Lady and the Tramp

We are a family of movie watchers.  Recently, a pal of mine recommended a movie based on the canine content.  EJ Newman received a copy of Lady and the Tramp for Valentines Day and he is a huge fan of the Scottie in the movie, Jock.

Both Mummy and Daddy saw this movie when they were kids themselves and were more than happy to take this opportunity to see again.   Mom helped me add Lady and the Tramp to our Netflix queue and it landed in the mailbox a couple of days ago. 

Very shortly after the movie started we were introduced to Jock, a handsome laddie who speaks with a fine Scottish acccent (clearly, Dad's ear is so attuned to my own brogue, it's lost on him).

We three were so enthralled with the quality of the animation ... the artist who drew the cels for Jock spent some time studying a Scottish Terrier .. the way Jock walks, stands, and even carries his tail.  It's dead on!

Back in the saddle again ...

I took a sabbatical from blogging .. a break, writer's block, whatever.  But now back to our regularly scheduled program ...

February is one of my favorite times of the year; it's time for the annual Westminster dog show.  The whole fam gathers around the television, each one of us offering up our august opinions; opinions that are grounded in little more than a penchant for one dog over another.

Here I am watching the program ... offering feedback for one of the inferior breeds

Be the competitors hound, toy, non-sporting, herding, sporting, working ... blah, blah, blah.  The cherry on noight two is, of course, the terriers :)  While all my bretheren are indeed lovely ... let me be very clear ... the Scottie was robbed !

Heading for Home

After a lovely weekend with the fam ... we loaded up the kennel and headed for Lincoln.  It's a really long drive from Denver to Lincoln.  After about 6 solid hours of riding on Mom's lap and looking out the passenger side of the car, I decided to see how the other half lives. 

While I was hanging on Dad's side, I thought I'd lend a hand with the driving.

We finished Saturday at the Colorado Railroad Museum.  The collection of rail cars, including full size and scale model trains, was amazing.




Dad, Nana, Opa and Uncle Buck at the Colorado Railroad Museum 

 



Dad looking like he's ready to ride the rails ...

   

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and The Astor House were next on the list of destinations.  Needless the say, we fellas left the quilt museum to Mom and Nana.  They enjoyed a collection of Baltimore albums by Ann Elliot quilts and art quilts by Kathie Kerler. 

The Astor House is on the National Register of Historic Places.  The hotel opened as a prominent hostelry by a founding father of Golden.  However, as it's luster faded, the hotel changed hands, survived fires, transitioned to a boarding house as well as a stint as a hospitality hotel.   I do believe this is an ambiguous description for a hotel where women 'entertained' their gentlemen callers. 



Mom and Nana on the balcony of The Astor House



On Saturday, our sightseeing excursion began at Red Rocks.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an open-air amphitheatre. The venue has hosted some amazing acts, as well as a few that don't quite meet the level of amazing. The natural acoustics are supposed to be amazing.  Nana and Opa said the many concerts, including the Further tour that brought them to Red Rocks this time, have been amazing.

Nana and Dad



Mummy and Opa

We took Nana to Boulder to visit her alma mater, the University of Colorado. Ralphie is the university's mascot. This picture was taken outside the stadium.

Nana likes to tell the story that in her day, the dining facility was named for Alfred G Packer. A cannibalistic prospector. I'll include the wiki link here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alferd_Packer

After departing Boulder, we took advantage of a perfect opportunity and drove the scenic mountain route to take in the quaking Aspens.

Unless you have experienced this for yourself, it may be somewhat difficult to describe. The Aspens quiver and shiver ... as if they are trembling on their branches. It's positively

fascinating. The juxtaposition of the brilliant gold of the Aspens interspersed among the deep rich green of the evergreen forest is fabulous. Our timing to see these beautiful autumn colors could not have been more perfect.