crap shoot

I totally forgot that to day was Halloween. How did that happen? I love Halloween. I am sleep deprived and distracted. And I'm having a difficult day, darn it! I was going to start packing, but there was Mouse Crap in one of the suitcases. It needed to be cleaned and sanitized, and now it's drying in the sun. I have Trip Crap all over the house, and it needs to go someplace, but has to wait. And then I got a notice from PayPal that a customer has reversed two payments. No explanation. She got her beads. She did not complain to me, but just grabbed her money back. I didn't know you could even do that without giving the other person a chance to defend herself. I don't have time for this. I'm leaving the country in a week. Crap, crap, crap... And oh yeah - there's a glitch with the redirection of my new website, so it doesn't show up. It might be fixed by tomorrow......

I guess things can only get better from here. Yesterday was so smooth and lovely... Oh well... big sigh... Guess I'll just play in the Halloween Crap for a while. At least it's fun crap. Once I realized what day it is, I had Rick bring in the Halloween Box. We need things for a party tomorrow night. Only the dogs are dressing up today... Heidi is a Bee, and Lucy is... Wearing a Lavender Wig.

Have a Happy Halloween. I'll try to be more pleasant (less crappy) tomorrow!



~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Mavis Staples.

Dog costumes.

Cool skully jewelry.


Your turn!

I think I hit on something with the insomnia blog. Maybe it's true that I'm really fighting jet lag before we ever leave the ground. Enough people suggested that idea that I think I'll pay attention. Last night I covered the clock with a scarf, hoping to shush it, but I woke up in the middle of the night anyway. I was just too curious to find out what time it was though, so I got out of bed and peeked under the scarf. It was 2:00. That seemed like some sort of victory over Time. But of course I was wide awake then, and decided to give in and read for a while. I do love my little book light. Tonight I think I'll banish the clock completely. I think it should live in another room, or maybe in another house. But if I wake up, I wake up. There's plenty to do in a day, and maybe it just doesn't matter what time of day it is...
~~~
We leave a week from tomorrow. (Anybody out there live in Denver? I do hope you'll come to the First Pick Party at Strings Restaurant. You can say hello to Rick and me, and buy a fabulous HOPE Bracelet too!) It's time to get serious about fitting all the stuff we need into the bags we're allowed. I think I can do it. I'll let you know. But I needed today as a cushion, so I ignored the suitcases and tended to my drawing for the Ethiopia Trip Fundraiser instead. After factoring in (or out, to be more accurate) the PayPal fees, we brought in just about $4000. It's not as much as we'd hoped for, but it's pretty darn good in times like these. Grateful? You bet!

And so, we have winners. I had to wait until Rick had time to help keep me honest, or at least witness that I did not peek at the names as I drew them. And so, the winners are...

Francoise Brucel, Gwen Toma, Shauna Miller, Graeme Young, Melanie Schow, Diane Meneely-Miller, and Linda Bauder. Congratulations to all of you! And many thanks to everyone who contributed to making this trip happen! We'll do our best to be good ambassadors for all of you!
~~~
My other project for today was to get my hair cut. It was so much fun, I did it twice. It's short now you know, and because it's curly, it goes all "Kramer" if it gets too long...
I did not want to deal with that while we're traveling, so I went back for seconds today, assuring Kathleen (who also took the very nice picture of me, here in my profile) that she could not go too short this time. She believed me, and I'm very happy with this little-hair of mine!
~~~
Tomorrow, I will make a personal connection with my luggage...

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

A sun hat in October.

Cocktail hour!

The many amazing people who have come into my world lately.

Your turn!

i one-der

It's happened four nights in a row, so it's got my attention. I go to bed, tired from a long day. I read for two minutes before nodding off and dropping my book. And then, at 1AM, bing!, I pop awake. Rick is waking up too, and we both look at the clock and go, What is going on with this? There must be some persistent cosmic noise going on out there.

I can't explain it. But I'm starting to one-der. Is there something significant about 1AM? One World? One.org? We are the Ones we've been waiting for? Is The One trying to get our attention? One can only guess...

