A Random Act of God's Kindness

This is a mostly silly post, so stop right now if you are not interested. 

 

This morning I was posting a message on our reader board at the parish hall.  I had stacked up my letters, minus a few that were used in the message still on the sign and needing to come down.  I walked out towards the road where the sign rests and started to remove the tape holding up the remains of "turkey bingo".  The wind that ravaged us a week and a half ago also got the sign.  The letters are slid into their slots and then taped on to prevent just that occurrence, but somebody nicked a whole roll of packing tape from the crate of letters, so the "turkey bingo" was barely holding on with masking tape.  In fact, much of it had not held on.  In fact, one of the letters I had planned to re-use had not held on.

 

Last week our maintenance man had retrieved some of the lost letters, many cracked or broken, but not all of the letters.  I walked along the road way looking for letters, but found a "1" which was not used recently.  It would not be a good substitute for the "M" I needed.  I crossed the street in the direction the wind would have carried the letters and found, woven into the tumbleweed stuck in the neighbor's fence, an "I" and a "P".  I found a "0" and "4". 

 

And then I found the "M". 

 

The "M" had found its way over the fence, no small feat getting through horse fence and two layers of barbed wire.  Certainly a feat I was not about to attempt!  I looked for other letters and covertly was on the look out for a very long stick that might reach through and flick it back towards the fence.  No such stick was to be found.  I looked at it and wondered who lived there and assumed that it would be frowned upon to trespass.  There was no gate or opening save for the front of the house, 30 yards down and around the corner.  I couldn't be discreet, at least, and I didn't have a gang of friends and a tree house next door from which to plot all sorts of ways into the backyard of the neighbor to retrieve the lost "M" (a reference to the Sandlot, if you didn't get it).

 

I crossed the road, praying there was some way to get that "M", and began hanging the new message.  Thomas called just then, so I told him my predicament.  He was dismissing my assumption not to trespass when I looked up and saw someone in the backyard.  I told Thomas I would call him right back.  I ran across the street and called out, "Excuse me, sir..."  It was the Comcast guy I had just seen drive by, and he was happy to oblige me. 

 

As I strolled back toward my "M"-less message, I thanked God for a random act of kindness.  Truly, God hears our prayers...

Too bad I didn't ask for something bigger than an "M" "/

 

 

For the Beauty of the Earth

Last week I thought I might just drive off the side of the road.  The view on my commute home was stunning.  The full moon rising, the dusky colors, the snow on the ground.  Really a remarkable and serene landscape.  I wish I had the means to capture it just as I could see it, but this will have to do.  I stopped a number of times one day driving home, trying to snap pictures.  This is from the pull-off at monkey hill.

And this week if I went off the road, it would most certainly be the wind that pushed me over the edge.  It's been howling for sure, but Saturday night we came home from the party and tucked ourselves in to a long winter's nap.  I slept pretty well, but Thomas couldn't block out the strains of our home against the wind.  The sounds of whipping and ripping and buffeting...too much to take!

In the morning I awoke to a special delivery from Marie for the bake sale at church, and she pointed out the damage.  I peered around and saw where the skirting had been crushed in from the wind, and the wind now trapped blew out the end.  It was no light breeze.  Marie and David were tending to the loss of shingles and the swamp cooler from off the roof.

Our drive to Cimarron revealed limbs down, trees down - four foot diameter trunks, fences and roofs crushed, dumpsters tossed, a semi trailer overturned, trees uprooted.  Philmont saw extensive damage (great pictures posted on facebook).  Cimarron had a few small limbs down, but not bad.

When we got home, we got a call from Marie letting us know Mom & Pop were cleaning up if we could join to help.  We arrived to see David and Pop on the roof repairing shingles.  Daniel was trying to lasso one of three large widowmakers.

 I climbed this tree to tie the rope on.  Thomas went for the pole-chainsaw because one of the branches had wedged itself from being pulled free.

While we waited for Thomas, Andres, Daniel, and I enjoyed a game of toss the rope over the branch.  It could be a computer game - trying to negotiate the angle from which you need to pull to remove the branch.  You can see the end poking down into the picture.

After we liberated this branch from the tree, we moved on to the next, though the fence that got blown in had to be removed first.  Sadly, no more pictures.  Rumors are the winds were over 100 MPH.  They haven't let up, though not quite at such high speeds.

Happy Birthday, Julie!

