Weekday Getaway

I’ve been quite remiss on the blogging. But here’s to a new year and getting back to it! I’ve got some back stories to get to, but in the meantime, I’m starting with the current: A weekday getaway to Sedona.

It started, like many of our adventures, with me stating “I have an idea!”. Mitch has mixed reactions to this phrase- about half the time it results in him having to do a lot of work (yard work, house work, etc) and the other half ends in a lot of fun. I like to keep him on his toes. This particular idea came after seeing a GroupOn Getaway for Sedona. It advertised a resort for $49 a night. I was skeptical. But when I clicked to get more info, it listed 2 nights for that price- the exact two nights I had been thinking of. So I booked it! Our semester ended really late this year, meaning we had an entire week off in January- just begging for a trip. Sedona was the winner!

We spent the first half of the break celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's eve. There were parties, presents, so much food, a lot of booze, and lots of house cleaning and yard work to prep. So a getaway seemed a perfect end to the break. And who can beat $50 a night in Sedona? I’ve been to Sedona several times, but it’s always just been to drive through, maybe a quick stop to admire the rocks, and then be on my way. Mitch had been there even less, so I booked it.

Two years ago, on what Mitch called our first “Mega Date”, we went to Phoenix for the day to go to Castles and Coasters. We’d only been dating about 2 weeks, so a day trip seemed like a big venture. In the course of planning this Mega Date I mentioned Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch and how I had never been. So we decided to stop. It was freezing, but really fun. So we decided to go back on this trip. It was significantly warmer and even more fun. Rooster Cogburn is a classic roadside attraction, in the middle of nowhere, with no real purpose other than to see and feed a bunch of animals. It’s awesome! We got our feed cups (prices have risen in 2 years- plus they added a whole new building) and headed out. We fed the donkeys, deer, and goats. Braved the ostriches (they’re really big and scary and want food!). We laughed at the goats up in the PentHouse and the Hole in the Wall gang- a bunch of goats sticking their heads and parts of their bodies out of holes trying to convince you to give them treats. We also fed the sheep (a new addition), pygmy goats (and discussed how we should have some… someday) and the cutest little bunnies ever! Bunnies!! A very wise new addition. Then it was on to the Lorikeets- they eat nectar from a little plastic condiment container. When you walk in, they swarm- lorikeets everywhere and all over. They pry off the lid and lick the nectar with their ridiculously long tongues. It’s hilarious and so much fun. Afterwards it was on to the brand new Ray touch tank where we got to feed them eel strips and pet their soft backs. All the while dreaming of having my own little weird ranch full of silly animals to pet and give treats to. Someday…  All in all a very successful first stop!

Next up was IKEA! Originally i figured we could stop there for lunch- because Swedish meatballs are amazing. And who am I kidding? IKEA is the best, so obviously we did some shopping too. We found a few odds and ends that we really needed (of course) and some snacks for the road. Swedish Cinnamon rolls are amazing too. But, much to Mitch’s dismay, when admiring the kitchens, I uttered those little four words “I have an idea”. We had been talking about our kitchen countertops and what to do with them and a friend had suggested butcher block as a solution to give new countertops without ripping out the current ones, that are original to the house. I happened to spot just such a thing in IKEA and convinced Mitch we should get it. We agreed to stop back on our way home since a 6 foot piece of wood wouldn’t fit easily in the car and we had a lot of driving planned. Spoiler: We stopped back on Friday and got it. It was so long it had to stand upright and literally divided the front of the car, so we spent the drive home from Phoenix not being able to see each other and talking around a giant box. It was awkward, but I’m sure it’ll be great once it’s installed. Updates will come soon!

After our successful IKEA venture we headed north and finally made it to Sedona. It was dark and chilly, but not too bad. As we checked in, the concierge offered us a $75 dining credit to use anywhere in town, all we had to do was attend an hour and half presentation on Time Shares sometime during our stay. Time we have. Money, less so. So we agreed. He made us a reservation at a fancy Fine Dining Italian place and we headed to our room to shower off the smells of meatballs and farm animals and attempt to look like classy people. Dinner was amazing. We went well over our $75 credit, but figured we still got a deal. Every bite was better than the last. Mitch enjoyed a (very expensive) scotch, I had wine. We got an appetizer, salads, lobster and shrimp pasta, and dessert. We would be so good at being rich people! 

