I've had a fall table arrangement for a few years that my former friend Donna made me. It is pretty but not what I would have chosen. And now that Donna has dropped me as a friend, it's a bad memory. So I decided I wanted something new.
So, I found a picture on Pinterest & today I put this together. Well, my neighbor Leslie tied my bow It has red beans, popcorn & dried peas layered up.
I'm very pleased...I love it!!
This week I went to Ruidoso,NM. It's a city that's about 220 miles west of Lubbock, up in the mountains. Cool air, trees, fresh air. It was good.
I'd been there one time before. Many years ago my boss Elizabeth & her husband, the adorable LR, lived in an RV at a KOA park here in Lubbock but their real home was in Ruidoso. We had a Christmas party up there one year. I remember it being very nice. I didn't remember much & did not drive so this trip was almost a new experience.
I found the hotel on Travelocity for a good rate & I essentially won the hotel lottery. Less than one block away was the main street of shops. Some were closed because they mostly do weekend business but many were open. Lots of friendly people for sure. I made a huge deal about shopping but I really didn't buy much. I didn't think much about it but I was really just a tourist. I bought a t shirt because I loved the color & I like wearing Ts with shorts. I bought a mug, mostly because I loved the shape & colors. And I bought a keyring to go with the other charms on my current ring of cities I've been to.
And I bought a bubble something or other that was coconut juice with little bubbles filled with tropical flavored coconut meat. It was very good though very sweet. I'm glad I had it but probably don't need another.
It was a good walk for sure.
I was carrying a shopping bag with Texas Tech Basketball on it & met a guy in one of the stores who told me his dad played for Tech back in the 50s. I looked him up. I gave his son the bag. I bought a bag with the NM state symbol to replace it.
Wednesday afternoon I went to Inn of the Mountain Gods to the casino but they mugged me. Then I had a hamburger that listed as one ingredient "government cheese" which I found humorous. I found the burger icky tasting.
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| Inn of the Mountain Gods |
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| Lake at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. |
Then I drove to a city about 30 miles away called Tularosa to buy a ristra for my front porch. Along the road, I needed gas & thought they would be a station soon. I finally got to a town called Mescalero, which is on the Mescalero Apache reservation. Roads were closed & I managed to get lost in a town that was actually small. Not lost exactly but I could see a gas station & couldn't figure out how to get there from the wrong side of the highway. I stopped and asked a nice young man named Wheeler who aked for a ride over to the station. We had only a short encounter but he was very nice. He was tribe member. I wanted to ask questions but not enough time.
One of the cool things on the Mescalero road is that the retaining walls was divided into panels & each one had a wonderful mural painted on it. Not graffiti but true murals. So much talent.
I found the ristra man easily & the ristra is gorgeous. Sadly for me, I passed a place coming out of town that had way more choices but it was closed when I went by so I'm glad I got the 1st one. I'd come in a different way so I did not see the stand coming in. Next time I'll know.
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| New Ristra |
It was a long enough trip for me. I like being there but getting there is not my favorite. Long road trips alone wear me down & airports are even worse right now.
I went to Colorado in June & used my GPS to get everywhere I needed to be, mostly without incident. I had some issues with it taking me some backroads because of flooding. I figured out where I was way off track going & coming back was a breeze til I tried to cross from New Mexico into Texas & it sent me backroads then for some reason. It had me on a farm road that was horrible...but I'm fixing that.
I'm planning a small trip next month to Ruidoso & decided I needed an atlas. I actually found a New Mexico map in one of my files but then I ordered a used atlas from Ebay. It's a 2018 but in great shape & I'm pretty sure nothing has changed since then, roadwise.
GPS does a great job telling me what road to go on & that in 56.2 miles I need to turn but it doesn't tell me what town I'm going through. Even worse, I stopped at the Sonic & a gas station in one town & asked the kids working what the next town was & they didn't know. Holy cow...is cluelessness a super power now?
My atlas & I are going solve all those problems. Yay!
I have to thrown in that when I got the atlas in the mail I thought of my friend Kyle. He passed away about a year ago & my heart still hurts. But Kyle loved, LOVED maps & atlases. He'd sit & go through them for hours . He was my atlas dude.
