The Stick People

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.