The next day was cold, cloudy, and rainy. But we had already planned to drive up to the Grand Canyon, so away we went. We stopped in Flagstaff for brunch and to pick up some candy (aka provisions) and debated not going, but figured we had nothing else going on so why not. The canyon was cold, foggy, and a little drizzly when we arrived. It was also empty. So we headed into the El Tovar lounge and sat in the bar drinking hot chocolate. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. As we were finishing our drinks, the fog cleared some and the sun came out a bit. So we headed out to admire the view. I love the Grand Canyon. I never tire of the view and never ceased to be amazed at how spectacular it is. We walked along the rim a bit and headed into the visitor center. We caught a presentation on Elk by one of the rangers- fact: Elk are not native to the Canyon or anywhere in Northern Arizona. There was once a smaller breed of elk present, but they were hunted to extinction by early white settlers and the current Elk were brought in from Yellowstone to repopulate the area for hunting. Now they’re causing major damage. As the ranger called them, they are “exoctic invasive species causing great harm”. They destroy the native yucca and other vegetation and eat farm more than the native Mule Deer and Bighorn Sheep do, causing the little guys to have to forage for food that should be abundant. In all the years I lived in Northern Arizona and all the visits I’ve made to the Canyon, I truly had no idea. So here’s my PSA: don’t import wild animals from other areas of the country (or world)- no good comes of it! Armed with our new knowledge we left the park behind and headed back to Sedona for dinner and warmth.

Friday we had to drag ourselves out of bed and get to a different resort for our Time Share presentation. It was terrible. I hate sales in general, but this was even worse. There was a lot of circle talking and no actual info given. Long story short- we listened for over two hours during our “private” meeting and did not buy a timeshare. Also they’re not cheap, despite what the circle talking implies. They also do not have any locations on llama farms. We tooled around Sedona a bit after we escaped, admired the vortexes but didn’t get drawn into any unfortunately, trekked up to the Chapel in the Rock to take in the views and look at a giant mansion that may or may not belong to Nicolas Cage and then headed towards the freeway. We decided to make more use of our National Parks pass and stop at Montezuma’s castle- another favorite of mine. We marveled at the construction and placement and appreciated that we have air conditioning and heat and don't have to climb ladders and rocks to get home everyday. 

On our way out Mitch suggested we stop at the Cliff Castle Casino. He had almost driven in its entrance by mistake, thinking it was the national park, and it was next to the freeway. We decided we would gamble the change we had amassed- about $3, and leave either when it was gone or if we made $5. We’re clearly big spenders! We walked in and put $1 into a machine. The minimum bet was $.49- not what we had bargained for, so we quickly left that and paid better attention to the fine print. We tried to a few, with no luck, and wandered around looking for something good. Then we saw it: a machine that had golden tortoises on it. If we were going to win, this was it. We played our remaining couple of dollars, and slowly watched the balance go down, occasionally boosted by 10-20 cents, but still dwindling. We were down to under 10 cents, and betting 1 penny at a time, when we hit the jackpot! 5 golden tortoises in a row!! The machine pays out 500 to 1 for this. Winners!! And for those of you who aren’t math whizzes, 500:1 on a penny bet is $5. We knew we weren’t going to top the jackpot win, so we cashed out our winnings, high fived at our luck and the tortoises, and headed to the car.

We drove back into Phoenix, picked up our 6 foot long box of butcher block countertop and met up with Mitch’s oldest sister, Alana, and her family for dinner. She said the shabbat prayers and lit the candles and we ate traditional chinese take out. The nephews showed us their legos and cars and books and various other fun toys. It’s always fun to stop in and see the whole crew and something we always swear we’re going to do more. Maybe 2017 is the year...  

 

Some lorikeet love. 

 

Bunnies were an excellent addition! 

 

Cat pillow!!

 

This is real life. 

 

Some lodge hot chocolate and lounge lizard time. It was chilly out! 

 

The clouds parted for a few minutes. Pictures will never do this justice. 

 

Filling up our water bottle with fresh Canyon spring water! 

 

Fresh spring water! And rocking that wind blown look...

 This is an elk statue. Elk are an exotic, invasive species and are doing a great amount of harm! 

 

This view! 

Before: simple paupers. 

 

 After: wealthy winners! 

 

We knew tortoises were where it was at. If only we had bet more than a penny...

