It's official now, but instead of a bang, it was fizzle

GK has graduated from the 5th grade and will be in midde school this fall. Her graduation was a little uneventful in comparison to other events I have attended for kids making a move from elementary school to middle school.....but then it's that school.

It was as though the principal had to make another check mark on a requirements list for central office and so hundreds of adults came to see nothing so that the principal could say she had done a graduation.....oh well.

We had a little something for GK here and will at the new moon make it more significant with ritual.

Let me pose a couple of question to you. Why are details honored even when there is no heart connection to them? And have you ever felt that going through the motions is appropriate modeling for a child?

I am just perplexed as to the why.....but then I think it is because I see so much more now "just becauses" than ever before in my life. Seems to me that things had a purpose before, a rhyme, a reason, an intention. Oh gosh I guess I am getting to be an oldie.

Wisdom ??????

We are in the middle of the switching of the living room and the dining room, with a side order of craft area. Should be back mid week. Happy Weekend

"It's been a tough week this morning"  Maxine

Wisdom from the Crone..........

If you can't be a good example
then just be a horrible warning.

Ms. Baggs and Maxine join together for you.............

Do you know what you get when you cross Ms. Baggs and Maxine? Attitude

I can rise and shine, but not at the same time.

200 posts and a butt shot

Editors note: I never expected for this blog to be used for anything but a bitch and moan meme but I can't stay upset for too long (with the exception of one particular group located in the Palmetto state) and this has turned out to be sorta fun. So here we are 200+ posts later.

I also must point out that this morning, out of the clear blue sky, came this post, back from the never, neverland of the day Blogger died. Found it in my drafts.....hmmmmmmmm. So as I post this it may look like I posted on oh, I don't know what date...let's see.

Ms. Baggs here. I should like to tell you of my newest and to date most interesting adventure with the staff of the Gazette.

We went to interview a Dr. of Chiropractic Medicine. Upon introduction to said Dr. I had some serious doubts as to his credentials but Dr. Fuzzyface (so named by our photog cub when she was 18 months old) did prove to be an affable character and nice person. He is quite charming when you come down to it. He and his co-workers showed this reporter around the facilities and I must say it is a very professional yet welcoming environment. I did have some questions about the human bone structure and was afforded an excellent tutorial from the inside out.

Several different techniques were employed on our editor in chief and the photog we took on this assignment did get some interesting views of the procedures.

Dr. Fuzzyface and his business partner used rather strange electrical devices to rid our EIC of headache and back pain. Both electronic acupuncture applied to points and ultrasound were used, as well as manipulation of the spine.

I am very enthused to visit other medical locations and will attempt to interview other professionals in the field in the near future.

So until next Friday, Blogger willing and the creek don't rise, this is your roving reporter Ms. Baggs wishing you a good weekend.

Okay let's try this again....shall we?

I had these thoughts posted last Wedneday night and had saved them to post on Thursday....you know the day that Blogger died. The great Blogger crash of '11.

I have been slightly petulant and not gone to all the trouble to repost until today...just because that is how I am. Ms. Crone accompanied GK and I on our hookey day and I'll share the posting of the lunch time activities and then on Friday Ms. Crone can file her report on the visit to the Chiropractors office. Very interesting photography in that one.

Shelley since before she got back here from South Carolina has had a job with her friends Mick and Shannon who own Mick's Chile Fix. She has known them since their son and GK were in Kindergarten together. So that, when she was coming back to NM, they had a job waiting for her. The hours work out so well because the restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch only and she is usually home before the kids get home from school.

And because she is good at what she does, she is doing well. So on the hookey day we went to lunch to see Shelley in action. She works really hard was a comment that GK made. I think it's good for her to see that it isn't easy to make a living. Bonus for the life experience part of the day.

Mick's is known for his low price, great taste, good portion and fast service. The restaurant (diner) is located in a commercial part of town and they have loyal customers and regulars that come in. The menu is varied and the most expensive item on the menu is 8.95.

They make a great green chile cheeseburger, red chile enchilada plate and real potato fries, all made fresh every day. The huevos rancheros are mmmm mmmmm good. And I have never seen bigger pancakes in my life, they are as big as the dinner plate it is served on.

Had a great lunch and got to include both GK and Ms. Crone in the photos....I forgot to take pictures of lunch though...I guess I was hungry.

Moving out my houseplants, snow and hummingbirds..................

Let me first say, I am sorry that you in the middle part of the country and eastward from NM will be getting another batch of windy wet weather in the next few days. There is so much flooding east of here and we are in drought conditions.....somehow it just doesn't ever make sense, does it?

Knowing that traditionally and according to the Farmer's Almanac the last winter weather we have here is 28 April, I moved my ephiphytes and succulents out onto the front porch yesterday morning. The sun was shining and all was calm. The crazy night blooming cereus grew so leggy this year and has like octopus arms flailing all over. So I thought I would give them all "shave and a haircut" in the afternoon. Well that didn't happen.

Yesterday noon, terrible winds, storm clouds and early dismissal day from school. I drove down to get the kids and it was raining first, then hailing and then snowing. Thought for sure that I would have soggy kids when the bus arrived but the bus was late and the kids just missed the worst part of it. As they got off the bus, no moisture. We only have a short trip home but by that time it was snowing again. Weird. Didn't last long but just enough for me to fret over my plants.

About an hour later the sky cleared and then the ugly wind was back. I went outside to get some things from the car and I heard my little buddies up in the big pine tree out front. Squeaking kind of noise. The hummers have returned from their over wintering southern travels and I fixed their magick elixir this morning. Unfortunately, it is blowing like a son of a gun again. I know I should brave the wind and get out there and feed the little guys. They just finished a very long flight from Mexico and Central America and I'm sure they are hungry but I can't climb the ladder alone and will need to wait until Shel gets home to attempt the high wire act.

