Thanksgiving . . .

Normally, I go to my niece's house for Thanksgiving.  She lives in Santa Fe.  But this year, we had kind of a falling out a few months ago.  Not exactly a falling out . . . but, I don't know what I would call it.  A weird set of circumstances at best.  It got me to thinking, though.  Several years ago when I first moved to Durango, I emailed my niece and asked her if I could come to Thanksgiving dinner at her house.  She said of course, and that she would have invited me if she had known I would be willing to make the four hour drive.  All well and good.

So, the following year, I waited for her to invite me.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.  Getting on to two or three weeks before Thanksgiving, I finally relented and wrote to her asking once again if I could come for Thanksgiving.

Ditto for two more years.  This year, it finally dawned on me.  I was that comical person, Crazy Aunt Jerri.  "Oh, yeah, Crazy Aunt Jerri is coming to Thanksgiving again this year."  The un-falling out or whatever the heck it was finally woke me up to the reality of this.  I was done.  No more would I invite myself somewhere that I didn't fee welcome.

Whenever I went to my niece for Thanksgiving, I would stay with a good friend who also lives in Santa Fe.  So, this year, I told her that I was going to stay home and make my own turkey.  Next thing I knew, my friend's mother was coming down to Santa Fe for Thanksgiving and I was invited!  A formal invitation!  With well over a month before Thanksgiving!  OMG, do such things actually exist in this world?!!!  Not Crazy Aunt Jerri who has to invite herself?  OMG OMG OMG!!!!

Time passed.  The days leading up to Thanksgiving grew fewer and fewer.  The Friday before Thanksgiving, yes, less than a week, I get an email from my niece.  "You are welcome to come to Thanksgiving if you are making the trek to Santa Fe."  Oh, how nice is that?  Crazy Aunt Jerri finally gets an official invitation.  Aren't dysfunctional families just the best!?!?  Sorry, but I've already made plans.  I hoped she realized that I WOULD be in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving.  But . . . it doesn't matter.

I will write to my niece, probably after the new year, to try to find out exactly what happened between us.  But, my guess is that it happened long ago and I was too blind to see it.  I wanted to believe that I had some vestige of family left.  Now that I've taken off my rose-colored glasses, I see that I was just deluding myself.  It doesn't matter, though.  Aren't good friends family, too?  More so, really.  It's not that you're stuck with them . . . you actually get to choose them.

So . . . I had a GREAT Thanksgiving!  Some neighbors and friends were also invited.  We got to tell the story of how our mothers had met.  My friend and I were threatened with being suspended from high school for some minor infraction . . . going off campus at lunch or something similar.  We refused, and the vice principal said she would need to see our mothers.  So, we all went to breakfast together before being confronted by said vice principal.  We didn't want our mothers meeting at that kind of negative event!  And thus began our forty-five year friendship.  This is as close as you can get to family without being blood related!  So, it was a great dinner, with great people, and I even got apple pie and chocolate ice cream!  What could possibly be better than that?!!?  It was awesome.

Now, back to the present again . . .   Moki and I went snowshoeing today.  We parked in the usual spot, and then took our normal "everyday" hiking trail, which is now covered in snow with a nice path made by snowshoers gone before us.  We got less than ten minutes in when I felt tired already.  I think I was still zapped from yesterday.  Anyway, we made our way happily back and I came home with just enough energy left to fix dinner!

My Christmas lights are blinking, my clock is singing Christmas carols, and my fake woodstove is burning.  Ain't life grand?!!

Once again I wish you Happy Holidays.

Castle Rock hike and more

These posts are not necessarily in chronological order . . .  for one reason or other.  And, as is often the case, I am behind the times.  This hike took place several months ago in the fall.

This is Castle Rock from the parking area.  We went to the top.

Bob drove me and Moki out to Castle Rock.  We parked and found a corral of horses on the path to the hike.  That was good right there!  You can see Castle Rock from the highway when you're driving by.  Up.  Far up.  So, it was an all uphill hike.  Bob had said that most of it was mellow except for the last quarter mile.  After we had hiked up and up and more up, he said, "I didn't remember it this steep before."  Yeah, well, famous last words!

We finally made it to the "last quarter mile" and it did get really steep then.  Bob suggested that I leash Moki so he wouldn't go off the edge.  I did as I was told.  (That's a first!!)  But, although there was a HUGE dropoff, we weren't that close, so I unleashed him.  Farther up the trail, when the dropoff was a lot closer, I turned around to see Moki "scooching" toward the edge.  He had his belly pressed to the ground and was scooching up to look over the edge.  It was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  So, he was aware enough of the danger to watch himself . . . that was cool.

View of "Needles" from around the top.

We got to the top and stopped and had a snack.  The views up here were spectacular.   Wow.  Then, we wound our way back down the trail, first taking a slight detour to avoid the steep area.  The hike, although a little on the tough side, was really awesome.