Camping is in Tents

Mitch and I headed out of town for another weekend away. This time it was for a fly-in, aka a hang glider and paraglider meet-up. The fly-in was near Flagstaff, out at the base of some of the old cinder cones and craters. The area was beautiful- desolate and serene.

We got in late Friday night, set up our tent, which luckily is quite quick and easy, and which we've gotten really good at, inflated our sleeping pads and spread out the sleeping bags. At the last minute, before we left, I grabbed two small blankets in case we got cold. We were so cold. The little blankets helped some, but we're not enough and trying to fit two people under what I meant to be a small couch throw wasn't easy. The night was spent tossing and turning and huddling together for warmth. 

I had already volunteered to go into Flagstaff to pick up some grass seed for Mitch's dad, so I added a warm blanket to my list. I may have found a few more items while I was there... But that's neither here nor there. While I went to town, MItch went to fly. Unfortunately the winds were high and unfavorable for flying so there was a lot of para-waiting followed by a disappointed drive down the craters.

But that night everyone was in good spirits anyway and we had a giant Bon-fire complete with s'mores and everything. It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday night- good company, good fire, enough heat to not freeze, and a super soft and warm blanket which led to a much better nights sleep.

The next morning the winds were still too strong for flying, so everyone packed up and headed their own ways. Mitch and I decided to check out nearby Walnut Canyon. I hadn't been there in over 20 years, but remembered getting to walk through the cliff dwellings. The park service has closed them off for preservation purposes, but you can still peak through the door openings and get a sense of what life was like all those years ago.

I did not remember the stairs. So many stairs. The views are stunning, the cliff dwellings incredible to see, but the stairs are brutal. It seemed like a million, but was closer to 300. If you want to see how out of shape you are, I recommend climbing 300 stairs at nearly 7000 feet. Bring water. Don't get me wrong though, it's worth the stairs.

After we left Walnut Canyon, we grabbed lunch in Flagstaff and drove south through Oak Creek and Sedona. The aspen are just starting to turn yellow, which made it an even better scenic drive and much nicer way to head south than the interstate.

From there we went to Arcosanti. Arcosanti is this weird little structure in the middle of the desert that was designed by an architect to be a more sustainable community. It has the feel of an oddly futuristic, utopian novel setting. The people were welcoming and kind and we took a tour, learning the history, how it was designed and built, and a bit of what they hope to be. The vision of the architect is certainly not one that will be reached anytime soon, he envisioned thousands of residents but only about 100 people live there at any given time. It attracts mostly artists and students of design and they offer 5 week long workshops to learn about the "arcology" that is their signature mix of architecture and ecology and "hand-on" experience (which sounds like free labor to me, but to each his or her own...). 

They also make bells at the site and we got to see the set up for bell making. This is really their only money making venture. They are made of clay or bronze and decorated by residents. In addition, every helps out with the running of the place. They all have their duties in the community and live in small apartments, either as family units, individuals, or with flat mates. They rent rooms and have a nice pool as well as performance spaces that host plays, musical performances, and other entertainment. I won't be moving in anytime soon (or ever), but it was interesting to see and learn about.

After that we stopped for dinner in Phoenix with MItch's oldest sister, Alana, her husband, Nick, and their boys, RIchard and Alexander. Richard is in kindergarten and showed us some of his writing skills and commented that he was glad I still liked Mitch even though he has a beard. Kids are the best. And then it was back home, to a nice warm, real bed, and the week ahead. It was just enough time away to relax, and so loosely structured that nothing felt rushed or stressful- it was the perfect camping trip. And I'm getting pretty good at camping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Mexico: Land of Enchantment

I've driven through New Mexico countless times, but only spent one night (in Albuquerque) ever. So when I heard my cousin was getting Married in Santa Fe, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to explore the so called "Land of Enchantment". Turns out New Mexico is a lot more than just a space between Arizona and Texas, and worth the stop!

We were lucky enough to have a half day Friday since we had conferences earlier in the week and were at school until 8pm. So we hit the road about 3, which slated us to get into Truth or Consequences about 7pm. Except I forgot we changed times... But luckily I called the hotel we were staying at and they told us it was no problem and they'd make sure our room light was on.

