Notes from our Year, 2010

Greetings, friends.

The year end finds us well and moving forward, regardless of the bumps we might have navigated to get here. Christmas 2010 was spent in Key West, in a condo with an ocean view and a tropical vibe. After a busy and emotional year, it was a great opportunity to spend time with family and kick back.

Both kids are now in college, both in Oregon. Jake is a Junior at Willamette University in Salem, where he is enjoying the campus and town and living 2,000 miles from parents. He is active in the Biology Department: he is a teaching assistant, works with a professor on great bustard research, and served on a search committee last semester for a new faculty member. He worked last summer in Pullman, Washington at Washington State University with the USDA. I'm not sure what he enjoyed more: getting better acquainted with his Aunt Rebecca or researching the genetics of plants. He hopes to return this summer after spending a couple of weeks south of the border (how far south is not yet determined...) in an end-of-term course.

Quincy graduated from Las Cruces High School in May after spending about half her year as a dual-credit student at New Mexico State University. She stage-managed several LCHS theatrical productions and learned much as an intern at a local theater. She headed off to Southern Oregon University in September in Ashland, and, like her brother, very much enjoys the town and academic atmosphere of a small college. And the distance from home. Did I mention that? Her first quarter went well, and she started back to SOU on January 3.

This means we are now officially empty nesters, at least for October, February, April, and parts of September, November, December, January, March, and May. This means sometimes it feels like we run a boarding house that services gangly youth ravenously hungry for home cooking and high-speed internet. Stu and I spent the fall congratulating ourselves on surviving the time-intense part of parenting. We'll see how we fare on the cash-intense part...

I spent much time in Delaware this year as my mother's health became more precarious. Following a major stroke in mid June, she died in early July. It was a sad time for us all, especially for my father and Kent. Although parting has been difficult, I know in my heart she did not want to live as she was. I really enjoyed the extra time with my dad and Kent -- his unique and upbeat outlook are always good reminders of the importance of the moment.

Stu's year was focused on teaching and service, through NMSU's Faculty Senate and other committee work. He is Vice-Chair of the Faculty Senate and has served on a number of graduate committees. He has continued research in experimental design (I edit his papers and try not to understand the content), and has enjoyed working with the food science department.

I continued commuting by bike this year. I hit about 5,000 miles and enjoyed the heck out of at least most of them. As a friend recently told me, bike commuters are their own brand of crazy. I really enjoyed the challenges of all-weather cycling. And the hot tub at the end of the ride.

Other highlights of the year: Quincy's graduation trip was a week on the east coast, starting with a visit to Delaware and ending with 5 nights in New York City. We enjoyed lots of theater and strolls through NYC neighborhoods I had never visited. In September, our home became an energy producer with the addition of solar panels to our roof: we haven't paid an electricity bill since! Jake and I met in DC in October for the Rally to Restore Sanity, hosted by Jon Stewart. It was a great weekend in one of our favorite cities, and the extra time with Jacob was a lagniappe. Most of our other travel involved kid colleges in some way, and we look forward to Quincy extending our reasons to visit Oregon by another two years!

Wishing you all the best for the new year. Write (melody.mcgee@nmsu.edu) and let us know how you are doing. Below: Melody, Annie, Stu, and Rosie, north end of the Black Quartz Mountains, Sunday morning hike.

Miami, again...

(Just getting the text to a blog post I started Sunday...)

Miami is my current least favorite airport, and as a city, it does not rank very high, either. Travel to the Keys started really well. American Air was uncharacteristically service oriented. They found seats for us together (we could not get ones close to each other when we bought our tickets) AND upgraded us to first class to Dallas, and they got Quincy on our flight to Miami (she was on a later flight from Dallas). Kudos to American.

Too bad to ruin such a record by losing Stu's suitcase and having awful customer service for him and the other dozen people who were also looking for lost luggage. Grr. Lots of surly, unhappy people -- The Keys could only benefit from the contrast.

