Recommended reading

Paul and I frequently have date night at Page One, our local and locally-owned bookstore, even if neither one of us is in need of reading material--we just wander around for a while, maybe buying something, maybe not. It's just a nice way for us to spend an evening.

While we were there in late May, I saw the book The Worst Hard Time on the bestsellers shelf and was intrigued by the title. Upon opening it up, one of the first things I read was Dalhart which was the closest big town near my hometown (big being a relative term--6000 or so people but it was way more than the 400 in Texline). The book chronicles the Dust Bowl era, focusing on the towns of Dalhart, TX, Clayton, NM, and Boise City, OK. It explains the causes of the dust storms that were a result of both a horrific drought and extreme farming. Millions of acres of range were plowed in the 20's and when the rains stopped coming in the early 30's, much of that land was left barren which in turn fueled the dusters that blew through the Plains.

I'm not normally one to recommend books--strange given my position as a librarian but I know that just because I enjoy a book doesn't mean others will and I'm always a little worried that someone will think I'm idiot for liking a certain book, etc. Even when the students ask, I just give a synopsis of the book and let them decide.

But I'm honestly having a very hard time not gushing about this book to every single person I know. I'm sure much of that has to do with the fact that it's talking about where I grew up and some of the names (Coon, Herzstein) are name I recognize from Dalhart and Clayton. Aside from that, it's just absolutely amazing to me the conditions that lead to the "Dirty Thirties" and just how tough (obstinate?) these people were to survive a decade basically unable to do anything with their farms. I think I knew on some level how difficult it was--my grandparents were farmers in Texas and Oklahoma and had talked about it. We'd cover the topic in American history in high school and I'm sure I'd heard people talk about it when I was growing up. But it wasn't until I was actually reading this book that is talking about the area where I grew up that it has really sunk in as to how bad things honestly were. Paul has taken to rolling his eyes whenever I pick it up to read because he knows he's about to get a history lesson that he really doesn't want.

I took the book with me in June when I went to Amarillo and was staying with my maternal grandparents. I hadn't started reading the book at the time but I wanted to show it to them and get their take on the Depression and the Dust Bowl. I'd heard snippets from them as I was growing up but it's always so nice to hear a little bit more. So much of what they said was mirrored in stories told in the book--I'm sure the stories are similar for all the families in the area. My Gran grew up in (help me out here, Mom) Follett, TX--one of the little towns on the map at the front of the book. Her father was the custodian of the school there. I love hearing how Gran would be "sick" during the day so she could go to the custodian closet and visit with her daddy, who died when Gran was 11. Gran said she remembered hearing stories about people basically going crazy because of the wind and the dirt (at which time, both of my grandparents said, "Oh, the wind! The WIND!") One of the ladies in her little hometown grew so tired of it all that she killed her children and herself because the wind and the dirt never stopped. They'd wear wet rags over their mouths and noses to try to keep out the dirt, sometimes to little avail. My Granddad grew up in Cottle County, TX near Paducah in the southeastern part of the Panhandle. His family was farmers--he remembered how black the sky got when one of the storms would roll through. (Both: "Couldn't see your hand in front of your face! Chickens went to roost it was so dark.") He remembers one of the neighbors, Mrs. ----------------, pulling him and his brother Ray into her storm cellar as they were walking home from school. A duster was rolling in and they'd most likely wouldn't have made it home if she hadn't grabbed them.

I've always thought that photographs of farmers taken during the Great Depression look like my family photo album. Granddad starting laughing so hard when I said this that he had tears in his eyes. But it's true and he agreed with me.

My grandparents and great-grandparents definitely had very little during that era. Just as with all of those farmers on the Plains, I'm amazed at their ability to survive in some very dire conditions. My paternal grandmother has said about the Depression that it was hard to know you're poorer when you've never had anything to begin with. Her family lived in southeastern Oklahoma--where many of the "Okies" heading to California were from. Her family chose to stay put--they didn't have the means or the inclination to leave. Paul's maternal grandparents, Owen and Reva, postponed getting married because the Great Depression started as they were graduating high school. Both of them needed to work to save up some money and Reva couldn't do so if they were married. Paul's paternal grandfather was already teaching at the time and took a 50% pay cut (but was happy to have any type of salary since many didn't even have that).

Gran and Granddad gave me their copy of The Grapes of Wrath to read because they were amazed/appalled when I said I'd never read it. I've read lots of other Steinbeck and I think I've seen the movie. They wouldn't buy it and handed me the book with firm directions to read it (and give it back when I'm finished). I'm sure my education on the Great Depression and Dust Bowl will continue when I return the book which is definitely fine by me. I'm thrilled to be able to talk with these survivors and even prouder to be their granddaughter.

