Thanksgiving

It's the first day of the Thanksgiving holiday week. I really love Thanksgiving. So no whining in this post. First, I just love the food - you don't get a turkey like that any other time of the year it seems. (sorry vegetarians.) As a journalist, I usually had to make the choice of going home to New Mexico at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I usually chose Christmas, so I was often a Thanksgiving orphan. But I always found a great home for the holiday, thanks to knowing some truly terrific people. Work no longer keeps me from traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. But this year, I am staying in Houston and we will celebrate at the home of some treasured friends. So I am truly thankful for my place in this world right now. I am. This week, I am thinking of all of the good things. Today, it's morning glorys. I planted morning glory seeds earlier this year along a fence and they have been blooming like crazy this month. Every morning, I walk out and see them in their full glory. It makes me smile. I've included a couple of shots of them. Tonight I go shopping for Thanksgiving groceries!

Lost in place ...

I wanted to add a comment to this blog that my friend Jenny sent to me via FB but couldn't post.)
Before the (insert life change here), I would have told my child that place doesn't matter. That you are you and the place you stand is just a changing backdrop, irrelevant to what you become. But now, every time, I run through downtown Cedar Rapids, drive over the river (so tame this year because of the drought), I know that is not true. I know that place leaves an imprint. Being from somewhere gives you a place to stand on, and run from or back to as 

Off to Waco

Joe and I are headed to Waco where he is having a signing for his new book, "Slingin Sam: The Life and Times of the Greatest Quarterback to Ever Play the Game."  Joe is from Waco and I suspect a lot of his old friends from school will be at the signing. He stays in touch with many people from his past, I think he likes maintaining that connection to his youth. I do as well, but I'm not quite as drawn to it as him. He connects more through the retelling of old stories, talking about sports, etc. Maybe it was easier to form those bonds then and so those are the bonds he keeps. I admire Joe for keeping up with these folks and it makes me smile to hear about them, well for the most part anyway. But it's also sort of surreal, even difficult, to deal with this whole world of his that I played no part in. When you love someone, when you want them as your partner, you regret missing the major events of their life. Or at least I do. And at our ages, Joe and I have missed significant chunks. How do oldsters like us make up for those missing memories, those shared experiences that make couples stronger? It's a question I struggle with.

So tomorrow I will venture back to Joe's hometown. Perhaps I will get a glimpse of that old life of his. I hope so. Wish me luck.

Here is a link to his book:

http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/holsli.html

Waiting for fall

I think a lot about renewal and about my place in this world.

I was in the garden this Sunday trying to plant my first fall garden. I took this photo below of a fellow gardener's glorious sunflower. I thought about fall and new beginnings. I thought about the excitement I felt returning to school each year after a long summer, wondering who and what I was going to encounter in the new semester.

Now, I search for new beginnings in the dirt of my garden, in the hearts and minds of those I love and in my own soul.

Simply Stunning

We traveled back to New Mexico last week on a last-minute summer trip. We just packed our bags, got in the car and took off. We had no specific plans, no formal reservations, nada. Schedules are for cowards I say. I know New Mexico well so we had a general idea of what was head, but it was fun to take to the road and see what unfolded. We visited and/or stayed in Santa Fe, Taos, Abiquiu and  Albuquerque. I fell in love with the Abiquiu area, especially the Chama River. I'd never spent much time here until now. Many call it O'Keeffe Country for this is where the artist, Georgia O'Keeffe lived and worked. As a high schooler and a college student in New Mexico, I was introduced to (and quickly became a fan of) O'Keeffe through a series of posters her artwork adorned for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Not exactly a formal education in the high arts, I know. She was ours, New Mexico claimed her. So it was interesting to see what she claimed for herself. I am reminded of a quote of hers about the distinctive mesa called the Pedernal; "It's my private mountain, It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it." Abiquiu isn't that far from Santa Fe in terms of miles, but it feels so remote, so different. The area is stunning, secretive, serene. We stayed at the Abiquiu Inn, site of tall cottonwoods and cool adobe casitas. We explored the village of Abiquiu, Chama, Ghost Ranch, the White Place and other magnificent spots. It's a unique place for your soul. You will feel bliss here.

Cottonwoods protect The Abiquiu Inn 

This is simply called The White Place

Rancho de Taos

Trees shroud Georgia O'Keeffe's Abiquiu home 

summer pear in a peaceful Abiquiu backyard on the hill.

El Farolito in El Rito. Great green chile at this total dive.

A murmuration ...

This tiny film is pure magic. I've watched it many times. These two darling young women stumbled upon this "starling murmuration" on a simple outdoor outing. You never know what's going to happen to you on any day ... but you have to get out there for something to happen! (The link to their site is on my Links I like.)  http://www.islandsandrivers.com/our-films/#murmuration

What New Mexico means to me.

