Musical Inclinations

Two of several reasons we've been so busy (and not updating the blog):















I'm taking fiddle lessons while Jon is enrolled in guitar. We've also been practicing and teaching ourselves at home from online video tutorials and sheet music. It's such a blast, we're wondering why we didn't pursue music this passionately earlier in our lives. Our first round of lessons ends in just a couple of weeks, and we'll miss them!

We experienced the unifying power of music last night when my family came over to celebrate my mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. We had a small, informal family dinner at our place (BBQ ribs and potato salad with celebratory champagne!), and I broke out my fiddle to play a song I had been learning all week for the occasion: Auld Lang Syne. The song couldn't be further from an anniversary song (look up the lyrics sometime), but it's such a beautiful song on the violin and it's in my songbook, so I couldn't resist playing it for them.

As I played (despite the screeching and missplaced notes--I'm still learning), I watched everyone's face relax and their eyes wander off into distant places in their minds. But nothing was more gratifying than to hear my mom begin to softly sing along--in French. Apparently, Americans aren't the only ones who sing this song each New Year's Eve. And my mom said that during WWII, people sang it to each other as a way to say "we'll see each other again". It was so moving to play along with my mom's sweet voice.

Then my brothers took a stab at playing my violin--which was pretty funny--and Jon broke out his guitar, which prompted my brothers to participate in showing him a few chords, since both of them are proficient in guitar and bass. The evening became a serenade of various instruments and my mom and I listening to bluegrass tunes I want to learn to play on the fiddle someday from my iPod in the other room.

As Leonard Bernstein is credited with saying, "music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable." Last night, it certainly brought our family together in a delightful way we've never experienced.

Happy New Year! 2010

We wrapped up a wonderful 2-week holiday season with a New Year's Eve "Around the World" party with friends Scott and Chere who drove all the way from the Phoenix area, and our neighbors Jerry and Karen, before they left for their second lives in SE Asia this week (sniff, sniff).

For the party, we prepared several small dishes from around the world, accompanied by their local libations. So, for Ireland Jon made shepherd's pie (technically, he made cottage pie because he didn't include lamb) and paired it with Guinness and Irish soda bread. For Italy, we arranged fancy salumis and artisanal Italian cheeses on a platter, and for France we prepared my mom's traditional New Year's Eve French onion soup, paired with a 2008 Beaujolais.

From North America, we had deviled eggs, French onion dip with Ruffles, and a local microbrew from Albuquerque (Marble I.P.A.), and blue tortilla chips with salsas and guacamole with Coronas to represent Mexico.

For Asia, Jon and Scott (who doesn't like fish!) prepared ahi tuna sushi paired with sake to represent Japan, and Jerry and Karen graciously presented us with Southeast Asian delicacies such as Laotian and Thai jeows (spicy dips) with purple Cambodian dipping rice.

At midnight, to ring in the New Year, we "flew" to Russia and indulged in whitefish caviar on seaweed rice crackers with crème fraiche accompanied by sparkling wine (Gruet, from New Mexico). Finally, we traveled to South America with chocolate Brigadeiros (a type of Brazilian fudge), displayed with a bowl of floating candles, to honor a Brazilian new year's tradition.

What a great way to ring in the New Year, but it's time for moderation again. Gotta go--all this writing about food made me hungry!

Wordless Wednesday: Watson Loves Greens (Don't Worry, They Were on Their Way Out)

Cat's Got Your Toe

Poor Watson had an accident on Friday and broke or dislocated a toe on his back paw, poor thing! I was interrupted by howling, blood-curdling screams during a conference call Friday, but couldn't immediately find where it was coming from. I thought Alma (our other cat) and Watson were in a bad fight, which they NEVER do, or that some wild animal snuck into our home and was attacking Watson. It was a horrible, distressful sound.

When I finally understood it was coming from the closet in our office, I was even more confused. I flung the door open, and there was Watson, frantically swinging by one back leg, his little claw stuck in one of the joining corners of our metal shelves.

Jon rushed in to help, and as we tried to grab Watson, he panicked even more, scratching and biting us so ferociously, I felt like he would break one of the bones in my hand. Jon finally managed to hold him while I tried to jimmy his bloody claw out of the shelf. I finally had to yank his foot free, which was not pleasant, and he screamed even more, flying out of Jon's arms and limping badly around the house, continuing to scream and bleed. It was just horrifying.

We also had visitors in town from California that day--our friends Laura and Paul--who were already waiting for me to finish my conference call when all of this happened so we could go out to lunch on this, their first day of their first visit ever to New Mexico.

So, Jon rushed Watson to the vet while I stayed behind to finish my conference call and to go out with Paul and Laura. I felt so guilty leaving Jon and Watson behind, but Jon is a great Kitty Dad and made sure Watson was well taken care of (poor Jon also experienced one of the worst storms we've ever had here in Bosque Farms while I was out galavanting around with Laura and Paul--he SO deserved a beer!).

