At 2:20 p.m. on Friday afternoon, my mother passed away into the next world. Her soul and spirit are now beginning a new phase in the journey that God gives all of us. As such, the rest of us in the family, in various ways, are beginning new phases in our own journeys.
breaking the silence on a private matter
My sister broke the silence on her blog a couple of days ago and I’ll break the silence today. We’re both flying back to Albuquerque this week to see our mother who is now in hospice care with late-stage ovarian cancer.
old albuquerque–a city twice as big and twice as old
When I got back from Albuquerque, a couple of housemates commented that I'd gotten a bit of color, presumably from spending time sunning myself on the deck. Um, sorry, that's windburn, dudes.
ridin’ on the southwest chief (somehow sung to the tune of “city of new orleans”)
It felt like we were looking into everyone's backyard in a way, kind of seeing the reality of the lives of these people as opposed to the Disney-esque setting in which most towns and cities want to present themselves. I saw a lot of backyards that had pick-up trucks in various states of disassembly , but this authenticity made these little New Mexico towns appeal to me that much more.
bound for Albuquerque
Soundtrack in my head: The Ditty Bops, "Breeze Black Night" My parents bought a house in Albuquerque last year and they moved there this summer. Fifteen minutes from now I am going to step outside and start my journey there for the holidays. I'll be seeing my parents' house for the first time, and staying … Continue reading bound for Albuquerque
hot and cold water science experiment
Do you remember that eighth grade science class demonstration where the teacher would have two bowls of water--one a bit uncomfortably hot and another numbingly cold? And then the teacher would have students immerse one hand into each bowl at the exact same time. The result was trippy--your mind would momentarily be confused as to which hand was hot and which was cold and it felt like each hand was feeling alternately cold and hot at the same time until finally your mind cuts in and says, "Okay, okay. Left hand hot, right hand cold. I got it."
a Democratic Party sweep–hooray for our side?
So with the Democratic victory, is there a light at the tunnel or is that just someone waving a cigarette lighter yelling, “Play ‘Freebird!’ Freeee-buurrrrd!”
see? i am not a discipline-challenged food fetishist contantly stuffing twinkies into his hapless gullet…
On a blog I was reading, I found this quiz that I couldn't resist taking. It asked me thirteen questions about diet, lifestyle and genes and then endeavored to guess my weight.
winter plastic sealed in for a…ah…um…wait a minute!
Soundtrack in my head: Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations" So we have the winter plastic installed, but, maybe we shouldn't shake those snow globes yet. Sixty freaking seven degrees. Heat index 78. I think the long nap I was referring to in my last post should be occuring out on one of our porches, with a … Continue reading winter plastic sealed in for a…ah…um…wait a minute!
winter window plastic for a long winter’s nap
It’s sort of a weird feeling when we put the sheets of plastic up and snap them in on the built-in runners alongside the window. The plastic invariably diminishes the visibility of the outdoors. My room, in particular has a pretty good view of the trees and the backyards to the east of us, and this view becomes blurred. I have to make an effort when I look through my window to make out the features of the view outside. This does not bother me, strange as that may seem.