If this is happening to anyONE else out there, will you let me know? This is not your average insomnia. It seems sort of special.

Unrelated, but interesting, we watched a movie called "Off The Grid - Life On The Mesa". It was filmed just outside of Taos, in a strange little mesa community. These people are our "neighbors", but we don't really know many of them, and rarely see them in town. I've never been out there. Frankly, it scares me a little. But it was amazing and enlightening to have a look inside that world. Taos itself attracts a wide mix of non-average people. But we're a regular bunch of suburban drones compared to the folks out there who come from all backgrounds, and choose to live off the grid, in a wide open place that relies on almost nothing from the outside. There's a strong sense of community mixed in with a wide range of beliefs and behaviors. You might enjoy it. You might be shocked by it, or even offended at some points. I liked it a lot, but maybe that's because it was a peep through the fence into my own back yard. Seeing those people out there supporting and helping each other made me think. Seems like the time is coming where we'll all have to rely on each other more than we're used to.



Rick and I went out to help Karena do some digging and gravel spreading yesterday. It would have been a big job for one little person, but for three of us it was a breeze. She seemed to be feeling a little guilty about having us do this hard work with her, but I reminded her that we aren't meant to do this life thing alone. It's why there are so many of us - so we can work together and help each other. If we all did what we could, we'd all have what we need.

Need something? Ask for it. Have something? Offer it. Simple lessons from the mesa. And come to think of it, maybe it is related to the 1AM wake up calls. We're all connected, all little parts of one big whole. I know I'm supposed to be paying attention to this. And now I've handed it to you too.

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Crochet, when knitting confuses me.

The nice woman who opened a closed shop to sell me yarn yesterday.

Mushroom soup tonight!

Your turn!

simplifying

Things start shifting here today, from Business As Usual to Close Up Shop and Hit The Road. I put up the last batch of beads I'll be making before we leave, and I'm testing out the new BigCartel shopping cart. Man, I hope it works, because I really like the simplicity and speed of it. (Thanks Kate McKinnon. You're my Hero!)

Other things on the To Do List this week: end the Trip Fund Raffle, write many names on many tickets, draw winners, mail prizes to the lucky ones. (Thanks here to EVERYONE who contributed to making this trip happen. You also are my Heroes!) Then I'll wait a couple of days and put everything that's left in the Bead Shop on sale. I'd really love to sell it all before we leave. I'll close up the shop next Monday though. That'll be weird, but I don't want people ordering while we're away. Too messy. I'm on a Mission For Simplicity.

The road to Simplicity is paved with crap. We've been clearing the crap for months now, but there's more to do. We fall into that group of people who were "very comfortable" just a few months ago, but who now have to make choices every day as to how we spend our harder-than-ever earned dollars. On a personal, day to day level, we just don't spend much. We don't go out. We don't shop. We cook simple meals. We've "canceled" Christmas and told the (grown up) kids we'll be spending Christmas day at Ojo Caliente Hot Springs, reviving, renewing, celebrating the seasonal return of the Sun, and we'll gladly spring for their $22 entry fees if they'd care to join us. HoHoHo. It's a big change from the "Griswold Family Christmas" we threw last year, complete with Stockings filled for our adult babies. Time to get real, for all of us.

There's just no way of seeing all the ways to cut corners all at once. Just when I think I'm doing all I can do, something else presents itself. The shopping cart started it all. Once I decided to try a new one, it magically appeared, and for $20 a month, it's way cheaper than GoDaddy. And once I saw how clean and pretty and simple the cart was, I started thinking that I'd love to find website software that was also clean/pretty/simple... and cheap. I thought about stacking blog pages to make a free website. It would work, but it would be a lot of effort. And then yesterday, out of nowhere, I ran across Weebly.com. Oh, baby! How did I not know about this? Why have I been spending hundreds of dollars a year on lousy software that makes me cranky every time I use it (often)? In about three hours yesterday, factoring is a short learning curve, I built more than half my new website on Weebly, and finished up smiling instead of cursing. And know what? It's FREE. Go figure. I hope to have it finished and launched today or tomorrow. I'm dancing around the house singing I Love Weebly! La La La!