A close call - almost didn't get this posted within the week!  Last Saturday we celebrated the life of another Vigil - JULIE!!  Birthdays are every two weeks all through the fall and into winter.  Do I tire of the family fun?  Never!

Daniel tried to plan a surprise party, and though Thomas was convinced that Julie knew, I am still too new to know these things.  I maintained the charade Saturday afternoon when I called to see if I could bring by a check for the pizzas we bought through the high school fundraising.  Of course, the joke was really on me, since Julie knew we would be coming over.  There were balloons hanging when we got there, but I maintained feigned innocence until others arrived and saw there was no "SURPRISE!" to be had.

The birthday girl and her party planner 

 Always the life of the party!  Sofia kept us laughing - she sounded like an outboard motor - tooting all night!

 Such sweet sisters!  One wanted to play with Tia Julie's iPad all night, and the other took over twenty pictures on my camera...techno whizzes! 

 These two were talking tunes all night...David's early birthday present had arrived - triple digit gb iPod...whoa- that's a lot of music!

 Sara took over the camera and snapped one of Maya & I

My party animal...when he shows up in slippers, I know he is going to get out of control!

Thank you, veterans...

So most trips to the library result in renewing a book from the previous trip (an eyes-bigger-than-the-stomach kind of thing) and selecting books randomly from the shelves.  The selection isn't awful by any means, but it seems if I am looking for a particular book, I probably won't find it on the shelves...maybe in the card catalog, but rarely on the shelves (especially the last book in a series).

A recent renewal is the novel The Lacuna, a "diary" of sorts of a young man's life.  There are a lot of political references and stories - the Bonus Army of the 30s when he is in school in DC on the young end and his service during World War II and the civilian efforts to support it.  A really fascinating read, particularly as it also chronicles the politics of Rivera, Kahlo, and Trotsky - employers of the young man when is in Mexico.  Barbara Kingsolver has done a great job in her research, and the story is well put together.

A random pull from the shelves is Dream When You're Feeling Blue.  It is an interesting title, as there has been little or no dreaming.  I didn't know what it was about when I picked it up, and by a great coincidence, it is also set in World War II times.  Primarily about the older "girls" in a family in Chicago.  The oldest in her mid-twenties captures what it means to be left behind by someone she loves, making do during rationing, joining the war efforts by filling a man's work spot...  I haven't finished it just yet, but I was surprised at the similarity.

And then today listening to NPR on the way home from work, I heard a piece on the Bonus Army, including recorded comments from a couple of people who were there.  It seemed to bring everything full circle.  It's no coincidence they aired it on Veteran's Day, but hearing and reading these stories all together...leads me reading into why now, what does this coincidence mean....

Anyhow, thanks for all who have defended the liberties and freedoms I so enjoy!

New addition?

What a week it has been!  Thomas and I returned from Ruidoso on Friday evening, and the laundry list of to-do's just filled in the blanks.

 

A major feat was Tom's fix for the dryer, which has gotten noisier and noisier with every load.  Thomas, my hero, pulled it apart, vacuumed out the mess of lint inside the box, and then replaced the wheel that had cracked up.  It runs so much better now - one expense removed from our list!  No new dryer for a while anyway!

 

The new addition referred to is The Tom, aka Felix.  I hesitated to post this, as it seemed maybe he wasn't really staying.  Two weeks ago Friday, on our way home from Marie & Dave's, Tom saw a black cat by the horse barn.  On Halloween I saw a dark gray cat run past the front door.  Then on Sunday, while coming in from the field, I saw the cat dash behind the porch on the west side.  I walked over and called for it.  He stuck his head out from under the mud room and meowed for me.  Later while on the phone, the cat sat right in front of the door and meowed an meowed and meowed. 

 

Tom came in from the shop, and we just watched him.  (I keep saying him, but it is just our hunch that it is a boy.  Haven't checked.)  I was snacking on some pretzels and cheese, so I cut a few pieces and offered them to him.  Clearly this isn't some feral cat, as he then swirled around me legs over and over, just rubbing up to me.  Then he followed Tom into his shop and was happy to just nose around.  I made a trash run and nicked a scoop of cat food from Pop & Ma.  The Tom is especially skinny, and though there are mice a plenty, a little food, I am told, might seal the deal on his residence at our place.

