Miami Carnival....

I did leave off an important happening of the weekend.  It wasn't singing at Mass on Sunday.  It wasn't caving to comfort food and having fish burgers for dinner last night.  Nor was it watching Red Dawn for the first time.  No, the excitement between watching the boys shoot each other and getting wood was an impromptu game night!

 

Admittedly, I was excited about the prospects of getting to see my first live music in I don't know how long.  As a parish staff member, I had been given tickets to the fundraiser of one of our mission churches.  They had a twangy country band coming to play in Angel Fire, and I was wistfully thinking of two-stepping with my baby.  The downside is that it would be an hour drive up there on Saturday night and another hour drive home.  Coming through the canyon in the dark isn't exactly death-defying, but it is not nearly the same as the straight shot home down Colfax used to be.

 

I knew I would have had to go alone, so instead I asked Marie about hosting a game night.  I brought a bottle of wine and made a spaghetti squash and linguine dish with peppers, chile, tomatoes, and cheese.  She made corn, garlic bread and beef/shrimp skewers.  She also made dump cake, which was a delicious dessert!  Daniel and Julie were out of commission.  Mom and Pop were pooped (Pop and his tractor helped a neighbor bury a donkey).  So Thomas and I sat down to dinner with the Salas family and filled up on good food. 

 

Following the stories and the bottle of wine, we broke out some mead and Taboo.  I think the Stinky Boys might have fallen to the Cool Girls, but it was tough to tell.  It was a lot of fun, and the kids were really interested in getting to play with the buzzer.  Following Taboo, we kicked the kids off the Wii and played carnival games.  We each found our own niche within the alleys of games.  A few times the lead control may have been usurped to humiliate me in some of my lesser qualified events, but it was lots of fun and sometimes spastic.

 

Somewhere in the night the guys got it into their heads that we need to hold a Miami Carnival.  I imagine that it would be a virtual carnival of the Wii carnival games, but the turkey legs would not be virtual.  Nor would the funnel cake Marie makes.  I offered snow cones because my Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine made it to Miami in the trailer of goodies after the wedding.  The date has not been set, but Carny Night is real and coming soon to Miami.

 

(As I wrote this, Thomas told me that he heard on the radio that today is Old Board Game Day or something like that.  So he has picked a theme night for this blessed cold night - "Pick One Darn It!"  We each picked one pizza - but he gets credit for dressing up mine.  We will each pick one episode of Flight of the Conchords.  And then we will each pick one board game to play.  Should be a fun night...a precursor of fun and games to come....)

Feeling stupid...

This afternoon I came home early from work.  Why I did is not such a mystery - a winter storm has seized a wide swath of the country, leaving it pink and purple on the weather maps, but white if you look outside.  The snow started falling earlier than expected, and I didn't want to get stuck in Cimarron when I knew my husband was in Miami with a fire going.

 

Marie and I exchanged several text messages throughout the day about CCD.  The last two were to conclude that class should be canceled.  Ever committed, I really didn't want to stay late and sub for one of the teachers.  My priorities were really with my own safety, as I wasn't up for taking snow curves in the dark in a 96 Honda Civic.  When the time seemed right, I packed up my computer and some files, turned down the thermostat, and made a run for it.  Of course, I did have to go back down to the hall to turn the heat down, since I had already turned it up for class.  And I never like to leave the car with less than a quarter tank of gas in weather with highs in the 6 - 8 degree range, so I stopped at the gas station, too.  And I remembered that there was no milk in the fridge, so while the gas pumped itself, I ran in for the milk. 

 

I do not have low self-esteem.  I generally don't think I am an idiot.  I will concede, though, that as a creature of habit, I sometimes do stupid things when I break habit.  Yes, today I broke habit and did something terribly stupid.  Sadly, it isn't the first time. 

