Butterscotch, Brahams, Handel and the Holy Spirit

Last night we had an early dinner before the concert which was part of the Summer Music Festival. We dined at a lovely little restaurant in Crested Butte called Le Bosque. It was located in town, not up on the mountain. There were 4 courses and the meal ended with this delicious desert with caramelized butterscotch topping was a great closure for the delicious meal we all enjoyed.
The concert began at 7:30 and it was held at the Center for the Arts in town. It's amazing that a small community like this can have such a fine orchestra and produce such lovely music. We were entertained with the Water Music Suite No. 2 in D Major by George Frederic Handel and Brahm's Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16. After intermission the orchestra performed a Brahms and Handel selection which consisted of variations for Jazz piano and orchestra arranged by Uri Caine.
Before we went to dinner, we attended the Holy Eucharist at All Saints in the Mountains. When it came to the time in the service when the Priest asks if there were any birthdays, I went up for a blessing. I have not been moved by anything like that in a very long time. The Priest, Father Bill Waltz, who is a very large man, placed his hands on my shoulders and was silent for about 2 minutes. Then he began to pray for me and it was the most personal and powerful blessing that I've ever had. You could feel the power of the Holy Spirit in the room.

By the time that he had finished the prayer, I was in a puddle of tears. Later that evening at the concert, several people who were at the service came up to me and said that that was the most beautiful blessing that they had ever heard him give. Father Waltz had never met me before, and what he said made me feel as though he had known me for years.

Then, to top everything off, we woke up this morning to the sound of a hot air balloon

ascending over our apartment. You can never mistake that sound if you've ever flown. I had the privilege of both flying and being part of a chase crew in Albuquerque several years ago at the Balloon Festival. It's like nothing you'll ever experience. Once you're up, it's is so quite that you can hear every minute sound on the ground. Since you're riding with the wind, it is not windy, but very still and very very quiet. It's an awesome experience.

Of course, the minute I heard the balloon, I grabbed my camera and went out on the deck to see if I could photograph it. When I put the image in my computer, I suddenly realized that the initials on the balloon were WWJD. To me that was a reaffirmation that God is always present. Of course, the initials stand for What Would Jesus Do? Another blessing for me! Two of these experiences in a 24 hour period is almost all that one can imagine. Praise the Lord!

We plan to spend some time in town today and then tonight we will go to an outdoor music gathering where we will enjoy wine, cheese and mariachis. We leave in the morning for Raton, NM where we will visit with some of our oldest friends (that's not old as in age but in years of friendship). We were the closest of friends when we were all young and newly married, and that friendship is still going strong after nearly 50 years. We're really looking forward to spending some quality time with them again. We lived in Raton for the first 7 years that we were married. It will be like old home week. We'll be on the road most of the day tomorrow, so I'll get back to you soon.

Pcasso