by Judy Handley | Dec 30, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 52, Year 7: Another Fright . . . This Time Ziggy
Date: Friday, December 30, 2011
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Another Warm Day
Location: At Home with JJ&Z in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico
Jo’s dog Lulu is recovering nicely after her midnight trip to the animal hospital earlier this week, but this evening we thought Justin and Jo were going to have to make another trip to the ER—this time with Ziggy to get stitches. Just before dinner, Ziggy picked up a canning lid and put it in his mouth. Naturally, it was wider than his little mouth and stretched from corner to corner. Justin asked Ziggy to give him the canning lid as it didn’t look safe and instead of giving it to him, Ziggy ran into Justin’s leg. The canning lid cut through the corner of his mouth and through the skin on his face. It was a deep cut, but luckily it didn’t cut all the way the through to the inside of the mouth. It bled profusely and all of us were more than a bit shaken and ready for a trip to the ER. But then Justin called the nurse help-line and found out that they wouldn’t do stitches for a cut of this type on a child as young as Ziggy even if they did take him in. So Jo comforted him and held ice on the area until he fell asleep. It was early in the evening for Ziggy to fall asleep, so I think he was pretty shook up as well. We’ll hope that the cut doesn’t get infected and heals quickly. And as the parents of all two year-olds wish, Justin and Jo hope Ziggy listens the next time mommy or daddy tells him to stop doing something dangerous.
Otherwise we had a good day. The daytime weather continues to be warm, but now Mark and Jo have this awful cold and my cold took a turn for the worse today. So none of us is feeling good enough to really enjoy the warm weather. I did take a late afternoon walk down to the stream with Justin and Ziggy. There was no water in the stream when we walked there a few days ago, but now that the snow is melting, the little stream is running nicely. Ziggy pretends to fish and he hunts for animals in what he calls the wild wood. He has a very active imagination and never ceases to amaze us with his stories. When we returned, Ziggy and I watched as Justin practiced shooting his bow. He’s getting better and hits the hay bale target most every time, but when he doesn’t it is really difficult to find the arrows. Each one costs about $12.50, so when the snow melts he is going to have to search for the strays. Earlier in the afternoon, the neighbors that live further down the drive-way came up for lunch. We had pizza and they brought cooked artichokes with a wonderful garlic oil dip. It was a yummy lunch and nice to get to know Uvia and Scott and their three girls a little better. When we return home and talk with Justin and Jo on the phone, we will now have faces to go with their stories. We would have loved to meet the woman who owns the farm they are renting, but Siri and her family went away for the holidays. Siri does metal horse sculptures and sounds like a fascinating woman. Maybe we’ll get to meet her the next time we visit.
Our visit here will end tomorrow (Saturday). We have decided to have Justin and Jo drive us to Santa Fe tomorrow and we will spend the night in a motel. Then instead of Justin having to drive three hours to Albuquerque beginning at 4:30 Sunday morning and then driving three hours back, we will catch the airport shuttle van in Santa Fe at 5:30 on Sunday morning and arrive at the airport in plenty of time for our 9:15 am flight. We fly from Albuquerque to Dallas where we have a three hour lay-over and with the time change, arrive in Boston at 8 pm Sunday. Heather, Jed, and boys plan to leave Maine in time to pick us up at the airport on their way home. At this point the weather across the country looks fine for flying tomorrow, so if we have no other delays the plan should work.
by Judy Handley | Dec 29, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 51, Year 7: Projects Almost Completed
Date: Thursday, December 29, 2011
Weather: Mostly Sunny, High Temp 45 degrees F
Location: At Home with JJ&Z in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico
It was a good day. The projects on the list were to get new nest boxes in the chicken house and to rebuild an old sled for Ziggy. Mark did an amazing job of taking an old snow sled and replacing all the wooden parts. It looks great. Justin worked on building new nesting boxes for the chicken house and they look great as well. He and Jo got four chickens the weekend before we arrived, and unfortunately one or more of the chickens peck holes in the eggs laid making them unusable. So Justin dreamed up nesting boxes with a backward slanting floor. The idea is that the eggs will roll downhill after being laid and lay in a trough until they are picked up each day. The tricky part is that you can’t really put hay in the nests or the eggs won’t roll, so he bought carpeting to put in the bottom of the nests. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow morning if the experiment works. So now the chickens have new nesting boxes, Ziggy has new shelves for his toys in his room, and he has a snow sled. The only thing we haven’t done is to get a new base made for the sewing machine. Actually, we didn’t buy the wood for that project, but tomorrow Mark will see what he can do with what he can find around here.
