Our Most Recent Guests

This is the kind of post that should have lots of pictures, but sadly we left the camera inside most of the week.  Mom and Abba came for almost a week, and we had much fun: ate well, watched movies, enjoyed some margaritas, played a few games, chilled out when it rained, and, of course, put in some work on the property.

This picture captures the "after".  With the old single-wide gone, we lined our drive on one side with the jack fence that used to line the front property along the highway.  The guys did a terrific job and it is much more secure than it was along the highway - hopefully relatively maintenance-free for several years.  The guys worked the auger and dug holes for upright posts.  Dad painted up the upright posts to protect the below-ground portion of them.  Mom and I hauled the pieces and staged them around the drive.  It turned out great!  Minor problem with running out of screws and having to do the last twenty feet a week later, but really awesome to see it go up so quickly.  We've got everything lined up to get the other side of the loop fenced, save for the time to do it.

While the guys were working on the fence and not needing the tractor, Mom and I went to town taking down the old snow fence (windbreak fence) around the large garden we grew our first couple years.  I'll admit I was rather reluctant to take it down - hopeful for future farming out there, but in conceding to do it, I also admit it looks really great now.  The picture below shows the field where the fence and gate were - so much cleaner looking, and as Pop pointed out - easier to mow, which was what he was doing.

The visit was so great, and we were sad to see them leave on the morning of the Fourth of July.  Till next time....

The "Candy or Iron" Anniversary

We celebrated our sixth anniversary this past weekend!!  Sometimes it seems unbelievable that we've been married six years, but then my mom was reminding me of all we've done in six years - not too shabby!

Sadly, no selfies of our romp through northern New Mexico - a stop in Santa Fe for sandwiches and beer at one of Tom's favorite ol' breweries and a couple games of Battleship at a new (cider) brewery; a sad farewell to a beloved coffee shop that has been shuttered; a tour of el Cerro Grande fire remains en route through Los Alamos to Albuquerque; a couple movies; some great meals; and of course, a little bit of shopping.

While no selfies were taken, my hipster husband of six years thought it would be fun to take pictures of food to post on the blog - not him eating shark, but the (whole) red snapper I was delivered:

 teeth and eyeballs and all, this guy didn't even fit on the plate

pescado posteado - red snapper smothered in chipotle sauce

 there was a time for daintily trying to fork the fish off the bones

ultimately, I made a mess holding it like a drumstick and just eating off the bone

DELICIOUS - and highly recommended at Mariscos la Playa

To celebrate our anniversary, we both got new helmets for the motorcycle and hope to spend a little more time freewheeling and enjoying the scenery - not exactly candy or iron, but a great investment in each other and time spent together!

Tom & Jerry

I grew up loving the cartoons of Tom and Jerry, though my Tom will quickly point out how it would have been nice if just once Jerry would have gotten what he had coming for being such a little instigator. 

I am not sure if my cousin's son saw some mischief in me or also enjoys the cartoons, but after needing to be told my name a few times, his parting words were wondering when this picture would be taken - "with Tom and Jerry".

We enjoyed a great visit over Memorial Day, a stop over for my cousin and her family on their way to the Carlsbad Caverns.  We lucked out and were able to have a campfire, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.  Thomas thought it a travesty that I should pick out the hot dogs, but there were only two left (of 26) at the end of the night.  And the cats didn't even get any of them - not for trying.  Even after Daniel lost his hot dog bun to Curly, she still kept trying for more.  This surprised us all as she looked like she was having a seizure after a bite of habanero mustard off the bun.  Post campfire, the little boys survived a night of camping behind the house with their dad.  Much fun!!

And our final Memorial Day treat was a nice long motorcycle ride on Monday.  A nice long weekend!

Crafty kitchen projects

These are not especially new projects, just finally posting pictures.  Under our gigante island we left a little room for a wine rack and pan shelf.  I messed around and turned what I thought would be simple day-long projects into multi-day projects with consultation from my contractor required. 

