Monument Valley

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Nearly twenty years ago Michael spent a year in Utah. I met my mother and my sister (with her two boys) in San Antonio, and we did a road trip up through this whole area. We have many happy memories of (in no particular order) Mesa Verde, Pagosa Springs, Carlsbad Caverns, Taos, and Kayenta, just outside Monument Valley. We drove past Monument Valley, and stayed in Kayenta nearby. In that town was possibly the best Mexican food I've ever eaten. We ate dinner there, and breakfast the next morning. Back then, in 1990, we pressed on to Logan, Utah. Michael and I got married there. I suggested then a trip to Monument Valley, but there wasn't the time or inclination. This is that trip.

We woke to a cold morning, and this is the view from our room.



Breakfast was leftover baked potato with a salad of corn, black beans, green chile and red peppers. Mmmm. We had booked a tour which started at 9, so off we went. Up and down very rough dirt roads, it was simply sensational. Again, the pictures speak for themselves, I can't add too much commentary.








I learned from my trip to Egypt in 2000 that you really need to have people in photographs in order to show the scale. Here is an example:

Moab and Arches National Park

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Breakfast was the all-you-can eat American breakfast at the Chinese restaurant in Moab. Then we retraced our steps to the Arches National Park, and drove around going ooh and aah. Drove to the end of it, then walked for a while. We saw many of the eponymous arches and it was just awe-inspiring. I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves.



















It took the afternoon to drive to Monument Valley, where we arrived at dusk. Magical views. I couldn't resist stopping every so often for pictures. Why resist? Isn't this why we are here?



We are staying at Goulding's, where John Wayne used to stay. Just glorious. Our room has a fabulous view:



Dinner was at the restaurant here. The mini Navajo frybread appetizer was anything but mini. The mains were huge. We took the leftovers home and they were both breakfast and lunch the next day. Six meals for the price of two!

Greeley Colorado to Moab Utah

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A 6 am wakeup call got us going early. A sticky icky cinnamon bun and a hard boiled egg for me and cheesy omelet with sausage patty for Michael.

We were at the Greeley Museum at its opening time of 8.30. A cold and very foggy morning, and the air redolent with cow. The museum is a lovely old building, and there was plenty of stuff on the Union Colonists. Greeley himself only visited once, after lending his name to the place.



Nathan Meeker, it turned out, was killed by the Indians (who he was teaching to farm instead of hunt), when he ploughed their favourite horse-racing field. Two of his womenfold were held captive by the Indians for 23 days. Seems his idea of utopia was not the same as that of the Indians. There was a lot of information in the museum on sugar-beet farming, and also on irrigation. That must have been a real priority in this arid landscape.

Once done with the museum we set forth.

What a fabulous drive, through such amazing scenery. From the Colorado high country through Denver, through the mountains and down to the spectacular scenery of Utah. We are staying only one night at Moab, because we are on our way to Monument Valley, to a booking at Goulding's for two nights. That couldn't be changed, and was on our must-do list. If it was good enough for John Wayne, it is good enough for us.

Our breakfast kept us going until a quick stop at Georgetown for an apple, a Pepsi, a Snickers bar, and some dried fruit. Michael had similar, with two Butterfingers instead of the Snickers.

Moab is definitely a tourist town. One of the things on my list of possible purchases was a fancy belt. The cheapest I've seen was $1800, and the most expensive over three thousand! Um, maybe not this time.

We just ate Mexican for dinner. I make better tamales, but I don't do them very often as they are very labour intensive. Same for chile rellenos. Yum. We are very happy now.

We are staying at a Ramada, which doesn't appear to offer free wifi. However the list of networks tells me that the Gonzo Hotel has an unsecured network, so that's what I am using.

And now time for some photos. Such varied and glorious scenery. The high mountain passes had snow, and we drove through a few flurries. Frosted fir trees, golden aspens, the sparkling Colorado River. Some of the time Michael was driving, so I took the pics. Sometimes I was driving, so begged Michael to use my camera to take some. "Twirl the lens off macro to infinity." "Turn the polarizing circular filter so the little white notch is at the top, so you get blue sky." "Look through the viewfinder, it doesn't have a screen for taking pictures." "Turn the lens so you frame the picture." Etc. My two rules for taking good pictures are 1) have your camera with you, and 2) take a lot of pictures. Im adding a third - 3) look through the viewfinder.

