A Scrapbook of Denver Memories part 1

Bob shows off his "diploma" for completing his radiation.

Bob relaxes outside before going in for his treatment.

 Bob has finished his radiation treatments and we are back home!  The 7 weeks really went by much faster than I thought they would and I do have lots of memories of the new friends we made, the interesting people we met and the adventures we had.  If we had to be away from home and go through this experience, Denver was a great place to do it!  I can't say enough good things about the "Blue Mesa Beauties" and the rest of the staff at The Urology Center of Colorado and the staff of the VQ Hotel down the street from there!  They all took great care of us.

Bob's certificate is signed by the ladies that operated the machine

Bob drinks his water before heading over to get his daily dose of radiation!  As one man said, " I need to get recharged so I can glow tonight!

From the first day we met Bob's radiologist, Dr. Gross and his crew, I knew it was the right thing for Bob to do.  They all have been so caring, reassuring, and lots of fun.  Their upbeat attitude is hard to resist.  The first day of treatments was the hardest due to the unknown, but they all kept it light and set the tone for the rest of the time.  The actual radiation treatments were not difficult--as they put it, the patient just lays there (some even take a nap, they claim)  while the girls do all the work.  There is no pain, nausea, or hair loss as there was in the past.  The after effects are very minimal.

The Blue Mesa Beauties.  Arrow points to the newest one--Iris the receptionist.  Nice stick figure, Iris!  They are posing next to the radiation machine.

The Crew (Blue Mesa Beauties) keeps the men of the Gentlemen's Club in line.  The have a special waiting room furnished with snacks, juice, coffee, and Chocolate! there is a TV, magazines and several books on living with prostate cancer.  The wives are also allowed in the Gentlemen's Club and I went every day with Bob.  I met some very interesting men and women in that room.  The people who went before and after Bob visited with me and we became quite good friends.  The girls had special names for each patient.  and teased some (who could take it) unmercifully.  There was a teacher for the DOD that was going to be 3 weeks late going to South Korea to teach math.  He had a new Ipad and we all gave him a ribbing.  His nickname was Mr. Trouble!  There was a Mr. Potato
Chip and Bob was the Favorite Cowboy.  The men were very interesting to chat with and offered a lot of suggestions for things to do while we were in Denver.  Bob even sold some of Danny and Kathi's chickens and beef to some of them!  Jean actually drove up to their farm to tour it and pick up the meat!  She has become a good friend of us all.

Blue shoe run to benefit prostate cancer research.

While we were in Denver we stayed at the VQ Hotel about a half block down the street from the Urology Center.  They gave us a big break on the price of our room and worked with the Urology Center's Foundation to help us with some of our expenses.  I need to mention the Foundation because they helped us out and I hope to help them as well.  They do free prostate cancer screenings around the Denver area, support reseach and education, help patients and employees when necessary.  They are having The Blue Shoe 5 K run/walk on September 25 at 8 AM and it sounds like it will be a very fun event with a post run beer garden, live music, an inflatable slide and other activities for kids, survivor recognition with channel 7's Mike Landess and free pasta among the events.  I'm guessing they'll also have free prostate cancer screenings there too.  It will be at the Urology Center of Colorado Just north of Invesco Field on Mile High Stadium Circle if anyone is interested.  They have a web sight as well. It is theblueshoerun.com.

The pool at the VQ.  I spent many hours here and got the best tan I ever had!  I also got a lot of reading done!

Back to the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised at the friendliness and care we received during our stay.  Everyone bent over backwards to see that we got the room we wanted, a refrigerator and microwave, shuttle rides and even several complementary meals!  Thanks to Cory, Chris, Gerald, Daniel and the others who were working at the desk and working with the Urology Center. Your cheerful greetings and help were greatly appreciated.  Tammy, marketing, and the catering coordinator, thank you so much for all you've done and especially for the free meals--they were great!  Bill, I had fun picking the crabapples and making jelly and crabapple butter from them.  Your flowers have been beautiful and I especially loved the hollyhocks!  Matthew, Israel, the rest of the wait staff and of course the chef, we enjoyed every meal we had in the Skybox, thanks! Juan, Norma and the other shuttle drivers, you helped us to have some enjoyable experiences while in Denver without having to try to find parking or driving in downtown traffic.  Norma, I loved that you had bananas and sandwiches for the homeless on your route and that you waited for us in front of the convention center while we took pictures of each other with the big blue bear.  Juan , your friendly concern and interesting conversation while shuttling us to and fro to the Rockies games, La Loma, Spaghetti Factory and the Aquarium are greatly appreciated.

