Quiet times

The past two weeks have been relatively quiet and productive.

I'm back into the regular routine at work after taking lots of time off at the end of the year. It's nice to see the sun up longer after work, as the daylight hours lengthen. We've had some sunny days here and I love seeing the golden glow on the snow-covered trees.

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to go. By 7 a.m.I had a pot of chili cooked and packaged for the refrigerator. By 7:30 I had a stir fry of ham, veggies and Asian noodles also in the fridge. Now (at 8:10) I'm boiling eggs for breakfasts and a ham salad spread for sandwiches. So that means I have lunches and quick suppers if I don't feel like cooking. And . . . I have the rest of this weekend free - sort of.

We're taking our friend Cindy to lunch today to celebrate her birthday. Tomorrow morning I have to go for a diagnostic exam, but will hopefully be done by 10:30. Since I had an exam Friday, with anesthesia, I was pretty much out of it all day. Saturday we shopped and ran errands. I think I need some down time.

I haven't been out much with the camera. My favorite - the one with the longer zoom - hasn't been outdoors a lot lately. The smaller one, which fits easily into a pocket, is always in my purse. It's got a 10X optical zoom and a panoramic feature, so isn't too bad. I've shot a few photos with it, but nothing at all exciting. I'm so ready for spring. I don't go out for long periods in the winter because of my arthritic back and the fear of falling on ice. I did shoot this from my front door a couple of weeks ago. The sky was soft blue, and the flash highlighted the snow on the lilac bush right by the door.

I'm looking forward to following the progress of mushers in the Yukon Quest in February. The race starts in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and ends in Fairbanks. I love watching the dogs run - it's very evident they are having a good time, doing what they love.

In March we have Ice Art, and we'll probably go out to see the ice sculptures again. They are so beautiful, intricately carved.

And, of course, Mae and I will be heading to El Paso, Las Cruces and Phoenix to visit our friends Bonnie and Junior.

All in all, the end of winter is looking pretty good. And with spring come the return of the birds to Creamer's Field, green-up and warmer weather. Lots to look forward to.

Happy days everyone.

Looking forward . . .

Happy New Year everyone. On the 2nd day of January, I woke to see the temperature at a surprising 37 degrees above zero. It's now (at almost 10 a.m.) 30 degrees, but that's still well above what we can expect to see.

I didn't ring in the new year, as I am not a night owl. However, Buddy was disturbed by people nearby who set off fireworks. He started to growl low about 12:15 a.m. and by 12:30 a.m. was frantic. He really does not like out-of-the-ordinary noises. By 1 a.m. I was up, drinking coffee, watching television and deciding when to put on the roast. I always cook pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes for New Year's Day in deference to my German heritage and my family tradition. I got that into the crockpot and threw in a load of wash.

I had company for an early dinner as several folks had to work, and got the kitchen cleaned up - all before noon. That left me the rest of the day to relax. Unfortunately, a sinus headache kicked in and I really didn't enjoy much of the rest of the day.

I am not unhappy to see the end of the holiday season. As much as I love it - the music, the goodwill that seems to envelope the season and everyone around me, the food, the kids - I am always glad to see an end to it. The end brings with it lengthening daylight, a return to my normal routine and lots to look forward to with the new year.

The biggest event on the horizon is our trip to the Southwest in March. My friend Mae and I will visit our friends Bonnie and Junior, who live in Las Cruces, N.M. We have our reservations, will fly into El Paso, Texas, then drive about an hour to Las Cruces. The next day we will drive to Phoenix, AZ, for some baseball. There is nothing better than sitting in a ballpark with my friends at the end of a long Alaskan winter. We know there's still snow on the ground here, and we're watching games and enjoying the warm caress of the sun. To help me remember that this is around the corner, I look at some of these from earlier visits:

If you look closely, you can see the ball just going into the catcher's mitt.

This stadium is in Surprise, AZ. We will be back here for a game or two and will also visit three new ballparks we haven't seen before. I loved the architectural style and bright white of this one when we visited it in 2005, its second year.

Junior is a wildlife biologist and he pointed out to us the different varieties of cactus in Saguaro National Park.

The San Albino Church on the plaza at Old Mesilla, just south of Las Cruces. I thought this old church was beautiful.

(From the Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau website):  Mesilla is a small town by today's standards but, 150 years ago it was the major stop for travelers going between San Antonio and San Diego. Mesilla hasn't changed much over the years, allowing visitors to see what an 1800’s border town looked like. Western Legend Billy the Kid once stood trial for murder in a Mesilla courtroom, and the Mesilla Plaza was once a major stop for the Butterfield Stagecoach. Originally, Mesilla was part of Mexico, but with the signing of the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, the village became part of the United States. Today, Mesilla offers a wide range of historical and cultural events, shopping and dining on the town's plaza.

So with friends, baseball and warm weather coming up, I'm looking forward to 2011. Happy New Year to you all.

Much like our Alaskaland (Pioneer Park), Mesilla's historic buildings house gift shops and eateries on both sides of the mall.