 I still haven't gotten the trim cut;

though to be fair, I started on it last weekend before we got paged to report to a grass fire.

This wine rack was a fun little project and the easiest, by far.

This project took a little more patience and almost led me to throw in the towel and have a tantrum.  The pan rack is 42" long, so it can hold a lot of pans that previously didn't fit in the cupboard so well (especially not when we finally got the cupboard doors hung).

This is super handy for getting pans out of the way, 

and Thomas found a larger version of our cupboard door handles that matched perfectly!

A couple weeks ago, we had stormy weather and needed an indoor project: our new spice rack.  We built a custom spice rack for the trailer that I was sad to lose, but it was custom to the spot in the trailer.  There were too many for the cupboard next to the microwave, and it was tricky to see them all.  Additionally, we have this great pantry cupboard next to the fridge with slide out racks down below.  The top half is too deep to see (and sometimes reach) what is in the back.  Ta da!!

 We built (notice the "we" - this actually was less than a day long project) a little box with shelves to fit in the front of the cabinet with all our spices.  Very accessible!

Side view: the new snack cupboard!! And other stuff...

We cut a hole to fit the cupboard door that would have gone on front and trimmed it out.

Thomas had to put a couple extra holes for the shelf pegs, and I painted.  Turned out terrific!

And when Thomas was in Santa Fe last week, he picked up one more hinge, so the door is on now.

Moral of the story...we make a great team!  My husband is super smart and has way more experience than me when it comes to all these things, and I appreciate his help.  He really is just so stinking awesome, and I need to swallow my "girl-power-pride" sometimes.  Sometimes.

(Hint hint, honey!  Want to help me finish the trim, so it gets done faster? "/)

Another good-bye...

This was sure a faithful car through many storms and sunny days...

...hopefully she will be equally faithful to the neighbor boys that bought her.  After our new fence along the highway was installed, I parked her out along the fence with a for sale sign in the window and headed into town to hang fliers at the post office and store.  But I hadn't made it more than half a mile and it was sold!

Goin', Goin', Gone! (Fare thee well, ol' Kentuckian!)

I mentioned last week that our newlywed home rolled away...a week ago today!  Thomas snapped a few shots of its departure.  We drove by it on Sunday - a tight fit on its new lot.  The guy who bought it has been living out of an RV for a few years, so I am curious how quickly we will get himself settled in.

 

Many memories in the Kentuckian: the first night after moving down from Denver when I scalded myself in the shower after breaking off the hot water handle.  Our first Christmas in New Mexico.  Our first remodel (of the kitchen).  Bob the mouse.  All our guests and shared meals.  Good times.  Many blessings!

Kid-tested and Mother-approved?

Thomas and I broke the house in (gratefully nothing in the house was broken) with a visit from my sister and her three boys under the age of five!  It was a wild week, a full-immersion into our life of fun, occasional power outages, mud, sun, Fire Station, a visit to the neighbor's chickens (that provided our morning eggs) and even a trip to the lake and the river.

I tried to prepare for their arrival with a trip to Costco and a trip to the library.  The first evening was pretty low-key, and our second day together was a great day for exploring around the property and making tia bread.  There were numerous trips to the pond to see the frogs, that somehow heard us coming, so we mostly saw the splash they made jumping away from us.

The second day ended with quite a surprise - a power outage from 6 - 7:30 pm.  The rice finished cooking on the wood stove, but the tia bread didn't really get to bake long enough.  After a dinner of tuna sandwiches and coloring by lantern/candle light, the boys were grateful that when the lights came back on in time for bed time.

These boys love to read, and I found some winners.

Wednesday we visited the lake and the fire station.  Thomas took the boys for a ride, and I dressed them up in hats and bunker gear.  Maybe I can get pictures from my sister, as my camera battery chose a bad time to die on me.

These boys wandered around with grocery bags picking up all sorts of treasures: 

rocks, pistachio shells, dead crawdads, sticks, and shells.

Admittedly, their mom and tia picked up a few rocks, too.