That brings us to today!  It's now December 21st (and the poleshift didn't happen like I hoped), and I met Bob at our regular hiking spot to go snowshoeing.  Well, I was snowshoeing and he was skiing.  And since he was skiing, I had to really push to keep up with him.  He said I didn't have to, but what's the use of going together if we can't talk.  So, I pushed.  I didn't want to go that way since it was my first day on snowshoes this season, but Bob said that the other way had too many rocks for his skis.  So, I relented.

View from the top of Castle Rock.  You can see the road kind of
centered and Electra Lake on the left.  The colors are awesome!

After the first big snow, the gate closes and we have to park farther away from the beginning of the hike.  Nine tenths of a mile farther to be exact.  So, by the time we got to the trail head, I was already tired.  I whined, Bob made fun of me, and we went on . . . uphill.  After about five minutes, I knew I was done.  Bob was ahead of me, so I called to him and said to wait for me at the top of the hill.  From my perspective, the top of the hill looked about ten feet from where he was.  But, he disappeared off what looked like the top, and I trudged on.  After several more places that looked like they were the top of the hill, it finally arrived.  I dragged myself up to Bob, told him I was done, and proceeded to fall down into the snow, exhausted.  It took several minutes to get the energy to get myself up . . . the cold snow seeping into my clothes helped get me up!  Then, as we were still talking and he was chiding me for being such a wimp (remember that he is 78 years old!), I had to lean against a tree because I didn't have the energy to just stand there.

He went on and I returned, barely, to the car.  I was so done . . . I was exhausted.  I knew it would be too much for me and I was right.  Or . . . did my "knowing" it would be too much make it so?  We'll never know!

Happy Holidays, everyone.  Love from me and Moki.

Shiprock Navajo Fair

Shiprock while I waited in the traffic jam.

So . . . I had a decision to make.  I had already decided to go to the annual Navajo Fair at Shiprock when I realized that it was Cowboy Poetry weekend.  By the time I found out about the cowboy weekend, I had already missed several of the events.  Plus, I was still recuperating from the ten mile hike.  Ultimately, I decided that yes, I did want to attend the Navajo Fair.

From where I'm now living, it takes about an hour and a half to get to Shiprock.  It seemed to take a little longer, though.  Then, when I arrived, I sat in a bumper to bumper traffic jam for three, count 'em, three hours.  I expected the traffic jam, but not the three hours.  I don't think it took me that long last year . . . but, I came from a different direction.  But, since I was forewarned, I brought two books, a pad of paper, and my rhyming dictionary!  After reading some and writing some new verses for a story I'm working on, since the traffic didn't seem like it was letting up, I called my Aunt Claire, who lives in Los Angeles.  After a half hour conversation, I was still stuck in traffic.  Meanwhile, it was getting later and later, and I had to leave by 4:30 . . . I knew Moki would be on the couch with his legs crossed as it was.

While I was stuck in traffic, there were vendors in the median about every hundred yards . . . selling pickles, tamales, roast mutton, soft drinks and water.  Closer to town, there were political posters all over . . . with local stuff like chapter president/secretary and farm board.  It was an interesting glimpse of the area.  Oh, yeah, this is on the Navajo Reservation.  I did get a kick out of the sign that said that seat belts were a law . . . even on the "Res!"

I finally got parked and into the Fair just past 1:30.  I got the senior rate!  Score!  I have to say that even after sitting in the car for more than three hours, when I stepped into that fair, I just had a feeling of overwhelming joy.  These are my people.  Honestly.  How could I possibly not believe in reincarnation when I feel such a huge connection with these people.  And I always have . . . ever since I was a kid.

Anyway, back to my day.  First of importance was eating.  I wanted a roast mutton sandwich . . . mutton is sheep!  I asked the vendor if he had raised it or if it was store-bought, and unfortunately it was store-bought, so I didn't get it.  Instead, I got a Navajo taco . . . fry bread, pinto beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese.  It was good, but the fry bread was a little greasy and I got a little upset stomach afterward.

Usually, I can count on one hand how many non-Indians are at this fair, but today they were fifteen or more.  Anyway, next was seeing the dancers.  I love the costumes, and the music strikes a deep primeval chord in my body . . . I can't help moving to the beat.  I think it was the kind of dance that anyone can join in, but I got there too late to hear that announcement, so I didn't chance it.  I would have liked to, though.

I walked around through the vendors and display info area.  That's where I was when I was a vendor for John and his newspaper so many years ago.  Remember, I lived with John and Pat on their ranch in northern New MExico?  Anyway, it was interesting.  Then, the arts and crafts area.  That was stunning.  Some really cool things in there.

AFter that, I walked through the crowds at the carnival area, and finally to the INdian Market.  That's one of my favorite things to see when I come to this fair.  I kind of wanted to buy some sacred corn pollen, but it's really expensive.  It's like ten dollars for this teesy tincey little bit.  I couldn't justify it for something that was pretty much a lark.  I walked all around through all the booths.  It was enjoyable, as usual.  

