My Journal of Random Things

Goodbye 2011, Welcome 2012

2011-12-31T23:11:00.008-07:00

As each year comes to a close I usually end up thinking about what we did during the year and I write a summary of the year. I spend the last week of the year going over the calendar for the year and make little notes so I can put it all on this blog. After a little thinking I had a good handle on 2011. I realized that overall Thomas and I had a great year and we are looking forward to 2012. So here is a little recap of our year.

As usual Thomas had a busy January and February with the legislative session. So he is up and at work early and doesn't get home until late. Even though it is a stressful time for him he really enjoys that aspect of his job and I think it energizes him. While he is working his tail off I take care of everything else - the dogs, the house, the bills, the shopping, the laundry - well you get the picture. That is how we start off most years. At the end of February and through the first week of April I made a trip to Texas for T.A.L.E.8. That is a letterboxing event that I try to attend every year. I also visited some friends while there. It was a good trip and I had a great time. Then at the end of March Thomas and I took a trip to Tucson. Mainly for him to get away after the legislative session but we also attended the annual Tucson Letterboxers Gathering. We had great weather and enjoyed hiking in Tucson Mountain Park and in the Catalina Mountains.

At the end of April Thomas had to go to Las Cruces for work and I ended up tagging along. We were there three days and fortunately Thomas was able to find some free time for a little relaxation. Then in July we took a trip to Alaska. The trip was set up as a cruise for a group of letterboxers and then there was a land portion added to it. Thomas and I opted to extend the trip since we were traveling all that distance and we wanted to make the most of it. We ended up flying in to Fairbanks a couple of days early and doing things on our own. Then we met up with the rest of the group and took a bus from Fairbanks to Denali National Park. A day there and then back on the bus to Anchorage. The next day we took a train to Seward where we boarded our ship. The next seven days had us sailing to Juneau, Skayway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan and through the Inside Passage before we docked in Vancouver. Thomas and I stayed in Vancouver for a few days before flying home. We had an incredible trip and we met some wonderful people. We will remember this trip for a long time. You can read all about it at Letterboxing Cruise to Alaska Adventure.

In September I went on another trip. This time to the Midwest. I attended a letterboxing event (2011: a stamp odyssey) in Augusta, Missouri. Besides that I spent time in St. Louis and then went on a great road trip to visit some State Capitols. My trip took me to Jefferson City, Des Moines, Springfield, Indianapolis, Columbus, Frankfort and Nashville. It was a wonderful trip and could have only been better if Thomas had been able to go with me. You can read about my odyssey at Missouri and Beyond. And we took one last trip for the year right after Thanksgiving and that was to Orlando. We spent four days at Walt Disney World Resort and two days at Universal Resort. We also had a couple of relaxation days in between visiting all the parks. It was a good trip and Thomas and I made it a point to ride as many of the rides as we could . I think we did a good job of getting that done. That trip is chronicled here.

Through 2011 we also attended some Broadway plays and concerts at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque with some friends. During the year we saw Wicked, Spring Awakening, The Music Man, Legally Blonde, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, Cats and Blue Man Group. We enjoyed them all but my favorites were Wicked, Blue Man Group and Fiddler on the Roof. We already have plays and concerts schedule for 2012 - South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, Young Frankenstein, Manhattan Transfer, Mary Poppins, Les Miserables and The Lion King. It should be fun to see all of these and be able to visit with Louise, Bonnie and Eric.

Our three dogs - Daisy, Buddy and Grim are all doing well. They keep us entertained and they always provide us with unconditional love. We are use to only having one dog at a time so having three dogs has proved to be a little chaotic at times - thankfully when they get all riled up we just put them outside and let them run around the property. They are all great dogs and we love them to death. One really big problem we have is that the dogs tend to fight with the coyotes that live out in back of the house in the arroyo. They have some pretty serious encounters where our dogs have come home with bites, cuts and bleeding. But at times it seems as if they are all playing like best of friends. So we do try to keep an eye out for them and make sure nothing gets too serious.

Thomas also did a lot of work on the yard this year. A couple of years ago we made our wall taller and added gates. This year Thomas had the ponds resurfaced and fixed up and we also added quite a few plantings and a couple of little arbors. We bought new patio furniture and had new cushions made as well. We still have a little work to do especially in the front of the wall by our parking area - we will tackle that this Spring and Summer. Thomas also completed a Master Gardener program at the beginning of the year. He really enjoyed the classes and learned a lot. He may do some assisting with this years class here in Santa Fe, but he hasn't made up his mind yet.

With all the problems with the economy and people being without jobs Thomas and I feel very lucky. We both have good jobs and a steady income. Both our jobs are going well and keep us very busy. Luckily we both have things outside of work that help us to forget about the stress of the jobs when we get home. We are hoping that 2012 provides much better stability for the economy and the country and that our jobs continue to be good.

We are already making plans for some travel in the coming year. I will be attending T.A.L.E.9 in the Houston area in early March. And then in May Thomas and I are going on a cruise with my brother and his wife and one of my sisters and her husband. We are going on a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean. We leave from Galveston and our ports are Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel.

I am looking forward to 2012 and feel that it will be as good or better than 2011. Happy New Year to everyone and Thomas and I send everyone good wishes.

Our Last Day

2011-12-08T21:53:00.006-07:00

Well today was our last day in Orlando. We didn't make any plans last night but we knew we would probably visit one or two of the Disney parks since we had one more day left on our tickets. So when we woke up this morning we decided to get some of our stuff packed and then go to breakfast. While at breakfast we both decided that Disney's Animal Kingdom was our favorite park - mostly because it was the most natural and had lots of animals. The decision was made to go there and then we would see what we wanted to do later. Well here is how our day turned out . . .

Entered Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Walked through Oasis.
Entered Discovery Island.
Walked the Discovery Island Trails.
Walked over to Africa.
Rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Did a little window shopping in Mombasa Marketplace.
Entered Asia.
Saw the Flights of Wonder Show.
Walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Walked through DinoLand U.S.A.

By this time it was 3:00pm and we had seen everything we wanted to so we decided to head over to the Magic Kingdom. And this is what we did there . . .

Entered the Magic Kingdom.
Walked down Main Street.
Got ice cream at Plaza Ice Cream Parlor.
Ate ice cream while sitting at the statue of Walt and Mickey.
Walked over to Tomorrowland.
Rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.
Rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
Had dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.
Watched the Main Street Electrical Parade.

By the time the parade was starting the crowds were getting bigger so we decided after the parade to call it a day. We had a great time in Orlando and we enjoyed all the theme parks we visited. Of course Thomas and I both have our favorite places and rides but all in all it was a wonderful trip. But we will be glad to be home and see our dogs and be able to sleep in our own bed. Tomorrow is all about airports and flights - I can't wait to get home.

A Day at the Movies

2011-12-07T18:11:00.009-07:00

Our plan for today was to visit Universal Studios and that is what we did. After a slow start and a little breakfast we arrived at the park around 10:00am. The weather was beautiful and it was already in the 70's when we entered the park. The place was not very crowded, this was the least amount of people at any of the parks that we visited this week. I was kind of glad, the crowds can get annoying at times. This meant we could take our time going from attraction to attraction without having to wait in long lines. So, here is what we did today at the park . . .

Entered park at Production Central.
Saw Shrek 4-D.
Walked over to New York.
Saw Twister . . . Ride It Out!
Rode Revenge of the Mummy.
Made our way over to San Francisco/Amity.
Watched Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue.
Rode Disaster!
Had a late lunch at San Francisco Pastry Company.
Rode JAWS.
Headed over to World Expo.
Rode Men In Black Alien Attack.
Rode the Simpsons Ride.
Entered Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone.
Rode E.T. Adventure.
Saw Animal Actors on Location!
Over to Hollywood.
Saw Universal Orlando's Horror Make-Up Show.
Watched the Macy's Holiday Parade.
Back in Production Central.
Rode Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

We had a great day at the park. The weather was great until around 4:00pm when it got pretty chilly and cloudy with some light sprinkling of rain. Nothing bad and definitely nothing to stop all the action. We actually rode our last ride in a light drizzle. My favorites of the day were The Simpsons Ride and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow (our last day) - we have one more day on our Disney tickets so we will probably go to one or two of those parks - we will see how we feel in the morning.

A Day of Adventure

2011-12-06T18:23:00.008-07:00

Today we were up early because I wanted to get to Universal's Islands of Adventure before they opened. My whole purpose on visiting this park was to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A travel guide I bought said that since this is the newest area of the park and has proven to be the most popular. At the busiest times you can wait for hours just to enter this section and to get on any of the rides takes forever. So they suggested to get there early and head straight for that area and that is what we did. Although today in the park wasn't busy at all and we only waited between 5 and 15 minutes for each ride except one (that one we waited 25 minutes). Here is a breakdown of our day . . .

Made our way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Rode Dragon Challenge.
Rode Flight of the Hippogriff.
Rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
Walked around taking pictures and visiting shops.
Entered Jurassic Park area.
Ate an early lunch (we didn't have breakfast) at The Burger Digs.
Rode Jurassic Park River Adventure. *Got a little wet!*
Walked over to Toon Lagoon.
Rode Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. *Got really wet!*
Rode Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. *Got absolutely soaked - from head to toe!*
Had some ice cream and sat in the sun to try and dry off - it didn't work!
Entered Marvel Super Hero Island.
Rode the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
Rode Doctor Doom's Fearfall.
Rode the Incredible Hulk Coaster.
Sat in the sun again and watched people riding the Hulk Coaster trying to dry off -
still didn't work - stupid humidity.
Entered Seuss Landing.
Rode the Cat in the Hat.
Walked over to the Lost Continent.
Took the tour of Poseidon's Fury.
Went back to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey again.
Rode Dragon Challenge again.
Took more pictures and went in more shops.

We had a full day in the park and it was so nice to have minimal crowds and very short wait times. And we even had time to visit Harry Potter twice and spend extra time in Hogsmead and at Hogwarts. The park was open until 7:00pm but we ended up leaving at 5:00pm. We did everything we wanted to do and more and were ready for a nice meal. We ended up stopping at a seafood and steakhouse for dinner on our way back to the hotel. We were still wet from the three water rides and decided to get out of our wet clothes and put on our bathing suits and go sit in the hot tub - why not we were already wet. The hot tub was a great end to a great day. We both had a blast and we loved the rides - favorites of the day - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Incredible Hulk Coaster, Dragon Challenge and Doctor Doom's Fearfall in that order. We will be visiting Universal Studios tomorrow.

A Lazy Day

2011-12-05T19:06:00.001-07:00

After one day of traveling and four days at theme parks we decided to take today off. We wanted to relax and just not do much of anything. So we ended up sleeping in and laid in bed reading until about 10:00am. Then once we were dressed we decided to drive in to Orlando. We decided to go to the downtown area and see what was going on. So we parked and walked around the area - first down Church St. and then down Orange Ave. - where we stopped into Paninio's Pizza and Grill for a little lunch. After eating we walked down Central Blvd. to Lake Eola and walked around part of the lake and rested on a bench for a while. We then returned to our car and decided to head back to the hotel. Once there I went and sat by the pool and read while Thomas decided to stay in the room and take a nap. We rested and then showered and went out for a nice dinner. It was perfect day to just relax and do nothing. Oh, and the temperatures were in the mid to high 70's - a big difference from the cold in Santa Fe. Our friend who is watching the house and taking care of the dogs told us that it was suppose to get down to -2°F tonight. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Anyway, we had a great day today and really relaxed. Tomorrow we are going to Universal's Islands of Adventure.

Lights! Camera! Action!

2011-12-04T21:00:00.010-07:00

Well we spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios and had a great time. We managed to get up early and we arrived at the park by 9:30am. I think we were able to get an early start because last night we got back to the hotel at a decent hour and had a great night's sleep. The parking area was already filling up by the time we arrived and I hoped the park wouldn't be to crowded but we were here and so we entered the park. Here is how we spent our day . . .

Walked down Hollywood Boulevard and over to Echo Lake.
Rode Star Tours - The Adventure Continues.
Made our way to Streets of America.
Saw Muppet Vision 3-D.
Walked through Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure.
Entered Pixar Place.
Rode Toy Story Midway Mania!
Walked over to Sunset Boulevard.
Rode the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Rode the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
Had a light lunch at Rosie's All American Cafe.
Saw Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage.
Made our way to Animation Courtyard.
Watched the Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun! Parade.
Saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
Went back to Streets of America.
Took the Studio Backlot Tour.
Walked back to Echo Lake.
Saw the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Adventure.
Now back to Streets of America.
Walked through The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.
Ended up back on Hollywood Boulevard.
Rode the Great Movie Ride.
Attended Fantasmic.

It was a great day although the lines were longer today than at any of the other parks. We actually waited in line an hour for Toy Story Midway Mania and an hour for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Not bad though and it seemed shorter. I loved the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - 0 to 58 in 2.8 seconds right at the start, part of the ride is in the dark and there are three inversions. All the while you have Aerosmith music playing in your ear - a great ride - my favorite of the day. We had some traffic to deal with when exiting the park but we still managed to get back to the hotel before 10:00pm. Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow but it probably won't have anything to do with a theme park.

A Fun and 'Wild' Day

2011-12-03T17:53:00.009-07:00

We had a very full and long day yesterday and it was after midnight when we got to bed. So we slept in this morning and by the time we showered, dressed, had breakfast and coffee we didn't arrive at Disney's Animal Kingdom until almost 11:00am. Very unusual for us - we typically get up early and get started on our day, so it seemed like we had lost most of our day before we even got started. Animal Kingdom closes early compared to the other parks in the Disney system, so we only had until 7:00pm to get things done. Here is how our day turned out . . .

Entered Animal Kingdom park and walked through Oasis.
Made our way to Discovery Island.
Viewed and photographed the Tree of Life.
Watched It's Tough to be a Bug!
Headed over to Camp Minnie-Mickey.
Attended Festival of the Lion King.
Made our way into Africa.
Rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
Rode the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Walked the Habitat Habit! Trail.
Walked through Conservation Station.
Visited the Affection Section.
Rode the Wildlife Express Train back to Africa.
Watched the last half of Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade.
Had a late lunch at Tusker House Restaurant.
Strolled over to Asia.
Rode Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.
Wandered into DinoLand U.S.A.
Rode Primeval Whirl.

We had a great day at Animal Kingdom. I really liked this park. It has more shows and exhibits than it does attractions (rides in the Disney world). Don't get me wrong I have been enjoying the rides at all the parks but I just liked the feel of this park better. It was a shorter day today and we are back at the hotel at a decent hour and hopefully we will get to bed earlier tonight. Tomorrow Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Today We Traveled the World

2011-12-02T21:55:00.008-07:00

We arrived at Epcot at about 10:00am. Parking and getting into the park was a little easier than at the Magic Kingdom. We didn't have to take a tram or anything - the parking area was in walking distance to the main gate. Our intention when we entered the park was to go to Spaceship Earth but the line was long and we decided to start elsewhere. So this is how the day unfolded . . .

Made our way to Future World West.
Rode Soarin'! - Loved it!
Took the boat voyage for Living With the Land.
Saw The Circle of Life film.
Rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
Saw Turtle Talk with Crush.
Rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment.
Saw "Captain EO" - the original 3D film with Michael Jackson that played at Epcot from 1986 - 1994.
Made our way to the World Showcase.
Entered through Canada and walked to England.
Late lunch at Yorkshire County Fish Shop.
Visited gardens in Canada - modeled after Butchart Gardens in Victoria.
Listened to Off Kilter (Canadian and Celtic Rock Band).
Back to England.
Listened to British Revolution (British Rock Band).
Listened to Father Christmas tell holiday stories.
Walked over to France.
Dessert at Boulangerie Pâtisserie (Chocolate Mousse and Napoleon).
Listened to Père Noël tel holiday Stories.
Into Morocco - walked around and went into a few shops.
Entered Japan - more walking around and shopping.
Crossed over into the United States.
Attended the Candlelight Processional with celebrity narrator - Geena Davis.
Saw the American Adventure.
Walked over to Italy.
Watched the Ziti Sisters (Interactive Comedy Troupe).
Into Germany.
Stopped in at karamell-kuche for milk chocolate covered carmel topped with sea salt.
Over to China.
Watched The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats.
Now into Norway.
Rode Maelstrom.
Ended in Mexico.
A little more shopping and walking around.
Watched Illuminations.

Today there seemed to be more people than at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. But since there weren't as many rides waiting in line wasn't that bad even though it was longer wait times than yesterday. Everything else we did was timed things and we just showed up. After Illuminations we made our way back to the car and then to the hotel. Even with the crowds getting out of the park and the parking lot went smoothly. Another great day at Disney World. Tomorrow the plan is to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom.

A Day of Magic

2011-12-01T21:19:00.013-07:00

We spent today at Disney World's Magic Kingdom and had a great time. It has been since the 90's since Thomas and I have been to Disney World and we have been talking about for a while now and we finally made the trip. We arrived at the parking area at 9:30am, boarded the 'Heroes' tram then took the Monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. Once in the park this is how our day went . . .

Rode the Walt Disney World Railroad around the park.
Walked down Main Street to Cinderella Castle.
Made our way to Tomorrowland.
Saw Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.
Went to Stitch's Great Escape!
Rode Space Mountain.
Sat in on Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress.
Headed to Fantasyland.
Had a small lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus.
Rode "it's a small world".
Walked over to Liberty Square.
Went in to the Haunted Mansion through the cemetery.
Attended the Hall of Presidents.
Made our way to Adventureland.
Got Fast Pass for Jungle Cruise.
Watched the show at Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.
Rode Pirates of the Caribbean.
Rode the Jungle Cruise.
Walked over to Frontierland.
Got Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Went over to Tom Sawyer Island.
Rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Rode Splash Mountain. Got soaking wet! - Thankfully it was the end of the day.
Ate a light dinner at Columbia Harbour House.
Watched the Main Street Electrical Parade.
Made our way to Cinderella Castle.
Watched The Magic, The Memories, and You! projected onto the Castle.
Watched the Wishes! Fireworks show.

When we first arrived at the park there weren't very many people and it was easy and fast getting around and getting on rides. By noon the park was a little busier but still not bad. A couple of the rides had 45 minute waits but those are the ones we got Fast Passes for and went do other things then returned at our appointed time and 'viola' - no waiting. I think the longest we waited in line for any ride was 20 minutes. Not bad! Leaving the park took a lot longer than arriving. There were tons more people tonight than this morning and there was a mass exodus after the fireworks. From the park we took the Ferry back over to the parking area and we got an impromptu concert from the Gardner High School Marching Band (from Gardner, MA). They participated in the Main Street Electrical Parade tonight. They didn't play instruments on the Ferry - they sang. I guess a few of them are in the choir as well and they will be participating in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot tomorrow night and they just started singing while the Ferry took us back to the parking area. It was nice and they were very good. It was a long day but we had a blast. Tomorrow we are going to Epcot.

A Day of Travel

2011-11-30T19:46:00.006-07:00

Thomas and I wanted to get away and do something fun and relaxing so we planned a trip to Orlando. Today we left Santa Fe and spent most of the day in airports and airplanes. The traveling part went pretty well and we didn't have any problems - it was just long. Thankfully we had a non-stop flight from Albuquerque to Orlando so we didn't have to change planes or wait around in an extra airport. The flight itself was three and a half hours, but we left the house at 7:30 this morning and arrived at the hotel at 5:00 this afternoon (that is 3:00 Santa Fe time).

