I went out to the backyard bc I was cranky. My logo: cleaning out a flowerbed in the sunshine would help. Sadly, I discovered a hole in the corner of the flowerbed where the “floor” of our yard is spilling down into the “ceiling” of the lower neighbor’s yard.* Now I’m even crankier.

Olympic curling

The El Paso airspace news is terrifying. Albuquerque is only 4 hours away from El Paso. Las Cruces (home to NM State University & many of my son’s friends) is only 45 minutes away. Something is going to happen & it feels too close to home!

Predator: Badlands is really good!

I started learning to play American Mahjong a few weeks ago. It’s super fun! And very complicated! (A fab combo for me) But I got overwhelmed & cried while playing yesterday. Then I had a panic attack last night. I think maybe the social part is too much for me. I hate being me sometimes.

The “never before seen” footage in the new Disneyland Handcrafted documentary is amazing. I’m totally going to ask my engineer husband to watch it with me, and he’s not at all a Disney fan like I am.

Happy birthday to ME! I promise to avoid seeing my shadow today so we can welcome spring as early as possible.

Toy repair = worried Lily

I must be doing something right. The cranky & conservative ring leader of the 2 pm dog walkers at my local park straight up snubbed me like a 13yo mean girl today. She made eye contact & then pointedly turned her back to me when I said hello. I guess she didn’t like my NPR shirt.

Lily update: snow edition

Sometimes all you can do is observe the action from a safe place. I took this photo of a mama gorilla & her baby at our zoo. She climbed up to the top of a tree branch structure so she could watch the construction on the other side of the wall.

I’m back. Did you miss me? I took a break for 5 months because I wanted to focus on building my new life as an empty nester. It’s been going really well! The kids are both doing great, and I’ve been very happy in my personal life. (The world is a terrifying disaster of a dumpster fire, of course.)

Empty Nest Update: I’m going really well!! I thought I’d be a blubbering mess, but it feels like a huge weight has lifted. We did it!! We got both kids onto their own paths! (Oldest & husband left for Juneau Tues. Youngest is in his dorm here in town. I’m on my own with Lily the dog until Sat.)

Oldest leaves for Juneau tomorrow!! Tonight’s out last family dinner all together until December! 🥲

Me: Is that Orlando Bloom? Him: No Me: Colin Farrell? Him: No Me: Just someone who looks like their miracle love child? Him: Pretty much. (It’s this guy. Julian Kostov in the movie Fight or Flight.)

I will start posting botanic photographs & watercolor paintings again soon. I will! I’m really itching to start painting again, and I haven’t taken my camera out in soooo long! (This summer has been all about my kids - spending lots of time with them & getting them sent off go college.)

Ok. Chapter 4* of the Eppic Kids Head To College book begins today. Time to get oldest packed & ready to move to Juneau. She flies out on Tuesday. *Chapter 1: Oldest chooses a path that includes college Chapter 2: Youngest chooses a college Chapter 3: Youngest moves into the dorms (yesterday)

What gif pops up for your name?

Dorm move-in went really well for my freshman! UNM is such a warm & friendly place. Go Lobos!

My kid isn’t taking an umbrella or a raincoat with him to his new dorm room. He plans to buy one if he needs one. Yes, we live in the desert, so he’s not likely to need one often, but it’s monsoon season! I cannot wrap my head around this “que sera, sera” approach to life, but I respect it!

Note to self: STOP BUYING STUFF

I always feel better about the world when one of my Lily-related comments gets lots of love. The world can’t be a complete disaster if lots of online strangers think my dog is cute.

Show me your quick getaway vehicle

I want to befriend the neighborhood ravens this fall. I’m going to set out some shiny objects & peanuts in the backyard for them. Maybe I can give them things when I see them while I’m walking Lily. I’m determined to do this. They already follow me home sometimes, so I think this is possible.

Youngest is sick. Luckily, he doesn’t move into the dorms until Thursday of next week, so we can sit around watching stuff while he recovers. We watched S1 of Spaced yesterday & are watching Ghost Dog this morning. I’m sorry he’s feeling yucky, but I’m SO happy to have this extra time with him!

My kid got a new tattoo of an elephant blowing out a fire & every time I see it the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” pops into my head. (The elephant is from an album cover - The Glow pt. 2 by the Microphones)

Send good vibes! Due to an error, oldest must choose a new college dorm room at 7 PM MST tonight. There are only a few rooms available & she will only be able to see potential suite mates’ names (no details, all strangers.) I hope she ends up with people who don’t mind a trans suite-mate!

