Ode to St. Anthony

An incident occurred a few weeks ago that gave me a new perspective on religious symbols such as the many saints which dominate the Catholic religion's teachings. My mom and I stopped one Sunday on our route between Los Alamos and Farmington, at the spot regionally known as "The Tee pees" and also known as the casino on 550. We usually stop frequently when we travel together to give us both a break, either to walk around a bit, or to have something to eat.

The casino has a small restaurant with friendly, if not efficient, staff. It took us about 60 minutes to order, receive, and eat our burger and hot dog. It seemed like we were there quite a while and as we readied ourselves for continuing on our way, I reached into my purse for my car keys and discovered them gone! I rushed to the restroom and checked all the stalls and the top of the towel dispensing machine but, no luck. I rushed outside to my car to check whether the keys were locked inside and they weren't visible, either in the car or anywhere else in the parking lot. Panic set in as I rushed back inside to ask the security guard if anyone had found car keys. No one had and as I ran back to the restrooms to check once again, my mind raced to the next steps I might take - calling a locksmith and having him travel 100 miles to the tee pees to get my car open and a key to start it. How much would this end up costing, especially on Father's Day?

Back at the restroom a sign was posted, "Closed for cleaning", but I proceeded inside to ask the attendant if she had found car keys. She replied she hadn't and as I stepped outside into the hallway, a young woman with her daughter stood waiting. She asked if the restroom was really closed and I replied it was, I had just been inside looking for lost car keys. The woman sympathized and suggested I ask St. Anthony to return my keys. To humor her I said out loud, "St. Anthony, please help me find my car keys!" I smiled at the woman, still planning my strategy to get out of this predicament, and as I headed back outside to once again search the parking lot the security guard approached me saying, "Are you the lady who lost her keys?" What do you know, he had my car keys in his hand and he thrust them toward me, saying someone had just turned them in. I asked where they had been found and he said he didn't know, someone just dropped them off with security.

It may have been a coincidence, but a week later I tried asking St. Anthony to return a golf ball which had appeared to go into the well of a tree and once again, St. Anthony came through. After I searched and searched for the golf ball to no avail, I threw out another ball to use, then asked St. Anthony to return my ball. I looked up and noticed my original golf ball about 10 feet in back of the tree. It had only looked like the ball went into the tree's well! All this is a little spooky for a nonbeliever like myself, but today I consider St. Anthony my special friend.

On the Gunflint Trail

A few days spent at Gunflint Lodge on the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota make the hot summers in New Mexico more tolerable. Canoeing, kayaking, hiking and EATING are just a few of the activities that kept us busy during our stay at the lodge. The high temps were in the 60's - quite a difference from the high 90's and record breaking 100's I left behind in Farmington and Albuquerque. My favorite excursion during the trip included a canoe which was a replica of a birch bark canoe used by the Voyagers who settled this extreme northern landscape of Minnesota. We left the lodge in the early afternoon and our paddle captain, John, was surprised four women could maintain a powerful rhythm, propelling the canoe forward, fast and furiously. We paddled across Gunflint Lake, approached the narrows which separates the lake from Magnetic Lake, then proceeded across Magnetic Lake and on to the Magnetic River. We anchored the canoe just before the rock strewn rapids and hiked down river to view more rapids where we witnessed a group of canoeists portaging the rapid upstream. This group dragged their canoes up over the rocks and our paddle captain shook his head at their lack of proper technique. Because we were on the Canadian side of the river, we took a picture of ourselves in Canada - no passport needed!
Another totally enjoyable activity at Gunflint Lodge is eating the food and I had my fair share of Walleye on this trip - cashew encrusted, pepper coated and even a deep fried Walleye sandwich - yum! When I return to New Mexico and reality, my first impulse is to dial up Weight Watchers and try to delete the pounds put on in Minnesota. The hikes, the kayaking, the canoeing don't seem to make a difference because the food is abundant and too difficult to resist.
Another trip to Gunflint has ended and I now savor the memories and look forward to next year's trip.

The lovely, the eerie, the irritating wind

What the heck is going on here? It's been day after day, after day, of wind. The views are hazy continuously and it's impossible to get anything productive done in the yard without suffering for it later....allergies aggravated, and sinus issues developing as a result of the everlasting wind. Not a day has gone by without wind lately and I am done with it! Is this a new development from global warming? I can't say I remember the extreme wind being a part of springtime 20 years ago - was I just not noticing or is this an insidious outcome of a planet in decline?

Despite the eerie weather, spring planting has begun and the poppies are popping, the roses are blooming and the lilacs have been here and gone. Before the wind begins and when it's done, chores are accomplished, pots get planted and fence pickets get stained and sealed. It's all part of the preparation for relaxing on the patio in the heat of summer when it's too hot to play golf!

Speaking of golf, Katie and I played yesterday at Civitan, and Vicki, the NMLFGA president, joined us for a few holes after she played a round with other local members. It was quite the chilly day to start out, and after the other regular golfers departed, we felt like Civitan was our private course. The day warmed up nicely, the wind subsided, and after playing almost 15 holes, we all departed on our own paths. My own path took me to my own backyard to admire my newest poppy bloom. It's just another day in paradise.

