Snapshots: Away and Home Again

Because the city I went to this past week is a hot one, the hotels there tend to have better rates in the summer. That is why I reserved a room at a much nicer hotel than I would usually stay at.

It had a particularly spectacular pool, which we could see from our window.

This hutch made me laugh. If they were trying to cultivate an intellectual environment by having books on it, they should have put more than one on each shelf.

Every room had a Keurig coffee machine, so I made my coffee when I got up early and then took it out to the lounge area to drink so as not to disturb the sleeping son. Well, any more than I did running a coffee machine five feet from his bed.

This hotel had actual ceramic coffee mugs, which I enjoyed very much.

I did try to read one of those books that were on the hutch--I no longer remember the title or author, but it was something about a very witty high-society private eye in Palm Beach--but one chapter was enough for me. It was pretty bad.

We stopped to see a friend on our way home the next night and stayed in a small town. Our lodgings there were a rather eccentric sort of bed and breakfast that A. has stayed in before. To get to our room, we had to climb a very steep and very curvy iron staircase outside.

Definitely not ADA compliant.

Our room was quite spacious and nice, although it's very clear from the decorative choices that an older man runs this place.

Lots of red curtains, and very unfortunate polyester bedding.

My coffee the next morning was courtesy of the bakery that's just a block away.

It's a Mexican bakery, so I also got an empanada de manzana--an apple turnover--for the boy who was still sleeping.

My walk back to the lodge took me on a street right next to the acequias that make this place so green.

Acequias are systems of water channels that were brought to New Mexico via the Spanish, who in turn learned the methods from the Moors. They are a very old method of irrigation here, and are (obviously) still used.

The drive home was a few hundred miles of this.

New Mexico really is a startlingly rural state.

Waiting for me at home were the many apples A. picked from Rafael's tree the day before I left.

Five gallons of apple slices in the freezer so far. Next up, canning.

Of course I must share with you this week's flowers.

This was actually last week's altar arrangement. All the flowers were pulled from my fair entry.

Straight sunflowers on the table.

A. brought me some down-the-hill flowers mid-week. It was almost bedtime when he got home, so I just stuck them in a jar on the table until I could get to them the next day.

Very dramatic, but a wee bit large for a table we eat at.

A more practical table arrangement.

Later supplemented by some flowers A. found in the pasture while he was chaperoning a horse ride.

And last, this week's altar arrangement, waiting for the altar.

A flower tower.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.