My friend Deb brought me some wild plum jam that her company had purchased from a local vendor for a dinner. Just had some & it was yummy.
Growing up on a ranch, wild plum jelly was a staple in our house. We had wild plums that grew on a creek bed that ran through the property & we'd all go down & pick into 5 gallon buckets. Mom would boil them down to juice & then mom would make tons of jam to last for the year. I checked with the current owner of the property a few years ago to see if there were plums & I could go pick but he told me they had all dried up or he'd be happy to let me. So sad.
I've canned a couple of things over the years. I made regular plum jam with Costco plums a couple of years ago & made cherry jam for my friend Deb last year. A few years ago I made corn relish which was delish. It made about 8 jars each time & I gave most away but not everyone likes things like this anymore. And I don't eat many things like that anymore either.
Deb made pickles a couple of years. She grew the cucumbers & made jars & jars of pickles. She gave me a couple of bread & butter pickles, my favorite. I think I still have a jar in the pantry. I actually love pickles & if there is one on my plate, I eat it first. But it seriously never occurs me to open the refrigerator & put one on my plate.
I wish I lived in an era where I canned & pickeled but if I did I'd be overrun. I am making a big effort to cook at home everyday but even with that I can't really eat that much canned food. Last year, for some reason, I had a freezer full of corn. And it took months to eat it all. Today I have 1 bag of Birdseye corn in my freezer.
My dad had jelly at at lease 1 meal every day. On toast,biscuits, cornbread. That was dessert even if there happened to be another dessert. Both he & mom grew up in an era where it was a true treat.
I'm thinking about making corn relish again. It was so good & now that I can make beans (see Father's Day post) that relish would be really good with my beans.
I read an article yesterday about something called "glimmers" which are the opposite of "triggers". Glimmers are little things that make you happy without a specific reason just as triggers are things that upset you without a specific reason.
Because I'm trying to have more positivity in my life instead of just the negativity that we are bombarded with everyday. I need balance. I'm going to try to find a glimmer everyday.
Here is my first glimmer:
This is a needle threader. I don't sew but I do crochet & usually just fold a little tiny piece of paper to thread my tapestry needle when I'm done with my scarf. But today I found this at Walmart. I've never owned one before.
I'm officially high tech!
Okm my picture is blurry so I'm reallyy not that high tech.
I can't sleep, as usual.
I have eliminated overt caffiene in my diet though there is probably some hidden stuff.
I stopped drinking soda's in December though I do drink some some fruity carbonated sugar free drinks. Just one a day. Basically every ingredient has 0's...Probably still not good for me but hopefully not hurting too bad. And I get tired of water all the time. And I drink a lot of water & I like it. To be fair to me, some days & even weeks are just water days.
I'm intermittant fasting. I eat only between 10 am & 6pm. I can eat what I want but only during those hours. It's been pretty easy so far. I started Monday at 148.5 pounds. I want to below below 130. I'd be happy with 129.9. But I'm not going to beat myself up. I've happy where I am but losing 20 pounds would be great for my blood sugar. Plus I found 3 shirts on sale last week that fit but would look better 20 pounds less. 😅
I'm watching My 600 pound life so I think about weight.
One lady was adopted & the doctor told the adoptive parents that the birth mom was a large woman & the baby had same tendancies so a pediatrition put her on diet pills at age 3. Now she weighs 678 pounds. Or did then. Show is older.
A few years bariactric surgery was a fad at my office & our insurance paid for it...but I didn't qualify because I was under 200 pounds at the time. I'm glad I didn't do it. Not sure how exactly but my weight has dropped to where it is now & I've maintained it for at least 13 years. It's a mystery.
I remember weight guru Richard Simmons said he was sent to a weight loss group as a teen & if someone gained during the week they had to wear a badge with a pig on it.
How are people so cruel?
I'm cooking at home now. No fast food sounds good, except Schlotskys & it's across town. Today I made my favorite meal: pan fried steak, mashed potatoes, biscuits & gravy. It's normally not that big of a meal but I have plenty of leftovers so it wasn't a complete pig fest. And I had an apple & a granola bar for supper, ending at 5:55. 😇
I also cooked pinto beans in my instapot today. I tasted them but didn't really eat any. That's lunch tomorrow.
