Moony Twilight Ephemera

This week, when I have gone to walk/jog around the golf course, it has been fairly dark once I'm done. If I get out right after I'm done with work at 4:30 I can start at sundown and finish in dim twilight. The skies have been gorgeous. I keep trying to capture the quickly changing light and color in the skies. To pretty much no avail. Here's a nice moon through dead branches picture. But if you were there with me, the moon was so much more beautiful...

Last night the moon rose full and pearly bright over the pink mountains against a twilight sky that ranged from brickdust to pale turquoise and I gnashed my teeth as this was the only shot I got. 

Trust me, it was worth seeing. 

But the dark comes on apace now that we're not saving daylight. I am not sure how much dark jogging I'll do in December. Guess I'll take it as it comes. I saw a person on an electric scooter on Lomas last night with a full reflective jacket. The brightness in the headlights made them look like an animated image, rolling along the sidewalk. 

ooooooof

I wasn't prepared for that outcome. I thought there would be confusion and lots of counting and then after an uncomfortable period of time, our side would prevail. I've gone through avoidance, numbness, weeping and deep tiredness today. I hope to be more constructive in the future. One friend said she didn't expect anyone without a penis to win. Another said you can never go wrong betting on the stupidity of Americans. That's one of my sorrows - I'm stuck here with so many fellow 'mericans who are actively malicious morons. I wanted to think there were more of us who want to take care of each other. 

I don't want to use f'book at all. What a corporate marsh. I am thrown back to my own devices here. I will dip into bluesky from time to time. That's my people and my social media platform for now.  

A friend from Kansas arrives on Friday. I want to be in better spirits by then. If not I guess we can sit on the couch and watch movies and shows and mope together. 

It's cold and raining/snowing here too. Clear weather for exercising outside would have been more to my preference. I jogged yesterday. I'm trying to self diagnose some pain around my knees. It occurs to me that my shoes may be beat. Time to try the new (used) pair I left in the garage to air out. They stank of air freshener when they arrived from the reseller. I'm having pain on the inside of the left knee especially, I assume it's caused by my hyper mobile kneecaps. I would like to have a consultation with a physical therapist. Wonder if that could be covered by insurance. 

Trying to re-read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Chabon. I remember it fondly but had forgotten that it's more than 600 pages! I expect to be about halfway through before the book group convo tonight. 

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.  

Spring fevering

I'm all a-tremble at the moment, through a combination of spring,  hormonal changes, sweet humans, the cold breath of Death on the back of my neck and my periodically sentimental temperament. I have memories to enjoy and some summer hijinks to look forward to. I could hardly be luckier. 

Today I've spent quite a lot of time singing along with these songs. Only the first two are new to me and the blog. 

Sam Phillips, Reflecting Light. I never did get on the Gilmore Girls train, this song was featured there. I like how she's still dancing with her faith in lyrics.  

Robbie Foulks, Let's Kill Saturday Night. Change of mood. Described as a perfect song and I see it.

Eleni Mandell, Moonglow Lamp Low. Back to sultry. Mmmmm. 

Lavern Baker, Tweedle Dee. 

Sara MacLaughlan, Wear Your Love Like Heaven (by Donovan). Like all of these songs, a prayer.

You won the lottery kid, what's wrong with you?

Over a year ago, we adopted a cat who had an undisclosed but clearly rough start. Freddie is in a weird spot between feral and pet-like: will occasionally let me pick him up, never sits with us on furniture, sometimes sleeps at our feet, doesn't want to be pet except in passing, head butts our shins. 

I can't put him in a carrier unless I throw a sheet over him and put the whole bundle in the box. I got pretty good at that during our move to New Mexico last spring. Since then he's had the run of a slightly larger house with windows to watch from and cuss out of. 

But there has been no softening of his personal space issues. Then we offended him by moving the cat box into the garage. Nod cut the door between the kitchen and garage and installed a pet door. I made sure cat could navigate through. It was all very promising in the opinion of the humans. But when I put down the flappy door, that was too much to be borne. The cat used the door successfully, I made sure. But then pooped on the couch to register his complaint.   

I cleaned up the couch and taped the flappy door up out of the way. Cat went back to using the litter box. Mostly. He peed on the couch right before we had houseguests. And he's done it several times since. The circa 1970s cushions all smell terrible now and are propped up so there is no flat surface available. 

And that's it. I feel the compact is ruptured. I could live with a cat who is weird and unaffectionate. But I can't live with that type of cat who also pees on my couch. We're considering several not-good options. The most appealing one is a friend who farms and keeps barn cats. Freddie probably won't have a long life but hopefully it's better than the pound. 

