Claire Sinclair

There's something particularly touching about unexpected largess. There were some unexpected expenses this month and around mid-month I emptied my checking account and wallet in order to pay someone with cash ($100.00). Since then, about ten days or so ago, I've been running on credit.

Hoping the small retirement from the University might've auto-deposited, I went to see. It hadn't but there, shining brightly against the former void, was a Zelle deposit for $35.00. 

I called the bank and they said to wait a day to see if the transaction processed. It did. 

Please forgive me Ms. Sinclair if I should know who you are. But THANK YOU!! Surprises such as yours help sustain my barely-hanging-on faith that "You never know."

(And if it was an accident, please don't hestitate to let me know.)

                        😊😊😊😊😊

14.Feb.24 Update

Since I didn't know Claire the bank assumes it was a mistake and sends the money back.

It was nice while it lasted.

Holiday Park Fitness Room

We arrived a little after 1 pm...a first. We had another engagement at 2:30 and as venetable nutrias of substantial girth, hurrying is not in our nature. As it was they texted us at 2:23 to say the'd be there around 2:50, so we had some time.

PERSONAL BEST - treadmill

Incline: 3.0

Pace: 1.5 mph

Lap: 2 (just out of the gate on lap 2. A lap may equal a mile)

Time: 11"47 secs

GOSAFE Act

Designed to limit magazines to 10 bullets and prevent modifications such as bump-stocks, it's a sad sign of the state of the nation that this paltry effort (link is to article in The New Mexican) is considered "an effort" at all. Below is my reply to Senator Heinrich's letter encouraging support for the GOSAFE Act.

                  --------------------------------------------------

Dear Senator Heinrich,

While I am glad to see an effort to limit war-like weapons, it is, at the same time discouraging; it's another example of treating the symptom rather than the cause.

In 2010 I drove up the east side of the Rockies and crossed over through Banff-Jasper park from whence I took the Al-Can highway to Tok and on to my destination in Palmer, Alaska.

It was my first visit to Canada and I was nervous about being in another country, but from the Mountie who greeted me at the border with "Welcome to God's country" to the border guard who waved me through and back into The States two months later, I never felt safer. 

I have no fondness for the 2nd amendment and actually think anyone who does is deluded. Surely you recognize the problems that engender "mass shootings" have little to do with the availability of weapons or the right to arm bears.

Though we've made progress toward changing the bigotry, rascism, mysogyny and xenophobia that're endemic to America, until we accept the challenge of fostering a sense of inclusive well-being, I suspect our country will end up mired in corruption and internal enmities much like the Mid-east. 

I am in no way suggesting we give up, but the changes necessary will need to begin in our schools. We need smaller classes that provide an environment of safety in which trust and openness enable teachers to address the incipient emotions that incite mass shootings.

Recognizing the role teachers play as surrogate parents, limiting class size to around 12 and paying them at levels commensurate with their role is essential to changing this country's trajectory.

Limiting access to war-weapons only affects those  whose attitudes are grounded in ignorance and fear. And though there are many of them, it is their children who carry forward the behaviors of bullying, derisive epithets and other forms of ostracism and devisiveness.

My opinions stem from several years as owner of a small company that provided over 20 after-school programs to APS (Albuq Public Schools) elementary and middle schools. I saw first-hand the individual attention children need in learning to navigate the path toward critical thinking and adult decision-making. We have yet to meet our duty to our children. Perhaps you can find a way to get us started.

Appreciative of your patriotism,

      MFH

EnidDine

It's been decades since Michelle did any video work, but something reminded her of me disgustedly throwing down the giant frisbee at White Sands at the end of Smokin' White Folks.

There're a few others on her YT channel, but the two below may have a (somewhat) broader appeal.

https://www.youtube.com/@EnidDine

Sophie, in Can't Let You Go, showed up on my doorstep a few months after Mom died. I'd co-signed Mom's 2nd mortgage and three days later she died of a heart attack. The house needed alot of work; I'd been laid off from my executive position at the University so had the time and was using my 401k to make the payments and buy materials while doing the work myself.

