Texas our Texas

My recent nine days in Texas was the longest I've been back at one time since I moved in 1998.  I miss it.  There is a different vibe to the state than there is in New Mexico.  Not that NM is bad; it's just not Texas.  And Texas is home.

My classes went well.  The first class was the introductory class which is actually the first class I should have taken.  Then the overwhelming feelings of panic I had in January would have been avoided.  This class is an overview of the program, explains how to use the online learning program, introduces a variety of instructors, etc.  Unfortunately, it wasn't offered in January.  Since many of us were already familiar with the online program, the professor let us leave a little early.  I had time before I had to meet up with Stephanie and Hagen for dinner so, nerd that I am, I went to Sonic and finished the novel I was reading while sipping my Coke.

The second class I'm taking is Information Access and Retrieval.  This is going to be a great class--some of it is a refresher for what I already know but much of it goes deeper into the pretty basic surface knowledge I have of various programs and research tools.  There is quite a bit of classwork involved and with a one-week family cruise in two weeks, I'll be busy getting all the work due by 7/12 completed.  The professor is a large, vivacious woman from Alabama.  She kept it entertaining for four days.  She'd be hooting and laughing and having a grand time and then switch right over to business during the lecture.  We could tell when the lecture was over because she'd start joking again.  Between her, the woman from Georgia that I befriended for the five days and being back in Texas for nine days, you can just imagine what I sound like when I talk.

I got in to town early enough on Friday that Donna and I were able to spend much of the afternoon and evening just hanging out and doing a little shopping.  I wasn't nearly as worried about classes in Denton and finding my way around  this time as I was in January plus I knew that the evenings were more open than what I'd expected on my first visit.  So really, the five days of classes simply served as an interruption to all the visiting I do whenever I go back to Dallas/Ft. Worth.  I didn't get to see everyone but anymore with work and kids, if I can see about half my friends, I'm doing good.  

Donna and I had dinner with Stephanie and Hagen on Saturday evening.  Hagen thought the Abuelo's statue looked like Sir Topham Hatt from Thomas the Tank Engine.  I have to agree.

Sunday, I had dinner with friends in Fort Worth and their two little girls.  I stayed *way* past my curfew and my phone was dead.  Oops!  Thankfully, Donna didn't ground me when I got home.  :)  Unfortunately, the next morning, I woke up with some kind of plague and missed the first half of the day.  Not sure what it was--some stomach funk probably caused by all the excitement and fun of being in Texas.  I was a bit panicked and emailed my professor three times and left a voice message as well as emailing my friend in class to ask her to talk to the professor for me and let her know I'd left messages.  Probably overkill (OK, definitely overkill) but I didn't want her to think I was ditching and I couldn't find anything about absences.  The professor didn't seem too concerned when I got to class after lunch.

Wednesday evening, Donna and I met up with friends from long ago for dinner.  Christi was one of my best friends in elementary school and Shannon (who is Christi's niece) was a year ahead of us in school but still a very good friend.  This is the joy of the Internet and all the social networking sites--finding these people who were so important at that point in your life once again.  Even better--finding out that you still like them!  (Hey, not saying we wouldn't like each other but it could happen/has happened.)

A big, nasty, ugly, hairy storm when through the area while we were having dinner.  We lingered a bit longer than we might have otherwise but Donna and I were able to drive home through just a little rain.  When we got to the apartment, the electricity was out.  It was out for about two hours but happily/surprisingly was back on before midnight despite the lingering storms and lots of lightning.  And there was lots of storms and lightning all night and through much of the next day.  Donna had a job interview Thursday morning (fingers crossed) and it wasn't *too* bad when she left.  But there was flooding across the Metroplex and some trees and lots of branches down in the Trophy Club area (Donna said she later heard that there was a F-0 tornado in the area).  Thankfully, we didn't have anything else to do that afternoon/evening so we were able to just relax a bit.

