Head on Collision on the Info. Highway…Oh no…

Computers gone batty today.  Won’t turn on.  Got it to turn on one last time. Shipping it to my wonderful Uncle for repairs today.  Not such a big deal, except…

What’ll I do without it?

Went online, payed bills, sent emails, checked weather for the next month, posted on this blog, backed up last month worth of un-backed-up stuff.  (I can’t stand those chores.) 

Headed to UT this weekend.  May be awhile before I post again. Should be some purdy desert pics to look forward to though.

How did I become so dependent on this glowing black box?

 

SURPRISE!

Papa Frank turned 60 this past weekend.  My 3 sisters and I threw a surprise party for him.  I’ve been busting to post about it but held off for fear of him finding out.  Now I can let it all out.

Flew to MN Fri.  With two layovers total I had lots of knitting time.  Finished a baby sweater I can’t post.  Have to keep it a surprise from the recipient!  My fabulous sisters did massive amounts of legwork, shopping, cooking, baking, planning.  Thank you all! 

Snowed Sat. AM and most of the weekend, 30-40. Humid!  My curls were all over the place!  All were gloomy over the weather.  I tried my hardest not to gloat. Heck, it’s 80 in Abq.!  I chose to leave MN and it’s late winters 10 years ago.

       

Set up the party in Newlin Park, St Paul, Sat. AM.  It’s the oldest city park, I believe, full of stately oak trees, just beautiful.  You should’ve seen the vehicle-trasnport system.  Cars full of every salad you can imagine:  jello, potato, Asian, fruit, you name it.  The desert table was piled high with cake, cookies, bars.  Yep…this was a true Midwestern feast.  No diet food here.  I think I gained 10 #over the weekend.    The cake was of the fisherman motif, complete with an authentic plastic fisherman in a boat with a sharpied on beard.                                  

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About 60 folks showed up 30 minutes before pop’s arrival.  What a crew!  There were family, friends, golfing and fishing buddies of dads, co-workers of dads.  The little indoor park pavillion buzzed with energy.  We had all hide in the hallway away from the windows. Mom called with the “Girls do we need anthing from the store” 10 min. away phone call.  We were having a father/daughter “picinic,” you see.  It worked!  He arrived. All jumped out, the merriment began.

    

Dad, sporting his BK crown made a brief speech, smooched mom, blew out the candles, all feasted. 

Was so great to see family.  Some I haven’t seen since the last sister wedding 2 years ago.  Was a real treat.

The weekend continued on. Still rainy/snowing.  More eating.  More family time.  Flew back to Abq.  I was exhausted but happy.

 

 

Morning Musings

I love not having an AM schedule.  In fact, I’ve been trying to keep it that way.  Seems we’re all so programed to wake up, coplete AM routine, rush out door, get in car, go somewhere. Of course, this is what my work AM’s look like a few days a week.   (I’ve got it down to 15 minutes.)  When you’re at work by 0700 every minute of sleep counts.

Where I’m living at has the prettiest sun porch on the front of the house. It faces East.  Amy (my friend/housemate/the homw owner) has painted this room a scrumptious purple and blue.  There are plants galore and plenty of AM sun.  The birds hang out just outside serenading me with their chirps.  This is my AM treat.

Make coffee.  Make breakfast.  Take to porch.  Wrap up in my fleecey blanket (made by sis Karen ages ago for Christmas. It goes on all road trips.)  Eat, drink coffee, check EMail, knit, read knitting mags, now starting to blog.  It’s a peaceful way to get moving. Here’s a pic of the sanctuary:

What to do today?  Bike ride, definitely. It’s beautiful, sunny out and should hit about 80.  Pick up hold books at the local library.  Get a pedicure (and knit). What bliss!  My feet are knarly.  Hit the LYS (local yarn shop).  Lisa, a friend of mine in Denver just had her 20 week ultrasound. She and her hubby, Rob are expecting a girl.  I’ve been waiting for this news on pins and needles.  Now I know if I’ll be knitting lacey baby bonnets or sweaters with fire trucks on them.  (Who would subscribe to such gender labeling motifs?)  Hah!  Baby’s need firetrucks and lacey bonnets!  Babies need fine knitted items out of (decadent, I know) cashmere, soft merino wool, fine cotton.   Only  the softest, the best yarn will do.  No acrylic yarn for babes.  Once my sisters start, this Hopeful-auntie will abandon all personal knitting projects and steam full ahead on booties, hats, mini-sweaters.  I can’t wait!

