Ahhhh.....choo!!! or Ahhhh....llegra!!!

Jasmine.

So pretty and dainty and fragrant. 

And right outside my front door. And loaded with pollen. We had what everyone I know in Tucson (all 3 of them...) called an "extraordinary" spring last year. I was told not to expect a repeat, because last winter was "so wet." Well, so far this spring is pretty much just like last spring (sorry you missed it, Mom and Dad!) The cacti are blooming, the palo verde are amarillo, and while the colors are delightful, my sinuses are suffering. I have never experienced seasonal allergies before. In Bailey, our window sills and table tops were dusted with pine pollen that never bothered me. In Littleton, the lilac, honeysuckle, and forsythia bloomed outside my windows and never affected my sinuses. Every now and then, freshly mown grass would elicit a sneeze, but that was it.

A few weeks ago I was in my office with the fresh outside air wafting in through the open window and microscopic invaders attacked. My eyes ran, my nose ran, and I've been sneezing ever since. Poor little Nicco has the same problem. We are living on Allegra and Benadryl here. At least I have something to blame for the black circles under my eyes. My friend Holly told me they are called "allergy shiners."

Nicco has already been in the pool for several weeks, but I'm waiting for the water temperature to go up a little more. I'm really looking forward to our 100 degree days. Summer will bring more than heat this year, it will also bring an end to the allergy season.

Easter Wrap Up

On Saturday afternoon, Nicco colored his easter eggs.

He loved them.

On Sunday morning, roughly 5 minutes after the Easter Bunny hid the eggs and WAY too early for a 5 year old to be up, Nicco came in our room, begging to hunt for the eggs. I made him snuggle me for an hour, because 5:45 was just too early to be moving.

He found 5 of the 6 eggs he colored. The 6th was on top of Frankie's house, and she knocked it off.

He lined up his Easter treats in a straight row.

He let me dress him up in his Easter outfit, even though it "makes me look stupid." We went to church and enjoyed the Easter services. Nicco brought one of the treats left by the easter bunny, whose existence he does not question. When the first speaker mentioned Jesus, he asked me "Does Jesus even exist?" I guess we should spend a little more time focusing on the real significance of our holidays...

After church, we relaxed a little. I watched part of The Passion of the Christ, but Nicco came in just when the flogging began, so I had to change the channel. We had guests for dinner, so Patrice and I set a pretty table:

But our friends and sushi chef ended up just eating sushi bar style at the island instead. Which is fine. It was more intimate and fewer dishes for me.

Yummmmmmm.....

This gentleman works at the restaurant near the Boss' house, and has catered a couple of parties for the Boss. In return for the business opportunity, he offered the same service to Patrice. It was the most fantastic sushi feast we've had, ever. De-lish. A non-traditional Easter dinner, but I guess that is fitting considering we had a Jew, a Greek Orthodox, a Catholic, and a Mormon at our table.

Happy Easter

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


— John 3:16

They Don't Call It Wildlife Ridge for Nothing

I took Nicco to Wildlife Ridge Park to play with a couple buddies and to go on a neighborhood egg hunt. We gathered up his basket, some plastic eggs and m&ms and met our friends for some pre-Easter fun.

Nicco is digging in his basket to make sure there is nothing there, you know, so he will have room to fill it up.

Hunting high and low...

"Helping" the little kids find eggs after he got his share.

Checking out the loot. After the wild hunt, the kiddos went up the hill to play on the playground and the moms stayed in the shade to visit. I looked up and saw this:

From where I was sitting, I couldn't tell what it was. I assumed it was a big dog, but there was no owner in sight. Then when it moved, its shoulders looked like a little bear, but I didn't think that could be. I've never seen a javelina, and I always thought they were smaller than this, but then it popped its head up and sure enough:

It was a big old pig. I ran over to get a picture then froze in my tracks. I asked my friends if it would attack me. They all laughed. I didn't think it was that funny, because I've seen Lost. I've also seen "DANGER: SANGLIER" signs all over in France. Then I found out they were laughing because last year when these ladies had candy filled eggs in the park, a whole herd of javelinas invaded. My friend Stephanie was having none of it. No stinky old pigs were going to steal the children's eggs! She apparently charged into the open space among the pigs yelling and screaming and frightened them all away.

After our little encounter, a bunch of the kids ran to where they saw the javelina disappear into the trees. Some of the bigger boys came back breathless, saying there was a dead bobcat in the wash. A brave mom went to check it out. It was a trash bag.

Now I've seen almost all of the well known desert critters. Only one remains. It shall remain unnamed, because I don't want to summon it.