Sorry, ladies--he's taken

Paul and I had our final private dance lesson last night (we had 3 private lessons, 2 group classes, and 1 practice class as a result of our gift certificate). Paul went more formal for the lesson, breaking out the tuxedo t-shirt for the evening. We spent most of the class working on the Texas swing, even learning a spin-waist turn-spin combo that nearly made Paul's head explode. But we finally (almost) got it down. Of course, we may never be able to dance without both of us mouthing 1-2-3-4 (or 1-2-3 because I think even Paul can now identify a waltz ).

But we'll get to try because Paul agreed to sign up for more classes--even acquiesced that it might be fun to continue. It was done with the caveat that he doesn't want to dance with other people at the group or practice class because that wasn't fun in his world. Our instructor agreed that that was doable.

Now, we have 15 more classes (and we still have the practice class from our gift certificate) that we can spread out over as much time as we need, which will be necessary given Paul's crazy work travel schedule. Now, we just have to find an event to actually try out our newly-acquired skills.

Someone's missing this

When I got home from the grocery store this morning, this was in one of my bags.

Fillet of Herring in Real Sour Cream. Blech. It could be great stuff but blech. As I have never had an overwhelming desire (or any kind of desire) to sample herring in real sour cream, I'm fairly certain the person in front of me at the check-out is now missing a portion of his/her purchase. When Paul saw it, he declared it the "Most Disgusting Looking Stuff Ever." I'm tempted to try it just because but Paul has vetoed the idea of even opening the jar. (And I was trying to think of some clever/witty joke about red herring but couldn't do so. Please feel free to do so yourself.)

And just in case you've ever been sitting around wondering just what, exactly, is in the refrigerator of Paul and Carrie, behold:

I know your life is a little more complete because you've seen this. We have an Amana bottom freezer and way too many condiments. When we purchased our fridge seven years ago, these were fairly new on the market. I wanted one because I remember my grandparents having one when I was a little girl and Gran loved it. Plus it does make more sense to me to have the fridge part on top. Paul wanted this refrigerator because he liked the commercial. It was something about eating more grapes because the grapes were where you could actually see them. He still doesn't eat the grapes.

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I went shopping this afternoon to see if I could find any clothes for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. Have I mentioned we're going to Hawaii? Less than a month now. . . Anywho, we haven't been on a vacation in four years and so I haven't bought anything for summer in as many years. I have, like, three summer outfits. I'm honestly the worst dress person in the world during June and July. I think I only wore my workout clothes last summer. I don't even own many t-shirts that should be worn in public. As I'm not a shorts person, I usually were these terribly comfortable and terribly unflattering cotton drawstring pants from Target with the ugly, worn-out t-shirts. I'm a sight, really. My mother would be so proud.

All of that was to say that I went to Old Navy today to purchase some suitable-for-public t-shirts and capris or skirts. In the dressing room, one of the little helper people was showing me to my room and had to write my name on the white board on the outside of the door. Normally I spell my name but this time I didn't. So today at Old Navy I was "Keri" with the i dotted with a circle. I feel so much cuter now.

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Further proof our cat wouldn't survive on his own in the great outdoors--I bought food for His Royal Highness today. As I was pouring the food into the plastic container where we keep the cat food, a few pieces of food fell on the floor. Jubjub walked over to the food, sniffed it, and walked away. Apparently, he is too good to eat off the floor. (He does this with food from his dish as well--he's a messy eater but he won't eat any of the stuff he drops on the floor.) I'm sure I did something to make him this way but good grief, that cat is spoiled.

Loving the new A/C

He normally spends the better part of his days sulking under our bed--he's like a sullen teenager without a basement or room of his own to retreat to to play loud music and glare at us. Since the installation of the new A/C, he has been gracing us with his presence as it is cooler in the living room than under the bed. As much as he'd hate to admit it, Jubjub is a refrigerated air junkie.

BBQs, Bugs, and Things that go Bump

We had Paul's parents over for dinner on Saturday to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday which was Friday and Father's Day. It was a lovely evening--perfect temperature with just a light breeze--so we ate on the back patio. The neighborhood association hosted a community picnic in the park on Saturday and we were able to enjoy the sounds of the jazz quartet playing at the picnic.

I tried a new recipe Saturday--it's not really much of a recipe so much as a cooking technique. I took a dozen baby red potatoes, sliced not all the way through them, and brushed with lemon juice. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Put three potatoes in a foil packet (four potato packets total). Put on the grill and cook for about 20 minutes or so. I just dumped all the potatoes into a bowl to serve rather than the fancy-schmancy suggestion of serving each person individual packets of potatoes. The next time, I'll probably put all the potatoes in one foil packet. Paul mentioned several times during dinner and after that he really like those potatoes, that we should have those potatoes again, that we'll have to remember those potatoes. It's not really anything different from the roasted potatoes I make from time to time except I added lemon juice. Maybe that was the secret. . .

