Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Mop I Go

A real short post today because I mopped our whole house today and I'm pooped.  My Dad used to say as he got older, "I can do everything I always could do.  It only takes me twice as long to do it and twice as long to recover."  So true.

We have tile in all the house because we have family who are allergic to cats.  Carpets collect cat dander like crazy.  I like the tile a lot, except for the two times a year when I mop it.  I spent most of yesterday vacuuming everywhere - even moving furniture to get all the little dust bunnies that have lived there for almost 6 months.

Tomorrow, we finish getting the house ready and our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter should be here in time for dinner.  We'll also have Marie's sister and her husband and their two little girls.  It will be a fun time.

Today is October 8 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Matt Damon, Sigourney Weaver, Chevy Chase (who used to be funny), Jesse Jackson, Paul Hogan, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Juan Peron.

On this day in 1871 the Great Chicago Fire erupted.  in 1981 Sgt. Alvin York singlehanded killed 25 Germand soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France.  He won the Medal of Honor.  in 1944 "Ozzie and Harriet" made its debut on CBS radio.  In 1956 Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series.  In 1970 author Alexander Solzhenitzen won the Nobel Prize for literature.  And, in 2004 Martha Stewart reported to prison to start a prison makeover.

Fall Colors

This is that time of year when the last colors of Summer are still hanging on and mix with the colors of Fall - mostly purples and yellows.  Here are some pictures of the flowers and blooming bushes in our yard.

A Wild Blue Aster...

Yellow blooms on a Turpentine Bush...

The plumes on an Apache Plume...

One last white flower on an Apache Plume...

The blooms on a Four-Wing Salt Bush...

Purple blooms on a Rosemary Bush...

Berries on a Heavenly Bamboo...

Salvia Greggii blooms...

Blooms on a False Yucca...

Blanket Flower bloom...

Yarrow blooms...

Summer Sage blooms...

Butterfly Bush blooms...

Finally, the good old American Rose...

"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land."  (Song of Solomon 2:12)

Today is October 6 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Adam Harvey (our worship pastor at our church), Amy Jo Johnson, Elisabeth Shue, Tony Dungy, Britt Ekland, Janet Gaynor,  Carole Lombard, and George Westinghouse.

On this day in 1889 the Moulin Rouge cabaret opened in Paris.  In 1927 the era of talking pictures began with the opening of "The Jazz Singer."  In 1979 Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit the White House.  In 1981 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated.  And in 1989 actress Bette Davis died.  

Sunday Reflections - A Collection of Thoughts

Yesterday, we went to see the 2008 Galloping Grace Youth Ranch Pumpkin Patch.  This is the BEST pumpkin patch you will ever see.  Besides having pumpkins arranged artistically, it has a small corral where kids can ride a REAL horse (lovely Cochise) and a kid's play area.  This place is awesome.  But, what makes it special to us is Max and Michelle.  We have been so blessed this past year.  Even thought it was a bad year for us, especially for Betty, it had it's graces and one big grace was getting know and become friends with Max and Michelle.

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."  (1 John 4:11)

Later that same day was Morgunn and Gletta's favorite thing - our hay delivery.  They don't have any clue that we're getting low on hay and now we have a lot more hay.  What they love is they get to eat all the loose hay tha comes from the hay bales being thrown from the truck to the ground.  We have to adjust their evening feeding - give them about a pound less of hay - so they can make it up by eating all this hay on the ground.  Oh, happy day!

"He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and  fills your hearts with joy."  (Acts 14:17)

Last night was a rainy, rainy night.  I hate that the rain canceled the Balloon Glow and then canceled this morning's Mass Ascension, but we definitely needed the rain.  Our rain gauge showed an inch and a half by the time the rain ended this morning.  But, I was warm and content with Sarah in my lap - or actually on my chest.  As she gets older (we think she's about 18 years old) she spends more and more time with us.  