Good Friday

Today is a Christian Holy Day, not the pagan farce known as earth day.

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." [John 11:25, 26]

Spring Time Song and Dance

While Mom and I were scanning and labeling old photos in my office, a couple pairs of birds were asserting themselves. We had a pair of mourning doves who looked like they were flirting with each other, until a papa quail came on the scene and quite loudly and forcefully interrupted their dance. Later, the quail pair marched up and down along our wall as if to dare the mourning doves to return. We saw the doves with their babies, but after the quail incident, they have since moved their home to another location. I saw the quail pair walking the perimeter of my house and I decided to follow them, but I lost track of them when I got distracted looking at the little green balls that will eventually be oranges. (Yay! The orange tree survived the freeze!) I have since seen the papa quail sans partner, so I searched the logical hiding places and found the brooding mama on a pile of leaves that we haven't cleaned up yet.

I'm not going to tell Nicco. I want those babies to hatch!

The Patio Project

When we were shopping for our house, our realtor told us we want a view. She told us what kind of floorplan we want. She told us lots of things "we" want, and it turns out, she was right. All the things "we" want add value to the house and enjoyment to our lives. Patrice has had a little itch needing to be scratched regarding our patio. We debated and debated about extending it or not, and when he met a guy who gave him a steal of a bid, he decided to go for it. I was not entirely convinced that it was a good idea at this time, but once again, I think that someone else was right. This project quite literally added another room to our house and when (if...) we ever decide to sell this house, we surely added more value than we invested.

This is what the patio looked like when we moved in:

Our little grill on a flagstone pad and our camping furniture on the tile. Around mother's day last year, Patrice upgraded the furniture and I made curtains:

About a month and a half ago, Nicco and Patrice started the construction process:

And this was the first step in the new addition:

Here is the new grill area all framed with the concrete slab on the floor:

And here is the (nearly) finished bar/grill:

All we need to do now is let the stucco cure then we can paint it. We also need to seal the tile and Patrice is going to put up a shade and it will be done! Is that cool, or what? Don't you want to come visit?

Wii Day a.k.a. Parenting Advice To Take Or Leave, But It Worked For Me!

You may recall that Nicco loves Mario. Borderline unhealthy obsession, if I'm being truthful. For a while, he would play a game or two (or three or four...) with his daddy when the daddy got home from work. It got to the point where he was so excited for Patrice to come home just so he could play Mario. He started to figure out some of the more tricky moves and how to manage the controls himself, so Patrice was happy that he didn't have to play the whole time, he could just step in and help out if it got too tricky and frustrating. That was kind of nice, but the problem changed...he started playing during the day. He knows how to set everything up himself and he would be sneaky about it...like playing without the sound while I was in the shower. It wasn't just that he was spending too much time on electronic stimulation, he was lying and deceiving! And the worst of all was the attitude I got when I suggested time was up and he had to turn off the game. It was nasty. His little body and mind got so worked up and he became so ugly and unpleasant, and it made us all ugly and unpleasant. I refuse to live in a home where our emotions and the atmosphere are dictated by a stupid game.

So I started restricting him to two games on the daddy's two home days. That worked for a while, but then the compulsion/obsession came back. I told him instead of two games on two days, it would only be one game on one day. When I said that, Patrice gave me a kind of warning and skeptical glance and said "we'll have to talk about that." When the kid went to bed, my husband said "I don't think that is a good idea. It is just a tease and I think it will make things worse." We talked about it and decided that we would let Nicco have one Wii day a month. One day where he can play all day if he wants, taking food and bathroom breaks.

Nicco and I went through the calendar and chose one day each month. He didn't complain or argue or ask to play on a non-wii day. Over the course of the month, he would ask me the date and tell me how many more days it was until April 18th. Sometimes he told me his plans for Wii day, like which game and which level he would play, so there was still an element of obsessive behavior, but nothing compared to what it was before. And, the anger and bad attitude almost disappeared. He's only 5, so I don't expect perfection from him. He's allowed his moments. But overall, our home was a much more pleasant place to be.

So, April 18th finally arrived. He ate his breakfast and set up his game. He played for a couple of hours and took a good break while we took care of some other house and yard obligations. He ate his lunch and played a few more games. He took a break to play in the pool, then played another game before swim practice. On the way home from swim he told me, "this was the best wii day EVER! All I can say is thank you." He played two more games before dinner, then one last one before bed. He put the game and controllers away pleasantly and without being told. I told him what a good boy he was for taking care of his things at the end of the day. He said "since I was such a good boy on my wii day, does that mean I can play a couple more games tomorrow?" I said no, because tomorrow isn't wii day. The next wii day is May 15. He said "Oh yeah, I forgot." And that was that. No fighting, no arguing, no complaining, no slamming doors or hitting parents. It was so nice.

