Spring snow

I remember telling people I was moving to New Mexico. So often people assumed NM is universally hot with little variety of seasons.....
So here's a blog picture taken this morning from the front porch... Yes, this morning, April 23rd, a month into 'spring'!!!

3rd time's a charm!!

Our move to Albuquerque is now less than 2 months away and over the past several months we've viewed and critiqued lots of homes, walked plenty of UNM area streets and neighborhoods, had many discussions over cups of tea and pieces of pie at the Central Ave "Flying star" cafe and developed a fair sense of what homes are like in the University area.

In the process, I made 2 offers without any luck.... but that changed this week: I am under contract for a lovely little house less than a 2 minute walk from Altura Park in the Northern UNM area!!!!! There are so many things that still have to be done before our move but we'll get it done somehow and it will be worth the effort!!

I hope to post some pictures in the coming weeks!!!!

Coyote fence...

Doug has been busy with innumerable house projects and this weekend, I lended him a hand putting up a coyote fence along the front patio. I think the result looks absolutely fabulous!!

Pre-pictures



Post pictures

The double helix

The mystery of a slot canyon...






Maybe the biggest mystery was that none of us got wet feet!!!

The beauty of Zion National Park

We braved the steep cliffs and hiked to observation point with 360 degrees views of the park at the top!!










A well deserved little nap ;-)!!!

Hiking, climbing, zip-lining, rapelling....

Doug and I took a trip to Utah to visit my very dear friends Fio and Lisa. We flew into Las Vegas (the-hell-capital-of-what-is-wrong-with-modern-society!) and ended up in St. George (the-center-of-outdoor-beauty-and-adventure), what a contrast!!
It started out with a nice easy hike and progressed to climbing (I am NOT a natural!!!), rapelling down overhanging rocks, and zip-lining through canyons.... What a great time!!!








The longest zip-line in Utah!!!

We weren't short on food and drinks....

Somehow between all our outdoor adventures, Fio and Lisa did find time for super-delicious-state-of-the-art cuisine including
fresh chocolate ganache pastries, the best home made granola bars known to mankind, white chocolate toffee torte, chocolate souffle, petit fours, kobe beef,.... Unbelievable!!!




I really should have taken plenty more pictures of the food but eating it all was much more fun!!!

Utah nature specials...

Spring metamorphosis

Do I have a second career as a barber ahead of me???

Oh, what a week?!?!?

My low-stress, relaxed life had a little hiccup this week....

We've been looking at homes in Albuquerque for a few months and found a lovely one in a great neighborhood on Monday. I put an offer in first thing Tuesday morning, delighted at the prospect of having us live there for the next few years..... A long story short; although the house only came on the market Sunday, multiple offers came in and after waiting patiently, I heard on Thursday night they choose another buyer..... Who says this is a buyer's market?!?!? ;-)

No time to obsess about all this though as on Friday morning I found out somebody hijacked my email account and sent an email to all my contacts stating that I was in the UK and got mugged at gunpoint, asking for $2000 to be wired directly asap to get me back home. I could not get into my account to notify friends and family so in between treating patients, I spent lots of time on facebook messages, phone calls and text messages re-assuring people I was still living happily in sunny Santa Fe. My English must have been just a little better than the awful grammar and grade-school-like spelling of the scammers and my friends, although caring, recognize fraud when they see it, so no money to sent.

PPPFFF..... I hope this week will be mellow and easy.....