 

When I pulled up to the Russell's, I pulled up to the gas pump, popped the gas flap and set about my routine.  I knew I was going in for milk, so I locked my work computer in the car.  The trunk was already covered in snow, so I set the gas cap on top of the pump.  I swiped my card, entered my zip, and selected my fuel.  As soon as the gas started pumping, I ran in for the milk.  I tried to think of anything else we could possibly want if we really are stuck in the house until Wednesday, but nothing else seemed important.  Ice cream was on sale, but I knew it would melt with the heat up in the car.  (I considered leaving the heat off for ice cream, but the defrost is really a must!)  I ran back to the car, set the milk on the median, finished up my business with the gas pump, fished out my keys and unlocked the car (did you think I locked myself out?), stuffed the milk in behind my bag, grabbed the receipt as stuffed myself in the car, and fired up the heat!

 

The road wasn't terrible.  In spots it was slushy, in spots it was white, and gratefully there were few other cars on the road.  I made it home and slid into the tin shed.  I grabbed all my belongings, so as to make only one trip, and braced myself for the wind and snow.  My gas flap was ajar.  My gas cap was still on top of the pump.  This wasn't the first time.  The last time, I also didn't set it on the trunk of my car.  The last time was humiliating enough, having to buy a gas cap.  I thought the humiliation was enough to never forget.  I told myself not to forget when I broke habit and set the cap on the pump. 

 

To add humiliation to my situation, I texted Marie, who would still be in town at least another hour, and asked her if she would swing by on her way home from school with the kids to see if my gas cap was still there.  Going back for it was out of the question.  I asked, and just a bit ago, I received.  Nobody stole my gas cap from the gas station.  I am sure everyone that pulled through wished they knew what idiot could have forgotten their gas cap.  Gratefully, mine is not marked with an "if found, please return to Tori Vigil, Village Idiot of Miami, NM." 

 

Thanks, Marie, for bringing it back to me!

more later...

I think that is a standard sentiment these days...there will always be more later! 

Two quick things -
One, the boys had a blast paintball-ing yesterday.  As a Christmas present from the significant women in their lives, the brothers and Andres received paintball "markers" - yes, guns - and finally got to have their day in the sun.  It was unseasonably warm, and the boys donned padded clothing over almost all their exposed skin and ran around a fort of pallets and obstacles to win their game of storming a castle.  It was a lot of fun to watch, though the war wounds are rather plentiful.

Two, we went gathering wood again today.  First time of the new year!  Gratefully, I was able to join in the fun after work today (teaching a class), and we got four great truckloads of firewood.  It was a great day, but I feel like an old lady.  I am off to soak in a hot bath and then fall asleep.  What a simple pleasure after a simply pleasurable day!

Homecoming...

I went to an all-girls high school (don't picture the uniform: we didn't have one, and I was more likely to wear loose clothes and birkenstocks than a short plaid skirt with knee highs). We did not have a football team, nor a cheer leading squad, though I must say we had one heck of a spirit club. We wore blue and white striped rugby shirts and were very loud! Anyhow, we never had a homecoming in the traditional sense of the whole community coming out to watch a game, a dance, a bonfire, pep rallies, etc. It turns out that while Cimarron Schools may not have a football team, they go to great lengths to celebrate homecoming during basketball season. This past week the kids had different themes for dress each day. There was a big pep rally on Thursday, in which the high school classes competed in several silly events. There were basketball games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The bonfire was on Friday night, and the dance was on Saturday night. The highlight for me was the parade on Saturday. I had not planned to do anything but watch the kids on their floats from a sunny spot along the highway. I got a ride in with Marie and found the van mostly empty. It turned out that David stuck around (instead of going to check in on his mom again) for the important role of driving the Miami firetruck in the parade. The Salas children were not riding on floats at all, but they wanted to ride on the fire truck. I don't think Sara would have been allowed to ride on top without me, and I am not sure about Andres. It occurred to me that I had really no right to riding in a homecoming parade as I am not a teacher, parent, or student of the school. But there I was with Sara in my lap waving like I thought I was a princess. It was fun. It was brutally windy, and it was cold. I gave up my vest and mittens to Sara, who was under dressed for the weather. In my right hand, I held on tight to a large American flag on a pole. The wind was ready to rip it out of my hand, and I am sure it looked extremely patriotic as it snapped and rippled in the wind. It was a fun parade. Below is the picture of the junior class float. Each class was a branch of the military, so the floats were thus decorated. The juniors built a boat frame on top of a flat bed trailer for the Coast Guard.

