Cometsgirl

I’m sitting in front of a fire I built this Sabbath morning. I find it needs intentional tending in order for it to continue to burn. Not doing so allows the fire to “die down” and trail off to silence and an incomplete burn.

So I’m sort of vigilant, but easily distracted. I’m thinking about how to be more intentional – about the fire, and of my life—-

where I find myself this particular morning, as the night ends and morning begins;

how to spend this day with no missed opportunities or regrets;

to look up more often;

to take say yes to invitations;

to chase a sunset like a bird;

to spend time pondering; wondering, sharing;

to share my bounty with others;

To see what God has in store for me, and to say YES!

Mary Oliver writes in her poem I Don’t Want to Live a Small Life, “Open your eyes,
open your hands”.

This day I shall open my eyes and my hands.

Build a fire

Enjoy breakfast in front of the fire.

Feed the magpies.

Read today’s poem.

Plan a trip to Iceland.

Take a COVID test so we can visit a friend for dinner in her home.

Negative!

Now go have fun on the beautiful New Mexico day.

This morning I was sitting on the couch, next to my best friend, seeing – and hearing – a beautiful fire in the kiva fireplace.

It was 28 degrees, and outside the windows was a beautiful New Mexico sky.

It’s quiet and peaceful here. Peace-filled.

And yet, I was caught up in the anticipated major storm coming to my hometown, with the fact that I can’t return home as planned. Plus I’ll miss the snow beauty the storm will bring.

My friend brought a book of poems for me, and we’ve been reading a poem each morning. The book is titled Poems from the Pond, by Peggy Freydberg. The poem this morning was But Where is What I Started for so Long Ago, and Why is it Yet Unfound. In it she writes: “What is so wrong? So much of what I’ve wanted, once gotten, has been replaced by other wanting.”

Oops. That was me, alright.

Of course I want to pay attention to the moment and moments in the place where I find myself. I’ve longed to be here. Today, and for the next few days, I’m exactly where I wish to be.

With this reframing, I set out to be present in this day in this place!

We journeyed south this afternoon to Pilar. It’s long been a favorite of mine. From Pilar we drove several miles west alongside the Rio Grande River. It was a “pull over now” ride for me. So much beauty to try and catch in a photograph.

The drive back to Taos was spectacular.

But wait, there’s more! Just north of Taos, the sun was showing off its setting.

So yes, I’m right where I want to be. No doubt about it.

It has been a dibs and dabs day as we settled in. Travel left me with quite a bit of pain so we stayed close to home.

Our favorite coffee spot is currently take-away only, so we got our cuppas to go and drove home to enjoy coffee by the kiva.

A brief shopping trip to town reflected the reality of increased presence of the corona virus.

A late afternoon visit to say hello to Hilary, Kamala and Stacey – along with the newbie, Dawn.

Around dusk we drove to a spot we picked out during last May’s trip for prime sunset viewing. Oops! We didn’t factor in the earth’s changing rotation and it wasn’t a prime spot after all. Still, the muted colors seen ar day’s end were quieting.

A lovely ending to a settling in day.

It’s always wonderful to feel the aircraft’s landing gear touch down in New Mexico. This enchanted land beckons to me often. My friend and I have traveled here so many times we easily settle into the rhythm of the place.

It’s about a 2 1/2 drive from Albuquerque to Taos.

Sustenance first, at The Range Cafe.

From there the interstate highway north leads to a state highway which then carries us north alongside the Rio Grande river.

Colors change as daylight wanes.

And just before nightfall, there it is. My tree.

A short time later, we are home.

Thanks to vaccinations, boosters and rapid-tests, travel to Taos for the annual January trip is possible. With a sigh and a yay, I am on my way.

Before I could leave, however, a rapid-test the day before departure was necessary. The red line says it all.

A year ago my friend and I missed our annual Epiphany trip due to lack of any form of disease protections or testing. But after receiving our two vaccination jabs, we were able to travel to Taos in May. It was Spring gorgeous!

Now we return. Still, with Omicron cases increasingly on the rise, it has felt like a long slog to this departure day.

If also feels celebratory!

And freeing!

After what feels like a long time of wondering, are we or are we not going, I’m going!

Traveling mercies.

I’ve been reflecting on my recent Thanksgiving trip to Texas. What strikes me most is the Gratitude I feel….

~ for my son and daughter-in-law who met us in person at the airport, and then took us to a local, legendary place for burgers;

~ for the welcome to their home, and all the preparations made for our visit;

~ for my grandson who drove me to Starbucks every morning, where we shared coffee, chai, and conversation;

~ for my granddaughter who shared stories with me about her work and play, and introduced me to her boy friend ;

~ for bow ties and barbecue;

~ for the annual pumpkin roll;

~ for the delight in observing the feeding of geese and duck visitors;

~ for gathering around the table to enjoy the bounty of Thanksgiving;

~ for an unexpected visit with my best friend at the airport as both of us were traveling home;

Indeed. Amen.

We are headed to Texas to share Thanksgiving with our older son and his family. We have not ventured beyond the forest for Thanksgiving travel for a good while.

Last year we had quite a feast for two. As sheltering at home was required, we made do. The fancy turkey I ordered was to be 12 pounds. Instead the bird was at least 8 pounds overweight. Regardless, it was delicious.

My son fries his turkeys. Taking just thirty minutes or so to fry, it’s streamlined turkey cooking. It’s quite a show when the bird gets dunked in the hot oil. Thankfully, this is an outdoor event.

I’m so grateful for the invitation to gather with the Keller (TX) Heckels. We are bringing the world’s best turkey gravy, prepared and frozen a week ago. This was a two-day cooking effort.

I’m likely to leave the rest of the food prep to others as I relish conversation time with my grandchildren. You can do that when you’re eighty.

I’ll soon take my chair in the sky. Traveling mercies.

I give you…..

West Texas Stacked Enchiladas!

Found in Lisa Fain’s Homesick Texan cookbook, the recipe calls for dried ancho chiles. That is what the fuss about finding the chiles was all about. The enchiladas were amazing!

Definitely worth the chile hunt.

Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub. Yay God!

While I’m here in Arizona, I’m in charge of two dinners. I’m really looking forward to cooking for our gathering. While I brought measured-out spices and seasonings with me, I did not bring dried ancho chiles. I was certain I could easily find them here in the Southwest.

Not true. Since these are critical to one dish, we set out yesterday on a quest to locate them. I called eight grocery stores.

When I called Fry’s grocery store, I could only speak with a virtual customer service member. After many attempts to speak clearly – dried ancho chiles – I heard this: “you are looking for dry ice? Yes or no?” I hung up.

My favorite call was to Bashas’. When I called, a human answered: “It’s great day at Bashas’! How can I make your day better?!”

I’ll tell you how…. Well, I guess not.

With no other stores left to call, I called my nephew’s wife. They live nearby and she’s quite the cook. She’s also a Brit so she was not familiar with these chiles. I explained they are poblano chiles which have been dried. She suggested buying a poblano and drying it. I didn’t know how to actually do this. She also suggested trying Food City, a local Mexican market.

By now it was time for dinner. We decided to dine at Barrio’s, a local Mexican restaurant. As we were settling up, my sister asked our wait-person if he knew where we could find the chiles. He suggested Food City!

This morning we took off early for Food City. Voila!

A plethora of dried ancho chiles.

Tomorrow I’ll prepare dinner using dried ancho chiles. Stay tuned.