Month: November 2018

The Speleological Spiderman Incidents

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I had to swallow any thought of panic. My right cheek was right at the water level and any movement splashed more mud into my face. I was getting very cold. My helmet had to stay above water or it might short out and plunge me into darkness. I became acutely aware that I was stuck in a rock tube…..

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Thanksgiving Break

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Creekside Chalet and Cabins
Salida, Colorado

In a cozy mountain cabin, while sitting before an inviting fire, I am drinking my morning coffee.  My pups are snuggled under their favorite blanket, and I am thinking about my time spent in my mountain get-away….what a magical Thanksgiving break.

The darkness of the night has faded as the morning light begins to peek over the mountain tops.  The white bark of the aspens create a striking backdrop against the nearby cabins.  On this chilly morning, a light snow falls, adding a new layer to this winter wonderland.  This peaceful setting makes me wish for just a few more days

Still, In time, I will return again to enjoy another season of mountain splendor…maybe in the spring and definitely this summer…or I just might find myself homesick for another quiet moment in the mountains, and I will find my way back for a long weekend at Creekside Chalets and Cabins.  This place has become one of my favorite places, and I can not wait to return.

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Home

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant8 Comments

Home for me has several implications. It is doused in memories of the people and places that offer sweet memories of the past, joy in the moment, and all the promises for the future.  Life was not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination.  It was sometimes uneasy, and painful and raw; still, love found its way into my life and tangled my heart with many that I hold so dear.  Deep within, I know I have been blessed with the love and companionship of family and friends.  I have cherished them all.

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God’s Grace

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant5 Comments

As a child, my family met the kindest couple, Reverend and Mrs. Deacon. They were an older couple that just loved people in their church and their community. The husband and wife met my mom after my brother, David, decided to streak through the neighborhood one afternoon while riding a friend’s tractor. Soon after that crazy account, we were faithfully attending Sunday School at the Nazarene Church in Alameda, California.

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In Reference to her Children

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant16 Comments
I had eight birds hatcht in one nest,
Four Cocks were there, and Hens the rest.
I nurst them up with pain and care,
No cost nor labour did I spare
Till at the last they felt their wing,
Mounted the Trees and learned to sing.
-Anne Bradstreet

My 8x great grandmother, Anne Bradstreet, wrote poetry during the seventeenth century, and she became known as one of America’s first poets.  Although she was born in Northhampton, England, in her later years, she resided in Andover, Massachusetts.

One of her poems, In Reference to her Children, the mother and poet wrote about her her love for eight children.

Her first book of poetry, The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America, was published in 1650.  It was the only book of her poetry printed in her lifetime.

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Counting Sheep

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant8 Comments

My brothers saw my mother in a whole new light. She had risen to the level of a superstar, in their little eyes, for she had become a kindred spirit; she had become one with the devilish delights of all that was disgusting, and my brothers loved her all the more for her repulsive juvenile inventiveness.

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