Got up, did photography, ate breakfast, played with the kitties, went on a hike, got engaged...


Sorry, I've just got to say that again.

I got engaged!!
I mean, I knew it was coming sometime soon, what with us having set a wedding date and all. But now there's a shiny thingy on my finger and I get to officially use the word "fiancé!" I get to be all Frenchified!

The story: Jason really wanted to go on one last hike, so I got up stupid early to work and then we set out for Sandia Peak. We took the tram up and started out on the Crest trail. About a half mile in, near this STUNNING vista, the trail guide blew out of Jason's hands and landed precariously close to the edge. He got on his knees to retrieve it 'cause the wind was gusting up. I took a picture of him on his knees, then a picture of the vista, and when I turned back to him, he had a ring! Sneaky bastard!

After I tacklehugged him and there was much smooching, we went to the High Finance restaurant for celebratory champagne & shrimp cocktails. As for the ring itself, it's exactly what I wanted: a classic brilliant round solitaire that's not too big but is a nice quality (I was stunned at just how nice of a rock it is), and set low so it doesn't stick out too far. I stare at shiny things all day long, and this is an impressive rock. The clarity and color are both just superb. *Cue cheesy voiceover* He went to Jared! Sparklysparklysparklyomg.

Anyway, pictures!

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There was also this adorable older lady from Denmark (impeccably dressed in red Italian leather) who was so excited she took pics and told the tram operator!

Okay, no rest, though. Photoediting I go. Then packing. It's gonna be a late night. But ieeeeeeeeeeee. Fiancé! Fiancé! Fiancé!!

It appears we'll be leaving sometime next week. To do, other than pack:
-- see nmsunbear & newsbean
-- post smallish update, which I have about 1/3 done...
-- finish up dvds and return to Hastings
-- have this garlic hamburger thing that the guys are raving about
-- go for a dip in our newly-opened pool
-- get the kittens to the vet if possible (for deworming, etc., not fixing)

Kittens: have not really been drinking much water and I only heard the crunch crunch of dry food being consumed around 3am. J and I tried to bottlefeed them today, but they were having none of it. The stuff we got can also be placed out in a bowl, so we're also trying that, too. At any rate, we spent about 15 minutes with each kitten wrapped up in a towel, stroking their heads and talking to them quietly. The gray one (whom I suspect is male) is still pretty scared, but not aggressive. The more mottled one with the whiter nose (whom I suspect is female) hissed a bit, but calmed down after awhile. They don't want a whole lot to do with us yet, but I'm hoping that familiarity will change that.

I'm a bit worried about dehydration... they haven't pooped yet and I've only seen about a quarter size of pee from last night. If we don't see a pickup in the next two days, we're going to have a vet look at them before we leave. They're definitely past the age where momma should have to stimulate that (which, I recall is 25 days-ish). J estimates that they're a little over a pound apiece.

Aaaanywho, that's the kitten update. Will take pictures when they calm down a little bit more.

We are in phase 1 of our kitten catching plan. I am sitting about 20 feet away from the kittens' hidey hole, armed with a camera, a book, and a bottle of water. Earlier today, I hung two toys (one jingly, one not) from the branches of the tree over their hole... they are regarding them with wary interest. If I can get them to interact with them comfortably, I may be able to interact with them using the toys. They can see me... the one with the predominantly gray face played hide and peek with me for about a half hour, and now s/he's hanging out under the tree sniffing one of the feather toys. We put an open kitty carrier nearby in hopes that maybe they'll play inside it (and maybe we can safely scoop 'em up that way), but so far the only interest in it has been from another cat who appears to be babysitting the kittens. The family group here is really interesting: when momma kitty isn't around, there' is either another cat (similar to momma cat, you can see her in the picture) hanging near the kittens or a big orange and white male cat.

Can't type too long; my battery is not going to last long and I don't see an outlet near me. Gonna quietly read for awhile in hopes they start to play in a more visible spot or even investigate the carrier. No food is in it; we don't want to draw ALL the cats in the yard, and I haven't seen them eat solid food quite yet anyway.

In closing, mmmm. Cupcakes. Bought five and split them all with the guys. The lemon one was the best.

I am still hiking cursed. Yes, we made it to the springs this time. However, a head-slappingly stupid move caused us to hike the thing twice for a total of eight miles.

We set out around 11am this morning for Jemez Falls campground, the other spot from which the McCauley hot springs are accessible. First of all: thumbs up for a trail that actually goes somewhere. Again, no trail markers beyond the trailhead, but the path was very clear with few spurs. Our initial trip was easy-- it was mostly downhill save the final 1/4 mile ascent to the springs.

