too many potatoes

this is when you know.

i put one in the oven one day and look what happened. is it art or a sign to change dietary starches? actually i turned the corner in a gallery and he was resting in a kiva. creeepy...

we brined the heritage turkey in the cooler. sure was yummy...

tubbery had a nice birthday and thanks you all for your greetings, cards and unexpected gifts.

tomorrow we go to the hemotologist. i'm on winter break and franco's in town, feebird just left. it's been wonderful to be with family even though i get to be a bit of an emotional case as does happen during the holidays... and other days in between. sorry i have had no time for cards, emails, or winter greetings, but i do think of you all very often.

on another note, n's friend jeff the treasure hunter came over with some goods to show including:
-one bowie knife with an ivory hilt carved into a mexican highwayman complete with bandolero and the seal of mexico on his fitted coat (sorry, no photo-- it was incredible)
-one spanish pistol decorated with silver dragons and morrocan-influenced scroll work (n is holding above)
-one native american fetish-- a piece of jet carved into a little bear (a gift for n, my bear, from jeffrey)
n was quite blessed as he loves ammunition and ancient things. jeff commented that he looked like billy the kid on his bed artfully awaiting pat garrett and company. he thought n's pistol handling was eerily good and wondered about his past life. that's my cowboy! we'll keep you posted on how he's doing.

nathanael: my beloved and my friend

i remember the night n suffered the seizure that left him with a broken spine in 3 places. i curled up on the floor of the icu waiting room, sobbed and begged God not to take him home yet. he was unconscious and i didn't know why. he was 29 years old and i remember opening my bible and feeling an urgency to read psalm 30. it says in verse 3: "O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit." i remember feeling it was a promise that n would turn 30.

here he is in my little house in tacoma (2003) before we were married. he came over and we cooked lots of curries on that little stove.

i then proceeded to read psalm 31 and begged God for him to please reach 31, too, even though it says in verse 10: "For my life is spent with sorrow And my years with sighing; My strength has failed because of my iniquity, And my body has wasted away." But it also says in the end: "Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD."

these are awesome scriptures for us since we've both asked Jesus to come into our lives. they aren't just poetry for us since now "we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7.

every sunday after church we ate at vien dong with friends. it was wonderful except when you ate pho and your arms went numb and you couldn't drive home. scary!

here is our first house in lakewood. we spent our honeymoon there. basically, i moved in and we were happy enough with that. n was too sick to go anywhere. we still technically have reservations at the B&B we were supposed to go to. maybe someday, but i'm pretty much over it by now!

tomorrow (december 5th) n-ie pie turns 32 and i am rejoicing. not because i talked God into anything (although He says the prayers of the righteous avail much... and HE is that righteousness!), but because i am so grateful for each day with my man.

n is so amazing and takes such good care of me. people say i take great care of him (thank you, Lord for the HELP), but HE is an excellent and incredible husband. he cares for me like no one else and covers me with love deeper than anything i've known on this earth.

"Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?" i read this verse and always want to say it's me! it's me! with tubbery! we are in the wilderness, but we are together!

"Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised." Song of Songs 8:5-7

what can i say to a man like this? a beautiful scottish, irish lad of superior intellect, taste and humor. happy birthday, bear! each day with you is a gift and you are your namesake! nathan = gift/ a-el= of God!

you have been through so much and i am honored to be on this journey with you.


i don't know what's ahead of us, but i know God is faithful and true, i know His promises are forever, and i know it is Him we are leaning on in this wilderness.

"This is my beloved and this is my friend..." Song of Songs 5:16

cho's day

hello everyone, it's scoobie bear here. this month it was my mom's birfday and rockie forgot to post my post. i lub my mom.

rockie and n call her cho cuz i guess n made that up when he was little but it doesn't seem too spectful to me. anyhoo, my dad took her to taos to get away from it all including me which wasn't too nice. i slept with rockie all night on her head and snored a lot cuz i have a fat neck that makes it hard to breathe. she got a little mad at me one time so i went under the covers to soften her heart but it just made her hot. i do this with my mom everynight of our lives and she gets mad too even though i'm so cute cuz she sayz it hurts her back and makes her roast. i like to sleep in a big bed even though i am little and have my own wallybed.

that's my dad on the rio grande. i wanted to go but i couldn't cuz i have hurty legs.one weekend there was a dog show after my dog class and some dogs had to wear silly outfits but not me cuz i'm a big girl.

in my very last class i passed my akc canine good citizenship test and i was real good when people came up to shake my mom's hand even with their dogs and treats but right after i passed the boring test i was ready to kill a squirrell.

good night, weirdos.