But when we came back to Miami Sunday, it really cold. We planned to spend the day kayaking at Bahai Honda State Park, but it was too windy and cold for the beach, and no boat rentals were open. The beach was still beautiful, but we could have had a better day. Monday's high in Miami was in the low 50s, with a wind chill factor in the low 20s. Brrr. El Paso actually felt warm.

Sun rising over the Atlantic, Key West

About to get ready for a run along the beach.  Sunrise is beautiful, and Stu and I saw the green flash at sunset last night from Mallory Square in downtown Key West.  I had never seen that before, and it was a bucket list moment.  

Also saw (although from a pretty far distance) male frigate birds with their pouches inflated.  I guess that is pretty sexy to a female frigate bird!  

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Everybody flocks to the Fish House...

My favorite restaurant in Key Largo.  

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Kids, travel, other stuff

Great Thanksgiving. Both kids were here and it was good to spend time with them.

Quincy gets home Thursday, with one quarter down, 11 more to go. Or so. Next semester she plans to continue with calculus and Japanese in addition to her other first-year courses. She seems to have made friends and loves the area. Last week, she went ice skating in an an outside rink for the first time ever. Not too many of these in El Paso or southern New Mexico.

Jacob will be home after our winter trip (the Keys this year!). He is lucky enough to have a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Miami (he does not think this is a bad thing...), and we will all join up in Miami for a trip to Key West. He leaves to go back to Oregon on his 21st birthday, which means at least we get to spend some time with him on his birthday.

More later. Quincy is Skyping.

News from the Rally to Restore Sanity

John Stewart reminds us that we live in hard times, not end times. And that when we accuse Juan Williams and Rich Sanchez of being racists and bigots, we dishonor the racists who put in the real hard work of hating others. A great event.

The picture above is from Newsweek's coverage. Jake is findable (upper right quadrant) -- he has on a German National Team soccer warm-up jacket. He is a couple people to the right of Johana, who also went with us, and conveniently wore a white beanie and a whote hoodie sweatshirt. 6 of the 8 people in our group are visible. (I am missing, probably behind Rick, the tall bearded man between Jacob and Johana.)

Mid-semester update...

Kids are doing well at school. Quincy had a learning curve about how to handle weekends on a campus where lots of students go home for the weekend, but she seems to be doing fine. Jake called us last week from Seattle. Nope, we didn't know he was going to Seattle. Guess he is doing well, too.

Jake and I will be in DC this weekend at the Rally to Restore Sanity. Should be a hoot. If I could take a sign, it would probably say something like "Even though I can see Mexico from my front yard, I don't think
I'm qualified to be vice president." Or something like that.

The house has a new mouser. Nom (orange cat) spent Tuesday night playing with a cool, furry mouse and seemed really disappointed Wednesday that it was no longer willing to play. (Video below has no mouse footage, just a demonstration of her stealth hunting techniques...)

Quincy makes the evening news

We arrived at SOU just in time to watch a local reporter struggle with her camera. Video of the Q is here.

Heading north to Salem

The Q allayed parental worries this morning by calling for a quick chat.  All seems to be well, and she is looking forward to a full day.

Heading to Salem now for an evening with Jacob.  The fog is pretty and reminds me that I do sometimes miss weather.

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Mimi goes to college

Q's room at SOU.

We dropped her off at SOU today (slowed down enough to push her out the door...). So now we have another kid to worry about far from home. Sigh.

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Bagpipers at City Hall

Honoring court officers who lost their lives on 9/11. These officers ran toward the chaos when everyone else was running away.

At the memorial service today, the speaker pointed out that none of these officers asked for religious affiliation before they decided to offer assistance at the Twin Towers. He did not point out that as court officers, none of them had to go -- their job was at the court, not as a first responder.

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Quince and I have had a very nice weekend in Delaware. We had Sunday dinner in Felton with Lawn and George. Yesterday we saw more family: nephew Christopher, his kids Alex and Riley, and mom Jesse. They are all doing well.