Like I said the flight and the airport stuff wasn't bad but once we had our luggage and arrived at the rental car place things were not as smooth. When we travel I usually make all the arrangements, Thomas doesn't want to get involved with all that (he will make suggestions and stuff but he doesn't want to actually book anything). So when we checked in at the Avis desk the guy asked to see my ID and credit card which I felt made sense because I had made the reservations. Then Thomas gave him his ID because he is the one that usually drives. Well, since I made the reservations Thomas was going to be added as an additional driver (and this added about $100 to the bill). So I told the guy I wasn't going to be driving and that Thomas does all the driving but he said that since I made the reservations I was the first driver and anyone else was additional. Everytime we travel I make the reservations and Thomas does the driving - we have never had this problem - Thomas gives his ID and he is the driver and we don't pay anything additional. So lesson learned, will not be using Avis ever again. Anyway we got the car (and I drove) and we headed for the hotel. While planning this trip I learned about SunPass and I ordered a mini transponder so that we wouldn't have to stop for any toll booths. I was glad we did because as soon as we left the airport we got on a toll road headed to the hotel. The Garmin worked well and got us to the hotel in no time. We followed the signs for parking to check in to the hotel - Monumental Hotel. We entered the hotel and had to walk through the whole building to find the reservation desk. They asked for my credit card and I told the guy checking us in that I had already prepaid for the room. He said they had additional fees ($6.75/day) for "other" things. When I asked he said that it covered parking, internet, a safe in the room and other things. You pay this even if you don't use them. This is also what I consider hidden fees. Not once when I was researching this property or booking the room was this fee mentioned. So what do you do - we were already here - I actually thought about calling around for another hotel but then realized that since I had prepaid I couldn't cancel. So they had me - they could have charged me $100/day and there would be nothing I could do about it. We got our keys and brought our things to the room and relaxed for a little while and thought about where we could go to dinner. We didn't really find anything so we stopped at the desk on the way out and asked the guy that checked us in where we could go. His response - just drive up and down International Drive and you will find something. So far in Orlando the customer service gets a big fat zero.

We got in the car and drove up and down International Drive and found a place called Pointe Orlando. This is a shopping area with stores and restaurants near the Convention Center. We walked around for a bit trying to decide on a place to eat. Our first choice was Fat Fish Blue. When we tried to enter the door was locked and some woman came and opened it only to inform us that they opened at 6:00 and that we would have to wait outside until then. She didn't even invite us to come in and sit in the waiting area so we decided since there were a lot of other places to eat we moved on. We finally decided to eat at Johnny Rockets. A good hamburger and french fries was just what I needed. We had our food and were eating by 6:10 - that other restaurant probably lost a few other customers by not letting people in a little early. After we ate and relaxed we decided to walk around the shopping area for a while and then stopped in at a Ben and Jerry's for a little dessert. I had Late Night Snack. This ice cream was really good - it has a salty and a sweet taste. Thomas had a brownie sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream. By the time we finished this snack we were more relaxed and ready to have a nice vacation. So with all this nonsense with the rental car and the hotel behind us we are ready for some fun. Tomorrow we visit the Magic Kingdom.

A Walk in Santa Fe

2011-07-26T23:48:00.011-06:00

Today I had to be in town running errands and attending meetings. In the middle of all this I had about and hour and a half to kill. I decided to take a walk in and around the Plaza area. Instead of the big picture I decided to crop things into little vignettes and give a little interest to things I see pretty often. Here is a slide show of some of those things and I hope you enjoy.

A Cloudy Day

2011-07-26T23:32:00.004-06:00

Today we got quite a bit of rain. It was good, it helped the dryness a bit and cooled things down. Later, after the rain stopped the sky remained cloudy. Those clouds were absolutely beautiful and I decided to go out and take pictures. Here is a little slide show of a few of those clouds.

New York Passes Same Sex Marriage

2011-06-25T09:26:00.004-06:00

I have been keeping up with the fight for marriage equaility in New York by watching videos from "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" campaign. I have also read a lot of articles and watched as some of the Republican Senators came to the realization that everyone deserves the same rights. The vote last night was an incredible victory not only for New York but I think for the gay community as a whole. New York is now the sixth state to allow gay marriage and it is also the largest state to allow gay marriage. With this victory the number of same sex couples wih the right to marry will double. I was impressed with the number of celebrities and high profile people who came to the support of the New York Gay and Lesbian Community and with Governor Cuomo for his ardent support. So New York now joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and the District of Columbia with legalized same sex marriage. It is a happy day!

Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor

2011-03-23T23:10:00.002-06:00

February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T06:56:00.007-07:00

History of Valentine's Day Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
I hope everyone has a special day today and remember there is always someone out there who loves you. Happy Valentine's Day!

2011 - A New Year Begins!

2011-01-01T00:02:00.002-07:00

So another new year begins. It is hard to believe it is 2011, I clearly remember all the brouhaha surrounding Y2K. Isn't it funny how our country thrives on fear and Y2K turned out to be nothing. I am glad we don't have anything major to worry about as we enter into 2011.

I am hoping that the new year is a good one and that the economy will finally make a turn for the better. Thomas and I already have plans for a trip to Alaska this summer and if things work out I am hoping that we will be able to afford other trips as well. We also want to do some major landscaping in the yard and a few minor fix ups for the house. I am optimistic since Thomas has a very stable job and with my training as a Physical Therapist I know that I can always find a job.

Here is a New Year's poem I found . . .

Here are My Wishes for You...
H ours of happy times with friends and family
A bundant time for relaxation
P rosperity
P lenty of love when you need it the most
Y outhful excitement at lifes simple pleasures

N ights of restful slumber (you know - dont' worry be happy)
E verything you need
W ishing you love and light

Y ears and years of good health
E njoyment and mirth
A angels to watch over you
R embrances of a happy years!
Author Unknown

Here's wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year! BTW, did anyone notice that the date is 1/1/11.

Wrapping Up 2010

2010-12-31T20:47:00.005-07:00

Another year has come to an end and for the last two years I have taken the time to review those years and write a summary. I find that I actually enjoy going back and reliving our adventures. 2010 was a pretty good year, and like all years we had some ups and downs. This year started out pretty slow. In January we just got back into the swing of things after the holidays and not much happened. Maybe that was a good thing, we probably needed to relax after our trip to Louisiana for Christmas.

February was a little busier and more exciting. The month started with the New Orleans Saints winning the Superbowl. Being a native Louisianian I was extremely excited for the team and the city. Also in February Thomas and I took a trip to Tucson to get away from the cold in Santa Fe. We spent about a week in Tucson and had a really good time. We did some hiking and letterboxing - we especially enjoyed our drive along the Sky Island Scenic Byway and hiking on Mt. Lemmon. You can read all about our trip at A Trip to Tucson (Part I and Part II). Back in Santa Fe we got back to our normal routine and started planning for our next trip. When we were in Louisiana for Christmas we didn't get to see my brother. He and his wife weren't able to get away for the holidays. But they had planned to be in Lafayette for Easter so Thomas and I arranged to visit then. So at the end of March we flew to New Orleans and rented a car. We did get to do a little exploring around Baton Rouge and New Orleans as well as visit the family in Lafayette. My sisters had also asked me to take pictures of my nieces, Tori (for her graduation) and Madison (for her first communion). I had a good time taking these pictures and even though I am not a professional I think they came out pretty good. You can read about this trip at Easter Trip to Louisiana (Part I and Part II).

When we returned to New Mexico in mid April it was to some bad news. Thomas' cousin Ruth had been diagnosed with cancer back in December and had been through surgery and treatments. Unfortunately things were too far along and Ruth was too weak to continue some of the treatments. So she and her husband made the decision to stop everything and make the most of the time they had left together. Ruth passed away on April 20th. Ruth and Thomas had been pretty close as we lived next door to each other for quite a while. But a few years ago Ruth and her husband Chris moved to Albuquerque and our visits with them lessened. It was still a very sad day for us and we miss her terribly. Ruth worked as an instructor at a community college and she was also an author. She wrote books under the names R. C. Brojim and Cleo Dare.

In May I took a trip by myself to Cape Cod, MA and Rhode Island. Some letterboxing friends were having an event to celebrate their semi-retirement from letterboxing and their finding 26.000+ letterboxes. I spent a few days on Cape Cod and then made my way to Rhode Island. This was my first time in Rhode Island and I really enjoyed myself. For more details on that trip go to Happy Trails! (& 26,000 (s)miles!) Letterboxing Trip. After this trip Thomas and I spent most of the summer just hanging around Santa Fe. We did work around the house and in the garden and took day trips in the area. It turned out to be a nice, relaxing time and we got quite a bit done around the house.

Then in August we went on a trip to Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. We had talked about going to Maine for a while but never really made any plans. One of the main reasons for the trip was a letterboxing event in Brunswick (which turned out not to be so good) and the other reason was to visit Acadia National Park. We really enjoyed this park and I would really enjoy visiting the area again. We also made a side trip to Montpelier, VT. This has to be one of my favorite State Capitals in the country. This is the smallest State Capital and I think it is one of the nicest cities. We also spent a little time in New Hampshire during this trip and you can read about the trip at The Maine Event.

September and October had us staying close to home but keeping busy as well. We attended the New Mexico State Fair and we went raspberry picking. And we took an overnight trip to Clayton, NM. And we also took a trip to the Four Corners area and spent some time in Farmington, NM. Pretty simple things but fun none the less.
During this time we also started thinking about taking a trip to Georgia to visit my brother. We had pretty much decided to go between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays but the we got a phone call from my brother and they wanted the entire family to go for Thanksgiving.

So we adjusted our time and plans just a little and made it for Thanksgiving. We actually flew into Birmingham, AL (because Southwest didn't fly into Atlanta) and then did a little driving to Savannah, GA and then to Asheville, NC before heading to my brother's place in Acworth, GA. We really enjoyed this trip - it was the first time for both Thomas and I to visit this area. There are much more details at A Southern Thanksgiving Letterboxing Trip.

That was pretty much it for our adventures for the year. December has turned out to be pretty quiet and cold and we ended having a relaxing Christmas. There are other things that happened throughout the year. Our puppies continue to grow and they have really bonded with each other - Daisy and Buddy have really become good friends. They ended up with another brother this year. During the summer a black dog showed up on the property and would sleep under a juniper at the end of the driveway. At first we did nothing, not knowing where he came from or if he was mean. I guess we thought that he would eventually leave. But then Daisy and Buddy started playing with him and Thomas felt sorry for him and started feeding him. Thomas named him Grim (because he is black and reminded us of the Grim in the Harry Potter books and movies). We have since adopted him and got him neutered and got him his shots. He has turned out to be a great pet - we think he was abused and he was just looking for a little love. I am glad we have the space for another dog and that we can afford to take care of him.

Okay, what else - my detached retina. Things are good! I feel lucky that I have my eyesight and that the retina is attached and healthy. I am seeing an eye doctor that specializes in vision therapy and so far that is going well. I will write a post once I have finished the treatments and let you know how things have turned out. Detached Retina has the complete story. I also continued with my picture taking blog but I had some camera trouble and wasn't able to do a picture every day so I just posted a picture when I had one I wanted to share. You can see what I was able to do at As I See It 2010.

Last but definitely not least was the victories for Gay and Lesbians. Five states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire) and the District of Columbia now have legal same-sex marriage. There are also major efforts in California and New York to get same-sex marriage legalized. And now Don't Ask, Don't Tell has finally been repealed. With Obama's signature we can now have openly gay and lesbian soldiers able to serve this country and not have to hide. Unfortunately, there were some suicides among gay teenagers due to bullying. But out of this sadness we gained some really great support. The Trevor Project, It Gets Better and Give a Damn! all came to the call for help. Don't get me wrong, we still have a long way to go but things are much better.

For me 2010 was a good year and I am looking forward to 2011.

A Factual Explanation

2010-12-20T13:51:00.005-07:00

I came across this post on a blog that I read called Idle Eyes and A Dormy. I really enjoyed Ricky's explanation and felt a connection with it. Whether you agree or not I believe it can give everyone something to think about.

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I’m An Atheist

Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief. They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic therefore that “I don’t believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I’ve heard the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe,” comes across as both patronizing and impolite.

Arrogance is another accusation. Which seems particularly unfair. Science seeks the truth. And it does not discriminate. For better or worse it finds things out. Science is humble. It knows what it knows and it knows what it doesn’t know. It bases its conclusions and beliefs on hard evidence -¬- evidence that is constantly updated and upgraded. It doesn’t get offended when new facts come along. It embraces the body of knowledge. It doesn’t hold on to medieval practices because they are tradition. If it did, you wouldn’t get a shot of penicillin, you’d pop a leach down your trousers and pray. Whatever you “believe,” this is not as effective as medicine. Again you can say, “It works for me,” but so do placebos. My point being, I’m saying God doesn’t exist. I’m not saying faith doesn’t exist. I know faith exists. I see it all the time. But believing in something doesn’t make it true. Hoping that something is true doesn’t make it true. The existence of God is not subjective. He either exists or he doesn’t. It’s not a matter of opinion. You can have your own opinions. But you can’t have your own facts.

Why don’t I believe in God? No, no no, why do YOU believe in God? Surely the burden of proof is on the believer. You started all this. If I came up to you and said, “Why don’t you believe I can fly?” You’d say, “Why would I?” I’d reply, “Because it’s a matter of faith.” If I then said, “Prove I can’t fly. Prove I can’t fly see, see, you can’t prove it can you?” You’d probably either walk away, call security or throw me out of the window and shout, ‘’F—ing fly then you lunatic.”

This, is of course a spirituality issue, religion is a different matter. As an atheist, I see nothing “wrong” in believing in a god. I don’t think there is a god, but belief in him does no harm. If it helps you in any way, then that’s fine with me. It’s when belief starts infringing on other people’s rights when it worries me. I would never deny your right to believe in a god. I would just rather you didn’t kill people who believe in a different god, say. Or stone someone to death because your rulebook says their sexuality is immoral. It’s strange that anyone who believes that an all-powerful all-knowing, omniscient power responsible for everything that happens, would also want to judge and punish people for what they are. From what I can gather, pretty much the worst type of person you can be is an atheist. The first four commandments hammer this point home. There is a god, I’m him, no one else is, you’re not as good and don’t forget it. (Don’t murder anyone, doesn’t get a mention till number 6.)

When confronted with anyone who holds my lack of religious faith in such contempt, I say, “It’s the way God made me.”

But what are atheists really being accused of?

The dictionary definition of God is “a supernatural creator and overseer of the universe.” Included in this definition are all deities, goddesses and supernatural beings. Since the beginning of recorded history, which is defined by the invention of writing by the Sumerians around 6,000 years ago, historians have cataloged over 3700 supernatural beings, of which 2870 can be considered deities. So next time someone tells me they believe in God, I’ll say “Oh which one? Zeus? Hades? Jupiter? Mars? Odin? Thor? Krishna? Vishnu? Ra?…” If they say “Just God. I only believe in the one God,” I’ll point out that they are nearly as atheistic as me. I don’t believe in 2,870 gods, and they don’t believe in 2,869.

I used to believe in God. The Christian one that is.

I loved Jesus. He was my hero. More than pop stars. More than footballers. More than God. God was by definition omnipotent and perfect. Jesus was a man. He had to work at it. He had temptation but defeated sin. He had integrity and courage. But He was my hero because He was kind. And He was kind to everyone. He didn’t bow to peer pressure or tyranny or cruelty. He didn’t care who you were. He loved you. What a guy. I wanted to be just like Him.

One day when I was about 8 years old, I was drawing the crucifixion as part of my Bible studies homework. I loved art too. And nature. I loved how God made all the animals. They were also perfect. Unconditionally beautiful. It was an amazing world.

I lived in a very poor, working-class estate in an urban sprawl called Reading, about 40 miles west of London. My father was a laborer and my mother was a housewife. I was never ashamed of poverty. It was almost noble. Also, everyone I knew was in the same situation, and I had everything I needed. School was free. My clothes were cheap and always clean and ironed. And mum was always cooking. She was cooking the day I was drawing on the cross.

I was sitting at the kitchen table when my brother came home. He was 11 years older than me, so he would have been 19. He was as smart as anyone I knew, but he was too cheeky. He would answer back and get into trouble. I was a good boy. I went to church and believed in God -– what a relief for a working-class mother. You see, growing up where I did, mums didn’t hope as high as their kids growing up to be doctors; they just hoped their kids didn’t go to jail. So bring them up believing in God and they’ll be good and law abiding. It’s a perfect system. Well, nearly. 75 percent of Americans are God-¬‐fearing Christians; 75 percent of prisoners are God--‐fearing Christians. 10 percent of Americans are atheists; 0.2 percent of prisoners are atheists.

But anyway, there I was happily drawing my hero when my big brother Bob asked, “Why do you believe in God?” Just a simple question. But my mum panicked. “Bob,” she said in a tone that I knew meant, “Shut up.” Why was that a bad thing to ask? If there was a God and my faith was strong it didn’t matter what people said.

Oh…hang on. There is no God. He knows it, and she knows it deep down. It was as simple as that. I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist.

Wow. No God. If mum had lied to me about God, had she also lied to me about Santa? Yes, of course, but who cares? The gifts kept coming. And so did the gifts of my new found atheism. The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. I learned of evolution -– a theory so simple that only England’s greatest genius could have come up with it. Evolution of plants, animals and us –- with imagination, free will, love, humor. I no longer needed a reason for my existence, just a reason to live. And imagination, free will, love, humor, fun, music, sports, beer and pizza are all good enough reasons for living. But living an honest life -– for that you need the truth. That’s the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity.

So what does the question “Why don’t you believe in God?” really mean. I think when someone asks that they are really questioning their own belief. In a way they are asking “what makes you so special? “How come you weren’t brainwashed with the rest of us?” “How dare you say I’m a fool and I’m not going to heaven, f— you!” Let’s be honest, if one person believed in God he would be considered pretty strange. But because it’s a very popular view it’s accepted. And why is it such a popular view? That’s obvious. It’s an attractive proposition. Believe in me and live forever. Again if it was just a case of spirituality this would be fine.

“Do unto others…” is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is -¬‐ a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. “Do this or you’ll burn in hell.”

You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.

Ricky Gervais is the writer and star of HBO’s “Ricky Gervais Out of England 2: The Stand-Up Special”

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Detached Retina (Update #13)

2010-10-29T19:40:00.003-06:00

It has been a year since my last update. I am now only seeing my Retinal Specialist (Dr. Wyant) once a year. My check-up went well and me retina seems to be attached and is looking good. My vision is about the same meaning that I seeing well enough with both eyes and my glasses. My left eye is still blurry and my peripheral vision is still less than in my right eye. My depth perception is much better and I have no problems with driving. Dr. Wyant cleared me for another year and my glasses prescription hasn't changed. Even though I am doing well enough I still miss my peripheral vision and with certain activities I do notice a problem with my total vision. After my visit with Dr. Wyant I spoke with a co-worker about her detached retina and what she did to help her vision. She told me about her eye doctor who specializes in vision therapy. She gave me his name and number and I will contact him to make an appointment. The treatments he provides seem like they could possibly help me. I will update here when I have my evaluation and treatments with him.

