Beautiful, sunshiny, warm - unlike the overnight temps in the single digits that we've had this winter - I love it! Sometimes I wonder how I can stand spending yet another winter in this house, 1/3 of which is unheated, or even another winter in Los Alamos. I love a warm day like today but overnight temps in the single digits or even minus is hard for me to take mentally and physically.
Outdoor faucet on south side has lately been forming a long, ice stalagmite which worried me because I thought it meant the faucet had frozen but after I tightened the handle, the icy spear disappeared. Also out of fear of frozen pipes in the crawl space, I made cardboard covers for the 2 foundation vents on the south end of the house. I do have doors for the vents but I'm not willing to fetch them from the attic, buy more house paint and paint them to match the house. They are dark brown which is the former, yucky color of all the house's trim.
Today, all my favorite parking spots at the bottom of Camp May Road were taken or too snowy so I drove up Camp May Road to the Ocean and started my walk from there - went all the way to the Townsight Lift.
WI group now offers both a hike and a snowshoe. I chose the hike on Kwage or North Mesa. Five of us showed up. Since the dirt path was mostly snow packed, 3 of us donned YakTrax. The other two, because they thought the trail would be muddy, wore pack boots.
At the end of the mesa, our leader took off his YakTrax and went down rocks to the bench below. None of the rest of us did but I want to next time I go there.
Back in the parking lot, after everyone had left, I saw 2 coyotes trotting from the stables out onto North Mesa. Someone had told me that she doesn't like to walk her small dog there because of the coyotes.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Hike on Towa Golf Club Paths
Five of us wild and crazy seniors of the WRSC Friday Walkers drove down to Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino this morning. We had planned to hike the now abandoned Butterfly Nine (which, per the resort's website, is supposed to be refurbished by 2012). However, when we stopped in the golf pro shop, the manager told us no one was golfing today and we were free to walk the entirety of the Towa Golf Club's paved paths. Our only instructions were stay off the grass because we'd kill if we stepped on it. It's dry and brown now but, with irrigation, will revive when the weather is warmer. With a map of the courses, off we set, heading first to Boulder Nine with a golf hole on an island.
It was a beautifully clear day with views to the west of the Jemez Mountains and to the east of the Sangre de Cristos. The courses, counting Butterfly, there are 4-9 hole courses, are set in the badlands of Pojoaque Pueblo so it's no ordinary golf course. The rock formations and boulders of the badlands are quite entrancing to gaze upon. About 11:40 am, the rest of the group turned back toward the clubhouse but I continued on. As it was, they walked nearly 5 miles and I walked closer to 6.
Afterward, we all drove to Cities of Gold Casino to eat at their Golden Buffet. We all used our Lightning Rewards player's club cards to get the meal for nearly half price. We were all definitely in accord on that one! Their buffet is not as good as Buffalo Thunder's. There is less variety for a pesco-vegan like me and we were too close to the smoke smell of the casino. At Buffalo Thunder, the casino is on a different level than the buffet.
Recipe: Rhubarb-Cranberry-Orange Compote - 1 bag frozen rhubarb, 1 bag frozen cranberries, 1 large container frozen orange juice concentrate, 1/2 cup old fashioned (slow cooking) rolled oats, sweet spices (your choice); put all frozen items in large pot, cover and heat on high until thawing occurs (keep checking and stirring so it doesn't foam over); then, turn heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or so; add sweet spices and 1/2 cup oats; let cook covered 5 to 10 minutes more on low heat, checking and stirring; turn heat off and keep covered to further soften oats. Oh, so delicious! If you don't like it tart, add more sweetener, your choice. I love it tart! It's delicious with some chopped walnuts sprinkled on top.
It was a beautifully clear day with views to the west of the Jemez Mountains and to the east of the Sangre de Cristos. The courses, counting Butterfly, there are 4-9 hole courses, are set in the badlands of Pojoaque Pueblo so it's no ordinary golf course. The rock formations and boulders of the badlands are quite entrancing to gaze upon. About 11:40 am, the rest of the group turned back toward the clubhouse but I continued on. As it was, they walked nearly 5 miles and I walked closer to 6.
Afterward, we all drove to Cities of Gold Casino to eat at their Golden Buffet. We all used our Lightning Rewards player's club cards to get the meal for nearly half price. We were all definitely in accord on that one! Their buffet is not as good as Buffalo Thunder's. There is less variety for a pesco-vegan like me and we were too close to the smoke smell of the casino. At Buffalo Thunder, the casino is on a different level than the buffet.