Also spent time yesterday at Longwood Gardens. Despite good intentions to see more, we barely got out of the Conservatory. Kent (left) is in the Children's Garden, where we (me, Quin, and Kent) spent more time than is maybe seemly for, really, people our age. Also saw their pipe organ, which had 10,010 pipes and an absolutely beautiful ballroom for the console. Kent and Dad seem to be doing well.

Today Quin and I hop the Amtrak for the Big Apple. We have theater tickets and have studies NYT reviews for others we are interested in.

Long time, no blog

Stu and I on a Sunday hike. Annie (age 11) and Rosie (age 10) are still happy to go walking with us, if they appreciate 4 mile hikes now more than 6 or 10 mile hikes.

Back from Summer travel part 1: Kid travel. Quincy needed to be in Ashland in Late July, and Jake needed to return from Pullman (summer job) about the same time, so we did a grand circle up the west coast, east to Pullman, and down the Rockies to home. Long days in the car, but we had good conversations with the kids.

This weekend, Quincy and I head east for a visit to my dad and brother, then on to NYC for her graduation trip. We have a studio apartment about a block from Times Square, and it should be a good time. Stu will join us for a long weekend.

Then at the end of September, Quincy heads to college, and we officially become empty-nesters (although Annie and Rosie are hoping to step into the void).

The end of an era

My mother died July 5 in Delaware. Stu and I arrived home from Delaware just yesterday from the family gathering. We saw lots of family and friends at her viewing, and that part was good, but it was a sad occasion. She will be missed by many people.

For two weeks in a row, Stu traveled to Delaware on a Wednesday and home again on a Saturday. I was in Delaware for a visit two weeks ago, but the Tuesday night before I was to return to New Mexico, my mom was taken to the emergency room with pneumonia. Her heath was very fragile, and Friday, before I left on Saturday, as a family we decided to transfer her care to Delaware Hospice. In the meantime, a doc in the same emergency room as my mom confirmed that my stomach ache was appendicitis, so had an appendectomy while I was east. The whole situation seemed kinda surreal. Stu came out Wednesday the 30th (appendectomy day) to help me recover and to get home on Saturday. The surgeon did a great job, and I recovered quickly from the surgery.

My mom died the following Monday, and we were back in Delaware by Wednesday. The rest of the year is packed with travel, but we will squeeze in one more trip to Delaware over the Labor Day weekend to visit my Dad and Kent. They both are handling this with great strength.

A taste of Avondale

Logo from the side of an Avondale, Pennsylvania emergency vehicle. What southern New Mexico is to chile, this part of the world is to mushrooms.

So what do mushrooms grow in? Avondale might be taking the mushroom for its logo, but they surely included the dung-derivative that give the town its distinct aroma.

My dad visited the rehab centers we found on Friday and mi madre will move to one of them tomorrow or Tuesday. I am staying in Delaware until then and hope to see her settled into the new place. Today was her birthday, and a call from her brother brought a big smile to her face.

Delaware in June

Tried for about ten minutes to photograph a lightning bug in Delaware tonight but had to settle for a volunteer inpatients instead. Also, this is the first photo upload from my new phone.

I am in Delaware mostly to share my dad's pain. My mother had a stroke a week ago Thursday and was pretty severely affected. She seems to be pretty aware of what is going on around her but her communication is very limited and she has no mobility. She is in a rehabilitation center and progress is very slow. Her condition is complicated by diabetes and lung cancer and a clotting condition. She is eating very little. There seems to be little to be done for her, and I share her pain, too. She sleeps a lot and it is difficult to tell what that pain is.

Kent and I spent yesterday morning looking at long-term care facilities. If my mother fails to make progress at her current rehab center, she will need to move to another facility. I can't think that schlepping around the countryside is what she wants.

Thanks to all for the kind words. It means more than I can say.

