A Return to Almost Normal Life

My, how time flies...I see it has been almost 20 months since my last post.  With all the Covid lockdowns/restrictions, life as we knew it was pretty much suspended.  

We both have had the Covid vaccine, three times.  Expect to get a shot every year, just like the flu vaccine.  

 We took a flying trip last summer to Vicksburg, MS, to have lunch at the Gumbo Pot, a seafood joint with great oysters Bienville.  I think we ate there three or four days in a row. Drove through the Vicksburg Civil War park and located the area where Henry Waldrip (great-grandfather) was captured.  Then we headed north to Memphis to one of Mike's favorite barbecue joints, the Rendezvous.  Stayed in what had to be the worst La Quinta in the world...oh, well, only a few days.  Then over to Subiaco Academy where Mike went to high school (Subiaco Academy).  Beautiful campus in the middle of Arkansas, miles from the nearest town.  Both Mike and his brother Frank attended, three years together.

Since we had lost Mike's Tibetan spaniel the summer before, we were ready to find another one.  They are not a rare breed but they are uncommon and I wanted an adult, not a puppy (no longer have the patience to deal with puppy issues).  I found a breeder with an 18 month old male she wanted to place.  On our way back to NM, we met the breeder's daughter, picked up the dog (now named Stubby) and headed home.  He has a great personality and he plays and plays and plays with the old white dogs until they are all exhausted.  

Last spring we came back to very dry conditions in SW NM.  I looked out the window one morning to see this:

The bears came out of hibernation to no water in the usual watering holes.  It drove them into the park.  Park management asked everyone to pick up any water they had for birds, deer, etc.  Within a couple of weeks, we did not see any more of them.  This year is equally dry but so far, we have not seen the bears.  The one above is a youngster.

The usual kickoff to the summer season is Cinco de Mayo or Kentucky Derby Day.  This year it was a Mexican fiesta, complete with margaritas and a Mexican food potluck.  I wandered down to partake in the margarita part and then came home to fix Italian food (what is wrong with this picture?).    Saw lots of people I had not seen in some time due to the covid lockdowns and no activities for the past two seasons.  

My Yamaha Wolverine side-by-side has been troublesome since the day we picked up the machines, new, in Phoenix.  Yamaha replaced the fuel pumps under warranty on both; fixed Mike's problems but not mine.  We are hauling my cranky machine into a dealership in Las Cruces in an attempt to finally get resolution.  (The dealership in Phoenix had it for 13 working days and did nothing...AAARRRGGGGHHHH!)

Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all you moms who are reading this!