A little bit of New Mexico in Massachusetts

I sent a little bit of New Mexico home with Todd after his visit.  Along with a sobbing Indian nightlight, a couple of Mexican wrestling masks, and some Pinon incense, Tsunami also got her souvenir.  

This is Tsunami-Mexicana.

(I think George likes the sombrero more than she does... but that's OK!)

"Take it off... pleeease..."

A short tour of 444

Herbert and Hannah in the Duck Pond.

Gnome Garden in the Yoga Oasis/Room.

(The one lounging only has one leg.

We rescued him from Walgreens for $.032.

He's happier now.)

Fruit for Brains

(sustaining our health)

Worst roommate ever....

She doesn't have a job and mooches all the time. She wakes up at the crack of dawn and makes lots of noise. She rolls in the dirt and tracks it in the house. When it is time to clean, she goes outside and sits in the sun. She gets high on catnip and sleeps all day. She snores. She invites her boyfriend over whenever she feels like it. She doesn't excuse herself when she sneezes. She begs for food but doesn't take it because she is a picky eater! She doesn't like any of the treats we buy for her. She kicks her kitty litter everywhere. She drinks out of the bathtub. She's a bed hog. She can't figure out how to open half-shut doors to let herself out. She's rude to company. She's the messiest eater ever! She interrupts yoga time. We should kick her out! But she's too cute.

It's gonna be a good year!

It's been one week since Patty and I watched Zozobra go up in flames, taking all our trials from last year with him. It was an amazing adventure that I will never forget. I have watched Zozobra burn many times in my life, but this year was particularly special. This year I watched him through sober eyes.

One week after giving away our troubles, we invited Patty's new friends over for a BBQ. Kiera and Seth are both new to NM as well and joined us last week in our adventure to Santa Fe. Patty is quite the grille master and is well on her way to perfecting chicken fajitas. MMMMMM! My favorite! After dinner Patty was kind enough to stack the dishes in an organized manner and fill the sink with water and soap so Seth could do the dishes! What a good sport he was. Thanks Seth! And then we all enjoyed an episode of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'. After Kiera and Seth went home for the night, we both decided we were exhausted and it was time for bed. I made my way to the bathroom while Patty and Linda admired Patty's new wall art (yes, they're 1$ placemats from Wal-Mart). I sat down on the toilet and, luckily before I started going, reached over to the toilet paper. As I was ripping off a couple squares, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye and felt something touch my fingers. I immediately threw the TP on the ground and screamed. I pulled up my pants and ran into the hallway, where Patty met me wondering what the heck I was screaming about. There, looking up at Patty and Emily with his big, black, scared eyes was Mr. Mantis. He must've crawled through the window. After about 5 minutes of figuring out how to get him outside safely and without injuring him, we were able to relocate him to his natural habitat. Patty made me close the window in the bathroom so no more bugs can get in. For those of you who don't know, Patty is not a bug person. Neither am I. However, I don't believe Mr. Mantis posed a threat. In fact, just the opposite.....

The word mantis is a Greek word meaning 'prophet' or 'fortune teller'. Many people believe that encounters with a praying mantis are good luck, myself included. As startling as it was to see Mr. Mantis, I am happy he stopped by and believe he came to let me know Patty and I are both on the right path and this is a safe and healthy home for us to be in during this time of our lives.

AHHHHH-Mazing!!!  Zozobra, the fiesta, centers around the ritual burning of Old Man Gloom, or Zozobra, to dispel the hardships and travails of the past year.  It was a huge spectacular with fireworks, dancers, chanting, and moaning coming from the 50-foot marionette!  As thousands of people in the crowd taunted, "Burn him, burn him, burn him," I thought about everything that Emily and I have been through in the past year.  As my mouth fell open in awe, I began to feel renewed.  And as he went up in flames, along with all of our trials, I screamed.  It felt good.  And now I'm ready to start anew.

Meep Meep!!!

I saw my first real roadrunner today.  The fact that I KNEW it was a roadrunner was the more amazing part.  Pulling away from our street onto Lomas I spotted it and correctly identified it before Emily could even blink.  I was so proud.  It was awesome.

Emily laughed.

Re-united and it Feels so Goood

It's been four years since we've seen each other. It seems like no time has passed, though. We've done so many fun things since Patty's arrival three weeks ago! We went to an Isotopes game, Zozobra, Sadie's, a pig roast..... the fun never ends! Plus, we have a lot more to do. Stay tuned for a rodeo, pumpkin patch maze and a tour of 444 Carlisle.