 

Anyone who knows me knows I am allergic.  This cat will not be coming inside.  Of course, we then had a dumping of snow Monday night, and Tom was worried from some tracks to the SE that this might just be a Nolan cat that wandered over for our cheese.  We didn't see him for a couple of days, thus casting a shadow of doubt over whether there really is a new addition or not.  Last night he was back, which pleased Tom greatly!

Noisy (estrepitoso), clamorous, obstreperous

Yes, we are in Ruidoso, NM, and according to an online Spanish dictionary, that's what "ruidoso" means. Thomas left Monday morning for a work conference. With Father's permission I planned to "work remotely" Wednesday - Friday. I would have liked to drive down on Tuesday, but the dark (pitch dark) on a non-lit high way with who know what animals and terrain and curves, etc....you get the idea. Safer to go during the day. So Wednesday morning I awoke to the radio telling me that Raton Pass had zero visibility, but no reports on a delay of school...what?!?! I looked out the window to see snow piling up. I got up in a hurry, checked the internet for a weather report - which suggested that Miami could get up to three inches, and then made a run for it before it could get worse. On the road I realized all the things I forgot in my hurry. I also realized that nobody in Miami knew what I was, and if I landed in a ditch, nobody would notice I hadn't arrived or left or anything. Anyway, I drove slow and prayed the joyful mysteries of the Rosary for friendsfamily battling cancer/leukemia, then the glorious for loved ones gone before us (Wednesday was All Souls Day), and then the sorrowful because it was still snowing. Gratefully, after fifteen decades the snow cleared, which was about Watrous. The snow let up, but the wind did not. I figured I was practicing being brave for a possible drive to Portland at Christmas. Of course, when I turned off the road at Romeroville, not much more than 90 miles from home, the snow blew and the sky was clear blue and sunny, and then it was just clear blue and sunny.

A ridge of windmills to many to count - I counted about fifty before they got to small and the road to curvy...

Me and the mister at the Inn of the Mountain Gods

The lake behind us was so pretty - nice to see so much water anywhere in New Mexico, even if a man-made lake

Tomorrow, Tom's conference ends and we make the long road home...

Fright Night

Growing up on Henderson Street, there was a tradition to make our way up the hill towards Grandma and Grandpa and stop when we go there. Sure, we were excited to ring the doorbell and say trick-or-treat, but the real treat was homemade pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream. Grandma never disappointed - at least not that I can remember. Now my mom carries on the tradition. Henderson Street is still the place for picture taking and pumpkin pie eating. Knowing Tom would already be gone for his conference, I planned ahead and invited the Salas family to celebrate the pumpkin pie tradition with me. I did cheat and used a pumpkin pie I previously baked and froze, but the whipped cream was freshly whipped with Grandma's hand mixer. The real work was cleaning house. I cleared and cleaned the counter and the table and the chairs. I even had time to vacuum. I got my camera ready, and in lieu of a balloon Tom, I just kept out the picture his grandma gave me. The picture is deceiving, though, because Tom got to sit on the counter next to Andres. Marie called to give me the halfway warning, so I cut pieces and got it all ready. In the midst of it all, I had nine trick or treaters (and a few hungry parents). With all the candy I bought, I was happy to see most of the kids eager to take a few pieces. One was overly eager and tried to wrap his pirate hands around as much booty as could be lifted out at once, plus an extra one for good measure. And one was too timid to take more than one piece. I am sure none will be sugar deprived for awhile. Then two skeletons and witch and a beast appeared. So charming, yes? They enjoyed dinner, I mean pie, with me. I don't think pumpkin pie is meant to be dinner, but I was too distracted with cleaning up the place that it was mine. (I had a pretty good sugar crash later on!) All in all, I think I had more trick or treaters than last year and than any year in Denver. The last piece of pumpkin pie made for a nice breakfast today. Yum!

Marathon Weekend Pt II

So I crawled into bed at Mary's house right about the end of the half marathon - about 1 am. I wasn't looking forward to an alarm set earlier than even my weekdays, but I was excited to see him:

Henry just turned one on Friday. And he is an early riser, as are his parents, so we met at Loyola for 7:30 am mass!

Nikki, my support person my JV year in Denver, and Fr. Tom, my Jesuit support person that year, get to see each other all the time, now that Fr. Tom is assigned to Loyola, but I can't think when the last time was that we were all three together. We enjoyed catching up in the hall after mass, and little Henry was happy to show off for us. As it approached time for Fr. Tom's second mass (the one I would have been at had it not been for my early rising friends), we said good-bye and got a picture.

