Here’s wishing all a happy and safe Memorial Day.
For me, this day will include taking a moment to remember those who have served in the military. This includes my dad, who was a veteran of the Korean War, and is buried at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe.
Photos taken at the Merchant Marine cemetery at Fort Stanton, NM.
Photos by Karen Fayeth
You are only as old as you feel….or so they say.
I got to work on this, because, last weekend…
I tried on these hot kicks:
The style is VERY of the now.
And as I clomped about the store, I thought, “hmmm, I wonder if these will make my bunions hurt?”
So I put them back on the shelf, slid my toes into well worn flip flops, and left the store.
I remember when I’d wear dreadfully uncomfortable shoes for hours, just because they looked DAMN good. What price beauty and all of that.
But now I’m about comfort?
Oh dear. Have I succumbed? Am I going gentle into that good night…..?
Fight!
Or take a nap. Whatever.
From Thelma Domenici, etiquette expert for the ABQJournal, from Sunday’s edition:
______________________
“Dear Thelma: Growing up in a Hispanic family in New Mexico, there were tortillas on the table as part of every meal. My favorite way to eat a meal is to scoop each bite into a piece of tortilla and then eat it. This is a tradition I have grown up with my entire life and it is the best way to eat Mexican food. Frequently I find myself wondering if this is proper etiquette in a restaurant setting, particularly when dining with business associates.
A: The use of a tortilla with Mexican food, especially in New Mexico, is a cultural tradition that you need not leave at the restaurant door. You can feel comfortable and confident in using pieces of tortilla in the way you describe.
However, don’t transfer your entire plate into a tortilla to fold up as a burrito, and avoid wiping your plate clean with your tortilla no matter how good the red chile is. “
______________________
Good to know that my use of tortilla in eating Mexican food (with gusto) is ok, mannerswise.
Not like I ever worried about it before…..:)
Last evening, while out running errands, I found myself at a stoplight behind a shiny new black Cadillac Escalade EXT (the one that’s sorta kinda a pickup, but not really).
It was a nice ride, tricked out with big fat shiny chrome custom wheels, all the expensive add ons, and a sticker on the back window that said “Cowboy Up.”
Oh really? Cowboy up? Is that your philosophy on life? Are you sure, Mr. Driving a Luxury Vehicle in the Suburbs, that you are, in fact, ready to cowboy up?
Are you prepared to lose a thumb as you throw a loop around the head of a recalcitrant steer, dally up around the saddle horn and whoops, get a digit caught in the turn?
Are you ready to try to throw a calf while you currently nurse a broken rib, courtesy of the back forty of the calf that came down the chute just before?
Are you all set to trim a budding horn from a young cow only to hit the artery, thus shooting blood straight into your eye with force and velocity? And are you further ready to then take a hot branding iron and sear that bloody mess, leaving the smell and taste of burning flesh and blood lingering in the air?
Are you man enough to sink your arm up to the shoulder inside the back of a birthing cow to assist that mama with a backwards facing baby, and when that same mama cow prolapses her uterus out onto the ground, are you ready to shove that bloody mess back inside and stitch her up? (if you don’t know what I mean, I suggest you do a search on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, she even posted photos of this horrifying event)
And are you ready to be bitten, kicked and thrown off a horse all in one day? Are you ready the haul hay? Are you ready to pray for rain and curse the wind? Are you ready to turn your hands to hamburger from stringing barbwire? Are you ready to face birth and death and life and manure and blood and saliva and the unpredictability of the life of a cowboy?
Are ya?
Cause you know what? I betcha you aren’t, actually, ready to Cowboy Up.
I might know a thing or two about it, and even I’m not really ready to Cowboy Up.
Not even in the suburbs.
…that today is National Health and Fitness Day?
I didn’t either, but it is.
So my own company decided to celebrate by hosting a lunchtime walk along a really pretty bayside trail near our offices.
When I told my favorite coworker about the planned event, he reminded me that employees of our company get *plenty* of exercise jumping to conclusions, walking away from responsibility, and running to line up first for the buffets.
While I couldn’t argue his point, I decided to take a walk anyway. Feeling cranky and amped up, a walk seemed like a nice idea.
It was walker’s choice, a one mile or two mile jaunt. I went ahead and chose two miles, strapped on my trainers and got to it.
Can’t say it was the nicest day for a walk. After being hotter than the hinges of hell for the past several days, the Bay Area Inversion (description here) has kicked in and today we get windy and cold.
Whatever.
Look, while most of my coworkers sat at their desks and ate hearty lunches in the cafeteria, I actually *did* something useful today.
I feel *so* smug too. I even took the company provided shuttle over to the start point in an effort to conserve fuel.
And I recycled the bottle from the water they gave me.
When the walk was done, I ate a salad.
If I keep this up, I’m going to be driving a Prius soon.
What?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Ok, to offset all this goodness I’ll have red meat and whiskey for dinner.
That ought to restore balance to the universe.