Friday, Paul came into town for a little getaway.  I'm so glad he was able to come visit.  It was very last-minute that he decided to even come.  We had been talking about going to a Rangers game when we saw that they had a home stand.  We've gone to 7 other games in our quest to see all the MLB stadiums.  I don't know if we'll ever see all of them but it's a fun thing to do.

I have seen a game at the Ballpark when I was in school at UNT.  It was the first season it opened and in fact, I went to the second night game ever played.  And I pretty much napped through the whole thing.  In my defense, it was during finals and the friend I went with was a baseball nut and wasn't one for chatting when the game was going on.   So I told him to wake me up for the 7th inning stretch.
The new Dallas Cowboys football stadium.  It's interesting talking to all our friends in the area--none are big fans of the new stadium. 

A little photo op before the game.  What you can't see in the picture are the dark ominous clouds looming in the background.
With some of our friends at the game (names omitted to protect the innocent and give a little privacy).  We'd invited everyone but it is hard to take little ones to a night game even when fireworks are involved.  Alexis was funny, telling her parents that it was after 9 and she really should be home in bed.  Her mom convinced her to stay since there were fireworks after the game.
And during the first few innings of the game, Mother Nature provided some fireworks of her own in the form of lightning.  There were quite a few big streaks in the night sky that made us surprised they didn't call for a delay.  I've been to other games with lightning farther away and fewer between that were delayed.  There was a lovely rainbow during the storm.  But the storm passed to the (I'm guessing here; I have no idea on directions without a mountain to tell me east) west and the game continued on.
Paul laughed when he looked at this picture and said, "We're shiny."  It was a little hot and humid during the game and after the storm passed and the breeze died down, it felt a little hotter and stickier.
The game only lasted a little over three hours, Rangers beat the Dodgers, and we were rewarded with great fireworks.  We were glad we didn't go to the Saturday game because there was a 1 hour 40 minute delay during that game due to an issue with one bank of lights.

On Saturday, we piddled around Donna's apartment for the most of the morning.  After lunch, we went to Texas Motor Speedway which is about five miles from Donna's apartment.

We did get to go around the track a couple of times in the tour van. That was a blast. To get up on the banked turns, you have to be going 75-80 mph. I was teasing our tour guide about how he must really like his job.
This is coming out of turn 2. The track is 1.5 miles and even though we were going half the speed of the race cars, it's crazy how whipped around you get. Then again, we were in a high-profile, 12-passenger van too.  Not quite the same as going around in a race car (which I would totally do some time).
After the laps, we got to get our and see Victory Lane as well as Pit Row. There were about 10 practice cars out on the track, taking passengers around and some other something-or-other going on that day so we didn't spend much time on Pit Row. It was really hot and humid that day so we were OK to head back to the air-conditioned van after a little bit.
Paul checks out one of the practice cars on Pit Row.  They are definitely not designed for people his size.
We got to go in one of the suites (lingered for a while in there because it was nicely air-conditioned) and then wandered out into the stands as well.  This marks the start/finish line under the stands.

When we finished there, we didn't really have any plans.  Paul had found a shaved ice place the day before and we'd gone with Donna before the baseball game.  We went back there and then just decided to hang out a bit.  Paul wanted to see if there were any board game stores in the Metroplex and we started to head to one in Dallas but changed our minds on the way when Paul said he wanted to see water.  We drove out to Lake Lewisville to just drive around a bit.  Paul wanted to get out and walk but I balked at the idea because it was again hot and humid and there are bugs.  We stopped in Lewisville at a game/hobby store.  It didn't carry the strategy board games Paul likes but it was moving so things were 50-75% off.  I called Amy when I saw that it included all the Thomas the Tank Engine toys.  We loaded up for them as well as some other friends with a Thomas-crazy little boy.

From Lewisville, we drove up to Denton so Paul could see the UNT campus.  I showed him my old dorm and where I'd had classes during my recent visits.

We left early on Sunday morning for the airport and stopped for breakfast while we waited:
Yep.  One would think he'd finally get over the fascination of doing this but he doesn't.  And probably never will despite my best efforts.  We made it home to a much-cooler, much-less-humid ABQ with little ado and a cat who wasn't even that happy to see me.