She will even lie on Betty's arms while she works on her computer.  One hand will jiggle Sarah's head up and down, but she seems to like it.  There is a real comfort that we can receive from the animals that God puts into our lives.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort..."  (2 Corinthians 1:3)

Finally, we woke up to the effects of the overnight rain.  Both Morgunn and Gletta were drenched, even though they have dry stalls where they can get away from the rain.  We think they like the feel of the rain on their bodies.  We don't know whether it's the coolness of the rain or just the feel of the rain on their backs, but they seem to like it.  No matter what, all our desert plants will drink in this rain and help prepare them for the winter to come.

"The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless the work of your hands."  (Deut 28:12)

Today is October 5 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Nikki Hilton (Paris' sister), Kate Winslet, Bernie Mac, Karen Allen, Glynis Johns, and Ray Kroc (founder of MacDonalds Hamburgers).

On this day in 1921 the first radio broadcast of a World Series game was heard.  In 1947 President Harry Truman made the first TV address from the White House to ask Americans to eat less meat and poultry to stockpile grain to help starving people in Europe.  In 1962 the Beatles' first hit "Love Me Do" was released in the US.  In 1969 Monty Python's Flying Circus made it's TV debut on the BBC.  And, in 2001 Barry Bonds hit his 70th and 71st home runs breaking Mark McGwire's single season home run mark.

First Saturday Mass Ascension

Today was the official opening of the 2008 ABQ Balloon Fiesta.  It was a perfect morning.  There was very little breeze, just enough air current to move the balloons almost due North along the Rio Grande River.

This is nice in several ways, but especially because it brings all the balloons up the valley directly in front of our house.

So we had a nice, front row seat view of the first Mass Ascension.

Here are some pictures from this morning.

The first is the balloons that made up the Dawn Patrol.  The Dawn Patrol is about 10 - 12 balloons that go up in the dark, about 5:45 AM.  Their primary purpose is to test the upper air currents and they radio that data back to flight control for the rest of the pilots.  But, they also put on a show.  They set their propane burners to a low, inefficient setting.  So, instead of burning an almost invisible blue, they burn a bright yellow.  This causes their envelopes to glow.  They do this both on the ground and in the air.  Here are several of the Dawn Patrol balloons as they passed us just as the sun was thinking about coming up behind the Sandia Mountains.

This is a picture I took of our TV from the local broadcast of the Fiesta.  It's an aerial shot showing the crowd at the Fiesta grounds and some of the balloons taking off, including the Darth Vader balloon from Belgium.

When the air currents bring the balloons up the Rio Grande one of the things they like to do is a "Splash and Dash."  This is where they lower their balloons down until the bottom of their baskets touch the river and then they ascend from the river.  Again, this is a TV picture (the last one).

Here are some more pictures I took from our house this morning.

This last balloon picture shows a gaggle of balloons that landed in Corrales along the main road, Corrales Road.

Finally, what do Morgunn and Gletta think about all this?  Not much.  It gives them something to watch and that's about it.

Today is October 4 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Alicia Silverstone, Susan Sarandon, Anne Rice, Charlton Heston, Buster Keaton, and Rutherford B. Hayes.

On this day in 1895 the first US Open golf tournament was held.  In 1931 the comic strip "Dick Tracy" made its newspaper debut.  In 1957 "Leave It To Beaver" made its debut on CBS.  Also in 1957 Russia launched its Sputnik satellite, beginning the Space Age. In 1970 Janis Joplin died.  And in 1997 the first Promise Keepers rally for men was held in Washington, DC.  

ABQ Fly-In

Today was the unofficial opening of the 2008 Balloon Fiesta.  Tomorrow is the official opening, but the Friday before is traditionally when a lot of the balloonists go to local schools to take off so the kids can see them.  So the balloons come up around the city instead of just one location.

Here's a wide shot of several of the balloons heading to the North West.  We thought that most of the balloons might go that direction and not come that close to us, but a few did.

There is one special shape, a car balloon, that goes up for the ABQ Fly-In every year. 

Michelle of Galloping Grace Youth Ranch asked yesterday if the horses were bothered by the balloons and, for the most part, no.  They've seen them enough that it's no big deal.  Here's Morgunn who's more interested in what we're doing in the house than the balloons.

