First Week in Mesa

Well. We have had a very busy week. We arrived on Saturday the 19th and immediately started transferring food from the motorhome (parked next door) to the house. We got the refrigerator and freezer contents transferred, then the canned goods, teas/coffee, spices, and baking supplies. It took all afternoon. We made up the bed and called it done for the day.

On Sunday we moved over all of our clothes, and on Monday we got books and the craft closet. We discovered when we arrived that our AC wasn’t working, but fortunately the temperatures stayed under 85 and got cool at night so we were fine. The repairmen came on Tuesday and fixed everything so we are nice and cool.

On Monday I went to see a local retinal specialist to address my retinal wrinkle in my left eye. And I had surgery to remove the wrinkle on Thursday, so that’s behind me. The procedure wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be; as I write this it is Saturday evening and my eye feels pretty good. They sure used some heavy duty dilation drops because that eye is still dilated but hopefully I’ll be able to go out in the sun in another day or two. The blurriness will take a while to resolve, though, and I have two kinds of eye drops to use four times a day. So my hopes of having the bedroom all painted this week have flown out the window. Maybe next week I’ll be able to paint.

Bob has been busy. Apart from getting the RV ready for storage he has installed a new outlet in the cabinet next to the sink in preparation for our new dishwasher (yay!) that has already been delivered. Hopefully it will be in sometime this week but we are still waiting for the cord to arrive.

So we are starting to feel settled, and hopefully next week will be much easier!

Tucson, AZ

Bob and I drove from Deming, NM to Tucson on Wednesday, entering AZ and changing time zones.

This time of year Arizona is three hours behind the east coast (where most of our family is,) so we had to adjust our internal clocks one more time. The good thing, though, is that Arizona does not change clocks so on November 3rd when the rest of the US “falls back” we won’t have to. At that time we’ll only be 2 hours behind the east coast.

We love to stop and visit with our friends Chuck and Linda who winter in Tucson and we’ve been having so much fun. While Bob and Chuck focused on a building project, Linda and I spent Thursday making the rounds of fabric, cross stitch, and yarn shops. I was able to get supplies for several projects that I’ll work on this winter.

This sign was in one of the yarn shops and gave me a chuckle.

On Friday we attempted to go see the largest steam locomotive ever to come to Tucson but the line of cars to drive past it were so long that we gave up and went to lunch.

We heard from someone who parked and tried to walk in to see the train that pedestrians were being turned away. Bummer. But we did find a great little Mexican restaurant for lunch and later went to a yard sale that had hundreds of items for sale. Can’t beat that with a stick!

Linda and I worked on finishing the assembly of her temperature blanket and now she only has to crochet an edge around it.

Tomorrow Bob and I will arrive in Mesa, this ending our transcontinental trip west. There will be lots to do for a few days to settle in but then we’ll be able to relax and start enjoying our Arizona winter.

To Deming, NM and Palomas, MX

Bob and I left Santa Fe Monday morning, driving through some beautiful New Mexican landscapes to get to Deming. At one point there was desert to our right and the lush green valley watered by the Rio Grande to our left.

I never tire of looking at the mountains of New Mexico.

Deming itself is not the most picturesque area of the state but it’s a good spot to stay if you are planning to visit your dentist in Mexico. Here we are only about 45 minutes to the border. This time we bypassed the $5 parking and found the free lot right next to it. The US Customs agent had told us about this lot when we were here last time. You have to drive behind the $5 lot, then follow signs to the free lot around the corner. It really wasn’t much farther to walk, either.

Once through the building at the border (you simply walk through, no need to show passports) you will see the Pink Store ahead on your left.

Turn left right before the Pink Store and you see the dentist on your right.

Easy peasy! Bob had his teeth cleaned for $40 and I had a cleaning, x-rays, and a filling for $160. I’ll need a new crown in the spring when we come through again.

We had lunch at the restaurant in the Pink Store and had fun shopping around. Then we headed back to the States, walking through Customs. This time of year there were no lines for Customs at all but in the winter there can be lines.

On Wednesday we head to Tucson where we’ll spend three days with our friends Chuck and Linda.

Thursday to Sunday in Santa Fe, NM

Bob and I have been busy here in Santa Fe the last few days. On Thursday we went to the Plaza to walk around. Unfortunately the Palace of the Governors was being renovated so we couldn’t walk through it this time (we did take the tour three years ago and it was wonderful) but there was so much to see that it didn’t ruin our day.

This area is full of shops and restaurants and we enjoyed walking around and talking with people.

On Friday the weather was a bit cooler and we decided to stay in. Bob replaced our water pump because it was not pumping properly, and then spent a lot of time adjusting it so that our water temperature would not fluctuate during a shower. Success! It’s so good to be married to a handy guy.

I worked for hours on my current cross stitch project, the skirt of a half doll pincushion. Here’s the doll part and what I’ve done on the skirt.

I’d hoped to finish it before we got to Mesa but it may have to wait until we get settled.