The weather here was very mild today with the afternoon high temperature reaching 45 degrees F. The snow is slushy and there are no more icicles hanging from the roof. The weather is projected to be more of the same with no snow in the forecast. That’s a good thing for our return home on Sunday but the snow is melting making things a bit slushy around here. This afternoon Justin saddled up Max and I got to take my first ride. He was very gentle and responded well to all commands. Tomorrow the neighbors just down the driveway are coming to lunch. They are the same neighbors that had the bonfire a couple of nights ago. They had another one tonight, but none of us felt up to going down for the evening. I still have this dreadful cold, and now Mark and Jo have it as well. Justin, Jo, and Ziggy did walk down for a few minutes and then they came home and we had dinner together. We have only two more days until we fly home on Sunday. We plan to enjoy the next two days as much as we have the last week.
by Judy Handley | Dec 28, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 50, Year 7: Late Night Fright with Lulu
Date: Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Weather: Mostly Overcast, Periods of Sun
Location: At Home with JJ&Z in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico
Today was supposed to be a major project day, but things got a bit derailed. At midnight, Justin came to the bus to ask us to come to the house to sleep while they took their dog Lulu to the vet in Santa Fe. Lulu was very sick with gasto-intestinal problems and they were afraid she wouldn’t make it through the night. So we slept in their bed in the house to be with Ziggy while they took off for the long trip to Santa Fe. At 3 am the phone rang. It was the vet office calling for Justin, but they realized too late that they needed to call his cell phone. Justin and Jo had dropped Lulu with the vet and had decided to spend the night in Santa Fe as Lulu needed to be on an IV overnight. While Mark and I were up talking on the phone, Ziggy quietly slipped from his bedroom and was fast asleep on Justin and Jo’s bed when we returned to bed. He slept until 8 am with us and awoke with a bit of fright when he saw me instead of Jo. But he settled right down as soon as we explained that Lulu was sick and that mommy and daddy had to take her to the hospital. We had a great morning with Ziggy and then Justin and Jo returned at noon with Lulu. She is stabilized but still a very sick little doggy. It was an expensive night for Justin and Jo as the vet bill was almost $700, but it looks like Lulu is going to make it and that is the important thing.
Everyone was a bit tired this afternoon, but Justin and Mark did get the shelves for Ziggy’s toys built. We’ll continue with the projects tomorrow. Today was the first day since we have been here that we have had overcast skies. Tomorrow is supposed to be partly sunny and then the sunny days should return. We might take a trip north to Taos on Friday and then it will be New Year’s Eve. Time is passing so very quickly.
by Judy Handley | Dec 27, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 49, Year 7: Shopping Trip in Santa Fe
Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Weather: Sunny, Blue Skies, High Temp in Upper 30’s
Location: At Home with JJ&Z in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico
Our days here are passing so quickly, but we do keep on the move. We spent the morning doing various chores and took a walk up the mountain with Max. The sun beats down here, so even with temperatures just above freezing, the ground is thawing and it is muddy anywhere the snow has melted. Jo rode Max while Ziggy rode on Daddy’s shoulders. The views from just above Justin and Jo’s house are really beautiful with snow-capped mountains in one direction and high mountain dessert terrain in the other. Just after lunch we drove to Santa Fe which takes about an hour and half. Taos is closer, as is a town named Espanola, but the best shopping is in Santa Fe and today’s trip was a shopping expedition. We needed building supplies for tomorrow’s projects-new nesting boxes for the chickens, rebuilding an old sled, rebuilding the base of a sewing machine, and building shelves for Ziggy’s room. The list looks a bit long for one day, so maybe our project day will turn into two days?or more. We also did some food shopping and had a great dinner at an Indian restaurant. But we didn’t go to the movies as planned. Ziggy was really unhappy and when Jo asked him what would make him happy he said, “I just want to go to Ojo Sarco.” So we did.
