). And that is just since he was released from our bedroom an hour ago. He can be so well-behaved at times, and at others...we wish someone woulda trained him better.

We have been wanting to get to Denver for a long time. It is amazing how hard it is to get out of the County, even to go to 55 miles away. We have to arrange for someone to take the phones, someone to be available in case of emergencies, make sure all the fires are put out and all the owners and guests are happy and all the maintenance issues are covered and all the contractors, vendors and realtors have their keys to units they may need to access in our absence. Most of the time, Marci can cover, as long as we have worked ahead, but we have to go on a day that is already extremely slow. And even then, since Bobby is the only one who can do any sort of technical or heavy maintenance, plumbing, door locks, heating, etc, we have to keep the phones close and be ready to drop what we're doing and race back if something or someone should fall apart. And when we go, we had better have a list ready, because if we forget anything, it will be a long time until we are back.

Anyway, high on my list is clothes, especially jeans. I have one pair that fits, and is not torn or painted. I am a bit puzzled over the fact that several pairs do not fit anymore. I haven't worn denim, or anything else not soft and stretchy for the last three weeks, until now, when the last of the scabs finally peeled off my lower back. And apparently, my week on the couch, followed by a week of limited activity was not kind to me. In hindsight, I probably shoulda adjusted the diet to my suddenly sedentary lifestyle. Not that I wont lose it again now that I am back on the trails, but I need new jeans anyway, and I may as well get them to fit me now, since I can always wear the jeans that fit my less-than-fit self, but there are no guarantees when I buy them to fit me at the end of summer when I have been manically biking for the last three months. By thanksgiving, I am hating life, because nothing is more miserable than being squeezed into tight clothes. And it doenst work to use that as incentive to keep the extra five pounds off, because as hard as one tries in the shoulder season to be as active as in the middle of summer or winter, it's just not possible. The mud, the rain, the cold weather, having to pay for gym memberships, then actually go to the gym, where working out becomes so structured and boring, the work schedule, setting up or shutting down the program, twelve hour days...it just doesn't work.

Next on the list is a stop at a bike shop that custom-fits bike saddles. Trek makes a decent full suspension bike, but their stock saddles simply leave a lot to be desired. Poor B now wears padded spandex (under a pair of board-short style outer shorts), but even with the added padding, he complains after a bike ride. I thought he was just being a baby until I rode his bike once. I thought my saddle was uncomfortable, but his is so much worse. So his will go to replace the bent saddle on my old bike, which I am trying to sell, and I will try to talk him into spending a bit of cash on his posterior, so that I can get him to come along on my longer rides (even though getting away for a bike ride is as hard as getting to Denver).

And, of course, eating out. It's always such a big decision, when we get away from our limited in-county options.

And Home Depot. Home Depot, then Lowes, if we have the patience for it. Home Depot has better light fixtures, Lowes has a better fireplace maintenence section. Just once, I would love to go to Denver and not have to go into that giant orange monstrosity.

And a super Wal-Mart, because our company always needs more shower curtain liners, more light bulbs, more kitchen towels and wash cloths, more $4.00 remote controls.

And Petsmart. Because Andy needs treats, shampoo, a new bone.

And, if we have time and are feeling abliging, a park. Because a yellow beast has spent all day in the car and probably needs to do some business, and we are feeling the effects of eating out. I am hoping that this time, we can even hit a dog park, and let the beast run off some energy with some other dogs, so that he can be good and mellow by the time we get home.

And last on our way out of town, ice cream, or a slush, or something cold and sweet, because we don't usually buy such things in the county. Even though we have a Dairy Queen, we never really consider it an option. That stuff'll kill you. Unless it's your or someone you know's birthday, or you eat/drink it on vacation. Nothing done on birthdays or vacation has consequences. And going to Denver is our mini-vacation. The something sweet is the punctuation that marks it as a bona fide getaway.

And that's pretty much what's up. I plan on writing a new post soon, a summit county trail guide for those interested, but I will make it separate from this one, so people don't have to slog through all things me to find what they're looking for. It is 9:15 already, but the phone hasn't rung yet, so we are both still in the house, trying to push off going to work as long as possible. Because after all, once you're there, no more leisure. And the day doesn't end at 5:00 many days, so you take the quiet when you have it. Andy had himself draped over my shoulders on the back of my armchair, snoring loudly, until a moment ago, when I leaned my head back and bumped him with it in an attempt to quiet the snoring, and he got offended and slid himself over my keyboard and onto the floor. A day at home is just what we all need, no biking, no working, no Denver, but I don't think that's gonna happen. Obviously, we want to play, actively remove ourselved from work on our days off, worse than we want R and R. Plus, if we are just at home, available for crisis management, chances are better than good that we would just end up at work anyway.