Mom's dog was still with me and after a few days Sophie decided to move on. Six weeks later she showed up again, pregnant.

We got things taken care of, the dog was adopted by the young couple who'd shared the house with Mom and we settled in....sort of.

It quickly became apparent that Sophie's strengths as a Mergers & Acquisitions and Hostile Takeovers specialist meant she expected more of me than I'd, up 'til then, thought myself capable. 

Over the next few months she supervised the house renovation and sale, our move into the garret of an early 20th-century gingerbread house at the edge of downtown's toniest district and helped me transition into the diapers that prefaced the sophisticated, international art-dealer I was to become.

            ----------------------------------

The man with the looks of tenderest sympathies in Can't Let You Go is (was) artist non-pareil, Vincent Distasio who died in 2017. Michelle "discovered" Vince at the 1993 Southwest Arts and Crafts Fair where they both had a booth. The Fair was primarily "fine-art and crafts" and Vince's work was so unique that his presence imbued the selection committee with a whole nuther level of credibility.

Can't Let You Go

Smokin' White Folks 1

Despite each picture being worth a thousand words, the 30-frames-per-second in each of the videos barely scratch the surface of our 33-year relationship. Michelle continues to have me nearly rolling on the floor with laughter as she, throughout the day, takes me along in her delight at life's absurdities and shows me it's not ALL stürm und dräng. 

Holiday Park Fitness Room - Day 2

Michelle did MUCH better at the gym. She discovered the "abs" machine and the situps bench. I'm having a hard time not bursting into tears over the poignancy of it all.

Imagine, if you will, me, as huge as I am, dragging her, a mere five-foot two, wonderfully zaftig, by her collar, sulking, up the sidewalk to the front entrance, through the sliding-glass doors where I have to PRY her membership card (membership is free but they issue a card in order to substantiate their funding) out of her hand so they can scan it, then proceed down the hall to the fitness room where I THROW her onto a treadmill & kick it into gear. Ten minutes later she's clipping along at 4 mph and showing no sign of boredom or exertion.

The only other people in the room are another couple about our age, but in much better shape. They're obviously on a cardio routine and move from one machine to another without hesitation or breaks.

Michelle (inadvertently) beats him to the abs machine. He goes by and mutters "Fuck" under his breath. Soon his wife queries him about his upset and after several exclamations of increasing volume of "WHAT!?!" (apparently due to his wife speaking too softly), he practically bellows, "I'm waiting on this machine!"

Michelle, in her inimitable capacity to ignore, just schluffs him off as "grumpy" and later relates the incident as a humorous anecdote.

At the Post Office we stand in line for 15 minutes  when on the radio comes "I'm frrrreeee, I'm free fallin'! Free Fallin' now I'm Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty.

Free Fallin' by Tom Petty

There're about 15 people in line behind us (we're always front-of-the-wave) and they all know the chorus. It takes only a little encouragement from yerz trooly for everyone, including the postal workers, to join in for a flash-mob (no video as I'd have had to get a release from each). At the counter, the clerk kindly points out it's a UPS mailing label.

While she's at UPS I go next door to the "neighborhood" Walmart.

Once home and groceries unloaded and lasagna in oven I'm lying down and speculating I may not move again for a week, perhaps longer.

Tomorrow at 12:30 & 6:30 Sifu Dug Corpolongo teaches Tai Chi. I hope to make it to one of the classes...if I survive.

Holiday Park Fitness Rm - Day 1

The young man at the registration desk said there was no way around the policy of two people having separate accounts with the same address. I asked how old he was and when he said "19," I assured him he had a ways to go. 

Natashia Baca, the Center's Director, had it worked out in less than ten minutes.

We started on the treadmill - I went 2 minutes, Michelle went 10+. Then Michelle to the chest press (We must! We Must! We MUST increase our Bust!). I got a pair of 5 pd dumbells and strutted forth & back in front of the huge mirror wishing I was in my grass-hopper-green speedo. 

