A good way to break in some new shoes

The first few years I lived in ABQ, whenever I'd get homesick, Paul would make me list all the things I did like about living here. Green chile on any/everything and really nice weather were the top two things on my list. The hiking/walking trails usually made it in there as well (although I'm still not as enamored with the mountain as many but I think we live on the "ugly" side).

Today's time-filler was an extra-long walk/hike this morning in place of going to the gym.  Our house is about a half-mile from a trailhead and national forest land.  During the summer, Paul and I try to go for a hike on Saturday mornings. We're never sure what to call what we do when we go to the trails--I guess it's technically hiking but it's not a very strenuous hike. There are some ups and downs and a little bit of rocky parts but for the most part, it's a pretty easy hike. I think the short trail is about a mile and the long trail is closer to two miles.

We both have hiking boots but they are a little much for this trail. Plus, mine are darn heavy. I wear them when we got up to the cabin since it's more off-road hiking up there. Regular tennis shoes work OK but since the ground is pretty sandy, you don't always get good traction on the downhill parts. So, last year we finally got smart and bought trail running shoes specifically for these hikes. They are lightweight like running shoes but have deeper treads on the bottoms. I don't know what I was thinking last year when we bought the shoes but for whatever reason, I bought the wrong size--a size 8 when I wear a size 7. I think I looked at the tag and saw the UK size (6 1/2), put them on, and just said the shoes were fine without thinking that these were way too big. I wore them probably a dozen times last year and I guess it's better to wear shoes that are too big rather than too small but I always felt like they were too loose (because they were). On Sunday, we were buying Paul new everyday shoes and some new gym shoes for me. And since we were there, I found new trail shoes that actually fit for me as well.

I decided to take advantage of the nice weather this morning to head to the trails. Since I was on my own, I walked up to the trailhead. Paul prefers to drive up there which I never understand and which normally causes us to have cranky words even after however many years of doing this. We haven't had a chance to go for a hike together this spring and probably haven't been up to the trailhead since September or so. It was nice since there weren't many people out this morning on the trail--some weekends, it's pretty crowded. Today, there was just enough people every so often that it wasn't too remote. I don't like it when there are lots of people but it's nice to see someone else every once in a while in case anything were to happen.

As I was walking, I kept thinking I really need to bring a camera with me. There are some pretty areas--I found myself thinking "Oh, this is my favorite part" and then "Oh, no, THIS is my favorite part"--and the view just can't be beat. From some spots, you can see Isleta to the south and I-don't-know to the north. We've had nice rains the past couple of weeks so the mountain is greening up and everything is in bloom. I have gotten smart and always grab a couple of tissues before we leave--I can only take so much nature. Even if I couldn't decide this morning what part I like best, I do know that one of my favorite areas is through a draw that is shady with lots of plants. You walk through that area and it's so lovely and nature-y and then just as quickly, you're on the service road for the forest rangers. I took the service road back down to the High Desert and then walked past all the big, lovely homes of High Desert back to my own happy little home. All in all, definitely better than a the treadmill at the gym.

How a Class-A Piddler fills her time

I've had a couple of weeks of spare time since classes haven't started yet.  I spent a little time up at school last week, finishing some projects up there and will go up a few more times next week just to finish up before summer school starts.  I'm not working summer school this year--two other librarians wanted to do it and I like/trust both of them to leave the library in good shape.

The rest of my time mostly has been spent in the yard.  Admittedly, we don't have much yard to fuss with.  Most of it is xeriscape (rocks & native plants) and while the yard is about 12 x 12, it isn't real grass.  Throw in the patio and it doesn't leave much to do.  I've got a few pots although fewer than in years past and most of them are now filled with perennials so I don't have much to do in the spring in regards to replanting.  But, even with a low maintenance yard, there has still been enough to do the pass the time and fill up more than a few days.

I have had to do some replanting this year.  As happens with all living things, plants get old and die which is what happened to the Mexican feather grass that we had.  I wasn't a big fan of this grass, although I didn't know it when it was planted by the landscaping company six years.  I like the look of the grass-it's a wispy, happy little grass; I didn't like the little seeds that blew all over and all the little volunteer feather grass we had growing.  There were four of them that had all died over the winter.  I replanted one spot with a red yucca.  We've got three of them in the yard already.  Paul laughs that I get excited about the flower stalks every spring, as if I have anything to do with them.  But the yucca outside our front door has eight! this spring.  The new guy is little bitty--only a one-gallon plant--so it will be a year or two before it has a flower stalk.
The red yucca beside the front door.  See!  Eight flower stalks!  The other two well-established red yucca have four and one flower stalks respectively.
The new wee yucca just planted this spring.