Fire in Achenbach Canyon

Apparently the house is right on the flight path from Achenbach Canyon to someplace on the other sthe mountains.  Tankers just flew over, dropped a load, and headed north and east.  The spotter planes are still circling over, so I assume the tankers will be back.  

It is still warm.  Almost 7 and 89 degrees.  Stu and I had dinner on the deck as we watched the planes.  

Spotter plane just led a tanker back to the canyon.  now he is taking his second pass, which presumably when the pilot drops the load.  It takes about 20 minutes for the round trip, reload, and dump.



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It's a dry heat.

It is a little warm here today. Book club later, and I do think I will cycle in. Downhill all the way in, and it might be cooler by the time I need to come home. But I am also just stubborn like that. Friday it was 100, and that ride home seemed a breeze.

Anniversary yesterday -- 27 years. Never would have thought it would go so fast. We went out (me, Stu, and Quin), taking advantage of the decreasing availability of a designated driver.

LCHS class of 2010

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Gray and rainy

Quintessential Delaware: gray, rainy, and unseasonable. It is mid May and the high today is predicted to be 50. And rain. Tomorrow's prediction is 54 and showers. Is there a difference between rain and showers? I thought showers were just rain inside your bathroom involving shampoo and soap.

Kent and I were out last night for a stroll around the local mall. Must more upscale that it was when my ilk were of mall-rat age. Fact I learned at the mall: Bose has more outlets in the Philadelphia Airport than they do in my entire state. This astonishes me.

Lesson learned from a day at my parents: there is a tv station that has fake court cases on all day. Again, astonishment.

Stu has texted asking mysterious questions like should he use a flame thrower to get rid of Apache Plume. (see rattlesnake post below.) Not sure what I will return home to...

New home for the rattley snake

Some rattlers just can't take a hint.

This guy had been hanging out for a couple of weeks. He liked annoying places, like where I get off my bike to go into the garage, and by the clothesline. Stu had moved him at least twice, so today, when he started rattling at us from the Apache plume by the driveway, it was time to find a new home for him.


He did not agree. As he slithered further into the Apache plume maze, Stu and Jake trimmed the bush from above, hanging from the desert willow. They discovered a quite large midden in the Apache plume (grocery store for the rattler), but it also also got rather rearranged in desperately seeking the rattler. In the end, the rattler ended up buckled into the back seat of the car in a old bucket for a trip to another canyon where he should be able to live a quieter life. Good fun.

I was supposed to be in Delaware, but a 2 am call from American Airlines told me that Dallas weather stunk and how would I like to go through Chicago tomorrow? So Chicago it is. After a nice dinner tonight with the family.

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Colorful eggs.

Eggs from the farmer's market. Each color typically comes from a different type of chicken. These are just so cool!

Lazy Sunday, New Mexico version

Today's weather: perfect. With all the rain, we have blooming yuccas. Profusely blooming yuccas. By the hundreds. The desert is different every year, and this is the closest to jungle we have ever gotten. Well, a desert jungle, anyway.

Birds are also profuse this year. A curved-bill thrasher is watching me as I write, a scaled quail is lekking nearby, and a cactus wren keeps scavenging the dog and cat hair we brushed from Rosie, Annie, and Nom earlier. I wonder about cactus wrens and using pet hair in their homes. Does this make their young less likely to understand that pets are predators? Not a big problem at my home, but could be in more suburban settings. Rattlers are already out (BIG one dead on Soledad Canyon road last week). Eagles are back, as are vultures. Cactus wren just stopped by for a dust bath. Wish I could photograph it, but it is just too far away.

Quincy, Stu and Jake have just a couple of weeks of classes left before they are off for the summer. Jake will spend the summer in Washington State, Q in Las Cruces. Summer projects are already lining up for Stu. Maybe some tiling and painting this summer.