I did eat out yesterday...enchiladas at the Plaza & about half of a banana split at Braums. But it was my birthday.
Sounding a little piggy 🐷🐷 but it was an unusual weekend. I promise it's normally not this bad.
I need to write about this but I'm going to try to not only obsess about it. I'm going to try. I will admit that I plan food in my mind. I'm already planning on beans tomorrow. But to be fair, I eat the leftovers so I'm saving money & don't have a new meal every day. See, I can justify anything.
But I feel the urge to move, which is strange. I'm trying to get a lot of steps in every day. My Fitbit reminds me & I'm trying.
Gosh, I sound stressed about it & I'm truly not.
I talked to Kaye & told her I'm not coming back to work. I enjoy being at home. I'm going to miss it but think it's best.
The truth is I'm over too many people every day. I'd like a person or 2 occasionally but I need them to be real friends, not users.
My former friend Donna was in the hospital last week & may still be. We've been friends for a long time but she is a dyed in the wool Democrat & does not like that we don't agree on politics. I don't discuss them with her & can live with that but she cannot. So they have ignored me for the past year & a half. Which is seriously not anything new...she's only ever cared about herself & her family. She used to call to talk about them but never once asked me about anything in my life. I was her friend, she was never really mine. I hope she's ok but I don't need her in my life.
I'm trying read more. I'm having trouble settling my mind as usual but the last couple of weeks have been good. I finished 2 books, I'm in the middle of one now.
I need some balance & variety in my life now that I'm home all the time. I've turned into my mom...I don't like much TV noise anymore, in spite of watching My 600 pound life at this moment. I can't handle it for long. Ready for a bath & my book after this episode finishes.
And I'm binging a British crime drama called Shetland but not tonight. It's set in the Shetland Islands in Britian & it looks like it would be a very cool place to visit, except for all the murders! 😅
I might have worn down here. Or I might be back.
I just finished a book called 'The Ranger' by Ace Atkins. It's the first in a series of books about a army ranger named Quinn Colson. In this book he returns to his hometown for a family funeral & runs into drug dealers. We finally end with him back on base but injured on desk duty. I picture him moving home to be the new town sheriff. I can only surmise that because it's the last book in the series I'll be reading.
Holy cow.
The writing is awful. There are waaaaaaay too many useless characters, everyone but Quinn & Deputy Lillie a complete idiot. The dialogue is repetitive. There are complete chapters that are completely unnecessary. It's setting is a Mississippi small town full of rednecks drinking nothing but Mountain Dew, living in squalor & throwing their trash along the side of the road.
I don't know where Ace was born but he went to school at Auburn so I assume he is a southerner. I'm personally insulted by his portrayal of small town southerners as ignorant hicks with no pride in their lives, homes or towns.
To top it off, the writing is just plain bad. One instance is described a drug dealer's car as a "cherry red EL Camino"...which was great the 1st time but he used all 4 words every other time he described it. Dude, we got it the 1st time. Cherry red.
And I had to read a couple of chapters a couple of times to even figure out who or what he was talking about.
The boy needs an editor.
I at first thought it was self published because I could not figure out how he got past a real live publisher. But it was published in 2011 when publishers had less strigent standards & before self publishing became a thing.
I became acquainted with Ace because when one of my favorite authors, Robert B Parker died, his estate, in a bid to keep the money train running, hired Ace to take over Parker's character, Spencer. He did a pretty good job, though the last 2 books were kind of lazy & unimaginative. Plus,in the last book he called God a she, gave a Hawk a daughter & killed a semi regular character for no reason. Granted he was not a hugely important character but he was a legacy guy who showed up several times over the years. It's pretty evident he's over the character. Luckily, he's announced the last book was his last book in the series. He's passing the torch to another author who too over some of Parker's other characters. I have not read him but may give him a look.
Truthfully, it may be time for Spenser (with an "s" like the poet). It's been 50 books, he no longer points out that he's "dressed to the nines, armed to the teeth". Mostly he spends more time with boring Susan who sips martinis,nibbles on peas & gives sexual innuendos. Hawk still grunts & dresses well. And of course all the dogs named Pearl in Boston. The thrill is kind of gone.