Then, I walked all the way back to the main fair area, and bought a three dollar Shiprock Fair t-shirt that I saw on the way in.  I couldn't help myself.  Then, I went back to the vendor info area and bought a poster of a horse with all his body parts labeled in Navajo!  I thought that was so cool!  

The dancing . . . 

Navajo:  horses, sheep, hogan, dogs, and 2012 - - an iPad!

I was tired after such a long day . . . even if most of it had been spent in traffic . . . and it was time to go home.  I was so tired that I had to ask my angels to keep me safe on the way home.  It worked . . . cause I got here safely!

All in all . . . everything considered . . . did I make the right choice of going to the NAvajo Fair instead of attending some cowboy poetry events?  You bet I did!  Because . . . while I was at the booth buying the horse poster, I got a new idea for a Navajo culture story!  It will be for kids, and I already checked Amazon and there's only one and a half books on it!  I am so jazzed!  Although I am in the middle of two and a half projects, it's mostly illustrations . . . so, I can still do some research to prepare for my newest story.  It's going to be great!  And . . . it's about a coyote . . . and before I went to bed that night, I heard coyotes howling just outside my window.  Although, I hear them often, hearing them THAT night was definitely a sign!!

Politics

I decided to go to a political event that was here in town.  I felt compelled to go for some unknown reason . . . still don't know.  But, it was an interesting experience to be sure.  I won't say who it was.  I think I have friends on both sides of the bird and I don't want to be judged!  (You know . . . left wing right wing . . . bird!)

The event was at the local college, and since I had to do some research in the library (for my new Navajo book), I left a little early.  Well, it wasn't early enough.  While I drove around the parking lot futile-y (don't know if that's a word, probably not) looking for a parking space, I saw the line winding around before me.  I luckily found a parking space just outside the parking lot, skipped going to the library, and got at the end of a very, very long line.

After standing in line for quite some time, I realized that I knew the person in front of me . . . she's the one who scanned my pictures for my newest children's books.  We talked the rest of the time in line, which gratefully made the time pass more quickly.  I saw several people that I knew in line.  

We weren't allowed to bring water bottles in, and it was hot.  There was water, but it was down the way and I was too hot to walk down there to get it.  Luckily, someone came by and gave us some water . . . a couple times.

When we got to the front of the line, it was like airport security.  We had to empty our pockets, go through one of those security machines, and then I got wanded . . . don't know what I did to deserve that.  

I had asked the woman I was with to save me a seat, because she was a minute before me.  When I got into the gymnasium and looked around . . . there were no seats available!  It was standing room only.

I edged my way over to the side, and shortly someone official came by and asked if anyone wanted to get closer to the stage.  Although I had a pretty good spot, I gave it up hoping for better.  There were no really good spots. We were packed in there like sardines.  Most of you have read my accounts of India and thought I did some brave/dangerous/possibly stupid things there.  Well, this was dangerous in a somewhat civilized way.  Packed in like sardines . . . it would have been disaster if anything bad . . . fire, bad person, whatever . . . had happened.

We were so close that we were practically touching each other . . . well, many of us were.  I could smell the faint aroma of sweat on someone.  The air was stale, and I could feel people's breath.  I looked around for the door in case I had to run for it.  I was about fifteen feet away.  I had read somewhere that in an emergency situation where trampling was a possibility, the way to survive is to put your elbows out and lift up your feet.  That way, the crowd carries you out with minimal risk of being trampled.  So . . . I was prepared for that.

When the person finally came on stage to speak, late, I might add, the crowd went crazy.  The person said a few words, the crowd cheered, a few words, the crowd cheered, a few words, the crowd cheered.  I didn't even get to hear all that the person said because the crowd wouldn't stop cheering.  I think they would have cheered if the person would have talked about poop and barf!  What I didn't really understand is that the person was preaching to the choir.  Everyone in the audience was on this person's side.  So, why give the sales speech?  I don't get it.

The whole event reminded me of a religious revival that I went to many years ago.  But, I think the revival was more interesting.  And it wasn't my religion!  (Not that I have any . . . )  Today, I ended up standing in line in the hot sun for more than two hours for a half hour speech punctuated by cheering.  Was it worth it?  I needed to go, I don't know why.  So, yes, I suppose it was.  And after it was over, I dutifully went over to the library and completed my Navajo research.  No harm no foul. 

Kirtan Woo-Woo

I went to Kirtan tonight.  It's some chanting deal, and it was held at a local yoga studio.  It was really awesome.  I had to choose between Kirtan and square dancing.  Since square dancing has been lately giving me more grief than joy due to the lack of men situation, I chose Kirtan.  It was a good choice.