Baby Isaac enjoyed the lake...the only one to bear his toes and walk in, though the others got a little wet in the pursuit of their treasures.

So poetic - a pair of men waxing romantic under a tree about all sorts of life's ponderances.

Our last day all together we went to the river for a picnic.  The boys just love being out in nature.
  

I'd made the boys some capes, though I hadn't finished them all.  During nap time, I was able to finish the rest.

super hero or villain - either way he didn't feel like napping, so....

he helped his tia sew.

It was sad to see this wild bunch go, though I am glad they got out before the rain and snow the next morning.  I moped around for the weekend, which is pretty normal for me after company leaves, though with the weather being snowy, it made for a perfect restful movie-marathon by the wood stove.

A parting gift - watering the grass before hitting the road!

Sucked into the vortex...

March was a busy month - thus the lack of posts.

I started the month on trial - a murder trial.  I was in the jury until deliberation, at which point I was set free as an alternate.  He was guilty, so the jury's decision was which charge to go with.  I don't envy my new friends who handed over that verdict.

I lucked out on a trip to Denver to see the girls in Denver.  It was silly to have packed the snowshoes, as we had a lovely hike in the sunshine.  It was great to spend time with my old roomies.

Hooray for reunions!!

Then the month was subsumed with funerals, Holy Week, Easter, some extra hours in the office at church, picking up the administration/bookkeeping of our local water association, irrigating, dropping the car off in Pueblo for recall work, preparing the yard for a deck and garden, and then some.

The deck actually was a nice spot for breakfast twice this week, though it was covered in snow this morning.

It is about 16'x9', so a nice spot to hang out.  The cats think it is terrific to watch TV (Thomas or Tori Vigil).

I built the planter box behind it, though it filled with snow sooner than I could fill it with dirt.  Next: filling it with plants - I seeded tomatoes and peppers!

April was off to a similar start, including a meeting in Albuquerque, a trip to get the car, to Pueblo, to Confirmation, and all around preparations for a visit from my sister and her family!  A week off of work to play with my nephews was definitely in order after the hectic March, but I am still playing catch up!

IT'S GONE!!!

More than one thing is gone, but the biggest news - the trailer has driven away to its new home!!!  There is a big hole in the yard where it used to sit - the grass and firewood and alley of gravel that used to lead up to the doorway are all that remain.

 can't really see the empty spot under the snow we woke to this morning,

but it's there!

Thomas gets major kudos for helping with the transition, as I was working.  I understand the Penguin the cat almost stowed away in the loose insulation beneath it, but jumped out before it got more than thirty feet.  And then an axle malfunctioned, and they almost went off the road.  Thank goodness it made it to its new home in one piece!

Aiding in its departure, Pop has been working hard on clearing the fence.  The Highway Dept will be installing a barbed wire fence - easier to maintain than our old wooden jack fence.  So he unscrewed all the boards, and we just loaded all the wood up and hauled it to our gate, where it will find new life as a jack fence inside the property.  (It also meant the trailer didn't have to navigate the narrow gate and road onto the highway.)

Lagging....

I haven't posted much lately.  I am keeping busy, busy at work and at home, and most recently the camera was used to photograph the car, which we hope to sell!  Probably not through the blog, so no pictures of it.  It's been/being replaced by a "gently used" Toyota Tacoma, which the bank owns...my first vehicle financing....

Anyway, I wonder if I am lagging because I am caffeine-free at the moment.  Many, many moons ago - back in 1995, I gave up coffee for Lent.  The PNW espresso - hanging out at coffee shops (not old enough to hang out at a bar) phase was a good thing to give up for Lent.  The consequence was that I didn't start drinking it again - herbal tea, apple cider, cocoa, and such made a fine substitute.  Not to mention that shortly after I was a poor college student who didn't have disposable income for fancy coffee. 