Crabapple butter made with Splenda brown sugar for Bob and Juan our favorite shuttle driver.

Crabapple jelly I made from the trees out in front of the hotel.  This one was for Bill, the gardener and pool man.

Here I am picking crabapples.  there sure were a lot of them!

About 10 pounds of crabapples are in that bag.  I picked 2 batches of them.  There's my kindle, too!

These are just a few of the memories we will have.  I still have lots of pictures and memories of people we met and experiences we had but I will save them for later blogs!

Pink Heals at Hammond Candy Factory

A fireman in pink regalia poses in front of Tonya the newest truck of the three at Hammond's Candy Company

A couple weeks ago JJ, Cathi, Becci, Bob and I took a free tour of Hammond's Candy Factory near 58th and Washington here in Denver.  It was fun and very interesting, plus we got free candy!  I took lots of pictures and will write a blog on our tour later.  While we were there they were promoting a Women's Cancer Awareness Day the following week.  Bob and I were very interested in this and so we went last week.

It is a tour called Pink Heals and is sponsored by a group of firemen who travel around the US in pink fire trucks and wear pink to support women's cancer.  They had booths, a bouncing room for kids, prizes and of course, pink candy made right there.  The firemen, dressed in pink fire gear and cancer survivors worked on the candy line in the factory while tour guides read the stories of the survivors.  We did not go inside because Bob did not think he could listen to the stories and we had seen the whole procedure the week before--just not making the pink candy.

Elaine has every inch inside and out covered with signatures of survivors and supporters!

We did visit the pink fire trucks and signed one of them and visited with the traveling  firemen and the founder of this organization, Dave Graybill.    It was very inspiring.

Bob signs Tonya, the newest pink fire truck to visit here.

Dave explained his philosophy to us.  He believes that cancer is every bit as much of a terrorist as Al Quada.  He also thinks it is up to the menfolks to support and protect their women from this terrorist, cancer.  He gives up 6 months of his year to travel around raising awareness of this.  The firemen who accompany him give up 2 weeks of their vacation time to help him.  They have 7 donated fire trucks that they have painted pink.  There were 3 at Hammonds.  The money raised selling the candy that day goes for cancer research locally. The firemen donate all their time and have to raise the money for gas and travel expenses through donation and sales of shirts, caps, etc.  We visited with firemen from AZ, RI, IL and MN.  His group is stationed out of Phoenix.

Dave explains his philosophy to channel 9 TV News.  The truck he is sitting on pulls the trailer with the ribbon on it.  Every inch is covered with signatures!

Dave was telling us he hopes to get a tank and paint it pink to travel around someday!  That would be a fun one to sign!  He also says his next project is to get some blue fire trucks to travel around in support of men's cancer, as well.  A very interesting and dedicated man.  He has lots of stories to tell about how each of his trucks got their names and about people he has met through this experience.  Each fire truck is named after a woman he has known who has cancer.  The stories are very inspiring.

Bob and I show some of the signatures on Elaine.

There were 3 local fire departments there, as well, with booths and emergency equipment.  As we were arriving, one of the departments ended up driving out to a fire with emergency lights flashing!  If you get a chance, be sure to go out and visit the pink fire trucks if they come to your town.  It is fun and interesting and a good cause to support.  The money they collect goes to local cancer projects.

Our contribution to the signatures on Tonya.

Karen, guardian of the ribbon, covered completely with signatures--an impressive sight!

This tall guy is a local fire department symbol.  Dave wants a pink tall guy!

A group of firemen pose in front of one of the engines.

We show off our signatures!

A man and his son sign Tonya with the candy factory in the background.

Winding Up Week One In Denver

Wild flowers up on Buffalo Pass.

What a week!  I had been wondering what I would do cooped up in a hotel room day after day in 90+ degree weather in Denver.  Well, it turned out to be quite busy and not nearly as claustrophobic as I thought it might be!

In the last post I described in detail what we did the first two days and you could see we were pretty busy.  Looking back, this week was filled with making arrangements for things to do for the rest of our time here.  Here are some of the things we have done and planned.

I got online and got tickets to some Rockies games and one pre-season Broncos game!  We can walk to the Broncos game it is that close.  The free shuttle will take us to the Rockies games.  The shuttle guy also said they will make an exception and take JJ, Carla, Cathi, Becki and us to the candy factory for a cool tour and free candy!  We have also been making our list of what to do downtown.