Henry, Nikki, Russ, me, and Fr. Tom

The four of us left Fr. Tom and headed over to the farmers market for a little more hang out time and some much needed produce. I found some squash and pumpkins, a box of apples, and a loaf of cranberry walnut bread as a treat for Tom - a treat we often picked up at the farmers market and finished in one sitting. I also ran into my friend Chad from farming in Denver days. It was good to see him and catch up. And of course the samples are always delicious.

As we loaded our cars and parted ways, I set my course for Betty's house. She was getting back Saturday from a trip, but I figured she still went to her early church service and would be home at 10:30 am. She was guessing who it was as she came down the stairs, and I thought she might not open if I didn't give myself away. We visited, and as usual I left with a few duplicate movies. It was fun to show her this blog and my sister's, so she could see pictures.

A quick shot of the two of us!

From Betty's I zoomed over to Racines. Yes, at this point, I think Thomas may have gotten out and started walking home. I knew that the Davis clan would be meeting before the Broncos game for their version of tailgating - brunch at Racines. I found a spot at Mt. Fuji across the alley, ordered a couple rolls to go, and then snuck in to Racines. Gratefully I could see them when I walked in and surprise them without troubling the staff. Hugs all around! Andrea was in the bathroom, so I stole her seat and protested that she had eaten most of my breakfast. It was a quick visit, but put a huge grin on my face. No pictures, but Shaun, Andrea, Jennifer, Davis, and Cathy were to be my last hugs in town.

I hit the adult beverages store, the grocery store, and the gas station on my way out of town. I wanted to be home by 6 pm for the Simpson's with Tom (which actually didn't start until 7 pm). I made it with five minutes to spare!

Marathon Weekend - first half

Twenty-six hours - twenty-two friends and five shopping stops... oh yeah, and a measly six hours of sleep! I paid the price Monday morning, when it took several pieces of Halloween candy to revive me, but it was all great fun. I woke up early-ish on Saturday and was on the road at ten after eight. Too late for the Bob & Tom Show, but I enjoyed the increasing numbers of radio stations and variety as I drove north from small town to bigger and bigger cities. (Then I realized how many commercials I miss out on...not so bad!)

My first stop was Great Northern in the DTC to meet up with two girlfriends - Minerva and Anna Belle. We had a delicious lunch and talked for a couple of hours. It was a lot of fun to see them both and way to long since our last lunch date!

The fashionable Minerva and Anna Belle - I, not so fashionable, but rather comfortable in my sit-in-a-car-for-four-hours comfy clothes! I was only slightly aware of being under-dressed as I waited for my friends and a whole wedding party came parading through in their fanciest duds.

My next stop was recycling - the back seat and trunk were full of two large black trash bags stuffed with recycling and three large boxes of paper. I collect at home and work - paper, paper, and more paper, plastic, tin, cardboard, and glass. Of these, #1 & 2 plastic and cardboard can be recycled in Cimarron, so the rest kind of piles up - especially beer bottles.

Near the recycling stop, I chanced a visit with friends who were, unfortunately, out. I knew it would be a close call, but even worse, I wasn't able to stop by again. I was able to meet up with my friend Deb, who just happened to have a free day pass to the Botanic Gardens, so we walked and talked among the plants.

The new greenhouse was up with a lovely glassed in walk about. We peered in and found many photogenic plants.

From here I raced back towards Castle Rock for family dinner...the impetus for getting me to Denver in the first place. Ahna & Oren were hosting, but it was also a last chance to get everyone together before Jennifer takes off for five weeks of volunteer work in Haiti. I brought some rocks from home and stopped to visit little Liam's grave. It was nice to get to do that. I also made my first shopping stop for supplies for work at a craft shop. Then...on to visit! Ezra, pre-astronaut stage, invited me to dance with him before everyone had showed up. It was very sweet. Pretty much everyone was there - Ahna, Oren, Ezra, Gabe, Char, Jennifer, Mary, Sarah, and Heather...of course, Thomas was notably missing. Six hours later we reluctantly and tiredly said our good-byes.

Ezra showed off his costume and then proceeded to ask all of us to try on the "helmet". This after conducting us to sleep, wake up from our nap, close our eyes, and so forth. He was entertaining and easily entertained.