(I did have some extra time, though, stopped at square dancing and signed a couple books that a friend of mine bought for her grandkids.)

I walked in and on the floor were some mats to sit on, mats with pillows, floor chairs with backs, and chairs.  I chose a floor chair.  There were five people in the band.  They played one sometimes two guitars (depending on the "song"), one sometimes two drums, a xylophone, several didgeridoos, and one of those rain-sounding boxes.  The woman playing the main guitar had long dark hair.  As it began, the whole thing reminded me of my old hippie days in back of the cafeteria at school.  Someone would have a guitar, and we would sing peace songs and get high.  Yes, at school.  It was awesome.  How things have changed.

This group wasn't into that.  They got their kicks instead, as I now do, from meditation . . . from going within.  Instead of peace songs, they sang and talked of joy, gratitude, love, forgiveness.  The songs were chants . . . where they said the phrase and the audience repeated it.   Although each one was a little long . . . the same phrase went on and on and on . . . I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  I will definitely go to this again.

Ten (count 'em) Ten Mile Hike

Bob tells me that this is a reverse hike . . . first you go downhill and then you go uphill on the way back.  When I try to decline, he assures me that it's a really gentle uphill.  The other thing is that you can hike as long as you want.  The "bridge" is about five miles in, but we can turn around any time.  Since I knew that I couldn't do ten miles, I figured we'd turn around.

When we started out it was thirty-eight (38!) degrees.  He told me that the whole beginning of the hike was going to be in the shade, but 38 degrees!  Brrrrr shiver shiver.  I wasn't prepared for that, but I pressed on!  There was water on the trail that was frozen.  Brrrr shiver shiver.  

A stream ran beside us the whole way which was really nice.  Beautiful views all around.  When we got closer to the stream, there were some really nice rock formations.  I like rocks.  Big ones and small ones.  I like rocks.  At four miles, Bob asked if I wanted to stop.  Aside from the cold, the hike had been so gentle that I wasn't tired at all.  I musta forgotten that I still had to hike all the way back . . . gentle uphill and all.  And, being as goal oriented as I am, I said, "Let's go all the way to the bridge!"  It was only one more mile . . . not a big deal.

We had lunch sitting beside the stream.  It was very nice.  More beautiful views.  After lunch, we ran across a couple of bicyclists coming across the bridge.  The only people we'd seen all day.  If we had eaten lunch a couple minutes longer, we wouldn't have seen them at all.  Then, we started on the *gentle* uphill climb.

Yeah, it was pretty gentle, but five miles of even gentle up is still five miles and is still up . . . especially after you've already hiked five miles!  I was getting really tired.  I kept asking if we were there yet.  Bob would check his GPS and announce how much farther we had to go.  I took pictures.  I got tired-er.  Still more miles to go.

Bob and the two dogs.

Bodie swimming, Moki watching from shore.

When we were almost back to the truck, Moki disappeared.  He had gotten hold of a bone and kept stopping to chew on it.  This time he wouldn't come when I called.  Or perhaps we had gotten too far ahead and he couldn't hear me.  At least, that was his story and he's stickin' to it!  About the only part of the trail back that had a downhill slant . . . very close to the end of the trail.  So . . . I had to walk uphill to find the little turd.  About a half mile.  A half mile after you've walked about nine miles is an awful long way, especially when it's uphill!  I could've killed him when he finally came to me.  I leashed him, but at that point he didn't have the bone anymore, so it probably didn't matter.  Now that he's eaten the bone, he'll probably barf it up tomorrow morning.  

Finally!  The car!  We all got in, Bob drove us home, and Moki and I went into the house.  When I went to feed him an hour later, I noticed that he was limping.  I noticed that I was limping, too.  We were both limping!

Next day, I was exhausted and sore.  And yes, Moki had barfed up the bone.  BIG bones!  I don't know how he gets it down his throat or back up again!  I had already planned to go to town, so I went.  But, I got the brilliant idea to stop at the rec center and soak my aching muscles in the hot tub.  I got my little backpack out, and put my towel and beach shoes inside, then added the lock for the locker.  I even remembered to write the combination on my hand.  I thought I had everything. After going a couple places in town, I stopped at the library to catch up on the internet.  I was trying to plan it so I wouldn't go into the hot tub right after I ate.  I didn't think that was a good idea.

That's when I realized how tired I was.  My thinking was a bit awry.  I had forgotten my frickin' bathing suit!  OMG!

Square Tower House

I had an appointment at eight A.M.  Early.  And it was at Mesa Verde, which meant I had to leave about two hours before my appointment.  Dark thirty!  I had timed everything perfectly, but hadn't counted on one thing.  I left in the dark.  And usually at night, I only drive forty-five miles an hour.  I don't want to hit any animals, and there are a lot of them around here.  So, as tired as I was that early, I drove faster than normal and tried to pay even more close attention than usual.  It all went well, and I got there in plenty of time.  