I've never gotten rid of a pet before and it feels pretty bad. And yet I am committed to a Freddie-less future. With new couch cushions. 

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Surprise update - cat has run away. Sunday morning before I left for a classical guitar concert, I couldn't find the cat. And we haven't seen him since. We guess that he ran out of the garage when a car was going in or out. 

Uncooperative to the last, he's taking his own form of exit from this household. It's the worst option - I would never turn a pet out on the streets of ABQ. I have put food on the back porch and I go out and call a few times a day. He could still turn up, cats have been known to do so. It was raining when I woke up this morning. I'm sad for him but there's not a lot I can do.

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But wait, there's more. Freddie was on the back porch eating the food I put out, two days after disappearing. When I opened the door to see if he'd come in - Panic! and he hopped over the wall. This means that we now have an outdoor cat, against my wishes. That little gremlin continues to provoke me. 

Plotting against skeeters

I love this idea for targeting only mosquito larvae, and not killing other insects. The graphic that I found on bluesky says:

1. Get a bucket. [all good plans start like this]

2. Add straw and water to the bucket, at a ratio of about 4 water : 1 straw.

3. Let it ferment and get gross for 3 days. Mosquitoes like gross.

4. On day 4, add 1/4 of a Mosquito Dunk to the bucket.

5. Set your bucket in a sunny or part shade location. Make sure it doesn't dry out. [This will be more challenging in Albuquerque than in Virginia.]

6. Add a new chunk of Mosquito Dunk after 30 days.

More info here: How to Set up a Mosquito Larva Trap. That page says to put chicken wire on top of the bucket to keep animals out. It says that a mosquito dunk works for about 30 days and the whole bucket of sludge should be changed then. 

This will be an excellent spring experiment as we spend more time on the back patio. 

Daffs

The daffodils started blooming about a week ago. Clearly I need to clean up the iris bed. The spring winds have been blasting for the last two days. I just noticed my upper palate itching which is my sign that I am still allergic to juniper pollen. I will see how it goes and apply Zyrtec as needed. 

More Sweetness

My spouse says I'm overreacting to my bout of covid. Yes, that does make me want to pummel him with small pillows. It was a miserable two weeks without any life threatening symptoms, just the crud. I was sure it lasted at least 3 weeks - it felt like longer. I'm trying to get out and walk every day for Lent and that doesn't feel good yet. But the sunlight is delicious. I know resting is important but surely short walks? And no one knows and that's part of the whole miserable package. My general outlook is that enjoying things is happening again, but not at the frequency I prefer.   

Faceboobs feels like it is less and less usable. I see some of my connections' posts and then it's just sludge, instagram-like pretty picture accounts I haven't asked for. I am happiest with bsky. And I miss things. That makes me feel old and pouty. Maybe I will like what's yet to come.  

I tore through Prophet yesterday. Good weird adventure, great title. For one of the authors, it's quite a turn from H is for Hawk. This bit shocked me: "Nevada test site. One bomb every three weeks for twelve years. They called Vegas Atomic City back then. You could watch the mushroom clouds from your casino hotel." Is that true? I did not know that. I thought Wes Anderson's Atomic City was more exaggerated/cartoony for effect and am disturbed to think otherwise.  

I'm reading The Ornament of the World for this Saturday's book group. It covers some complicated medieval history in Spain. It's pleasant and educational but I am not in love. I learned about the Abbasids moving from Damascus and building Bagdad as their new capital with concentric ring walls. Wells plays with this in City of Bones, the levels of that city also rise in elevation and are starkly separated by class.     

I am practicing my pronunciation of Ayo (👁 + O) Edibiri (ehDehburry) since it is different than my initial reading. I have trouble remembering names until I can spell them. But on the other hand I think we might be better off not ever writing names, just make it all sounds and nicknames. I love her performances including the recent SNL hosting, awkwardly with JLo as the musical guest. The Scam Goddess podcast in which AE riffed on JLo never singing on her own songs is a delight; the host and guest are having a great time. I'm planning to go see The Sweet East with AE when it's at the downtown arthouse at the end of the month.

I made a super kickass batch of green chile stew this week. I was trying to heal my husband's congestion by delivering chicken broth in a way he would actually eat. It exceeded my expectations and we feasted. I used the very basic recipe I copied off a package of "Chile Products of NM, Inc." green chile back in the mists of time. I simmered 4 chicken thighs with onion, carrot, parsley and peppercorns to make broth. Strained the broth, cooled the chicken, chopped. Cooked 2# medium green chile, 4 sm. cubed potatoes, garlic, a can of crushed tomatoes and a sliced carrot in 2.5 cups of broth for 30 minutes. I added the chopped chicken and cilantro and simmered another 10. I seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin. The crushed tomatoes made the whole deal redder than I wanted but I can't argue with the taste outcome. So much goodness.     