Raspberry Picking

2010-10-16T20:33:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week I spent the day with friends and one of the things that came up was raspberry picking at Salman Ranch. I mentioned that I had wanted to drive up there this year and somehow time had gotten away from me. It was probably too late to go now - all of the raspberries were probably gone. Then a couple of days later I received an email from the Ranch and it said that there were still tons of raspberries left and that this weekend would be a great time to drive up to La Cueva and do some picking.

So, this morning Thomas and I and two friends set out to Salman Ranch. We had a nice drive and great weather. It was a beautiful Fall day and there weren't very many people. Pretty much we had the entire field to ourselves. I really enjoyed myself and it was easy to pick these berries. They came off the bush very easy and there aren't the thorns or stickers that you find on blackberry bushes. We each picked two buckets of berries and ended up with a total of 17 pounds of raspberries.

After paying we stopped in to the Café to have a little lunch and then walked through the gardens before making our way back to Santa Fe. Once home I placed all my raspberries on trays and put them into the freezer. Tomorrow I will put them in bags and hopefully have enough to last me until the Spring.

Waste / Not

2010-10-15T18:37:00.008-06:00

Today I was downtown just walking around. I remembered that there was an art showing at the Convention Center. This art show features recycled trash. I was impressed with the artwork and I enjoyed trying to figure out what they used to make each piece. The only thing I was disappointed about was that there weren't all that many pieces. I felt I wanted to see more. Anyway if you get the chance please go by the convention center to see this show. It is called Waste / Not and it runs through November 14th and is open from 10am - 5pm.

It Gets Better!

2010-10-07T22:20:00.010-06:00

Tyler Clementi 18

Seth Walsh 13
Asher Brown 13
Billy Lucas 15
Raymond Chase 19

These five teens all recently committed suicide after being bullied and teased because they were gay. Even with these five lives being lost not much is being done about the hate that caused these tragedies. Name calling and bullying someone who is gay seems to be an acceptable past time without much of any consequence. If someone chose to belittle women, or use the "N" word or make a derogatory remark about someone Hispanic or Oriental they would have to answer for that. But the ones that are constantly using the word Faggot defend themselves by saying they are just expressing their First Amendment Rights of free speech. Well, isn't that exactly what every bigot is doing when they defame members of the opposite sex or any of the minorities in our world. This simply can't be tolerated.

It Gets Better!

As a teenager I was constantly picked on and teased. More than once I was beaten up in the locker room at school while the guys called my faggot and queer. There were days I didn't want to go to school because I was simply tired of all the harassment. But somehow I survived. I am sure that the idea of suicide crossed my mind but either I was too scared to really consider it or I just didn't know how to do it. Please know that I never came out to anyone at this point in my life - the harassment was all because people assumed I was gay. Obviously they were right but at the time it wasn't something that they knew for sure.

It Gets Better!

After high school I attended a local college. The harassment got better but there were still innuendos and comments. Even within my own family. I remember my father making derogatory remarks about people on TV. So I kept my secret and tried to live the way that society told me I was suppose to. There were times I felt scared and alone thinking that no one understood what I was going through. And still I survived. I eventually dropped out of college and just worked - I had an apartment and friends and life was okay but not great. I knew deep down inside I wasn't being me.

It Gets Better!

Eventually I decided I wanted to go back to college but I didn't want to stay at home. I chose to move away thinking that if I were among strangers it would be easier to be myself. That wasn't the case. I still felt I had to hide. So even though I did date some men I didn't come out to any of my friends and family. Things still didn't feel right - I wasn't being me. But I was still scared and kept it all in. Luckily the harassment at this time was pretty much next to nothing. My reason for not coming out was I felt that my friends and family would all abandon me. It never crossed my mind that they may accept me for who I am or that I could find and make friends who were just like me or who would accept me.

It Gets Better!

Just before graduation I met a man. A man I had an instant connection with. If I didn't believe in 'Love at First Site' before I did believe in it when I met this man. This man - Thomas - has now been my partner for almost 21 years. I knew when I met him that I had to let all my fears go and take this chance. This meant that I would need to tell all my friends and family in order to live an open life with the person I fell in love with. My fears as they say were unwarranted. Most of my friends and family said they already knew and that it didn't matter. Others were upset because I felt I couldn't confide in them - they were my friends after all and my sexual orientation wasn't a factor in our friendship. Now I don't want to paint a totally perfect picture because there are some negatives (but those were few and I realized that those people were never really my friend). And lets be honest - Life isn't all perfect for anyone. It's all good and bad but you have to be who you are and accept the good with the bad.

It Gets Better!

I write this in the hope that a gay teen somewhere will read it and know that being gay is okay and even though you may get teased and harassed it does get better. I want them to know that they are important and their sexual orientation is part of who they are and it doesn't mean they are any less a person if they are gay.

Thanks to Dan Savage for starting the It Gets Better Project!
Also check out The Trevor Project!

One More Victory

2010-09-11T00:16:00.005-06:00

It looks like the Gay and Lesbian community has won yet another victory. Yesterday U.S. district judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled that the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is unconstitutional. Hopefully this isn't an early celebration because the Justice Department has until September 23 to submit objections. This decision means that all gay and lesbian soldiers will be able to openly talk about their significant others and will not have to hide their relationships. That is something that straight military personnel take for granted. This decision partnered with the repeal of Prop 8 in California brings great big steps in the approach to full gay and lesbian rights. Again, people are claiming this is a moral issue. It is funny to me how they are quick to classify homosexuality as amoral but they go around having sex out of wedlock and cussing and generally having no concern for any moral values except when it comes to homosexuality. As an example, my nephew makes post on his facebook page using the word God and quite a few curse words in the same sentence. It is appalling to me that they are willing to deny rights to people by standing behind God. I know there will be lots of struggles for gays and lesbians in the military even with DADT repealed because people are just ignorant. I heard on a radio talk show that the Marine Corp is already talking about separate barracks (does this segregation sound familiar - 'hey you gays get to the back of the bus'). It is funny how a group of men can share barracks as long as some don't know that others are gay but when they know all of a sudden that there are gay men there they think they are going to be attacked or something - it is just irrational. But I digress, the important point here is that there are other people out there who are working on equaling the rights of gays and lesbian. As I read about this decision I came across the photos below.
These photos are by Jeff Sheng and are part of his "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Series. Here is his take on the photos . . .

The photographer elaborates, “Ultimately for me, these photographs underscore the silence permeating the unsung heroism of gay and lesbian military personnel. The photos are about the men and women who continue to fight and serve despite the heartbreaking invisibility they suffer.”

Here are some links related to this decision by the courts.
DADT Defeated: Serve with Pride
Judge Rules DADT Unconstitutional
Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules
Photographer Jeff Sheng: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

One Step Closer

2010-08-05T08:07:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was an incredible victory in the pursuit of equal rights for all Americans. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued his 136 page opinion which strikes down California's ban on same-sex marriage. He stated that Proposition 8, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, violates gay couples' rights to equal protection and due process, as protected by the U.S. Constitution. Kudos to Judge Vaughn. I would also like to thank Kristin Perry & Sandy Stier along with Jeffrey Zarrillo & Paul Katami. These two couples are the ones that brought this case to court. I respect their courage and appreciate what they have done to bring equal rights to all. I do realize that the fight is not over and that the opponents of same-sex marriage have probably already started working on an appeal. Even so, this victory has inspired a lot of people and I hope that these opponents realize that they can't dictate their personal beliefs on everyone. Live your life the way you want to live it. If you don't believe in same-sex marriage then don't marry someone of the same sex, but please don't tell me who I can marry. Thomas and I were married a little over five years ago in Massachusetts. Maybe one day soon that marriage will be legal in the whole UNITED States. It seems funny to use the word united when each state seperately decides who can legally marry - seems very divided. It also seems funny to use the word united when it is clear that we are divided in who should have rights and who shouldn't. Our very own Constitution guarantees in the Declaration of Independence that all people will have the same rights.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

What really bothers me is that the same people trying to control who can marry and who can't are the same people complaining that the Government has too much control over their lives and that the Government isn't upholding the Constitution. But on the other hand they are trying to get the Government to control my life. They don't believe in the Constitution unless it actually benefits them - they are trying to take away my unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. I do understand that they have their religious beliefs and that is fine. What isn't fine is them forcing that belief on me. I don't want or need their Church or their God to approve of my marriage. And if they don't believe in same-sex marriage then by all means it is their right not to marry someone of the same sex, but they don't have the right to make me accept their beliefs. I only want what the Constitution grants me. I work hard, pay my taxes and contribute to society just like most Americans - and I want (no, I DEMAND) all the same rights that they have. I demand the same legal benefits and protections that marriage brings to other Americans. Proposition 8 united the Gay and Lesbian community and soon after it was passed a NOH8 Campaign was born. That campaign grew over the last two years and I think made a big difference in this fight for equality. Today I have more confidence that my relationship and marriage will garner more respect in this country and that one day I will have all the rights that Americans are guaranteed.

Celebrating Gay Pride Month

2010-06-01T21:54:00.004-06:00

It's June and it's time to celebrate Gay Pride Month! There are celebrations all around the United States including Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Why is Gay Pride in June? Well, it all has to do with some incredibly brave individuals in New York City who stood up for themselves (and indirectly for all of us) in June of 1969. The Stonewall Riots were the most important tuning point in the the fight for gay rights. I am hoping to post something a couple of times a week as my contribution to gay pride.

Walking Around the Plaza

2010-05-29T15:33:00.012-06:00

Today I was meeting friends near the Plaza for coffee. I arrived early and parked near the Capitol. I always enjoy walking downtown and looking at all the art and old buildings. So I walked up Old Santa Fe Trail passing the Capitol, Guadalupe Cafe, The Pink Adobe, San Miguel Mission, Upper Crust Pizza and eventually arriving at the intersection of Old Santa Fe Trail and Alameda. I took some pictures along the way. I crossed Alameda and walked around the front of Inn at Loretto and took a few pictures. Still on Old Santa Fe Trail I passed some galleries and Loretto Chapel - I took a picture of the church. I turned right at Water St. and walked along the back side of La Fonda Hotel until I reached Cathedral Place. Here I turned left and made my way to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. There is a beautiful little park next to the Cathedral and they were having an art and craft show there. I walked through hoping to find a friend who was going to have a booth in the park with her jewelry. I found Alina (a fellow PT I work with at the hospital) and visited for a minute. I didn't stay long since she was trying to get things ready for the show. I exited the park at the back onto Palace Ave. and turned left heading toward the Plaza. I walked past Sena Plaza, The Shop, The Shed and the Frank Howell Gallery arriving at the intersections of Washington Ave., Palace Ave. and Old Santa Fe Trail where the Palace of the Governors is located.

The Plaza was packed. There were tons of people here for the Santa Fe Run Around - a 5K & 10K race in and around the Plaza. Some people were there to run and some just to cheer them on. I took pictures and walked around waiting for the start of the race. I positioned myself a little in front of the starting line so that I could get some good pictures . There were quite a few runners lined up and then 'Ils sont partis!' (cajun for 'and they're off!'). Once the runners were gone I walked up San Francisco Street passing shop after shop, pass the Ore House, San Francisco Street Bar & Grill, some galleries and clothing stores, Tia Sopia's, Burro Alley and stopping at the Lensic. Of course I took some pictures along the way.

Then I backtracked a little ways on San Francisco Street to the intersection with Galisteo. I turned right and walked along Galisteo passing Maya's, Santa Fe Hat and the Blue Corn Cafe reaching the intersection of Galisteo and Water Street. Just across Water Street on Galisteo is Collected Works Bookstore. Here is where I met my friends for coffee. We had a wonderful visit and you can read about that at Meeting Bandaid. After about an hour and a half of chatting and coffee we left. I turned right out of the bookstore and walked up Galisteo to Alameda. Here I turned left and continued my walk down Alameda to Don Gaspar. I turned left here walking past Del Charro, Santa Fe Village and the Hotel St. Francis. I stopped at the intersection of Don Gaspar and Water Street across for Cafe Pasquals. More pictures along the walk. I found a spot to sit and read The Reporter.

Did I mention that the day was absolutely beautiful, sunny and warm. When I made it to the end of the paper I retraced my steps down Don Gaspar and crossed Alameda, continuing on Don Gaspar passing State Office Buildings until I reached the Capital. I walked around the outside of the Capitol and made my way to Old Santa Fe Trail. I crossed here and was back at my car. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning.

Sharing the Road . . . Not!?!?!

2010-05-29T13:00:00.004-06:00

*NOTE* - This is going to be a rant, so if you aren't in the mood don't read any further!
And it isn't going to be politically correct either - this is my blog and I am going to vent.

You always hear "Share the road." when it comes to bicycles. I always felt okay about that and it always bothered me when I read about a bicyclist getting hit by a car. But things change and that changes our mind. And of course, we all know that the bicyclist are never at fault, it is always the big, bad car drivers are always wrong. I mean let's face it - they pollute the air, they have created the hole in the ozone and anything else you can think of. In case you can't tell I am being very facetious. Yes, there are bad drivers out there just like there are bad bicyclists. I encountered three today. And it just wasn't little things it was things that could have ended very badly.

Bicyclist #1 (Female) - wearing a helmet, dressed in all the correct clothing to be the next Lance Armstrong and seemed to be doing well. Then, she came to a crowd of people (this was on the Plaza in Santa Fe where there was a 5K run and Arts & Crafts Shows going on) where she barreled through a crosswalk full of pedestrians crossing the street. Two people jumped out of the way and just missed being hit. The bicyclist never slowed down and didn't even look back to see if anything had happened. The pedestrians had a few choice words and hand signals for the bicyclist.

Bicyclist #2 (Male) - again wearing a helmet and looking like a professional bike rider - whatever that is. I was parked in a line of cars trying to exit a parking lot and there were all these cars on the street that had a stop sign ahead. So they were stopping and moving and then every now and then would let one of the cars out of the parking lot. When I was the second car in line the car ahead of me was turning left out of the parking lot (the car on the street had stopped to let him turn) and all of a sudden stepped on his brakes and stopped int he middle of his turn. I wondered why! And then I saw a bicyclist come around the car in the street that had stopped and just kept going weaving through the cars ahead. Boy let me tell you that big bad car that was turning could have killed that bicyclist if he hadn't seen him and stopped.

Bicyclist #3 (Male) - again this was a bicyclist that had all the clothes and gear you see at the Tour de France. I was at a three-way stop and I was stopped. There were no other cars around. Directly ahead I could see a bicyclist but he hadn't quite made it to the stop sign. I start to turn right and low and behold the bicyclist turned left right in front of me - he didn't even slow down much less stop at the stop sign. Luckily I wasn't going fast and slammed my brakes on to avoid hitting him. I did sit on my horn for a good 30 seconds (secretly hoping that the noise would have scared him and he would have fallen off his bike). The road we both turned on is a 25mph road, so I was going slow and that meant that I didn't need to pass the bicyclist. On this road are four stop signs at street along the way and then you get to a signal light at a major intersection. This bicyclist did not stop at any of the stop signs. He even went around other cars that were stopped at the stop signs. Just before the signal light he put his left arm straight out to turn left onto a side street. He cut in front of the car in front of me - he never looked back to see if it was safe. I would say that the car and the bike were pretty close seeing how fast the car put on their brakes.

My point? I have had enough of this sharing the road crap and always hearing how bad the cars are. Roads were meant for cars not bikes. Roads are paid for by cars not bikes. So here are my thoughts and I don't care if you like them.
Since anyone driving a car needs to take a test and get a driver's license I feel that every bicyclist that wants to ride on the road should have to take bike safety lessons, take a test (written and practical), pass the test and pay for a rider's license.
They should also have to register (yearly) their bike and get a license plate for the bike (and pay for that as well). Someone has to pay for those bike lanes and it shouldn't be the cars (we already pay for our driver's license, license plates and gas which go to the roads). I don't mind paying for that since I use the road but I don't want to pay for bike lanes. These idiots today really pissed me off - you could tell just by their actions that they think they own the roads - they didn't want to share, they wanted everyone (pedestrians and drivers to yield to them).

If they want to share the road then they need to obey every traffic rule and sign that cars have to obey. Stop at every stop sign and only go when it is clear. Stop at pedestrian crosswalks (especially if there is someone crossing). Use turn signals at all time (and I will reiterate this for cars as well). Etc., Etc., Etc.! If they break these rules they should be ticketed just like a car would be if caught.

This is how I feel and I am glad I vented - if you want to share the road then practice what you preach. I realize that not every bicyclist is bad and it would be nice if bicyclist would realize that not all drivers are bad. When an accident happens it could just as well be the bicyclist's fault not the driver's fault - I witnessed three acts of reckless bicycling in the span of about an hour so my guess would be that there is a lot more of that going on.

I'm a Total 'Gleek' . . .

2010-05-25T22:41:00.004-06:00

. . . and tonight's episode was the best one yet. It was all Gaga and there were so many emotions.
Some of my favorite parts . . .
* When the girls (and Kurt) dressed all Gaga and sang Bad Romance - fantastic!
* Puck singing Beth to Quinn - touching.
* Rachel and Coach Corcoran (two incredible voices) performing Poker Face - sounded great.
* Tina making Principal Figgins believe she was a vampire - a little silly but funny.
* Coach Corcoran singing Funny Girl - I love Idina Menzel.
* Finn wearing an over-the-top red shower curtain and coming to Kurt's defense - the show of a true man.
But the highlight of the show tonight for me was . . .
* Kurt's Dad's speech.
Being a gay man I believe every gay man would have loved to hear this from his father when he was a teen struggling with all the feelings of being gay. Support from your father would make an incredible difference in any young man's life but the effect it would have on a gay man's life would be astounding.
If I hadn't already been a Glee Fan tonight would have hooked me. I applaud everyone associated with Glee for covering all the things teens have to deal with and not sugar coating it. I hope this show last for a while.

Life . . . and Death

2010-04-20T23:59:00.005-06:00

Tonight at around 11:00pm Thomas' cousin, Ruth passed away following a short battle with cancer. She called us a few weeks before Christmas to let us know she had ovarian cancer and would have to have surgery. She had that surgery on December 23. At that time they found that the cancer had metastasized to her liver. She underwent some treatments but they were too much for her, she wasn't eating much and started losing weight. Ruth and her husband, Chris made a decision to stop the treatments. A decision that Ruth's family had strong opinions about and they let Ruth know that they didn't agree with her decision. We visited Ruth quite a few times since Christmas and slowly watched her decline. It was amazing how fast she faded. This past Saturday it was obvious that she didn't have much time left. She had lost more weight and she was jaundiced. She wasn't talking much and she would drift out for short bits of time. The last two days she has been pretty uncomfortable and Chris was medicating her to keep her pain down which sedated her and we weren't able to really visit with her. Well, she is no longer suffering and I know Chris is going to have some rough days ahead. They have been married for about 30 years so I know he will miss her.

