Movin' Out

No, I'm not movin' out. Shelley and I saw the Broadway musical "Movin' Out" with one of her brothers and his wife last night. His wife got us tickets for the show (she works in radio), and we just couldn't turn it down.

The show was amazing! Many of the songs they did sounded just like Billy Joel. All were extremely well done. The choreography was what you would expect from a show of this caliber.

Movin' Out is a story of high school love - and separation, of war, of rejection, of self-destructiveness, of reunions and reconstruction of lives. Songs included "Still Rock and Roll to Me", "Movin' Out", "She's Got a Way", "For the Longest Time", "We Didn't Start the Fire", "Innocent Man", "Shameless", "Captain Jack", and many others. It was great!

Next week - Carrie Underwood and Josh Turner. YYYYES!!!

Spring Is Here!

We might have another frost, but we just had one the other day. Might be our last. No biggie - the temps are higher, and it feels great today! In the mid 80's as I type, with a little breeze. Might be 50% cloud cover, but pleasant clouds.

Spring means work - fixing up the yard and house after winter. In celebration of Spring's arrival, I already completed a couple jobs this weekend. A badly needed wax seal got replaced on our toilet, and I put a new fart fan (pardon the expression, but it's the trade name for it) in the bathroom just about an hour ago. Since then, I've been tending to the garden and back yard, giving them a badly needed drink. Later on, I'll have to mow the yard - or maybe just use the blower/mulcher and get rid of those pesky elm seeds. There are so many of them out there that it looks like it snowed.

We've got to start cleaning out the garage this weekend, too, so we can start filling it up again. Next weekend, I plan on replacing the front porch lights with motion sensing lights - one in the alcove, and one on the outside wall above the steps.

Sounds like a lot, but not really. It's all in the interest of making our home more pleasant and secure.

Have a great Spring, everybody!

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The Cross

We took a little jaunt with Shelley's brother yesterday. We went to The Cross at Groom, TX. They say it's the largest cross in the western hemisphere. Of course we had our cameras with us. Every time we go there, I manage to see different views in the various stations around the cross, as well as the area around it. Maybe the light changes, maybe I just see things a little differently each time.

The expression on His face caught my eye this time.

The sun's sparkle at the juncture of the arms was captivating.

This one was a powerful statement that did not go unnoticed.

What can be said here? A visitor was reflecting.

This view had escaped me before.

This is one of my favorite "short jaunts" and I always look forward to visiting it. The wind was pretty brisk, but we managed to carry enough ballast with our cameras to keep us from blowing across the panhandle. We did not do the gift shop this time. That might be a good thing. ;)

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Planting Time

In recent days, I cut the sod off a 12' x 12' section of out yard (by hand) and tilled it up. Yesterday we bought some seed to begin planting and growing some fresh vegetables. We got some squash, carrots, and lettuce. Oh yeah, we got some rhubarb, too. I haven't had any good rhubarb since I was a kid. I hope we'll have lots of it next year (2009). I wish we could this year, but they have to mature for at least a year before you can start harvesting. The rhubarb I've had in my past life out East was always in a pie, and always tainted with strawberries. I like strawberries too, but not with rhubarb. Rhubarb pies and crisps are best with only rhubarb. As a matter of fact, let me pick a ripe, red stalk, and I'll eat it on the spot! Yummy! I think I might have some competition with it, though. Shelley likes 'em, too! We'll have to be sure we have enough for pies and crisps. I can hardly wait!

Nature's Candy

Anyhow, I planted one row of rhubarb (6 plants), two rows of lettuce (seed tape), and two rows of carrots (seed tape). I planted the shorter plants in the front and worked my way back, except the rhubarb. I put them in the back so that if we didn't plant anything in one year, we wouldn't have rhubarb stalks to mow around in the middle of the yard. I still have room for the squash and hopefully some tomatoes - the small, cherry-type tomatoes. They have several varieties, and I'm not sure which ones we'll get.

It's gonna be a good year! I can hardly wait for them to mature.

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Honesty Is Alive And Well

Yep, my supposition has always been that most people are honest. That belief was reaffirmed today. We had an old swivel/rocker/recliner with a "floating" footstool (it rocked like the rocker) we were trying to get rid of, so we put it out on the curb with a sign on it - "$25.00" it read. We had to step out for a few minutes, and while we were gone, someone got it. We laughed and weren't concerned that it was probably stolen. It wasn't a bid deal. We just wanted it gone. As we got up to the door, there was an envelope on it, with something written on it. "This is for the chair." and signed by "Anthony" with a phone number. Inside the envelope was $25.00 - cash! Now, I ask you, what could be more cool than that? I called the number he left, and left a message thanking him for his honesty. That was really cool! All I could think about was the honesty this young [sounding] man exhibited. Awesome!

What's In Your Wallet?

In my opinion, Capital One is a very unethical company. Here is what they are trying to do to me:

My Story

Yes, it can happen to anybody. The old rule of thumb applies: "Caveat emptor" - let the buyer (customer) beware.

Mel Gibson

Who Is This?
Originally uploaded by HighPlainsDox

I saw this guy near Santa Fe on Good Friday. All indications are that it's Mel Gibson, hence this post's title. I know, he doesn't look as good as he does in the movies, but this isn't the movies. He's without acting makeup and attire. He's very casual here.

The Road To Chimayo

On Good Friday, the annual pilgrimage to Chimayo, NM, was in full swing. We drove NM 503 and CR 98 from Pojoaque to Chimayo - only about 15 miles of the trek. On that stretch of road, there must have been thousands of people from all walks of life - walking......walking.....walking.
Some were on crutches and some were in wheelchairs. Some were very young. Some, very old.

People come hundreds of miles to visit this sacred ground, which is said to have the power to heal - physically, emotionally, spiritually. The pilgrims consider that if Jesus can go through what he did, it should be of no consequence that so many could make a trek such as this. Some are physically healthy, some injured, some sick, some needing revitalization, some just wanting to pray. The reasons are many and are as varied as those who make the journey.

Below are only a few of the images I captured as we drove one of the routes the pilgrims followed. They are shown here in chronological order. (More can be seen by going to my Flick'r galleries. Click on the slide show in the right pane.)

This young lady still had 10 miles or more to go in her journey.

The trek took the pilgrims through some of New Mexico's most beautiful and rugged terrain.

People from all walks of life made the journey.

Weary or not, all were determined to complete their goal.

The immensity of the pilgrimage and the constant flow of people is hard to imagine unless one has seen it for themselves. Click on the image above to get an idea. The road winds to the left in the distance, and the stream of people is steady - as it was all along the route.

From another, less populated direction, two young ladies (on the right side of the road) and two older men (on the left) still have a few miles to go.

This was an eye-opening experience for me to see such a display of one's Faith in action. Even though I heard of Chimayo and was familiar with the story, I never imagined a pilgrimage of such proportions in today's day and time.

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May you all have a safe and Blessed Easter.

Nothing At All

I was directed to a song on YouTube tonight by a friend, of one of my long-standing favorite vocalists. In that video, she didn't do the song that has also been one of my long-time favorites. But because of that Email, I searched for that one. I think this is one of the best.

Grackle

Grackle
Originally uploaded by HighPlainsDox

We went to a local lake in a medical complex today, to shoot some pictures. Wanted to exercise our zoom lenses. This grackle was squawking its heart out when I turned around and zoomed in on him. He stood still long enough for me to grab a shot. Check out some other shots in the slide show in the right sidebar, or click on this grackle image to go to my Flickr galleries.