Xxxicana’s Weblog

Probably most people would agree that 2009 was a tough one . . . we’ve lost loved ones, experienced economic hard times, illness, stress, and worry.  In my little world, I lost Spot, Amby, and Henny and Penny — dearly loved pets that gave us much happiness.

But, 2009 did provide opportunities.  I reconnected with family and friends that I had been out of touch with for decades! I enjoyed many moments laughing with Onion Tears over silly silly things, my parents visited Lincoln, and Mister Man and I spent many pleasant times with our Soup Group friends.

Friendship is something I didn’t worry about much when I was younger.  I was too busy being married, raising my daughter, going to school.  We moved a lot and I didn’t invest too much in creating a social network of friends that I could count on (there’s more to this, but I’ll leave that part out for now).

Friendship in one’s middle-age (eek, don’t even like to say that) is great.  We’ve worked out who we are, we don’t have to “keep up with the Jones” (or the Khardasians), we generally like ourselves and are comfortable in our skins (ok, except for those extra pounds).  Maybe, also, since our children are all “growed up” [sic] we can take a little extra time to linger over dinner, drink a little more wine, and bask in the glow of good cheer.  I feel fortunate to have really great wonderful people in my life as friends — every one from Miss Misam, Keith our 75 year old neighbor, to Soup Club, work colleagues, and my BFFs Mary and Cynthia.  These are the people I see on a regular basis that make life more fun.

And I never thought that Facebook would make a difference.  I’ve been able to reconnect with lots of people and keep in touch — even the minutiae of life that is SO much more interesting than anything on the news!  I’ve laughed at photos from 25+ years ago, loved photos from weddings, recitals, birthday parties, and other celebrations I couldn’t attend.  Thank you face book friends and family!

But, mostly I’m grateful that 2009 was kindly on my family.  It’s hard to be away from my daughter and her partner, parents, my sister Shelly and her family.  We weren’t able to make it back to Califas for Christmas . . . but did enjoy lots of fun in New Mexico over the summer with Mom, Dad, Larisa, and Nathan.  I would live in a multi-generational household anytime (I used to say compound, but Larisa thought it sounded like a cult).  I feel fortunate that we all enjoy relative good health and good prospects. We are looking forward to many more good times together in the near future.

So, before this gets too sappy, I’ll sign off with a Happy New Year . . . may 2010 be even better!

Me and Mister Man

Lovely Ladies of Soup Club

Patti Hoage, Kim Joy, Joan Johnson, Carleen Sanchez, Betty Bloomquist

Soup Club -- not for weenies

Dave Elog, Joan Johnson, Ray & Betty Bloomquist, Tom Martin, Carleen Sanchez, Kim & Matt Joy, Patti & Ken Hoag, and Mogli

My Parental Units in Lincoln

Thanksgiving 2009

Duncan Martin, Tom Martin, Dr. Dawne Curry, Carleen, Darlene Sancehz, Willa and Dom Garay

BFF Mary

BFF Cynthia with "Amy"

Larisa & Nathan

Shopping at Day of the Dead Fest in Bernalillo, NM

Tom Performing at the Pinon Cafe in Placitas, NM

Spot

Amby

Henny & Penny

My baby Cleo

Balam & Cleo snuggled up

It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving . . . the house is a mess . . . I have a ton of work work to do . . . and the parental units are coming into town on Tuesday . . . PANIC!!!!

Now, some believe that holidays are meant to bring family together for ritual sharing of torment, torture, recrimination, guilt, and disappointment.  NOT ON MY WATCH !!  Instead, we are going to enjoy love, life, drink, food, friends, and all the good things of family.  Nevertheless I am still in a panic wondering if I should iron the sheets for the guest room . . . ok, that is sick . . . but, just how much unclean can I get away with?  Do I make brownies (like my mother would for us) or just buy a bag of cookies?  Do my table linens match?  Can I vacuum the house with the shopvac? My God . . . how did I become so  . ..  so . . . Martha?

Hehee!  My avatar is spinnin’ around SL on a virtual Segway!

Last night I was visiting the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life (http://latino.si.edu/education/LVM_Main.htm).  It’s an excellent presentation!  Thanks to Pablo Rangel for giving me the heads up.  The sim includes embedded videos (aka machinima) on Afro-Latino music, Dance & Masks in a Mexican community in the US, and other subjects, and an exhibit on the Olmec (see my previous post re the Olmec in the virtual Mexico sim).  Vistors to the museum can click on images, people, or places and be connected to the extensive collections held by the Smithsonian.  Heads up  . . . there will be a Dia de los Muertos celebration from Oct 29-Nov 2 in the museums placita.

If you’re wondering why I’ve been in SL so much, I ‘m down with the flu, hopefully not  H1N1     ^o^         plus, It’s research!!!!!

Really.

We took Cleo for a well-baby vet check . . . Phew!  all test results returned negative for the nasty diseases.  I did ask the vet to check the kitten’s nether regions . . . I checked yesterday, but couldn’t find any external parts.  I thought maybe  I was losing my touch (so to speak) . . . but turns out that Cleofides is FEMALE !  So, now Cleo’s full name will be Cleopatra.  Cleo is NOT a happy kitty right now . . . shots, blood draw, frontline, dewormer, nail clip, and an anal probe >:-(

Teeny tiny Cleo weighs only 1.86 pounds . . . all that trauma has sent her into a deep slumber . . . . .  shhhhh!

Well, we just couldn’t live without a kitten . . . so we adopted a new baby last night. I named him Cleofides – Cleo for short. Here’s our new guy:

Cleo is an orphan . . . his mother died so he was bottle fed.  As a result he is a little on the runty size at 8-10 weeks.  He has a vet appointment tomorrow for his first baby shots.

First contact with Balam went smoothly . . . Amby paved the way.  I think we are all happier now but miss our little Amby terribly still.