On Saturday Santa Fe has a farmers market by the railroad tracks. We visited it three years ago but it has grown since then. We were lucky to find a parking spot, it was so crowded. There were musicians  playing music and all kinds of vendors were selling fruits and vegetables, yarn, handmade craft items,  and honey. A fellow was roasting hot peppers and it was interesting to see how he did it.There were even some folks from the local Raptor Center with an owl and a hawk.

On Sunday Bob and I went to the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art.the only museum in the country dedicated to exhibiting and interpreting the art of the Spanish colonial period with a focus on New Mexico.

It’s a small museum, set in a Spanish-Pueblo Revival-style building, and boasts over 3700 pieces.
We were amazed at the art created by children in the children’s room.

This Nativity was carved by Roberto Barela, age 14, from Rancho de Taos, NM.

Outside the museum there is a Mexican colonial house built in 1780, constructed with 300 pound Mexican pine planks using mortise and tenon joinery. The carvings on it were amazing.

Tomorrow we head to Deming, NM.

Santa Fe, NM

So what have we been up to? Our drive from Questa to Santa Fe was along a beautiful road that followed the Rio Grande. New Mexico is one of our favorite states to visit because of the amazing scenery that greets you at every turn.

On Tuesday Bob and I made the rounds of some of the many antique stores in Santa Fe. When we were here three years ago there were four antique shops and now there are more than a dozen. We found a light fixture for our little house in Mesa and a small piece of jewelry for me.

On Wednesday we revisited one of our favorite museums here: the International Folk Museum, which is the largest museum of its kind in the world. The weather couldn’t have been nicer, too.

We were amazed at how many new exhibits there were, as well as some of our favorite pieces.

Huichol yarn painting, which is made by coating a piece of plywood with beeswax. Yarn is then pressed into place. Above the yarn painting is a row of cut tin pieces.

I love the vibrant colors in this Navajo rug

Christening, by Ocotlan de Morelos, a diorama that contains a myriad of ceramic figures becoming smaller in scale towards the back.

A gender, aka a Javanese metallophone

An exhibit featuring the works of Alexander Girard was fascinating and included hand printed fabrics and wallpapers

The Trash Loom by Aymar Ccopacatty. This giant loom uses shrink wrap as warp and plastic shopping bags as weft, and was designed to spotlight the throwaway society in which we live.

We came away from the museum with so many ideas of future projects. It was truly inspirational.

Taos Wool Festival

On Saturday Bob and I were at the Taos Wool Festival bright and early. It was a sparkling day, cool and crisp, just right for a gathering of fiber folk.

As is typical of fiber festivals across the country, there were sheep and alpacas to visit.

We walked around for a bit and then met up with Marilou, a weaving friend whom I first met on Ravelry and who has been to our little house in Mesa. It was such fun seeing her again and hanging out with her!

I managed to avoid spending much money, only coming home with a TWF t-shirt, but our memories are priceless.

The Enchanted Circle

You can drive in an 84 mile circle from Questa to Taos, through the towns of Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, and Red River and continue on to end up back where you started, so yesterday that’s what we did. The drive was filled with beautiful views. As we were approaching Taos, NM we saw this. So pretty, isn’t it?

The plan was to eat out to celebrate our first date, 19 years ago. It’s hard to believe it has been that long. But first we visited Taos Adobe Quilting and I found some fabrics I’ve never seen anywhere else before. That owner has a good eye for interesting fabrics, to be sure! I came away with several different ones.

For lunch we chose the Burger Stand, a pub restaurant that had a mean lentil burger for me and a spicy beef burger for Bob. Then we drove on along the Loop, as locals call it. This is a perfect time of year to visit northern NM. The air is crisp and cool in the morning but warms up to t-shirt temperatures by noon. And we enjoyed seeing the fall foliage and mountain views.

We reached Angel Fire and stopped into the Vietnam Memorial there. While many in our families have served in the US Armed Forces (and some still do) my friends were just a little young to have been drafted into the Vietnam War. I have the greatest respect for those who serve. It was a very moving experience.

Bob and I passed through Eagle Nest and stopped into the Noisy Water Winery in Red River to taste some New Mexican wines, coming away with a couple of bottles.

Red River is a very pretty town and I’d love to spend more time here exploring someday.
It was a lovely day.

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

On Tuesday Bob and I took a drive through a national monument near Questa where you can see the origin of the Rio Grande. This area has breathtaking vistas of surrounding mountains, deep chasms, and sweeping valleys.

It also abounds with wildlife. Bob had to drive carefully to avoid running over tarantulas that use the paved road to run along; we must have passed close to a dozen. A coyote crossed the road right in front of us. And we came upon a lovely bull snake sunning himself near the center line.

When we weren’t looking for animals we were gasping at the views. There are quite a few pull offs where you can park your car and hike a short distance to see the chasm with the River below. Here you can see the baby Rio Grande separate from the Red River.

As always, we were enchanted by the beauty of New Mexico, one of our very favorite states to visit. There’s a reason this is called the Land of Enchantment.