I went home recently. Home is Albuquerque, N.M. Home is Albuquerque's North Valley, where I happily hiked and biked the irrigation ditch trails as a kid. (And yes, I swam in the water too, many times!) Home is 240 Pueblo Solano, the adobe-style house my father built before I was even born. Home is old friends and happy memories. Home is the blue skies, the watermelon-red color the Sandias (which means watermelon) turn briefly near sunset. Home is green chile, and red chile and it's put on everything, including the beef jerky. Home is that feeling like none other ... the feeling of comfort and safety and happiness and belonging.    

Many people travel to New Mexico for Santa Fe or Taos, for skiing,  shopping or spas. I'll take a walk along a North Valley ditch bank and have a chile relleno and a marg at Sadie's and catch up with you later!

Destination ditch bank?

I bet when you think of New Mexico hikes, you don't think of walking along ditch banks. But in Albuquerque's North Valley, there is a series of connected paths along the irrigation ditch banks. I grew up in the North Valley and the ditch banks were my playground. Today's groomed ditch banks are used by many adults for jogging, walking and biking - but back then there were OURS and we launched many a grand adventure from them. I'll be back there walking a few of them again, but I won't try to jump across any and I have long given up swimming in them. Yikes!

Simply wonderful ...

Covenant

by Tennessee Williams

If you are happy, I will give you an apple,
if you are anxious, I will twist your arm,
and if you permit me, I will be glad to hold you
close to my heart forever and do you no harm.

If I am happy, will you give me an apple?
If I am anxious, you may twist my arm.
And if you would like to, I would like you to hold me
close to your heart forever and do me no harm.

This is a bargain, only two can make it.
This is a covenant offered with desperate calm,
it being uncertain that lovers can drive out demons
with the gift of an apple or the twist of an arm.

"Covenant" by Tennessee Williams, from Collected Poems of Tennessee Williams. 

It's so New Mexico ...

Sometimes a sense of place is in our heads, right? I live in Texas but I am from New Mexico and it lives in my soul. I'm adopted and have only recently found out that I have deep New Mexico roots. My biological father's ancestors were early Spanish and Anglo settlers, making me a fifth-generation New Mexican. Maybe that's why the land in New Mexico can make me feel so alive. I swear I can walk along a scruffy ditch bank in the North Valley of Albuquerque and feel better than if i were strolling a perfect sandy beach. Certain smells also make me think - and yearn - for New Mexico. Like roasted green chile. I planted ONE plant in my garden this spring for fun. So far, it has yielded three smallish chiles. I roasted them this week. It's kind of sad just to have three ... you usually need a bushel! But gawd, they were HOT. Damn. I'll plant more next year. Here they are:

"In country"

I went back last weekend to Blackbird Farm. It's near Fayetteville, Texas, about 90 miles west of Houston. (Full story link below in Texas escapes.) Think oak-studded fields, gentle rolling hills, blue skies. It was also really hot, but this is Texas and it's officially summer. There's also lots of farm and wildlife. I stumbled on this little baby jackrabbit crouching in a field, I guess waiting for its mother in the shade. I went back to find it later with Joe and it was still there waiting. It seemed so scared.  I know I'm a sucker but it made me sad to think of this tiny creature living such an anxious life. So many creatures on Earth seem to live in constant fear. Big sigh. On a happier note, Snowball, spring baby of Freckles', is coming along nicely. What a gorgeous calf!

Tomato Envy

This weekend, dear friends hosted their annual tomato fest, in which urban farmers bring our tomatoes to be judged. We didn't do so great on big tomatoes this year. I'm admiring some of the better entries in this photo. Just wait until next year.

Our Garden Gets Some Limelight!

Joe and I joined the Midtown Community Garden earlier this year and it is by far one of the best things I've done in a very long time. It's a tiny wonder deep in the heart of the city. My grandfather had a massive garden in Albuquerque's North Valley where I grew up. But as an adult, I didn't do much gardening until I met Joe (aka Joe Holley, aka DJ).  I love working our allotment, getting to know the other folks and watching each individual parcel of land flourish. The Houston Chronicle came out and wrote a story about it in the Sunday Star section on June 9. The link: http://bit.ly/KlrpGR


                                            

Great Texas Escapes

I love finding great escapes and when I do,  I sometimes write about them for the Houston Chronicle. We went to Blackbird Farm on the always pitch-perfect advice of my dear late friend, Linda Barth. It did not disappoint. The place is serene, comfortable, unique - and not very far from Houston, just 90 miles west of the city. What a delight. Here's the story. http://bit.ly/KVwIhB

And these are a couple of other cool Texas places I ventured to and wrote about as well:

Escape to Rockport: http://bit.ly/MqLFWJ

The wild Llano River: http://bit.ly/voIF6R