But first, we had to make a stop. To see "The Thing!"- the classic roadside attraction. I've been once, but Mitch had not yet had the pleasure. The Thing is great- it costs $1 per person and you wander through several buildings full of weird, old, crap. Calling them "oddities" seems really generous. It's dusty old crap. They have old cars and wagons, and one of the cars is "believed to have been part of Hitler's motorcade". I'd like to see some evidence for that one... There are also drift wood sculptures, old guns, an unmade bed, and terrible reproductions of antique torture devices. Like I said, it's great. After you wander through the "galleries" that haven't been dusted, possibly ever, you get to THE THING! You will be shocked. You will be amazed. And you won't get any spoilers here- gotta make the trek and pony up the dollar for yourself. And after you see The Thing, you can head over to the attached Dairy Queen for a treat or do some shopping in the massive gas station gift shop. There is no losing at The Thing.

But back to New Mexico... We figured we couldn't make the 7-8 hour drive to Santa Fe after work, so decided to stop about half way: in Truth or Consequences (renamed in 1950 to win a radio contest hosted by the radio show of the same name). It used to be called Hot Springs, which is more accurate but less memorable. I found what looked like a cute place that advertised a private bath that is fed by the local geothermal mineral water hot springs. I didn't know what that meant exactly, but it sounded nice. It was so much better than I expected!

The place has about 10 rooms in casitas. The building was probably built in the 1940s and has been somewhat updated. It was cute, quaint, they left our light on and left they key in the door. No one is on site for check in, and when you check out you just leave the key in the door to signal you're gone. The private tub was the best part- it was massive. It had tiled walls that went up at least 3 feet and required a step to get in. It was larger than a twin sized bed and could host a small party if you se desired. And sticking out of the wall was a knob and instructions to "turn slowly". And turn we did- and out of a PVC pipe in the corner came shooting hot natural spring water. Pumped in directly from the local hot springs. It took some easing to get all the way in it, it was so hot. But it felt amazing and water was almost soft to the touch and slightly salty to taste. And, I assume due to the salt content, made me very buoyant. And there was no odor- at all. We both enjoyed a couple of soaks in our 15 hours in TorC. Our room also had a wall hung fire place, which was hilarious and obviously turned on so we could lounge by firelight. The next morning we grabbed coffee and breakfast at a nearby cafe and then headed north.

Santa Fe is beautiful. I know everyone says that. They are not lying. The mountains drape the background of the high desert landscape. Our accommodations were what I was most excited for- we stayed in a 70's travel trailer on a llama ranch! Llamas!! The owners were incredibly sweet and call their place "The Enchanted Yurt Llama Ranch". They have 11 llamas, 2 dogs, a yurt, trailer, and their house. They greeted us when we arrived and introduced us to the llamas and had us feed them grass and some homegrown grapes. I was pretty much in heaven. And their view of the mountains was stunning- we weren't around for any sunsets, but I'm sure they're breathtaking.

The main event of course was the wedding, which included rehearsal dinner Saturday night. Mitch got to meet even more relatives on the Conway side. He met 3 more aunts and 4 uncles and an additional few cousins. He does not remember their names, but is forgiven because there really are a lot of them. We did invent a fantastic drink- grave Jarritos (soda) with tequila. Dangerously good. By the end of the night we had 7 or 8 shot glasses accumulated.

Sunday morning, prior to the wedding, we hung out and got to walk llamas! Llamas! They have been halter trained and have long rope leashes. We were leant gloves to avoid rope burn and our hosts, Bill and Robbyn, led us, and three llamas, down the road, to the park and eventually to the river bank. Their rivers are much like ours- dry. At one point my Llama, Legs, was getting a bit rowdy so Robbyn took him. She only had him a few minutes when he pulled away and took off, galloping and jumping in the grass as he raced across the park. Bill took off after him and apparently he got about half way down the road before he realized he had no plan, so he turned around and came back to Bill. Meanwhile the other two llamas, MItch, Robyyn, and I waited at the other end of the park and the other boys were very distressed and unhappy that Legs had taken off and whimpered in the most adorable llama way. Once Legs rejoined his pack, we continued on our walk. We ended up walking for about an hour and a half. I had put sunscreen on my face and was wearing a cardigan that hit mid forearm and gloves. But hadn't anticipated we'd be out so long. Neither had Mitch. He returned with a nice raccoon eyed look, meanwhile I had a burnt neck and about 3 inch stripe on my arm where the cardigan ended and before the gloves started. We were obviously going to bring the class to the evening affair.