by Judy Handley | Dec 26, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 48, Year 7: Trip to Dixon on Boxing Day
Date: Monday, December 26, 2011
Weather: Another Gorgeous Day with Temperature Rising
Location: At Home with JJ&Z in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico
Our time here has been relaxed with absolutely gorgeous weather. The daytime sky is a beautiful blue and the nighttime sky is filled with stars. I thought we saw more stars when out at sea than would be possible on land, but the New Mexico sky with a new moon is just as star-filled. Today we slept in until Ziggy and Justin came to the bus to say good morning. We had first breakfast of granola in the bus and then second breakfast of eggs and hash browns at the house. We drove into a little town called Dixon to go to the Coop. Dixon is about eight miles away, but it is all on dirt roads and takes and while there Mark and I walked to a local winery. After tasting a few reds and a few whites, we bought a red and white to take home with us and a bottle to have tonight. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but this red is really nice. Justin and Jo took Ziggy to the local school playground to play and when we returned from our venture at La Chiripada Winery, we joined them at the playground. Ziggy is fearless with climbing and he chose to play on the big kid equipment. He has an amazing imagination and we role-played all sorts of things in various corners of the playground. This evening the neighbors down the very long drive-way that goes through this farm. They called saying they were having a bon fire and although the temperature had dropped tremendously when the sun went down, the fire kept us all toasty. Mark and I stayed longer than we planned considering I have a killer cold. But Scott and Lluvia and their three girls, Lorilai, Hannah, and Salome were so delightful that we found it hard to break away. Unfortunately Ziggy fell off their porch and bloodied his nose. We didn’t even know it and Lorilai took him inside to clean him up. After a bit he told Lorilai that he thought maybe he needed his mommy, but he was a very brave little guy and Mark and I didn’t know what a tumble he had until we got home and saw the scratches on his face and the still slightly bloody nose.
I talked to my sister and sister-in-law today and Heather sent some photos and video of Sam and Jonah enjoying Christmas and the snow in Maine. It was great to talk to family and see Sam and Jonah in action on the sled Santa brought to them for Christmas. Tomorrow we are going to make our first trip to “civilization” to a town that has a movie theatre and a Lowe’s. We need to buy a few supplies for a couple of building projects, and while there, go to a proper movie theatre. We haven’t been to a theatre since 2009 in Patong Beach in Thailand, so this will be a big adventure for us.
by Judy Handley | Dec 25, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 47, Year 7: Super-sized New Mexico Christmas
Date: Sunday, December 25, 2011
Weather: Gorgeous Day, Daytime Temp Above Freezing
Location: At Home with JJ&Z in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico
After spending the last three Christmases on Windbird in Thailand (2008 and 2009) and South Africa (2010), it was wonderful today to be back home with family. And it was an unbelievable Christmas. We all knew we had gone a bit overboard when it literally took all day to open presents. But some presents take more time to “open” than others. Justin got Jo a horse for Christmas, so we all took time out to go outside to discover the surprise and then watch as Jo and then Justin rode Max. Max is a beautiful Haflinger draft horse that is trained for riding as well as light draft work. And he is especially good with children. Jo has always wanted a horse and she was absolutely speechless. She already knows Max as he is one of the horses that lives in the stable here on the property. Along with Max came a plow and all the tack needed to put him to work. Justin also got Jo an iPhone and Jo got Justin a hunting bow and arrow. When he opened the bow, Mark and I were more than a little surprised. Hunting is about the last thing I would ever expect our vegetarian, peace-loving son to want to do. But he has changed. He and Jo are trying to eat locally which means they have adjusted to eating what is grown here. And much of what is grown here is meat. There are elk in the mountains just behind the farm, so Justin hopes to be able to learn to use the bow to hunt elk. Ziggy was very excited over the stocking Santa left for him. Santa also wrote him a letter and left directions for a bit of a treasure hunt to find his vintage Fisher-Price playhouse and garage, along with lots of F-P Little People, cars, and furniture. But the biggest surprise of all was the gift of a piece of paper from our kids to Mark and me. It was notification of e-tickets for a flight home on Sunday. Heather had tried all day yesterday to get us to agree to a flight she wanted to book for us, but we kept telling here that we wanted to take the bus as the flight would be just too expensive. Then after we went to the bus to sleep last night, Justin and Jo got online and just booked a flight. It was tremendously thoughtful and we deeply appreciate the gift. We hate that they spent so much money, but I can’t say that I will miss riding a Greyhound bus for two days. We will now return home on New Year’s Day. That should give Mark four days to rest before his surgery on January 6.
We talked to Heather today and also got to talk to Sam for a few minutes. They had a fantastic Christmas in Maine. Heather got a yogurt maker from Justin and Jo and she got a beehive from Mark and me. She has talked and talked about keeping bees so she can have her own local honey, so we decided to get her started. She’ll have to order bees locally in early spring and she said that today she was just dreaming of the honey-flavored yogurt she would be eating this time next year. Sam and Jonah got saucer sleds from us, but there really wasn’t enough snow in Maine for sledding. So Jed invented a new sport-saucer spinning in the living room. The boys loved it.
We ended our Christmas day with a huge dinner. Jo roasted the locally grown turkey with great care and we feasted on a full-blown traditional Christmas dinner. After dinner we were able to reach Mark’s family by phone but I couldn’t get my family. I’ll try again tomorrow, but I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. So Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.