So, here we go. Got my hard hat and my shovel. I'm clearing the crap. Better stay out of my way. I'll meet you in Simplicity.

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Another sunny day.

Felted wool. I'm learning. It's fun.

Hot air balloons in Taos over the weekend.

Your turn!

fall away

My sister called me this morning, to see if I was OK. She thought I'd been sort of absent from my blog, and she was starting to worry. Sorry! I'm just busy getting ready to go to Africa. I've never done this before. I feel like I'm going to the moon... or maybe even farther.

I've also been messing around with a new shopping cart. I've hated my GoDaddy cart for months, and I guess I just snapped the other day. I'm testing BigCartel, which I like just for the name. But it's also clean and simple and fast to work on. It's still not perfect. I don't think a Perfect Shopping Cart exists really. So I know a few people will get pissy with me. That's OK. I'm learning more and more that the person I have to make happy first is me. And trust me, you would not want to be around me on these Mondays when I'm loading beads on to the GoDaddy cart. I don't even want to be with me then!

Another thing that's coming clearer by the minute is that simplicity is a beautiful, beautiful thing. So I'm not only scaling down my stuff and my home, I'm whittling away at unnecessary expenses in my business. I'll be canceling services that mostly drive me nuts, and looking for alternatives that are cheaper and easier to work and play with. I'm losing a lot of sleep lately, with all the great ideas I have dancing in my head, but it's fun insomnia at least.

The other day Rick and I were in Arroyo Seco, grabbing a bite of lunch because the yarn store had gone out of business, and we had to do something besides turn around and go home. We sat on the patio under a beautiful red maple tree, with the sun shining through the leaves, and the blue sky grinning like it does here so often. There were still a lot of leaves on the tree, but every now and then one would just... let... go... I've been thinking about that tree ever since. Don't we all have things we've held on to, or just gotten used to? Things we might want to consider letting go of? Yes, I think so. Sometimes we just have to let things fall... away...

So where am I headed with this? I don't know. It's just something to think about maybe. Anyway, I'm here, and everything is fine. Thanks for noticing!

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Kate's great advice.

Fresh carrots, right out of the ground.

Linda, for checking in on me.

Your turn!

goat news!

It's been just about a year since we gave our dear goats to their new people, Stuart and Robin. It's been almost that long since we heard anything about them, and we kind of figured we just had to let them go. But the other day we ran into Stuart and Robin in town, and they were just as surprised to see us as we were to see them. We were supposed to be in Oregon by now...

It was so nice to get all caught up on the goaty happenings. S&R like them so much, they decided to get seven more, and next year they plan to breed little Joon! Sam is still funny and goofy and sweet, and the biggest news was that Benny has yet another new home. He had become so large, so aggressive, and so testosterone laden (even though he was neutered!) that he was butting everyone in sight, including Robin, who is a small person. He was dangerous, the dear boy, so they took him to live with John, a Goat Man who keeps a herd up in the mountains. Benny is now running with the big boys, and is in training to become a pack goat. What a lucky guy, our Benny! Here he is with John and some of the other goats.



And here's the herd, caring very little about the silly bridge. Something tells me these billies won't take any of Benny's guff!




~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Happy goats and good goat people.

Tape. Really. Think where we'd be without it.

New notebooks for my trip.

Your turn!

marigolds

It's getting cold out there, and frosty in the mornings. I wore socks the other day, which I always find very depressing and cozy at the same time. We felt a cold snap coming on a few evenings ago, and at bedtime we decided to go out and do some gardening. I've seen the most glorious strands of marigolds hanging in shops around town, so I was inspired to make good use of our own marigolds before they froze. We went out with clippers and scissors, and beheaded every last flower, filling a basket that looked like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Next morning we strung them like Christmas popcorn and draped them over the mantle in the dining room, and the table by the front door. Next time I'll hang them to dry, so they don't gets flattened by their own juicy weight. But even slightly smooshed, they look really beautiful.

