Home Again and iPad Sketch

We made it home!  Good in so many ways.  It is still pretty darn hot, though, and that is not good in Gene's world.  I don't mind, I don't like to be cold.

We usually we go to Rancho de Chimayo  http://www.ranchodechimayo.com/ for my birthday when we leave Angel Fire. This year it was to be Gene's birthday dinner, too.  You may recall he went river rafting and zip lining for his birthday.  The B&B is lovely, old and quiet.  The restaurant is outstanding with a terrace for fine dining, New Mexico food and style.  The B&B was full, they only have seven rooms. 

I found the Casita on VRBO.  http://goo.gl/43l2Dm  We couldn't just walk across the street to the restaurant like in Chimayo and we didn't have breakfast served in the patio, but the casita was a good second. We really enjoyed our stay. We did go to our dinner at the Restaurant Chimayo.  We will try to go back and stay a little longer at the Casita.  They have an old antique table in the kitchen now, different from the photos.  Very nice.

The casita had walls 20 inches thick over 100 years old I think.  It is all updated,  though, with a nice kitchen, bath and laundry.  It had a comfy bed and a porch to have morning coffee.  Tom Sena is the owner.  He is a wood carver.  The internet there was a bit slow.  I imagine it is hard to penetrate the thick walls from the main house!  Phone service was not to be had, which was fine.  That was one of the reasons we went there.

Our trip home was good.  We left the casita in Velarde, New Mexico, and went to Albuquerque for a few days.  It was hard to leave the casita. We had a nice visit in Albuquerque with Gene's sisters and phone calls with my sister in Grants.  She wasn't up for company, but is getting better now.

From Albuquerque we decided to go to Gruver, Texas, to see my "crazy" cousins that came to Angel Fire.  Pat and Helen live there.  They forgot their antique thermos in Angel Fire so we decided to return it .. could be valuable!  Pat said they did not invade us as I said in a previous blog.  I would guess that is true, because they were invited.  We did have fun talking about old times and stories about when we were kids.  So many good times!

The thermos does look old, but it may not be that old, eh?

We enjoyed getting to know Pat and Helen's granddaughters.  Both are cowgirls and barrel racers.  I think we will see more of them as they grow up and compete in rodeos in college and professionally.

As they were getting home from working cattle all day.

We reluctantly left Gruver and headed home.  We decided to drop in on Bag Blog, Lou, and her husband Toby in Oklahoma.  We had a nice dinner at their home and discussed our summers and adventures.  They are super folks and we enjoy seeing them.

We were going to stop along the way, but once headed home we are like barn raised horses and head back to the barn in a high trot!

We did stop for breakfast in Borger, Texas.  An adventure.  Gene always takes me to nice places.  It wasn't bad actually, but not really a breakfast spot.  We were on sort of a bypass and had to go back toward town to find a restaurant.  We saw Shannon's Restaurant and there were several pickups and cars out front in a sort of industrial part of town.  Can't be too bad with customers, right?  As we walked up to the door, a sign read:  Warm Beer and Cold Food   Hmmmm.

We opened the door and stepped in ... to a bar!  A few older men drinking coffee and a couple of women at the bar.  We asked if they served breakfast and they did.  We had some sausage, eggs and hashbrowns.  Very acceptable.  We asked one of the patrons why they weren't at the Dairy Queen as in many small towns in Texas the DQ serves as the coffee shop and center for conversations.  "Oh, they don't serve beer!" was the answer.  As we were leaving, another sign caught Gene's eye.

As we got to Temple, Texas, to get on Highway 95 (I was driving and Gene was dozing), Gene woke up and asked where we were.  I said on the by-pass in Temple.  You are going the wrong way he tells me.  We were discussing it for a few minutes as the Garmin is giving instructions.  Eventually he sees the sign for Highway 95.  He found a use for his new saying and blurts out, "Well butter my butt.......", etc.  We started laughing and I had to pull over for us to giggle for a bit.

We did make it home safe and sound.  Unpacked the car and went to dinner at the Mediterranean Grill.  Mike Henderson went with us.  We have dinner there the night before we leave and when we get back.  Good food!  http://www.cedarsmedgrill.com/

Hopefully I will get in some more stories about out summer adventures.

I sketched a quick one on my iPad on the porch this morning.  I was very happy to be there for my sketching!  The squirrel hopped into view and I thought it was going to stop at the bird feeder but it hopped on out of sight.  This is a guess as to how it looked!  A few minute sketch on the iPad with my fingers with "Brushes".

 Hunt 421, Number 1, small animal.


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I just read about 4 foods that make you happy and can be good for you.  They are dark chocolate, mussels, sunflower seeds and bacon.  Yes, bacon:

 

Bacon in a healthy diet? You bet, Dr. Ramsey says. “As a flavoring, it can be used to get people to eat plants,” he adds. Another plus: Around 30 percent of the fat from bacon gets left in the pan.

Happiness perks: Bacon has oleic acid, a nutrient linked to lower depression in women. And a bacon-and-egg-breakfast gives you a double whammy of choline, which can help reduce anxiety. Bonus points if you use bacon from pasture-fed pigs -- it has depression-fighting vitamin D.  

 

Go for: Smoke-cured meat to cut down on salts, nitrates and other preservatives. 

You can read the article here and check out what the other happy foods do for you:  https://goo.gl/Hsjlf1