On the way to the parade, we came across 500' of fire hose stretched out along the highway, as if someone dropped the end off the top of the truck and it slowly unraveled it self. Marie, Andres, and I, with the help of someone driving the other direction, expediently pulled it all off the highway. Then Marie slowly dove forward, while I stuffed it in the truck with clearly no order. We shoved it in as best we could, and then with a little luck, we got the door shut. She called Dave, who had no idea he had lost the hose, let alone had it on board in the first place.

These two little cherubs, now warmed up, had to share a seat because the other seat, the back seat, and the trunk were full of hose. Marie, like a fair and just mother, honored Andres' turn to ride back in the fire truck with his dad.

I was glad to have helped. The gentleman who stopped to help joked about how Dave was going to have to owe us beer to keep this under wraps. I figured there was no chance of keeping it under wraps, especially running into another volunteer at the parade. I figured it was a learning opportunity for me to get to learn how to roll up and stow the hose when we got back. We disconnected the six hoses from each other and rolled them up separately, hoping it would make them more secure and low profile on the roof of the truck. As we pulled the hoses out and apart, I tugged on one end while Dave helped from the other. He stopped to move another hose, and as I kept tugging, I caught him under the jaw with the end of the hose. He staggered away holding his face. I got him to take his hands away to see if there was blood or missing teeth, but all looked okay. He was still just moaning and holding his face, clearly dazed. I apologized and apologized, but clearly there was little I could do. I offered to find ice, but he waved it off. Marie commented on the swelling by his ear, which come to find out was his jawbone. I dislocated his jaw for him, and he couldn't close his mouth or open it! This we learned after he popped it back in place. NUTS! What a homecoming...hopefully, next year will be less eventful!

Projects...

This picture doesn't do justice to this project of January 15th. Thomas and I had a 32" by 15" space above the counter and tucked in to the right of the oven fan. Originally there had been a smaller fridge that fit in perfectly to the right of the stove, but when it was replaced with a wider model, it left a big hole next to the stove. We moved in the cabinet, but finally I built a spice rack to fill the upper emptiness. It was not nearly as simple as I envisioned the project, but I am really psyched by how beautiful it came out. First, I used the planer to get my boards nice and clean and the desired thickness. I want a sturdy, spice rack, but no reason for it to be clunky. Then Thomas and I carried the boards down the highway to Pop's wood shop where we measured out the proper width of the boards. I got to put dado cuts in the side pieces, so the shelves would slide snugly into place. While Thomas used the scroll saw to shape the side pieces as I had marked, I used the drill press to cut out holes for our matching set of spice jars which have labels on the lids instead of the side. Thomas also used the bench sander to smooth out the side pieces. We carried our work back home, and it was starting to get chilly. We got the fire stoked and returned to Thomas' shop to assemble the piece. Thomas took great care to use very small finishing nails to secure it all and attached two thin pieces for a back. Mostly at this point, I help it for him and ran back in the house to check on the fire. I got COLD! Thomas got out his random orbiting sander and made it all nice and polished. When it was ready to come inside, we finished it off with lemon oil. It looks really beautiful in the kitchen - the kitchen really isn't worthy of something so nice. I am pleased with my design and especially grateful for Thomas teaching me to use all the different power tools.

Belated birthday...

Tomorrow marks two weeks since Thomas' birthday, so I thought I better get the pictures up. I am not a baker, but managed to pull off this German chocolate layer cake. I ran out of the coconut-y frosting, so had to make a quick walk to Mom and Pop's for chocolate frosting. (I have since replaced the borrowed frosting with a new container, which I was told was unnecessary. My response: but you never know when I will need to borrow frosting again!)