Bob and I have made some new friends.  I met a lady and her husband out at the pool and they come several times a week for exercise.  We have done a lot of visiting and she is interested in doing the candy tour with us, too!  Then we have become friends with the man who has his radiation treatment after Bob.  He and his wife have invited us to breakfast tomorrow morning.  His last treatment is Monday so we won't be seeing him on a regular basis after that.  The radiation team (Blue Mesa Beauties) are a kick in the butt!  Bob has orders to bring down a package of side pork, info on the pastured poultry as well as on sides of beef from Danny's! They have all kinds of snacks in the Gentlemen's Club (waiting room) including  juices, breakfast bars, snack crackers, coffee, tea and CHOCOLATE! I notice that most men gather up a snacky breakfast as they leave after their treatments.  It's a tight knit group!

Well, I think that's my story for the day. Tomorrow we will head for home after having breakfast with our new friends.  Then week 2 will begin on Monday afternoon!  Time is slipping by quite quickly.

This boy was doing aerial sommersaults

into the pool!  There was a no diving sign but he didn't speak English and also I guess it wasn't really diving!  I tried to catch him in mid-air but wasn't coordinated enough to do it.

Day 1 for Bob's Treatments

Bob is heading into the Urology Center of Colorado for his first radiation treatment

The first day for Bob was actually yesterday but it was a "dry run" for everybody to make sure all was ready for the first treatment.  It took about 20 minutes and Bob's reaction to the machine and process was that he felt like he was an alien in outer space!  The radiation crew says it's like Disneyland!  Bob says the machine is HUGE.  I will get to see the whole thing in a week or two after they get done with their quality control.  Hopefully they will let me take pictures.

After we left the Urology center, we drove through the neighborhood looking for a grocery store and to see what they had to offer.  It is an old neighborhood with small old houses interspersed with a few new office or apartment buildings.  I think it is mainly a Hispanic area due to all the little cafes and shops that are Mexican.  There is a very well stocked Safeway about 6 blocks away with a deli that has an olive bar and lots of homemade soups and sandwiches.

Other things we saw were a nice park with picnic tables about 2 blocks away, a sewing machine repairman that I want to check out to fix my-out-of time machine, a great Mexican restaurant (according to the staff at the radiologists), a little coffee place like Starbucks but not, a murder mystery dinner theatre (I really need to check this out!), a kind of Mexican variety store, a produce stand right by Invesco field with Hatch New Mexico Chilies,  a gas station with the cheapest gas we've seen around, and many small Mexican eateries.  Oh, and of course there's Burger King, Dennys, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dairy Queen.  Us country folk are in "Hog Heaven!" 

We came back to the hotel and had some soup and sandwich in our room.  I donned my swimming suit and headed for the pool.  I had met a lady there on Sunday and she had said she would be seeing me off and on the whole time we will be here.  She has a friend that works here and she comes to the pool a lot!  So we visited and I swam some laps in the 90+ heat.  It was quite nice under the umbrella and I got caught up on my Martha Stuart Living magazine.  Still have more to read so no problem for the next few days!  

The catering coordinator comped us 2 meals for dinner so we went back up to the Skybox restaurant.  Watched the people walking and biking in the park and also the rides at Elitches.  A very pleasant day.

Today Bob had his treatment.  He was in and out in 30 minutes.  He said no big deal.  Didn't feel a thing.  He hasn't slept well for 2 nights because of worry .  Now that it is over with for the first time, I'm hoping he will take a nap this PM and then get a good night's sleep tonight. He ate a big breakfast and doesn't seem to feel sick at all.  I guess I'll head down to the pool again this PM.  Tomorrow I plan to take the shuttle down to 16th street mall just to try it out and to do some window shopping!  Next week on Wednesday we have Rockies tickets for an afternoon game.  Can't wait!!!!

JJ, Kathy, Becki and Carla are coming down for the week of the 9th.  I've already got their room and have some plans for us to do as tourists.  I'm hoping we get to do the Hammonds Candies factory tour.  It's free and I even saw it in Martha 
Stewart Living Magazine so it must be a good one!  We can also do the Mint and maybe the Botanical Gardens, Art Museum (which I haven't seen since they built the new addition), an historic tour of the Brown Palace Hotel and then high tea afterwards.  There are always quilt shops, the Tattered Cover and the Denver Public Library and the beautiful old Methodist church with the semi precious stones in the windows and the historic pipe organ to visit, too. 

Lots of photo opportunities so there will be other blogs I'm sure!  Right now we are in the lobby waiting for our room to be cleaned so I can't put my latest photos up at the moment but will when we go back up. 

Invesco field from the Urology Center of Colorado

 

Invesco field from the hotel pool.

Viewing the pool from my lounge chair while sunning myself.

W got back to the hotel and had soup and sandwich in the room Us country folk are in "Hog Heaven!"