I have worked in the medical field for over 25 years and I have experienced lots of sad situations. My feelings are that there are worse things than death. Life and death are totally intertwined and it is inevitable that we will all die. No matter how hard we try, no matter what medical interventions are tried at some point our lives will end. I have found that the person dying isn't the one that isn't accepting it - it is usually the people left behind. I also have found that a lot of the religious people I know have a harder time with death. This confuses me - if you have such faith wouldn't accepting death as part of life be comforting. It really makes me sad when a family has difficulty accepting someone's decision to stop trying to fight the inevitable and just let go. They have so much on their minds and then family intervenes and puts pressure on them and ends up making the last days more difficult.

Of course I am sad tonight and I will certainly miss Ruth but that is something I must deal with. I know with all my heart she is in a much better place than she was in the last few months. But I have lots of memories that make me smile and I respect her for the decisions she made. Goodbye Ruth, you will be missed and please keep a watchful eye over us.

Ruth Jimenez
March 3, 1959 - April 20, 2010

Throw Me Something Mister!

2010-02-16T06:44:00.003-07:00

Happy Mardi Gras!
Hope everyone in Louisiana has a safe and happy celebration. Wish I could be there.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T07:19:00.002-07:00

Hope everyone has a beautiful and wonderful day!

"Dat Tuesday" and "Lombardi Gras"

2010-02-09T22:27:00.002-07:00

I wish I could I have been back home in Louisiana for all the celebrations that are going on. It is obvious that Mardi Gras has started a week early. Today I watched the Saints Super Bowl Victory Parade on ESPN. It looked just like Mardi Gras. I could feel the excitement and merriment all the way in New Mexico. You can read about it at WHO DAT Tuesday Report. And you can watch a little of the parade at New Orleans Celebrates Saints' Title.

Who Dat!

2010-02-08T07:05:00.006-07:00

Well, I don't claim to be a big sports fan but I am extremely happy this morning and bursting with pride. Even though I now live in Santa Fe I was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. I have always pulled for the Saints - even when they were at the bottom of the pile. Over the years they have played hard and come up short. But this was their year and New Orleans and Louisiana deserve this win and recognition. As I watched the game I realized that the Saints played better than I have ever seen them play. They pulled out all the stops and won that Championship without a doubt. From the onside kick, coming from behind and the two point conversion to the fourth quarter interception and holding the Colts at the 3 yard line they proved that they are Champions. Congratulations to the Saints, the City of New Orleans and Louisiana. Well done!

Who Dat!

Hurricane Who Dat!

2010-01-31T20:30:00.001-07:00

This is something my sister sent me in an email. Let's hope this is accurate.

Not Much to Report On

2010-01-31T08:13:00.004-07:00

Well, it is hard to believe that one month of 2010 is already gone - and I haven't written one blog post this month. Not much has been going on this month, just getting back to a normal routine after the holidays and traveling to see the family. The first couple of days of the new year were taken up with putting all the Christmas decorations away and getting the house all clean and back to normal. I was really glad when that task was complete. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the decorations but I don't like the work of putting it away until the next year.

I have been working more this month - the hospital seems to be a little busier and they are scheduling the staff differently. I only work per diem so my schedule fluctuates greatly and the hospital sometimes uses travelers so I never know how many hours I will get each month. Back in April 2008 St. Vincent's partnered with Christus and now we are Christus St. Vincent's Regional Medical Center. There have been many changes, most involve Christus bringing in new managers from other areas of their organization. There are good and bad things about this. One, they are a Catholic organization (so was St. Vincent's) and now at each meeting they say prayers. Not too many employees are happy about it. Two, we are also now required to wear uniforms - not too big of a deal. The therapy staff will be wearing polo shirts with khaki or blue pants. I can live with that. They are also making it a priority to build up a full time staff. Now this has been a problem ever since I started working there seven years ago, so I am not sure how they plan to do this. They did mention something about raising the therapy staff's salaries - but it would have to significant to really be competitive here in Santa Fe. We are also going to computerized documentation starting tomorrow which I personally think will be good. Right now it is so hard to get the chart that we end up wasting a lot of time - with the computer we will be able to access any forms at any time, even if someone else is viewing them on another computer. Anyway, I am glad for the hours. Before the holidays I was barely getting two or three days a month so it is nice to be working more now.

The dogs are also keeping me busy. Daisy isn't too bad. She is now about a year and a half old and is pretty settled and trained. But Buddy is another story. We are still working on house training. He does well for a while but every now and then he has an accident - it is getting better but it has been a slow process. Another issue with him is chewing. He has plenty of toys and mostly chews on them but he sometimes likes to grab a shoe to chew on. It is getting better but every now and then I catch him with one of our shoes. We are really loving having the two dogs around. They get along well and spend hours playing together which is nice when we are at work. Buddy is growing fast and before long he will be Daisy's size and it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops.

We've had dinners with a few friends throughout the month and that is always enjoyable. We also visited Thomas' cousin Ruth in Albuquerque. She had surgery last month and is still going through treatments. We are hoping everything heals quickly. On our trips to Albuquerque we took some time to do a little letterboxing. There really aren't a lot of boxes in the area and the weather is also an issue. I also mangaed to take a drive to Stanley to find a box and that was a nice trip. Thomas and I have been meaning to go see Avatar but things just keep popping up and we never make it to the theater. I have heard good things about it and want to see it at the theater to get the full 3D effect - maybe this evening or sometime this week.

I have also been thinking of taking a couple of small trips soon. I am looking in to a trip to Tucson, mostly for letterboxing and a trip to Lafayette for Easter to see my family. And possibly a trip to Georgia to see my brother and his wife. We would probably do some letterboxing there as well because it seems that my brother and his wife have gotten hooked on the hobby. Not sure about any of these trips - they are only thoughts at this point.

Our winter has been pretty mild with little precipitation. That is until these last two weeks. We had small amounts of snow three days in a row last week and then this week we had a major snowfall on Thursday. I love the snow so I was happy that we have been getting some. I took quite a few walks in the snow and took pictures. We still have some snow on the ground but it is melting fast. I am hoping for another storm soon. We really need the moisture for the summer.

Well, I guess that's about it, You see, I told you there wasn't much going on except for the normal day to day. Hopefully February will present more things to blog about.

2009 - My Look Back

2009-12-30T19:55:00.014-07:00

The year started out pretty good. On the 1st we had a simple meal at home with just a few people. We ate and watched movies. No fuss, no muss - my kind of day. Then I met some friends on January 2 for lunch and some discussion about my hobby - letterboxing. It was a nice way to start the year.

So lets recap 2009. I continued my picture taking and you can see my progress at As I See It 2009. I have found that I am really enjoying this picture taking project. I will definitely continue this year and you can see those photos at As I See It 2010. For some reason I had a little more difficulty finding things to photograph this year. I think that when I did As I See It 2008 it was easier, maybe because it was new. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed 2009 as much as 2008 it just seemed harder. Anyway I am looking forward to photographing 2010 and continuing to better my skills.

As for my hobby - letterboxing, it has been a bittersweet year. The year started off with an interview. I was contacted by the Albuquerque Journal and they were interested in doing an article about letterboxing. I had mixed feelings but eventually agreed. The article was titled "You've Got Mail" and you can read it at Astro D's blog in her post 15 Minutes of Fame. The article turned out well but it also exposed the hobby more than I liked. The boxes I have planted received many visitors this year and for the most part I received positive comments but unfortunately there were a few really nasty ones. The most recent was in November. That one really knocked me for a loop. The comment I received literally told me I should have wrote the clues to state exactly where the box was. The jist of the note made it sound like I should put markers along the road leading right to the spot where the box is hidden and then place a flashing red light right over the box. It just took away all the joy of the hobby. I have since pulled back from the hobby - the enjoyment I felt had greatly diminished. I have done some letterboxing since then but not like normal. And I will think long and hard before I place another box and let it be scrutiny for another bitter letterboxer. For now I am pretty much keeping to myself with the hobby and I will wait and see what 2010 brings. As for my letterboxing adventures this year here is what I did. Thomas and I took a winter trip to Bosque del Apache and to Las Cruces - this was to see the birds and to do some letterboxing and you can read about it at The Forest and the Crosses. I also made sure to get out to letterbox on February 16 - my anniversary date. That story is at Three Year Letterboxing Anniversary. In March Astro D and I headed to Texas for T.A.L.E. 6 and we were joined by Bell Motel for part of the trip. You can read all about it at Texas Heritage Letterboxing Trip. It was a great time - I always have fun with the Texas letterboxers. Then in April Thomas and I took a long weekend to go to Oklahoma for a letterboxing event at Lake Murray. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed meeting some new friends. You can read about it at Oooooooooklahoma! to find out what we did there. In May Thomas and I took the train to Chicago. While there we did a little letterboxing, those stories can be seen here. Then in July we spent the weekend of the 4th in Broomfield, CO visiting Thomas' brother. I did get to do quite a bit of letterboxing in the Centennial State while we were there. By August I was antsy to do some more letterboxing so I jumped in the car for a few days in Arizona. I letterboxed along I40 to Gallup, then continued along I40 to Flagstaff, I made it all the way to Williams before turning around and heading home. In September Astro D, rubberpeace and I hosted a letterboxing event - El Rancho de Los Letterboxes. It was a good event, very relaxing with some great boxes and some really nice people. I think everyone had a great time. Thomas and I usually try and take a couple of vacations a year and in the fall we traveled to the Oregon Coast. We did a lot of letterboxing and a few other things. You can read all about the trip at Letterboxing on the Oregon Coast. This brings us to November and the horrible note that put a damper on my letterboxing enthusiasm. Besides these trips I did quite a bit of letterboxing in New Mexico especially around Santa Fe and Albuquerque. I also got to meet quite a few letterboxers throughout the year and that is always nice.

We took quite a few trips this year and most of them I mentioned when I talked about letterboxing so bare with me as I list all of our trips. We traveled to southern NM to Las Cruces, I took a trip to Texas with Astro D. Thomas and I went to Ardmore, OK for a long weekend at Lake Murray. Our major spring trip was an Amtrak train ride to Chicago where we spent an incredible week. We also spent the Fourth of July weekend in Colorado. I then took a trip by myself to Arizona for a few days. And then we took our big fall trip to the Oregon Coast. Our last trip of the year was a week in Lafayette, LA visiting my family for the Christmas Holidays. Mixed in with all these big trips we also took day trips in and around New Mexico. It was a great year for traveling for us. We had a great time and some wonderful memories.

As for our health we are doing pretty good except for maybe being a little overweight and having high cholesterol. With medicine the cholesterol seems to be under control and both Thomas and I are starting to pay more attention to our diet and exercise. Hopefully in 2010 we can lose some weight and help our health a little more. And as for my detached retina things are going well. The retina is attached and has healed but I still have blurry vision in my left eye. You can read the whole story at Detached Retina.

You may remember at the end of 2008 that we had to say goodbye to our bulldog Boudreaux. And in December we adopted a blue heeler mix and named her Daisy. Well at the end of 2009 we decided Daisy needed a playmate and we adopted another blue heeler mix and we named him Buddy. The two dogs seem to be becoming good friends very fast. They sure have livened up the house.

2009 was a pretty good year and I am hoping that 2010 will be just as good or even better. Happy New Year everyone - best of luck to all of you.

Two Trees Project

2009-12-10T17:00:00.002-07:00

In January I decided to start a new picture project. We have two trees growing out behind our house. I have watched these trees for 20 years now and this year I decided to take a picture of these trees each month. I found a spot, set up the tripod and camera and I marked the position. I then took pictures and each month I tried to follow the same guidelines so that the pictures were of the same composition. I am happy with the way it turned out so here are the 12 pictures of my Two Trees.

January February

March April

May June

July August

September October

November December

Our Newest Family Member

2009-12-07T20:39:00.007-07:00

For a few months now Thomas has been talking about getting another dog, a playmate for Daisy. He has been asking around and looking in the paper for one to adopt. The other day he saw a ad in the Santa Fe Reporter for the Espanola Valley Humane Society. He saw a picture of a dog that he thought would be nice to adopt. So today he just happened by the humane society and the dog he was looking for had already been adopted. Did that slow him down - no way. He asked and found out that there had been a litter of blue heeler mix puppies brought in the night before. He went and saw the puppies and found one he just had to have. So he adopted this great little boy. We have named him Buddy. He is wonderful and fit in immediately. Daisy seems to like him and she is very gentle when playing with him. She lets him jump all over her and bite her. When she has enough she gently pushes him away. The only thing is that he doesn't give up easy. It seems that they may very well become best friends. He is about five or six weeks old and we are hoping he grows to about the size of Daisy. I will keep you posted.

Another Hero

2009-12-04T16:22:00.004-07:00

This afternoon I was reading a few blogs that I follow and came across a post with a video at Idle Eyes and a Dormy. The video is of a speech by Senator Diane Savino, a New York State Senator. She gave a very moving speech in favor of Gay Marriage. Although the bill was defeated I am very thankful to Senator Savino. I am proud to have someone like her on our side and with people like her working along side the Gay Community I know that we will get the Rights that we deserve. I was so moved by her speech that I sent her an email thanking her for the support. Please check out Senator Savino's speech - I think you will be impressed. And please pass it along to anyone you know. We can always use more help in getting the truth about Gay Marriage out to as many people as we can. Thanks for listening.

Remembering!

2009-12-01T08:27:00.002-07:00

World Aids Day
December 1
Take a moment to Remember!

I Did It!

2009-11-30T21:29:00.003-07:00

Well it is November 30th and this is my 30th post. So I managed to crank out 30 post in 30 days and I completed NaBloPoMo. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be trying to find something to write about. Most of the days were easy to find something to write about but there were times that I sat at the computer and struggled about what I should write and there were even times I had to come back to the computer two or three times to complete a post. Some of the post this month were pretty personal - not something I usually feel comfortable doing. But I found that it was a little cathartic and it felt good. Other post were nothing but fluff and probably a little boring but it got me to write. I was able to sit down, gather some thoughts and eventually get them down in words. They may not all make sense and maybe one day I will down and read them all and see what I get out of them. Even though it was a struggle on some days I have to say I enjoyed this challenge. I am not sure if I could continue writing something everyday, it was pretty challenging and a little time consuming. Maybe in a few months, after the holidays are over I may take this challenge again.

Isn't It Suppose to be Winter?

2009-11-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

Winter started early for us in Santa Fe or so we thought. We had some snow and a few cold weeks back in October but then it was gone. Well not all gone, the mountains still have some snow on them but not much. Ski Santa Fe has had to postpone their opening due to lack of snow and warmer temperatures. The last few weeks have been unseasonably warm and the days have been beautiful. Now I am not complaining because I love the sunny days where the temperatures only require you to wear a light jacket. But I am missing the cold and the snow. Since moving to New Mexico I have come to relate the holidays with the cold. I not sure why. I grew up in Louisiana and can remember wearing shorts for Christmas. Now that I have experienced that "White Christmas" I just feel like the cold and snow just make it all more Christmasy.

The weather reports for this weekend called for colder temperatures and some snow. Well here it is Sunday night and it is a little colder than it had been but there has been no snow. Well at least not in town. Hopefully, the ski basin has gotten some new snow. I decorated the house for Christmas this weekend and was looking forward to seeing some snow on the ground. We will be traveling to Louisiana for Christmas this year and I am hoping that we get some snow in Santa Fe before we leave - it would make the holidays a little more special.

Tis the Season

2009-11-28T19:21:00.004-07:00

Today I spent most of the day decorating the house for Christmas. I have lots of ornaments - I collect Hallmark ornaments, Radko Ornaments and Thomas and I also collect pairs of ornaments when we travel. I spent a lot of time just unpacking things. The ornaments are kept in their own boxes so I have to unwrap them. I put up two trees - one has all the Hallmarks ornaments and the other one has all the other ornaments. One tree is completely done now. That is the Hallmark tree. We also got those boxes back into the attic and out of the way. Some of the Hallmark ornaments don't go on the tree. I scatter those around the house on shelves and tabletops. I also got wreaths up on the doors and a few other decorations put up around the house. Tomorrow I hope to put up the second tree and get the rest of the decorations up as well.

I really enjoy decorating and it usually takes me two to three days. Partly because I look at each ornament and reflect on where we got it or why we got it. Putting up the ornaments really bring back memories and get the holidays off to a great start. We are planning to drive to Louisiana to see my family for Christmas so we really only have about three weeks to enjoy the decorations. So if we can finish decorating the house tomorrow we can just sit back and enjoy them and have time to do some shopping and do some other holiday things. Well here is to a great holiday season.

The Christmas Season Begns

2009-11-27T22:11:00.008-07:00

Well, its Black Friday and I didn't step one foot into any store. Honestly, I just don't get it. Stores are open every single day. Do you really have to get up at 4:00am to go shopping? I don't care what kind of deals they are having, the idea of this is just ludicrous. And it's not just the getting up and out to the store so early, it's the crowds and the pushing and lines. I think I will leave my Christmas shopping for another day.

So instead I stayed home and worked on some things around the house. One thing I did was get the Christmas decorations out of the attic. I got the tree set up but the ornaments won't go on until tomorrow. I also got wreaths on the doors and a few other things up around the house. I am looking forward to the holidays and I love the way everything looks with all the decorations - just so festive. I am hoping to finish up tomorrow and have the boxes back up in the attic. That way I can just sit back and enjoy them.

We don't have a lot of exciting things planned for the holidays yet but we do have a few. Dinner with friends on a couple of weekends. A play and dinner with cousins in Albuquerque. And we will be traveling back to Louisiana to spend Christmas with my family. I am hoping that the holidays are relaxing and fun. Sometimes you try to do too much and it just becomes too stressful - I am going to work hard on avoiding the stress. So here is to a happy holiday season.

Thankful

2009-11-26T20:01:00.005-07:00

Thomas and I had a very relaxing and quiet Thanksgiving day. It was the two of us and his Dad. We had turkey, cornbread dressing, green beans and rolls. For dessert we had apple and pecan pies. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning while cooking and this afternoon we watched Angels and Demons and Night at the Museum. We talked about how lucky we are and how thankful we are for our lives.

I am most thankful for Thomas. At the end of December we will celebrate our 20th year together. This relationship has been so incredible and he will never really know how much I love him even though I tell him constantly. He is supportive of everything I do and is always there for me. He is the kindest, most loving person I know and I am lucky to have him. Thomas, thank you for an incredible 20 years and for everything you do and for who you are.

There are other things I am thankful for . . . family, friends, our health, our wonderful home, having jobs in these trying times, comfortable lives, freedom to travel and the ability to live our lives as we want to. We had a wonderful day and we want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Lets Take a Walk

2009-11-25T20:06:00.007-07:00

I frequently go for walks around Santa Fe exploring different areas and always looking for something new to see or something I missed on previous walks. I also take pictures during these walks so I try to look at things differently. For my post today I decided to take you along for a walk in downtown Santa Fe.

