"We were sailing, sailing, over the bounding main...

...but now we're not." Cabin Fever from Muppet Treasure Island (1996). 

Wow, July went by me in a flash! I can't believe the summer is winding down...and the beginning of the end was marked (in our part of the world!) by the World's Longest Yard Sale on route 127!

Baby and I hopped in and out of the car all along the nearest 20 miles of 127, and we found several treasures, one of which is this darling antique silver sugar bowl.

Not being used for sugar, as you can see.

And Irony is dismayed in the background (James was hollering "Kitty!") Also, on the shelf just below the cat, onions from some amazing (green thumbed) neighbors! 

The house is a general disaster right now, as I bought a bunch of bulk stuff and we're in the throes of canning from our fruit 'n veggie bonanza (thanks again to those neighbors!) so there's crates of tomatoes and squash scattered throughout the house amongst huge packages of paper towels and boxes of water bottles, but after this weekend hopefully order will be restored and we'll have more pretties (and baby) to show you!

For now, this will have to do. Baby is practicing his in-line-skating skills.

Love!

"Can't you see that it's just raining...

...there ain't no need to go outside." Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson.

Happy Monday, friends!

I have been absolutely abysmal about blogging lately - I'm afraid the computer screen gives me a headache so I just avoid it. I'll try to check in pretty often, but until after the baby comes...it may continue to be pretty spasmodic. (In the meantime, my I recommend my sister's blog? I've been just howling at some of her recent posts!)

But for today, here's the top ten things that have been on my mind:

1. Roses (my sweet husband brought home pink roses "just because." He is so sweet).
2. Pie, cookies, tomatoes on toast, and hot tea. Not necessarily in that order. 
3. Miss Marple really is my hero. And forget the movies; the books are so much better.
4. Building this.
5. I really need to reorganize most of the closets in our house. Sigh.
6. Did I mention cookies? And pie?
7. Hmm, probably ought to take maternity pictures soon...
8. Wow, we haven't cleaned house in like, a month. Maybe that should happen.
9. Thank the Lord for air conditioning.
10. Cookies. And Pie. And Tea. And maybe french fries.

Izzy admiring my "just because" roses.

Love!

"Roam if you want to...

...roam around the world." Roam by The B52's

The next thing that I love, love, love about traveling is...eating out! I am totally one of those people who dress up so that we can take cute pictures of us eating in distinct little restaurants and cafes wherever we go! I love local flavor.

This is at the Cafe on the Square after I *ahem* snarfed down a sandwich. Ask for the Dulin toasted. Um, YUM!

And in case you didn't get enough of my luggage obsession yesterday, I found these two delightful posts featuring some truly delectable bags.

Mrs. Lilien on the art of luggaging.

Beeee-yootiful hard-side luggage.

Much love!

"I would walk 500 miles & I would walk 500 more...

...just to be the man who walked a 1,000 miles to end up at your door." 500 Miles by The Proclaimers.

We've been traveling a lot lately, and it's been so much fun! We flew out to my family and drove out to my husband's family, and next week we've got a little in-state road trip because of work (I get to shop and relax at coffee shops).

 Road shot just past Llamy, NM.

So for the next few posts (after linkage trivia tomorrow, of course!) I'm going to post some of my favorite things about travelling - including some delightful new additions to my roadtrip arsenal.

Love!

"Then I saw her face...

...now I'm a believer!" I'm a Believer by The Monkees.

So in case you hadn't yet noticed, the whole trip kinda revolved around my ADORABLE niece. She is such a ham!

Meggles lovin' on a STOLEN Tigger. 

Grandma giving Meggles a mustache. 

Meggles giving herself a mustache (to be like Grandpa).

Meggles eyeing Grandpa's sopapilla; Grandpa shocked that we could accuse Meggles of such a thing.

Getting ready to go.

Hugging Grandpa goodbye.

The Fam. L to R - Momma, Fred, Meggles, Balesy, and Daddy.

Meggles can't stand to see us go.

Bye Meggles!!! (Actually, I'm seeing her again this week - yay!!!) It was so much fun seeing my sister and parents and everybody! A week is not long enough.

"bah bah bah...

...and she's still talking baby talk to me." Baby Talk by Jan and Dean.

One party after another during our trip!

Triple Birthday Party! 

Meggles learning to blow bubbles. 

The guys (and Meggles) playing bocce ball.

Surprise Baby Shower!!!

So many cute things. :) 

I love surprises!

"Hey little girl, it's me, don't you know who I am?...

...I met you last summer when I came up to stay with my gran." Don't Tell Me by the Beach Boys.

Quick stop at Mom and Dad's, then off to Granma's!

At Fuller Lodge.

Blowing kisses with her cool sunglasses.

How many family members does it take to get a backpack unstuck from Meggle's head?

Grampa! 

Granma!

Meg and her Granma.

Meg talking to her daddy, Uncle Ry looking on.

Geting sleepy.

The Cat Nefret.

Just-woke-up cuddle with Grandpa.

The whole fam in the kitchen geting ready for breakfast (or maybe lunch)

Granma's house is the best!

"Watch the sunset on a tropic isle...

...just remember darlin' all the while, you belong to me." You Belong To Me performed by Dean Martin.

Me and my sweetheart got to go for an evening stroll a few nights ago down by the lake. It was so peaceful! 

Deer munching on yummy green grass.

Deer in the headlights. :P

Sunset at the lake.

Ry and Me. <3

Ry, pondering. (All photos mine)

It was so fun--we wandered through the woods for a while, then drove on up to the lake and just hung out by the water and watched the sun set. We haven't had a peaceful evening like that for a long time. Yay!