I wrote a post about Ace & RBP earlier that said he did a pretty good job & I meant it. But it's obviously he can take an established set of characters & keep them going. But he has an inability to develop characters or his owns stories. Maybe he's gotten better since his first book. But he & I are done.
I made an impulse purchase today...this jigsaw puzzle, from Costco. When my mom was alive, we did a lot of puzzles, but 300 piece puzzles, not 1000 pieces. And I enjoyed it because I got to be with her. I like them too but I'm not very good at them. I have problems seeing things in pieces & seeing a finished picture. I also can't do the puzzles where I'm supposed to find 4 teapots in a big picture. My brain just doesn't go there. But I love Vegas & this looked fun. I already missed several side pieces already & if I finish this, it'll take me a year. But...on I go.
My sister Cathy always loved Vegas too & I thought of her today as I worked on this. She was not a lucky person & would run out of money fast. "I'd play, but I don't have any money...(insert sad face)...so I'd give her half of what I had. But I was ok with that.
Mom liked going too & we always got to meet Cathy & usually her daughter Karla or some friends. Cathy's big thing was saving money on hotel rooms & she was ok with 6 or so people in one room. Um...no. I always got another room for mom & me...Cathy never understood why but I wouldn't sleep for a month with that many people around me. Always made us all laugh.
I'll post a picture if I ever finish the puzzle.
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Texas Tech was established in 1923 so we are in a centennial year. Lots of celebrations are going on all over the state. At the Tech Museum there is a commemorative exhibit of the University. Today I went to the Museum to check it out. It was pretty impressive. I read all the stuff & looked at the pictures & took a few. Mostly, and sadly, the pictures I took were mainly sports. I graduated from Tech but it's the sports that cause the memories.
Ok, this is not athletic related. I feell a little better.
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| Model of Administration Building Construction started in 1924 |
The team lost 3 games that season. Truthfully, I only remember 1 loss but I'll go with the internet on that one. They rolled through the post season for a Sunday afternoon in Atlanta. It was glorious. The coach was Marsha Sharp. The city figuratively canonized her, even naming a freeway after her. She never again had the same glory though she possibly could have. Sadly, her later star player ended up pregnant & didn't mention it to anyone til it was too late to redshirt her. I can only imagine as a 19 year old, she was scared & confused. I certainly would have been. But the rumors I heard is that Saint Marsha berated & humiliated her & not only did she leave but her remaining teammates took it all a little personally. They didn't leave but the spirit & trust of the team was broken. Saint Marsha's days were numbered.
The program fell into disrepair & sadness. A couple of years ago, Tech hired one of the members of the championship as head coach. She seems to be doing well. I'd like to see that 1993 magic again.
Swoops went on to be the 1st player drafted in the WNBA.
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| 1993 Lady Raider Basketball |
Coach Knight was both famous & infamous. He was a tough taskmaster & his players loved him. He made them go to class. He taught them that not everyone was going to be playing money ball & that they needed to take advantage of the education Tech was handing them. When he ended up leaving, his son took over the program. Pat Knight was not his dad & was kind of a disaster. I never heard anything official but I think the agreement was for a limited time to get Pat the job.
Coach Knight was rude & crude in some ways. He did not suffer fools at all. And I get that because there are fools everywhere. I liked him. I always loved it when they said "Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight". He deserved his solo picture in the centennial tribute.
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| Coach Bob Knight |
In 2008, we had us a football team. A real one. Mike Leach was out coach & we had a team that could score crazy points. It was awesome. And when the dreaded evil empire, the University of Texas, then the number 1 team in the nation came to town. We were undefeated til them (#7 I think) but definite underdogs. But that didn't sink in to Graham Harrrell or Michael Crabtree because they scored the most amazing final TD ever in our history & sent the bovine home crying. Of course, we lost to Oklahoma the next week like 55-0 & lost the bowl game. But that game was soooooo good!!
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A guy on Twitter--now X--asked the other day if we considered ourselves a foodie. I replied that I'm foodier.
Since food is so expensive & I cook more & try to have variety & try to eat better, I'm experimenting.
I've made quesadillas before but now I'm trying new things. I made air-fryer chicken, added onion, peppers, celery, broccoli & cheese. It was dang good. And it made 2 so it was dang good rewarmed 2 days later.