The springs were lovely save a few Very Large Spiders. I'd estimate about 5" in diameter. We tried not to get too close to the rocks. But the three little pools formed by the spring were delightfully warm, so we hopped in and were eagerly nibbled upon by tetras and minnows. Tickled a bit. There was one other family there with three young boys being rowdy as young boys are wont to do, but it was fine. After about an hour and a half and a few raindrops, we got out. I was in total shock getting out of the pool-- the air had cooled at least 10 degrees as the front moved through, and I started to shiver badly. I was eager to get in my clothes as quickly as possible and start moving to raise my body temperature, so we did. The hike back was moderately strenuous owing to a consistent uphill grade that was generally gradual, but in a few places very steep and rocky. We were wiped when we reached the top of the ridge, and then the parking lot about a third of a mile later.

It wasn't until I caught a glimpse of myself in the SUV's window that I realized I wasn't wearing my necklace. My big agate and brass cross that I wear all the time, which, despite its $10 pricetag, is probably my favorite piece of jewelry I've ever bought for myself. We'd both been so cold when we got out of the pool that I'd left it lying on a nearby rock. A quick decision was made, and we sprinted the two miles back to the springs, taking great care not to a) fall and die or b) fall and twist an ankle. Because of the difficult passages, even running down the mountain side took us a half hour. When we got there, it was blessedly still where I'd left it.

Then began the final, grueling ascent back to the top. Another two miles, all uphill, and at well over a mile above sea level. We took our time and rationed our remaining water and made it to the top at around 5:30. Exhausted doesn't even begin to cover it. For the last mile of crazy rocks, the only thing that kept me putting one foot in front of the other was "you're building muscle tone, you're building muscle tone." Five minutes after I pulled myself into the car, I was asleep. Of course, that was because my blood sugar had completely crashed. I'd had a heavy workout and the only thing in my belly for going on seven hours was six gummy worms and a few liters of water. J had brought cheetos and more sugar to keep him going, but I hadn't wanted to break into his stash in case he needed it. By the time we reached a little saloon in a nearby town, my legs were trembling.

It took a cheeseburger to bring me back to life, but it worked. I eagerly downed it with a Coke, which I rarely drink these days, and then followed it up with another big glass of water. The saloon was something to see, too... at least 15 dead animals decorated the walls, a very old jukebox that played spaghetti western era ballads, and a real wagon wheel used as a chandelier with a noose hanging from it. Classy joint. But the burger was good, cooked medium rare to order, and I was grateful.

We stopped on the way home at a fairgrounds along the road that was having a Native American dance contest-- the Star Feather Hemish Nation Contest and PowWow. The amazing feathered costumes on the dancers were so colorful that they'd have put Kajira to shame. I would have taken pictures, but I didn't see anyone else with a camera and considering we were two of maybe five white people I saw at the event, I didn't want to be the ignorant white girl in case cameras were not welcomed. My general thought is that if you don't know if it's okay, don't do it until you know. My only regret is that I am not very familiar with their traditional dances-- the dancing was certainly beautiful, but as it was a contest, I had absolutely no idea what to look for.

Now, a delicious shower a deux behind me, I am melting into the bed. Jason delivered me another glass of water with a firm command to drink-- he knows I can't stand super cold water (the only kind that comes from our filtered water spigot), so he'd nuked it to make it room temperature. :) The boy, he is so wonderful.

Now, I do some customer service while lying back. I am going to feeeeeeel today's strain on my bike trip to the PO tomorrow morning. I didn't take many pictures, but if I have any good ones, I'll post 'em then.

I am hiking cursed. ( Really.Collapse )

And then we came home and sat in our own hot springs... a nice half hour dip in the jacuzzi. Nice. I had a very nutritional dinner of a Lean Pocket and sugar free Jello. Ahh, life with a diabetic. We were just way too tired to cook a proper dinner tonight.

Tangent: as we were leaving, Jason tested his blood sugar and he was pretty low. We pulled off at Taco Bueno, this awesome little place that's like Taco Bell, but with non-greasy food. For fast food, it's relatively healthy. It's also yummy. Anyway, I say "I'll take two small beef soft tacos." He orders two small beef soft tacos and a package of the cinnamon crisps. Odd, I think, but the crisps are sugary, I guess. We pull up the window and he says "I don't even like soft tacos." I say "what? Those are for me." He then looks at me like I'm speaking Sumerian. The light slowly dawns and he then asks the cashier to add in something else. We pull over to the parking lot, and he scarfs down his food, then moves onto the cinnamon crisps. He makes a face. I ask, again, "what?" He says he thought he'd ordered nachos. Ahhh, the low blood sugar brain glaze. I've gotten pretty attuned to it by now, but it's still a bit startling every time. It's started to make sense why my little brother was considered developmentally disabled before he was correctly diagnosed with Type I a few years ago. Words don't so much make coherent sense when they get low like that. Thankfully, it's quite temporary.