mi trabajo

well, i got a new job, sort of. i am no longer teaching which is happy and sad. happy because i don't have the constant lesson planning hanging over me, and sad because my students are the best.

i am still doing half of my old job as a civics coordinator which means i work with esl teachers to create activities and projects for new immigrants. i coordinate fieldtrips, presenters and stuff like that. last week we (well, not me) made a video called "workplace scenarios" where a class read scripts they had written based on their job situations. we trained the camera crew and they did awesome taking over directing and filming each other. and this week i'll be watching a presentation by my old class on an H1N1 guidebook they made for their civics project. it's tons of work, but pretty much fun. i need to work on streamlining the program now that i'm only available half-time. here's my old office.

and my new office. yay! windows!!! my other new part-time work is with a non-profit which is also part of our adult ed. department at the college. it's a literacy program and i provide training and support for volunteer tutors to work with low literacy students as well as esl students in workplaces. it's been a chaotic transition, but i'm happy for the change and mostly for a raise! praise God for that!

hi ho. hi ho. off i go!

my secretary! he's the best. we call it superbill sunday when we sit down with the files and try to reconcile with the insurance company etc. even though he feels crappy, he's still on top of the finances. i'm soooooo thankful! what a man.

33 years of grace

i had a lovely 33rd birthday thanks to my super familia. i didn't expect anything... just another day at work and then coming home. good enough for me. when i got in the house i was telling johnny and hils about my meetingful day at work (with cake and office supplies from co-workers) then i turned around to find flowers, a presy, and a homemade cake decorating the table. yay!

everyone worked hard to make a nice indian dinner and fabuloso carrot cake filled with all sorts of nuts, sugars, spices, and fruits topped with creamy, lemon zesty frosting. it was delicioso and a blessed surprise party.

the yellow box was filled with an adorable plaid dress from my mothership-- anthropologie, and tubbery hooked me up with a sweet massage which i had yesterday. i felt muy especial and am grateful for another year to know God's amazing grace.

my birthday sweetheart. he is hanging in there with many daily challenges. lately it's been multiple trips to the dentist to fix a crown which fell out, got replaced, fell out again, got replaced again, and now chipped this week. we'll be going back on tuesday. it's exasperating and discouraging. were it not for the prayers of many faithful family and friends we'd be overcome by all of this.

"had it not been the LORD (Yawehshua) who was on our side... then the raging waters would have swept over our soul...Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 124

Jesus is on our side and in His name lies our hope! thank you for praying.

...meanwhile fall is setting in. the aspens are turning golden and starting to toss their leaves about. the wind is sucking away what little moisture hides here leaving us with crackley lips and itchy skin marking the onset of another southwest winter. but still thriving is johnny's well-watered, favorite purple echinacea plant.

divine patterns are everywhere. can i have a blouse with this on it?

the juniper berries are getting plump and when squished they smell of gin. i wish i knew how to make a wreath out of these and other wildness i'm seeing lately. anybody know good sites/resources for wreathmaking/flower drying? do i need another project? why not!?

this is one of my favorite things about our adorable wally-- her exuberant lizard huntressing. enjoy!

she didn't get him, but we spent about 30 minutes out there together trying. her so cute! she's having leg/tail problems lately and it was a very stressful week for her and us. we are so blessed she's doing better today and thankful for time outside together.

more later...

yuba girl scout camp

this camp is not for wimps. especially when you hike with my personal trainer the feeeeeee bird!!! hustle, rockie, hustle! hmmm.... do you see a pattern?

after i got acclimated to swimming and hiking a few miles everyday with my triathaletic sister-in-law, and also loafing around rocks and rafts like a salamander, i felt completely fantastic. the power of vitamin d and endorphins are amazing. first off, this is the pool that sits below the cabin which fee's and n's grandpa (hil's dad) built years ago. i've been coming and going here since i was 12 and each time i see this view, my breath is taken away.

here is the view down from the rock n and fee dubbed long ago as "the granddaddy commander." it's a nice 30 or so foot drop into the pool below. the pressure of the jump does a number on your ears so now it's best to stick to junior granddaddy (at left) or viper cove (due north). we used to spend hours climbin' all over this place.

one of my favorite things to do this year was cruise down the rugged road into local mining town of washington with the dogs while listening to dire straits. this year the california department of corrections had a fire department crew trimming up the roads. at first i was a bit alarmed to see about 40 men in orange jumpsuits tagged CDC prisoner wandering all over the remote backroad. i was assured at the general store that they wouldn't be there if they weren't totally trustworthy. not only were they trustworthy, but i've NEVER seen men work that efficiently in my life. they'd have trees and machinery all over the road and when i'd pull up to cross their path, they'd have it cleared in 30 seconds. i brought them bisquochito breakfast bread and watermelon one day to say thank you and they were sincerely appreciative. how can we get that kind of work ethic here in nm?!