Sometimes HAIM sounds like Sheryl Crow to me. (This is a complementary comparison.)

“What do you mean tomorrow is August.” Red-tailed Hawk 🪶☀️🌵

My kid just made the best gnocchi. It was combined with sautéed chicken, asparagus, arugula, miso, bone broth, butter & sherry. SO GOOD.

Be that person who befriends the stranger, the outcast, the eccentric. They are the most interesting people Trans people are no different. Protect all trans kids unconditionally

I think I’m running out of things to buy the kids before sending them both off to college. Can you think of anything I might have missed? (Making sure they’re outfitted with everything they need is helping me to deal with losing them both at the same time.)

A sweet moment: The 5yo my daughter babysits started crying during the goodbye party bc he will miss her. Then his mom started crying. Then me. Then everyone. So we all cried & hugged for a while. We’re all SO happy she is starting the next chapter of her life but we will miss her. She is so loved.

Our goodbye party brunch was really fun. It was cozy & all of our favorite people came to wish my daughter well. Huge success. (And the food was a hit!)

I still care. I wish I didn’t. My kid is leaving for Alaska in 3 weeks. Her goodbye party is tomorrow. People who I thought were my friends don’t actually know or care about this momentous occasion. It’s still upsetting to realize this. How can someone just stop caring about us? I don’t understand.

Please tell me that my brunch menu for oldest’s farewell party is ok. (Don’t tell me if you think it’s meh. I don’t want to do any more shopping.) Sweet muffins, savory breads, cheeses, charcuterie, mini quiches, yogurt & granola, berry fruit salad, mimosas, coffee, tea.

I would like to do the Saturday afternoon relaxation thing now, but Costco didn’t have all the things I needed today, so I have to go back out to the grocery store. 😭

My kid is moving into the UNM dorms as a freshman in less than 3 weeks. There was a shooting in the UNM dorms this morning. My mom-brain is working really hard to compartmentalize these 2 things.

I saved the caterpillar. But I was too focused on moving it from the sidewalk to the flowerbed to realize I was leaning over the birdbath. Sigh. Had to change my shirt.

I left Lily at her friend’s house for a doggie play date without me for the first time today. I hope she knows I will come back!

Creature Commandos is really fun! It’s a DC universe show written by James Gunn. (Very violent. Not for kids.) I missed it when it came out, so we’re catching up.

Note to self: STOP BUYING COATS. Yes, she’s moving from Albuquerque to Alaska. No, she doesn’t have everything she will need. Let her figure it out when she gets there.

I feel like we, as a country, reached a point of no return a while ago. We can’t go back. We can only go forward. I worry that complete destruction of the old system is inevitable. I hope that whatever is built to replace it ends up being something good.

I only have 5 more weeks with my oldest child before she leaves for college at UAS in Juneau, Alaska. I only have 4 1/2 more weeks with my youngest before he moves into the dorms at UNM (here in town.) We’re enjoying lots of movie-watching afternoons & lunch dates, but… 😭😭😭

I’m really enjoying the newest Rivers of London book. I love that Abigail gets her own chapters. She’s my favorite.

We have reached that point in July when I start yearning for Halloween. I love living in Albuquerque, especially in autumn, winter & spring, but our summer is tooooo long. 🥵

The new Superman movie was delightful. I hope there will be more DC Comics movies made in this earnest, fun style. I’ve always liked the classic DC characters more than the Marvel ones, but the gritty, tortured, dark DC movies were never my jam. Seeing a feral Hawk Girl? Yes! More of this please!

1x every summer I make Swiss chard the way my MIL does. Break down 3 bunches of Swiss chard into diced stems and rough chopped leaves, sauté a big TX onion, add the stems, then 5 or 6 minced garlic cloves & finally the leaves. Add a few spoons of sharp Dijon mustard & stir in some rich sour cream.

My worst/best trait: I buy things for the people I love, especially if I think they need them. If you break your calculator, I will show up with a new one the next day. If my kid is moving to Alaska, I will buy an unreasonable number of coats. It’s a compulsion to make sure nobody feels neglected.

Family update: Husband is playing Oblivion. 21yo is playing Monster Hunter. 18yo is playing World of Warcraft. (They’re all feeling nostalgic tonight.) I am reading the Edinburgh Nights series by T. L. Huchu. Lily is refusing to go outside because there was a tiny bit of thunder 6 hours ago.