More states, more ruins, more tex mex

We made a day of it. 

First things first - Four Corners.  We crossed into New Mexico, then quickly back into Colorado to this tiny spot for some photo ops.

[Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona]

Then we drove to Hovenweep Indian Ruins in Utah.  Hovenweep means "out in the middle of nowhere, even by Pueblo standards."

These ruins are estimated to have been built in the 1200's and are remarkably intact.  As you can see, there are lots of round towers, and a few houses.  Archaeologists aren't exactly sure what the towers were for.  Ceremonies?  Defense?  Just because?  We hiked a two mile loop around the canyon.

You know what happened next.

This would be a mango pineapple margarita.

We checked out another little local town and found the king of all cochinas.  Pics to come, once it's arranged in the house.  Time to turn on football and nap relax for the afternoon.

This is what Lucyfer has been up to:

The Best Black Friday Ever

We hit the road bright and early this morning - okay, 9:00, but still - to see the Pueblo Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde.

They were the coolest things I've ever seen in my life except for maybe the Roman Colosseum in Pula, Croatia.

Those holes aren't windows - they are doors leading to separate rooms.

Check this one out - it's TWO STORIES.  OMG I can't get over it.

 

The Mesa Verde dwellings were built mostly around A.D. 500 but people continued to live here well into the 1200's before migrating to the Rio Grande area.  These cliff dwellings are part of a much larger area of tribes and settlements that dot the Four Corners region.  Archeologists don't exactly know why the people left.  They don't know if something "pushed" them out, so to speak, or drew their attention and "pulled" them elsewhere, maybe like the vast water sources of the Rio Grande.

The landscape mostly looks like this:

The Hopi Indians lived here and farmed the tops of the mesas.  They grew corn, squash, and beans.  Many Hopis lived atop the mesas and most likely only frequented the cliff dwellings during very cold or very hot times of the year.  As far as they can tell, these lands weren't irrigated; they farmed via rain water and got some drinking water from softer rocks that absorbed it deep inside the canyons.

Is this the coolest thing you've ever seen or what?  I can't get over it.

Some highlights of the day included seeing a fully captured Hopi hand print on a cave wall from sometime around 500-ish A.D.; crawling down inside a kiva (underground ceremonial and living space); getting to see where rooms were originally built and then renovated; and this:

Late afternoon, post-exploration Tex Mex that served as lunch and dinner.

Then!

We found a used book store and hit the jack pot!  I got several books for myself and many for tutoring as well.  Vacation is the best and I refuse to return to real life.

This is what Loo Loo Bell did all day:

More exploring tomorrow!

Breaking from Tradition

Hello from Mesa Verde!

We plan to spend the next few days exploring the Indian ruins and cliff dwellings.  I have wanted to do this for forever and I can't wait.

But, let's back up.  Here's how the day went.

6:00 a.m. - alarm goes off.  We chuckle to ourselves and sleep for another hour.

7:00 a.m. - knowing that we have the world's longest road trip ahead of us, we get up.

7:30 a.m. - after a few minutes getting ready, we start to pack up Lucy and all her crap.  This process takes about 5 times longer than expected.

8:00 a.m. - ready to go!

BUNhappy Thanksgiving

We have mastered air travel.  Road travel?  Not so much.

8:15 a.m. - thank God for our capitalist nation and grab Starbucks for breakfast.

Drive, drive, drive.

11:30 a.m. - thank God for our capitalist nation and grab Sonic for lunch.

 

Drive, drive, drive.

4:00 p.m. - get to the pet friendly hotel.

4:10 p.m. - must transfer the rat into her cage.

Ready...

Set Go!

 

Her home sweet home for the next few days.

5:00 p.m. - watch the sunset from a local park and walked around for a while.

5:30 p.m. - found a local mom&pop country diner and they were having a Thanksgiving buffet!

Turkey!  Stuffing!  Mashed Potatoes!

And a BLTA FTW!

Ok, time to rest up for tomorrow.  Indian ruins, here we come!

The Snow is Assumed

We woke up this morning to a blanket of snow.  And we were surprised because they hadn't said anything about it on the news or weather. 

Then we realized.  We live in Denver.  The snow is just assumed between the months of October and June.

Duh.

Lucy and I ran errands all day today.  We are exhausted from all the personal maintenance like getting our hair done and buying supplies for an upcoming Greatest Holiday Road Trip of All Time.

Saw this at Walgreen's, and I ask you, why?

Here's wishing you peeps a Happy Thanksgiving and lots of joy with friends and family tomorrow!

Today, I...

*Dissected a cow eyeball.  <---- true.  At 10:00 this morning.  In retrospect, I could have used that second cup of coffee.

*Read about Nazis with 3rd graders.  Tried to explain ration cards and depression-era-post-WWI hunger problems using examples such as chicken nuggets.  Tried to explain the concept of genocide in PG-level terminology.

Proof of our nightly lovins.  It looks like I'm holding her down but I'm not.  

*Did homework.  On my fall break.  [sigh]

*Finished prepping class material for the last week of class.

*Wolfed down Chipotle.

*Read Dracula.

*Planned the annual Christmas Cookie Exchange.

Proof that the lovin takes long enough to shoot multiple pictures of it.  Yes, I wear that many layers in the house when it's  negative degrees outside.

*Took a nap that may or may not have lasted multiple hours.  Hey, it's fall break.

*Only got to take said nap because student I was supposed to tutor tonight came down with the flu. 

More Christmas lights.

