Sweeney/Treehouse Hat

This morning three of the members of our band, The Sweeneys, held practice in Tim & Doreen's tree house. It's a lovely screened in room out past their yard, hanging over a hill above a creek. The weather was perfect and we had a great time singing songs to the trees. In the background was a chorus of goats belonging to a neighbor across the hill. A hawk added his voice from time to time and the buzz of humming birds was lovely. Doreen has an amazing yard that invites birds, and snakes, to enjoy its beauty.

Being in a band can be a lot of fun, but communing with nature as we have a practice is bohemidippity for sure!

Back to Blogging

I've been home for five days. Five days of work and five days of catching up. However, I have not been blogging. Its not that I don't want to and I can't even say that I haven't had time. What I don't have is photos. During the wind storm that came from the west while we were camping in Carlsbad, I threw my laptop into the car to be safe. Doing so, I later learned that my card reader was inserted in a side slot and was damaged. We muddled through somehow, getting it to work from time to time but now it says no more. The housing is busted and the picture card just sits out in the open. It weird to think that all this little bumpy circuits hold so many precious memories.
Since I don't like to post blogs without photos, I'm having a tough time trying to find something to write about. I guess that means I'm writing about not writing.
Tomorrow I must go find a new card reader or all the thoughts in my head will explode!

Day Ten - Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We had planned to treat John & Vicky to breakfast but they outsmarted us and had french toast waiting when we finished our showers. We sat for a few hours enjoying their company and listening to John play a few songs. They are truly beautiful people. We thanked them profusely, promised to work a Get Outta Here toward their neck of the woods and then bid a fond farewell until next time.
Six more hours on the road and we made it home safe and sound. However, the grass was tall, the tomatoes dying and the house hot and stuffy. Back to reality. Oh, well. Its the ying and yang of life.

Day Nine - Good Friends, Good Music

Enjoying the relaxing tone of our vacation, we got a start around 9 am and headed for Tennessee. We stopped along the way to stretch our legs but Jim was comfortable in the driver's seat so he got us to Jackson, Tennessee earlier than we had planned. In an earlier phone call we had told John & Vicky that we weren't going to be there in time to take them to dinner but hopefully breakfast the next morning would be okay. We pulled in around 7 pm local time and hoped to take them out but due to our previous call they had eaten. They insisted on cooking something for us against our protests and they sat and chatted with us while we enjoyed a wonderful spaghetti dinner. After food, there was music. Good music. John and Vicky are accomplished musicians and I enjoyed playing the many classic guitars John kept placing in my hands. I was especially fond of the small parlor guitar from the 1920's with the big sound. When we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer, we all went off to bed, having had a wonderful day.

Day Eight - On the Road Again

On Friday, August 14th we drove and drove and drove. Jim was excited because the wind from the west gave our Hyundai such a boost that we were averaging 44+ miles per gallon as we headed east toward Texas. The speed limit was 70 almost all of the trip with a few spots that reached 75. However, the local traffic, especially in the flat of the plains, exceed 90 to 100 mph.
We stopped on Friday night in Oklahoma City, swam for awhile then had a late dinner before sleeping soundly at our motel.

Day Seven - Good Company

We didn't make too many plans today so we could just spend time at the house together. We talked about future visits and a family trip to Alaska in a couple years.
I will miss my New Mexico family. The drive was well worth it but next time we might fly.
We're leaving early Friday morning to get half way to Jackson, Tennessee. It will be nice to spend time with the Lecroys.

Day Six - Relaxation

For us sleeping in was early for our hosts but late for us. The two hour time difference is fading in our body clocks but we still wake up much earlier than the rest of the family. We drove down to Albuquerque to look at campers but didn't stay long because of the heat.

For dinner we enjoyed pizza handmade by Phillip and baked in their outdoor pizza oven, also handmade by Phillip.

By checking my emails I learned that Blackmore's Night will be in concert in the USA in October. Tickets went on sale at 12:01 on August 13th. I had mine as soon as I could type the info for Ticketmaster. Cleveland, here we come.