2 Years Ago

2 years ago . . . 

I retired from teaching, a job I truly loved

2 years ago . . . 

I packed up and sold my house of 30 years

2 years ago . . . 

I had to say goodbye to 40 plus year friends

2 years ago . . . 
I bought a one way ticket to New Mexico

2 years ago . . . 

I was filled with all kinds of emotions thinking about the new life we were about to begin

2 years ago . . . 

We moved in to our new home and settled in to our new life

Today, I think back . . .

And realize as much as I miss the kiddos, it's good to be away from the stress

Today, I think back . . .

How our new home feels really good and many new memories have been already been made

Today, I think back . . .

How my friends will always be in my heart no matter how many miles separate us, but we have made some really good friends here

Today, I think back . . .

And I am amazed how fast these 2 years have gone by, but very thankful for the many friends that have come so that I can share a little part of this wonderful place I now call home!

One of our many beautiful sunsets!

The Sandia Mountains

Red Rock Festival

Just came off a really nice weekend, which is always really nice!  On Saturday, we had friends over to celebrate the holiday weekend.  A lot of laughs, good food and drink with really good people!  On Sunday, a bunch of us went up to Jemez Springs for the annual Red Rock Festival.  It was set in the beautiful red rocks of the Jemez Mountains which is just breathtaking!  There was beautiful arts and crafts, Native American Dancers and singers and great food.  Some of the pottery and pieces of art was amazing. . . . such talent! There was even a wonderful tribute to honor our countries Vets! Again, what better way to spend a day than with people you enjoy being with!

Happy Memorial Day!

Just a few of the vendors

An Indian Taco . . .it was very yummy!

Mars Experience

I was all set to write about the awesome experience of seeing Mars on Sunday night.  My step-son flew in for the weekend and was as excited as me to go out after sunset and view Mars . . . After all, it was to be a phoneme, a phoneme that doesn't happen often.  We read a bunch of articles throughout the day, figuring out which direction we would need to focus our attention, and we even borrowed my cousin's brand new telescope.  One of the articles said Mars could  almost be the size of a full moon.  So out we went just after sunset, picked the spot to focus the telescope and waited . . . and waited . . . and then it appeared.  Well, we think it appeared, a pin head dot about the size of a small star. Yes, it had a red tinge to it, especially seeing it through the telescope, but was no bigger than an average star.  It was disappointing to say the least, but we did see the moon rise over the mountains which was spectacular.  A bright light appeared behind the mountains just before a sliver of the moon appeared.  Mars, was a bit of a bust, but the spectacular moon rise made up for it!  Here is a picture taken with my phone (so not great quality) just after the moon rose above the mountains.  Yea, if you look really closely the tiny dot to the right is Mars!

Thanks To the Scientists!

Since I am a five year cancer survivor, I felt I must speak about the miraculous treatment that was discovered for a vicious brain cancer using the polio virus!  If you missed it, 60 Minutes broadcast the story on Sunday night.  The scientist who has been working on this for some 20 years has had such great success in the first phase of the study, the FDA wants to fast tract the treatment so many others can hopefully become part of this study and beat this cancer.  Hearing this news makes me so thankful for the men and women who work tirelessly trying to find the "magic" that will beat this horrible disease.  I know there are so many other diseases that are still years away from discovering the "magic" but this gives me so much hope that in time fewer and fewer people will lose what ever  fight they are facing. Unfortunately I am not doing this story justice, so please if you haven't heard about seen the special, google  "60 Minutes Brain Cancer Research.

Tis The Season

It's been a few weeks, but I have been busy!  Another trip to California to help my niece move. She just started a new job and had no time to pack and unpack so we were happy to go help. Since coming home have been very busy planting the veggie garden and cleaning up the plants all around the house.  To my delight, some of the plants around the house our exploding with new growth! The one that I was especially thrilled with is one of our cacti.  This particular cactus was given to us from my brother who lives in Chicago as a going away gift before we moved!  Yes, this is true, a cacti that lives in Chicago and comes back every year.  Hopefully this year, it will bloom with beautiful flowers!

This was the cactus last year.

This is the same cactus this year!