Once in the park and on the twisty road, I slowed down for a coyote to cross the road in front of me.  He came really close to my car and then turned by the driver's side.  He was no more than six feet away.  I opened the window and told him how beautiful he was.  He stopped, looked at me, and tilted his head.  I'm sure he was wondering what another crazy tourist was saying to him.  Without further ado, he turned and ambled off in no particular hurry.  It was awesome!

My appointment was for a semi-private tour of a "closed-to-the-public" archeological site:  Square Tower House.  Anyone can take pictures of it from far above, but this special tour was for only ten people to hike right down to it.  My kinda tour!  At one of my favorite places:  Mesa Verde.

Square Tower House from above.  You can see how far down it is.

Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and started off with a lecture on the history of the site and the area.  Then, we were off.  Almost immediately, we had to climb down a long wooden ladder.  One person freaked out and had to go back!  The rest of us walked on.  After a while, we came to another ladder.  I was the first down on this one.  On the side of the cliff, you could see the "Moki stairs" or the ancient handholds that the ancients used when they lived here.

See the little indentation right above the shorter ladder pole?  That's a "Moki" step.

Then, we came to a cool place.  Our guide said that it's the route that the ancients took, but that we didn't have to take it today.  It was a very narrow passageway between two rocks.  He said that you had to have the mentality of a ten year old to want to do it.  My hand was the first one up! He explained how to do it . . . because if you started off in the wrong direction, you would get stuck!  He spoke from experience!  

With instructions in hand, I approached the narrow slit between the rocks.  There were a few people behind me.  At one point, I wasn't exactly stuck, but I couldn't go on.  I finally managed to raise my leg slightly and move on.  The whole way through you had to be sideways, and even then it was a tight squeeze.  But, the other cool part, besides being squished between rocks that ancient peoples had been squished between, is that when you came to the ruin, you came to it from above, rather than below like the other hikers.  The picture shows someone behind me coming through.  I had already come out the other side.

This isn't me, but you can see how narrow it is!

Square Tower House was awesome!  There was a nice kiva, and some pottery shards lying around.  Our guide told us more about the site and showed us different things.  When it was time to go back, he asked if anyone was going to go through the crack on the way back.  I said that I would if someone else would.  (About five people had gone through on the way there.)  Some young guy said he would, so up we went.  I started through first, and he got stuck about halfway and turned back.  He had to go around and when he joined up with the rest of the group, he said it was his hips and not his gut that had prevented him from going on!

After that, I went to the visitors center to sign up for a tour to my favorite ruin there, Balcony House.  They had one ticket left for the time I wanted!  I thanked them for saving it for me!

This was a huge tour . . . maybe thirty or forty people.  Before we got started, this new guide said he recognized me.  I said, "Yes, you've been my ranger before."  And he said, "No, we're neighbors."  I had forgotten.  He lived in Mancos where I used to live before I moved back to Durango.  I went to Mesa Verde right before I moved and he remembered that.  He asked about moving and about my dog and other stuff he remembered.  Why can't guys my age be that considerate?!  Well, they can . . . I just have to find 'em.

Anyway, the tour was as nice as always, including the twenty foot double ladder, and crawling through a narrow passage on the way out.  But, after slipping through that crack earlier that morning, the narrow passage felt really wide!

All in all, it was a wonderful day at one of my very favorite-est of places!

More pics

As you can see, I live WAY up in the mountains.

Couldn't resist these red clouds in the evening.

This is awesome, isn't it?

Look at the snow on the one peak in the background.

Hiking to Gray Rock

I went hiking with Bob up to a hike he calls "Gray Rock."  Bob is a hiking friend of mine.  He is seventy-eight years old and can out-hike people half his age.  His favorite hikes are what are affectionately known around here as "fourteeners" . . . the mountain peaks that are fourteen thousand feet high! Needless to say, I don't do those!

When Bob and I go hiking . . . on one of his hikes . . . for me, it is exhausting . . . I get home, and pretty much can't do anything else for the rest of the day . . . although I am getting better.  Sometimes, I can't do anything the next day, either.  Now, to put it into perspective . . . said hike that takes about everything out of me, is Bob's "rest day."  The following day he'll go on a hike that is twice or more long, and three times as tough.  Although, he doesn't take me on hikes that are too tough.

Our hike to Gray Rock . . . I did end up doing some complaining up the hill. The first part of the hike was all uphill . . . which I normally don't do, but Bob was sure I could do this one.  He wasn't so sure after I started complaining in the first five minutes!!  But, I made it, the views were spectacular, and the way down was easy.  Unfortunately, I knew it would be a tough hike, so I didn't want the added three ounces of my camera!  So, I didn't take any pictures.

It's color season here in Colorado.  And although we don't get the spectacular oranges and reds of Maine, it's still pretty durn beautiful.  These pics are taken close to my house.