Winter, winter, go away

Winter, winter, go away, all the golfers want to play......

After skiing yesterday, a friend and I played golf today at our favorite course, Civitan, in Farmington. What a great day - sunshine, a cool breeze, and lots of citizens on the course, playing nice together. We did as well as we usually do - and that's variable - but had a great time, par for the course!

The winter seemed unending, especially with snow storm after snow storm hitting us here in the Four Corners. Of course the weather we received can in no way compare to the rest of the country and what they experience each and every winter. However, we are a bit spoiled. When it snows, it melts - rather quickly. We can drive, we can tool around town, and NO shoveling usually occurs! This winter was a little different in terms of shoveling and my aching back knows it. We'll have lots of water coming our way this spring and summer, an unbelievable plus for us in the high desert.

Last week saw Golf I starting again, the sixth time, at least, for me. Our new instructor is Ryan, a young man going pro this year. He has many helpful suggestions and is very polite and soft spoken. We were on the driving range at Riverview Golf Course in Kirtland for Thursday's class and Ryan gave me more of a clue about how to aim the ball. I practiced his tips today and actually saw my golf ball go where I intended quite a few times - remarkable!

More to come in the weeks ahead - golf, hiking, and best of all - Spring!

Shopping for shoes with my brother

I love to shop. I look at everything, touch everything, ponder owning and wearing everything - but I rarely buy. It has to be a REALLY good deal or I cannot imagine living without it, and then I'll buy. Many years ago while shopping with my brother at the best sale ever at Dillards in El Paso, he said those fateful words I've never forgotten, "You can't afford NOT to buy it!" That phrase has been my mantra whenever there happens to be a great sale wherever I shop. This small remembrance prefaces my little shopping spree the day after Christmas with my brother Jim.

We decided to take the plunge, and succumbed to all the after Christmas shopping ads. Jim needed a new pair of shoes, an event which only happens every 5 or 10 years. I just wanted to be a part of the action! My sister-in-law decided to stay home and I didn't know until much later in the day exactly why she made that decision. We only had a few stores on our hit list, but most places we were to go had a men's shoe department. How hard can it be for Jim to find a pair of shoes, I innocently thought.

Our first stop was J.C. Penney and it was here I discovered just how picky a man can be when he's making an infrequent shoe purchase. As I surveyed the stock of shoes, the color range seemed to be relatively limited - black and brown, to be precise. However, these shades of black and brown were not the correct shade of black and brown, according to my brother Jim. In addition, the style of shoe he desired was not present in this particular department, so off we went, searching for that perfect pair of shoes. Wherever we went, I found the styles displayed were never anything Jim would wear. Some shoes were too dressy, some too casual, some just too ugly, he said.

At long last we came to the little shoe boutique at Coronado Mall. You know the one - it has the best brands at the highest prices. Jim found two acceptable pairs of shoes but I dreaded the moment he saw the price tags. He's a chip off the old block, and my dad would not consider paying 100.00 for a pair of shoes, never mind a few hundred! Jim tried both pair on and settled on one, thinking he might return the next month and get the other pair when I encouraged him to buy both. As he paid for his shoes, he had a minor tremor when he realized how much the shoes were costing him. I assured him this was a totally acceptable price and the shoes were well worth it. I informed him I regularly paid more than this for a nice pair of shoes.

Later that day we stopped by Dillards and found the most fantastic men's shoe department with at least one style Jim actually liked! He bookmarked his brain to remember this shoe department in 5 or 10 years when he was ready to buy his next new pair of shoes. When we arrived home in the south valley eight hours later, I told my sister-in-law she owed me, big time. She smiled and said, "I know".

Books on sale, books on sale........

There is nothing like a book sale to get me going - and not necessarily in a good way. There I was, Friday night at the mall, when walking through and right by other stores, I spotted Waldenbooks which is having a "Going Out of Business" sale. 50% off is tough to resist, especially when it's 50% off books! I'm quite susceptible to anything book related and I seem to think I will someday read all these books I purchase. One day when stopping at the Farmington Public Library, I noticed people leaving the library toting boxes of books. It was another one of my lucky days - it was a library book sale. Despite having donated many books to the library, I proceeded to the sale and bought at least six - hopefully none I had donated.

Last night during my version of "Happy Hour", I bought only three books, a testimony to my fantastic restraint and slim wallet before payday next week. One book purchased is "the conscious cook", a book I've been coveting since last month after hearing about it on NPR. I bought it for my cousin Dina as a Christmas gift but hadn't gotten around to getting one for myself. I did last night and at half price. What a deal. I also purchased another book I've been thinking about for over a year - "You on a Diet". Isn't this the time of year to make such purchases? Everyone is talking about getting in shape, going on a diet and increasing the amount of exercise they do each day. I'm there! The third book purchased is Karin Slaughter's "Beyond Reach", another in her series with Sara Linton, Jeffery Tolliver, and Lena Adams as her protagonists. Her novels are suspenseful and great fun. I will definitely read it one day, just as I'll eventually read all the books I've purchased and remain in a bookcase, on a bookshelf, or hiding inside a cabinet somewhere!