Sunday, August 28, 2022

Glogirly and the Masquerade Ball

WAFFLES:  What the heck is THIS??? Some kind of crazy cat or something? 


WAFFLES:  I didn't approve another CAT. And not one that looks like THIS!


ELLIE:  Pretty sure it's a mask, Mr. Waffles. Glogirly's mask. For her masquerade ball and stuff.


WAFFLES:  Doesn't smell like a cat. 

ELLIE:  That's account of it's a mask, Mr. Waffles. 


WAFFLES:  Doesn't taste like a cat either. 


ELLIE:  Mr. Waffles doesn't really listen much, does he? 


Glogirly and the Masquerade Ball

Lots of excitement here last Friday evening! If you've been following our blog over the winter months, it probably comes as no surprise that she's fallen in love with skiing. So much so, that she became a volunteer alpine ski instructor with an organization called Ignite Adaptive Sports

Their mission is to ignite personal growth, independence, and confidence in people with disabilities on the Front Range, and in surrounding mountain and Northern Colorado communities, by providing caring, safe, and fun adaptive winter snowsports opportunities. 

Glogirly had the pleasure of attending (and SPEAKING at!) the Ignite Adaptive Sports Masquerade Benefit Gala. It's their once-a-year major fundraising event. It was a wonderful evening surrounded by people who share a passion for this great organization and the athletes they serve. Glogirly was invited to share her story of skiing with Anita, a blind skier who has made a huge and lasting impression on her. We hear it went super well. And we're told she made grown men cry. 


There was a super fun photo booth made out of an old gondola. Glogirly and her dear ski-friend Holly who came with her to enjoy the evening together,  had lots of fun posing inside. 

A few of our friends have asked us to share her "speech" here on our blog. It's not really a speech though, more of a conversation. It's not super long...about a 4-5 minute story. 

We hope you enjoy it as much as she enjoyed sharing it.


"Hello, my name is Debbie Glovatsky. I’d like to tell you about a woman. Her name is Anita.

(Lights go dark)

But first, I’d like to ask you to close your eyes.

This is what Anita sees…every day. She’s a 67-year-old Navy veteran. A mother and grandmother. She’s full of love and light. And yet…she’s totally blind.

Imagine flying down Muleshoe, a favorite black diamond run at Eldora. Feeling the fresh corduroy under your feet, catching your breath in a rush of mountain air. Both exhilarating and challenging. Now imagine doing that without your sight. That’s what Anita does. And that’s just one of many things she lives for.

I’m a new volunteer with Ignite, an assistant alpine instructor. And that sunny Thursday morning when I had the honor of skiing with Anita, I became a first-time blind skiing guide. We skied in a tight line of three. I took the lead in front, Anita followed, and Inge, a very skilled and experienced instructor followed in back.

Anita followed the sound of my skis. I know…it almost sounds crazy, right? The only time I yelled out a word, a warning, was just before coming to a fast stop, like where there was a major change in terrain.

I’ll never forget her giggles and smiles at one of those stops we made. She said she was in her “happy place.” And I was in awe.

A few of you have had the pleasure of skiing with Anita, so this will come as no surprise. Anita likes to ski FAST. Like REALLY FAST. Blue runs are fine, but her heart is with the black diamonds.

(Lights back up)

I only came back to the sport two seasons ago, after a 30-year hiatus. I was doing wedge turns down the green runs that first day back. But I fell in love and worked very hard on building and practicing my skills. By the end of that first season, I started noticing the neon green and blue jackets in the chairlift lines and on the slopes. I thought to myself, “wow…what an incredible thing these people are doing. What an amazing experience for the skiers and riders they’re helping.” The more I saw them, the more I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could help in some small way. I’m no expert skier, but I’d become proficient enough that I hoped there could be a role for me. So, I signed up, took the training, and got to wear one of those blue and green jackets.

Leading Anita was one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I’ve done ever. Let alone on a pair of skis. I had to focus like never before. Keeping my turns consistent, predictable, and quick. Anticipating other skiers, signage, trees… All the while skiing at the very top of my ability and pushing my speed on some of the steepest terrain. Oh, and maintaining complete control, there’s that.

When we finished and said our goodbyes, she gave me a huge hug. She was so gracious. So grateful. I told her how much I admired her. That she was my new hero. She just smiled and laughed.