Much love!

"I could've stayed beside you...

...could've stayed for more." One of These Things First by Nick Drake. 

This is the final feature about my trip to the homeland, so after this, we'll be back to more recent stuff!

It was such a good trip - I flew out with my sister and niece, and we got to see not only my parents, but cousins and grandparents and great-aunts and uncles as well. It was SO special!!! It was a bummer that my dad had to leave for most of it and be at work while we were with the extended family, but we still got to see a good chunk of him and mom at the beginning and end of our trip.

Three monkeys. Me, cuz, Fred. :) (Photo mine)

"Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil" (Teehee, I love how my cousin is totally peeking. That is SO her!)

Mumsie and Grampa (Photo mine)

Me and Grampa. He's the best! (Photo mine, by my mom)

Mom, Grampa, Fred, Meggles, Granma. (Photo mine)

Grampa, Fred, Meggles, Granma.

As you can see, Meggles was basically the main attraction the whole time. For obvious reasons.

Oh, how I love my family! I always think of that verse in Psalms where David says, "Lo, my heritage is beautiful to me." Beautiful indeed! I hope someday we are closer to some of them. Next month I see my sister and niece again - and my new family at a wedding! It'll be fun, and hopefully we'll get some good photos from that too.

Much love!

"And I can see a little house...

...up on top of the hill." Winding Road by Bonnie Summerville.

One of my favorite things about my mom is her "need to know." She's a journalist, you see, and even though her only current media outlet is the church newsletter (which I hope someday to introduce to the web, because it's awesome) it's so much fun to go anywhere and do anything with her, because it always ends up being an adventure! 

For example, as we were driving through Melrose (A Little Village With A Big Heart), mom sees this little old abandoned building with walls falling down, and you can see right through it. Naturally, being the inquisitive type, she decided we'd pull off the road and look!

Melrose - celebrating 100 years. (Photo mine)

Abandoned church/school (Photo mine)

 It clearly used to be a church or one-roomed school house - maybe both - and as we pulled up closer and got out in the oven-like heat to look at it, there was something sweet and serene and extremely peaceful about it.

Through the front door and window--see the roof beam fallen down?
We didn't go in--the floor inside was completely collapsed. (Photo mine)

 We scattered to take our various pictures, and it was a strange sort of feeling about the place. Not sad, like some abandoned buildings, just empty. Dozing-like, and fulfilled. It gave one the feeling of a job well - done, and a sense of contented accomplishment, and now it would like to be left in peace, thank you.

"I love you" graffitied inside. On another wall it said "The end is near" (Photo mine)

So we took our pictures and headed back to the car to continue through the desert.

Desert. (Photo mine)

Meanwhiles, back in comfortably air-conditioned car, my niece missed the whole thing.

Meg. (Photo mine)

Speaking of peaceful! Nothing like a sleeping toddler. Gotta love that kid!

Much love!

"I couldn't thing of anywhere I would have rather been...

...to watch it all burn." Grapevine Fires by Death Cab For Cutie

Hello friends - first of all, thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement during the Las Conchas fire incident. Thanks to the Lord's Providence and the incredible planning and implementation of the fire-safety personel in Los Alamos (who gave a fabulous response and learned so much from the Cerro Grande fire back in 2000) the fire didn't get to Los Alamos at all--and even our Pajarito ski lodge was spared. Yay!

The fire is out in the wilderness of the mountains now, and as of August 3, though it was completely controlled, the officials say it will continue to smolder until a significant amount of moisture comes to the area--which could be any amount of time, in New Mexico. Here's the official info, if you are interested.

Before it was completely contained, though, I went to visit the homeland, and my dad took us on a drive up in the mountains to see the damage to some of our favorite haunts. The smoke and lighting made the entire scene incredibly dramatic. Here's the pictures:

Smoke Plume off State Road 4 (photo by my sister)

Valle Grande Scorch (photo by my sister)

New Grass after burn, Valle Grande (photo mine)

Tracks in the Ash, Valle Grande (photo mine)

Smokey View of the Burn Tide Swell, Valle Grande (Photo mine)

Firefighting Chopper (Picture Mine)

Haze Across the Valle Toward the Burn (photo mine)

Exact Same Spot, facing away from burn on the Valle (photo mine) 

Prairie Dogs Considering Evacuation on the Valle (photo mine)

Crows overlooking the Burn on the Valle (Photo mine)

Distant Deer on the Valle in the Smoke (Photo mine)

Healthy/burned forest in the Jemez (photo mine)

All the pictures down into the valley and across the grasslands are  of the Valle Grande, or Valles Caldera National Preserve, formerly the Baca Ranch. We were excited to be allowed to drive onto it--it's usually closed to the public since it's a National Preserve - I've only been on it once before.

For those of you movie buffs out there, you might recognize this as the setting for Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett's The Missing (2003) or Gregory Peck's Shoot Out (1971). Actually, come to think of it, if you saw Tim Allen and John Travolta's Wild Hogs (2007) the hot springs scene was filmed in Los Conchas, which is just outside the preserve. To see a comprehensive list of the movies filmed here, the Caldera has a descriptive page. It's cool because all the buildings set for the Gregory Peck movie are still there, visible from the road. And they didn't even burn! :)

So as you can see, all was not lost. :) My mom tells me that they drove up to look again a week or two later, and the Valle was so green and healthy looking, the only thing that was still sad and burned looking was all the trees. Praise the Lord!

Much love!