It was so nice to have Tom and Carolyn here for a few days. Molly and Phoebe played with Chase and Kip. They weren’t too thrilled with Inca and, being an idiot, I stuck my had in the middle of a dog fight. So triple antibiotic and band-aids later, I think I’ll survive. I just hate it when the dogs decide to “get it on”, and common sense flies out the window when I turn green and my shirt buttons start popping off.
Unfortunately Winslow’s Colonel Chicken did not seem to be the root of Carolyn’s stomach upset. So the first day they were here (Friday), Carolyn went to bed. That evening, Tom started feeling awful and spent Saturday in bed (and in the adjoining bath). Inca (the consummate Therapy dog) climbed in bed with him so he wouldn’t get cold or lonely. Tom’s Saturday indisposition left Carolyn and me to our own devices so we wandered off to Old Town. We found a few things we really needed to own — including kaleidoscope necklaces. The Kaleidoscope Shop is my favorite Old Town store — and was the only one in which we had to wait to buy something. Tom took photos this morning so you’ll learn about the “Sisterhood of the Kaleidoscope”. Old Town was really quite sad, however — so few people shopping and so many stores sporting “Going Out of Business” signs.
Yesterday, when Tom returned to the living, we took dog photos at my neighborhood park (see below and on Carolyn’s blog), he put me on a wireless router, and then we drove up to Santa Fe. Our legislature is in session — including on the weekends — so it should have been bustling. But where had all the people gone? — the streets and shops were empty. We had lunch at La Fonda Hotel — elegant old Spanish construction that is at the corner of the Plaza. Carolyn had duck quesadilla. Tom was being careful and ate part of a salad. I had the chicken quesadilla. That may have been the high point of the visit to our very old State Capitol.
I don’t want to see all the “For Lease” and “Going out of Business” and “Inventory Liquidation” signs. People either don’t have any money or are afraid to spend, and retail is sliding into a black hole. I miss the folks acquiring Indian art and jewelry, I miss the conversation, the admiring discussions. I am so sad!
When I woke up this morning to put beans in the coffe maker, I heard a pattering sound on the roof. Unbelieveable! We were having our first precipitation since December 9th. Since Carolyn and Tom’s mission was, therefore, completed, they loaded up the C-Mystery Element and headed back to Oregon. Because of the snow on the northern route they had intended to take, they decided to retrace their steps through Phoenix to California and then roughly follow the coast to Medford. Safe journey, my friends — I’ll see Carolyn in April, but our visits are too few and far between.