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I’ve decided to start celebrating every 25 days now because it makes me happy and energized. I’m still speaking ten sentences a day on Duolingo, reading a few comics in Spanish, and doing the daily word that Spanish Dictionary sends me. See 850 Days for more details.

About the stairs — yesterday they planned to replace the stairs on the building right across from us, then do ours. But they got a late start and only did the other building:

When they finished with it they moved the crane to in front of our building and parked so it blocked cars from parking there.

Now they plan to start at 8 a.m. to give us our new stairs, and hopefully I will have a picture of them to show tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

October 16, 2025

They told us yesterday that they will be installing our new stairs in today. So goodbye old ones?

I will let you know how it turns out.

October 15, 2025

Most of us remember it was in 1492. Unfortunately my husband taught Kaitlin the line,

In fourteen hundred and ninety three Columbus sailed the bright blue sea.

It was a joke about the line,

In fourteen hundred and ninety two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

But he told her the joke before the correct version had stuck in her mind. Fortunately she has done just fine even without being able to remember which version is the correct one.
October 14, 2025

Misty-the-Dog and Friends

That brings back wonderful memories.

October 13, 2025

Rose posted this on her blog so I’m posting it here in case you haven’t seen it.

October 12, 2025/span>

In a 2010 post I wrote I looked at the news every morning as a way of practicing stress management. And the idea of news as stressors is a common one:

cartoons about stress

I’m spending a lot more time now trying to understand what’s happening in our country and the world. There is a lot more going on, and the news is even scarier now, but I’m mostly not getting thrown by it. I try to focus on what little I can do to affect things. That works for us, but it takes a lot of time and effort, and I understand why some people say it just isn’t feasible for them. That doesn’t mean they are helpless or apathetic — there are always valuable contributions we can make in our everyday lives.

October 11, 2025

Justo and Franco

I love this cartoon. The fellow is saying,

I believe in facing reality, but only because I don’t like turning my back on it.

Andy and I spend a lot of time and money trying to understand what’s going on in our nation and the world. It’s important to us but we’re retired and don’t have a lot of other obligations. The fellow in the cartoon implies being informed will make a big difference. What do you think?

October 10, 2025

October 9, 2025

Monday Kaitlin and were excited to read an article that said the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad was named the number one rail journey in the world for fall. We took that trip shortly after we moved to northern New Mexico and it still warms our hearts to think of it. Kaitlin found these two pictures from our archives and sent them to me.

Their website says,

Travel the Cumbres & Toltec and see the most spectacular scenery in the Rocky Mountain West

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a National Historic Landmark. At 64-miles in length, it is the longest, the highest and most authentic steam railroad in North America, traveling through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Rocky Mountain West.

Owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico, the train crosses state borders 11 times, zigzagging along canyon walls, burrowing through two tunnels, and steaming over 137-foot Cascade Trestle. All trains steam along through deep forests of aspens and evergreens, across high plains filled with wildflowers, and through a rocky gorge of remarkable geologic formations. Deer, antelope, elk, fox, eagles and even bear are frequently spotted on this family friendly, off-the grid adventure.

Yes, the train does pollute, but we didn’t worry about that 50 years ago.

October 8, 2025

A lot of people associate fall with orange and red, but around here fall colors are mostly yellow and green. In good years they can be spectacular, but not this year. The nights have been too warm for the colors to be brilliant, but it was still worth driving up to see them. (The photos don’t do them justice, of course.)

October 7, 2025