Something Amazing!

The most wonderful thing is happening right now, as we speak....

The leaves are changing colours.

I noticed it yesterday for the first time. The leaves, which up until now have been dizzyingly copious shades and patterns of green, have suddenly got the most stunningly beautiful red edges. I was intrigued. Why had THAT happened? I had never seen such a colour in leaves before... except in that Virginia Creeper that grows outside of Dar and Kim's house when the season starts to turn. Wait a minute... (Slowly lighting bulb over my head... wait for it... wait for it... DING!) Oh!!! Oh!!! It must mean that the leaves are starting to change! But its not even the end of September yet... that shouldn't happen until late October, should it?

I'll confess to being many things, and at times smart is one of them. Just not right now, in regards to this, I suppose. It took me far too long to figure out that the change of season might come so late in the year in the Southwest of New Mexico because of the fact that it is a desert, which I am no longer in. Of course it would get cold earlier here, aren't I always freezing my toes off already? It makes sense that the leaves would change earlier than I am used to.

Upon reflection into my blatant stupidity, I came to the following conclusions: It is reasonable and logical for it to be a difficult one for me to figure out, because this concept of leaves changing colours is so foreign to me. My life has been spent in a place where the leaves don't really change colours all that much. They turn yellow or brown on the tree because they are dead... and they stay there until the wind blows them off, which is a process that begins quickly; but it is not uncommon to see last years hangers-on when the tree is blooming the following spring. I have never really seen trees turn red. (Except in those mythical things called TV shows. But we all know they are faked anyway.) And never as a gradual movement of red from the outer edges. Leaves are green... until they are dead and then, seemingly overnight, they are yellow. And it happens so late where I'm from. We wore shirt sleeves until late October, Samhain is generally the first day that its chilly enough to wear a sweater or a lightish jacket. A SWEATER OR A LIGHTISH JACKET! I'm bundled in Stephen's heaviest coat whenever we leave the house... and sometimes while I'm in the house too. Thanksgiving is really the time for throwing yourself into piles of raked leaves, not September.

So that is my exciting news for the day... the leaves have just started their turning. My first change of season in this far far colder place. Its stunningly beautiful. Trees with red leaves. Wow. I wonder what they will look like when they are entirely red, and how long the leaves will stay on the trees before they fall. I guess I'll be finding out soon enough.

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On another, completely different note, I have a song I want to share with you all. Everyone give a great big resounding facetious 'Thank you' to Stephen for bringing home the movie that this came from, and for singing it all night last night just to listen to me giggle madly. It may be the funniest song I have heard in a long time... and I rolled on the floor laughing about it all night. It makes me think of Christie... and I can't get it out of my head. I'll be singing it to Tristan when he calls me today.

(Update: Don't try to click on the video... it is not working. And anything else I post to share it with you will just disappear soon anyway... so go HERE and type in Spider Pig ... and giggle madly.)

The Internet God...

Right off the bat... Gracie, I'm so sorry that I didn't manage to bring Stephen over to meet you and the rest of the family. There was so much to do, and there were a lot of people that I didn't get to see. It was NOT that you were not important... we just ran out of time. I'll do my best to bring him back with me as soon as I can to get to meet you too. However, since you are SUPPOSED to be coming to visit me this summer, you'll get to meet him soon. Get that passport started yet? ;)

Well, the internet is connected at the house. However, Magical Mystical Stephen has to do secretive and deeply religious things in order to let computers attach to it. And since he is officially excited about having the internet (I have already figured out that I'll never see him again, and went to bed by myself last night for him puttering. In his defense, though, I DID get extra cuddle time when he did come to bed.) I am sure that he will have it all sorted out as soon as possible. Which means more regular blogs and returned emails.

This has been the week of preparing to go to University for me. There has been many lines (we call them queues, pronounced 'cues') full of preppy accented 12 year olds. Or so they seem. They are quick to judge and content to talk about someone's shoes or who slept with whom and "Oh my GAWD! Do you SEE that guy over there! He's so bloody HAWT!" I feel very very old. I have yet to see someone that is the same age as me. I'm hoping it is better when classes start. Either that or I might have to start wearing a shaggy scarf around my neck. If I do... someone please strangle me with it.

I am currently working on my list of things I like from here and things I miss from there. I hope to post it tomorrow, but be forewarned... there will be NO people on it. It goes without saying that I miss you all, and that this would be a much better place if you all would just move too. So hurry up and do it.

Damn the Catch-Up, I'm Pushing Forward!

I was going to spend a lot of time playing catch-up with you all about all of the things that were happening, but I have come to the conclusion that I never actually will be able to catch up. So, the short version. We got back from the Grand Canyon, spent time with family, and left. First to Houston, where we spent the night with Jim and Erin, and their two lovely girls, both of whom fell in love with Stephen, then the next day on to London.

Jet lag was not bad, all things considered. Ash caught it the hardest of all of us. She was barely coherent the first day. We wandered a bit, then went to Herne Bay for dinner and a walk by the ocean. Stephen and Ashley played rough-and-tumble on the beach, while I picked up rocks and put them in Stephen's pockets. We went home about 20 pounds heavier from all of the rocks that we (meaning I) found. They are flint, which washes up onto the beach and has historically been used to build with. A lot of the very old buildings in Canterbury are made of flint. I love flint.

