New Mexico: Land of Hidden Beauty

Ruidoso. A word in Spanish that means very noisy. Also a town in New Mexico. My father took us there this weekend, a quaint mountain town with some fun outdoor activities. We actually drove up a very winding road to Ski Apache because my father wanted us to see the place. He felt it was very pretty and just wanted us to go with him. Once we were up there, all he and my mother wanted to do was sit and talk! My father is afraid of heights, my mother is afraid too even though she won't admit it. I think for him the thrill comes from driving up the mountain and wondering how the truck isn't tumbling down the side as it's a very small road. Thus we drove for 3 hours to get there and just sit and chat! They have gondola rides up to the top of the mountain and the view was beautiful but my parents declined the offer to go up. My sister and I actually want to go back up because Ski Apache has mountain biking and a zip line, totally want to do the zip line!

Looking towards White Sands, another hidden New Mexico gem.

Missing a sister here.

Although I found it a bit silly that my parents drove so long and high for "nothing", it really wasn't for nothing. They just wanted to spend some time with their daughters and their grandson. My sister recently moved, they don't get to see him everyday as before. They've had withdrawals. I guess having us all out of the house has been a strange thing for them; going through a bit of empty nest syndrome. I don't have pictures of them up here on the mountaintop because my parents refused to accompany us :)

New Mexico, so many hidden gems. They really need to amp up the advertising, seriously they have tons to do and such beautiful scenery.

Summer's Wintery Highlight

Hello everyone!

Church waiting to be
rebuilt after the last earthquake.

I was reading through my blog yesterday and I thought what else could I add to my description of Chile? Honestly it was more I got to know a few people and ate out while I was there. Very delicious food mind you, the ceviche is to die for there and coming from a person who doesn't like seafood that says a lot! I'm not huge on seafood but I did enjoy it while I was there. Oh yeah, I was in Valparaiso which is a twin city with Viña del Mar. I guess I can take Viña off my bucket list, I had always wanted to go to a music festival they have there and technically I've been to Viña now. I may not have attended the music festival but I'm going to count it because the festival does not appeal to me anymore. It would be cold, wet, and probably musicians I've never even heard of now. Viña - check!

Quintay, a former whaling village.

Quintay.

Those two cities have a strange dynamic. Viña is nice and posh, very clean, still some graffiti but overall nice. Valparaiso not so nice, not posh, not very clean (public urination is apparently an issue), lots of graffiti but I still liked it for some reason. Perhaps it's because I got to meet a bunch of really nice people who lived in the area and got to walk around with someone who lives there. I think that makes a huge difference in one's opinion of a city. Mind you both cities were amazing and I enjoyed my time there, I really hope I get to go back sometime in the future. I don't think I can add more to my thoughts on this matter so I'll just leave you with some pictures.

Algarobo

Casablanca

Valparaiso

Invasion of the Cantaloupes!

Well hello there! Where to begin? Last time I simply summarized but lots has happened since I last wrote. Let me begin with my homelife and then we will move on to the trip in July.

The garden and my house have been coming along quite well. I have chosen to paint my bedroom, really refresh the white walls and add one accent wall. Maybe the closet too. The bathroom is a large project that will take quite some time to tackle, especially as I want to change up the shower setup. mainly the expense of it, it will eventually take place but for right now I will simply commit to purchasing the supplies I will require and then take a week and tackle the whole thing all at once! The paint for the bedroom was inexpensive because I got a promotion at Ace Hardware. Check your local Ace Hardware because pints of Clark & Kensington or Valspar are only $0.99; limit of 4 per purchase. Ask and make sure you have a copy of the ad (or on your phone) because it is running from now until August 30. Obviously they don't want to give away this stuff and some stores may say that it has ended but it hasn't. Always double check. This is just a quick picker-upper for my bedroom, I needed a little flair to end the summer :)

So delicious!

As for the garden it is amazing! I came back to a bunch of weeds but prior to the trip it was beautiful. I can now say I am tired of eating cantaloupe, at least for this summer. I have eaten the cantaloupe, I have made it into a drink, now I don't know what to do with it anymore. I have learned some valuable lessons about planting cantaloupe this summer and watermelon. Corn too. I keep on eating but it just keeps on coming! Well I've harvested the corn, that is that for the corn but the chile is still growing and the melons are not done yet. Better planning will go into next  years crops, much better planning.

I think this post will be limited to the garden and my house because I don't have all night for this! Hope everyone had a great weekend!