I started a conversation w the sweet young (78) strawberry blonde about Dug Corpolongo's Tai Chi class. Dug and I used to enjoy sparring in our younger day; he always won.

Digital Recorder

Advised that being on hospice was the first step toward MAID, I met with a representative. She said the minimum contact was a twice-a-month visit from a nurse. On Monday, when we met, I was still thinking I might want to take short trips and didn't want to be tied down. I chose NOT to sign on. 

Thursday I was acknowledging my traveling days, even short trips, are of the past. (What to do with an "old beater" that has over $25,000.00 of restoration in it?)

A couple of weeks ago a woman I met at the January 6 Death Café referred me to a Death Doula. He's a he/him and inquiring minds wonder if that means he's a DoulO? In Spanish "a" is feminine and "o" is masculine.

Last Friday we set up a meeting for Sunday afternoon; I immediately ordered a digital recorder. On 13.Jan they said it'd arrive on the 18th. Then came a note saying it'd be early, but if it didn't arrive by the 18th I could request a refund (this is Amazon). Late last night, around 1:00 a.m., came a note saying it was delayed and would arrive on the 23rd, but if it didn't I could request a refund. 

I called UPS to plead my case. I 'splained how The Doulo is in high demand, time is of the essence and we couldn't reschedule. The nice lady said there was nothing they could do but Amazon might overnight me a replacement.

(Tap image to goto product on Amazon. No, I'm not monetized, but there IS a donate button in the upper right on the desktop view.)

Sure enough! They couldn't absolutely guarantee it would arrive in time, but they'd try.

Now that Der Führer has been dethroned, I gather Mr. Bozos has taken center stage as "everymans'" target of enmity, but when I 'splained my sit-chew-ay-shun to the rep, he got it instantly, asked me to hold for a minute and in less than 30 seconds was back with a "free replacement" that would be overnighted. I was in pretty rough shape and it took all I had to choke out a "thank you" before hanging up.

As I collapsed back into the post-breakfast exhaustion, I wondered if I'd have to pay the overnight shipping cost and whether I could just refuse the original when it finally arrived or if I'd have to endure WHOLE FOODS in order to return it?

After all this, I remembered I have an mp3 recorder in Phoebe. I called the shop where she's getting some custom fabrication to compensate for out-dated clutch technology and was told Robert would bring it to the house tomorrow. (They don't work on weekends.) The goddess keeps me hoppin' but like the man said, "You might'nt get whut chew want, but yuh jus' might find yuh git whutchyu need."

I might be able to record in stereo!

Hyacinths

It was while walking to school in Rolla, Missouri that I became aware of hyacinths. I like the purple ones best but they all have their smell. 

These were still too young to tell their color when I picked 'em up at Trader Joe's; I'll be on the lookout for purple over the coming week.

The terra-cotta figure has lived atop the desk since my earliest childhood. She and the desk are among the few remaining elements of that period. Her head was glued back on and unlike the matching orange Meissen vase and bowl that my mother loved, she is still here.

Abbey of Regina Laudis Cheese & More

We read childrens' stories to each other before going to sleep. Tonight we continued with The Witches by Roald Dahl & Quentin Blake. During intermission, Michelle read how the book's royalties went to the Roald Dahl Charity for Children.

Perusing Roald's Wiki page, Michelle recognized his first wife, Patricia Neal.

Perusal of Patricia's Wiki page disclosed she "had become a Catholic four months before she died and was buried in the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut, where the actress Dolores Hart, her friend since the early 1960s, had become a nun and ultimately prioress. Neal had been a longtime supporter of the abbey's open-air theatre and arts program."

Thus....

https://abbeyofreginalaudis.org/stewardship-dairy.html

The CBS segment begins with the Monastic Community singing Gregorian Chant in our church Jesu Fili Mariae and then correspondent Mo Rocca visits our dairy where he interviewed an Abbey herdswoman and cheesemakers. Watch Sister Jeanne Paul feed the cows and introduce her beloved Milking Shorthorn Red Wing Lily who is certainly not camera shy. Sister Teresa Benedicta and Monastic Intern Regina show Mo the final steps of the Bethlehem cheesemaking process as they salt and wrap the cheese in cheesecloth. Mother Noella introduced Mo to the ripening process in the cheese cellar and through a microscope. They spoke about Benedictine Spirituality and how the work of each nun with an element of creation, opens to the comprehensive vision of St. Benedict. And of course Mo had his first taste of our Bethlehem cheese!