The weekend was catching up and getting used to the lay of the land. We walked a lot, trying to get Ashley especially comfortable with where things were. Monday was the meeting with her Headmaster. The decision was made to advance her a year into the 6th form, rather than hold her back a year. It was a good decision, since it meant there were no uniforms and she would have a lot more autonomy, which were the two things she was the most concerned about.

Tuesday we went to London to look for shoes, which was entirely unsuccessful. Doc Martin didn't have the right shoes in her size. Birkinstock didn't have any winter boots. It was still fun, though, and we met up with Stephen's mum for dinner. Ashley really likes her.

Ash started school on Wednesday, and thus far, she is liking it. She says there is a lot that is different, they treat her a lot more like an adult, and the classes go much faster. She came home with a friend, which was slightly surprising, and also embarrassing, since there really is no furniture in the house.

Stephen started his new job just this last Monday, and thus far he likes it. They have let him off pretty easy, not overwhelming him with too much to do, which I suppose is a nice thing. I have been able to walk up and have lunch with him, which is even nicer, I think.

I had a meeting with the department head yesterday, and everything is set to go. My tutors have been hand picked, as will be the school which I teach in in January. He likes me, and we apparently share a lot of the same educational philosophies... but he admitted that I am the first international student to come mid course and finish this degree. I'm a guinea pig. Exciting.

Last bit of news... we will have internet at the house in 6 days. That means I'll be able to keep better in touch with all of you. You are missed!

Finally... An Update!

I hear you out there in ReaderLand… “Where the heck ARE you?!” So much has happened, and for one reason or another (currently because of lack of internet) we have been unable to update. So this is THE BIG UPDATE. I’ll pick up where we left off.

After two wonderful days in the Gila, we were off to the Grand Canyon. The drive there was hellacious, tedious, and long. We finally got to Flagstaff after dark, and decided to stay there rather than finish the additional hour and a half drive to the Canyon. However, after calling and being told that they would charge us for the room anyway, we decided to bite the bullet and finish the trip.

Stephen had had so many questions about the elusive elk since eating a bit of one, and he was a bit excited about seeing signs indicating that there were elk in the area. About 45 minutes into the trip through the ‘forest’ of juniper, I slammed on the brakes, scaring the elk away (of course) before Stephen had a chance to see it. It was a doe, so not nearly as large as a buck, but still impressive. Saddened, we drove on, this time with Stephen peering out of the window, determined. 15 minutes later I screeched to a halt again and he got to see the back side of another doe. 10 minutes after that, HE was the first to spot one, and rather than screeching to a half I slowed and backed up. He excitedly took pic after pic in the dark of yet another doe. They were the best pictures of the dark we had the entire trip. What a shame there was nothing else in them but the dark.

After a night outside the canyon, we drove into the little town of Tusayon. Explored a bit, checked into our hotel, and hit the canyon. It was far more impressive than either of us expected. And actually, words can’t really describe the experience of standing on the rim and looking into the depths of the canyon.

However, I can unequivocally say… I LOVE SCOPAOLOMINE PATCHES! Because of the patch, I am not typing about how I stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon and puked my guts out or fell in because of the vertigo and accompanying motion sickness. Instead, I get to say that I sat on a little ledge that hung out over the cliffs and swung my feet over the canyon. I leaned over the edge and breathed in the air. I listened to the swish of the ravens sailing over the open expanses, and I loved it. I was comfortable enough to get closer than Stephen.

Day two of the Canyon involved a very turbulent airplane tour (yay scopalomine!), followed by a trip into Antelope Canyon, a very famous slot canyon. It was lovely, and I had a lot of fun tracing the layers in the walls of the canyon. Some nice pics too. Then a trip through a 2 mile tunnel, and a 4 hour boat trip along the Colorado River. It was wonderful fun, though at the end Stephen and I both wished that we had done a white water trip too. Perhaps next time. The end of our day was a 4 hour bus ride back to our hotel. We had conversation with a lady from central Texas who asked us if we were newlyweds… to which we had to say no. It was slightly amusing to listen to her try to figure out exactly WHAT we were… but she finally defeated our close-mouthedness by flat out asking if we were “In love”, to which we had to say yes. (As if THAT were a chore.)

Leaving the Canyon, we stopped at City of Rocks, and I REALLY wanted to stop at the petrified forest, but we just didn’t have time. We had a date in Albuquerque. And we made it, in 6 hours. Just because it took another hour to make it the last 5 miles because of rush hour traffic means nothing. We visited an old friend of Stephens in Old Town, got some shopping done, then met up with Paula and Aaron at Paula’s studio.

There is a funny story here. Or at least funny to you, perhaps. I had directions to the studio, which were on a quiet street. There was noone around, so I wasn’t really paying attention to the road, only to trying to figure out which of these buildings looked like a warehouse with an art studio in. (They ALL did!) Anyway, I find it, start to turn, and get a HONK!HONK! I had cut someone off! I felt terrible...

…but not as terrible as I felt when I realised that the person I had cut off was Paula! We both laughed about it in the end, but I still blush to think about it. (I’m sorry, Paula!) I hope I made up for it; Stephen and I bought a painting (Which I still haven’t been able to get online to pay for!) and dinner was lovely. When the night ended we didn’t want to leave.

Next morning, breakfast with Andre and Andrea, then a long trip home, picking up Tristan and Ashley on the way. By the time we got home, the car was so packed that there were things at everyone’s feet, crammed into as many small spaces as we could find. We, however, were glad to be home, and glad to be done with the incessant travelling.

To be continued…