I do need to temperature adjust to avoid the charcoal but it was workable.
Gonna make again!
Growing up in Arizona in the late 60s I used to get to go to Flagstaff to my sister Cathy's house for time in the summer, from my years 10-12. My oldest niece Karla was about 3 & I'd sit with her while Cathy was at work. Her husband Jimmy worked out of town during the week so it was mainly just the 3 of us.
They lived in a 2 bedroom apartment that I've come to realize was probably low income housing though I don't know that sure. I remember thinking it was a nice place & I wanted an aparement just like it when I grew up.
About one time a week, Cathy would leave money so Karla & I could buy from the ice cream man. I don't exactly remember but I can't imagine it was over a dollar for both of us.
Today I was sitting here reading & was thinking how hot it is & that I wanted an ice cream. I don't keep it in the house because I tend to have it every meal (as the meal) til it's gone. No lies. So I will sometimes get a single cone but try to keep it to once a week. Today, as I was thinking about how good an ice cream would taste, I heard the familiar strains of 'The Entertainer" headed my way. I ran for my wallet & flagged down the ice cream truck God had sent me. I wanted a Nutty Buddy cone but he didn't have so I "settled" for a neopolitan ice cream sandwich. And it was good too. My craving is settled.
Funny thing, as the apparent official, national song of ice cream trucks, 'The Entertainer' played I asked him "Do you ever get tired of that song?"....and he said "What song?".
Home from a heartbreaking loss for the #LubbockMatadors, 0-1 in OT. Worked up courage to get my kit shirt signed by the players. I am now a soccer fan tho I don't fully understand. Sad for these kids who played their hearts out. Shirt will never be a collectors item but I'll keep it & wear it & rememeber how fun this season was.
Talked to a couple of the players. They are students on scholarship at different universities & this may be the only summer they get to do this. Maybe a last hurrah before life begins. Thrilled for them. Hope to see some back next year. Can't wait for next season.
Last time Brownsville was in town, we sat next to these 2 ladies in for the game, one a Brownsville team mom. They were very nice & we talked for awhile & I went to say hi tonight. I told her I'd been thinking about her following her son & his dreams. I asked her if she'd dreamed of spending her disposable income traveling to exotic places like Lubbock! At the end of the game she brought me a #LubbockMatadors hat. It was an extremely sweet gesture.
Anyone who knows me knows I hate losing & I hate other teams celebrating on our field, I also appreciate that you have to be true to your school (as it were)...I was touched to receive the hat.
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| Thats' me--top row,end between guy i n gray shirt & woman holding child. |
I filed a lawsuit yesterday for some painting that was done at my house last November & turned out to be a disaster. Paint literally fell off my fascia boards. Scammer painter said "not my fault", blamed roofer & refused to come fix. I had to hire someone else last week for $1800 to come fix the mess. I have never sued anyone before but decided it was time to stand up for myself. I have pictures, roofer & painter ready to testify & text messages. Scammer going down!
Alex says it fell off house because it got wet. I told him I'd owned a house for 40 years & never had paint fall off my house before.
Scammer Alex & his mouthy wife who carries his balls in her purse are not going to be happy. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. She sent a text telling to me to stop sending hateful messages. Hateful is not how I ride. I just line my ducks up. I hope. 😄
One of my favorite singers Gordon Lightfoot died on May 1 at the age of 84. I wrote a post earlier called 'If You Could Read My Mind' & that's a song the Gordon wrote. The post veered into a different direction but that's how it started. And it's one of my favorite songs.
He has a wonderful voice. And is a great songwriter. He's also Canadian royalty. I watched a documentary about him & he had an interesting life. He played guitar but went to school in LA to learn how to write songs.
Seriously I've never heard of a songwriter who did that, though it's probably happened for other people. And he was on the road for years, doing concerts to the end of his life. I'd heard at the end he'd lost some of his voice but everything I've read about his concerts, everyone seemed to have a good time.
'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' is an amazing song abut a shipwreck. It's haunting because it was a real event. It's like he was there.
He also apparently had a tumultuous love life over the years. One of his lovers' named Patty who is the woman who gave John Belushi the hotshot that killed him. Gordon's song 'Sundown' was about her.
Interesting life for sure. It was the loss that made me very sad.