Colorado Ashram

This was about a month ago.  My friend, Jennifer, and her friend, Lisa, and I went to see Tara Mandala, a Buddhist retreat/ashram about an hour from Durango.  It was located in a beautiful area in Pagosa Springs.  This was their open house day, and we received a tour of the whole complex, of which there are acres and acres.  People do come there to live for "retreats" and such . . . kind of sort of like what I did in India, but, I think without the dogma!  Catma, maybe, but no dogma.

We visited the residential quarters . . . very nice roomy but spartan rooms . . . and the meditation room . . . and our guide explained all the decorations on the main building.  I don't remember the whole story of Tara, but I'll tell you what I do remember.  Tara was a spiritual being, and all the men around her told her that in order to become enlightened, she had to die and come back as a man . . . because a woman could never become enlightened.  More patriarchal crap!  Tara said, "Frick this!" (well, maybe she didn't say exactly that, but I bet she thought it!) and then she proceeded to become enlightened, showing up all the sexist holy men!  Score!  I loved that story!

We also had a mini-meditation "example" . . . I have to call it that, because it was all of five minutes . . . and I wanted more.  We sat on cushions, which is not how I like to meditate.  My body doesn't like to meditate that way.  So, maybe it was good that it was only five minutes!  

After the tour, we were treated to a very nice vegetarian lunch.  There were beautiful paintings all around us.  Then, the three of us began the trek up to some significant point that I can't remember the name of.  We saw wild turkeys on the way . . . I loved that part!  From the point, you can see Chimney Rock, which is an ancient Native American sacred area.  In the picture, look kind of in the middle at the "chimney" . . . that's where it is.

Then, on the way home we stopped and had delicious caramels . . . my favorite!

Aztec dance movie

http://youtu.be/P7jaVS4YDuM


This is the Aztec dancer's video.  Sorry it's so small.

The real-life drumming did not sound hollow like this.  Don't know why it came out that way.  Don't want to do it over . . .

Christmas 2011 and Aztec Dancers

Okay, this is the last post from last year . . . that I can remember, anyway.  I did have a cryptic note from last year about the Cowboy Poetry Days . . . I did go to a couple events and they were great.  But, that's about all I remember.

This is about Christmas.  There is a narrow gauge railroad in Durango, and it is a big tourist attraction.  I had never been on it.  But, a friend of mine whose husband works on the train, had gotten free tickets for the three boys from the therapeutic riding place.  I love these three boys.  I think they're the reason I stayed for so long when I really wanted to leave.  Therapeutic riding, that is.  Anyway, I bought my ticket and away we went.  During the summer, the train goes all the way up the mountain to Silverton.  In the winter, it only goes about halfway.  But, this was a special event based on the book, Polar Express, and it only went to the other side of town where they had built a "Santa Claus Village" of sorts.  Many children wore their pajamas and slippers to this event.  I thought about wearing my feet pajamas, but changed my mind at the last minute!  Good thing, huh!

Anyway, the boys' grandmother and I think their great grandmother went, also, and I just tagged along. The youngest boy is the one I always helped with riding, but I was also close to the oldest boy.  The middle boy was kind of standoffish.  But, as it worked out, that's who I sat with, and it was good.  We enjoyed the hot chocolate and the train.  At one point, Santa Claus comes around and hands all the kids a bell - - that was part of the Polar Express book.  These bells were cool!  I wanted one!  So, when he comes to us, after he gives one to the middle boy, I hold out my hand.  Santa Claus pats my hand and says, "I can see you've been a good girl all year," and he hands me a bell!  I still have it!  It's awesome!

There are a couple archeology places within about an hour of me.  On this particular day, I drove to one of them because they were having an Indian dance offering.  I parked and took the tram up the narrow road to the large kiva where the dances would be.  Several Native Americans had stand set up to offer Indian made items such as jewelry.  Beautiful stuff.  I got a chair in the shade by the kiva.  Several of the dances did not allow pictures to be taken, so I took notes!  That was a couple months ago or so, and hopefully I can read them!

In the first non-picture dance, the Indians had a bush of some sort covering their face and feathers on their back like wings.  They held feathers and hand-made rattles, and several of them had bells sewn into their clothing.  They had animals skins as tails, and concho belts.  The ones that didn't have the bush covering their faces had a red stripe across their face.  

In another non-picture dance, the Indians had the bush on their faces again and used "canes" in both hands like they were walking on four legs.  The bush on their faces looked like it came from a Christmas tree.  In this dance, the girls had pink, yellow, and black flowers on them.  (Black flowers?  Don't remember that, but it's in my notes!)  These girls danced in a line.

All through the dances, the drumming went on, and I couldn't keep from moving my body.  Except for the little girl sitting next to me, no one else seemed affect like this.  It was interesting.