I know it's sick that I'm smiling in the photo above, but Laura and Paul asked me to say "cheese" as they caught me comforting poor little Watson after he came home quite drugged from the vet. He's doing better now, nearly a week later, but he's still on sedatives and antibiotics since he started getting a fever over the weekend. Please say a prayer for our little guy, that he'll be able to walk (and terrorize Alma) normally again!

Spooky Sweet Savannah

I had a few days off in June and decided to spend them visiting my good friend Karen and her husband Danny in Savannah, Georgia. They've lived there for nearly two years now, so it was great to finally see how they're doing, after their move from Colorado Springs.

The architecture and lush green flora is so remarkable in Savannah, the result of an enterprising, colonial English general, James Oglethorpe, who founded the colony of Georgia and mandated that the city of Savannah situate itself into a grid organized by "town squares", each surrounded by a roundabout, each square with its own unique history and personality. The resulting town is one of America's most pleasurable to stroll.

I had never really known anything about Savannah except what I've seen in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (and Forrest Gump, also filmed in Savannah), and that I really, really love the name, "Savannah". But when I arrived, I learned that Savannah is truly a magical place.

Karen and Danny actually live in a suburb of Savannah called Pooler, but Karen has the unique opportunity to work in downtown Savannah at the Telfair Museum of Art. We spent a lot of time downtown, but before our first foray from Pooler to Savannah, Karen and Danny made sure to stop at a local nature preserve, home to hundreds of huge alligators. The alligators weren't shy and were free to roam on the roads and paths we took through the preserve. It was unnerving, to say the least, but it was amazing to watch the locals fearlessly plop right into the water to fish in the same waters the alligators wade.

We visited the Mercer-Williams mansion, owned by the actual Jim Williams from the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (shown below), which was one of Mr. Williams' wildly successful renovation projects. Williams contributed a good deal to Savannah's regentrification in the 1960s-80s as a celebrated art and antiques collector and dealer.

Savannah is a haunted city, if not with souls, then with stories. We took one of the many walking ghost tours one evening, and enjoyed elaborate stories of colonial and turn-of-the century betrayal, scandal, piracy, and human trade that all ended badly. Our guide was probably even more animated than most as it was a pub crawl tour with drinks served at each stop. He didn't refuse any drinks himself....

Karen graciously took me to nearby Tybee Island Sunday afternoon for a leisurely stroll along the beach and a dip in Atlantic waters. We planned to dodge crowds of paparazzi who should have been there to ogle the set and crew of Miley Cyrus' upcoming new movie, but delightfully, we didn't see many people at the beach that day. Only small families like this one, burying their children in the sand (see body-less head, below).

Karen and Danny were amazing hosts and tour guides. They took me to every possible nook and cranny they knew, from the historic Bonaventure cemetery (final resting place to many famous writers, notable Southern families, and civil war heroes) to a 300+ year-old oak tree that is still growing and thriving, to a quaint neighborhood oyster bar called Pearl's in the heart of Savannah's marshes.

Touring Savannah was like devouring an enormous, Southern, pecan praline: the rich history of the place was nearly cloying, but I just couldn't get enough.

The Long, Strange Trip

A couple weeks ago, my mom and I set out to Denver to visit my brother and sister-in-law, Jean-Noel and Linda, in their cozy abode. I checked us in to our Southwest flight the day before, and we arrived at the airport two hours early, all set and ready to go, when I noticed the screen at the gate flashing that our flight had been delayed FIVE HOURS (Unfortunately, I had turned off my cell phone that morning as I took the day off work. Had it been on, I would have received the call from Southwest's automated flight status service...drats!).

I went to the gate agent to find out why we were delayed: extreme thunderstorms in Texas that shut down the Dallas airport, where our plane needed to land before coming to Albuquerque to pick us up. I joked that we could get to Denver sooner if we drove, and the agent looked at me frankly and said, "yes, you probably could". So, we did.

And the trouble only started at the airport...



We went back to my folks' house to borrow my dad's car for the trip. After a quick stop at Hasting's Entertainment in Albuquerque to purchase some sale CDs for the long road trip ahead (e.g., the Jerry MacGuire soundtrack, Willie Nelson B-sides, Miles Davis in Paris, Ella/Lena/Sarah/Billie, and yes, Dolly Parton), we headed north for what would become a 10-hour trip (it should have only been seven).