I decided today to park in the PERA Building parking lot as my starting point for my walk. This lot is across Old Santa Fe Trail from the New Mexico State Capitol (aka The Roundhouse). I didn't go into the Capitol today but I do make a point to visit every now and then. There is a large art collection in the building and they have different exhibits in the Rotunda - so I like to stop in to see what is going on. But instead I headed toward downtown on Old Santa Fe Trail. I passed the Lamy Building (which houses a Visitor's Center) and across the street is the Guadalupe Cafe (a great place for breakfast). As I walked down the road I passed Rio Chama and the Pink Adobe - two popular restaurants. After a short walk I reached the San Miguel Mission (claims to be the oldest church in the country). I stopped and took a few pictures and then continued. Just across De Vargas Street from the Mission is my favorite pizza place in Santa Fe - Upper Crust Pizza. From here I continued up Old Santa Fe Trail passing Garret's Desert Inn/Ze French Bistro and crossing Alameda Street. I walked past The Inn at Loretto and stopped at Loretto Chapel. I took a few pictures but didn't go in. But if you are visiting Santa Fe it is worth a look - the Chapel houses the Miraculous Staircase. Across from the Chapel there are a few galleries that are nice to walk through. I reached the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Water Street. I turned left and reached the corner of Shelby and Water. Usually I turn right here and make my way to the Plaza. But today I continued on Water Street. I stopped in at Santa Fe Hemp - they have lots of items made from hemp as well as some great bumper stickers and buttons. Always a nice time stopping in here. Just past this store is Cafe Pasqual's - I understand it is a nice place to eat but I have been in Santa Fe for 20 years now and have never eaten here. This is at the corner of Water Street and Don Gaspar. One of my favorite places in Santa Fe is at this corner - Doodlets. This is a great little shop with lots of eclectic and fun merchandise. After a short visit here I walked up Don Gasper and turned right on San Francisco Street and made my way to the Plaza. I turned left on Lincoln and walked past another nice restaurant - Plaza Cafe. At the corner of Lincoln and Palace I took some pictures of the Plaza and the Palace of the Governors and then turned left on Palace and walked in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. A short walk took me to the corner of Palace and Grant. At this corner there is the Chuck Jones Gallery and the Santa Fe County Offices. I turned right onto Grant and reached the corner of Grant and Johnston. A little ways down Johnston is the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum - I opted to just keep walking on Grant and skipped the museum today. I walked past the Georgia O'Keeffe Research Center and reached the corner of Grant and Marcy. Here is where the new Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau is located. I didn't go into the building but I did walk around it and through the courtyard and took some pictures. The Convention Center takes up most of the block and by walking through I ended up on Federal Place. Across the street from the Convention Center is the main Post Office and next to that is the Federal Courthouse. I walked past both of these buildings and reached the corner of Federal Place and Lincoln. I made a right turn on Lincoln and ended up at Marcy Street. I turned left here and walked past Design Warehouse, Il Piatto Restaurant and Marcy Street Card Shop before reaching Washington Street. I made a right turn and passed the Santa Fe Public Library, Inn of the Anasazi, The New Mexico History Museum and The Palace of the Governors. Now I was at the corner of Washington and Palace. I turned left on Palace and walked pass lots of shops and a few restaurants and galleries - Rainbow Man, The Shop, Kokopelli Gallery, Susan's Christmas Shop, The Shed and then I turned into Sena Plaza. In this area is Goler Shoes, La Casa Sena, Poem, Todos Santos and a few other shops. I walked around and took some pictures and then continued on my walk. I turned right on Cathedral Place and walked past Cathedral Park, Institue for American Indian Arts, St. Francis Cathedral and La Fonda Hotel. I followed Cathedral Place around a curve and stopped at the corner of Cathedral Place and Water Street. I turned right on Water and walked past Old Santa Fe Trail to the intersection of Shelby. I turned left here and made my way to Alameda. I crossed the street and walked across a bridge over the Santa Fe River. I turned right and followed a path along the river for just a short way. I turned right and went through a gate and a parking lot for some apartments eventually reaching De Vargas Street. At this point I was at the North Capitol Complex. I turned left on De Vargas and walked past the Inn of the Five Graces and the Santa Fe Playhouse. I reached Old Santa Fe Trail and was back at Upper Crust Pizza and San Miguel Mission. If I had turned right here I would have returned to my car in a few minutes. Instead I decided to continue on De Vargas. I passed the Mission and Upper Crust and then passed the Oldest House in Santa Fe and then reached the Mission Cafe. Across from the cafe is the PERA Building and the parking lot where I started. So I returned to my car after a very enjoyable walk. The day was a little chilly but very beautiful. I mentioned places that I like and notice while walking. There are lots of sights, shops, galleries and restaurants downtown that are worth a visit. I hope you enjoyed this walking tour and get to visit some of these places yourself.

Getting Prepared

2009-11-24T19:43:00.004-07:00

Today I spent the day getting some things ready for Thanksgiving. First I made a cornbread for the cornbread stuffing that I am going to make on Thursday morning. Also for the cornbread stuffing I use a chicken. So I boiled the chicken to separate the meat from the bone and make some chicken stock. After the chicken cooled I took the meat off the bone and put it aside. Then I strained the stock and put it in a container and then into the refrigerator (when it gets cold the fat will separate from the stock). I then took the meat and cooked it with salt, pepper, onions, garlic and celery. When that cooled I put it in the refrigerator and took out the stock to take the fat off the stock. Then this was put into the refrigerator and now it will be easy to put the stuffing together on Thursday.

The next thing I wanted to do was to make some pies. The first thing I did was to make two pecan pies. I preheated the oven and got all the ingredients mixed together. I poured everything into the crust and topped it off with pecan halves. Once they were in the oven I started getting the stuff ready for an apple pie. I got everything mixed together and ready to put the pie together. But I had to wait for the pecan pies to finish cooking. That gave all the spices a chance to mix with the apples. I got the pecan pies out of the oven and finished putting the apple pie together. I got it in the oven and watched it carefully - this is the first time I ever baked an apple pie. When I felt it was done I took it out of the oven and put it on top of the stove with the pecan pies to cool. I think I did a good job but I guess we won't know until Thursday when we taste them. They do look pretty tasty and I am looking forward to dessert on Thursday.

I feel pretty good about what I got done today. It will make Thanksgiving morning a little easier and I can spend some time watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The turkey has been ready for a week now. Thomas got a fresh turkey and de-boned it and got it all seasoned. It is in the freezer and ready for cooking. We are going to have some homemade rolls, green beans and mashed potatoes along with the turkey, cornbread stuffing and pies. I think it is going to be a very tasty day.

Out for a Walk

2009-11-23T22:06:00.004-07:00

Mid-morning I decided I needed to get out of the house so I went for a walk on the property. Daisy is always up for a walk so she tagged along. As I walk she tends to run just a little ahead of me but never goes very far - in fact she always stays where she can still see me. It was a nice day and we had a great walk. We did about a half mile and pretty much didn't see anything. It was a pretty boring walk truth be told. So anyway we sat for a while, well I sat, Daisy walked around and explored the area but soon got bored and I could tell she wanted to start heading back. We started walking and not long I looked up and saw a coyote about 100 yards away. The coyote hadn't seen us yet and Daisy hadn't seen the coyote. So I kept my eye on the coyote and we kept walking. We only went about three steps before Daisy spot the coyote. And she started barking. If you read my post - Daisy and the Coyotes - then you know that she doesn't like them on the property. She starts barking and it is very high pitched and very fast. Since I was with her she tends to be a little braver and she started toward the coyote. At first she didn't go far and she kept looking back at me and I kept walking trying to ignore the coyote and hoping that Daisy would follow me and leave him alone. No chance! She just kept barking and slowly crept closer to him. I finally realized that she wouldn't stop until he was gone and by this time she was getting closer to the coyote and he hadn't retreated at all. I looked around to make sure that there was only one coyote and then I made a decision. I decided to start running toward the coyote knowing Daisy would follow me but hoping that the coyote would turn and run away. I lucked up. Daisy stayed close to me and the coyote took off running. By the time we got to the fence the coyote was no where to be found and Daisy had calmed down. It still took me a while to get her back to the house and calm her down. I made her come inside the house with me just to let her relax and maybe forget about the coyote. Later I let her out again and the first thing she did was go to the back of the house to check things out. I was glad to see that there were no coyotes present and she quickly forgot about it and went on to play as normal. I am hoping that the coyotes will eventually stop coming to the house so that she will be safe and stop freaking out. Even with all this drama today we both had a great walk.

An Early Thanksgiving

2009-11-22T20:16:00.004-07:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving today with Thomas' Aunt and Cousins. Some of the family are leaving on Tuesday for Peru so they wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner all together today. So this morning Thomas made a fruit salad and some whipped cream. I put some green beans in a casserole dish with onions, garlic and olive oil. About 45 minutes before we were to go to his Aunt's house I put the green beans in the oven to roast them. At 2:00 we got Thomas' Dad in the car and we headed over to his Aunt's. It was a nice visit. We started eating right when we got there. There was a huge turkey, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato salad, asparagus, beets, fried chicken, little ham sandwiches, little turkey sandwiches, two kinds of stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and a green salad. For dessert there were two pumpkin pies, pumpkin chiffon, cranberry fluff, two fruit salads and chocolates. It was quite a spread and all of it was really good. After dinner we sat around and visited and had coffee. It was a great way to kick off the holiday week and now that I had some turkey I am looking forward to more on Thursday. Well here is to hoping that all you have a great Thanksgiving!

Missing Out on the Day

2009-11-21T23:01:00.004-07:00

Today was a beautiful day, sunny with clear blue skies and there was a chill in the air. Unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy it. Lately I have been feeling down and some days are worse than others. When I woke up this morning I was feeling okay and I started doing a few chores around the house. I then got on the treadmill but only managed to walk three quarters of a mile. I just didn't have the motivation to do more. After I stopped my walk I did manage to complete three projects I was working on. The entire morning I just kept worrying but it wasn't anything in particular. The problem is that I worry about everything I say and do and I worry about what people think. I always want to do the best I can and when that doesn't happen I beat myself up. I take things personally and I dwell on them. I can't shake it and I end up removing myself from whatever it is that I failed at.

I took a short walk on the property this afternoon and I took a few pictures. I didn't really feel like doing this but I needed to take at least one picture. I returned to the house and spent about three hours reading. I never moved. I sat in a chair and just read. There was another project that I have been wanting to do but for some reason just never got to. So I went to the computer and started working on putting a book together with the pictures from my As I See It 2008 blog. I am doing this through Blurb. They are having a special that ends this weekend. I am hoping to get it finished tomorrow morning and get it sent in.

I am glad that I got a few projects done but I really want to shake this feeling of sadness. Unfortunately at this time I have given up on a hobby that I was involved in and I have done some thinking about it. I thought that I could continue with the hobby but everytime I think about it I just get more sad. I am trying to work on things and trying to enjoy things without putting too much pressure on myself. The day wasn't horrible but I didn't get to enjoy the beautiful weather the way I would have liked.

Filled Up With Memories

2009-11-20T21:17:00.005-07:00

Tonight we had a Netflix night. We watched Disney Pixar's Up. I really liked this movie. It was a great way to end the week. The last few weeks I have been feeling down and this was just the lift I needed.

Up is the story of a 78 year old man and an 8 year old boy. A very unlikely pair. The 78 year old man - Carl Fredricksen is just a boy himself when the movie begins. He has a hero named Charles F. Muntz. He meets a girl named Ellie and they realize they have the same hero and a lot of common interests. Ellie has a scrapbook that she titled 'My Adventure Book' and she admits that one of her dreams is to move her clubhouse to Paradise Falls. Their story continues as they grow up, get married and have their own adventure called life. They never make it on any big adventure. After Ellie dies Carl decides to move their house to Paradise Falls when the courts force him to move into a retirement home. So he attaches a ton of balloons to the house and takes off. What he didn't realize was that he had a stowaway - Russell. An 8 year old boy who is a Junior Wilderness Explorer and is trying to earn his last badge so that he can become a Senior Wilderness Explorer. Their adventure takes them all the way to Paradise Falls and when Carl gets there he opens Ellie's scrapbook to put a picture of Paradise Falls in the book. At this point he realizes that Ellie has already filled the book with all the adventures of their life - none of them were the adventure she first dreamed of but they were still important to her. There is a note at the end of the book that Ellie left for Carl to go on and live his own adventure and that is what he does - he and Russell have a great adventure.

Now I enjoyed the entire movie - it was wonderful. But what I really loved about the movie is the way they emphasized that we don't need grandiose, over the top excitement to have an adventure. Everyday of our lives is an adventure if we just look for it. It was incredible how Ellie filled her book with their wonderful lives. It really got me to thinking about some of the things that Thomas and I have planned and haven't been able to get to yet. It doesn't seem so urgent to do all these things - if we get to them great but if we don't that is okay as well - I know we will have a wonderful life. It has been wonderful up to now.

We have taken a trip to Europe, two trips to England, spent time in Vancouver and Victoria in Canada and seen a quite a bit of the United States. They were all great trips but after watching Up I started thinking about some of the simpler things. Like hiking up to Raven's Ridge and sitting on rocks at the edge, enjoying the views and watching chipmunks running around us. And cross country skiing on our property after a good snowfall. Spending an entire Saturday lying in bed and reading. Redecorating the house room by room. Road trips to anywhere (we really love driving together and spending time in the car - it gives us a chance to really talk). Taking walks in the arroyo behind our house. There are thousands of other things we have done that were our own adventures - plenty to fill a scrapbook with. This movie really made me smile and brought up a flood of memories that span the 20 years Thomas and I have been together. Thanks Disney I really needed that.

A Day of Catching Up

2009-11-19T19:43:00.005-07:00

I woke up this morning with the intention to get a couple of things done around the house and then head out to run errands. But you know how plans change. I made some coffee while still in my pajamas. Once the coffee was done I put on my thick terry cloth robe and went outside. It was a cold crisp morning with lots of sun. I sat on the porch and drank my coffee, listened to the birds and enjoyed the briskness of a beautiful Fall morning. I ended up staying out on the porch for about an hour. Then I went back inside and took a shower and got dressed.

I then spent about 10 minutes catching up on email and while I was at the computer I needed to get some pictures posted on my As I See It 2009 blog. I had gotten behind in my posting. I had a folder with pictures picked out up until yesterday. So I picked one from yesterday and while I was having coffee this morning I had taken a few shots and liked one of those. So now that I had all the pictures picked out I started posting them. It took me a little while because I was 12 days behind. Well I got caught up and it felt good to have all those up on the blog. So I shut down the computer and moved on to the next little project, cleaning the house. It didn't take me too long to get the house clean, I had done some cleaning just a few days ago. As part of the cleaning i also did two loads of laundry and watered all the plants.

Once that was completed I thought about what else needed to be done and I decided I didn't care what else needed to be done. It was a beautiful day so I grabbed my book and went sit out on the porch and read. I was pretty close to the end of the book so I just stayed out there until I finished. I left the book on the chair and Daisy and I went for a walk - it ended up being about a two mile walk and then we returned home.

Since today seemed to be about playing catch up and getting things completed I decided to get the bills and accounts done. There wasn't much to be done and I was finished in about 30 minutes. So I then dealt with all the little papers that were strewn all over my desk. By the time I finished I had a clear desk. There were a few other things that I took care of and then got everything ready for work tomorrow. By this time Thomas was home and we sat down for dinner and after dinner we relaxed and watched Star Trek. Now I am getting this post done and the I can say that I had a very productive day and feel like I am caught up and ready for the weekend.

Room for Improvement

2009-11-18T20:12:00.004-07:00

I have some issues and I have been working on them. The biggest issue I am dealing with is low self esteem and lack of self confidence. On a day to day basis I deal with it okay. But there are times that I feel like a fish out of water and I just worry about everything I say and do. It happens a lot when I am with groups of people. I second guess everything I say and do and when I leave the group I worry about what they thought about everything I said and did. I am also a perfectionist. Whenever I do something I over think it and I always find fault with it - without exception. It seems that I don't want to find the good in things. But it isn't a conscious effort - the negative just overrides the positive.

A good example of this is a recent note I received related to a hobby I am involved in. The hobby is letterboxing and the note was about one of my letterboxes I have placed. The note pretty much stated that the clues I wrote for the box were worthless and because of that the person looking for the box ended up having a very bad day. Well, I took it personally (and it was - it was specific to me and my actions with this box). And it made me feel horrible. I immediately started thinking about all the negative notes I have received and they pushed anything positive about the hobby out of mind. Now this isn't the only negative note I have received but it is the proverbial straw and I have decided to back away from the hobby. Why do I want to put all this effort into creating and placing a box (this is not a simple task for me - one box usually takes me about three weeks to complete from beginning to end - from research and planning to executiona and placing). I put a lot of myself into it so that the person that goes to find it has a good experience. Well from the negative comments it appears that they aren't getting a good experience. So I don't want to deal with this so I end up removing myself from the activity. Now I am not stupid and I realize this doesn't actually solve the problem but it is the coping mechanism that I have developed. This is what I am trying to change. The last two weeks have seen me take an enormous step backwards in my work. But I am not giving up and I am hoping that I can come up with a better way to deal with this and look at the negative as a learning experience and reflect on the positive aspects and know that I am doing something right.

Daisy and the Coyotes

2009-11-17T21:30:00.004-07:00

Our property borders an arroyo and there aren't very many house around us. So the arroyo is a great place for coyotes. I routinely see coyotes out in the back of the house. Usually one or two at a time. They will come pretty close to the house and one morning I woke up to find one peeking in the bedroom window. Needless to say I am not surprised when a coyote shows up for a visit.

The problem that has arisen is that Daisy is very protective of her territory. One day I heard her barking but it wasn't her normal bark. So I looked out the window and saw that she was barking at a coyote at the back of the property and I could tell she wasn't happy about it. I went outside to scare the coyote off. Boy was that a mistake. She seemed to think that she needed to protect me and she took off chasing the coyote. She didn't stop until she had chased the coyote off the property. I was very worried about this. Someone had told me once that coyotes will lure dogs away and then attack them as a pack. So I decided the next time I wouldn't go outside. Instead I would just open the door and call her into the house. Well, the coyotes have come around about six or seven times that I know of and I'm not happy about it. I keep wondering if they keep coming to get Daisy to chase them out to the arroyo. Luckily she usually doesn't chase them unless I go outside so I don't think she will ever follow them.

Today though I got more worried. I heard her barking again and I knew there was something going on. Her bark was high pitched and very fast. She was also at the back of the house and looking toward the fence line. So I looked out the living room window and saw two coyotes. I kept scanning the area and spotted two more. I have never seen four coyotes out at the same time. The most I have seen at once was two. Daisy is a little smaller than most coyotes so I don't want her to get too territorial and start chasing them. I watched out the window for a little while and Daisy never tried to approach them but because of her barking they kept looking toward the house. I then noticed two of them starting to come a little closer. So I went to the front door and called Daisy. This time it took her a little while to respond to me but eventually she came into the house. So I went back to the window and noticed that all four of the coyotes were a little closer. I left Daisy in the house and I went outside. I picked up a few rocks and a big stick and walked slowly toward the coyotes. As I approached them two of the coyotes ran off past the fence and disappeared. The other two slowly retreated but decided to hang out at the fence line and watch me. I waited a moment and they didn't move so I continued to approach them. That did the trick, the two of them finally left. I kept Daisy in the house for about an hour and the coyotes didn't return. So I let her outside and I noticed that the first thing she did was go to the back of the house and check things out. Gratefully the coyotes never returned. I love that I have a dog that wants to protect me but unfortunately she probably isn't big enough to take on a coyote. I hope they don't come around again and I definitely hope she won't try and chase them.