Stretch

I would like to do a good stretching session. I'm in post-covid seclusion this week so it won't be in public. Maybe time for an Adriene yoga video or three. I look forward to starting strengthening exercise but it'll be later in the year. 

Yes, hoist by my own petard. The petard being my desire to sing, unmasked, indoors in the winter. There are about 14 cases of Covid (audience and chorus members) after our two performances. Only unmasked people got it. I won't be doing that again. I am thrown back to my feelings that indoor gatherings in the winter are still risky. I love to sing with others and am frustrated that it's not currently a good idea.

I now love paxlovid and credit it with a turnaround. I spent five days feeling worse and worse - sore throat, little to no voice by the end, fever/chill/body aches and weepy with very low morale. A couple of days on paxlovid had me much peppier and I am grateful. The metallic taste was not oppressive and went away within 36 hours after last dose. I have some fatigue, coughing and congestion left and hope to be shed of all of this next week.  

My pcp wouldn't prescribe paxlovid as I did not have recent blood work showing my kidney function. The Urgent Care doc asked whether I'd ever had kidney issues (no), said "That's ridiculous", and prescribed. Bless her.    

The light is noticeably longer now in the early evening. The ever loving month of January has finally shown itself out. February is never a beauty but I am glad to be here. Not a lot going on in the interior. Onward to feeling more whole and being creative. 

I did a blanket stitch at the top and bottom of our cranberry colored wool blanket. It was fraying and we are still getting good use out of it. I used a spool of thin wool yarn that had been savaged by Zing. I had to remove all the shredded bits until I got down to the usable length. I cussed her fondly and wish I could feel her settle onto my sternum and purr. The blanket stitching was effective and satisfying. I am ready for the next fiber project. 

Yesterday I noticed that my favorite buttoned shirt was gapping between buttons. Just call me Busty Gaps. I sewed in a snap to fix that. First I sewed the bottom part of the snap upside down. I got to remove my carefully placed stitches and start over. I think that's a big part of sewing/crafting work - doing it over and over. Either you will fix the thing you're working on, or you will learn how to do the next iteration better. 

Friends are visiting from KS in March. I am sure we will have a good time. I've let L know that she may be staying with her grandma for that time since it's also the start of her spring break. 

Feeling oppressed by more travel that needs to be planned - April housing needed in Texas. I'll ask my friend in San Antonio and our other non-hotel option is staying with MIL. June graduation in Chicago. I've got to get lodging for grandmas and us and a rental car and, and. Maybe I'll feel energy for that next week too. 

Really enjoying a regency novel Petty Treason by Robins. Feels like Georgette Heyer whipped with some Harlots.       

Tetchy

Wow, I really got into the holiday glow there, didn't I? January has arrived and is stomping around with big heavy boots to disrupt that mood.

Urgh
I had my first colonoscopy earlier this week. I know everyone hates the prep and I also had a terrible time. The anticipation was the worst. I had anxiety and dread as I got close to poisoning-myself-day. Once the process was underway it was only unpleasant. Being on the gurney finally was a relief. Nothing was removed, the comment was that there were some pockets and I should eat more fiber. This is concerning because I eat so much raw fruit. I'll try to remember to ask my doctor about that. Ten years time to forget about this before the next one. 

I took two days off work for it and if I had to do it again I would take three. The next day back at work was long and trying. After that I have felt okay. 

Laaa
Yesterday I finally did a fundraising thing for the chorus that I was dreading for a month. I didn't get the donation I asked for, but I got some more information and purchased the gift certificate for the auction gift basket. In my opinion this is a very old fashioned way to try to fundraise. Not sure if I'm willing to get on the board to try to help steer the ship.     

Our concerts are a week away. Lots of the singers will be masked because it unfortunately continues to be a risky behavior to be singing inside in winter. Sigh. I am leaning toward singing without a mask because what else do I have to spend my risk on? I'll decide on the day. 

I like this group of folks. I enjoy learning the music. I don't much care for the fundraising. The evaluation period continues. 

Turmoil
Our oldest daughter is in Ecuador for study abroad until late March. Her timing was not good as the new president's government is being challenged by the drug cartels. We've gotten a tersely reassuring message from the study abroad group. We've gotten texts from her saying that the unrest is in another part of the country and that her host family is unperturbed. Nod read the State Department's Travel Advisory and told her to be ready to leave in a hurry if necessary. I selfishly hope she can stay for these nine and a half weeks. And hope that Ecuador can keep moving in the most peaceful and democratic direction.