And how about that old sewing basket? Mom gave it to me when I was 10. It's falling apart, but I don't ever want a new one.

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Things that are still the color of sunshine when the weather turns cold.

A date with Rick to go out dancing tonight.

My Saturday morning phone chat with my Dad.

Your turn!

happy birthday mom

Tessie at about age 19 in San Francisco.

Today is my Mom's birthday. The fact that she died at the age of 55 in 1990 doesn't stop me from celebrating her life, and the fact that she so generously brought me here. As I sit here typing, badly, I see Mom's hands sticking out of my bathrobe sleeves. She was a terrific typist, and urged me all through high school to take a typing class so I'd have "something to fall back on". That little phrase was what sent me running as fast as I could from that room full of typewriters. I would not fall back! Of course I could not foresee my own future, in which I would depend so much on the very skill I rejected back then.

The last time I visited her, when we knew she was sick, but thought she'd get well (she knew otherwise, but chose not to tell us), my sisters and I were helping out with tax time for the Swensen's Ice Cream shop our parents owned. Mom was in the kitchen, and we were down the hall in the office that had once been a childhood bedroom. I was at the typewriter with a stack of W2s while my sister read figures off to me to. I made a lot of mistakes, and wondered why I was doing that particular job when I could be doing something useful, like making soup or taking out the trash. When we finally finished and wandered back to the kitchen, there was Mom, sitting at the table and laughing. It must have hurt her to laugh, since she was just home from having surgery, but she couldn't help it. She said she was listening the whole time we were working, and all she could hear from me was, "Tap, tap, tap, shit... Tap, tap, tap, shit..."

I still can't type worth a darn, and I won't go into the sad story of my mother's departure from this life. Birthdays are for celebration. But after all the typos I've corrected while writing this, I think it might be a fitting birthday present to Mom to sign up for an online typing course. Maybe with a little coaxing, these hands that look so much like hers can retrieve some sort of "cellular typing memory". Till then, there's still a lot of tap, tap, tap, shit coming from my own little office.

Happy Birthday Mom! I Love You! We'll have cocktails on the patio later!


~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Mom.

Dad.

Me.


Your turn!

counting down

It's raining this morning, the hummingbirds are really gone, and Rick got up to build a fire in the wood stove (our only source of heat) for the first time this year. I guess it's really fall. We're just three and a half weeks away from our trip though, so we're busy with preparations and packing. I think it's time to get the luggage out and start rolling up shirts and filling little toiletry bottles. Most of the time when we travel, we can just say, "Well, if we forgot anything important, we can buy it there." I have a feeling that's not going to be the case in Ethiopia. I think if we don't have it, we'll probably learn not to need it.

This is a real exercise in balancing Good Planning and Self Restraint. I guess I can do it. I was a girl scout. And I used to backpack. And it's always a personal challenge to me to see how little I can bring along on a trip. I like to be unencumbered by stuff when I travel. So I'm resisting the urge to buy a portable DVD player and a mini photo printer, and to take too many shoes, or even too much jewelry. As I go over the lists, I begin to realize that I'm more concerned with having what I need for the flight than for when we get there. 18 hours on a plane is a long time in a small space. Three weeks in Ethiopia is an as yet undetermined amount of mind-time in a very big space. That part doesn't worry me in the least. The flight does...

But stepping across to the to the bright side of the road, 18 hours to relax and do next to nothing hasn't happened around here in years. I'm taking notebooks of course, and favorite pens, a nice new glue stick, books to read, and yarn to knit. Even if the in-flight movies suck, I'll be OK. And when I get negatively stuck on that number, 18 hours, I think back to when people traveled by ship and land to far off places, taking months to get where they were going. I'll bet they would have loved the speedy convenience of a little old 18 hour flight.

