Falling faster

Cool it

Cooler now after the balloon fiesta is over. This week will finally get us out of highs in the 80s I hope. We had three of Nod's college pals stay with us for balloons. They saw a lot and everyone fit into our little house better than I expected. What sweet and smart men they all are.  

Bake it

Chocolate banana bread is worth doing if you like those flavors. I looked at a few recipes and came up with this high altitude version:

Preheat oven to 360, grease a loaf pan

First bowl, whisk dry ingredients:

1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour 

scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder

2/3 tsp baking soda

scant 1/2 tsp kosher salt 

Second bowl, beat wet ingredients:

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir dry into wet, mix until combined.

Pour batter into loaf pan, top with 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Bake 40 minutes. Test with toothpick. I left mine in the oven for a few more minutes after turning the heat off. 

Vistas

Took the visitors up into the Jemez Mountains and walked around the Valles Caldera meadow, Valles Caldera National Preserve. What a stunning place. It was privately held as ranch land when I was a kid in Los Alamos. So happy to see it as public land now. We were delighted to see elk browsing at the far edges of the meadow. A coyote trotted past near sunset. We had to be alert to not trip over the prairie dog holes, plenty of them popped in and out of our vision. Trout fingerlings jumped in the stock tank/pond canal. I want to go back right now. My youthful desire to ride across the Valle Grande on a horse is gone - the prairie dog holes would make it stressful unless you had a smart and observant horse. 

SSSsssept

This week started out very sleepy and a bit resentful. The September I craved had finally arrived and the cooler temperatures started even the week before that. But I was not feeling zippy and happy - how dare?! I felt allergy-y (ragweed?) and sleepy during the day. I went to bed early on Wed night and that seems to have helped me turn the corner. I am noticing the changing light - in the morning it's darker longer and I want to sleep in. Must remember that I have a brain switch there. 

Trixie and Katya last night in Albuquerquois - what an absurd and delightful experience. I almost wish they had a guest but then again was glad to see their on stage reunion after Trixie's sabbatical this summer. Hilarious to hear what other hard working drag queens think of their "act." "That thing you do" is about right. They are both so smart and so stupid in the best way possible. 

Speaking of stupid, a favorite dumb ball ricochet game is back on my phone. It had chimes I like and keeps me humble. It reminds me a bit of pachinko now that I think about it. 

Will I finish the 1931 Russian novel The Little Golden Calf? Hard to say.

I have a walking date next week to which I am going to bring fancy homemade sandwiches. I think I'm fixating on the sandwiches as I am not sure what to expect otherwise.  

Crows croaking in our neighborhood this morning. Very autumnal, thanks, birds.      

Olios

College and Independent Radio Stations. We're in a new streaming era and as always, there are wonderful things on the waves. Good Stations, recommendations from metafilterers.

It is traditional for me to crave baked goods when it's too hot outside to possibly turn on the oven. I may try our microwave/air fryer's baking mode. Smitten and caramel, a search made in heaven. Here's her Caramel cake and Chocolate crust caramel tart.  

We're the waystation at the moment. Peak occupancy when youngest and her friend arrive from Kansas. Friend leaves the next day and so do we. Nod and I are going an hour north for a little gettin away. L and the Danish Embassy will be fine without us. 

Nod gets the NM manly award for fixing the front swamp cooler. Plus honorable mention for mostly fixing the back cooler - it functions but leaks on the roof. Had a tech out to look at it and they won't fix that one - too old to get parts. Also found out that it is located too close to the chimney to have a replacement pass inspection. Well then. Time for that heat pump estimate. (Old) houses always have things to throw money at. 

Monsoon

Unlike last July, the monsoon cycle is happening in Albuquerque this summer. Not every day but often, there are afternoon thunderheads and then winds and sometimes rain. It cools things down and is such a relief. We even have some highs in the 80s coming up over the weekend. 

I went to the conference in Las Vegas for work. It had some good conent but overall was not much fun: temps in the 110s every day, casino cigarette smoke and I managed to give myself food poisoning. Luckily my gelato illness was brief if unpleasant. It was nice to have a big room to myself but the longer I stayed there the dirtier I realized it was. Flights delayed out of  Vegas and Phoenix, sitting on the HOT tarmac and waiting to take off was not something I want to repeat. Quite hellish in fact. So. Glad. to get home. I won't do that again. Maybe a conference in another city, maybe at a different time of year. Or maybe I'll just stick with remote attendance.     

The Danish has arrived! She's plunged into her new music-related job and busy house hunting. It looks like they've found a winner and now working on loans and so on before making an offer. What a gorgeous development for me personally. One of the people that makes me feel most myself and is full of ideas and beauty. Calloo! Callay!

Finished the 3rd season of The Bear and wonder if they've done all they can do there. I didn't like all the real-life chef cameos. Keep it fiction-y thank you very much. There were a couple of other cameos that stuck out too. I still love the cast and the emotional content and apparently I'm a sucker for a melancholy cooking montage. 