*Last but not least, we bought Lucy an RV [rabbit vehicle - fancy term for 'big carrier'] for an upcoming road trip.  More on that soon!

Fall Break - Day 1

In all of my K-12 years and college, we never had Fall Breaks.  Spring Breaks?  Yeah.  Because the time from January until May plods along like a crocodile and we would all go nuts if we didn't get a breather.  But I kind of think Fall Breaks are for weenies.  That said, I will be in my pj's all day, lounging around the house, not complaining in the least.  It's snowy and blustery outside, which means I'm in full-on hibernation mode.

Bah Humbug

I actually got to DVR and watch both Homeland and The Good Wife last night (!), instead of later this week like I usually have to do.  That didn't pan quite like I thought it would, though, because I ended up grinding my teeth into nubs because they were both so completely stressful.  I woke up several times in the night trying to figure out how to save the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

Never a dull moment, I tell you.

Yesterday, the Russkie and I did what we do best.  Which is to say we gulped some coffee and stared adoringly at books for hours.

We had a Barnes & Noble date.  I have some of their blessed 20% off coupons and wanted to look at the kids' Thanksgiving books to use in tutoring sessions this week.  So we just "had" to roam around and daydream about filling up our libraries with all the wonderful books.  I am thankful for foodie friends AND book nerd friends.

Hmmmm, what an intriguing title!

Otherwise, G and I put up the Christmas tree (no decorations yet) and I threw up some lights around the rest of the house (inside).  A trip to Sonic was involved, for sustenance, obvs.

We talk nonstop about travel.  Unpacking the Christmas tree and huffing and puffing about Peru.  Doing the laundry and arguing about whether or not Qantas airlines flies to Morocco.  Planning future trips - even if they're wayyyyy in the future - keeps us sane.

All I want for Christmas is a rich benefactor.  Thanks.

Now, pardon me while I check to make sure Lucyfer isn't in the fireplace, make another cup of coffee, and zone out in front of the Christmas tree.  Must summon the energy to prep for afternoon tutoring and face the reality that my homework ain't going to do itself.

A Grown Up Night

It is a blustery Sunday morning and all I can think about is not having to prepare for a gazillion classes this week.  Fall Breaks are the best.

Hold on while I leisurely sip my coffee.  Mmmm.

Our beloved Razorbacks shut out Ole Miss yesterday and are now eligible for a bowl game.  On the commercial breaks I took down the fall decs and started putting up the Christmas decs, since I apparently have no patience and cannot contain myself.

This is what Lucy looks like under the Christmas lights.  Can you see her?  Skulking behind her cage?

A few years ago we went to Germany at Christmas time and spent all of our money at their various holiday markets.  I got a beautiful lace table set that I never use because I don't want to mess it up.
This year I'm throwing caution to the wind and using one of the pieces in the library.  You only live once and all that.

Then!  As if the day couldn't possibly get any better, we hopped on over to Nat King Cole and Chef Campo's house to devour "grown up mac & cheese."  Yes, please!  This time I remembered to take pictures.

Earlier in the week, they asked what kinds of toppings we would like for the mac & cheese.  All I could think about was lobster but I refused to be one of those hey-why-don't-you-cook-an-incredibly-elaborate-and-expensive-meal-for-me type of dinner guests, so I texted something totally noncommittal like, oh whatever ingredients you pick will be fine.

And they picked lobster!  I was in Heaven.

Chef Campo made a homemade cheese sauce using like 55 different varieties, and added cilantro, shallots, lobster, green onions, and a few (non spicy) red peppers.  G and I contained ourselves after just one bowl but I was tempted to lick it clean and I saw G roaming around the kitchen checking for left overs. 

We decided this needs to be a yearly tradition, the week before Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for foodie friends.

Before dinner, I sipped my Bordeaux and watched Rosie tolerate play with my niece.

Now excuse me while I make another cup of coffee, double check that Lucyfer isn't trying to get into the fire place, and settle in with Count Dracula.

A Girl And Her Routine

Can I even use the word "girl" to describe myself?  No.  But I'm going to anyways because I don't think of myself as a woman or lady or even an adult.  Which is a sure sign of dementia but in the spirit of plowing forward...

Every night when I get home, Lucy and I go through the same routine.  I walk in the door, drop my things, and immediately go to feed her and let her out of her cage.

Me:  "Hi Lucy!  Hi sweetie!"

Lucy: [Blink.]

Me:  "How's my girl?  Have you been a good bunny?"

Lucy: [Sniff. Sniff.]

Me:  [Sigh.]

Let's talk about the multitude of things wrong with this picture.  The other day when I was in eighth grade, I looked up to see what time it was, and saw this:

Are you freaking kidding me?  Let the math people have their computer algorithms and their cute little robots hibernating on a distant comet.  Just give me my clock!  Telling time is the one thing I can confidently do with numbers and now they've taken that away from me, too.  This is just sick.

On another note, it is beautiful in my lovely city.  This picture isn't even filtered.  Welcome to what 6:00 a.m. looks like from my library.

I am currently reading three books that I am hitting the pause button on because my copy of Dracula just arrived!  <------ I will fully and completely blame Rapper L if I don't like it, but I think I will, and for whatever reason it's been on my mind since she recommended it which means I must read it immediately.

Three shows that I am over the moon about this season:

Watch it.

Homeland

Watch it.

The Good Wife

Watch it.

Brooklyn Nine Nine

I also think about travel all the time.  Really.  All the time.  When my students are knee deep in tough exercises, I'm picturing this in my mind:

Someone please find me a rich benefactor, pronto.