Mile High City (*cough*cough*)

I was in Denver this past week for a conference and had a great time - made some new friends and learned a LOT! Not just about DOORS and requirements management, but life in other states and countries, art, politics, religion.  I feel like my IQ points were raised by this trip. Woo-hoo!

I didn't bring my camera, but my friend Becky took some pics:

Nolita and Becky at the Telelogic Americas 2006 Welcome Reception

On the big event night Telelogic bussed us out to Red Rocks where we got to use those handy fleece throw blankets they gave us.

At Red Rocks

Kerry apparently did some time in my home town...

Loving This Wall

We visited The Denver Art Museum's new Frederic C. Hamilton Building and its additional exhibition space (just opened Oct 7th!) The new building was designed by famed architect Daniel Libeskind, who drew up the original master plan for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. It doubles the DAM's space with room for 3 traveling exhibitions and the museum's own holdings.

The $90.5 million building consists of geometric, titanium-clad angles that resemble the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. A 120-foot-high atrium features sloping walls, a skylight and a grand staircase that provide easy access to the building's galleries. An additional two-story atrium houses the modern and contemporary galleries, which include an outdoor sculpture garden providing views of the Denver skyline.

(Yeah I totally ganked all of the above from the museum website)

Qbert anyone?

The second-floor Anschutz Gallery housed "Radar: Selections From the Logan Collection," including works from artists Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Franz Ackermann and Katharina Fritsch.  Pulled from the collections of Vicki and Kent Logan, the show gets its title from the couple’s uncanny ability to know and define what is happening in the current contemporary moment... as if by radar!  I work with weather radars so I HAD to check it out 

I went through many emotions wandering through the exhibit. 

Very thought-provoking.... I was sure to leave with their book for a dear friend for her birthday.

We visited the outdoor art garden too...

I experienced vertigo several times as we moved through the museum ... that open bar the night before probably didn't help matters much.

Later we broke free from the crowds to dine at a really great French restaurant in downtown Denver.

Outside Le Central 

Made in Oklahoma

Today we went on a tasting tour of Oklahoma. We started off at the Canadian River Winery for the wine festival in Slaughterville.

This winery grows 20% of the grapes needed to make their wine and supplements with grapes grown only in Oklahoma. We stocked up on a few bottles of their Rio Rojo (a sweet red wine) and Sangria. Next we headed to Bedre Chocolates in Pauls Valley. The factory is owned by the Chickasaw Nation. Bedre means "better" and we can attest to that. We stocked up on lots of yummy chocolates.

From there we headed to Krebs to eat an early dinner at Pete's Place and that was a slice of heaven - family style Italian cuisine. We (37 of us) had a private room and the wait staff kept bringing us food: salad, meatballs and ravioli, sausage, grilled lemon chicken, spaghetti, etc. It was all so wonderful and the Choc beer was a nice treat too. Similar to Boulevard Wheat but a little stronger.

Tickled and Satisfied

We wrapped up the tour in Okemah at the Grape Ranch for another wine tasting. We were given some cool souvenir wine glasses with "Beat Texas" etched in them (just in time for the Red River Rivalry next weekend). The Country Rose wine was a nice treat served frozen!

We are spiritual beings having a human experience...

Right before dusk I was sweeping our alley which was littered with pecan shells and leaves and I thought I saw one of the pecans move. I looked closer and thought the pecan was actually a mole or shrew. When I poked the animal with a stick, it open its mouth and then I spotted a wing. It was still alive but wasn't taking to flight so I secured the area from the cats and hopped online to see what I should do. Rabies was a concern. I found a great site which basically said to leave the bat alone.

I contacted a "bat lady" (from Wildcare Foundation) who explained that the bat could be sick or injured or just in deep torpor, a daily sleep state in which the heart rate and body temp go way down -- this happens at my office every day after lunch.

When she arrived to retrieve the bat, it was dusk and the bat was still very lethargic. She picked it up to hang it in her pop-up bat carrier and it got a little more animated. When I cat came by to investigate, the bat got even more lively so it looked like maybe the bat would make it.  Carol told me the bat was a Colonial bat (evening bat) and could find its way back home...pretty cool!

"Toes"

Havana Night

Tonight marked the start of our local dinner club. We kicked it off with a Cuban dinner at Casa Morgan. We even had mojitos just like Hemingway enjoyed in Havana with Cuban rum, lime juice, mint from the garden, dash of sugar and club soda. Very refreshing and complimented nicely with the Avocado Shrimp Cocktail.

We served Cuban roast pork marinate in mojo, black beans with rice and platanos. "Dessert" was simply guava paste with cream cheese on crackers. Later we hung out by the fire bowl enjoying good company and conversation on the last day of summer.

Boomer Sooner

One of my good friends, Dee Anne and I went to the OU-Washington game today and it was a fun time. She won free tickets and we had some really great seats for what turned out to be a really good game. After the game (which we won) we headed to O'Connell's for some post-game refreshments and ended up getting Josh Heupel's autograph at the post-game wrap up show. How sweet is that? I immediately surrendered it to my hubby when I got home.