One candle seemed much safer...

Unfortunately, David was in Pueblo checking in on his mom who broker her wrist. His stand-in, the purple balloon, was a little crass and kept checking me out. Creepy!

We had a fantastic time visiting with friends on the actual birthday in Conifer, CO. The Crazy Llama serves burgers and fries, even portabello mushroom burgers! We had a great time talking, while there is no telling what trouble Chase, Abbie, Cole, and Will got into.

Tom, Jarrod, Karen, Forrest and I talked for a couple of hours. This was the first time we had seen Karen, Forrest and the kids since our reception in July. The last time I had seen Jarrod and his two boys was Will's birthday party last May. We could have talked for hours more, but kids had school in the morning; the guys had a full day of work, and we still had Mike & Shelly to visit. It was a fun trip, and I am glad Thomas chose to see his friends up north for his birthday. It was a little ridiculous coming home on Wednesday, as we woke up early and then hit close to two dozen stops before we were really on the road home. We kind of missed our window to get out of town before the I-25 rush hour got nuts, so we took our time leaving and didn't get home until 10:45 pm. Gratefully, we were both alert, and I was able to stay awake (barely) to keep talking and asking questions of Thomas.

What a day for a daydream...

Technology has stumped me again.  I took a picture this morning of the moon-set with my phone, and evidently I didn't save my handiwork because it lives on only in my imagination.

 

I have been hoping for a snow day...just because.  I have enjoyed a couple already this winter and loved the time I got to spend with Thomas.  I guess I am just always wanting more time with him.  With a snow day, I would have ample time to upload the pictures I have intended to post on the blog, but I could also bake bread or write letters or any of the other romantic notions of free time.  I have, in the interest of having more time at home, taken a ride into work with Marie and the kids for the second time.  She leaves at 7:05 am from home and leaves at 4 pm after school for home.  This puts me home a couple hours earlier than "normal", though there is nothing normal or consistent in my hours.

 

7:05 am is not the time I need to be ready.  It is the time I need to be out by the mailboxes waiting.  I generally prefer to hit the mailboxes and start walking towards middle of Miami, knowing full well that walking will keep me warmer than standing at the mailboxes in the cold.  This morning I was tempted to wait and forgo the walking for watching the moon.  Little did I know it would drop so quickly, but I stopped (and took a non-existent picture) and let my jaw drop a little.  The moon was full and bright with a smoky purple backdrop and a line of jagged mountains just below it.  It did snow a little, so the roads and fields had a light dusting of white.  It really was so breathtaking. 

 

I tried walking backwards down the road, but paying attention to what is coming towards you is key, as is not tripping into the middle of the highway.  It wasn't long before the van pulled up and accepted its new passenger.  With a front seat view of the moon, I asked the kids if they had seen it.  Evidently Maya and Sara got out binoculars to watch it.  Marie and I began our morning chatter, though I had to interrupt myself a couple times to say, "wow!"  Then, as if it was never there, the moon appeared to be swallowed up in nearly one gulp of the mountain.  Once the moon sunk a little behind the mountain, the sky just gave it up, and it dropped so quickly.

 

I may not have gotten a snow day, and I may not have any evidence.  But now I know what I would have missed if I slept in like I wanted.  You'll just have to imagine it...

Laziness...

Well, I had a snow day today, and I didn't do a whole lot.  I thought about all the things I could do, but mostly I just thought about them.  In particular, it would have been good to have finished my nostalgic recount of the great 2010, but I think when Thomas took down the Christmas lights before the twelfth day of Christmas, I lost the spirit.  (I will finish...someday.)  And I also thought about posting the pictures of the German chocolate cake I made (from a box) for Thomas's birthday party Saturday night.  I was, and still am, quite pleased that it turned out, though I did have to "borrow" some chocolate frosting to get the whole cake frosted.  Alas...another day...

Thomas did enjoy a little time walking around the property and planning out the house we intend to build someday in the not so distant future.  It was nice and sunny then, and the world looked less white and more dried grass color.  Unfortunately, we didn't wait for the sun, but this morning we also team-worked an oil change for his truck.  Not ideal conditions for one, but the timing was a must!

