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!