Q has end-of-the-year rituals to complete over the next month: finals, banquets, AP exams, graduation, graduation party, etc. Quincy will celebrate with Emily. They met in kindergarten and have been friends since. Thanks, Katie, for your inexhaustible hospitality in letting us share the graduation celebration.

Limited biking next week. I will be in Albuquerque Monday and Tuesday for a meeting, and it is a little too far to ride. (but some really big hills between here and there!) The weather has still been cold in NM, but with luck our warm weather will come to stay this week.

I will be back in Delaware from May 15-20. My mother's lung cancer is back, and she is recovering from a repair of a compression fracture in her back. Besides, May is always a nice month in Delaware.

Book recommendation: Currently listening to Citizens of London, by Lynne Olson. About Edward R. Murrow, Gil Winant, and Avery Harriman and the role they had in bringing the US into WWII. Very interesting. I finally completed Atlas Shrugged, and although I thought the book was melodramatic and overwrought, I find that I miss the characters. But not really a book I would recommend to anybody.

Ipad display at Apple store

People were about three deep around the counters with Ipads at the Apple store today in Christiana Mall. Kent and I spent the afternoon strolling around. About the only store that has survived in the mall from when I lived in Delaware is Spencer Gifts. The Mall has gone decidedly upscale, with a Godiva, Williams-Sonoma, etc. During this trip, Kent and I also took in a movie and hit other retail outlets of northern Delaware. Traffic in this region makes me appreciate the open spaces of New Mexico.

I return to New Mexico tomorrow, with another trip planned soon. I was here at a great time, weather-wise, and it was good to see family (brother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and his fmaily). Got lots of walking around Hockessin, but not much reading. And I set up the parent's wireless network, allowing me to blog from the guess bedroom (hi!).

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Quelle surprise!

Heading to Delaware today for a visit for the family. Stu surprised me with this yesterday for travel. I was VERY surprised, indeed!

Very fun to play with and a great travel companion.

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Cool cat.

The Nom cat put herself inside Stu's cooling coil. She is silly like that.

Happy Easter

Missed items from the time I have been ignoring the blog:

• Bataan went well. Stu and I were shooting for under 7 hours and we made it be about a minute. Shooting for under 6:45 next year. Jake hit under 6 hours.
• Jake had a week off for Spring Break and is back at Willamette for the rest of the semester. He finds it hard to believe he is nearly half through his undergraduate degree.
  
• Quincy was offered a WUE scholarship at Southern Oregon and is very excited about heading out there in September. Her birthday was Wednesday, and I no longer have minor children. She turned 18 the day before being counted on the 2010 census for redistricting.
• Poppies are beautiful this year. I should have a picture but have been too lazy to go out and get one.
• Golden eagles are back -- one soared over me on my way home Wednesday, and we saw another one yesterday. Hummingbirds are also back, along with swallows and turkey vultures.
  

Quincy also is interning at the Rio Grande Theatre, downtown. She is really enjoying the work and seems to be learning. Last week she ran the light board for the touring show of the Vienna Boys Choir (she says they have a sublime version of Hallelujah). She is becoming conversant with fly lofts and sound boards and fresnels.

Next week I will travel to Delaware for a family visit. I hope to spend quality time with Kent (this should mean at least a couple of movies) and see if I can be of some use to the folks.

And finally, we went hiking today and found the poppies pictured above and this artifact to the left. No, it is not a petrified elephant foot but rather a yucca cut down 2 summers ago along the fire break. Thanks, Phillip and Julz for the hike!

33 degrees. Marchers huddle around warmers.

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March day!

On the road heading to White Sands for this year's Bataan Memorial Death March. This year 22 survivors of the original March are here for year observance and there are 5700 marc:hers. Jake flew in from Oregon yesterday with at least 2 other marchers, one of whom was a wounded warrior.