Tomorrow is the first Mass Ascension, over 600 balloons are supposed to go up in the morning.  However, the weather forecast for this first weekend is not that great so we'll see in the morning.

Today is October 3 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Ashlee Simpson, Neve Campbell, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Chubby Checker, Al Sharpton, Gore Vidal, Emily Post, and James Herriot.

On this day in 1226 St. Francis of Assissi died.  In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as the official Thanksgiving.  In 1955 "Captain Kangaroo" and "The Mickey Mouse Club" made their debut on TV.  And, in 1995 O. J. Simpson was found innocent of murder by a Los Angeles jury.  

Pre-Fiesta Balloons

I wasn't going to do a post today as I was busy finishing up cleaning the windows. I washed the outside on Tuesday and all the inside windows today.  However, we had some balloons in the area and these pictures turned out not too bad.

This is looking out at our lot where Morgunn and Gletta are...

I hope you don't get tired of balloon pictures as most of my posts starting tomorrow and running through most of next week will be devoted to pictures from the Balloon Fiesta - unless the wind is blowing from the North which means they will go away from us.

Our son, Wade Daniel, his wife, Marie, and our precious granddaugther, Juliet, will drive down from Fort Collins, Colorado a week from today.  They'll be joined by Marie's sister, Melissa, her husband, Nick, and their two daughters, Maggie and Kaley.  They're coming in to go to the Balloon Fiesta next weekend.  We'll have a full house and it will be a blast.

Today is October 2 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Kelly Rippa, Sting, Don McLean, Spanky McFarland, Bud Abbott, Groucho Marx, and Mahatma Ghandi.

On this day in 1950, the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles Schultz made its debut.  In 1967 Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first black Supreme Court justice.  In 1985 the actor Rock Hudson died.  And, in 1998 the Cowboy actor Gene Autry died.  

A Little of This, A Little of That

Just a few random thoughts for today.

Morgunn and I took a nice ride this morning.  Because of all that's gone on in our lives this year, I haven't been able to ride him as much as I normally would so he was out of shape.  I have been able to ride him three times in the last week or so and he's beginning to get back into shape.

Everyone has a place or two where all your money goes.  For us one of those places is Village Mercantile Feed & Supply in Corrales.  I went there this morning to get some dog food for Chloe.  We also get cat food for Sarah, grain and supplements for the horses, black oiler sunflower seeds for the birds, no-salt stuff for our water softener, etc., etc.  I think we own about a 10% interest given how much we spend there.  Awfully nice people work there so I enjoy going in to say hi.

Finally, another sign that Fall is here.  We've talked about our love for green chiles and mentioned the red chiles in passing.  Red chiles are the same chiles, just left on the plant until they turn red.  While they're still fresh you can roast them just like green chiles, but most people let them dry.   This is done by people (usually women who are more dextrous than most men) making Ristras.  It's an old, old method of tying the red chiles into a hanging bunch called a Ristra (Spanish for rope or cord).  Once the red chiles are dried, they are ground up into a powder that is used to make a red sauce.  Most tourists assume the red sauce is automatically hotter than green, but that's not true.  It depends on what pepper is used to make the red or green.  Folks like us will buy a couple of Ristras and hang them on our porches as decoration.  However, when you see a dozen or more Ristras hanging on a porch then you know they are drying the chiles to use for red sauce.

Today is October 1 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Randy Quaid, Rod Carew, Stella Stevens, Julie Andrews, Richard Harris, George Peppard, Jimmy Carter, and Walter Matthau.

On this day in 1800, France ceded Lousiana to Spain in a secret treaty.  In 1896 the US Post Office established Rural Free Delivery.  In 1903 the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Americans 7 to 3 in the first ever World Series game.  In 1908 Henry Ford introduced the Model T for sale for $825.  In 1961 Roger Maris hit his 61st home run breaking Babe Ruth's record that was set in 1927.  In 1962 Johnny Carson made his debut on "The Tonight Show."  And, in 1971 Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida (we visited there with the kids in early 1972 before leaving the Navy and a lot of rides and exhibits were still being worked on).