I've been to many Indian dances, but this one had something incredibly unique.  They had a couple performances by Aztec dancers!  Their costumes were beautiful with long, colored feathers.  They had a speaker who interpreted each move of the dance, which was incredibly awesome.  All in all, I would have to say that was my favorite part.  It was a true spectacle.  Awesome, really. 

This could be called . . .

A Sweet Love Story or The Scent of a woman Girl or A Tail of Two Mice (misspelling deliberate)

[Please note:  this post was written while I still lived on the "mesa" at the horse place.  I am no longer in that house.]

It started several weeks ago when I discovered that I had a mouse in my house. I heard it behind the stove chewing on something that sounded metallic. That scared me because I thought if the little brat chewed through the propane gas line, we would all be in serious trouble. And even though I normally ALWAYS catch mice in live traps and relocate them, this gas-thing had me scared enough that I bought a "real" mouse trap.

Since she was behind the stove, I put it in that bottom stove storage drawer. I baited it with some old cheese I had. Nothing. Then, the cheese got old and fell off the trap. Something else had to be done, and still the chew chew chew on metal at night. A friend suggested those glue traps which seem incredibly cruel to me, but she said you kill them by putting them face down in the toilet, which seemed a little better. And I was still scared about the gas and getting desperate.  Behind the stove was too small to lower one that was completely opened, so I attached a piece of dental floss (close as I could find to actual string), and lowered it behind the stove . . . but it kind of stood up vertically.  I felt bad, but I felt I had to do it.  Nothing.  Several days later after I could still hear the thing at night, I pulled on the string and found that it had been chewed through!  Luckily, the glue trap didn't work, or I'd have a dead or suffering mouse stuck behind the stove!  Yuck.

I went to the hardware store and spent big bucks on a live trap.  It was a very ingenious design, and I liked it.  Industrial version.  I baited it with peanut butter that I bought from the health food store . . . organic is better for everyone, you know!  Just kidding.  But, at the health food store, I could get two tablespoons of peanut butter for a decent price and not spend a lot more on a whole jar that would just be for the mice.  Anyway, she got caught.  I had read that mice "go home," unless you transport them three miles away.  But, I always like to go farther, just in case.  In Maine, we used to take them to this other island about five miles away.  Here, I just started driving on a road I had never been on and it doubled back, so I had to go a lot farther.  I found a place, and dropped the little girl off.  I saved a life and got rid of my problem.  I thought.  Yes, the life was definitely saved, but the problem remained.  I didn't know it, though.

When I got home from transporting her, I cleaned the trap and stuck it somewhere out of the way.  There was no bait/peanut better in the trap at this point.  Nevertheless, that night I heard a metallic sounding noise that wasn't behind the stove.  I got up to check, and sure enough, I had another mouse in it.  Apparently, my rinsing it with water did not get her scent off, and her mate went in after her.  Is that sweet or what?!  It really touched me.  Honestly.  First thing next morning, I took him to the same place I had dropped off his bride.  I'm sure he'll find her there.  Ain't love grand!

Now, onto the present.  When I moved into the place I'm now living, I found a bird's nest close to the entrance of the hallway leading to my place.  I thought someone had found it somewhere and stuck it there.  Was I ever surprised to find a bird refurbishing the nest!  Next thing I knew, there were two eggs, tiny as small marbles, in the nest.  Then, four eggs.  Now, Mama bird was sitting on them until I scared her away every time I came in or out of my place.  But, I found that if I didn't make eye contact with her, then sometimes she wouldn't fly away.  One evening when I took Moki out to the bathroom, I accidentally looked at her and she flew away.  I was afraid that in the dark she wouldn't be able to find her way back to the nest, so I left my outside light on all night.  After that, I was more careful.

The babies were born or rather hatched awhile ago.  I have some pictures.  Their eyes stayed closed a very long time, but they had already started to grow feathers.  I never heard them make a peep.  They mostly just sleep and breathe . . . at least when I see them.  I thought Mama bird was a single parent, but at one point, I saw both parents together, so that made me feel good.  After watching them grow, open their eyes, and develop more and more feathers, when I came home one day and found them gone, it was an empty experience.  They had flown the coup!  Now I know what empty nest syndrome feels like!!

trail ride and some current stuff, too

This entry also is from almost a year ago, and all I have to go with it are a few cryptic notes and a bad memory!  I'll give it my best shot.

The therapeutic riding place was hosting a fund-raising trail ride.  I was mostly the computer person.  But, I also gave the beginning speech to the riders.  This started last year when Ron, the main guy, was in the hospital. On the next trail ride, everyone wanted me to do it again because, although Ron knows a lot more about the trail, he speaks so softly that no one can hear him!  I guess this means that I'm a big mouth or a blow-hard . . . I'm not sure which!