Speaking of knitting, If you haven’t seen the website RAVELRY.COM yet, do!  It’s amazing.  Each user has a profile with a database that lets you and others see your pattern library, needles, yarn stash, and projects. Projects are in a large database sorted by type with links to others projects.  It’s a mecca I call the BLACK HOLE.  It sucks me in.  They should have a log out feature that locks you out after, say, two hours on the site.  My user name is HFRANK007. Check it out!

I’m working on a feather and fan shawl/wrap. Here’s a pic of the work in progress.  About 14 inches done so far, goal is 50″ or whatever looks right.   Yah…I’ve got a ways to go. It’s progressing fairly quickly though.  I need to buy more yarn to finish it today.  Colors are yummy, my faves. Olive, turquoise, blk, red, pink, orange. Three cheers for Noro yarn!

 

Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2008 has this on the cover:

 

I’m thinking it would be gorgeous in red cotton.  Mission Falls 1824 cotton, perhaps?  The construction is very interesting, sideways panels and you pick up for the yoke over the shoulders.  Maybe…  I am so good at planning and stashing yarn.  Now if only I could quit my job and just knit and play.  But how to buy more yarn?  I could probably knit what I have for a year without needing to buy more.  Ugh…My name is Heather.  I have a fiber problem. 

 

Amazingly Simple Escape Away From ABQ-The Turquoise Trail

Disclaimer:  Sorry for the wierd alignment stuff.  I’m trying to figure this stuff out. It’s not completely intuitive.  Bear with the awkwierdness of the layout.  Also, if you place the cursor on the pic there may be a caption that will appear.  Ooh!  Magic.

I needed a change of scenery, fresh air, to get out of the city. Took what’s called the Turquoise Trail up the East side of the Sandias today to a little town called Madrid, pronounced mad (as in peeved) rid (as in no more).  Drive was beautiful, about 130 miles total, did a loop, was just what I needed, took most of the day with stops (there were many). 

Here’s a link to a map:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=turquoise+trail,+nm&jsv=107&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.716225,59.414063&ie=UTF8&ll=35.241133,-106.062012&spn=0.955605,1.856689&z=9

Out I-40 to Hwy 14. 

First Stop:

GOLDEN-Founded when gold boomed, around 1840, there’s not much there except falling apart houses.  One house was a mirage of shimmer/glimmer as I came around a bend. There must have been thousands of bottles hanging from every possible suface, the house, trees, the clothesline.  Further down the remains of what I think was an old school are shown.  A book dating from 1981 I found at the library showed around 50% more standing. 

 

The drive continues over the Ortiz mtns, to Madrid.  Tried looking up the weather for Madrid this AM.  Not one weather site recognized it.  Kept referring me to Spain.  I wish…

MADRID - A lot like Nederland, CO but long and skinny in size, complete with locals in dreads, folks in old cowboy boots and tattered clothes and folks in new cowboy boots and new BMW convertibles.  This is also a biker destination.  Madrid was a founded in 1869 for coal.  The Santa Fe railroad brought in a spur in 1880 and things boomed.  It was a company town that provided the 4,000 people housing for $2/mo, medical care, 120,000 gallons water per day (brought in), and civilities such as tennis courts, ballrooms, and even a distillery during the Prohibition.  Famed for elaborate nightime Christmas light displays, airlines altered flights to give passengers a glimpse of the glow.  Coal peaked in 1928. The usual tale of desertion followed.  The 80’s began a renewal of the town.  I expected to see a smattering of relics when arriving.  A shop owner explained there are few left. Some builfings have burned, many were revived by those living in them. 

The main street’s lined with galleries (some funky, a couple stuffy), a few restauraunts, many trinket shops that sell pottery, jewelry, and what a friend calls “Stevie Nicks” clothing (the frilly, lacey, Victorian-ish stuff you see in towns like this.)  There was a chili cook-off going on today as well as a delightful bluegrass group strolling from locale to locale.  I kept the retail therapy in check.  Bought only soap and some killer tiles to make a mirror frame. 

Following are snippets of town:

 

 

On to Cerrilos. 