Tomorrow is Thomas's birthday, and I told him I would take a couple of days off to go wherever he wanted, thinking that he might want to travel around this great state of which I have seen so little.  I am taking off Tuesday and Wednesday, but we are not going south.  Rather Thomas has chosen to go to the one place he was so glad to leave...Denver.  He has good reason for wanting to go, though.  I never let him see his friends when we go, so we are making a trip to see Forrest and Karen and the kids, Mike and Shelly (and new baby due tomorrow?), and maybe Jarrod.  We will also get to celebrate his birthday with sushi, thrift store shopping, stockpiling, and maybe a couple other places he has been missing in this strip mall-less town we live in.  So happy birthday to him...

(sorry, Denver friends who read this and think, "Unhh...why aren't you going to come see me?"  Take it up with the boss!  There are so many people we would love to see, but scheduling it all, particularly for everyone who is working, is not easy or stress-less.  Maybe next time...)

More prayers...

"What I need is beyond what you can give.

What I need is beyond what I can know."

 

These are the opening lines to a Justin Roth song, and I heard it yesterday on my way home from Raton.  I had to go up with our secretary to pick up the car of our maintenance man, who was being sent to Albuquerque via ambulance.  Chris is one of my rays of sunshine at work, and I love hearing his voice when he comes in.  He likes to sit next to my desk and tell me what Maria made him for lunch or about the days when he and his friend who plays accordion would jam.  Chris plays guitar at mass, too, and always brings a smile to my face.  His wife Maria is an amazing gardener, cook, and rock collector - we have swapped stories about rocks in our pockets because we just can't help but see how beautiful they are. 

 

Anyhow, I was feeling really blue and helpless.  Maria, who primarily only speaks Spanish, was really upset when we got to the hospital.  She doesn't drive, and we were all worried they wouldn't allow her in the ambulance, separating her from Chris by a few hours drive.  When we arrived, she knew she could go with him, so we left them and drove back.  My mind searched what I could do, but prayers and lighting candles in the chapel were all I knew. 

 

When I heard the lines above, I knew that I couldn't ask Maria what I could do because even she doesn't know what her needs are, and those we might name are beyond what I can give.  I cannot assure her that Chris will be fine.  I cannot put her in two places at once (her sister-in-law is in intensive care in Greeley for cancer).  I cannot make it all better, though I desperately want to help them both in this way.

 

And so I give it up to God.  I pray that Chris and Maria both have the strength to see this through, whatever "it" is.  I pray that they both trust in God to give them what they need.  And I invite you to join me in praying for them, too.

2010 Highlights(Jan - May)

Thomas and I enjoyed some time together on New Year's Eve remembering the highlights of the past year. Of course, Thomas quickly asked if he had to state the obvious...well, aren't they all obvious? Or maybe the blessings of our year are already really obvious to you... For us both it was a real treasure to have my parents visit in January! They flew into Denver and picked Thomas and I up for a long weekend in Miami. It was their first trip to New Mexico, and it was as enchanting for them as it was for me. It was also the weekend we went to talk to Corky and Chuck, from who we would eventually buy our property... Buying property was a new adventure for both Thomas and I. After the long weeks of negotiations and back and forth, we signed on the dotted line and became owners of 10 acres in March. Though we didn't take possession until mid April, we had already moved some of our belongings into his parents' garage. The weekend it became ours we were in Portland... We were lucky to have an all-purpose weekend of invitations, showers, and the like in April, but the real highlight was being there for my baby brother's baby's baptism. It was a lot of fun to be there for that day and the party, though the trip was somewhat mired in wedding planning. There is no picture to do justice to what followed before our wedding day. Thomas and I both quit our jobs and spent hours and hours packing up our separate lives in Denver. It took many car and truck and trailer loads to get it done, but most our worldly possessions made it, as we officially became residents of Miami, NM on May 30th.