Hold on little ones, Oma will feed you soon. And for goodness sakes.......please no more hail to assault the flora and fauna.

Spend off day, hookie day, AWOL.....

The names in this tale of deceit and conivery (yeah I know it's not a word) have been changed to protect the guilty.

When someone to whom I am related was a younger child. That person used to love to frequent certain retail establishments....we that person did not have a choice since I was driving and that person was a baby, toddler, and then young child. Today that person spent the day AWOL from school and I took that person to the chiropractor's office where Dr. Fuzzy face practices bone cracking, joke cracking and has accused me of having imaginary friends on the computer. He just loves that person and has ever since he did an adjustment on that persons neck after that person was pulled from the Mommy with what can be compared to salad tongs. The Mommy has a great fear of salad tongs for that very reason.

This person went into the session with Dr. Fuzzy Face and I took care of Ms. Crone and her story and photos. Which I don't know if I will share all of the "strange angle" photos said person took of me but we'll see what Friday brings.

After the adjustment we were off to T.J. Maxx's for the Hawaiian coffee Sweet Man craves, then to lunch where Mommy works, and to the woo woo store Blue Eagle for candles, incense and coolest bumper stickers, seer stone and buttons. (You almost don't suck, and Damn, I forgot to lock the portal to the Netherworld.)

From there we were off to the fruit market where said person regaled me with all kinds of memories from the toddler stage in this place. It's funny, I am a smell memory person too. The fruit market and the produce we purchased all were based on happy memories of being a little kid for this person.

After purchasing blackberries, strawberries, rhubarb and some inconsequential green things, we went to Michael's to see what manner of wonder we could find to confound our collective minds.

It has been a long time since we have had a day together like this....it was Kismet.

And so we headed to the volcanoes...........

New Mexico has a section of the Rocky Mountains that run the length of the state. In Albuquerque there are two sections of the Rocky Mountains. The Sandia (watermelon) Mts. and the Manzano (apple) Mts. All of the mountainous terrain was caused by geologic activity and not surprisingly we also have the remnants of volcanic activity in the state.

On the western border of Abq. lie the volcanic cones left from ancient volcanoes. There are 5 or 7 depending who you ask and they are called the sisters. Further to the west toward the Navajo nation is Mt. Taylor, which also is formation from a volcano. From space you can see a huge lava flow that runs from Carizozo to White Sands. Google Earth shows it quite nicely. It's toward the southern part of the state. We have lots of volcanic rock in our neck of the woods (and now in our front yard, memory rocks from trips ya know).

On the western edge of Abq. there is Los Volcanes park where you can climb around on two of the domes. Unbeknownst to me or the kiddos, Sweet Man packed us up for a road trip on Saturday and off we went to the volcanoes. We didn't have the right shoes, or sunscreen or hats but we did have water and a will to do it.....or at least some of us did. Sweet Man is like that, always has been. I think it is either that his name in German means crazy person or a family tradition because of his native american blood.....let's just move the teepee cuz I have an itch or something. I think the term exasperating fits here. 

Anyway, the kids had a good time, especially danger Jane, she climbed to the top of one of the cones in her flip flops. Ry kept an eye out for snakes cuz that's what he is fixated on at the moment....never can tell when one of those sneaky ones will be seen and scare the adventurers hat off your head or something. They saw no snakes but did see a plethora of lizards. Some the kids had never seen before. The one on the rock pictured even did a head wag territorial shake at GK. 

you see on the upper right of this picture? That's where I was sitting in the car waiting for the kids and SM.

I on the other hand was not included in the activity because I had the wrong shoes on and let's not take a chance of Oma getting hurt.....so I sat in the car and waited for them for an hour with nothing to do...I coulda brought a book or hand sewing or my phone but nope, with no advanced notice I just watched baby flies get eaten by birds......

This topography is what I think most folks think NM looks like all over. Dry, desolate but that isn't the case. This side of town towards the west is flat and sparse and has a beauty all of its own. We don't get to the westside much and this was a fun trip. The kids also got to see how big ABQ really is and also recognized some of the area from the TV show "In Plain Sight" which is filmed here.

And then we went to Cracker Barrel where we celebrated Mother's Day early like smart people without the crowds. Yum.

And here's the proof you need to see how lazy the staff has gotten

We have moved on to warmer days since these pictures were taken but my office assistants simply love to warm chairs and curl up while I do my Etsy thing, my Ebay thing, my waste time on the Blogosphere thing. They always want to be where I am.

When I make the move to the "arting" area....it's like a little parade of critters following me. We then turn on the fish light, and settle ourselves into the atmosphere of the change of venue.

They weigh the same and are about the same size

saying goodbye to Shelley

Don't you love me best, I've been here the longest?????????

King of the office

So here are some pictures of the critters.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

We went junking the other day and took Ms. Crone with us.

a present for Ry

She has been a little difficult to deal with as of late so the pictures and reporting have been put on the back burner. She has developed a bit of an attitude. It must have been the fact that she wasn't invited to the Royal Wedding. Or maybe it's the laziness of the office staff.

You know how old woman get. Or maybe you don't. Now there's a developing story line.

a present for Shelley

Really it has been kinda crappy when it comes to weather as well. It's hard on an old body and joints to get out when the cold has returned. Ms. Crone has taken to sitting with SJ Bunnyfur for warmth and even started that hot tea drinking again. You'd think it was 45 degrees....oh yeah it was this morning.

Ms. Crone at the sign up table for the Oscar Foundation.

Anyway between the charity sale for the Oscar Foundation (a pet physical therapy foundation) and the junking she was completely worn out and has gone home for the day.