Ancestral poetry

My Grandmother, Diane (Owens) Bailey passed away last night after a long illness. She was comfortable and at peace with her three daughters around her and had had many happy visits and conversations over the last few weeks with siblings, spawn and friends from around the country. Rose and I were able to visit her last week, look over some wedding photos and laugh about getting rained on before the ceremony. We are so glad she was able to join us for that happy day, and many others over the last 7 years she has lived in Colorado. Before she left us she was able to pass on one last nugget of wisdom which I recount below: There once was a man from Nebrask, Whose balls were made of spun glass. When they clanged together they played Stormy Weather and lightening shot out of his ass. Godspeed Grandma Love, Matthew

For some of the hardcore the cold air and falling leaves signals the start of cyclocross season! Here MOA (in dashing black, green and orange outfit) gets ready to race in the sand and muck at the Boulder Rez. Good times!

Fall is in full swing out here, garden is dead, 1st snows have fallen and thoughts for many are turning to the ski season...

Almost Adirondack-y hiking up out of Hessie near Eldora, CO

Sister Jen Alford stops by the Chalet for a visit, and a sweet hike up to Lost Lake with Rose, Matt and Betty...

The Alfords, expanding at a rapid, but probably unsustainable, rate!

A few words of wisdom as the couple begins their married lives together...

Here comes the happy couple!

Peter and the Wolf curtesy of the flautist

Strolling to the Church from 10 West. We stopped by and said hi to Pop Pop, Sally and Moomers

Bouldering with Jen right outside of Great Barrington, MA

Hiking in the dark with Mimi, Debbie, Perry, Jen, Rose and Dick

Pop and Mimi eager to get after it! The wedding was beautiful and simple, the dinner at the Old Mill was homey, happy and tasty and the hike in the dark the day before almost killed Rose. All in all a great weekend in beautiful Alford, MA joining in on the celebrations with Mimi's sisters and family and Jen up from NYC. Good times, good times! Big welcome to the very newest Mrs. Alford!!

The Alfords atop Monarch Pass during our honeymoon! Thank you so much to all who shared in our most joyous of days! It's been a whirlwind of activity since but things are now starting to settle down, the first frosts have come to the high country and the Crock Pot has been broken out of hibernation for hearty soup to keep the chill of fall away. Time now to thank all for their incredible generosity and love and support and issue an invitation to visit us here in the Chalet any time. We had much much too little time with each of you to catch up so if you have a hankering for some skiing this winter drop us a line!

Volunteers Needed

Hey Family & Friends!
If you are interested in helping out the busy bride and groom on Friday and/or Saturday, please let us know. We could use help with:
1. Friday - setting up reception hall some time late morning/early afternoon. This would involve setting up tables, decorations, etc...
2. Saturday - Flower arranging, bouquet making (yes! - we're doing this ourselves) and general decorating of reception hall.
3. Saturday - Clean up crew for post reception party!

Thanks!

Attention Wedding Party & Others In Wedding

Schedule for Friday:

4:30-6:00 - Wedding Rehearsal at Chipeta Park, Nederland. *please be on time!
(Attendance needed by wedding party, officiant, parents of bride & groom, readers, betty....)

6:30 - Rehearsal Dinner at Red Lion

I can't believe it's only one week away! Well, I am very excited and anxious to see everybody. Please let Rose or Matt know if you have any questions about the rehearsal. See you there!

The Chalet gets a brand new coat of pain courtesy of several weekends of work from Rose and Mattt, maybe it's third coat since being built in 1965. Look for it on the right as you head from wedding to reception site at the Coal Creek Community Center.

Rose and I met with our master of ceremonies, Brad Buikema, last night to hammer out the final draft of the wedding ceremony, and though it weighs in at over 40 pages, I think we really captured almost all the crucial elements we wanted to cover. The goat sacrifice is out unfortunately and it doesn't look like we'll be able to pull off the Dance of the Virgins but otherwise I think you'll enjoy our little program, and Rose and I are super excited to see all of you (over 100 people) joining us to celebrate. We will have water bottles, some snacks, lemonade and bug-spray available at the wedding site. You may want to bring a parasol and some sunscreen, the high altitude sun can be a doozy! I'll be the handsome one near the front in the tuxedo. See y'all soon!

Avast matey!

Weekend ‘o July 23rd-24th the M.O. Alford Bachelor Party to Hell will descend into sleepy Winter Park, CO like the fog from…The Fog! Shambling zombie pirate costume will be mandatory as we hump it from the Chalet up to Eldora, down into Jenny Creek and up,up and away to Rollins Pass, there to perch like scurvy buccaneers on the larboard rail lustily preparing to board a convent ship bound for Havana with gold and virgins stacked to the gunwhales! If anything remains of our innate human decency by Sunday I’ll be bitterly disappointed…but we will ride! Out on a hot lap of Tipperary Creek to be exact before meeting several players to be named later, who having driven to WP, can now shuttle us all back to Boulder. Players to be named later are welcome to join in the festivus Saturday night and Sunday ride, just so long as they are not chicks. No chicks! And I claim total immunity from any moral quandary or legal ramifications arising from the Bachelor Party to Hell, and will refuse to testify in any case arising from aforesaid weekend. Pirate costumes, Rollins Pass, torch WP, Tip Creek, no chicks…what more could you ask for? Contact the groom for the 411, though as is typical there is no plan beyond what is presented here...

Das Bride, Dick "Pop" Alford and older brother, and elder statesman of the Alford clan, Uncle Bill Alford in Las Cruces, NM.

Smile when you see this man! Ben Cook, Official Wedding Photographer.

The Master of Ceremonies, Brad rolling it in Fruita, CO...He's so large he's hard to fit in the frame! Really he's like almost 8' tall.

Brother Brad Buikema, Officiant

Groomsman Sean "the Albino Sasquatch" Steeves throws down in a cyclcross race at the Fed Center, Denver.

Groomsman, Matty "the Crossbowmaker" Armbrustmacher riding at Heil Ranch

Maid Jen Alford and el Groom atop Independence Pass (outside of Aspen,CO)...notice Pop Pop t-shirt!

The Bride and Main Maid Kristin Wachtel, also known as K-dub, check out a hummingbird's nest in Todos Santos, MX.

Home sweet home! Our little slice of the mountains high up in Coal Creek Canyon including A-frame, shed (for bike storage), greenhouse (only way we're gonna get tomatoes at 8200ft) and studio/workshop. Plus all the pine trees you can shake a stick at!

The Studio and Workshop...notice protective raised boardwalk to keep you above the teeming masses of voracious voles!

Das Chalet! Home of Rose, Matt, Betty, some fish, some hardy plants, a few hundred voles and a couple Stellar's Jays. Who needs walls when you have a really big roof? The Chalet is midway between the wedding site and the reception.

Bride and Groom to be atop Miller Rock with the snow-covered Indian Peaks (many great hikes, camping, etc.) in the background. Wedding location and the Chalet are a similar distance from the high peaks as this shot.

Rosemary Everest...The Bride to be! Yep, she's a keeper though I had to fight off two neighbors and the mailman when that cake came out of the oven.

Penny, Mother 'o the Groom y Diane, Grandmother 'o el Groom ride the sugar high after a slice of Rose's killer chocolate cake!

Betty, the ring-bearer to be.

The bride and groom to be! Taking a break on the trails near Silver City, NM. April 05

Yee ha!

Going to the chapel and the wierd are gonna get mar-air-air-ied! This will be YOUR site for all sorts of useful Matthew Alford-Rosemary Everest wedding info so check back often for updates! July 30th, Nederland, CO...be there!