We mourn them still

There is sobbing of the strong
And a pall upon the land
But the people, in their weeping
Bare the iron hand
Beware the people weeping
When they bare the iron hand


This was written, not after 9-11, but after Lincoln was shot.
It was true then.
It is true now.

Do you remember?

Tomorrow marks 9 years since we were attacked, 9 years since our lives here in America fundamentally changed forever. Like the murder of President Kennedy, most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we heard about the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania.

In Hawaii, we were still sleeping. The phone rang and it was Tessa....and I remember thinking that phone calls in the middle of the night ( it was actually morning but still dark out) usually mean someone has died or something else horrid has happened. And it had. She said "mom, turn on the tv" which we did. By then the first plane had hit the first tower and the second was hit shortly thereafter. We thought, as did much of the country, that perhaps the first plane was an accident. After the second, we all knew we were under attack.

Not that bin laden was a newbie to the scene of the "hate America" gang. He had been in on so many attacks prior to 9-11. The USS Cole, Kobar Towers, the first World Trade Center bombing....his fingerprints had long been on many attacks but on 9-11 we were attacked in our own country.

It opened the eyes of many of the touchy /feely liberals who had remained blind to the hatred of America by much of the Islamic world. Remember the celebrations, those dancing in the streets even as we searched for body parts? Remember those who said we had brought this on ourselves, that what we wrought in the world had "come home to roost"? The American hate mongers like Jeremiah Wright who said "God damn America"?

Now in the White House we have someone who swallowed this vile brew for over 20 years and sends his greetings to the muslim world while bowing low to them. A man whose wife , for the FIRST TIME in her life, is proud of America. Who are these people??

Remember that day, those lives lost or broken....and unlike our new Marie Antionette, be proud of America. Never forget. Never.

Change of seasons....change of moods

I realize that fall doesn't officially start till later this month but my mood has changed already. The slow dying of things....me included? I dont know if this is what its about but I know I feel different. Sad and though I am not alone yet, lonely. I know when the leaves start their slow decay I will mourn their vibrant presence. They used to be called "quaking aspens" and I now know why. Every passing breath of wind makes them quiver.....they are alive and beautiful and I remember how bare and dead they seem in winter. I still have the beauty of their dying....the orange, amber, yellow, reds. How is it that even as they die, they are at their most gorgeous?

Is that too , how God sees us? How , when we are giving up the " goat " or ghost, we see what He has always had to offer and are blessed , finally, and at the last call we see His glory and grace. Finally.

I am not happy but I am blessed...by what I have been given, in family, in treasure, in time and yes, even I , by my talents. I dont see what they are most of the time...certainly not my talents. But like the gift everyday is, I must be sure to untie the ribbons and LOOK at the gift. And certainly, at His grace.

Thank you Lord....for all of it.

Fun and games with the contractor....hahahahah

Ok....so the guy who built this house ( new construction, no one has ever lived here before us ) has a punch list, which he has had for the last 6 months , minimum. And granted, some of it is relatively unimportant. Light switches that are backward, grout under the oven that isnt perfect.....little stuff that I could and would live with.

Then there is the "other stuff" like the leak that seems to be washing away the support, not of the deck, but of the house itself. Not little. At least not to me. A leak in the downstairs "room", which isnt in truth a room but a storage area but the whole floor ( dirt ) gets soaked everytime it rains and unlike usual New Mexico weather, its been raining nearly every day or night. So....Mr. Builder guy figures out ( duh ) that the drain pipe , that runs at the base of the foundation IS NOT at the bottom of the house. This guy built this house.....how in the name of all that is holy did he NOT know where the freaking pipe was laid. Sigh......and BIGGER SIGH.

So. They started this "only a coupla days" worth of work and it has lasted since last week. The guy who is supposed to start what little landscaping we are going to do this year---mainly redirecting the water into a faux stream with river rocks, a holding pond and a cystern for the overflow ( important to save what water you can in this dry land ) is supposed to start tomorrow. But of course he cant, since Mr. Builder isnt finished. The hole they dug is still a hole with no end ( literally) in sight ...actually John asked if they found China yet but they dont habla and did not get the joke. Except its not much of a joke.

Man am I glad we did not decide to try and build instead of buying one already built. Speaking of which....anyone want a lovely plot of land, southern exposure, in the township at a good price????

Just thought I would ask....never hurts to ask, right?

3 and counting

Three....that is how many critters have actually made it into the house. Two birds of unknown type ( small and scared ) which the dogs totally missed and a chipmunk that came into the garage, tore into the birdseed then decided to try out the dog food in the mudroom ( and that is in the house , folks !) John had the dogs on the back deck, I was in Taos picking up fresh roasted green chilis and the chipmunk had the run of the place. Guess I am lucky it scampered out of the house when John walked in. We have been keeping the doors open since there are no mosquitoes and very few flies ( one or two at the most ) but I do think that will have to change. I am not in favor of guests who show up unannounced and uninvited especially those of the fur or feather variety - humans are still welcome : )

Miracles in shipping

While we have not finished ( hahahahahahha) unpacking boxes, we did find my mother's china, all of it unblemished. How it made it here , considering the way it was packed is truly a miracle. The dishes were not separated, fragile cups stacked one on the other with no cushion of paper or anything in between....yet they are here and still in perfect condition. Out of all the delicate, breakable things we sent, only one stray cup shattered ( it was eggshell Chinese china, thin enough to see through ) and it was not something close to my heart.

Other things we have come across that make me wonder what in the world I was thinking...seriously...do I really need ceramic sushi tray with a compartment for the wasabi?? Here?? Just how "fresh" would ahi be after traveling a few thousand miles.....coughgagcough.
( Do no be deceived....I may not be able to find the ahi but I DID bring wasabi with me : )

Pray for us....while it seemed exhausting getting here, the truth is that its only just begun.

The long and the short of it...a dog's tail

I had expected some challenges with regard to moving 4 dogs from sea level to almost 2 miles up , altitude wise. Sure enough...for the first 5 days here they literally ate nothing. Lots of water drinking but no eating ( which for Bikki, our chunky monkey is HUGE)!! So finally they start nibbling their dinners but still no real interest in their food. Not really a problem but it concerned me.

Then Tonka went for a walk on our 19 acres south of town. And all went well ....no mountain lions thinking Tonks would make a tasty, if furry snack. No bears or wolves or coyotes....yay.
However...you knew there would be an "however" didnt you? All was well until he got close to the car, at which time he found one of God's nastiest plants. He was covered in some kind of stickers that were sharp enough to cut him and make him bleed and they could not be brushed out or pulled out. We had to shave him down to the skin.....I would say he looks like a poodle but I dont want to insult him any further. And of course, he is freezing. Morning temps here are high 40s or low 50s and he has never been without fur. We had to buy him some clothes....(yes, we are "those people" now, those who dress their dogs, but its not just for show, its for warmth!)
Dont know how he will handle winter and snow and I am pretty sure his fur wont grow back soon enough for the real cold that is coming.

Then yesterday Loki had to go to the vet...he had been coughing for 2 days and I thought something was stuck in his throat. No, says the vet, its kennel cough ( and this dog hasnt been in a kennel for at least 2 years!!) She said he could have gotten in on the airplane simply by being close to another dog who had it....peachy. So he is on antibiotics and the rest of the gang have to go in and get shots for Bordatella(sp?) because the cough is highly contagious. At least it isnt something fatal, for which I am glad. Nice vet and close too...but hopefully we wont need to see her too often.