An Unlikely Hero

2009-11-16T20:53:00.004-07:00

It seems the Christians could learn something about compassion, love and most of all discrimination from a 10 year old boy. This 10 year old boy lives in Arkansas and has decided to not stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance until Gays and Lesbians have the right to marry. He stated in an interview with CNN that the reason he decided this was because of the last few words of the Pledge - "with liberty and justice for all". He feels that if Gays and Lesbians aren't allowed to marry then how can we believe in the Pledge. I think this insight from a 1o year old is amazing and yet supposedly mature adults have these incredibly closed minds. I wish I had the strength and courage of this young man. Don't get me wrong I don't hide in a closet but I am not out there fighting for this right. My family and friends know I am gay and most of the people at work know I am gay but now that doesn't seem to be enough. I am not sure what I am going to do about it but it seems like I need to take action. I will never be able to thank this young man (by the way his name is Will Phillips) for his support of my rights.

I guess I never really thought about the Pledge and I am glad that this came up. When you think about the entire country for years has been saying that every American should get justice. This is the exact point that people who support Gay Marriage are trying to get across. We want the same rights that all Americans want and we want the right to get married. Now this part is for the Christians - we don't want your blessing or the support of the Church. We want our legal right to marry so that the families we have built are protected by the government that we contribute to. Thank you Will Phillips - you are my new hero.

The Stick People

2009-11-15T21:30:00.010-07:00

Today I went to Albuquerque with some friends to attend a class at Papers! to learn how to make a paper wreath. But before the class we did a few things. Peggy and Diane did a little letterboxing in the bosque - they found a crawdad, a climbing tree and a pedalin girl. It was fun and nice along the bosque but it was really cold. Before the class we had some dinner at Il Vicino. We had a nice dinner and got to relax in a warm place before making our way to Papers! for the class. We made a nice wreath that was pretty easy and could be made for just about any occasion. The one we made tonight was for Christmas. But all you have to do is change the type of paper you use to get the desired effect for whatever celebration you wanted.

But the thing that stood out for me was the stick people at the Bosque School. A group of New Mexico arts organizations have gotten together to present LAND/ART. So after the letterboxing and before dinner we made our way to the Bosque School to see an exhibit by Patrick Dougherty. He uses tree saplings to create semi-permanent sculptures. At the school he created three sculptures that are faces. They stand close together and are intertwined with a tree. It was incredible. You can walk through them and look up into them. They are pretty tall (maybe 20 feet or so) and the structure is wonderful. There were also a few pieces that were not anything specific - more like little rooms that you could walk through. I was truly amazed at the artwork and now I want Patrick to come to my house and create one in my yard. No way is that gonna happen but I can dream. You should check out the website and see if there is anything that he is doing in your area and try to get there to see it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Running on Low Energy

2009-11-14T20:53:00.005-07:00

I slept in today, it was 8:30am before I got out of bed. And when I did get moving it was pretty slow. I mustered up enough energy to walk three miles on the treadmill. But I walked a lot slower than normal so it took me a little longer than it usually takes me. Once I worked through my exercises I took a shower and got dressed. Thomas then took me to Lithia to pick up my car (I finally got it back after almost a month in the shop. Lithia has lost a customer - horrible service), and then I had to run two quick errands - I needed to go to the post office to mail a package and then to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I wanted to take pictures but I wasn't sure where to go and I really didn't have that much energy. I finally decided to drive to Randall Davey Audubon Center on Upper Canyon Road. I only spent about 20 minutes there and only took a few pictures. I just wasn't feeling like doing too much and it was getting colder. So I left and drove straight home. Once I got home I picked up the book I was reading and sat and read for about an hour. I only read for an hour because I got really sleepy and ended up taking an hour and a half nap. I don't usually take naps and so this was weird and I am not sure why I am so tired. After waking up Thomas and I talked about what we wanted to cook for dinner and then started cooking. While we ate dinner we watched a movie (The Botany of Desire). The movie was pretty interesting but by the end my eyelids were feeling pretty heavy. But I managed to find a last jolt of energy to get a blog post tonight for NaBloPoMo. So now that I got this post done it is off to bed. I am hoping that I have more energy tomorrow, I have a few things to get done.

Date Night

2009-11-13T23:25:00.004-07:00

It was a busy and stressful week for both Thomas and I. Work has been crazy for both of us and there were some things that happened at the beginning of the week that really upset me and I haven't been able to snap out of it. So anyway once the work day was over I called Thomas and asked if he wanted to go out on a date. He was all for it. So we met at home and fed the dog then we freshened up and headed out.

It was a simple night out but a very enjoyable one. We had dinner at the Plaza Cafe Southside. It is located near the Regal 14 Theaters. We sat and talked and relaxed. We talked about the week and then we talked about what we were going to do for Thanksgiving. And we also didn't talk. It was so comfortable and was a nice end to a crazy week. After dinner we decided to walk over to the theaters to see what was playing. We decided to see 2012. It was a pretty good movie, it kept my attention for the full 158 minutes. It was a bit melodramatic for my taste. If they wanted us to believe that this is what is going to happen on 12-21-12 then they should have made it a little more realistic. Anyway I still enjoyed the movie and I loved sitting next to Thomas in the theater. I also love when we have date night - it really helps to smooth out a rough week.

Answering a Question

2009-11-12T21:48:00.003-07:00

I worked today and it was a pretty busy day. Nothing exciting happened it was just a normal work day. So when I started to write this post I was having a very hard time coming up with something to write. So I resorted to Plinky for some inspiration. Here is the prompt I am using for this post.

What would a road trip companion learn about you when traveling with you for the first time?

They would probably learn a lot. I like to stop for oddities along the way (check out Roadside America) and I like to stop at antique shops. I also love visiting State Capitols - the buildings. I think it is so interesting to see all the different styles of buildings in each part of the country. And I love national and state parks - each one is unique and interesting.

But the absolutely most important thing someone would learn about me on a road trip is that I rarely stop for the bathroom. I can drive for hours on end without having a pit stop and if my traveling companion needs the bathroom they had better speak up or it could be a very long ride. I don't know the reason why I don't need to stop very often - maybe because I have a destination in mind and I just want to drive until I get there or maybe I just don't drink that much while on the road so I don't need to stop. Whatever the reason I always tell my traveling companion at the beginning of the trip that I don't stop often so they need to let me know when they need a break.

Lichen and Moss

2009-11-11T22:15:00.012-07:00

This morning was absolutely gorgeous so I decided I would go for a walk. I thought about where I wanted to go and finally decided I would park at St. John's College and take a walk on the Atalaya Trail. Now from the College it is about a seven mile round trip hike but I didn't want to hike to the top. I just wanted to go on a nice little walk. The trail from St. John's is #174 and it joins with trail #170 which starts from Ponderosa Ridge or Wilderness Gate (not sure about this subdivision - I have read both names). I walked from St. John's to the intersection of Trail #170. It was great, the temperture was in the low 60's so it was very enjoyable. I also had the trail to myself - I did not see another human during my entire walk. It was so peaceful. I also take pictures everyday and I was looking for things to photograph. I did see a few birds but I was never able to get close enough to take pictures. Usually I can find a few flowers to photograph but I didn't see any today. So when I reached Trail #170 I had only taken a few pictures. I decided to find a place to sit for a while just to relax so I walked a little on Trail #170 and found a good size rock near a tree where I could sit. So I sat on the rock with my back against the tree, holding my camera and hoping that a bird or two would come by so I could take some pictures. Well, no birds showed up but some lichen caught my eye. So I took a few pictures and then saw a different type on another rock and took pictures of that. I decided I would start back down the trail and look for lichen or moss to take pictures of. As I walked and found things to photograph I wondered exactly what the difference between the two were. Just from looking at them it seemed to me that lichen was drier than moss and was lighter in color. Lichen also felt harder to the touch and seemed to have more texture. I decided that when I got home I would look it up and learn a little more. Here is what I found . . .

Structurally, lichens are among the most bizarre of all forms of life. That's because every lichen species is actually composed of two, possibly even three, distinct species of organisms. One species is a kind of fungus. Usually the other species is an alga, but sometimes it can be a photosynthesizing bacterium known as a cyanobacterium. Sometimes all three organisms are found in one lichen. You can read more about them at Lichens.

Moss is a very simple type of plant that lacks conventional roots, stems, and leaves. It refers to any species of the class Bryopsida and is part of the division Bryophyta. Bryophyta means the first green land plants to develop during the evolutionary process. Moss is thought to have evolved from very primitive vascular plants. Moss has not given rise to any other kind of plant. You can read more at What is Moss?

I had a great walk and found a few differnt types of moss and lichen. I actually enjoyed hunting around to see what I could find. Below are a few pictures I took.

A Relaxing Day

2009-11-10T22:58:00.008-07:00

Today was a very relaxing day. I decided I didn't want to put a lot of effort into it so I just did what I felt like doing when I felt like doing it. I really was not in the mood to do much - especially if it meant that I had to exert any amount of effort. So here is a list of what I did today.

1. Had a cup of coffee and watched TV for an hour.
2. Had second cup of coffee out on the porch and read for a little while.
3. Paid a few bills.
4. Took a walk on the property and took a few pictures.
5. Sat in the recliner and read some more.
6. Had a tomato and cucumber salad for lunch.
7. Took a walk on the Dorothy Stewart trail, sat on a bench and enjoyed the views, took some pictures.
8. Returned home and worked on a book binding project.
9. Watched three episodes of Bones.
10. Walked three miles on the treadmill.
11. Soaked in the jacuzzi tub.
12. Blogged.

Not a terribly interesting day but I did manage to avoid any type of responsibility (except for the bill paying). It was a nice day but I am still feeling pretty down. I did make some decisions about whether or not I wanted to continue participating in a hobby. For now I am taking a break - we will see what happens next year.

A Few Dozen Steps Backwards

2009-11-09T19:19:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about trying to think more positively. I thought it was working but today is totally different. In the last 24 hours I have had some very negative comments sent to me and it just deflated me. I got really defensive and wrote back. My comments were not received well. And I understand why - I wrote back in the heat of the moment and I let my emotions get the best of me. I am very thin skinned and I don't take criticism well. If I hear something negative it just triggers all kinds of emotions and I get very down on myself. I spent most of today taking walks and thinking about things. I wasn't able to get out of the funk. I am still very down and have distanced myself from the activity that brought about all these feelings. I guess I have more to work on than I thought. I am hoping that I can work through these feelings quickly and get back to feeling positive. But when you have been told you are worthless since you were a kid it becomes ingrained and it doesn't take much for those feelings to surface again. It amazes me that no matter how many positive things I hear it is only the negative ones that I remember. Maybe one day I will feel normal and good and have a little self confidence. But for now I am going to lay low and hope that things get better soon.

Thnking Differently

2009-11-08T21:48:00.005-07:00

Today was a nice day. This morning I did a few things around the house and then got my stuff ready to go to Albuquerque with friends. Diane and Peggy picked me up sometime after noon and we headed south. We talked along the way about a lot of different things - one which really got me thinking (I'll get to that a little later).

Once we arrived in Albuquerque we did some letterboxing, then went to have a little dinner before going to our book binding class at Papers. It was a great day with friends and the weather was perfect and the class was really good.

But now about that thing that got me thinking. A couple of years ago there was a little incident that happened that changed some things. I know that sounds very vague but the details of the incident aren't really important - what is important is what I feel about it. And what I feel about it is very self conscious. One thing about myself that I don't like very much is my lack of self confidence. I can usually tolerate some criticism but it depends on how it is delivered and under what circumstances. What I can't deal with is negative comments that come up often. It makes me feel stupid and inadequate and then I usually withdraw from whatever I was doing that drew the negative comments. Let me give you an example - you know when you are at a birthday party and it is time to sing Happy Birthday. I have been laughed at and told so many times that my singing is awful and I can't carry a tune. So now I won't dare sing in public, maybe at home or in the privacy of my car. There have been many times in my life when I have been told that I was bad at something or where I was told I was wasting my time doing something so I stopped doing those things. Now don't get me wrong it isn't like I never heard anything positive it is just that for some reason all the negative things override any of the positive things. I also find that I withdraw from people when these things happen. Most of the time I just feel like there is so much to deal with in life that why should I hang around people who I feel make me think bad about myself (not sure if that makes sense) or participating in activities where I am constantly reminded how I don't measure up. I realize I am not perfect and I can't make everyone like me or I can't succeed at everything I do or that all of my actions will win praise but I would like to feel good about myself without withdrawing from things. I am working on that - I am trying to look at all things and find something positive about it and not let it bring me down. I am finding it hard to change my thinking. I have gotten a little better but there are times when things happen and I find myself feeling really bad. The first thing I do is start thinking negative and I have to catch myself and change my thinking. This is something that is important to me - I am tired of feeling that I can't do anything good or positive. I really want to feel like my life is good and that in some way I have contributed something (no matter how small) to this world. And I want to feel good about myself and not self conscious when I am around other people. I want to feel like no matter what I do or say and no matter what comments are generated from them that it is okay. I am working on it, so hopefully soon things will change. I am glad that a conversation with friends got me thinking because that is what I need to do to make myself think and feel differently.

Preparing for Class

2009-11-07T18:17:00.006-07:00

Today was a quiet day and because of that I am having a difficult time finding something to write about. So I decided to just write about one of my activities that I did today. It is pretty mundane but it at least gives me something to post.

So what did I do today that I decided to blog about - well I prepared. Tomorrow I am going to Albuquerque with friends. We have a few things planned but the main reason is to attend a class. This is a craft type class - more specifically a book making class. It is being held at Papers! in Nob Hill. The end product is going to be a book that is wired bound. I am really looking forward to the class because I love learning new ways to do things.

The announcement for the class included a note that you could bring things to collage in your book. Since Thomas and I recently returned from a trip to the Oregon Coast I decided that I could put together a book that documents some of the highlights of the trip. I went through all the pictures that I had taken while on the trip (all 1171 of them). I picked some that where part of a group and some that were part of an activity. The rest that I choose were pictures of things or places we really enjoyed. I sized the pictures to what I wanted and then printed them out. cut the pictures from the pages I printed. I next made a few fold outs with groups of pictures and then organized the rest of the pictures so that I can use them tomorrow. When we travel I usually collect brochures, ticket stubs and various other things. So I went through all of that stuff as well. I choose some things that I might want to use tomorrow and put them with the pictures. Next I went through all my craft supplies. I found some stickers and embellishments that go along with the trip - so I add that to my growing stash of things to use in the collage. Since I am bringing that stuff I would need a container and since I had a container I decided to add a few pens, scissors, glue, ruler and a few other things. Everything is packed neatly and ready to go - I am hoping all this preparation helps make it easier to enjoy learning how to make the book and putting the collage together.

I know it seems like a lot of work just to make a book but I wanted it to be a nice reminder of our trip. And besides being prepared for things always makes me more relaxed and I am able to have a better time. I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Mmmmm Pizza!

2009-11-06T21:07:00.005-07:00

But not just any pizza! Pizza Village pizza! But not just any Pizza Village Pizza! It has to be a Dupe Special.

Imagine a very thin and extremely crispy crust and then cover that crust with a savory sauce - I said cover, not flood. Sprinkle some cheese over the sauce, just enough for flavor without over powering anything. Now add pepperoni slices, small bits of hamburger and tiny shrimp. Finally add just the perfect seasonings and there you have a Dupe Special. Ça Ç'est Bon!

Oh man, the more I think about it the more my mouth waters. I really love this place. I first ate here when I was in high school. On Friday nights after the football games it was a race between Carencro High and Northside High to see which school could get there first and fill the place. Northside had an advantage because there school is only a few blocks from Pizza Village. I went to Carencro and we had our fair share of getting there first.

Can you believe that with all the amazing food down in Cajun Country my favorite is pizza. Now don't get me wrong as a Cajun there are quite a few food items that I miss now that I don't live there anymore. I try to get a good sampling of my favorite foods when I visit but it is hard to get all my favorites each time but one thing I never miss out on is pizza from Pizza Village. I always save one meal for this place and I always get the Dupe Special. But all their pizzas are good. They also have great salads and I usually share one with someone just because I have to leave room for the pizza. I have also been known to have them make me a few (only partially cooked) and I freeze them and bring them home with me. I can then have one every now and then to tide me over until my next visit to Lafayette.

I am sure there are people out there that would disagree with me about the pizza here but I don't really care. I have fond memories of this place and I love the food, atmosphere and service. So if you ever find yourself in Lafayette, LA drive to 1935 Moss St. and give it a try - I think you will it enjoy it.

Thomas the Ghost

2009-11-05T19:50:00.003-07:00

Back at the beginning of 2008 I decided to take pictures everyday and post those pictures on a blog. I decided to do this so that I could learn more about photography and learn to look at things differently. My photography is getting better and I definitely look at things differently. You can see some my photos at As I See It 2008 and As I See It 2009. Because of all this picture taking I have been reading lots of different blogs and looking at lots of different photos and investigating lots of different websites. On Halloween I was looking at different websites and I came across an article on how to photograph ghosts. Well, I haven't seen any ghost around the house lately so I had to make a decision if I was going to be able to complete this challenge.

Someone had to become a ghost and since I was taking the picture it turned out to be Thomas. Now don't go getting all worried or upset. As soon as the picture was taken I resuscitated Thomas and all is back to normal. I really had fun with this project and I loved learning how to manipulate photos for different effects.

You Can't Repeal Love

2009-11-04T16:42:00.005-07:00

In May of this year the Maine legislature passed a bill to allow same sex couples to wed and the Governor signed that bill into law. Yesterday the residents of Maine voted to repeal that law. This makes Maine the 31st state to oppose gay marriage by popular vote. Currently there are five states in the Union that allow gay marriage - Massachussetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Iowa. So are we to assume that because 31 states don't want gay marriage and only five approve of it that it is wrong. To me all I get out of it is hate and discrimination. One of the main reasons that opponents of gay marriage give is that it is morally wrong, that the bible condemns homosexuality.

Now, I am not an expert on the bible but I do know that most people who use the bible only use it when it suits them. What I do know is the basics of how you treat people and I know the ten commandments and the golden rule. I feel that if you live by the ten commandments and you do unto others then you are doing pretty good - especially since we know that all humans are infallible - even though most of the religious right seem to think they are perfect and can dictate their beliefs on everyone else. I am not just being emotional and I am not making generalizations. I am speaking from experience.

I have been in a committed relationship for 20 years now but to the moral majority (and I use this term with tongue in cheek - because most of them are no more moral than I am and they are certainly not the majority - they just act like it) that doesn't mean anything. The reason I bring this up is I am trying to prove a point, actually several. First, most religious organizations can't even get along with themselves. Look back in history and you can see consistently how factions of one religion broke off because they had different beliefs - they couldn't even work out their differences - couldn't they have prayed together to solve their problems (I mean really - I can't tell you how many times that people have told me they will pray for me). On a more recent and personal experience one of Thomas' brother left his church. He and about half the congregation decided they couldn't get along with the rest of the church so they left. He even worked for them and quit his job over it without having another job to go to. Now should I trust this guy to make a decision about whether or not I should be allowed to marry the man I love. Second, most religions agree that sex before marriage is morally wrong and living together before marriage is also wrong. My dad recently got remarried. He had been living with his current wife for about 10 years before they actually got married. Why did they wait so long? The woman he married was divorced and she was waiting to get an annulment from the church so they could get married in the church and they did. So the matter of them living together was overlooked by the church. So it seems if you pay the church to erase your first marriage then you can remarry in the church and all is good in the world. Don't you think God still knows what you did and just getting a human to erase it on paper makes it okay in the eyes of God. Third, let's talk about honoring your mother and father. Thomas has four brothers and none of them do anything to help out with taking care of his dad and they weren't very much help when his mom was sick as well. I remember Thomas' mom crying and disappointed because one of his brothers had to do things with the church so he cancelled coming for Thanksgiving dinner. So the two gay guys take the responsibility of taking care of the parents but are not allowed to get married. I write these things so that the flaws of the religious are shown and so that maybe people can see that their thinking and justification of opposing same sex marriage is just that - flawed.