Recipe: Rhubarb-Cranberry-Orange Compote - 1 bag frozen rhubarb, 1 bag frozen cranberries, 1 large container frozen orange juice concentrate, 1/2 cup old fashioned (slow cooking) rolled oats, sweet spices (your choice); put all frozen items in large pot, cover and heat on high until thawing occurs (keep checking and stirring so it doesn't foam over); then, turn heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or so; add sweet spices and 1/2 cup oats; let cook covered 5 to 10 minutes more on low heat, checking and stirring; turn heat off and keep covered to further soften oats. Oh, so delicious! If you don't like it tart, add more sweetener, your choice. I love it tart! It's delicious with some chopped walnuts sprinkled on top.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Camp May Road Today
I had a pleasant walk on Camp May Road today. All the ice from last week's snowstorm is gone. There wasn't much traffic. I wore 5 shirts which was one or two shirts too many - it was warm compared to past days. Wonder what happened to the snowman builder - no one's built any by the roadside this year. Vehicles have driven in on all of the side roads and packed them down since the snow is not that deep - sure makes finding a restroom stop easier than last year when going behind a bush entailed sinking in snow up to my kneecaps!
Made a kind of caponata tonight with white mushrooms, onions, celery, tomato paste, dry vermouth, little bit of olive oil, little bit of grape juice concentrate, herbs and small bottle of rinsed capers. It tastes quite good. Caponata is usually made with eggplant but I didn't have any. Tomorrow I'll try adding some balsamic vinegar because the recipes I found online (after the fact) included red wine vinegar. The little bit of grape juice that I added gives it a wine taste plus some sweetness.
Made a kind of caponata tonight with white mushrooms, onions, celery, tomato paste, dry vermouth, little bit of olive oil, little bit of grape juice concentrate, herbs and small bottle of rinsed capers. It tastes quite good. Caponata is usually made with eggplant but I didn't have any. Tomorrow I'll try adding some balsamic vinegar because the recipes I found online (after the fact) included red wine vinegar. The little bit of grape juice that I added gives it a wine taste plus some sweetness.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Contented Walking
Yesterday, walked sewer plant road. Road conditions - bare, dry dirt in a lot of places and slicked down snow in others but all over, highly walkable. Any icy spots are easily avoided. The surrounding mesas, in the late afternoon sunlight, shone pink and orange against a dark blue sky.
Today - walked from Smith's to Overlook. Shopped at Smith's afterward. I bought pickled herring even though it has corn syrup and sodium benzoate. I rinse the herring pieces to get rid of the bad stuff but I suppose it's permeated with the junk anyway. I would have bought steelhead trout but it hadn't come in yet.
I once again enjoyed the stunning views of the Rio Grande of White Rock Canyon. The shores of the Rio seemed to be lined with ice or snow but the river itself was free flowing.
Did another load of laundry this afternoon. I'm only doing one load a day so as not to overload our drain pipe which sometimes freezes and overflows.
Husband finally called roofer about furnace vent leak. Roofer wants to do a water test to prove that the roof system that he installed is not the problem. He'll wait until warmer weather. I'm letting spouse handle all this because I'm through with home maintenance.
Today - walked from Smith's to Overlook. Shopped at Smith's afterward. I bought pickled herring even though it has corn syrup and sodium benzoate. I rinse the herring pieces to get rid of the bad stuff but I suppose it's permeated with the junk anyway. I would have bought steelhead trout but it hadn't come in yet.
I once again enjoyed the stunning views of the Rio Grande of White Rock Canyon. The shores of the Rio seemed to be lined with ice or snow but the river itself was free flowing.
Did another load of laundry this afternoon. I'm only doing one load a day so as not to overload our drain pipe which sometimes freezes and overflows.
Husband finally called roofer about furnace vent leak. Roofer wants to do a water test to prove that the roof system that he installed is not the problem. He'll wait until warmer weather. I'm letting spouse handle all this because I'm through with home maintenance.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Reviving Bit by Bit
Even warmer today - yippee! Did chores with spouse this morning - took receipts to bank for shredding, took 2009 investment magazines to MPL lobby, dropped off stuff to daughter, got gas. Then, home for lunch which was actually the rest of breakfast, the remains of a blueberry, cranberry, cocoa smoothie. Cocoa is my drug of choice and it may yet help me pull myself out of the holiday-induced funk that I was deep within. OK, part of the funk was due to the extreme cold and not going outside for two days. Let's face it, I will never become Nanook of the North. When I was young, I fancied living in the far north but all I can say about that now is ha, ha, ha!
