Flexibility can be fun

Well, I didn't make it to the 'Pancakes on the Plaza' yesterday, and I'm not disappointed at all, since I was up at the Mountain Home instead. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Monday is one of my regular days off, so I decided to go down to the Plaza area and do a little shopping and people-watching. Lots of tourists, of course, but also very neat shops and cafes all over. I was doing some shopping for a friend of mine, actually, and tourist stuff is exactly what I wanted to find. Betty is undergoing chemo and radiation (both at once!) and will probably lose her hair. I found some neat bandanas and a Santa Fe baseball cap for her. I also found a really cool t-shirt that I sent to my friend Kevin...it says "Make Art, Not War" and the graphic looks a bit like an old Soviet propaganda poster. He'll get a kick out of that, I think. I sent my parcels out Tuesday by priority mail, so maybe he'll get the shirt in time for the gallery opening on Friday. We'll see.
Also found an excellent restaurant, the India Palace. Nice staff, good buffet. The naan (bread) was so good, and there's plenty of vegetarian fare, of course. Reasonable price for downtown, too, under 10 bucks including drink.

Tuesday, I dropped off my packages at the post office, and headed up to Chama around 10 a.m. Got to the Mountain Home about noonish, to find that there was a small traffic jam at the gate to the community. Someone was delivering a small house/large shed on the back of the truck. Turns out that the driver was one Matt Bouska, John's brother! Papa Ron and he talked for a bit, in the road, and that was cool. Small world out here, I tell ya. See, John's in Indiana, but used to work with Papa out here, and....you get the idea.
Of course, when I go up to the mountain home, there's usually a chore or two. And not two days before this, Papa Ron had mentioned that the water filters were in need of a change. Naturally, since I changed them in April, I was right in time to change them again! I don't mind, especially since neither Papa nor Mama Gladys can really get down onto the floor to work on them. I'm already penciled in for Labor Day, when the next change is due. ;-) I also worked on their old dinosaur computer while I was up there. Pentium II, on a very slow dialup...not much I can do, but I did find a few problems I could fix. Glad there's a new machine on the way for them!
Don't worry, I did relax while I was up there. Read a book, visited neighbors and just chilled out as best I could in the heat. Tuesday was a scorcher, and if it hadn't been for an afternoon thundershower, Wednesday would have been just as bad. I ended up spending the night Tuesday, and Wednesday there was a potluck at one of the neighbors' houses. Got to meet more of the local residents, very nice people. After dinner, I headed back home to Santa Fe. (That still sounds odd to me....) I now have my own key to the community gate, so the folks won't have to use gas and time to come meet me and let me in. Way cool. Guess I'm really adopted now!
Got home last night just as the fireworks were going on. Watched them from the road as I drove in, and it was very pretty. Stopped for a quick internet fix in the parking lot of my favorite hotspot (come on, two days on nothing but dialup? I was jonesing!!) and then headed home to feed the cats.
The cats were happy to see me, as they'd been subsisting on dry kibble and water while I was gone. If they ever get the hang of opposable thumbs and can open the cans of wet food, I may be out of a job! But they are good cats, if annoying and noisy while I'm trying to sleep. I admit, it will be nice when I have a separate bedroom with a door again!
So, back to work today after my little holiday. Nice busy day, lots of people in the store, and I even sold a guitar! Hopefully this upward trend will continue.
A nice dinner of cold sesame noodles and spring roll tonight, and soon I'll head back to the apartment. I have a DVD to watch before I take it back to the library in the morning.
We'd been having some water problems in the house this past week, but it seems to be resolved for now, so I'll be glad to get my dishes caught up. Nothing major, just annoyance at this point.

Can't think of anything else, but if you have questions or comments, drop a line.