Musings on today's sermon

Today's scripture readings were the story of David and Goliath and when Jesus calmed the waters.  The sermon topic was on fear.  It was (jokingly) titled "It's all downhill from 15."  he said that at 15, you know everything so there's nothing to be scared of.  Ask any 15 year old and s/he can solve all the problems of the world.  The preacher asked for childhood fears and a variety of things were shouted out by congregation members.  He then asked for adult fears and no one said a word.

I've been mulling this over in my head all day (I think it's a good sermon and a good preacher that have you still thinking about the topic five hours later).  Are we able to state our childhood fears because they were things that we know as adults aren't really scary things?  I was trying to think of what my childhood fears were and I couldn't think of anything specific aside from the earth cellar at my grandparents' house. I've still never gone down in it.  I've been in the concrete cellar more times than I can count but the other was coined "the scary cellar" and I still avoid it (even though there's nothing more than dark and some spiders down there).  I'm sure there were some of the other usual things--thunderstorms, the dark, bad grades.  Thunderstorms can bring bad things but for the most part, it's just a lot of noise that will eventually pass.  No one asks to see your grades after you graduate.

I think grown-up fears are harder to verbalize because they are more real.  Our loved ones will get hurt, will get sick, and eventually will die no matter what we do.  Jobs are lost.  Accidents will happen.  Bad news will be received.  Marriages and friendships and family relationships will be tested.

I think the true test is our we face these fears and carry on with the rest of our lives.  It's not really in my nature to be a cynical person--I've been accused of being a Pollyanna although I don't think I really am.  I do try to be cheery and look on the bright side of things.  I'm sure part of this is in response to the fears that are always lingering in the back of my mind.  But I try to take care what needs to get done (and, yeah, sometimes I just take over and do it) and know that I can't change what is going to happen.  I can just have a good attitude about it.  I don't always turn the issue over to God, as the preacher reminded us to do this morning, although I am much better now than I was a few years ago.  And, thankfully, the sun always comes up in the morning so there's no need to worry about the dark.

We both have a little panic attack stepping on the scale

Any time we get anything in a box, Jub must check it out. He isn't a small cat--long, tall, and weighing in at about 13 lbs. The recent package from Amazon did not come in a 13 lb. box. Not that it stopped him from trying to claim it for his own.

Settling in. This is a cat who is determined to nap in that box:
De-ter-mined to fit:
And finally, even Jub had to acquiesce to the fact that his girth was too much for the box:
I like that you can really tell how small the box is when he's sitting in it.

As funny as the cat is trying to squeeze in the box, I'm giving him a little extra loving tonight (when he comes out of the shoe box that he's claimed as his own after Sunday's shoe purchases). I was spraying outside for bugs (figure we'll try that before I call an exterminator) and was sweeping up the leaves and other stuff along the back patio when I made another icky discovery. When I moved the grill, I discovered a nest underneath it. It was most likely of the mouse variety since there was the tell-tale fuzz that mice like to use as well as chewed seed pods from the yucca and the desert willow.  Eek!  I don't know like the recent varmint parade at our house! I'm SO thankful we didn't have a mouse in the house. With the four cockroaches we've had this spring, throwing a mouse in the mix would have meant the end of me in this house. I'd either have keeled over or just walked right out. I can handle pretty much any other thing but mice and cockroaches make me cry like a little girl. I'm also VERY thankful that the nest was not in use because I'm very certain I couldn't have handled baby mice. I'm not such a bleeding heart that I would have wanted them to live and grow and have mice families of their own but I'd have had to put a box or something over them and waited until Paul got home so he could take care of them.

I'm giving the cat credit for keeping the mice at bay. I doubt he had much to do with it but we've got to throw him a bone every once in a while. And you can bet that now I'll be out there moving the grill at least once a day and it won't be staying outside over the winter ever again.

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.