After lunch, I headed to White Rock to drop off a thrift shop donation, get the barcode scanned for the Learn and Earn Program at Smith's, go to the Post Office, return some stuff to the library and walk 4 miles. The sidewalk in front of the thrift shop was burgeoning with unattended donations. They have a sign saying that there is a camera which will record license numbers but I suspect a lot of the donations are hauled away before the thrift shop volunteers can bring them inside. As I pulled up, a pickup with a trailer was hauling something off; although, it could have been for a legitimate reason.
As the recipient of the Earn and Learn monies, I chose the Youth Activity Center where my grandson goes. Post Office was out of the very pretty Forever stamps which feature the foliage and cones of 4 different conifers.
For my four miles, I walked from the library to Overlook Park via Meadow Lane. Chamisa Elementary School was letting out and there was a fair amount of traffic going up and down Meadow Lane. On Overlook Road, ran into a woman who aims to walk 5 miles a day. I told her she made me look like a slacker with my piddling 4! She says they moved here last February and that her husband is trying to systematically walk all the trails. I asked if she had heard of Craig Martin's Los Alamos Trails, which I consider the hiking bible for this area. She hadn't so I recommended that she take a look at it. Enjoyed the view from Overlook of the Rio Grande.
Back at the library, my GPS said I only walked 3.5 miles so then I followed the snow-covered sidewalks over to Smith's and back to rack the tally up to 4 - yay! Now I know - park at Smith's and walk to Overlook and back for a cool 4!
After lunch, I headed to White Rock to drop off a thrift shop donation, get the barcode scanned for the Learn and Earn Program at Smith's, go to the Post Office, return some stuff to the library and walk 4 miles. The sidewalk in front of the thrift shop was burgeoning with unattended donations. They have a sign saying that there is a camera which will record license numbers but I suspect a lot of the donations are hauled away before the thrift shop volunteers can bring them inside. As I pulled up, a pickup with a trailer was hauling something off; although, it could have been for a legitimate reason.
As the recipient of the Earn and Learn monies, I chose the Youth Activity Center where my grandson goes. Post Office was out of the very pretty Forever stamps which feature the foliage and cones of 4 different conifers.
For my four miles, I walked from the library to Overlook Park via Meadow Lane. Chamisa Elementary School was letting out and there was a fair amount of traffic going up and down Meadow Lane. On Overlook Road, ran into a woman who aims to walk 5 miles a day. I told her she made me look like a slacker with my piddling 4! She says they moved here last February and that her husband is trying to systematically walk all the trails. I asked if she had heard of Craig Martin's Los Alamos Trails, which I consider the hiking bible for this area. She hadn't so I recommended that she take a look at it. Enjoyed the view from Overlook of the Rio Grande.
Back at the library, my GPS said I only walked 3.5 miles so then I followed the snow-covered sidewalks over to Smith's and back to rack the tally up to 4 - yay! Now I know - park at Smith's and walk to Overlook and back for a cool 4!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Holidays Finally Over - Hip, Hip, Hooray!
I did some New Year chores last night but mainly concerned with shuffling receipts. A full clean-up of our house and possessions will have to wait until one day when we finally decide to move.
Our grandson is looking so grown up in the latest Christmas photo - he has a tremendously wonderful smile! We haven't yet seen the family photo because our daughter ran out - have to remember to ask to see it one day.
We've been in a terrifically deep freeze the last few days - temps in the single digits for the low and even single digit minus temps Saturday night. The skiers are happy because Pajarito Mountain opened for the season on January 1. Next year, they will have snow-making capability but this year they have to depend on the bounty of Mama Nature. I like the southwest except when we get an Arctic blast! I get less and less enamored of snow, ice and cold as I grow older.
During the snowstorm Thursday, I stayed inside all day. My exercise was 2 Jillian Michaels exercise DVDs. She kicks butt! Friday, it was sunny but looked icy so I did two more exercise DVDs and stayed inside again. I finally ventured forth on Saturday for a walk downtown and to the airport. Took my hiking pole in case it was icy but it was fine. Good to get out!
Today, I parked at one of the LANL TA sites off West Jemez Road and walked all the way to the Burnt Mesa trailhead and back. I enjoyed the winter wonderland scenery along the highway. Saw lots of elk tracks at the edge of the highway.
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