The wedding was in downtown Santa Fe at the La Fonda on the Plaza hotel. It was amazingly gorgeous. The entire hotel was classic Santa Fe style with southwestern flair, stained glass, and beautiful details everywhere. The ceremony was on the Terrace with the cathedral behind it. Nicely done Nick and Anna! There was a short ceremony, food, drinks, cake, dancing, and at least 60% of the guests were related to me. All in all, an excellent time.

The next day we packed up and headed home, sad as we were to leave our new llama friends. The trailer was an excellent taste of "living tiny" which is our new favorite thing to talk about (Thank you Tiny House Hunters!) so it was a fun topic of conversation as we drove through the New Mexico desert back to our familiar Arizona desert. I tried to sneak a llama in, but they're not particularly small or sneaky creatures and Mitch said no. So, no llama friends in Tucson. For now.

 

What is it?!?

 

 

Our giant hot springs tub. 

Setting the mood with some firelight. 

 

 Truth or Consequences. Fire water indeed 

 

Tiny but adorable. 

 

 

 

Sometimes a llama just want to eat all the weeds. And tree. And grass. And more weeds. 

 

 

 

 

Seriously, is this a movie? Gorgeous setting, gorgeous couple. 

 

Our matching cufflinks and necklace. Rhodaquarsite we got at the gen show and Mitch surprised me with by getting set into a necklace (and making his into cufflinks). A perfect match! 

 

The parking lot of Meow Wolf. 

 

Mitch playing a tune. 

 We're in the fish tank! Weird lighting makes pictures hard at Meow Wolf. Just go for yourself. 

The Work Drudgery

We're just over a month into the school year, and I'll be honest: it hasn't been great. It started off with so much promise and then quickly crumbled. The counseling department is funded for 3 people- two "alpha" counselors, who handle academics, credit checks, and personal and social issues, and one "College and Career" person who handles all the college and scholarship applications, college rep visits, and career prep. This is a severely underfunded department state-wide, and national recommedations for a school with 1300 students is 5-6 counselors. So 3 is already stretched way too thin. And then one counselor got a promotion and the other one resigned, so my trio is down to 1. Me. And my mantra has become "I am only one person, I can only do so much". Coupled with several new people in other major roles that ensure the school runs, it's a setup for disaster. 

And while I've spent some time feeling sorry for myself, and venting to many, many friends, I really feel sorry for my kids. I love my kids. That's why I work in public education. We all know it's not for the money, which is dismal especially considering I have a master's degree. I do it for the kids, even the ones who drive me nuts sometimes. I'm so glad I'm a person the kids can trust, confide in, seek assistance from, and go to. I overheard a kid, who is a bit of a handful and frequent visitor to my office, tell her friend that "Miss Conway is chill- just ask her to help you" and it defiantly made me smile a little bit. Just this week I helped a kid apply for free lunch because he lives with his uncle who doesn't provide him any monetary support other than a place to stay, and the cafeteria was telling him he'd have to pay for food. I helped another kid write a letter to social security stating he is a high school student so when he turns 18 next month his grandparents won't lose the small stipend they get for adopting him which goes towards their rent and utilities. He had come to me earlier in the year worried his family would have no place to live, so helping him contact social security to ensure they get a little bit of money for a few more months was a huge relief to him.

These kids stories go so much deeper. So many live with relatives, have parents in prison or who were deported, parents who died when they were just children or who left and have no contact now. I also have over 100 refugee kids, whose stories are for another day, because they are filled with heartbreak but also hope. They've seen and dealt with so much more than most adults I know. And yet, they come to school, in whatever state they can, and do what they can. They want to graduate. They want to get good jobs. They want to have families and cars and houses and nice things some day. And they're being shortchanged by a system that doesn't support them. And because I am only one person and can only do so much.

I work in a school full of people who care. Teachers who will bend over backwards to find ways to help kids understand the material and pass. Late work? No problem. Tutoring needed? You got it. Extenuating circumstances that kept work from getting done? We'll figure it out together, don't worry. I am so grateful for each of the adults who chose every day to come to a school that is underfunded, understaffed, populated by kids from low income areas with parents who may or may not support them and give it their all. They certainly inspire me on days that I want to throw my hands in the air and say "I quit! I'm done! You dont' appreciate me anyway!" So instead of shouting my resignation, I go home, try to let it go (I'm not terribly good at this, but I am trying), and know I'll be back the next day because it's about the kids and they deserve people who care. People who will go above and beyond for no extra pay, no extra thanks, and often no acknowledgement at all. And when a former student stops by to tell me how much they're enjoying college and they have a job and they're so glad I helped them graduate, then I know it's worth it. 