After passing through Santa Fe and Raton to cross the Colorado border, we made our first stop: Rino's Italian Restaurant in Trinidad, CO. You may remember from a previous Denver roadtrip post that Trinidad was once regaled as the sex change capital of the world.... Well, apparently it's home to eccentric restaurant owners, too. Once we returned home and I looked up this quaint little joint on TripAdvisor, I found an anonymous review that summed this place up perfectly: "I know it sounds schmaltzy, but the combination of good food at a reasonable price and singing waiters, mostly in Italian, made for a very enjoyable dinner." Couldn't have said it better myself.


Then there were the storms, a huge deluge on our approach into Westminster, the Denver suburb where Jean and Linda live, and a string of violent ones all along the drive home. At some points, we literally couldn't see a foot in front of us, and other cars were drifting into our lane, nearly driving us into a ravine. But, somehow, we survived....


We had a great time in Denver, visiting Jean-Noel and Linda, and enjoying their home, their garden, and their terrifying yet adorable dog, Lily (don't let the photo fool you--she's a whole lotta whoop-ass!).

We toured around 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver that Saturday, strolling by the D & F tower, once the next tallest building in the U.S. next to the Empire State Building in New York, according to one report I saw online. Earlier that day, Linda took me to the gym where she teaches weight training and aerobics so we could do two--count TWO--workout classes on Saturday morning. Needless to say, I was pooped by Saturday evening.














In our downtime, we watched a couple movies on their incredible 50" HD TV: Doubt and The Dark Knight, both so apparently real on that high-def TV, my dreams were especially vivid that night.

The weekend went by way too fast, and before we knew it, Mom and I were on the road again. This time, we only made one or two quick stops for food and gas. In Springer, quite a few miles south of the Colorado-New Mexico border, we stopped at Russells' Truck & Travel Stop, where we wolfed down a 6" Subway sandwich and then strolled through the unexpected 50s road trip museum, decked out with vintage cards, cardboard cutouts of 50s stars, and old gas pumps, gumball machines, and other memorabilia. It was a pleasant surprise before we drove into another overwhelming thunderstorm....

Fifth Wedding Anniversary

Indeed, it's been five years. Five wonderful, crazy, exciting, never-a-dull-moment, challenging, rewarding years since Jon and I tied the knot. I realize that "tying the knot" sounds a little crass, but knots are a recurring theme in our marriage, starting on our wedding day.

The place where we married, Stewart Chapel at the San Francisco Theological Seminary just north of San Francisco, had a prayer labyrinth on its terrace that charmed us so much, we incorporated the design into many areas of our wedding: maps that were sent with our invitations, the wedding programs, our album, and other small touches throughout the planning, reception, and post-wedding activities. We're not sure if anyone noticed the recurring theme, but we became rapt with labyrinths as symbols of infinity, history, culture, peace, and--because it became our own personal symbol througout the wedding--love.

If you're unfamiliar with labyrinths, they look much like knots. The Celtic people of Ireland and northern France (our ancestors!) used labyrinths in their lore and ceremonies. While the Greek origins of labyrinths reveal stories of overcoming evil or solving puzzles, they have a spiritual history as well. Some cultures from the Middle Ages onward used labyrinths as a source of meditation and prayer, which is why many modern-day labyrinths are in churches and parks. When we bought our farm here in New Mexico, one of the first things we agreed to do was to somehow, someday, design a labyrinth somewhere on the farm. We haven't done it yet, but it's still in the plans.

No matter how labyrinths came into being or how others use them or perceive them, we favor our interpretation of labyrinths, and see our lives together as a meandering, spiritual journey within a safe harbor of love to enjoy together, forever.

Life is Good

In the midst of continually depressing recession news (wait--are we recovering, or not?), perhaps more pending layoffs at Autodesk this month, and whatever else you can watch on the 10 o'clock news--life is pretty good.


It's the small things that make life good these days: the weather has warmed up so that I'm able to post this blog from our back porch while watching the sun set on the majestic Cottonwood trees along our acequia, and inhaling the lovely smoke of Jon's BBQ chicken on the grill. Jon also prepared homemade pizzas for me and my folks last Friday (so yummy, and so gracious). And our cat Watson has been helping with home improvement projects: in this photo, the Fearless Feline is helping prep the dining room ceiling for fresh paint before we finish applying the last of the American Clay to our walls this summer. Finally, we enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day today, hearing that Jon's mom loved the chocolate-covered strawberries he sent her, and touring around Osuna Nursery with my mom before coming back to enjoy brunch on "the farm".


It's times like these with family and friends that we savor most these days, and we're looking forward to more good times this summer with family, local friends, friends visiting from far away, neighbors, and lots of local events and activities. Stay tuned to read more about our Summer of 2009 adventures!

Welcome Spring!

This weekend marked the beginning of Spring--hallelujah! The winter doldrums were getting to us...

