Our lunch group met at The Bodega at 11:30 AM, and I had my favorite meal - a really good free-range lean hamburger, with lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese, green chile sauce, capped with a portobello mushroom, rather than bread. Also I had a salad, and sweet potato fries. After the meal, before we all left, I thanked everyone for celebrating my birthday with me. They too sang to me!
Then I went to the Coffee House and picked up iced coffee, iced tea, and two huge oatmeal raisin cookies, and headed over to see Annie at Good Sam's (Good Samaritan's). Annie loves oatmeal raisin cookies, and I was baking them for her while she was with her friends. She loved the cookies, and I told her I would be back with more soon. We had a nice talk, although she is easily distracted. She appears to have adjusted to the fact that she is in an area that is locked. She seems also to have accepted that this is where she will be for who knows how long. But she really doesn't interact with the others, who she says are always gossiping or having arguments with one another. So she sits or watches television. Of course, she loves to see her friends. I found that at times her memory was good, and at other times not so good. She has lost weight and said she doesn't have much pain.
After visiting with Annie, I went home and puttered around. Then watched SECRETARIAT on my computer. What a beautiful movie. I remember when Secretariat won the triple crown. I loved the fact that at the end of the movie the real people were shown then and now, and a little blurb was written on what they were doing (if they were still alive.)
Saturday, my friend and poetry peer, Barbara DuBois had a book signing of her first collection of poetry and essays. Barbara is in her eighties, and is a wonderful kind person. She is also very funny and being a former English teacher, writes a lot about usage, words, letters of the alphabet, all with humor.
The monsoon season has come to New Mexico. When I first heard that term used, I laughed out loud. Monsoons in the US??? Well, that what it is called, The North American Monsoon season, which is caused by the sun. I looked it up on Google, and you can too. The technical jargon was too much for me, and this is how I understand it. The water in the Gulf of California (?) gets heated up by the sun, and lifts moisture into the sky, which starts moving east over Arizona and New Mexico. At the same time the Gulf of Mexico is also pushing moisture to the west. They crash together, creating heavy rains, high winds, dangerous lightening and lots of thunder. Our first monsoon happened on Saturday. We had torrential rain for about a half hour, then more at night, with very high winds.
Monday I drove up to Albuquerque to go to Costco. There were clouds coming in over the mountains all around me. Thunderheads coming in from several directions. The sun was shining brightly when I got to Costco. When I came out, the sun was still shining, but the sky was getting darker in all directions, and the space where the sun was, was closing in. Matilda and I got on I 25, headed south. I could see heavy rain falling as it crossed the plains in all directions. By the time I got to Lemitar, it was raining steadily. That night it poured again. We have had no rain since, but there are always clouds. New Mexico gets about half or more of its annual rainfall during the monsoon season. Also there can be sudden flash floods and lightening strikes with no warning.
Today I went down to the Bosque del Apache and signed up to volunteer in the Nature Center gift shop, as well as to help the Friends of the Bosque do some much needed paper work. I go back down tomorrow at 9AM to help out with the paper work. They are gearing up for the 25th Festival of the Cranes in early November.
Not sure what these flowers are and haven't yet looked them up. They are planted on the plaza at the Bosque. The first two pictures are of one kind that is like a low-lying bush. The flower is pink and looks like tissue paper. The other flower looks very much like an orchid, but is on a tree with leaves and long pods on it. The pods resemble very long string beans.
This bird was just singing his heart out as I walked to my car. I pointed and took a picture, as the sun was so bright I just hoped it would come out, and it did. He isn't a finch because he is too big, and I haven't yet looked him up in my bird book, so if any of you know, let me know, please and thank you...
I now can take a shower in my new tub and shower surround. It is very exciting to be able to do so!! Even though I am very skilled at taking sponge baths from having fractured my left knee cap and femur several years ago. It has been so warm outside, that I haven't taken a "hot" bath yet.
Because of the monsoon weather, we are no longer without humidity, but I can stand it for a while...I think.
Life is good.
I love you all,
Sally
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