And I'll keep voting and hoping others do to and maybe someday I'll be in a position that is better funded and I'll get a raise too. A girl can dream, right? 

Best Friends Are Made at Birch Trail

12 years ago I needed a summer job. I was NOT going back to Yuma for the summer, so I decided to look for jobs at summer camps. I ended up getting a job at a camp in Northern Wisconsin (yes, Northern Wisconsin sounded better than Yuma). I packed my bags and flew to Minneapolis, got picked up in a big white van, and rode into the bustling metropolis of Minong, WI, population 521. And I began my first summer at Camp Birch Trail- an all girls camp that ended up being amazing.

When I first got there I told myself it was only 2 months and I can survive 2 months, and even if I didn't like anyone, it would be ok. I was 20- I was afraid the other kids wouldn't like me. I also figured it was a good trial run for studying abroad, which I wanted to do at some point. But I lucked out and Birch Trail was fantastic, plus I made some great friends. I worked there for a total of 3 summers, until I moved to Tucson and got a "real" job and no longer had summers off (man I miss college life!). One of the friends I met my last summer was Stacy. And we've been friends ever since.

We make it a point to visit each other as often as we can, at least a couple times per year. I have spent many a St Patrick's day in St Louis and she's made a few trips to the desert. We've also met up in Denver a couple of times- a convenient non-stop flight for both of us. And we did it again this year- to celebrate her September Birthday, being friends for 10 years, not being at work, and whatever else sounded good.

I really love Denver- it's pretty, the weather is nice, and there are lots of cute places there. The alcohol is way too expensive and difficult to get, but other than that I'm a fan. This weekend was no exception. The best part of seeing an old friend is just doing nothing. And nothing we did- there was cider and coloring and cable, which luckily was playing a Harry Potter marathon, ate cheese, and got a Bobble head at a baseball game.

I'm really bad at doing nothing- I always feel like there is something that should be done. Places to see, things to do. Especially on vacation. But the best part of Denver is for the most part, I've seen it. Which makes nothing a lot easier. And there was one notable event- we saw Boys II Men. They were playing at the taste of Colorado for free. We were nearly trampled in a crowd while we walked through the crowd, but eventually we found some incredibly over priced food and then some open grass that was practically behind the stage. We listened to about 4 songs, heard "On Bended Knee" and then called it a night. Boys II Men is not great live, but we can blame the speakers and outdoor stage set-up.

Other highlights included grilling and using an old atlas for fire starting, baseball game with Madeline, cider tasting at two different Cider breweries, an Uber ride with a gross bro-y dude who felt it necessary to comment on a woman's breasts as she was running, and the most amazing cookbook ever. I haven't tried the recipes yet, but I'm sure they're great.

 Ten years apart!

Everything’s coming up Prickly Pear

Last year, Mitch and I decided to make Prickly Pear syrup and jelly. And this year we did it again! We learned from last year, so it was a little easier this year. But it still requires plucking things off cacti when it’s over 100 degrees outside, so it’s not exactly vacation.

In case you're dying to make your own- here’s the process:

1. Go collect the ripe pears. You can tell they’re ripe when they’re a reddish-purple and come off easily. Use tongs for this- the longer the better. Again, they grow on cacti so they’re spiny little suckers. And they have the tiny spines that are impossible to see in your fingers but will hurt every time you touch anything.
2. I recommend not doing this at noon on the hottest day in the past two weeks. I did not take this advice. It was gross outside and I returned home drenched in sweat.
3. Take your giant bucket full of ripe pears home. Then use a lighter or creme brûlée torch to burn all the little spines off. This is best done while sitting on the floor and watching TV. 
4. Next cut them into quarters. Use an old cutting board because it will be pink. Your fingers will also turn pink when you touch them to put them in a big pot. Everything will be pink- bright pink!
5. Fill the pot with water so it just covers the pears and then boil it for a solid 10 minutes. Then mash it all up.
6. Straining time. This is where experience spoke up finally. Last year we used an old (and clean) pillow case to strain things. This year I spent $15 and bought a stand with two straining bags. It was a very good choice. Straining very hot cactus pieces is more time consuming than you’d expect. And those little guys are FULL of seeds. But eventually you will have a giant bowl of pink juice.
7. Then its time to make it into something else- syrup or jelly. Boil it with sugar and pectin (for jelly) and then jar it up. This is the time to invest in a funnel that fits on a jar perfectly. Hello Ace Hardware, my old friend.
8. Fill ‘em up and pop them in boiling water to seal. And, several hours and a lot of pink later, voila! Prickly Pear Syrup and Jelly.
9. Make margaritas. This is the best part. Share. Don’t share. Your call. As long as there are margaritas with prickly pear syrup, it’s all worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Back to School Blues