Preparing for a marathon is largely mental regardless of whether you do it running or walking. I do them sleep deprived! Interesting to see all the folks from Talavera just now arriving home from a night out!
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Rosie goes hiking

Rosie went hiking us this weekend. Phillip documented the hike from her view. Next weekend is the last before the marathon, so we took the opportunity to climb the minor mountain (with the politically incorrect name of Squaw Mountain) behind the house. Time constraints prevented us from topping it, but we probably made it to about 6500 feet from a start of 5000. Peak is just over 6800 feet. Rosie slept very well the rest of the day.

The photographer was friend Phillip, who posted his photos on his flickr photostream.

Other news

• Windy season is here. Biking home was very easy today with a 20 mph tailwind.
  
• Jake is due home a week and a half from now. We couldn't get him a Friday flight so will not get here until Saturday.
• Quincy is interning at the Rio Grande Theatre. She loves learning about the care and feeding of a theatre and has already learned much about lighting.

Stu and I will be traveling to Missouri for the Munson Family Reunion in mid April. Stu will spend a day at the Anheuser Busch before we head to Hannibal.

Lots O Cats

According to the cat thermometer, it is not warm yet.

The top white cat is Stow, the old guy, who can't be bothered with much these days. He really likes his new food, but greatly protested the sub-cutaneous fluid that would have helped hydrate him. Old guy that he is, his kidneys are not what they once were. But his purr box still works well and he seems to enjoy being the lord of the manor. Widget and Nom are the other 2 cats.

Good Bataan hike yesterday. Not long, but we were out there in the cold and wind and rain. Erazmus hikers are tough! Only 2 more weekends before the Death March!

Other news: Stu and I plan to travel to St. Louis in April for the Munson Family Reunion. Stu will also tour some little brewery in town before we head to Hannibal for the weekend. Quincy just finished a run as stage manager for the LCHS production of Dracula (wow, are vampires popular with teens!!!). And the house is all paid off.

Gotta go. Monday...

Quincy visits another college...

...and likes it! Southern Oregon University in Ashland was a big hit with her. I think being just a couple hours from her brother might have influenced her, but she declares not. Anyway, she really got into the college thing, walking places, seeing shows each night she was there, learning about tuition, jobs, etc. They have a great theatre program and options for study abroad. And they are part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange.

Stu and Quincy flew into Portland, so they saw Jacob on their way in and out of Oregon. Meanwhile, I finished a round if Ursus and enjoyed the sunshine. They arrived home late Sunday evening, and Quincy still had a day to recover before heading back to school today.

Bataan prep hike to Dripping Springs

Ah, yes. Here we all are last Saturday at the weather station near Dripping Springs. Round trip hike was 12-ish miles in pretty rugged terrain. Not strenuous, but definite calf kickers. The fires from a couple summers ago cleared out a lot of the brushy junk and made hiking pleasant. Not sure how many of the lovely old hackberries survived, though.

Stu and Quincy are heading to Oregon right now for her visit to Southern Oregon University in Ashland. She has been accepted there and will tour campus tomorrow. They also will see 2 shows there and visit Jacob. (I get to stay home and house sit. Why exactly is that, again?)

Jake called yesterday to share that he spent time with Samson, a yellow lab that brightens up the day at Willamette. Yellow labs seem to be the universal language of tail-thumping affection and acceptance.

Family back east is digging out of more snow. News this morning said Philadelphia has had 70 inches for the year. Awesome (at least, awesome from a distance of 2000 miles!!!!)!

College here and there...

Quincy is nearing the end of her college search. She has been accepted at all her schools and has interviewed at University of Evansville. She will visit Southern Oregon soon, and will make her final decision after hearing about financial aid offers. Not much to expect there...

Jake's semester seems to be going well. His classes are interesting (economics and a rhetoric course are his non-science courses) and he is a teaching assistant again for a biology class. He is especially enjoying microbiology.

Weather is warming, making for good biking. We have been hiking on weekends getting ready for the 2010 Bataan and can be found on Facebook at Erasmus B. Dragon Hiking club.