Our Skins Game at Hillcrest

Written on 7-10-26.

        It’s a Friday, and I have no work.  B went paddle boarding this morning, and I went to Ancient Grounds, the restaurant on Main Street where Ramsey Realty used to be.  She joined me when she was done, and we have been relaxing at home since.  We watched a couple of more episodes of the Netflix show called I Will Find You.  It’s been relaxing, but I have felt a weight on me all day.  I am grieving.  

Rob chose to take Kody’s dog bed that we inherited from C.J.  It was great to catch up with him.  I called to see if he wanted it back, but he told us it was ours now.  I asked if he knew anybody who might want it, but he couldn’t think of anyone.  That’s when I texted Rob and Danielle.  Rob’s dog, Frankie, will get the use out of it next.

I should do more, but I need a day.  It’s a relaxing day, and I need it.  I am using writing to keep busy.

Back to golf…

I was one point behind when I wrote last time.  Thankfully, Eric and Grant pushed one point by tying each other on hole #16.  I struggled to a 7, but they both got double bogeys.

We came to #17, and I remembered the...

Dogs vs. RC Boats

Written on 7-5-26.

        It’s the day after our country’s big 250 year birthday celebration.  It’s 3:01 in the afternoon, and many family members have left.  James and Casey just texted to let us know they made it home.  Rob and Danielle, Char, and Kyle left close to the same time, so now we only have the Edgertons and the Frings here.  Matt, Becca, and Benny go home tomorrow, and so do we.  It was beautiful chaos, but now it’s quieter.  

I’m tired.  We stayed up until midnight last night.  We were sitting around the fire pit telling stories until the Frings came back from the fireworks show in Bayfield.  Kyle made tater tots for the diehards who stayed awake.  Eric and Amanda couldn’t make it and turned in early.  Thus, the grogginess I am feeling. 

One of the best activities this time turned out to be RC boats vs. dogs that I mentioned before.  I think the dogs won, but the firefighter boat I bought was a survivor.  Indie is really fast and has sharp teeth, so she racked up the kills faster than Paws did.  The boats with all of their damage got water-logged and slower, too.  Danielle said it wasn’t fair to encourage the dogs to chase the boats (not that it took much encouragement) and then yell at them when they would catch them.  I agree.

I compared it to King Kong grabbing biplanes out of the air and stopping them dead, although they would still roar and attempt to get away.  One quick chomp translated into a twenty minute break, inches of duct tape, or a possible prop repair.  It also included lots of laughter from all who witnessed the carnage.

Back to Kody again for a bit.  We gave James and Danielle the final inheritance money from Mom and Dad this weekend.  All of the kids got some monetary surprises this holiday.  Eric and Amanda gave each couple some fun money for their anniversary, too.  They said 35 years of marriage taught them that it’s great to go do something fun as a couple.  

We gave our kids the money, and Casey, with her special sense of humor, said later, “We can call this the ‘Kody Inheritance.’  She can have some great comments.  And, also very appropriate.

Until next time…

How Kody Left Us

Written on 7-4-26.

        Happy 4th Of July and Happy Semi-Quincentennial!  Wow!  250 years of America.  How long will this experiment live on?  

We are back at the cabin again for another big celebration, and everyone is here, at least all of the normal characters.  We have some other guests here as well.  Debbie and her daughter Kacie sp? are here today.  Grandma Arrou came up for today only, too, and Char is here, but I would consider her more of a regular.  She just walked by with one of those water bladder things on her back.  She must have filled it up at the river.  She said she planned to go for a hike to Lake Eileen.

  *I stepped away, because the RC firefighter boat I bought on Amazon for $60.00 got crushed in Indie’s jaws.  Ha!  No big deal.  It was bound to happen.  If you play with Kyle’s dogs, eventually you’ll get the jaws of death.  Kyle was chasing Paws and Indie and squirting them with the little firehose, and Indie turned on on it.  Significant hull damage was done with her sharp, little teeth, but I think it has a chance for a recovery.  Good ol’ duct tape.

We just gave our kids...

We Say Goodbye to Our Dog and Best Friend Kody

Written on 7-3-26.

This is sad and hard to write.  Kody died last night.  Sigh.  He was throwing up a few days ago, and he was listless again.  He didn’t want to eat, and he hardly drank, too.  It was hard to watch.  It wasn’t diarrhea this time.  He had a few rounds of that the past couple of months, but those got straightened out.  He was given antibiotics and the “hydration hump” to help him get rehydrated.  We sprinkled a probiotics powder on his food, too, to help get him back on track.  He perked up and went back to normal soon after.  Not this time.  

Belinda thought it was the same thing, and she tried to get him into the vet two days ago, but they didn’t have their tech, so the only appointment she could arrange was for this morning at 11:30.  That turned out to be too late.  I don’t know if it would have made a difference, though.  He got worse exponentially last night, so we called for emergency services.

We could get him in at 7:00 PM in Durango, so we took it.  We didn’t have a choice. 

Skins at Hillcrest Continued

Continued from 6-28-26.

        I was discouraged at the turn.  I was a little low on energy, too.  I stopped at the new snack stand and ordered a brat for $5.00.  I still had half of the homemade breakfast burrito that Eric mostly put together for the three of us that morning.  I helped a little.  They had cut-up steak bites from the steaks that Grant made for our dinner the night before.  Yummy!  

Still, I needed more food.  I did bring a yogurt and a Fairlife protein drink, but they were gone already.  While I was waiting for my brat, I was discouraged and having all kinds of weird (yet normal) thoughts: