Teens no more!

Kids have been home for spring break for a most excellent week of sun, food, conversation, and relaxation. They go back today, and we will miss them. But through a miracle of scheduling, their planes leave within an hour of each other, so we only will take one trip to El Paso!

It was a busy week -- Jacob and Willamette friend Janelle arrived home on Saturday and were up at 3 am the next day for the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. The weather was warmer than usual, and Janelle, who is from Hawaii, proved plenty tough enough for a 26-mile walk in the desert. Kudos to her.

As usual, the March was a day to remember sacrifice and to march along side current active military.

Quincy celebrated her 20th birthday last night. I was concerned that the strainer we gave her for a present was too prosaic. She considered it to be stylish.

Weekend in Delaware

Enjoying time in Delaware with Dad and Kent.

American Airlines had problems getting us here and I arrived at the peak of rush hour traffic. Maybe I will go back to the very early morning flight. Fewer screaming kids, grumpy passengers, flight delays, and other things that make travel fun.

Yesterday was busy: we ran errands in the morning then spent some time in Newark. Caught up with my niece Sarah at the cupcake shop where she works, visited Newark's huge bike shop, got caught in student traffic when classes were changing, stopped in at Iron Hill Brewery (they make a pretty good porter, but I was not a fan of the India black ale), climbed to the top of the Newark Reservoir (will try to take the walk-around some other time)...

Also workshopped a paper with Jacob, made dinner (mushroom quiche), and saw family friends.

Today is again gray and rainy, but the change from New Mexico sunny is welcome. Today we will visit Lawn and George in Dover. Hoping for some time on a walking path today. Jacob is going cross-country skiing on Mount Hood, and I am hoping he will send some pictures that I will post.

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.

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.)

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.

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!

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.

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.

2009 Update

Best wishes to all for a happy 2010. We are ending 2009 in good health and looking forward to changes ahead in 2010.

Jake has completed his first three semesters at Willamette University and just finished a good semester, which included organic chemistry and microbiology . He was a teaching assistant again in a freshman biology class and will have the opportunity to TA next semester. He is looking forward to getting to know the Cascades as a backpacker with the Outing Club at Willamette. He is leaving his options open to pick up chemistry as a second major. This summer he is planning to work at a USDA lab in Pullman, Washington, and will live with his Aunt Rebecca.

Quincy was very active in theater at Las Cruces High School and just completed stage managing the LCHS production of The Wiz. It was long hours, but the production was well received, and she got more experience in theater. She has all her college applications in and has her acceptance letter from NMSU and University of Evansville. She will have her interview with Evansville in January to get into their theater program (it is very competitive) and hopes to hear from Southern Oregon soon (just got her transcript to them). She completed her first two college courses at NMSU this semester and has signed up for two more next semester.

Stu and I are well. Stu continues to enjoy summers off, and I continue to enjoy the benefits, like the deck-and-hot-tub addition Stu and Jake built last summer. We also traveled east, saw family, visited DC (always a favorite), and generally enjoyed rapidly dwindling time to be together as a family. Stu and I both battled the flu of the swine in September, and recovered without major drama.

Teaching remains a highlight of professoring for Stu. He developed a class in food engineering this year and continues to teach the 'Beer Class' (aka Brewing Science and Society) to a full house each semester. His research these days is primarily in experimental design, which means he usually can be found with a computer in his lap. Retirement looms, or at least is a possibility after the kids complete college!

I continue to be a bike commuter (now on my dream bike, with the 30-year old Fuji in reserve as the bad-weather machine) and have enjoyed the extra doses of fresh air. My work at NMSU this year has gotten more interesting, and I continue to enjoy the institutional perspective I have in my current job. Bassoon, book clubs, friends, hiking keep us busy and promise to fill the empty spaces when the kids are both away next year.

The time flies, but it is a privilege to watch Jacob and Quincy develop their own lives. Hard to believe 2010 is about here. Could the Y2K brouhaha really have been 10 years ago? Best wishes to all for a good life in 2010.

Merry Christmas to all...

Christmas, 2009.

We are in La Jolla, California, hanging out with the seam anemones at the beach (in one of the city's undoubtedly funkiest cottages) for the holiday. The weather has been beautiful, and the family time has been, as they say, priceless.

We arrived with Quincy on Saturday to move into this ~50 year old cottage that is 2/3 of the way up Ocean Lane. We were surprised that Ocean Lane was a staircase (no street-side parking for us!), but that sure keeps the street noise at a minimum. Jake was scheduled to arrive Sunday evening, but a delayed flight pushed that to painfully early Monday. But no matter -- having him around is worth as many late night trips to the airport as it takes. He will spend his birthday with us before he heads back to Salem in mid-January.

Mornings, the kids sleep in as Stu and I watch seals that resemble hefty bags loll about on the beach. We have explored the area on bikes (very bike-friendly, southern California streets are) and this morning plan to head down to Mission Bay for some birding. Afternoons, kids join us or not for exploration further afield. Yesterday we were at Cabrillo National Monument, the lighthouse built on the point that guards the San Diego Harbor. Today we will do a walking tour someplace.

It is wonderful to have 4 people at the dinner table again, and evening discussions have been great.

Tournament of Bands

This was one of the bands from yesterday's Tournament of Bands at NMSU. One movement was mostly percussions, and everybody got to play on the barrels. It was a great visual!

Or maybe it was Tourniquet of Bands. LCHS has a great season in a lot of ways, but the kids did not earn the scores from the judges to place in competition.

Nonetheless, Quincy is completing her year of lasts -- last band competition (yesterday), last IEP (Friday), last time performing at the Field of Dreams (a couple weeks ago), and this Friday, the last BIG game against Mayfield. The football team has also not had a stellar season, so playoffs look unlikely. But since she is already staying busy stage managing the fall play The Wiz, she will not be at a loss for stuff to do.

Her year of lasts is also one for her parents. I have hawked for the last time at Field of Dreams and plan to never again load up hundreds of nacho boats with chips. My concessions friends plan regular get togethers next year on Fridays to celebrate our evenings without standing for hours on cold cement floors in a loud, confined little space serving lines of people what passes for food at athletic events. Yes, we have healthy choices. No, we never sell more than about 2 pieces of fruit an evening, but we sure do move those frito pies!

It got cold this week, and I even biked home in snow on Wednesday. The deck was covered with snow Thursday morning, but as typical of New Mexico, it lasted only briefly. Weather has returned to beautiful, and since it is Sunday afternoon, all the sunspots on the west side of the house are occupied with sleeping pets (and one human).


Stu returned from a trip to NSF in Washington DC Friday in time to see the LCHS boys soccer team win their first state cup game. Jake had his first swim meet of the year and was happy -- or at least not unhappy -- with his performance.

Empty nesting practice

This was Jake a couple weeks ago at Willamette, before the weather turned cold, blustery, and rainy. (It has been beautiful here this week. Biggest weather issue has been the tail wind for my ride home...). His swim team worked at the opening for the Kroc Center in Salem.

Quincy is at her last high school Zia Band Competition in Albuquerque. With her gone for the day, Stu and I are practicing the empty nesting thing. I (vaguely) remember what it was like to have time to make a nice dinner -- a friend is joining us, the bread just came out of the oven, and I think I can recall how this all works. Of course, we will have too much food.

We are also winding down in the football marching season. As a band parent, I have one more game to work, even if it is the insane Cruces-Mayfield game (a rivalry often mentioned in the top national high school football rivalries). Six years of selling horribly non-nutritious food to the masses is a long time, even if other Cruces parents (I thinking of you, Travises!) had a much longer tenure. Cruces could surprise us and go to lots of playoff games, but it is not looking like that at this point in the season.

Ah well, fall in LC is beautiful. Good time to start thinking about getting into marathon shape!

Cape Lookout

A most excellent day yesterday.

We started out with Salem's Farmer's Market (excellent) where we picked up way too many apples. Jake gets to keep most of them, but they were fresh, locally grown, organic, and of varieties never heard of in New Mexico. Yum.

Met Jake about noon, watched a soccer game for a bit, and had the welcome opportunity to meet Jacob's swim coach. Or at least Stu did. Not knowing it was his coach, I spent the time on the phone to Quincy. Doh!

Then on to shopping (outlet center was crowded!) and the beach. We hiked along Cape Lookout to the end and will have more photos later.

Jacob was most generous with his time. Now to meet him for breakfast and head to the airport.




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Labor Day Monday

The little guy to the left is a mountain patch nose snake, who slithered across the back porch last week. Jake was not here, so he did not get picked up and cuddled. There was a Wilson's warbler on the back willow today, and hummingbirds are buzzing me as I write this. The day is beautiful -- it looks like it is raining in the mountains, but the weather station across the street says it is 80 degrees, 33% humidity, with a 10 degree wind.

Quincy shopped until she dropped today. No new shoes, but she did come home with hair extensions in 3 colors, none of which are found in nature. And a lot of new shirts. And an application for work with Barnes and Noble. With the way she reads, I am not sure that is really a money-making proposition.

Jake reports a good start to the semester at Willamette. The dilemma he is working through now is whether he should double major or opt for a minor. And what that subject should be (chemistry and biochemistry are the leading candidates). He needs to decide soon as these both will take careful planning if he wants to do a semester abroad.

The important lesson for the day is that the WiFi signal is strong on the back porch. Bird list while I have been blogging here includes: curve-billed thrasher, black-throated sparrow, miscellaneous hummingbirds, doves, cactus wren, lark bunting, and more doves. The quail have had a good year (Gambels and scaled) and there are still young coming to the feeder. No raptors recently, but Jake and I saw a golden eagle before he went back to school.

Enjoy Labor Day, one and all. I recently read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, an excellent read and one which, in hindsight, seemed appropriate for Labor Day.

Lazy Sunday

Muse is growing really quickly. She will soon be bigger than Widget. She is a total klutz: she falls off furniture, lands short of targets, and stumbles over her own feet. She has an incredibly loud purr and uses it generously. In the photo, she is taking up the entire dog bed. The dogs are 10x her weight but she rules.

The hot tub is in the back yard with most of a deck around it. It is a comfortable place to watch stars and city lights, and full moon nights in the tub are excellent. Jake and Stu built the deck and just await a few more parts to complete it.

Stu's birthday is tomorrow, but since Quincy has band camp until late, we celebrate tonight. Her schedule is mostly worked out for the semester, although we are rearranging all her NMSU courses. She will spend half days at NMSU if all goes well.

One more week til NMSU and LCPS start up, and this is the last year LCPS start-up will be an important milestone of the end of summer. Feels strange.

Last night was a nice get-together at a friend's home to celebrate summer birthdays. I am incredibly fortunate to have such friends. Thanks to you all, especially Katie.

uh... May already?

Not keeping up well with the blogging these days.

But it is May. NMSU classes ended Friday, Quincy will take AP exams this week and next, and Jake arrives home in about 10 days. Stu is done teaching for the semester and has a busy summer planned.

This dealing with adult children thing is harder than it looks. Quincy asserts her independence, we push for standards. The car, after all, should not attract more flies than the dump in July. Jacob loves college, but still calls when he needs a sounding board for a paper, statistical methods, or politics. Perhaps our value is in our consistency of availability, values, opinions. But there is a fluctuating and faint line between too much and too little, and by the time we get it figured out, the landscape has shifted again.

This spring has seen a number of health challenges to friends, family, and colleagues. I don't think the season has been any worse than usual; rather, our community ties get tighter every year as we discover that people we know are family to others we know. Las Cruces is not a small town, but it seems that way often.

Spring has come to the Mesilla Valley: highs are in the 90s next week and the spring winds have been not too bad this year. Typically I have about a 20 mph tailwind pushing me up the big hill at the end of the day. I am now at 10 months of biking to work daily, and the hill gets easier in infinitessmially smaller increments.

April already?

Jake is back in Willamette but planning for a summer in Las Cruces. Quincy has already traveled on the band trip, so I guess it must be near the end of the school year. Wow.

What I've missed: Stu, Jake, and I marched in the Bataan Memorial March again this year and recovered relatively quickly. Might even do the Organ hike this weekend.

Quincy turned 17. I completed another Ursus issue. Work has been crazy busy for us all.

The sharp-shinned hawk brunched on the white-winged dove yesterday morning outside the north end of the house, as sparrows danced around. Were they confident that they were too small to be on interest, or that the hawk was not interested in a lagniappe?

A springtime Midsummer

LCHS finished its production of A Midsummer Night's Dream last night to a standing ovation from an audience of about 250. Quincy played Starvling (she is pretty skinny) and looked like a very comely boy. I also saw the production on opening night, and the cast really grew in comfort with every production. Stu and Quin also helped with the set.

I ordered mass quantities of red chile for when Jake comes home for spring break. Will spend a day making mole, a favorite of Jacob's.

Jake says he is learning a lot at Willamette. For example, after the swim season finished, his swim team formed an intermural basketball team, and Jake says he has learned just how well swimmers play basketball. (Especially him: not so well!) Classes are going well for him this semester and he will come home on March 20 for a week. Quin and NMSU have Spring Break at the same time, and I hope to also take time off.

Stu, Jake, and I are also all getting ready for the Bataan Memorial March on March 29. This will be our second year. We will have our greatest success when we persuade the Q to do it with us.