Food, Friends, Fun, and conFabulation

This is our last week of relative quiet before the Summer season officially begins. I don't think I'll be doing much art making this week, but that doesn't mean I won't be creative. There's still the matter of a bed for the guest room which needs to be built, so that's on the top of my agenda. It's been started, it just needs to be finished. I'll post photos of that later.

Dave gestures wildly while Janice (aka Janita) gazes at the cake

Last night we went over to Sue & Darwin's for "fat burgers" and fun. Sue & "D" whipped up the burgers and chips, Janice made her famous pasta salad, and I provided the cold cucumber soup. Brewskies & wine flowed, tea steeped, coffee brewed, and we had a roaring good time. Andres made a HUGE pistachio cake, and we celebrated Dave's birthday (somewhat belatedly, since he was in CA for the last gathering down at "Casa Jandres"). Dave expounded on the virtues of cake height & density, while we all looked on; our mouths watering in anticipation . . .

Andy, aka "The Cake Man" waits patiently for a taste of his new recipe, while Darwin and Sue appreciate Dave's cake-cutting expertise

Dave carefully measured the cake and began cutting identically-sized pieces, and still we all looked on in anticipation . . . and growing hunger . . .

Spirits lift as Dave finishes cutting his cake: Darwin smiles for the camera

After dessert, we sat around talking about tofu, tofurkey, the bubonic plague, the best museums in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, free museums in America v. free museums in developing countries, why the Smithsonian museums should be spread out across the U.S., building cabins in remote areas, possible dinosaur fossils in a nearby arroyo, paleontology, geology . . .

A gorgeous piece of curved juniper wood that Darwin found on one of his hikes. I'm coveting this!

. . . potty training dogs, dogs who like stinky stuff, knocking on the front door v. knocking on the back door, uses for gravel, sealing hornos, thieves with broken toes, the best Indian restaurants in Abluquerque/Santa Fe/Boulder/London/and various parts of Africa, cow skulls and bones: where they are and what to do with them, heart rate monitors, book recommendations, foriegn films, depressing films that are worth watching, bad films . . .

Frida and Romy say "good night"

. . . pregnant domestic rabbits who show up on your doorstep, jackrabbits as big as big dogs, hummingbirds, hummingbirds who get their beaks stuck in screen doors, how we get shorter as we get older, how womens' hair thins as they age, why young women don't have thin hair (their babies need something to hang onto), "Lucy's" remains in Africa, evolution, picking up hitchhikers, animal rescue, lights on timers, how dog pee kills grass, training dogs to pee on trees, turning a full deer skeleton into a coat rack, where to get 3 identical (and good looking) trellises, what's growing in everyone's garden, making masks, and the need for hybrid cars that are made for tall people.

A symmetrical cloud at sunset

We had a good time; arrived home feeling tired and "full as tics." I read that new (well, new to me) Amy Tan novel for a while before turning out the lights. It's really good!!! And one of the main characters, Kwan, reminds me so much of a woman, Julia Lo, that I used to work with (aside from seeing the "Yin people," that is). Julia, if you're out there, please know that I've been thinking about you! :)

Shannon arrives in just 7 days! Woo-hoo! She'll be here for 2 weeks. I can't wait! Guess I'd better go finish that bed so she'll have a place to sleep!

The Very Full Life of an Empty Nester

Ever wonder what the average, normal person does when they become an "empty nester"? Well, I don't know any of those people, but I can tell you how I'm dealing with it. Picture: deep depression . . . [fast forward] . . . swinging from the chandeliers . . . [fast forward some more] . . . and then we got Miss Frida, who is like a daughter to me. The 3rd daughter that I never had. You know: the one lacking opposable thumbs, and--thanks to modern medicine--won't ever be interested in dating. Well, one of the things I love most about having this little girl in my life is dressing her up.

And then she runs off to show Daddy how pretty she looks . . .
Wanna know what else us we do? Well, some of us, anyway? We scour the Earth for treasure. Why, just today on my way home, I spotted blobs of bright orange scattered throughout the land. Having recently stripped & unwound many yards of electrical wiring (to weave a basket from the copper wire within), I was JUST SURE that some electrical contractor's truck had accidentally dropped little piles of wire along the road--perhaps from some gaping hole somewhere in the back of the truck. And this electrician was either too rich & successful to fix that hole in his truck (wire for the needy!), or too focused on his driving to notice that his inventory was being scattered all over northern New Mexico. So I stopped, jumped out, and scooped up that precious plastic twine.

Okay now, the average, normal person (who also doesn't care about the environment) might just throw that plastic twine back where they found it. But since I'm not that person, and since I love our Earth, and because I see potential in even the lowliest form of twine, I shook the sand out of it and tossed it into the back seat. The truth is, this bright orange plastic twine is JUST THE THING I've been looking for. Alright, I probably would have been happier with piles and piles of electrician's wire--laden with copper--but I assure you that this twine is going to serve a greater and higher purpose (to be revealed at a later date).

Twine . . . . . . . . . . I . . . Need . . . More . . . Twine . . . . . . . . . . . . .

665 Days until George W. Bush Leaves Office!
666 Days until the BIG PARTY!!!!
WOO-HOO!!!!

Sylvia Plath and Frida's Frocky Dreams . . .

We have this goldfish, Sylvia Plath, and she's such a drama queen. Sylvia does this quite often--pretending to be dead. Don't worry. She's fine. She just does this for attention. Sometimes it works, but usually only on a visitor. One day, though, her act was quite convincing. So much so, that I very nearly flushed her down the loo. I'm telling you, that Sylvia should be nominated for an Academy Award. She'd get MY vote!


Miss Frida Magdalena is involved in one of her favorite past times: stretched out on her pillow and catching some rays. Actually, I'm pretty sure that she's also dreaming of that new frock that her Grandma promised to send. Every day, when I come back from the Post Office, she asks if there are any packages for her. Sadly, the answer is usually, "no."

Kim sent me the best link about the new Apple iRack. You've gotta check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-KWYYIY4jQ

672 Days until George W. Bush Leaves Office!
673 Days until the BIG PARTY!!!