Anyhow, we had the house to ourselves for much of the weekend, which was wonderful. Yesterday, we sat around, cuddled up, watched a lot of DVDs*, and fell asleep on the couch. The boy works too damn much; it was really nice to be able to spend actual quality time with the stranger who crawls into bed with me at night.

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Yesterday, Jason and I did the Waterfall Hike #163 in Tesuque, NM. Well, sort of. We never saw the waterfall we were apparently meant to see, but we did see waterfalls nonetheless. When nmsunbear said that the trail isn't well marked in places, she was not lying... instead of descending into the canyon where the waterfall was, we hiked about a half mile beyond it-- a mostly steep and slippery hike that ended in two pretty little 15' falls. We might go back next weekend to get the intended experience, then do a few alternate trails-- it was very nice having actual moisture in the air. It felt a bit like home.


I don't know how recently-downed this tree was, but it was ENORMOUS.

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So far, it's been a good weekend. Friday, Jason and I made a great dinner of salmon burgers, shrimp, olives, and green beans. Saturday was the hike, followed by a nice long shower and watching the first two episodes of Breaking Bad. First of all, it is a very good show. Second of all, it's very much a specific taste. Very gory and graphic at times, but well acted and interesting. The subject matter is a biiiiiit much for me, but I will probably finish the first season because I do tend to appreciate good TV. Also... why does every TV series about a place I live have to be about drugs?

This morning, J and I had the house to ourselves, so we slept in some, then I rode my bike down to Whole Foods to get stuff to make breakfast. I'm sitting in the sunshine sipping chai and about to finish up a commission that's going in the mail tomorrow. After that, I'm gonna read for a bit. I picked up the first Sookie Stackhouse book at Hastings yesterday because I needed something light and silly and funny and it's at least delivering that. Not a bad weekend.

Oh! And! The kittens are out. There was one pregnant female when we got here, and she apparently had a litter of two. We didn't know this because she's been hiding under a little wooden deck where no one could see her or reach her. But her little ones are finally big enough to wander about a 5' radius in the courtyard when the sun isn't overhead. We can't get close to them, though. They sense someone near and they're back under the deck. J got this snapshot of them while they were nursing with the company's crazy zoom camera. He peeked his head around the corner to get this ONE shot, and a second later all three where gone.

Note: I have a couple of pics in this entry, but you can find a ton more at the full size set on my Flickr album.


Me at the Oak Creek Canyon Vista
Friday, Jason and I headed out towards Sedona, AZ to see what good hiking we could find. First stop: The Oak Creek Canyon of the Coconino National Forest. Beautiful vista, but a little too limitedly touristy. We persevered on, driving through Uptown Sedona until we got to Red Rock State Park. We started on the marked trails, including a trip over a cute little plank bridge, until we got to a split. On one side: the marked Apache Fire trail. On the other: the great unknown, but with a Really Big Butte at the end. Guess what we chose? Yep. Big Rock it was. We hiked out for about an hour through inclines and long windy dried riverbed and made it pretty far, considering we'd gotten there later in the day. We made it to the base of the butte before we had to turn back for time. We saw lots of lizards and spiders. Big deer tracks. Lots of red dust. Not bad for some light hiking. We had dinner in Uptown Sedona, at an outdoor restaurant that boasted its own "misted patio." It's so dry out here that such things are apparently nice oases. Sedona was breathtakingly beautiful (I'd kill for a house there), but did sort of remind me of a beach resort town, only without the beach.


A Butte at Red Rock State Park
Today, Jason and I embarked on a Grand Canyon mule tour. The South Rim's Bright Angel Trail to Plateau point. Total roundtrip: 8 hrs, 12.2 miles, and 3,500 ft down (then back up again). Oh, and to top it off, the Bright Angel trail is one of America's ten most dangerous hikes.


The Bright Angel Trail
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Tomorrow: down to Tucson to visit Mrs. C-- Jason's near-gradmom. Then back to ABQ. Will update Sihaya Designs either tomorrow night or Tuesday morning, but if you want a preview, check the Flickr!