It’s been nearly a month since we got back from our Roadtrip. And what a month it’s been. School started just over 2 weeks ago and Mitch and I were back to work a week and a half prior. And it has been non-stop. Like every school, the beginning is a mix of chaos, confusion, excitement, nervousness, and “can I change my schedule?” echoing through the halls. 

There seems to be a sort of magic that encompasses vacation. Even when crappy things happen, its within the bubble of vacation, and doesn’t seem so bad. After all, you still get to wake up on vacation! I got really used to this bubble in the 6 weeks we were on the road, which made the return to work (aka school) that much harder.

On top of the business of school, it’s been busy outside of school. I spent the first few weekends working non-stop on schedules (the bane of my career existence). And then Mitch got sick. He’s been coughing non-stop for over two weeks, including missing an entire week of work. I forced him to ask his Dr for Rx Cough Syrup so he (and I) could get some sleep. But he still sounds like a 5 pack day smoker and cough syrup is a necessary evil to get some rest. On top of that we got the car fixed (thanks Raccoon- you owe us $800) and then Mitch had a blowout, which meant a tire replacement to the tune of $250. This new car is costing even more than anticipated.

Then i found out my new co-counselor, who is wonderful and so great to work with, took a job as the Coordinator of counseling for the entire district. I’m thrilled for her, and truly happy and quite relieved to know that such a dedicated, smart, hard working person will be in this incredibly important role. But I’m also really upset, because I’m once again alone. There are lots of talks of finding someone and getting a retired counselor to act as a sub, but the reality is those are short term solutions, and even when/if a permanent replacement is found, they will need to be trained- learn the staff, learn the master schedule, learn the kids, learn the school, etc. And i was so looking forward to a less stressful year and working with a great team…

But just as life, work, car, seemed to be getting the better of us, the perfect night came along. Over the summer I bought concert tickets to see Old Crow Medicine Show and Brandi Carlile. I really enjoy both their music and figured it would be a fun evening. Tickets were more than I would typically spend on a show, especially a show of artists I like but don’t LOVE. Even, like in this case, artists I really like. But i splurged and did it anyway.

As the concert approached, I started to regret my purchase. It was a school night, we had to get up early the next day. Plus it was at the casino, which is a solid 30 minute drive. I even briefly departed trying to sell them. I could tell Mitch was having some buyers remorse as well, so I faked some excitement hoping it would rub off. His parents called and asked if we wanted to meet for dinner. I was already tired and a little grumpy and figured we’d pick up food anyway, so we agreed.

We went to Wild Garlic Grill, which is one of the best restaurants in Tucson- by far- and it lived up to every ounce of expectation. From there, we headed West. Further West than I pretty much ever go. We got to the venue just a few minutes before the concert started, found our seats, and relaxed. And then the music started. It was fast, and upbeat, and featured fiddle and banjo with appearances by the harmonica and accordion. And neither of us could stop our feet from tapping or the smiles from spreading across our face. As the music continued, we were both entranced. One of the things we share is our history of being music kids. Mitch was in orchestra while I was in the band, but I try not to hold that against him. 

At one point Mitch stood up, grabbed my hand, and we danced in the aisle. Albeit, badly. We need dance lessons. But it was fun and at that moment there was no stress. There was no work, there was no car, there were no bills, there was just us and music and a warm night with a gorgeous full moon. We left the concert a bit early, knowing we needed to get home and to bed, and as we walked out we heard Brandi Carlile sing “I Was Made For You” and it couldn't have been timed more perfectly. We danced on the sidewalk, looked at the moon, got all goggly eyed and mushy, and in that moment I was completely filled with love and gratitude and happiness. Because as crappy and stressful as parts of the last couple of weeks have been, I have a partner by my side going through it with me, and I with him. And somehow that makes it seem a little more manageable. It makes the decision not to smother him in order to stop the coughing worth it.