But thankfully, we learned how to plant bulbs in the Fall to bloom very early in the Spring and usher us into our Spring Fever. Check out these early beauties:












We also invested some of our first homeowner tax return in a good dose of landscaping in our "backyard". This is just the small area immediately behind our house. Jon has been working very, very, VERY hard on the next iteration of our vegetable garden, which is becoming about the size of a farm...He's also planted our entire back acre with a nitrogen-rich cover crop called hairy vetch, which further nourishes the soil for our future plans to plant that area with lots of fruit and nut trees a couple years out.

Here are before/after pics of our backyard. Our friend Bard Erdington did a great job as he's just starting up his landscaping business. He wisely lined the pathways with recycled concrete that Jon had busted up from the old basketball court that came with our property when we bought it over a year ago, and it doesn't look half bad!

The planting area (dark areas) contains all native plants except the dwarf peach and pomegranate trees, asparagus, and artichoke plants. So exciting!

BEFORE:




AFTER:

We spent a lot of time on our front courtyard garden this weekend as well. Jon uprooted our old Kentucky bluegrass and re-sodded with a scary wonder-grass called Zoysia Grass. It will take a couple seasons to really take root and spread, but it should be gorgeous when it all comes together.

Last but not least, our buddy Lorrie came over Saturday to help us finally complete the American Clay walls we started in our living room last October. She's a PRO--Thanks Lorrie!

Next steps: We'll spend April and May starting and planting the wide variety of vegetable and herb seeds we purchased last month in the vegetable garden that Jon is preparing:

Pumpkin

Sweet Basil

Sunflowers

Squash

Radish

Chili Peppers

Celery

Corn

Blue Lake Beans

Zucchini

Chives

Eggplant

Onion

Shallots

Potatoes

Carrots

Leeks

Cilantro

Parsley

Dill

Broccoli

Watermelon

Honeydew melon

Fennel

Yay! Spring is here!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON!

Happy Valentine's Day

I returned from a week of business travel Friday afternoon to a loving husband full of surprises. What a warm, welcome reception--a dozen roses and the surprise UPS delivery of a variation on a Claddagh ring, which I'll wear on my right hand with the heart pointing towards me ("someone has captured my heart").

It's still winter here, with temperatures dipping down to 19 degrees while I was gone last week. This means more time indoors, anxiously anticipating Spring. We spent the rest of the weekend preparing meals for each other, reading, learning, hiking among the volcanoes on Albuquerque's West Side, getting organized for the year ahead with our new desktop year planner, and excitedly choosing seeds from catalogs for spring planting: eggplants, peppers, squash, corn, onions, potatoes, you name it.

A simple, but fulfilling weekend. We hope you all experienced the same! Happy Valentine's and President's Days.

2009: A Rough Start

We're not accustomed to writing bad news on our blog, but these days it seems to be the prevailing news going 'round for us. Not only did we lose our buddy, Maximus, last Monday, but today my company Autodesk announced significant layoffs. My job is "secure", thank God, but I had to let someone go today, and like Clint Eastwood's Mr. Kowalski in Gran Torino says, "you don't want that on your soul."

I've lost some dear friends in this restructuring, friends who have shared with me political drama and angst and bizarre trips to places like Houston, Japan, Calgary, Plano, and Boston to do our work. We'll likely keep in touch to rehash old stories, but it's sad to have to move in different directions from here.

Needless to say, I'm draining a good bottle of Paso Robles Merlot right now, and hoping for the best on those 750 displaced Autodesk people who are swimming in the growing pool of U.S. unemployment. I'm also praying for our country and our global economy, that it rebounds from this dark, insidious corruption that is causing so many so much pain.

It's a tough day--a tough year--for the Ashes.

New Year's Resolutions - Welcome 2009!

This year's theme for us:

"Less and More"

- Less waste, more planning ahead

- Less sameness, more adventure

- Less naivete, more informed decisions

- Less sitting around thinking about it, more doing
- Less random television, more deliberate, edifying TV

Happy new year everyone!

V&J

American Clay

In an attempt to make our home cozier and add some color and texture (and to prepare for family coming for Thanksgiving!), we embarked on an American Clay adventure.

American Clay is a durable, all-natural clay wall covering that comes in several different clay-based pigments. We chose it because it looks so rich and claims that it further insulates your house and improves the value of your home. We started with the living room in Osage (a light, earthy, grey-green sage) and discovered how much time and effort it truly takes two rookies to finish a room (three coats including a layer of sand primer, then compressing every square inch with a wet sponge...). We chose to do it ourselves because the contractor quotes were outrageous, and it's fun to have a project like this to do together (or in Jon's case, maybe a little trying...teehee). So much for finishing all of our main rooms before Thanksgiving! But at least we'll have a nice living room.

Below are some pics of the work in progress. When wet, the clay is 10x darker than the color intended, and it dries mottled. Once completely dry (1 day), it takes on its intended color. We'll post more pics once the room is finished (hopefully next week!).