We found a solution for our little game obsessed boy, and we are all much better for it.

On the Road

Moon reflected in the pool on our last night with the grandparents

Last night Nicco took one last walk with his grandparents (and spotted a small rattlesnake...eek!), we (sort of) played one last game of Sorry!, we watched one last sunset, and we sorted and scanned as many pictures as we could before Mom packed up the finished piles and albums.

This morning, we packed up some lunch and snacks for their cooler and loaded up the car. As they pulled out of the driveway, Nicco got a small tear in his eye and a quiver in his voice and told me, "This crushes my heart!" He was not quite ready for them to go. Me either. It was a good visit, but I would have wanted one more day!

But, the old highway's a callin', so they will head to Chaco Canyon today, play a little more tomorrow, and arrive back in Bailey by Tuesday.

eeeeeeeeeeeee! (UPDATED)

(That's a squeal of excitement.)
We are off to see Atlas Shrugged. Review to come.

Three things about this movie:

1) It was not sold out, but the theater was full. I don't remember the last time I went to a remotely full theater.
2) People clapped at the end. I may or may not have had anything to do with starting that.
3) Obama, his minions, union leaders, and any lefty would NOT want you to see this movie.

Based on those three things, if you don't want to see the show, then you probably hate America.
Go see it. Tell your friends. It's the patriotic thing to do.

Just For Fun

This is my dad's grandmother, chasing and teasing him in 1960. Or maybe he was running and teasing her. It looks like he is trying to get out of being in the family picture and she is forcing him to comply. I may have to get details. She was 66 years old. Silly.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun

I have read and heard about Ted DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun since I moved here and I've been wanting to visit. I would have gone by myself sometime when Nicco was in school, but it is much more fun to do things like this with someone like my Mama (or my sisters...ahem, sisters.)

When DeGrazia started painting, like many artists he had a hard time getting galleries to show his work. Eventually, he bought some land and built his own little gallery. Over time, he gained some attention and eventually some money, so he built a bigger gallery to house his works. He kept the little gallery especially to give little known or unknown artists a place to show their works. The property is on the historical society's list and it includes his original little gallery, the home and chapel he built, as well as several small outbuildings and the larger, newer gallery.

Here's the chapel:

He wasn't especially religious, but he was very spiritual, and he befriended many of the native indian tribal people. He built this chapel mainly for the indians to pray and worship. It is really neat, because you can see that it is all built by hand. 

The ceiling is open in the chapel, with a little steeple up above. This is the shrine with many mementos and memorials to loved ones who have passed on.

These are two little rooms to the right and left of the entrance of the chapel where the bride and groom get dressed for their weddings.

I left my foot in the picture so it would be obvious that this is the floor. Dirt and stone. I also liked all the doors:

This was a heavy metal door with marbles embedded in the design and they shine through the other side:

This is a mural on the wall in the little chapel. A bit out of order.

This is the guest artist gallery. The little windows have colored glass. There were many places throughout the buildings on the grounds where he made special allowance for light and color to come in.

Nicco in the kitchen of the little house.

A doorway with a little saint in a niche across the way.

Nicco sitting at the fireplace. He asked me if the tall part is the chimney. When I answered in the affirmative, he said, "Oh, so Santa Claus could visit here." He also asked if someone real lived here. There was a photo of DeGrazia and his wife on the wall, sitting on the bench in front of this very fire place, so yes, someone real lived here.

One of many little gates

This is the floor in the main gallery.  We really liked seeing all the natural and native materials DeGrazia incorporated in his art and in his buildings.

Fountain in the courtyard

Another mural on the wall

I just couldn't resist taking a picture of Nicco's footwear. His comfy socks and swim shoes. Oh my goodness, my little nerd. Mom reminded me that "nerds are nice." I concurred, but conceded that they are also nerdy.

 A mosaic on a wall near one of the outbuildings by the little gallery

Close up detail of the corner and signature on the mosaic. Cool!

I really enjoyed this gallery. DeGrazia had many interesting collections and themes in his gallery. I think my favorite was his 15 stations of the cross, chronicling Christ's journey from taking up the cross to his resurrection. My dad, who doesn't typically enjoy art galleries as much as my mom and sisters and I, said that DeGrazia's work spoke to him on a certain level. It was certainly interesting and unique. Even Nicco had some fun.