n, fee and i used to load up on candy at the general store here. fee would gobble her loot down in an afternoon and then demand that i needed to not be greedy and share mine. how does that work?! here is the sleepy, or hungover, town of washington waking up to another golden morning in the sierra nevadas.

my dad loved this old truck in town; he took these photos.

he drew a beautiful sketch of it which he sent to n-man. we sure miss this guy and it was the biggest treat of my vacation to see him. he picked me up at the airport in sacto and drove me all the way to the yuba with a cooler of meat in tow.

when we pulled up to the washington general store one afternoon we were greeted amicably by one of the locals crossing the street with his open can of beer: "is thaaat yer daughter?" indeed.

wally and dad got along great. one is just a little better at relaxing.

over and out, papi. it was soooooo great to see you! thanks for the great visit!!!!

another favorite spot on the river is a great, long pool next to a tumble of rocks and shallow pools. we called it our swimmin' hole and since the sign doesn't say no lap swimming, we went everyday.

here are franco and cho rolling down the rio.

wally watchin' mama and fee bird swimmin'.

two river beauties... my best homegirls.

the shallow pools above the swimming hole are a great spot for sunbathing and dipping crusty feet. we spent many hours up there lazing around watching frogs, gazing up at the hills enclosing us, and working on our irish tans.

look guys, i brought my samwich!

i instuted a new tradition which thouroughly impressed my mother-in-law-- dry sandwich delivery. i delivered some right-smart lunches even though i looked like a total dork. what else is new?! just for you, cho.

me want some too, wockie.

me and my best fwend having such a nice timish!

no vacation would have been complete without some nathan's beef franks. best lunch i had all year!another highlight of my high sierra escapade was when fee took me on a "little hike" up from the campground to the jolly boys mine. i almost had heatstroke, but it was totally worth it. these hills tell stories of days gone by and you feel the history everywhere; especially, when you see old mines and equipment scattered here and there. it's eerie and exciting!

we finally arrived at jolly boys mine and looked down into what is claimed to be the deepest pool on the south yuba. unfortunately, the jolly boys' investment didn't pan out (literally) as the waterfall which beats at the top of the pool washes out the placer rock before you can get to the gold. their recently abandoned equipment is everywhere, along with load of shotgun shells.

this pool was the best. icy cold and bubbling with a mineral scent-- it felt like swimming on clouds. the pool used to be much deeper, but a HUGE flood in '97 filled much of it in with boulders. the edges are still fathomless so it's suuuuuper creepy when you swim over to the sides with the rusty, old mining cables dangling overhead.

fee bird and i headed for the falls. resistance swimming at it's best!

i took frankie and cho and the dogs up here the day before i left. it was a rough hike for the troop, but again, very much worth it.

scoobie got a wittle bit insecure even after her nice lunchie. she did NOT like everyone swimming up to those falls, and like most muscular staffies, she doesn't have the greatest buoyancy. she kept trying to rescue anyone who went for a swim, but would turn back midway with a look of terror on her sweet little terrier face. stay, scoobie, say.

ahoy, maties!

hils and i hiked a little further up to find the end of the trail. i remember this old car from when i was kid.

here is the whereabouts of the rock where hilary's dad would always get the jeep stuck and the oil pan would fall out on the way to the best secret swimming spot--the lost falls, can't tell you more than that, folks. maybe next year. this is a seriously mad road and i can't imagine driving up here, let alone with kiddies bouncing around in a jeep. hils said her dad would go fast and they'd be screaming with fear and delight all the way. apparently he was the funnest person ever and i believe it knowing the great cho!

another magical experience was going to my favorite town ever, nevada city. it is hard not to get lost in the past here and wish you could stay and visit every museum, bookstore, thrift store and old mine around. the history is haunting and close, even though it's getting yuppied up. here's the old firehouse.

grass valley and nevada city are the two best preserved gold mining towns in ca, and can easily get into your soul.

i had such a wonderful time with my family, and it was a true vacation.

thanks for helping me get there!

here's an old pic some old yuba friends. amazing larry and the best dog in the world, fritz the man. fritz lived next door to the cabin, and even in his arthritic old age would defend any of us to the end. i'll be seeing these two in heaven.

here is my love in our newlywed days. thanks for sending me on a great vacation, honeybear. especially, thanks to your dad for taking such great care of you! you boys are the best!

so long, everyone!

good bye to my favorite road. this scene always gives me hope and reminds me of my hope in this life-- but the grace of Jesus and eternal life through Him.