We went to Santa Fe yesterday for a few things we can't get here. And now it feels like the countdown has started. If I can find some sort of countdown meter, I'll paste it in here somewhere. I'm getting excited... and a little nervous sometimes. I'm going to Africa. It's starting to feel real.

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

The new REI store in Santa Fe.

Lots of fire wood.

More tea.


Your turn!

pass the syrup

I think we're going to have to start a Sleepless In Taos support group. Between hot flashes, overworked minds, and dogs who need to go outside to do whatever at all hours, there seem to be quite a few of us who aren't sleeping through the night. Sometimes we get on the internet at the same time - usually around 3AM - to see if there's anyone else out there to keep us company. It's mostly women, but Rick and I were both up last night, with little Heidi trotting to the door every two minutes. She has a thing she does every so often... outside, inside, outside, inside... we know from experience that it can be messy to ignore her requests to open the door. Now we just turn on the lights and wait till she's ready to go back to bed. I didn't go to the computer last night, but this morning there were two emails from friends who had been up at that same silly time of night/morning. I think we should just give in and call it party time. Next time this happens, let's all just gather in our kitchen and make pancakes. After an hour or two we'll be tired again, and can go back to sleep till noon or so.

Scheduling isn't what it used to be. Time isn't what it used to be. When our own bodies refuse to cooperate with clock-time, maybe it's time to learn some new ways to live in this skin we're in... It sure doesn't work to fight it.

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Django Reinhardt.

Rick.

Band-aids with smiley faces on them...


Your turn!

just a quick note

I stumbled onto something good this morning. It's a short audio clip of an interview with Gregg Krech. Well worth a couple of minutes of your time!
Attention, Obstacles, and Gratitude

That's all I have for you today. But if you missed it yesterday, please have a look at the Project Mercy Wish List below. There's so much extra stuff in the world. I just know we can find some of it a new home!

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

The earth's shadow on the sky as the sun comes up.

Van Morrison.

Fried eggs and toast.


Your turn!

a long list

Here I am! I can't chew fast enough for all that's on my plate right now! We're a month away from the Ethiopia trip, and there's still lots to do, along with regular stuff like making a living and remembering to brush my teeth. It's crazy, but a fun, energized kind of crazy. I figure I'll just go at top speed for a month, and then sleep on the plane to Africa...

We had a great weekend with Laura. Lots of good talking and lots of great ideas thrown around. We also had time for the Wool Festival, some gallery hopping, and a drive up to the Ski Valley for a little hike. It snowed up there... fair warning of what's coming here in the low-lands all too soon. Heidi was not pleased. She got her pink sweater all wet and muddy. I have to make a better one for her that's not so easy to trip over.






Next up, the following Wish List sent to the Cunningham Foundation from the school at Project Mercy, in Ethiopia. From what I can gather, all of us volunteers who are going on the trip will fill our extra luggage with stuff to take over. So please have a look at the list, and if you have any of these things to donate (tax deductible!), you can contact Tammy Cunningham at tammy@heartintelligent.com, or 303-877-7072, or simply mail the items directly to:
Strings Restaurant
Attn. Noel Cunningham
1700 Humboldt Str
Denver. CO. 80218
303.831.7310

"Educational Items Needed

The following items would greatly help Project Mercy’s Medhane-Alem School in developing students to be the best that they can be. Thank you so much for the consideration and God bless.

General items:

1. Teaching DVDs to help teachers supplement poor textbooks- all subjects (chemistry, physics, biology, English, math, geography, history, etc.)
2. Durable workhorse projector (that plugs into laptop)… something suitable use for teaching with DVDs above. Color, quality (high definition) not important as durability. This would be used against rough white wall in the library with larger groups(most classes 10th and under are over 60/70 students).
3. Laptop computers
4. Television with DVD for smaller group teaching
5. Tape recorder and microphone; sound mixer
6. World band shortwave radio
7. Pens, pencils, eraser, crayon, color markers
8. Sports shirts, shorts for teams
9. Sports balls (volleyball, basketball, football
10. 10 flash drives.