Yesterday, Jason and I attempted a hike to Nambe Lake via Winsor Trail #254 in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Santa Fe. The weather had been nice and warm and our guide said that attempting the hike in May was doable. We wore our usual hiking kit, thinking that that would suffice for a spring hike. Though we did notice that the temperature plunged to about 40 degrees near the trailhead, the little snow on the ground there was already melting. Little did we know what was in store for us. For instance:


Hip-level snowfall.
Snow, you and me are fuckin' done professionally.
The initial ascent would have been an intermediate challenge had the snow not gotten thicker and thicker as we went. By the time we reached the Santa Fe National Forest gate 45 minutes later, Jason's blood sugar had dropped over 100 points even with his basal insulin suspended. It was hard work, and it didn't get much easier from there.

The 'path'-- ie, the sorta trampled snow about 2' - 3' high was very narrow, slippery, prone to drop off without warning, and bounded by steep cliffs. So, not exactly 'safe,' but we pressed on. For about two miles (each mile taking roughly an hour in that terrain), before we turned back because people COMING from that direction were wearing spiked ice boots with snow poles. It was impassible without that equipment. And so began our two hour hike back through that same terrain. It might have been a little quicker, as I was, by that time, keen to get the hell off that damn mountain. Sinking in between my knees and my hips was no longer a novelty, and I was cold and ill-prepared clothes-wise. At one point I sunk so deep my boot got stuck and Jason had to dig me out because my leg was not moving. We got back about an hour before nightfall. In one piece, thankfully, and are probably going to stick to non-mountainous hikes for another month or so until all that freaking snow thaws out.

But hey, I have pictures.

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Woke up this morning with a terrible bellyache. Tea, tea, and more tea.

Yesterday, Jason, Dominic, and I did a hike in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Truchas, NM-- Truchas is a tiny little town in Espanola north of Santa Fe, but south of Taos. As it turned out, a storm the night before had dumped feet of snow along our planned route, and our SUV was absolutely not gonna make it up the mountain, so we hiked from the bottom of the mountain rather than the official trail start. We'd planned on making it to the basin, but the 1 - 2 feet of snow the entire way really slowed us down, so when we hit the frozen waterfall, we decided to turn back. All told, easily about 1/3 of the way was a steep uphill incline of about 45 degrees in all that white stuff. It was HARD WORK, I tell you. Hence the title of this post: "there's more up?" It took us about five hours to do six miles.

In my personal opinion, you have three options: crazy altitude (we were 9,650 ft up), crazy inclines, and crazy snow. Pick two, but not all three at once, please. We're simply just not that hardcore. (For the record though, Dominic is that hardcore.) I am pleased to report that after an ouchy night, Jason's knees work again and my ankle didn't swell too bad. I did, however, get a lobster-iffic sunburn on my nose, and Jason has a bona-fide red neck.

Not to sound TOO complainy, the view was gorgeous. We saw mountain birds, lots of animal tracks, and the second highest treeline in the US. We want to do the full hike once spring has arrived in its entirety-- I want to see the Basin, and I think it'll be a challenging but not impossible hike if I can, you know, actually touch the ground when I walk. 'Hike' implies that your feet actually tread the ground, and that very rarely happened yesterday!

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Today we were a tad less adventurous. We woke up, had breakfast in bed while watching Planet Earth, then headed out for some specialty shopping as well as our usual Sunday errands. We took a detour on zenmaster's advice and stopped at World Market, which was awesome. I want a ton of the lanterns, but I did come back with garlic cheese, sea salt dark chocolate, nutella, and strawberry rhubarb jam.

And now it's dinner time!

( Amanda Palmer says hi!Collapse )
Last night I went to see the kick-ass, lovely Amanda Palmer in Santa Fe with nmsunbear and her delightful hubby. The opening act, The Dirty Novels, were well and truly under the delusion that they were in fact The Rolling Stones. The music was good, but the blatant style ripoff was very amusing. Amanda took the stage around 8:45ish and played a nice long set despite the fact that she was getting over the flu from hell. She'd start a song's piano intro, open her mouth to sing, then cough. Poor lady. But she soldiered on, and even played the ukelele some. My favorite song of the night was actually a new song about a trout heart that beat two minutes after it came out of the fish. She was apparently staying with Neil Gaiman when Neil decided he wanted to cook some trout, so they went to a trout farm near his house, and the song drew from that, as well as a breakup she was going through at the time. Hopefully, it'll be on her next album. Anyhow, thumbs up for Amanda Palmer and thumbs up for new friends and good company.

Here was yesterday's makeup experiment... a little bit subdued as I was already wearing a lot of color in my outfit... a red tank top and a vivid yellow sari skirt.

Eyes: Stila in Sun, Urban Decay in Last Call, Aromaleigh in Party Dress. Lips: Aromaleigh in Wallflower.



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Alrighty. Time for shower and work. Much to do.