My midwest trip was good, and also awkward in spots. But we're all in touch and looking forward to the future, so it was worth doing. Went with Drummer to the naked swimming pond on a perfect summer day. I felt extremely pleased to have brought him out there for the first time. Collectively there was much gratitude for my spouse's drive to make social connections and love of naked swimming. Nod and I may try to visit together if they have a stray weekend to themselves ever again. 

 

Hot Food

Quiche with a potato crust, how did I miss that? King Arthur Flour recipe. Maybe thaw some frozen spinach and cook with onion instead of leek/mushrooms. And hell, here's the whole whole Metafilter thread I found this in.

Posting so I can find again in September or October when it will be possible to turn the oven on again. June has attacked, we hit 99F today. And it's early and bad like in so many places. We're lucky not to have the humidity here. Got to get rid of the fossil fuels. 

Heading to Evanston IL for oldest's graduation this weekend. It won't be hot there. 70s and we'll see about the wind. 

I had a moment yesterday when I remembered how many books I have access to that I'm looking forward to reading. It's a good world with a lot of good art in it. And it's a terrible place with death and pain and injustice every day. So relish what you can and try to help one person or fix one problem.  

Amidst May

    My favorite month is unrolling at the normal pace and I want to at least wave as it goes by. The irises are done, the grass in back is mostly green. Nod cut down the dead bush by the driveway and put something else there. (It is not on the drip system so this seems unlikely to thrive.) He also replaced one of the hot poker plants with a chamisa, that one does have water. Many yard chores exist and may get done in the future. I just joined the FB Buy Nothing group for our neighborhood with the intent to give away the backyard bed. The weather keeps warming then cooling, we haven't begun to bake yet. 

The fever has gone down, not because my attention has shifted, but rather because concrete plans have been made. I'm midwest bound in the first week of July to see my little friends. Smug, why yes, I am. There is some emotional adjustment happening here at home which I think will turn out okay. Some pretty fundamental assumptions are changing and that's causing some feelings. 

L is back from college and visiting us, nice to have her around. She's just got a few days before catching the train to see her KS friends. She'll be back here in time for us all to go see her sister graduate in June. I'm still a bit queasy about the Chicago trip. I'm worried about managing my mom's expectations and both grandmas' capacities and... But it'll happen and we'll all be happy to see each other and it's just a long weekend. More appealing: I want to go back in the fall and see Katy and do theater-y things.    

We're celebrating being here for a whole year. Some annual things have come around again. We still haven't made it to the Turkish Festival - next year! I feel more at home in the neighborhood but we'll see how the summer goes. My London friend is here to visit his mom but illness has struck. I hope he'll be well enough to go to Santa Fe tomorrow. 

May the May be well with you. 

Careening

 Enchilada Rankings

I have a new sample to report on for my new year's resolution. El Patio, the classic one near UNM, was delightful on an April evening. This was my first visit, Nod's been a bunch of times. Things started auspiciously with a parking meter just a few spots from the restaurant. Too much glary sun when we arrived but 15 minutes took care of that. The host is a stickler and we were not allowed to be 3 at a 5 top table in the shade. In fact nobody got to sit at that table all evening. Rousse pointed that out at the end - he said "consistency is very important in the restaurant business" - true nuff. But our corner under the mulberry tree (just starting leaves) was great. And the enchiladas? Very good! Green chile was spicy but not painful, everything tasted good. We couldn't do much with the sopapillas which was sad because they were well fried. 

After dinner we went to a free belly dance performance by a group Nod had seen before. It was a treat, campy and the dancers looked like they were having fun. Clearly a school, the first couple of numbers had the students participating, the rest was numbers by the four advanced dancers in various combinations. It was 70s themed and that was a fun combo. Next month they're doing a Star Wars theme, I admire the whimsy but think I'll skip. Nod reminded me of going to a Turkish coffee house in San Francisco in the 90s to see belly dance with D. His comment - after all the strong coffee, tobacco and belly dancing - no wonder they had to go out and capture an empire. 

Wild Cat

I think I saw Freddie on Friday evening. At least, it was some tabby that meowed at me from the rosemary bushes and wouldn't approach. But Nod says the cat he's seen eating food on the front porch is a different tabby (longer white stockings). Argh. I Can Haz Resolution?

Done with Chorus?  

I went to a performance at an assisted living center yesterday. And cried all the way home. The center was fine, the audience was sweet and enthusiastic. My singing was not good, I was in the back, couldn't always find our notes, entirely for some songs. And we ended with You Will Be Found which makes me cry anyway. I didn't feel like anyone was glad I was there and I didn't do a good job. I'm not going to GALA. In addition I have to sing masked in order not to worry about singing indoors / covid transmission. So what's the point? Rehearsal tonight, maybe I'll tell the section about my feelings. I'd like to say that I will find a way to turn this around and make it fun for our section. Not sure I have the inspiration. 

After my spring fever and the fun Saturday night I was surprised at how sad and lonely I felt. I guess it's time for some More Emotions, throw 'em on the pile. 

Art House FOMO

'Problemista' is at the Guild but tonight's the last night and I have rehearsal. Darn, I wish I had gone yesterday. Checked the Santa Fe art house and they don't have it listed but I need to check back. They are playing 'La chimera' and I want to see that too! after hearing a great review on the radio.