CERILLOS - Los Cerillos means Little Hills. It’s 3 miles north of Madrid.  An open pit turquiose mine may be the earliest mining done by western man, dating from at least 500 A.D.  I read  Spaniards enslaved Native Americans to labor in it.   The first P.O. opened in 1880.  Nearly 800 lived and worked there.  Production of silver, turquoise, lead and gold was over by 1890.  Now it’s a small village of crumbling adobes, a few false front stores, some (sort-of) restored homes and the RR tracks that pass by. 

 

Pointed onwards towards Santa Fe but skipped the interstate-yuckiness way home and opted for a stretch of dirt road (how I love ‘em) full of views and even a couple sketching opportunities.   Next stop, Galisteo.

GALISTEO - Once a Spanish Mission (1614) a revolt by Native Americans in 1680 forced abandonment.  Next a Native American Pueblo, this little cottonwood lined town is now full of lovingly restored adobes, an Inn, a couple shops and a graveyard with stones (that I saw from the perimeter) dating in the early 1800’s.  This little town intrigued me to no end.

 

Fighting the urge to ditch work tommorow and strike out further, I pointed south to head home.  About an hours worth of drive through open, high desert took me to I-40 where I reluctantly merged into traffic with roaring semi-trucks, dreaming and scheming up my next outing. 

To be continued…

 

Spring Sproinging!

It just happened down here.  I noticed birds singing while in the morning-nearly-awake phase.  My evening walk was warmer.  I walked out the front door and caught a whiff of a familliar scent,  blooming trees.  Looked over my head and lo and behold, pink blossoms framing the sky.  Then, the wisteria bloomed across the street.  Never seen that plant before.  Beautiful!  Walking past, the smell intoxicating.  The following are photos taken walking around the ‘hood.  Hopefully I didn’t freak out any neighbors, shooting pics into their yards.  I love my neighborhood.  The houses are old, some adobe, most bungalows.  All kept up. Smiling neighbors that walk along the streets as their kids pedal bikes alongside.  Did I mention I love my neighborhood?  

 

Brand New Forsythea

Wisteria

Lilacs

Tulips and grape hyacinth

         

 

Stumbling along the information highway?

Swerving, skidding along.  I can comfortable cruise the email/IPOD, ECommerce roads.  This is new…

Playing with this blog thing has consumed large amounts of time, more than I thought I could spend in front of the computer.   I must have spent 2 hours trying to get the header picture to look right, all the while thinking, “What am I going to type?”  Why am I putting myself through this?  Why when I’ve sworn off any kind of sit-in-front-of-the-computer profession?  (Although nursing computer documentation consumes far too much time away from patient care.) 

I’m a people person.   I love a good phone conversation, or better yet a chat over coffee or a beer at the local watering hole, I can’t stay in touch with folks to my liking.  I can’t write the emails I’d like to.  Sniff…I miss you all.  I’m thinking this may be a vehicle for communication/ramblings/experiences of my little adventure.  This travel nursing thing is pretty cool.  I’m satisfying the wanderlust itch.  I’m learning tons about a new place, its culture, my work, myself. 

Things I’ve learned about Albuquerque thus far (with a few things I want to learn thrown in):

1. Spring starts way earlier here than in Denver.  (See Spring Sproinging pics)
2. NM has more hiking/climbing/camping than I could do in a lifetime.  It’s real purdy.
3. A YMCA membership is necessary to work off the sopapillas.
4. Red or Green?  Both, on the side.
5. The neighborhoods are a little mixed up  (not as neatly segregated as most cities I’ve been in).  There is crime, cultural clash, widespread poverty.  It’s a poor state.

Things I’m learning about my work:

1. I’ll never stop learning new nursing skills.  I know more than I give myself credit for.
2. Respect the fine vessel you were given, your body.  It’s a gift to be taken care of.  Many don’t.
3. No matter how crappy the day is, find a reason to smile.
4. I need to learn Spanish, not just for work but for me.
5. People have something to teach you, even if subtle, if you are receptive.

Things I’m learning about me:

1. I find myself slowing down without the usual daily patterns I’m used to.  This may be a good thing.
2. I say “What the hell” and jump in with both feet.
3. I’d like to do more of #2.
4. Meeting new people is harder than I thought. Thank goodness I have housemates to help with this.
5. I bite off more than I can chew and don’t have anywhere near enough time to cross off the to do list fully. (But would I really want to?  How horrible to reach the end and say, “Now what?”)

My goal is to keep this up to date.  I’ll post fun things.  Don’t give up on me if I miss some days! 

More to come-  Heather