There is a rumor out there that quite a few people believe that homosexuals have a choice in their sexual orientation and that they can choose not to be homosexuals. Really! So I guess one morning I woke up and decided I was going to be attracted to men. For what reason - so I could be taunted and teased, so that I could be beaten up in the locker room in high school, so I could be condemned to hell, so I could be denied the right to see my partner if he is in the hospital, so I could be denied the right to marry the man I love and get all the same rights and privileges associated with that union. So I pose to you heterosexuals who see homosexuality as a choice - did you choose to be heterosexual? So, if you did couldn't you just as easily choose to be homosexual? I thought not. Please use reason with this, I am gay because I am gay - that's it - there is no mystery and I don't need anyone to find a 'gay gene' to prove why or why not someone is gay. It wasn't the way I was raised, it wasn't the way I was treated, I wasn't recruited and I certainly wasn't brainwashed - I was born this way - I am a child of your God and I know he loves me as I am even if you don't. And I know in my heart I don't have to be heterosexual to be loved by God.

All this fighting to deny rights to other humans is just crazy and the reasons are even crazier - like the one that if they allow gays to marry each other then the next thing that will happen is that people will want to marry their dogs. That is really insulting - I am now nothing more than a dog - just because I am gay I am no longer human. If the opponents of gay marriage really believe this then I feel that their IQ is severely compromised and how can people take them seriously.

There are so many other crazy reasons that they are using and you can read all of them at Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives. I am not a proponent of outing gay people - I feel that each individual has the right to live their life as they see fit. But I am encouraging, pleading and even begging any gay individual that hasn't talked to their family and friends about it to dig deep within themselves and come out. As we talk to family, friends, coworkers and anyone else we are close to people will be more comfortable with homosexuality and I know in my heart that one day we will have all the rights that we are suppose to have. And to the people who are using religion to fight gay marriage I say to you - I don't want or need your blessing or the blessing of the church but I do expect the legal recognition from the government that I pay taxes to and for whom I vote. Fortunately this is only a setback not an end. Gays will not go away because of this. We have been around since the beginning and we will be here until the end and we will eventually get the right to marry legally with all the benefits.

Remembering A Friend

2009-11-03T16:01:00.003-07:00

Today is an anniversary. The memories associated with this anniversary are both good and bad. One year ago today we had to let our wonderful bulldog Boudreaux go. He had been getting weaker and he also had a very large tumor on one of his legs that really made it difficult for him to walk. I have so many good memories of Boudreaux. He was a very loving dog and loyal to no end. He had a very sweet disposition and would constantly follow me around the house. During the day when we were at work or running errands he would stay in the house and greet us warmly when we returned. When we traveled to Lousisana to see my family for Christmas he would accompany us on those trips. He really traveled well and loved being in the car. He also loved attention - he always wanted to be petted but his favorite thing was to be rubbed on his belly. I really miss him and the house has had an emptiness that I don't think will ever be filled. On that day one year ago my heart was broken and it was one of the saddest days of my life, of course with time I am feeling better and I know we did the right thing by Boudreaux. My memories of his twelve years with us are still vivid and I treasure each and every one of them. So here's to Boudreaux - I love you and miss you my friend.

A Little Sand, A Little Soda, A Little Lime and A Lot of Heat

2009-11-02T18:12:00.007-07:00

***A Quick Note: The Oregon Coast Visitors Association saw this post and put it on their website under Stories from the People's Coast. If you have a moment go to the following link and leave a comment for my story and I may have a chance to win a prize. Thanks!
A Little Sand, A Little Soda, A Little Lime and A Lot of Heat

A few weeks ago we were on vacation on the Oregon Coast. One of the things that caught my attention was the prospect of looking for and possibly finding glass floats. At one time Japanese Glass Floats could be found along the coast but the chance of finding one now is pretty slim. These floats were used on nets by fisherman and sometimes the float would break off the net and eventually find its way across the ocean to the Oregon Coast. Now a days some towns along the Oregon Coast place modern floats blown by glass blowers from the area on the beaches. They are usually placed between the vegetation line and water. Sometimes they are hidden in plain site or hidden behind beach junk. So on a couple of occasions we took some long walks on the beach and looked for tidepools, sea shells and floats. We found the tidepools and the sea shells but the floats eluded us.

While driving through Newport one day we saw an art glass studio and noticed a sign for glass blowing classes to blow your own float. We didn't stop that day - we just kept driving to our destination. The next day happened to be a cloudy and rainy day. We did manage to get in a three mile hike before we decided that we had had enough of being wet. So we made a choice to abandon the outdoors and find something to do indoors out of the weather. We returned to Newport and made our way to The Edge Art Gallery. We thought if we couldn't find a glass float we would make our own. So we went in and inquired about the class. They informed us that they didn't have a class that day but we could come back the next day. Unfortunately we couldn't make it back the next day. So we decided to look around the gallery and maybe just buy a float. Then we were completely surprised - they decided to make the time for a class just for the two of us. Now that's what I call customer service and good business. Going out of your way for the custormer - what a novel concept.

We read a brief safety letter and signed a consent and then the instructor took us back to the studio. The instructor's name was Jeff. A young man who was very pleasant and went out of his way to make this experience a great one. He turned out to be an excellent instructor and he managed to make us feel relaxed while we handled molten hot glass. The first thing he did was explain the process from beginning to end while demonstrating each part. Then it was time for us to begin. We first got to choose our colors. I picked three different greens (one that was a little iridescent) and one blue, Thomas picked a bright blue and white. I made my float first and then Thomas made his. The steps were the same for both floats so I will just go through them once.

Jeff picked up a glob of glass from one of the furnaces and then turned the blow pipe over to me. I had to keep turning the blow pipe so that the glass didn't just fall to the ground and to keep the glass in a crude ball. Then I had to put the glass into another furnace to heat it up. Once it got hot enough I took it over to a table where Jeff had spread out little chips of glass - these chips were the three colors of green that I had picked out. They were mixed together and I just rolled the hot glob of glass through the chips until the entire glob was covered. Then I reheated the glass and again rolled it in the chips. This was done four or five times. All the while I kept the blow tube turning and the glass centered. I reheated the glass in the small furnace and then took it to a bench. I sat on the bench and rolled the tube on the supports to keep the glass centered while I took a large pair of scissors and stabbed the glass and twisted it. This was done to create swirls with the color. I did this three times - heating and twisting then Jeff took the blow tube and went to the large furnace to add more clear glass over the green color. He returned it to me and I reheated it and then went to the table with the colored chips - this time Jeff had spread out the blue ones and I rolled the glass through the chips only adding minimal color. I rolled the glass on a flat table to smooth it out a little and give it a little shape. Then the glass was heated up again and then it was back to the bench to twist the color again. After two times of this I heated the glass up and then Jeff blew a bubble into the glass to get it started. Then he reheated the glass and I sat at the bench with a wooden form while Jeff placed the glass into the form and shaped it. Then we switched places and Jeff attached flexible tubing to the blow tube. He kept the blow tube rolling on the supports to keep the shape while I blew into the tube to expand the float to the size I wanted. At the same time Jeff used scissors to make a weak spot on the glass just before the tube so that it could be separated from the tube. He then held the glass over a padded bowl and I tapped the tube with a wooden paddle and the float separated from the tube and fell into the bowl. Jeff added a loop to the top so that the float could hang. He then transferred it to the annealer to cool.

It was an incredible experience even though we had tons of help. I really enjoyed our time learning to blow glass and I have a new found respect for the artist that create wonderful works of art with glass. We didn't get to see the finished pieces because they had to be transferred to the annealer so they wouldn't crack. We left the studio with terrific memories but without our floats. We decided to have them shipped home and we would have to wait to see them. Yesterday we were surprised when they arrived in the mail. They aren't exactly perfect but that is part of their beauty and we have a great souvenir of our time on the Oregon Coast.

A New Challenge For Me

2009-11-01T22:01:00.006-07:00

Last year I thought about joining National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) where you write 30 posts in 30 days but I just wasn't sure if I had enough to say or even if I wanted to say anything - especially every single day. But for the past year I have blogged more and now I really want to give it a try. Part of my problem is do I have anything to say or does anyone really want to read what I have to say. But I realize it doesn't matter. I can write about anything, even if it doesn't make sense and if no one likes it that doesn't matter either - the real reason for doing this is to get better at blogging. I have a lot of thoughts inside my head and most of the time I have a difficult time organizing them. I am hoping that this little project helps me to get them organized and I can write about them.

So I have joined NaBloPoMo and this is my first post. I want to focus on what is happening around me and write a little about it. For the past two years I have been doing a photography blog called As I See It. I take pictures everyday and post one picture on the blog for that day. It has helped me to look at things around me in a totally new way. I notice more and have gotten better at taking pictures. I am looking at this challenge in the same way - maybe it will help me to think about my world differently and open my mind a little. It may even help me to become a better writer (since I have never seen myself that way).

I spent a lot of time today debating about whether or not to start this project and there were more positives than negatives. I guess I spent too much time thinking about it and not actually doing it since here it is the end of the day and I am just now posting. Now that I am actually writing something I am feeling more confident that I can do this. There are quite a few things that I want to write about and I am looking forward to finding my own style and improving my skills. So with one day down there are only 29 more to go.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-30T23:18:00.002-06:00

Tonight Thomas and I invited a few friends over to carve pumpkins, have dinner and roast marshmallows over the fire and make s'mores. Diane, John and Chris came over and we chatted for a while and had some wine. Then we sat down for dinner of salad, chicken alfredo and garlic bread. Then after dinner we moved to another room and started carving pumpkins. Chris chose to draw his own design (a Jack-o-Lantern face), Diane and John carved a pumpkin together (a skeleton) and I started working on a design I got off of the internet (Frankie). While we were doing that Thomas was outside starting a fire in the firepit. I guess I was moving slow because everyone finished their pumpkins and I had just barely started.
Thomas called us outside to start roasting marshmallows and make the s'mores so Diane, John and Chris took their pumpkins outside and lit them. I left mine inside to finish carving after we ate the s'mores. I had carved a pumpkin the night before and we put the three of them together to take pictures. So we sat around the fire and roasted the marshmallows and ate s'mores until we had had enough of the cold and wind. We then came inside and relaxed and talked for a little while. We had a great time and I really enjoyed the s'mores - it has been a long time since I had them. Once everyone was gone I finished my pumpkin. I think they all came out great.

Detached Retina (Update #12)

2009-10-26T15:30:00.001-06:00

I had a follow-up visit with Dr. Wyant today. It has been a year and five months since my retina detached. My last appointment with Dr. Wyant was back in March. Since that time not much has changed. My vision is pretty much the same - blurry with lack of peripheral vision on the left and bottom. The only real complaint I have is that my eye tends to get red. When it is really red I use Optive or Systane (over the counter eye drops) and that usually helps. I had to renew my driver's license this summer and when they checked my left eye alone it was pretty bad. The DMV looks for 20/40 and my left eye is at 20/60. So I am okay for normal driving but I would not qualify for a license to drive a bus or 18 wheeler. I don't want to drive either of them so there is no problem. My depth perception is really good now. Not sure if I learned to compensate or if it is actually better - all I know is that when I reach for things I can get them. Dr. Wyant doesn't expect any changes one way or the other. He thinks that there is a very miniscule chance that the retina would detach again in the left eye and that makes me feel much better. So all in all things look really good and I don't have to see the doctor again for a year. Thankfully things are looking up.

Detached Retina (Update #13)

It's State Fair Time!

2009-09-18T20:32:00.007-06:00

Expo New Mexico started on September 11th and runs until September 27th. Thomas and I usually try and make it to the Fair at least once. Today we had to pick up a friend at the airport so we decided to do a little letterboxing and then go to the Fair.

We arrived at the Fair Grounds early afternoon and it was a good time - it wasn't very crowded yet and that made it easy to move around. When we first entered we passed by an area with stadium seats and notice a crowd in the stands and someone talking. So we stopped and watched the Marcan Tiger Preserve, Tigers of India. It was a neat show and I especially loved the white tigers. After the show we wandered for a little while and then stopped to see Dock Dogs Big Air. This show incorporates the locals. It is a competition between dogs to see which can run down the dock and dive to catch an object - the goal is to see who can jump the furthest. It was okay but we got bored soon so we started walking around again. We next stopped in to see the Fine Arts Exhibit. Now I am not an educated art critic but I was seriously doubting the judges abilities. Some of the winners were awful and some of the nicer pieces (at least the ones I thought were good) didn't win anything. It was still and enjoyable exhibit. After the Fine Arts exhibit we went to the Creative Arts exhibit - I liked this much better. More arts and crafts type stuff here and some very talented people entered their creations. I really enjoyed seeing everything here and left with quite a bit of inspiration.

Next we did a little shopping at the Manuel Lujan Building - they were selling anything and everything here - it was a little overwhelming. So we left and went to the barn to see some baby animals - this was more enjoyable and relaxing than the shopping area. We spent the next half hour or so just walking around and watching people. We saw a live bronze statue, a puppet parade with kids and their parents and a food booth where everything was fried (moon pies, oreos, twinkies, m&m's, cookie dough, snickers and cheese cake). Then we wandered over to the rides area. We didn't ride anything but we walked around and enjoyed the sounds, sights and smells. I took lots of pictures of the midway and we enjoyed watching people on the rides (I wasn't getting on any of them).

Well, we had a great time at the Fair but we were all tired and hungry. As we were walking to the exit we passed this gentleman sitting on a curb, he apparently was more tired than we were because he seemed to be napping while sitting. Anyway, we left and went to find a place to eat and made our way back to Santa Fe. I really enjoyed the Fair this year and I might make another trip this coming week.

Burn Him! Burn Him! Burn Him!

2009-09-10T23:44:00.001-06:00

Today begins Fiestas de Santa Fe, a celebration of the "peaceful retaking" of the city by Spanish colonist that goes through the weekend. There is food, music, arts & crafts, processions, religious ceremonies and the burning of Zozobra. Tonight Thomas and I went to a little party at Diane and John's house. They live about two blocks from Fort Marcy Park where Zozobra meets his doom. Zozobra (aka Old Man Gloom) is a marionette that stands between 40' and 50' tall. He is made of wood and muslin and is stuffed with shredded paper. That paper contains the worries and troubles from the previous year. Some people even put in divorce papers and other legal documents to burn. We started the night with appetizers and drinks and conversation. Then we had a great dinner that Diane and John cooked and more conversation. While we had dessert we watched what was happening with Zozobra on TV and when it got closer to the time for him to burn we made our way to the field. The crowd seemed more subdued than in past years that I have attended the event. But there was still a kind of energy in the air and when the lights went out and the ceremony started the crowd livened up a bit. There is a fire dancer and gloomies. The fire dancer drives the gloomies away from the base of Zozobra so that he can burn and take the gloom from the previous year with him. Then the crowd starts chanting "Burn Him!" and eventually he starts to burn - it only takes a couple of minutes for him to burn completely - but that is enough to give the crowd a fresh start for another year. Then there is a pretty good fireworks show - we watched the fireworks as we walked back to the house. We then sat and talked for a little while so we could let the traffic lighten up a bit before we headed home. We had a great time and I really enjoyed seeing Zozobra again. Click on the picture to see a slide show of the event.

Addendum: The Santa Fe New Mexican ran an article on September 11 about the burning and they called it Zozo's Last Stand.

V¡Va! santa fe - Happy 400th Birthday

2009-09-07T20:43:00.012-06:00

In 2010 Santa Fe turns 400. The city has decided to have a year long celebration. That celebration started this past weekend. The city launched V¡Va santa fe (Santa Fe 400th Anniversary - Opening Weekend).

There was an Arts and Crafts Festival on the Plaza. This lasted through today. There were artisans there selling hand made products and it was much more affordable that Spanish or Indian Market. I spent almost two hours walking around looking at all the artwork. There were some really interesting things. But after two hours I needed something different to look at. So I left the Plaza and headed up to Fort Marcy Park. I stopped at the New Mexico Tourism area and picked up a Tour NM Card (aka The Enchantment Card). This card gives you discounts at places all over the state and it was free to sign up. They also had a converted RV there with an exhibit about The History of Travel in New Mexico. It was pretty interesting. From there I stopped by the Legacy Arts Stage and watched Bailé Folklórico. They did a great job and it was so colorful. When they finished I made my way to the Legacy Artisans at Work. This was pretty much a hands on exhibit where you could learn different things from the artisans. Here is a quote from a handout I had . . .

"Guests will explore the artistic and architectural legacies of Santa Fe through the eyes of artisans, musicians, dancers, architects and homebuilders and hands-on demos."

It was really nice. They had people teaching salsa dance, how to make adobe bricks, wood carving and lots more. I didn't get a chance to stop at every booth - there was just too much to do. Next I went to the Tapestry of Taste booth. Unfortunately they weren't open yet so I didn't get to taste any food. After that I just wandered around and enjoyed the celebration. I think it was a good start for the city in celebrating 400 years. I am looking forward to all the other activities they are planning for this year. This weekend was also the start of Santa Fe Fiesta - well not acutally the start but the Court was present. As I was heading back to my car I passed by the Cathedral and watched the Fiesta Court procession to the Plaza - very festive! There is another activity this coming Thursday and that is the burning of Zozobra. It has been a while since I attended this event and I am really looking forward to it.

A Day of Rockhounding

2009-08-23T22:22:00.003-06:00

Today Thomas and I joined our friends Diane and John for a day of rockhounding. Last night I got everything together and packed into a backpack and this morning I put together some things for lunch. We arrived at Diane and John's house and loaded up our things into Moby (their Land Crusier) and headed out.

Our first destination was the Harding Mine between Dixon and Penasco. So we headed up Hwy285 - driving through Pojoaque and Espanola and making our way to NM68 to NM75 and then to CR63A to the caretaker's place. To visit this mine you have to fill out a relaease form and notify Mr. Griego. Once the preliminaries were out of the way we could head out to the mine. We made it to the parking area, got our things and headed up the trail to the mine. We stopped at the "purple room" first. This is a shallow cave that is covered with lepidolite - it is purple and white - and really beautiful. Thomas and John spent quite a bit of time searching for rocks there while Diane and I explored a little further up the trail. Mr. Griego showed up and spent some time giving Thomas and John a little lesson on the minerals available in the area. They all eventually joined Diane and I and we all continued on the trail. Mr. Griego showed us were to go to find some calcite. John and I walked up the hill and looked around the area and were able to find a couple of nice pieces. We then returned back down the hill and met Diane and Thomas - they were just looking around the area and collecting a few samples of different types of rocks. I really had trouble keeping up with the different types of rocks but I still had a great time. We did find a medium sized rock that I loved. It was mostly white with some purple and black intertwined on it and it also had some lichen growing on it. It now sits in our garden and is beautiful.

