You Can Still WIN! ... and Moving On

With all the news about the fires in Texas and floods back east you may have forgotten that I have a little contest going.   You have until tomorrow midnight to comment on my post to win a copy of Maggie Price’s new book, Painting Sunlight and Shadow in Pastel.  It is so easy to enter and so few entries.  You don’t have to be one of a thousand entries only one of less than 50.  So comment on that post or send me an e-mail, jo@jocastilloart.com.  If you did a painting and didn’t send me a photo, go ahead and do so.  I will put it up and it will stay there with a link to you. 

  
It is 34 degrees as I write this today at 8:12 a.m.  We are in the final stages of loading our trailer and Explorer for the journey home.  We leave today and go to Chimayo for my birthday.  We did the same last year.  You can see how great it is and the beautiful drive photos from that trip on last year’s post.

After a relaxing evening and morning there we will continue on to Albuquerque.  We will stay in Albuquerque and spend time with Gene’s sisters, Mercy and Virginia her huspand, Al.  Al is having surgery on Tuesday and we will be there with Virginia.  Then early Thursday we will leave for Bastrop, Texas, and be there on Friday evening. 

We are definitely not looking forward to the hot, dry weather in Texas.  We had planned to be gone for another month.  After the huge fire in Bastrop that burned down our house, we have to go back and take care of things and look for a place to live.  We had been thinking of moving out of our stair filled house sometime in the next year or so and that decision was made for us.  Texas will continue having fires until we get some rain.  It has been the hottest and driest state in the country this summer.

Thanks to Regina and Larry Burchett we have their RV trailer set up and ready to go at the edge of Bastrop so we can just move in and start our search.  Maybe we can help other folks while we wait to see what we will do.  I’m not sure we will be able to get into see the house yet.  Joanna did get a permit, but with hot spots, downed power lines, etc., they haven’t opened up our sub division. 

Thanks to all the fire fighters, first responders, police, volunteers, family and friends that are so dedicated and supportive.  Can’t do it without you!  Thinking too of the same folks from September 11, 2001.  Our thoughts and prayers to all.

Several other families that we know personally lost their homes, too.  Most just left within a few minutes or were gone for the day so only have the clothes on their backs.  We are fortunate there that we have our three month supply and covered trailer with “stuff”. 

And so the saga continues.  I hope to sketch when we get to Chimayo and do some crossword puzzles and just chill.  Ah, eat some good New Mexican food and drink a nice glass of wine or a good margarita.  See ya down the road.