Mother Noella on the Science and Spirituality of Cheesemaking
In this web exclusive, Mother Noella, a Benedictine Nun of the Abbey of Regina Laudis, talks with correspondent Mo Rocca about enzymes—the catalyst in the traditional cheesemaking process—and how they relate to the spiritual. You can, she says, find the universe in a microbe.

 From the CBS Sunday Morning Website, November 20, 2016

Watch the video Mo Rocca Pays a Visit to the Abbey Dairy Farm.
Watch the Interview with Mo Rocca on the Science and Spirituality of Cheesemaking from the CBS Sunday Morning broadcast.

NETFLIX PREMIERE OF COOKED DIRECTED BY ALEX GIBNEY IN COLLABORATION WITH MICHAEL POLLAN, February 2016

Explored through the lenses of the four natural elements—fire, water, air and earth—COOKED is an enlightening and compelling look at the evolution of what food means to us through the history of food preparation and its universal ability to connect us. Highlighting our primal human need to cook, the series urges a return to the kitchen to reclaim our lost traditions and to forge a deeper, more meaningful connection to the ingredients and cooking techniques that we use to nourish ourselves. 

Synopsis of the documentary film Cooked from Michael Pollan's Website

On February 19, 2016, Netflix began streaming an original 4-part documentary series based on journalist and author Michael Pollan's book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation. Regina Laudis, in particular the Abbey Dairy, is featured in episode #4: Earth—Fermentation's Cold

As a fan of Michael Pollan, it is with enthusiasm I encourage you to peruse his books Cooked and How To Change Your Mind, two I very much enjoyed.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------

Gregorian Chant

https://abbeyofreginalaudis.org/video&chant.php?mediaID=8&autoplay=1#top

CHANT AT THE ABBEY TODAY

Gregorian chant is not something the Abbey "preserves" or "performs" simply as a treasured relic of the Church’s heritage. Chant for us is a way of life. We are privileged to continue our study of the Chant under the direction of our Abbess, Mother David Serna, who is an accomplished musician and directed the monastic Choir for our third CD, The Announcement of Christmas

Seven times a day, and once in the middle of the night, the nuns of Regina Laudis come together to pray the Divine Office, an arrangement set forth by Saint Benedict in his Rule more than 1500 years ago. For us, Gregorian chant is life-giving. In the words of Mother Benedict, Chant is a medium that has the power to release and strengthen people. The chant is for me unique and superior to all other musical responses to Scripture. There is nothing that equals it because of its paradoxical simplicity and complexity. The chant centers our mission to praise God at all times, a mission expressed in the Abbey’s motto: Non recedat laus—Let praise never cease.

Watch a video clip of an Abbey class with Dr. Theodore Marier from the 1980's on the Rhythm of Kyrie XVI.

Captain Rob Cane Bids Farewell

Bob Cane leaves from Switzerland January 16th.

 Here's his goodbye...

https://www.exitinternational.net/this-is-your-captain-speaking-by-rob-cane/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=real-or-fake-how-to-spot-a-scam-dec-2019-peaceful-pill-ehandbook_59

Princess Mononoke

The Guild Theater in Albuquerque still shows The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has an annual LGBQRST+ series and has been run for decades by a couple of altruistic dudes. God nose how they've kept head above water these many years, but today the place was PACKED.

While waiting for everyone to get gone, Michelle spotted Betty who'd been sitting across the aisle.

Still in the lobby when we got there, I asked for their picture. They had a youngster, a female around age 8 with some purple hair, but she didn't want to be in the picture. 

Betty's a karaoke singer in Santa Fe. It was great to see such originality and delighted with how approachable "s/he" was.