Where the other three grasses had been, I planted some cheapy grasses I picked up at the grocery store when they had bedding plants for sale last month.  I'm thinking I'd like to do something that flowers there instead so I'm going to go to a native plants nursery and look at penstemon.  Since the flowering plants in the landscape are reds and purples, I'll probably get one of those two.  Or go crazy and get a combo of the two. There is actually another drip for a grass that died long ago that I never replaced. As I was studying it out this morning, I think I'll get a couple of grasses and a couple of penstemon. Maybe. I might be otherwise inspired when I get to the nursery. I also planted a new columbine plant called "Winky" that is red and white. No flowers on it yet but at least it's still alive.
The petunias beside the front door. The columbine is peeking out beside the second step (between the hose diverters).
A better picture of the columbine and a pot of portaluca/moss rose/whatever it's called.  We've had a nice amount of rain the past two weeks so I bought a downspout diverter.  It will probably not rain again for months.  I would really like to put a rain barrel at this downspout--it would collect rainwater from about half our roof.

I've spent quite a bit of time cutting back some plants that have gotten overgrown.  The chaste tree in the front was really thick but when I started trimming out some of the dead twigs and some larger limbs, I discovered a nest so I'm leaving it alone until fall.   The Apache plume in the backyard had gotten really big and unruly.  I was geekily excited this spring when I bought a hedge trimmer specifically for the Apache plume.  It looks goofy now because I cut out quite a bit of dead that was on the one side.  I think/hope it will fill back in.
The Apache plume in the back, pink gaura (whirling butterflies) in the front. The gaura is my favorite plant in the yard. There are two here at the side of the house and three more in the backyard. There were three others but they didn't do well since the spot I'd planted them is pretty shady.  I pulled those out earlier this spring and put in some shade-loving plants that supposedly have purple flowers.  Haven't seen those yet but they've only been in the ground a month or so.

I needed to move one of the large moss rocks and rearrange some river rocks to make a better spot for the portable hammock we got at Christmas.  Every year, we have issues with ants and as I was cleaning up the Apache plume, I noticed tons of ants swarming around.  As I was moving the river rock, I found out why--under some of the rocks were what I've determined to be cricket eggs.  Blech.  We'll be having fewer crickets this year (and hopefully fewer ants as well).  I was worried that it was cockroaches.  We've had some in the past few months which totally grosses me out since we've had maybe one in the previous nine years.  I know it's a result of living in a city but it makes me feel like a bad housekeeper.  My next task is to find an exterminator that is pet-friendly so I don't have to worry about the Jubinator.  (And I totally don't know why I just shared that about the cockroaches.)

While I was doing rearranging those rocks, I decided to add a couple more brick paver steps linking the front walk to the backyard.  The bricks edged the yard when we had real grass and I'd put in the other five several years ago. I'm not sure why I stopped--probably got tired and just never got back around to it until now.
The hammock fits perfectly. The two new steps are at the middle and end of the hammock. And you can see how goofy-looking the Apache plume is. Paul says it looks like a backwards comma. Here's hoping it fills in soon. I moved the pot of daylilies in front of it hoping the large gap wouldn't be as noticeable. I don't think it works.

Chicks dig the long ball

From the Triple-A Home Run Derby held in Albuquerque tonight. Our seats won't be that great for watching the All-Star Game on Wednesday--we're sitting at the far end of the third base line near the foul pole--but it was great for watching the home runs being hit tonight.
Evidence of my gastrointestinal fortitude--barbecue nachos. Just trust me that these are really good--odd but good.
The view from our seats back to home plate. The hitter is a wee thing far, far away.
The fielders--local Little Leaguers--ready to spring into action. Or at least stand around and chat. The wind picked up a bit as the sun went down so these guys saw some action.
During one of the breaks, the fielders relax. The one lying down was making "grass angels"
Harry Canary, one of the Zooperstars! characters at the Derby, captured on the Jumbotron.
The winner of the Home Run Derby was a retired Isotopes player--score one for the home team.

And the night ended with a bang.

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.

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.