Bob relaxes in front of The Urology Center of Colorado

My dinner made in the room in the microwave.  We also have a refrigerator and an ice chest.

Getting ready for Denver and a very good main meal salad recipe

 Some pretty wildflowers that I forgot the name of.  Sorry, Al.  Notice the bee!

We leave tomorrow for Bob's first week of radiation treatment.  It is such a beautiful day out today I hate to be spending it inside cleaning and doing laundry, packing and getting food ready to go!  I have to get a lot more humming bird feeders going too!  They will need 5 days worth of drink or else have to depend on the wild flowers which are still real abundant up here.  I have gathered up a lot of unread magazines, my knitting (a pair of really cool socks that have a real tricky pattern so it takes a lot of time to do a round), my Kindle with a lot of unread books on it, my swimming suit, my computer and my walking shoes.  I'm hoping that will be enough stuff to keep me entertained for the week!

Of course I'll have to check out the hotel's free shuttle service at least once to get downtown to the 17th street mall!  I'll be spending some time lining up other free entertainment and maybe even a Rockies game or two for both of us to do if Bob feels OK during the 7 weeks we will be there.  This first week will be the trial run for us and then we will know a lot better what we can or can't do!  I expect I will be spending most of my time this week by the pool.  I hope the hot spell of 90+ degree weather will end before tomorrow.  But then, I do like hot weather and I sure can use some exercise in the pool!

Today's recipe is a really easy but excellent tasting one that I got off of atkins.com/recipes.  It is called Grilled Steak Over Salad and is delicious on a hot summer evening.  I have had to adjust it a little due to the unavailability of some ingredients.  I will give the true recipe and just tell you what I did differently.  Although it is an Atkins recipe, it is really good for everyone!

GRILLED STEAK OVER SALAD

Ingredients:

Steak:

 4 rib eye steaks (about 8-10 ounces each)  I used what I had and not that much each for us.  I think I used 1 big T-bone.

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

 2 Tbsp. lemon zest (2 lemons)

1 tsp. garlic, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Salad:

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

5 cups mesclun salad mix ( made my own with what I had or you could get what ever mix you like best)

*3/4 Cup fennel root, thinly sliced (I have never found this at any store I've shopped at, but I want to try it sometime!)

*Fennel has a mild licorice flavor.  It is crisp and refreshing when raw, and mild and sweet when cooked.  If you cannot find fennel substitute thinly sliced celery if you wish (or not--I don't).

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl, combine oil, zest, garlic, salt and pepper.  Rub over steaks and marinate for as long as possible 12-24 hours ( I've done it for maybe 4 hours at times and it is still good)

2.  Prepare grill or heat broiler to high.  Grill steaks for 8-10 minutes for rare, 12-14 minutes for medium doneness turning once.

3.  While steaks are grilling, combine mustard and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Whisk in oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add greens and fennel and toss to coat.

4.  Slice steaks across grain.  Divide salad onto 4 plates and top with steak slices.

Enjoy with homemade cheese biscuits (well, from Bisquick box) or Crispy Breadsticks (see my recipe below).

Crispy Breadsticks

Ingredients:

1 Cup Bisquick or other baking mix

1/4 cup cornmeal or all purpose flour (I like the cornmeal)

1/4 tsp. salt 

About 1/4 Cup milk or water ( I had to add about 1 more Tablespoon to the dough because it was too crumbly)

Sesame or poppy seeds if desired

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2.  In a medium bowl combine baking mix, cornmeal or flour, and salt.  Add milk or water to form a dough.  Knead about 12 times, until dough is smooth.

3.  Divide dough into 6 balls. Shape into pencil-like strands about 1/2 inch diameter and about 8-10 inches long.  Roll in sesame or poppy seeds if desired.  I think brushing with garlic butter would be good too.  

4.  Bake about 20 minutes until brown and crisp.  For extra crispness turn off oven and leave breadsticks in oven 5-10 minutes longer.  Makes 6 breadsticks.  I would double that recipe because I LOVE them!

 Fresh out of the oven.  I made them while I was writing this!

I am not giving illustrated steps for these recipes because they are way easy and take less time to make than to do the pictures!  Besides I ran out of steaks so can't make the salad tonight!  So instead I'll put up some pictures I took one day when I went up to the Luck Penny headgate.

Click on the picture to make it bigger.  Hit the back button to come back to the blog.

 The headgate.  I love how the trees are reflected in the pool of water!

 Painted cup

The 4 wheeler up at the headgate. (Right behind the back tire.)

Rambling roses just a little past their prime.

Beaver Creek coming down from the falls just before it comes to the headgate.

 Another nice reflection in the quiet water before the headgate.