Department Biology

1. Monosaccharide solutions

2. Binocular microscope

3. Microscope with oil immersion objective lens

4. Methylene blue

5. Ethanol

6. HCI

7. Dissecting kid

8. Lung apparatus

9. Chloroplast extract

10. Insect nets

11. Bunsen burner

12. Fehling solution

13. DCPIP solution

14. Antibody (A, B, D)

15. Sodium bicarbonate


Department of Math

1. Mathematical instruments
2. Sample of rectangular prism
3. Pencil and rulers
4. Charts showing basic identities and rules of logic and charts showing different properties and functions
5. Charts showing different numeration systems
6. Graphs of population functions, charts containing histograms
7. Charts showing steps of computing standard deviation
8. Marbles of the same size, but of different colors; dice
9. Calculus book (Robert Ellis)
10. Trigonometric table and base to logarithm table.


Department of Language (English, Amharic)

1. English Grammar books
2. Tools (books, DVDs, etc) for teaching English as a Foreign Language
3. English Dictionaries- both higher and lower levels needed
4. Modern encyclopedia – intermediate level and high school level
5. Several copies of Amharic Dictionary. The concise Dictionary of Amharic/English (see Project Mercy web site)…two dictionaries on one an Amharic to English, and an English to Amharic…


Department of Chemistry

1. Conical flask
2. Spatula
3. *Fractibnal distillation apparatus
4. *Simple distillation apparatus
5. *Bunsen burner
6. Delivery tube
7. Cone
8. Different chemicals which are applicable for high school

a Na, mg, k, ae, fe, zu, mg, cu, s

b. Na2co3, nahco3, naoh, ethanol sulfur, limestone, cuso4, pb(br)2…

9. *Funnel

10. Porcelain dish

11. Different indicators

a. Phenorphthalein

b. Methyl/orange

12. Big beakers

13. Graduated cylinder

14. Batteries

15. Light bulbs


Department of Physics


1. Oscilloscope
2. Voltage regulator
3. Teaching aids, specific to make physics understandable to students charts, DVDs, better textbooks, etc
4. Voltmeters
5. Ammeters
6. Multimeters
7. Ohmmeters
8. Different magnets"

OK! That ought to keep you busy, huh? Please ask around and share the list with your friends. Thanks!!!

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Helpers.

Peach cobbler.

Hand spun yarn.


Your turn!

homecoming

I didn't like high school much. I was not a homecoming queen or a cheerleader. I didn't like the structure of classes, except for the few that met outside on the lawn. I didn't go to football games or dances, and absolutely shunned the Senior Ball, even though I had six invitations. Finally getting out of there was the happiest, most terrifying day of my life at that point. There have been many others much happier, and much more terrifying since, but that one stands out. I was not quite 18, and suddenly had all the options in the world open to me. Later that summer I would pierce a third hole in my ear (my father called me a "barbarian", which seemed like sort of a compliment.), and head out on my first big adventure, a road trip to Alaska with my friends Wendy and Ryan. I think that must have been when I became a gypsy...

Ryan sent me this picture yesterday. He says he likes it because it reminds him of where he started on this journey. I'll say. I see that young Kim looking back at me, and I remember clearly who she was, but don't think I can get in touch with her now. Not much of her left, and that's not a bad thing. She was so silly, so naive, so lost and superficial. She even thought she was fat. Sheesh....



I have a few other friends from back then that I stay in touch with. We are all parts of each other's beginnings. And though none of us lives in the past, and high school was not the best time of any of our lives, we have a connection that sticks for some reason. After all this time, we still like each other.