If you came to the conclusion that I gave it up for Lent again, it's actually the opposite.  I just started drinking it again.  Oh sure, I have sipped off Tom's coffee at Santa Fe Baking Co. (it smelled so good), and there were a few occasional cups with a packet of hot cocoa after a late night, and once in a while Thomas would make a French Press of it on the weekends and allow me a mug of it, but only a few in twenty years.  BUT Thomas received a Keurig for Christmas, and I have started drinking again.  I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but it smelled good.  (I'll have to post later on the special beans I love.) And it looks so yummy with all that cream and sugar swirling around in it. 

I am not trying to develop a habit, generally a cup every other week.  Two weeks ago I lamented over a headache I developed in the morning and then wondered if it was because I skipped the cup o'joe.  Not sure if the body can process an every other day habit, but I noticed I am lagging again today.  It might not help that I sometimes have 16 oz of coffee on the mornings I do drink it . . . it's so good!

Things are looking good!!!

It's always fun to start the year with a birthday party!  Tom did say the cake I made looked like it had rabbit turds on it - also know as little blobs of chocolate frosting dabbed around the edge of the cake.  It was fun to have everyone over for pizza and cake - plus the creepy eye patches and glow sticks that entertained at least the youngest for far too long.  We sat in the dark listening to music, while Sofia (& I) danced and twirled glow sticks, until the birthday boy cried that it was his party and he wanted the lights on - really a funny scene!

We've also been working on setting up a work shop in the old carport.  More to come on this...

I thought Tom looked so cute surfing on the back of the tractor while Pop scraped it out.

 Pop and I spread new gravel on Thursday afternoon.  It is hard to believe that space used to be so full of sh!t just a month ago, but all the work has paid off.  Next up we'll be putting up walls and a door and running electricity out there down the road.

So spoiled!  New gravel where we park - bring on the rain and snow - I'm ready!

How I Spent My Christmas Break by tori

It's been too long since I have posted any news.  No news is usually good news, and so it goes for us.

We had a good Christmas.  Really it was a GREAT Christmas, though our joyfulness was tempered by our worry for loved ones.  We took a long trip and saw some great places!  We took the southern route to Oregon via the HOOVER DAM!!!  I've been over the bridge once before, and it was dark - like one of those cheesy postcards that are all black and say "Hoover Dam at Night".  I was super-bummed out that we didn't stick around to see it that last time, so we made a point of stopping and taking lots of pictures.

  Yeah - I know - he's a stud, and he's mine!

The water level was really low - we saw pictures from when the water was up almost to the gangway that connects the tower to the dam.

looking down the other side at the power plant

We didn't pay for the cheesy green-screen picture they take and hang all sorts of backdrops down the dam.  This one's pretty nice, though.  It would have gone on the photo Christmas card if I actually made one.

We went on the power plant tour - very cool stuff!

 The spillway was pretty fascinating - that would be one heck of a water tube ride!

 We traded the sun of southern Nevada for the snow up north!  I happily took pictures while Tom drove.

We arrived at Lincoln City at night, but the waves were so wild, we could see and hear them from our room.  Those pictures didn't turn out, but this one did as we headed down for our annual walk on the beach.

Lots of foam all over!

Whoops - after going back for a lost shoe, I got doused with a lot more ocean than I planned!

We ate lots of yummy seafood, some Tillamook cheese (at the factory - those pictures are on Tom's phone), and then braved the rain to my parents' house.

 Tom & Isaac hit it off great!  Isaac's brothers were a whole other force to be reckoned with - best captured with video, so no pics.  Ollie and I did get to make pumpkin bread - another time not suited for a camera.

We saw all the kiddos on Christmas Eve with Mom and Dad, followed by a showing of Christmas Vacation.  It was a very mellow Christmas Eve, quite different from the parties of past years, but just right for this one!

After all the fun, we headed home on the more expedient route, sneaking across the country between storms.  Idaho was a welcome vision - or at least the 80 MPH speed limit!  We rolled into home as the clouds rolled in over the mesa - not sure you can really see it in the picture below.  What a trip!  What a year to remember!

The year ended with a party - friends from Denver marking it the second annual NYE party weekend. 

And THAT'S how I spent my Christmas break!