The inexorable weight-gain as my energy wanes.

Still, it was a good day.

The Kiffness x Muyun Bros

 

The vibing cat!!!

Black and White

I've forgotten how I stumbled upon Black and White, but after a few readings of earlier posts I added it to the list on the right of mine.

Her latest, 9.Jan.2024, is about her Kickstarter campaign for her new book. Maybe one of you 40-75 passersby who wander through here each day might be interested.

https://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2024/01/kickstarter-campaign-is-live.html?m=1

Hospice is Coming

After missing the return call Monday, I connected yesterday. Katie, the Director of their Medical-Aid-in-Dying (MAID) program, scheduled a nurse to come to the house on Friday for an assessment.

I'm sleeping alot with some mild angina after I eat. Yesterday was a "good" day during which we went to the library and Natural Grocers. After unloading the books and groceries it was all I could do to get up from the chair and walk to my bed. I slept from 3:30 p.m. until a little before 7 p.m. when Michelle returned from her last cat-sit.

It was an effort to make her dinner: open-face cheese sandwiches with avocado & tomato w a 'prinkling of garlic salt. Back to bed.

At 9 p.m. I was too tired to move to her bed for our bedtime stories. Unable to sleep, I read until 3 am when I got up to for a bite to eat. Eating induces somnolence and I slept until Michelle woke me at 9 a.m. for my meds.

Most of the time my attitude is good. But as Reality Draws Near, I sometimes lapse into crying jags.

Uh-oh! Reality Draws Near

serigraph by Michelle Cook

I keep remembering Vince lying on his couch crying, the day before he slit his wrists, because he'd never get to ride his bicycle again. (Vince didn't feel well and when he got there, the doctor told him he had only three weeks to live. Morphine did nothing to ease the pain from the cancer and his case was one that influenced the passage of the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act in New Mexico authorizing Medical Aid In Dying - MAID.)

The Peaceful Pill Handbook offers a safe method using nitrogen.

Lest we lose sight of what's important, here's a movie that may be of interest (I've requested it through interlibrary loan - I.L.L.) and a website. The website is based in The Netherlands and their "about" page describes their philosophy....a thoughtfully crafted piece of writing.

Death Café & Beckett

Led by Gail Rubin, the Doyenne of Death, about 20 people showed up at the monthly Death Café to talk about death and dying. Several were/are hospice workers, one a retired physician, even a few youngsters.

The hospice worker sitting next to me encouraged me to call Hi-Desert Hospice. She said they have their own physicians who support MAID and it sounded to her as if I'd qualify. I don't need a referral from my cardiologist anyone else. I'll  do that Monday.

             ----------------------------

Damned to Fame is the only authorized biography of Samuel Beckett. As the stage is being set, we learn of Bill Beckett, Samuel's Dad, parking his sports Delage at the Royale Irish Automobile Club. Here're some pictures...

The 1930s Delage

The 2022 Delage

Quiche & Cookies

5:57 pm

All afternoon cooking.

Make & bake pie-shells for quiche.

Made batch of cookie dough while waiting for Michelle to bring milk for quiche recipe.

Numero Uno

Quiche baking gave me 35 minutes to sleep.

Numero Dos

Michelle left for evening cat-sit and I put cookies in to bake. Mumsy Herrmann he wuz known az in dem dayz.

Flat, like pancakes. I knew I shoulda used my own recipe. Taste good tho.

Will bake mahi-mahi when she gets home. It's been a good day.

Sleeping Caaaaat

I rescued the chair from off a street in the student ghetto in 1983. Stuffing was coming out of the arms and back and the springs in the seat were shot. It still had/has its J.C. Penney label that dated it to around 1923. Foster's Upholstery was still in business and a student loan helped pay for the $125.00/yard mohair. It looks almost as good as it did when it came out of the shop.

The tree was a collaborative effort between Michelle and I a few years ago. The purple cushion was a gift from, Erica Enyart, a custom-builder who collected Michelle's serigraphs.

And the cat....that's Bonsai, a.k.a. Trixie. She's 13 this year.