I also brought my movie camera and took some videos of the obstacles that the trail riders had to go through.  You can check some of them out here:  http://www.cadenceriding.org/CurrentRides.html

The most memorable thing that happened was with a woman who rode a mule.  I can't remember her name, but the mule is Lucy!  Anyway, this woman was a friend of my good friend, Ken, who died last year.  Ken "told" me to talk to her, so I did.  She had heard that he had died, and when I told her that he wanted me to say hello, she totally embraced the idea.  It was kind of cool, really.

Currently:  This has been a sad week for me.  A couple weeks ago, I noticed that the upstairs neighbor's dogs were missing.  One of them, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, I never really bonded with.  Not only was he a little bit growly, but he had an Eskimo name that I could never remember how to pronounce.  But, the other dog, C-man, was a doll.  When he was loose in the yard, he would always greet me as I got out of the car.  If he was on the balcony upstairs, he would always wag and smile down at me from above . . . spreading love all over me.  I always looked forward to seeing him and told him what a good boy he was.

Then, I noticed both dogs missing.  It scared me because they were often loose in the yard and we live on a highway . . . cars going by at sixty miles an hour.  I had terrible feelings for days, and kept telling myself they were healthy and happy . . . though I didn't know where that might be.  Then I finally ran into the owner.  One of 'em, anyway.  She said that Nanook of the North, or whatever his name was, had started growling at their children . . . one a year old who just learned to walk, and the other a three year old.  As much as it broke her heart, she had to give him up to a rescue place.  The other one, that I loved, C-man, had been given to her brother who is going through a bad divorce.  She said that the dog may save his life.  C-man is pretty much a therapy dog . . . no training, it's just the way he is.  I was incredibly relieved when I heard they were both okay.  I'm sad for the retriever, but, it is what it is.  And C-man is saving a life.  How can I argue with that?  But, I miss him very, very much.  Like so many things in life, I didn't know how much he meant to me until he was gone . . . 

As an aside, when I was a very little girl, my family had a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, named Ginger.  One time, Ginger growled at me.  My father took Ginger aside and said, "That is my baby girl.  If you EVER growl at her again, I will kill you."  After that, I could (and did) dress Ginger up in doll clothes or whatever and she never growled at me again.  And to show my gullibility, when Ginger got very, very old, they told me they took her to the old dog's home.  I actually believed that until I was twelve, or maybe twenty . . . or something!

Please take a look at this and if you have time, please sign up for the free book contest . . . MY free book!: 

http://bit.ly/NzQSds

Special Rodeo

Hello Everyone,

I know it's been forever, and I apologize.  I'll try to keep up with my adventures better.  No guarantees, though!  These pics are almost from a year ago, so I'll do my best to remember what happened.

This was a special rodeo that Cadence participated in.  We supplied the horses for the "barrel racing" event.  I can't remember much, but there was one special moment that made it all worth while.  I was leading one of my favorite horses, Dolly, and the two "walkers" were with some cowgirl youth group, but they had never done walking before for therapeutic riding.  So, when the middle aged woman got on Dolly, and it was her first time on a horse, she was scared.  The two walkers kept saying, "Do you want to get off?  Do you want to get off?"  And the woman was holding on for dear life, and maybe nodding.  After a few minutes of this, I turned around and smiled at the woman and said, "You're fine, aren't you?"  And she smiled back, straightened up on the horse, and enjoyed the rest of the ride.  It was just one of those unforgetable moments in time.  Awesome, really.

Either after the rodeo was over or before it began, I had to get my kicks and get on this ole bull.  He's a pretty thing, isn't he?  I feel bad for the ring in his nose, though.

That was last September.  Currently, I've been writing my fool head off.  I've release three books this year:  Little Unicorn Who Could (children's story), Little Unicorn Who Could Coloring Book, and Wheelchair Yoga.  I'm trying to average to one book a month.  I'm a little behind, but close to releasing three more sometime soon.

I read an article some time last year about an "Indie author" (someone who publishes themselves without the benefit of a big name publisher) who just had his first thousand dollar day.  Yeah!  I thought, I'd like to do that!  So, that's the path I've been on this year.  Part of that was quitting Cadence . . . I know . . . but, it was something that I had to do.

And, proof that the universe is totally watching out for me:  I "lost" my internet.  At first I was devastated, and although it took some getting used to (I drive a couple miles down the road to pick up mail about five days a week, and two days a week when I do grocery shopping or whatever, I bring the computer to the library and catch up on everything else), it has been an INCREDIBLE blessing in disguise.  I had no idea how much time I was spending on the internet.  After I "lost" it, I got so much work done that I couldn't believe it.  The first week, I got more done than the previous two months.  Disgusting, really.  I don't think I would have reached my goal of one book a month if I had internet.  Now, I'm totally on track.  Besides the three that are almost ready to go, I have another written and ready to edit (sequel to Unicorn Whisperer), and three more children's books that are ready to be illustrated.  I'm going to try to do that, too . . . using poster board.  Plus, I have some ideas for a couple story series that I think will be good.  All in all, life is good.