Afterwards, Paul and his dad played with the Wii while his mom and I wandered down to the park to enjoy the jazz quartet in person. We also visited with various neighbors who were also at the park. It was just a lovely way to spend an early summer evening.

I don't know if it's because of all the rain last year or because of the rain this spring but we've been positively overrun with crickets. The cat is loving it because his only hunting skills involve catching the crickets that we point out to him (he'd make a really, really, really poor mouser). But the rest of us aren't quite as thrilled. I'm even less thrilled when Paul "forgets" to pick up the dead crickets left behind by the cat. After 7 1/2 years of marriage, I've about figured out that he doesn't do this kind of stuff on purpose--he's just the Absent-Minded Husband and it really doesn't enter his mind to do it. Or he thinks to do it and then forgets between his initial thought and his second thought. I dunno--I guess I should just add "disposer of dead bugs" to my resume and be thankful that said bugs aren't still alive.

I also saw June bugs when I was outside last night. In nine years of living here, I've never seen them here before. Maybe they weren't true June bugs but rather pseudo-June bugs. They were definitely June bug-esque and, because June bugs are on my short list of Insects That Freak Me Out, I nearly hurt myself trying to get away from one that started bumbling its way toward the porch light. The other two I saw were apparently getting their June bug groove on so I just tried to give them a little privacy.

Last night, the kitty and I enjoyed a pleasant summer evening together and as we were getting ready to settle in for the night, something went bump. Actually, it went bump crash. A few nights ago, we had a similar sound and eventually discovered that the mirror on the back of my closet door had fallen. Paul and I discovered that after creeping up the stairs, he with pepper spray, me wielding a meat tenderizer, and looking in each door upstairs. Paul left for two days in Berkeley yesterday afternoon. Since Jub isn't very brave, I had to investigate this Bump in the Night by myself. (He did come up to offer moral support from under the chair in our bedroom.) I couldn't find the source of the sound but I also couldn't go to sleep for several hours after that. It's fortunate I'm really enjoying my current book and that it's summer break so I can sleep in. I took advantage of both.

One very big check later. . .

I am enjoying the wonders of modern air conditioning.

And about the time the workers finished up with everything, a little rain shower came through and cooled it down. The ceiling fans are more than adequate this afternoon. I don't think it's supposed to be hot in ABQ until the end of the week.

But I've got refrigerated air and I'm going to use it. I think I'll use the oven tonight just because I can.

And Wii'll have fun, fun, fun...

That is my cat. He's not the brightest bulb. He moved from his napping position the comfy couch to position himself half-on/half-off a box in the floor while we played with our latest toy-- the Nintendo Wii. For no reason either Paul or I could see. We don't try to understand; we merely accept. I'm not a video game person at all but the Wii is wicked fun. After three days, I am a Wii bowling champ. Too bad that doesn't translate into actual bowling skills.

While the Wii is primarily about fun for us, we soon discovered it's secondary purpose--to drive the cat crazy with our bursts of activity and general gaiety. Of course, general gaiety in and of itself is enough to annoy my cat. This is just a more entertaining way to do it.

Day 2 in the A/C switch or "But I'm totally fine with them cutting a hole in the roof"

Yesterday was more of the "fun" part of the switch to the refrigerated air, what with crane and all the hoopla and the "Hey, look at your lovely new condenser and your new high-efficency furnace."

Today, it's more about, "Hey, can we drill a hole in the side of your house for this big pipe? Oh, and then we're going to drill a few more holes in your walls because we can."

Today, we're discovering all the downsides to installing something in the house that wasn't here before. There are all kinds of pipes and wires that have to be added and holes being drilled to accomodate these pipes and wires. The workers are doing a great job of keeping everything neat and the pipes and wires are concealed as well as possible in plastic casing. Most of it is in the garage so it's not a huge deal. And then came the request to drill a hole in the side of the house. Something about the way the new, totally rockin' 2-stage furnace vents makes it unable to use the same vent as the previous furnace. Actually, the new furnace could use the same vent as the old furnace if we don't mind tearing up the wall in Paul's nook to get to it. That didn't seem like a very viable option to anyone. Option #2 was they would drill a hole in the side of the house for the 6-inch PVC pipe with the funky vent cap on it that would protrude 8 inches from the side of the house. My frustration level was pretty high when I called Paul with that tidbit of news. We're already concerned that the placement of the new condenser unit will draw the ire of our HOA, which is very strict with making homeowners adher to the C&C for the development and we didn't exactly get their permission before we started this project. When I mentioned the new PVC vent to Paul, he was worried about that upsetting the HOA with that as well. I was just concerned about how ugly eight inches of PVC pipe would be sticking out of the side of my house (even though the A/C guy, who is all of 20, was so nice to add "But we'll definitely paint it for you!").

