It has indeed been a weird few months. Not long after we returned from New Mexico, we began to hear of a virus in China that appeared to be headed our way. We were able to have our Author Dinner, but not long after, the country began to shut down. We were told to social distance, to stay home. And we did. For six weeks. Right before spring break, schools closed down, churches quit having services, many business closed, all restaurants shut . . . it was something we have never seen before.
We had no Easter services, all sports were shut down, schools did not hold graduations or proms or awards ceremonies, weddings were postponed . . .
And I found out I really enjoyed the quiet. I loved not having a schedule, we walked the dogs more than ever, we did projects that have been on our list for ages, we cleaned out - but had nowhere to take the stuff - and we didn't drive our cars more than a mile a day! Although many hoarded toilet paper, we always have a lot on hand, so we escaped that drama . . . but other items were in short supply and we had to adapt.
I found that if I planned meals for two weeks and was not tempted to "make reservations," we did not waste food, and we ate well. I hope I can sustain that trend.
We also learned about Zoom, and we held three or four Zoom meetings a week. My high school friends and I have never kept in such good touch. Don gets together with two of his men's groups, we talk to church friends, I go to Weight Watchers . . . it is rather nice to sit in our family room and not leave our house.
We missed our grandkids - but FaceTime helped us. I got to see Diana once as we prepared for her wedding. Unfortunately, she is one whose wedding has been changed. We will be having a mini-mony on the original date, July 10, and the party will be next year! I am so proud of Diana and Daniel and the way they have handled their disappointment. But we have all found that we are relaxing, knowing that there will only be ten of us at the ceremony.
It has been an interesting time.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
New Mexico in the Winter
Don and I wanted to test out the new Willie in the winter, so we decided to come to New Mexico.
We arrived in Las Vegas, and spent the evening with Betsy and Matthew. By the next morning however, we had about 6 inches of snow and by the end of the day, we had 8". Not exactly what we were expecting, but Don managed to keep the pipes from freezing, and by noon on Wednesday, we were ready to get to Santa Fe. On our drive out, a rock hit the windshield, so Wednesday afternoon, Safelite was able to repair the chip!
Thursday morning, we met Peter and Claudia and went to Nambe and Chimayo. Having never been to either place, we spent quite of a bit of time driving through Nambe and walking around Chimayo. We were at Chimayo on the second anniversary of baby Mia's death, so we had an opportunity to purchase a candle and light it in her memory. It was a rather sobering day, but we were glad we were in Chimayo.
The trip to Chimayo touched our hearts in many ways . . . and our stomachs. We had not differentiated between regular red chile and Chimayo chile, but after eating it, we tasted the difference. We are now died-in-the-wool Chimayo chile lovers!
The trip to Albuquerque gave us the opportunity to see Aunt Ruth, who will be 101 in May, and to see my cousin, Mabel. We had dinner with Bart and Char; saw our friend Merideth Hmura; went to the Albuquerque Museum to see an exhibit with our friend, Anne; and spent some time with our nephew, Joey and his wife, Traci.
Then on our way home, I insisted that we eat at Frankie's and go to the cabin. It was a beautiful day, despite the nearly 20 inches of snow at the cabin, and the joy of walking through the snow exhilarated me. A fall on the road did nothing to dissuade me from continuing, and although we only spent a few minutes inside the cabin, it eased the itch.
Then, we were on our way home. We couldn't make it home in time, so we stopped at a little RV park in Elkhart. It is a no-frills place, but it certainly works for a short-term stop-over!
All in all, it was a very successful trip, and the new Willie performed admirably in rather challenging conditions.
We arrived in Las Vegas, and spent the evening with Betsy and Matthew. By the next morning however, we had about 6 inches of snow and by the end of the day, we had 8". Not exactly what we were expecting, but Don managed to keep the pipes from freezing, and by noon on Wednesday, we were ready to get to Santa Fe. On our drive out, a rock hit the windshield, so Wednesday afternoon, Safelite was able to repair the chip!
The trip to Chimayo touched our hearts in many ways . . . and our stomachs. We had not differentiated between regular red chile and Chimayo chile, but after eating it, we tasted the difference. We are now died-in-the-wool Chimayo chile lovers!
The trip to Albuquerque gave us the opportunity to see Aunt Ruth, who will be 101 in May, and to see my cousin, Mabel. We had dinner with Bart and Char; saw our friend Merideth Hmura; went to the Albuquerque Museum to see an exhibit with our friend, Anne; and spent some time with our nephew, Joey and his wife, Traci.
Then on our way home, I insisted that we eat at Frankie's and go to the cabin. It was a beautiful day, despite the nearly 20 inches of snow at the cabin, and the joy of walking through the snow exhilarated me. A fall on the road did nothing to dissuade me from continuing, and although we only spent a few minutes inside the cabin, it eased the itch.
All in all, it was a very successful trip, and the new Willie performed admirably in rather challenging conditions.
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