My friend Laura is coming down from Denver today and spending the weekend. It's the perfect time of year to come to Taos, and a good time for old high school friends to get together. Kids are back in school, and homecoming weekends are happening all over the country I suppose. I don't keep up on it now any more than I did back in the day. But I'm happy to be spending a few of these beautiful fall days with a long time friend, wandering through galleries, shopping, eating, talking - mostly talking about what's here and now and what we think might lie ahead. Maybe that's why we're still friends after all these years; we can honor a past that we shared and grew from, but we don't need to dwell in it too much. There are better things to do, and I have a feeling we're not finished growing up yet. I can see us on some distant fall day, when we're finally old and wise, laughing at our silly, lost 51-year-old selves...


~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Seeing.

Hearing.

Breathing.


Your turn!

standing still

So it did in fact turn out to be a case of Bad Gas... not the microwave burrito kind, but the sludgy, murky bottom of the tank kind that destroys perfectly good fuel pumps. The bad news is it's a $600 repair job. The good news is, Phillips 66 took full responsibility, and is paying for it, along with a refund for the 2 gallons of gas that caused all the ruckus. Problem solved. On to the next challenge...

We took our house off the market yesterday. There's a bit of a sad sense of surrender. But we have to be realistic. The only people even looking at houses right now are affectionately know in the Real Estate Industry as "bottom feeders". They're out there assuming that all sellers are desperately willing to take insultingly low offers. That's not the case with us, and we don't want to waste any more energy on casual lookers. There's also the fact that we'll be gone for most of November. We have house sitters, but it's a lot to expect them to show the house too, should that come up. And, on the off chance that we might get an offer while we're in Ethiopia, there's probably nothing we could do about it anyway.

So we're admitting to ourselves that now is not the time to move. Sigh..... And we'll ride out yet another winter in Taos, trying to make the best of it. We're only a month away from our trip to Africa, so that's our focus right now. When we get back it will be December and Christmas time. January is what scares me. I see it off there in the distance, mocking me, blowing frozen breath down my neck, challenging me to stay positive and creative and grateful and in-the-moment.

I'm already working on plans to save my sanity. Maybe we'll host a regular weekly Soup Night at our house. Maybe I'll join a knitting group, or take violin lessons or a painting class. Maybe we'll dust off the snow shoes and tromp around in the frozen, blinding sunlight for some vitamin D therapy. Or maybe we'll even get brave and try skiing again for the first time in 27 years. And at some point, we'll put the house back on the market, when the timing feels right. Or, another maybe, maybe we'll find a good renter and just keep the place for a couple more years while we travel and wait for the market to improve. Maybe we can make some real money on this house. Maybe that's what it's trying to tell us.

Obviously, I have no idea what's what right now. I'm still waiting for Further Instructions. And meanwhile, the house is still for sale, but unofficially. If you know someone who wants a beautiful place in Taos, send them our way. Anyone who's lived in Taos for a while knows that it doesn't matter a hoot if a house is "on the market" or not. When it's time for it to change hands, it will find a way.



~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Toast and avocado.

Clean sheets.

Getting together with friends.


Your turn!

bad gas

My car died yesterday. I think it was a case of Bad Gas. Poor thing! For humans, bad gas is unpleasant for all concerned... but for a car, it can be much more serious! Rick was out knocking on doors with another Obama volunteer yesterday afternoon, and stopped to add a few gallons to the tank. Less than three miles later, my normally very healthy Honda made some funny noises and just stopped on a little dirt side road near the Old Ranchos Church. Fortunately, we have AAA and I was able to drop my work day and rescue Rick and his canvassing partner in Rick's old truck, which I don't really love to drive, but was happy to have handy.

Today we'll find out what's wrong. I hope it's not some huge, expensive malady. Mercury is in retrograde... that always means Broken Stuff...

But today is also the official start of the World Gratitude Gathering. You can sign up and join in, and also join us here in the Group Gratitude Journal. Seems to me, in times like these, it would do us all a lot of good to keep our eye on the things we're grateful for. I know it can't hurt!

~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Group Gratitude Journal!
(What's this about? Read the Gratitude Alert post!)

Please make your entries in the "comments" area below.






Today I am grateful for...

Tow Trucks!

Cesar Millan's latest book.

Shooting stars.



Your turn!