We retruned to the car and then headed toward our next destination. That destination was the Hondo Canyon to look for staurolites (aka Fairy Crosses). But on our way we decided we were hungry and decided to stop off of NM68 and sit near the Rio Grande and have our picnic lunch. We ate and talked and John even took a little walk in the river. We had a nice relaxing time near the river but we also wanted to go and search for staurolites. We packed up our lunch and made our way up NM68 and just a few miles north of Pilar we turned right onto a gravel road. We saw a couple of cars parked just a little ways up the road but we were driving further up the road and closer to the area where you find the crystals. It is about two miles in to a meadow where you can park and then you just have to walk a little ways up the road. The road is quite rough with a few big rocks along the way and you definitely need a 4WD vehicle with pretty high clearance - and Moby fit the bill - it did a great job getting us up the road - as did John and Diane with excellent driving. Anyway, this put us in the Hondo Canyon and right in the area where we could look for crystals. Diane stayed on the path and planted a letterbox while John, Thomas and I went up the hill to look for staurolites. As we made our way up the hillside looking for an area to search Thomas found one right away. We walked around for a little while trying to find the best area but ended up just searching all over the place. We each found quite a few pieces of the 60/120 degree ones (some better than others) but we didn't find any 90/90 degree ones. We stayed in the area for about an hour and then headed out.

On the way back home we decided to stop at Embudo Station for dinner. We had a nice meal and drinks and relaxed and talked about the day. It was a really intersting day and I got to see places that I didn't even know existed. I love exploring and learning new things. Thanks John and Diane for introducing us to some great places here in New Mexico.

Art Walk (August 2009)

2009-08-10T21:11:00.002-06:00

Today was a very stressful day at work. After working nine and a half hours I needed to do something relaxing. So after work I headed to my favorite place to walk - Canyon Road. I love looking at all the art (and looking is all I can do - it is so expensive). Things constantly change and there is always something new to see. So I try to take a walk at least one a month and a lot of time I make it there two or three times a month. I ended up spending about an hour and a half walking up and down the street and I think I took about 115 pictures. I decided to make a slide show of the pieces I liked the most. So click on the picture if you would like to view the slide show. Now that I am home after that relaxing walk I feel much better. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Spanish Market

2009-07-25T21:59:00.001-06:00

I left home early this morning and made my way to the Plaza. Today is the start of Spanish Market and I wanted to be able to find a parking spot before it got crazy busy. I decided to park at the PERA Building and walk to the Plaza - that way I could avoid any traffic when I was ready to leave. I got there pretty early and most of the artist were still setting up their booths. So I walked around a little and then decided to get a cup of coffee and sit for a while until all the booths were ready. So I found a bench near the middle of the Plaza and did a little people watching and took a couple of pictures. Then I decided to walk the perimeter of the Plaza first and look at all those booths, then I walked through the middle and saw the artwork there, I then walked along the front of the Palace of the Governors and then down Palace Ave to see what was on display there. My last walk was down Lincoln to view the Contemporary Hispanic Market. There were lots of different types of artwork from santos, straw applique, tinwork, textiles, pottery, basketry, furniture and more. The colors were unbelievable and beautiful. I took a break from walking for a little while and enjoyed some music. The woman singing had a very beautiful voice and even thought I didn't understand the words to the songs the music was wonderful. I guess I spent about three hours on the Plaza this morning and I had a great time.

Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

2009-07-11T13:00:00.007-06:00

Today I visited the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market held at Museum Hill. It cost $15 to get in but it was worth it. With admission to the market you could also visit the museums - Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art and the Wheelwright Musuem. I had a great time visiting all the booths and looking at all the arts and crafts. There was so much to see and there were so many people. Sometimes it was hard to get to the booths and actually see the artwork. But I saw some incredible things. Weavings, drums, jewelry, block prints, tinwork, baskets and a lot more. I ended up purchasing a hammered copper vase - it is made from recycled copper that is melted down and formed into disks and then hammered into shape. The piece I bought came from Santa Clara del Cobre in Michoacán, Mexico and was produced by the Roberto Castro Hernandez workshop.

I also took a little break from the heat and crowds and visited the Folk Art Museum and the Museum of Indian Arts. I hadn't been in these museums for a long time - it was good to take this opportunity to see them again. After a walk through of the museums I went to the stage area and watched the Kalakriti Dance Company - they performed Bharata Natyam (a traditional dance from India). It was really enjoyable - I watched them for about 30 minutes and then I made the rounds of the booths again. I decided it was time to go so I made my way to the payment booth to pay for the vase and then went back to the booth to pick it up.

Last Day of Gay Pride Month

2009-06-30T16:50:00.004-06:00

Today is the last day of gay pride. I have decided to put all the things that I had on the blog into this one post - there is the picture from Kelly's blog (Rambling Along in Life), the quotes from That's So Gay and a few other things I had posted. It was a good month with lots of celebrations all over the world and some very positive and powerful messages. I enjoyed reading other blogs as people celebrated Gay Pride. Here's hoping that next year will bring more for us to celebrate.

We have come a long way,
but still have a long way to go.
Thanks to all those who have paved the way,
Some even gave their lives...
Keep their fight alive...
We won't forget!!

These quotes are taken from That's So Gay
"Soldiers who are not afraid of guns, bombs, capture, torture or death say they are afraid of homosexuals. Clearly we should not be used as soldiers; we should be used as weapons". ~Letter to the editor, The Advocate

"More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, that is true perversion."~ Harvey Milk

"The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision".~Lynn Lavner

"Maybe what a gay icon is, is a person who is rooted for – in other words, cheered on by people who feel different"~ Liza Minelli

"Family need not be defined merely as those with whom you share blood but for those for whom you would give your blood"~ Nathan Lane

"Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate"~ Margaret Cho

"I believe that we, the lgbt community, need to continue to dialogue among ourselves about the issues and concerns that effect us. We are often banded together so often against a common foe, we forget to take the time to talk to each other about our lives and feelings as gay people. We are not all the same, we do not all have the same goals and desires and we do not always agree on everything just because we all share a common sexuality or struggle"~ Sean Breen

"There's no life without humour. It can make the wonderful moments of life truly glorious, and it can make tragic moments bearable"~ Rufus Wainwright

"The idea that your parents influence your sexual orientationis ridiculous. Because if it were true, I'd have my mother's taste in men, and i've never dated a guy who falls asleep in his chair during Jeopardy"~ Bob Smith

"We all came into this world naked. The rest is all drag"~ RuPaul

"Parents have to understand: if your kid isn't you, don't blame the kid"~ Chastity Bono

"Tolerance and acceptance are not enough for me-it's celebration I'm aiming for"~ Kevyn Aucoin

"Sexually progressive cultures gave us mathematics, literature, philosophy, civilization and the rest, while sexually restrictive cultures gave us the Dark Ages and the Holocaust"~Alan Moore

"On the surface, civil unions are a politically safe middle ground, an attempt to highlight the artificial divide between secular unions and the religious rite of marriage. But the fact is that marriage is a civil institution just as much as it is a religious one, and therefore religious objections to same-sex marriage shouldn't be an obstacle. We allow atheists to marry and we do not refer to a wedding performed by a secular judge or justice of the peace as a 'civil union'."~ William Jelani Cobb

"...there was something reassuring about watching my best friends joking around. It was what we did, how we engaged with each other. Silly but witty chit-chat about inane things. It's funny how meaningful inane things can be- comforting, easy things like family. And they were my family."~ Tommy's Tale (Alan Cumming)

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination"~ Oscar Wilde

"For flavor, instant sex will never supersede the stuff you have to peel and cook"~ Quentin Crisp

"I was raised around heterosexuals, as all heterosexuals are, that's where us gay people come from...you heterosexuals."~ Ellen DeGeneres

"I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short"~Armistead Maupin

"No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. the only queer people are those who don't love anybody"~ Rita Mae Brown

"They are preserving the sanctity of marriage, so that two gay men who've been together for twenty-five years can't get married, but a guy can still get drunk in Vegas and marry a hooker at the Elvis chapel! The sanctity of marriage is saved!"~ Lea DeLaria

"I have come to fully understand that tolerance is only a fraction better than intolerance but a world away from acceptance"~ CawfeeMate

I'm Proud!

You can read my other posts related to Gay Pride by clicking on the picture below.

Prayers For Bobby

2009-06-24T22:42:00.000-06:00

Last night I watched the movie Prayers For Bobby. It was a Lifetime movie and as you can probably guess it was pretty sentimental. I related a lot to the movie, not so much with my parents but with just the general attitude of people about gays and lesbians and I definitely related to Bobby and his feelings. One part of the movie really got to me - that was when Mary made a speech to the Walnut City Council. Below is a video of the speech from the movie and the transcript.

" 'Homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuals are doomed to spend eternity in hell. If they wanted to change, they could be healed of their evil ways. If they would turn away from temptation, they could be normal again. If only they would try and try harder if it doesn't work. '

These are all of the things I said to my son Bobby when I found out he was gay. When he told me he was homosexual, my world fell apart. I did everything I could to cure him of his sickness.

Eight months ago, my son jumped off a bridge and killed himself. I deeply regret my lack of knowledge of gay and lesbian people. I see that everything that I was taught and told was bigotry and dehumanizing slander. If I had investigated beyond what I was told, if I had just listened to my son when he poured his heart out to me, I would not be standing here today with you filled with regret.

I believe that God was pleased with Bobby's kind and loving spirit. In God's eyes, kindness and love is what's it's all about. I didn't know that each time that I echoed eternal damnation for gay people, each time I referred to Bobby as sick and perverted and a danger to our children, his self-esteem and his sense of worth were being destroyed. Finally, his spirit broke beyond repair.

It was not God's will that Bobby climbed over the side of a freeway overpass and jumped directly into the path of an 18 wheel truck which killed him instantly. Bobby's death was the direct result of his parents ignorance and fear of the word gay.

He wanted to be a writer. His hopes and dreams should not have been taken from him but they were. There are children like Bobby sitting in your congregations.

Unknown to you, they will be listening as you echo 'Amen' and that will soon silence their prayers. Their prayers to God for understanding and acceptance and for your love. But your hatred and fear and ignorance of the word 'gay' will silence those prayers.

So, before you echo 'Amen' in your home and place of worship, think. Think and remember that a child is listening."

Mary Griffiths

Something to Ponder

2009-06-10T08:04:00.004-06:00

I found this cartoon and I thought it spoke volumes even though it is such a simple drawing. I am not trying to say anything in particular but I thought it was something to ponder.

An Orchid and Many Poppies

2009-06-09T00:16:00.004-06:00

I have a few orchids and I have trouble getting them to bloom a second time. I attended a talk at Tropic of Capricorn earlier this year and learned some incredible information about taking care of my plants. Last year one of my orchids bloomed (this was only the second time, the first was when I bought it) and I was so excited - even though I have no idea what I did to get it to bloom. For about a month I watched as my Phalaenopsis sprouted a stalk. I made sure to follow everything I learned to help this plant to bloom again. Today I was rewarded - when I got home from work I had a beautiful bloom awaiting me. I hope the reason it bloomed was because I did all the right things and if that is true I hope it will bloom again next year.
My Oriental Poppies on the other hand have been incredible. I have had this plant for about eight years now and each year it grows more and I get more blooms. I really don't do anything special to it - I treat it like every other plant in the garden. It must like the location because it is one of the hardiest plants in the garden. This year I have had 11 blooms so far, and I have 5 more yet to come. I am hoping that this plant continues to grow and bloom for years to come.

A Little Lesson on Some Gay Symbols

2009-06-04T20:19:00.007-06:00

To celebrate gay pride I decided to do a post about some of the common symbols used in the gay community. I have to tell you it was a lesson for me as well. I learned about symbols I never knew about and learned more about others. So here are a few of those symbols and at the end of the post there will be links for you to find out more if you are interested.

The Lambda
The lower case greek letter was adopted by the Gay Activist Alliance to help members of the gay community identify each other. No one is really sure what the symbol means or meant.

The Rainbow Flag
This is probably the most widely used and recognized of all the symbols of the gay pride movement. Red for life; Orange for healing; Yellow for the sun; Green for nature; Blue for art; Violet for spirit. There are many variations of the flag used to represent individual groups within the gay community.

The Pink Triangle
The pink triangle is a symbol taken directly from the Nazi concentration camps. It was used to identify homosexual prisoners. There are other versions of the triangle to represent individual groups.

The Red Ribbon
The red ribbon is used to recognize and honor friends and colleagues who have died or are dying of AIDS. It was inspired by the yellow ribbon used during the Gulf War. The red color was chosen to represent blood since HIV and AIDS are blood related diseases.

These are only a few of the symbols. You can read and learn more at Lambda GLBT Community Services and Stonewall Society.

Detached Retina . . . One Year Later

2009-06-04T19:27:00.006-06:00

Today is one year to the day that my retina detached. I was a little worried because last year June 4th was on a Thursday and I worked that day and I worked today. So I kept thinking all day that everything is the same as last year and I sure as hell hope my retina doesn't detach again this year. Well, so far so good! Even though a year has passed I still remember how I felt when I covered my right eye and realized that I couldn't see out of my left. The anxiety and fear are still vivid. But I have a lot to be thankful about. After four surgeries and countless hours in a face down position; after being very still and inactive for a full summer and after numerous doctor visits I do have vision in my left eye. In February I saw my regular eye doctor and had my glasses updated and in March I saw my retina specialist and things were looking pretty good. I do still have some blurriness in the left eye and if I cover my right eye it is still a little difficult to see things clearly. The good news is that I can walk and not bump into things with just my left eye - there is still some problems with details. But I continue to notice small improvements as time goes by. Dr. Wyant told me that patients sometimes notice improvement even a year later. So I am optimistic about things. My eye pretty much feels normal - no itching or watering and it isn't red anymore. I also have better depth perception and that makes getting around easier. All in all things pretty darn good. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that this doesn't happen again.

Detached Retina (Update #12)

I Am What I Am

2009-06-02T15:49:00.006-06:00

Continuing with the gay pride thing I found a video of I Am What I Am on YouTube. I have always liked this song and it really speaks volumes for the way a lot of gay people feel. I decided to include this version with John Barrowma n in this post - this is the first time I have heard him sing the song and I really like it.

I also took the time today to see when Santa Fe will be celebrating pride. This year they will be having Pride on the Railyard Plaza. There are quite a few activities going on starting on Saturday, June 20th and going through Sunday, June 28th. They have also changed the route for the parade. The parade will be on Saturday, June 27th and will start on Don Gaspar and continue down Paseo de Peralta to the railyard. Click on the picture to view a map. I attended Pride in Santa Fe when I first moved here but that was quite a few years ago. I probably won't attend all of the events but I will definitely attend some and will be at the railyard on June 27th. I am interested in seeing the "Gay Art Show". They haven't announced the location yet but I am keeping my eyes posted.

I have been looking at other blogs and reading about gay pride. One of the blogs is planning on posting a gay related quote a day. You can find them at That's So Gay. Or you can look at the top of my sidebar - I decided to make a list of them there. I also noticed that Idle Eyes and A Dormy is also blogging about gay pride. I don't know why all of a sudden I am interested in following and blogging about gay pride but I have a sneaking suspision that it has a lot to do with marriage equaility and the lack of justice in California. Anyway, I plan to blog a little throughout the month if you care to read more.

A Time to Celebrate

2009-06-01T14:28:00.011-06:00

I would not call myself an activist, although I do have my opinions (which I voice occasionally, much to the dismay of friends and family) and I don't usually post on this blog about my sexuality, but considering that June is Gay Pride Month I thought I would write a few things. I was reading a blog this morning and the gentleman posted the picture you see at the top of this blog - this was Kelly from Rambling Along In Life and it got me to thinking.

I remember as a kid always feeling different. It wasn't until my teenage years that I realized why I felt that way. When all of the boys were talking about girls it didn't interest me and I felt alienated. Of course I made every effort to fit in - I was so scared someone would find out about me. I would listen to people make fun of gays, they would call them names and even threaten to kill them if they ever met one. I even remember my dad talking about a singer on TV - he said "They should never let that little fag sing on TV". And twice during my high school years I was beaten up in the locker room because someone suspected I was gay. Through all of this I kept my feelings to myself. In college I met a man and was able to talk freely about who I was and what it all meant. I was still very secretive with friends and family because I wasn't sure how they would react. I eventually transferred colleges and the one I transferred to was smaller and there were very few men. It was a woman's university and they allowed men into their allied health fields and graduate programs (there were probably around 100 men enrolled when I attended). This did not encourage me to come out. The few men on campus were the same as the ones I grew up with - they made fun of gays and called them every derogatory name they could think of - so I kept it all to myself, well at least at school. I did manage to meet some gay men away from campus and get to examine myself better.

It wasn't until I was doing my internships and getting ready to graduate from Physical Therapy school that I realized that what I was doing was just plain stupid. I was living my life the way I thought those around me wanted me to. I wasn't happy. And then I met the most wonderful man - Thomas. There was an immediate connection and I knew I couldn't let this opportunity go by just because I was scared. It didn't take us long to know we wanted to be together and even though I had planned to take a job in Louisiana I decided to take the biggest chance of my life and move to New Mexico to see what would happen. That was twenty years ago and we are still together - I guess I made the right choice - right! Not long after Thomas and I got together I knew I needed to tell my family and friends - I wasn't about to hide the fact that I loved Thomas and that we were a couple. So I slowly started telling people and each time I came out it made the next time that much easier. I apparently have some very good friends and a great family because for the most part they were all very accepting. There was one incidence where a friend informed me she was a born again Christian and couldn't be friends with me since we wouldn't be together in the after life. Surprisingly this didn't bother me - after reading her six page letter I tossed it into the fireplace and moved on. I always thought I would be devastated if one of my friends or family rejected me because of my sexuality, but I wasn't and I realized this woman wasn't a real friend and if she couldn't support me in my life then I didn't need her in my life.

Thomas and I officially got married on October 11, 2004 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Even though the rest of the country doesn't recognize it we still feel very strongly about that ceremony. We shared it with our closest friends and family and one day I hope that it will be legal anywhere in the United States. I know we are still dealing with Defense of Marriage Acts, constitutional amendments in a lot of states banning gay marriage and Prop 8 in California but I have faith that marriage equality will be here during my lifetime. There are so many people out there fighting and I can't let myself think that it is all in vain. I believe that it will make a difference.

Kelly's blog also talked about Stonewall. The events that took place that night really helped gay rights. Those men and women were so brave to take on the police and stand up for who they were. Thomas and I had the opportunity to visit Stonewall on a trip to New York. We sat and had a drink and talked about what it must have been like to have the police barge in and question you just because you were out with friends in a gay bar. I really admire those people for paving the way for Thomas and I to have such an open relationship. Stonewall took place on June 28, 1969 - the events were possibly flamed by the passing of Judy Garland. She passed away on June 22, 1969 and was buried on June 27, 1969. A gay icon was gone and it seemed that a lot of gay men were mourning and they had had enough.