Paul came to the rescue with Option #3--vent it out the roof. (Oh, sure--it seems so obvious now.) It means some extra feet of PVC pipe in the garage that will partially block one of the glass block windows there. That I can live with much easier than pipe protruding from the side of my house. I think we have one more day of A/C work--I know the cat will be thrilled when it's completed. He slinked in to the guest room while I was doing some work in there and is now refusing to come out from under the bed. Typically he's not allowed in that room but I decided that one time wouldn't hurt. Especially after he hissed and did the low, gutteral meow that indicates he'd just prefer to stay where he is. That pretty much sealed the deal.

Update @ 5:00: The workers finished up for the day a little after 4:00. When I went outside to move my car back into the garage, this little guy was bumping his way around the garage. I was a little antsy about getting it out of the garage both because I didn't want the possibility of a dead hummingbird and because, quite honestly, I'm a little freaked out by hummingbirds. They're spastic and you never know where they're going to go and they just flit around too fast.

But I braved the hummingbird long enough to get a few pictures. Here Zippy, as I named him, is in front of some of our new wires and pipes and things (happily, the PVC pipe didn't have to be in front of the glass blocks). I kept trying to convince him that the best way out of the garage was not through the ceiling but Zippy was very persistent in trying. And a super-zoom of Zippy resting on the garage door opener, hopefully rethinking his ceiling plan.
After a stressful 45 minutes for both of us (I had to keep checking every few minutes because I'm obsessive like that), Zippy finally found it's way out of the garage and I quickly shut the door.

This is probably legal in New Mexico

Normally I wouldn't post anyone's license plate but I think I'm safe in doing so this time. I snapped this picture with my camera phone on my way home from the gym. That "license plate" is a piece of cardboard with some writing on it stating the date of application for a tag (almost a month ago).

That's one sure-fire way to thwart any tickets earned by the red-light cameras.

How I spent (the second week) of my summer vacation

1. I went to Amarillo to help Amy paint her master bedroom, do a few little projects there, and entertain her children. Amy chose a great paint color called "Linen" which is a nice taupe color--not too gray, not too tan (and not at all like my house paint, Amy--apparently, I'm color-blind as to what color I've been living with for 2 years). It looks wonderful with the new bedding she picked out. Then, in a burst of creativity, we created a "no-sew" headboard for her bed. Batting, fabric, quarter-inch plywood, and the staple gun (with a whole bunch of staples). I didn't have my camera but maybe she'll pass along a few pictures of the finished project.

I also created a new game with 20-month-old Benjamin. I was playing with him and "dropping him on his head" (holding him upside down and touching his head to the floor). I would tell him to "give me your feet" and he'd lie down and put his legs up in the air so I could pick him up by the ankles. A few times, he'd do it unprompted--just lie down in front of me with his feet up. I know he'll have forgotten about this little game the next time I see him but it was fun while it lasted.

2. I drove home in fierce wind yesterday with gusts of 50+ mph between Amarillo and Albuquerque. Outside one town, I saw an RV that had rolled a few times and was lying on its side 100 feet or so off the road. Thankfully most drivers were being smart and trucks weren't speeding so it wasn't too bad. Just had to hang on and drive. But I had to be home so I could hang out at the house today because...

3. Paul's parents were super-generous last year for his birthday and gave us money to upgrade from evaporative air (a.k.a. the swamp cooler) to refrigerated air. And today, we're getting the new air conditioner. Of course, it's cooler today so there's really no need to even turn it on once it's hooked up. We decided to upgrade our furnace at this time (that's the new one near the ladder; our old one is in the right of the picture). We now have a 2-stage furnace which I'm not entirely sure what it does or why it's fantastic but it was recommended by both my brother who does HVAC work and the sales rep. from the A/C company. But come winter we'll be rocking the 2-stage furnace.

That's it--our new air conditioner. I have to admit I was expecting something a little more, I dunno, more. I don't think I knew what an A/C is supposed to look like. I don't think I didn't realize that the condenser unit wasn't the actual air conditioner. I swear I don't know why I've been allowed to own a house for seven years.
Now for the fun part--the crane came to remove the swamp unit and place the new condenser on the roof. Here they're hooking up the condenser to the crane.
The new unit being lowered into place--when we'd done the remodel, we left this strip of roof so we'd have easier access to the 2nd story and the swamp cooler. It was also the perfect size for the new condenser. Who knew?
The really fun part--swinging the old unit down. It's wasn't too windy during this part but it did get to swinging. And it brought out several neighbors to inspect what was happening.
4. Dance lesson #2 tonight.