On the drive home I had a chance to reflect on my experience with her. Her courage, confidence, and pure joy were so inspiring and a priceless gift that I carry with me today."



Sunday, August 21, 2022

Waffles and the 12' Ladder and Smoke Alarm Drama

WAFFLES:  Uh oh. Uh, Glogirly? Um, this ladder is really high.

Like really, REALLY high. 

Like Rocky Mountain High.



ELLIE:   What are you doing up there, Mr. Waffles? Do you even know how to get down?




WAFFLES:  Down? Of course I know how to get down. 



ELLIE:  Are you sure? On account of that looks really, really, super high. 




WAFFLES:  Yeah, maybe I'll just stay up here for awhile. Like forever. 



ELLIE:  Ok, I'll just wait down here. 




WAFFLES:  Can someone bring me a snack??? GLOGIRLY!! HELP ME, GLOGIRLY!!!!!!!!!!



Waffles and the 12' Ladder
We had a smoke alarm incident over the weekend. It was of course the hardest to reach, 14' up in the air, smoke alarm. Glogirly was using a LOT of HBO words on account of she had this same smoke alarm replaced less than THREE years ago with one of those 10-year smoke alarms that are all self contained and supposed to last for 10 years. That's why they call them a 10-year smoke alarm.

The unsuspecting people at First Alert are going to have some "splaining" to do when she calls them tomorrow.

Gloman was out of town and the alarm was screaming non-stop so it was up to Glogirly to maneuver the enormous 12' ladder into the house. Again, lots of HBO words. 

She first tried knocking the smoke alarm down with the big stick she uses for washing the windows outside. She managed to push the button with her stick to make the screaming stop. That worked for about 60 seconds. Finally she inched her way up to reach the beast with her bare hands. Fortunately it came off pretty easily and she found a deactivation button on the back to make the screaming stop. Well, it at least stopped the smoke alarm's screams.

Once the raucous was over, she thought about whether to just leave the ladder up until she could get help taking it down. But Waffles had other plans. So she had to rescue him from the top and then muscle the ladder down and back into the garage.

Good thing this all happened at 2am when she couldn't call for help. 


WAFFLES:  Can we do it again? Can we???

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Hunka Hunka

ELLIE:  Mr. Waffles and I have been hanging out on Glogirly's quilt. Well HE'S been hanging out on the quilt and I'VE been secretly joining him when he's not looking.

WAFFLES:  FYI...I'm looking, Ellie. 


ELLIE:  Oh hi, Mr. Waffles. I didn't realize you were here. 

WAFFLES:  You mean you didn't see an incredibly handsome hunka orange mancat laying here?

ELLIE:  Well I did see an incredibly large-ish hunk of something. 


WAFFLES:  Large-ish??? 


About Today's Photos

Most days, Ellie and Waffles can be found hanging out in the office with Gloman. But every once in awhile, the softness of Glogirly's quilt is just too tempting. It usually starts with Waffles hoping up for a snooze, and soon after, Ellie can't resist joining in. She loves curling up with her big brother. Emphasis on big. LOL!

You may notice Ellie's fur has been shaved on her leg. That's from some bloodwork she recently had done. She's going in for a procedure this week. It's all related to those patches from her dental work back in April. She's doing just fine, and is such a good and brave girl when it comes to the Jeep ride and vet visit. We'd sure appreciate your good thoughts and purrs for our sweet girl. 
Thank mew so very much. 💕


Sunday, August 7, 2022

Boyz and Girlz

 

ELLIE:  Mr. Waaaaaafffles! Whatcha doing down there? 


WAFFLES:  You know, the usual. Just looking handsome for all my girlfriends.



ELLIE:  Can I look handsome with you too?

WAFFLES:  It's kind of a mancat thing, Ellie. 

ELLIE:  A mancat thing? 

WAFFLES:  You're kind of girly...you know, like Glogirly. What with all that eyeliner and all.



About Today's Photos

Every time we share one of Ellie's photos, we hear about her beautiful eyeliner. It's pretty hard to be jealous of a little kitty, but Glogirly sure would sure love it if she could apply eyeliner as purr-fectly as Miss Ellie! That's one of those elusive makeup tricks Glogirly has never been able to master.


It just so happens that Ellie's little pink nose is the color of Glogirly's lip gloss too.  Glogirly may be part cat, and Ellie sure is part Glogirly. 💕

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