See if you can tell whose photos are whose....

New 'prize'technology

Up at 6 this morning to go to Moab, and as we check out we receive a flimsy plastic card with a strange window in it. The instructions on the card tell us to go to a website and hold this window up against the screen to reveal a secret code to enter for prizes. I try this on Baby (our little white EeePC). What comes up on the screen is a blue box against which to hold the card, but I can't get the code right - I get an error. I took it to the hotel lobby to view in their monitor, and still can't get it right. Am I colourblind? Is it too hard to read, like some of those online verification codes? Do we really WANT 25,000 Holidy Inn points?

Our first stop this morning is the Greeley Museum to see what they have on the Union Colony, then into the car for a long road trip. We are aiming for Moab today, which is well on the way to our booking at Gouldings in Monument Valley.

Hastings, Nebraska, to Greeley, Colorado

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A leisurely start with coffee, fruit for breakfast, bed making, packing, and pleasant conversation. It is a long way to come for a short visit, but it is good to see Barbara.

We set off from Hastings, with Michael driving. Remember how Michael was crook? My turn. A stop off at a truck stop. Free wifi is everywhere - truckstops, OfficeMax, Walmart, Borders, hotels.

I drove, but had to pull over on the highway somewhere in Colorado. Bringing together the bottle of Sprite, the high wind, and the smell of the cattle yard made for a very memorable experience. Michael took over the driving again while I felt very fragile. It was a long drive, and we enjoyed Garrison Keilor narrating one of his books along the way. It formed a distraction!

From UtopiaUSA2008

We drove into Greeley around 5 pm, and checked into a Holiday Inn Express. I crawled into bed and stayed there until 8 am.

Arose today feeling relatively normal, but had minimal breakfast and no coffee for me. Did a bit of research on the town. We are here because the town was a utopian community. Temperance had something to do with it, but more because of its foundation as the Union Colony, which as Wikipedia says was an experimental utopian community of high moral standards. We sought the museum (closed, because it is Monday) and the Meeker House (closed, because it is the wrong season), and generally drove around. We were disappointed, and will do the museum before we leave tomorrow. It seems most visitors to these parts are the active kind. All the hotel brochures are to do with hiking and white-water rafting and horse-riding. None of that is us. Although I've done my share of those things in the past.

We decided to hit the malls. Specifically Borders, where Michael was looking for local history, and I bought a knitting book. Then to Petsmart for a couple of dog toys for you-know-who, and to Office Max for a storage wallet for SD and compact flash cards. A quick lunch of soup for me and pizza for Michael.

The malls are all showing signs of the ailing economy. Many shops boarded up, "available", for lease. Things looking dingy. The town itself is lovely, with beautiful autumn foliage.

From UtopiaUSA2008

Just so you know I am on the job, there are manhole covers too:





As advised by my daughter, I used Ravelry to find a local wool shop, but alas when we went to the address it was no longer there. I think it is a sign of the times.

The hotel has a pool and spa, and as we had the afternoon free I availed myself. It was great to soak in hot water. Driving for long periods leaves one stiff, and the soaking was good. We have much more driving to do.

Speaking of which, I suggested we walk to a nearby restaurant (my appetite is back, thank goodness!). Michael snorted with derision at the thought of walking anywhere here, so we drove the 500 metres to the restaurant. Food was good - grilled chicken with apricot sauce, asparagus, broccoli and tomatoes. No cheese, no oil, nothing deep fried. Excellent.

We will have an early start tomorrow, aiming for Moab.

Omaha to Hastings to Omaha to Hastings

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There isn't much worse than going to bed too early still jet lagged, and waking up at 1.30 am to the very clear memory of leaving one of your very favourite items of clothing hanging in the closet in the last motel you stayed at. My black velvet jacket with the pink lining. At that time of night I went through all possible variations on leaving it there or retrieving it. Morning finally came and I called the motel to see if it was indeed there. It was. Michael the Wonderful immediately suggested driving back to get it. Not a cross word. It is a long drive.

Barbara was happy to go along for the outing, and wanted us to take her car for the journey, so we did. This was an all day thing, I fear. We know that road pretty well now, and I took quite a few car pictures. This is me outside the motel flashing the pink lining of the jacket.

From UtopiaUSA2008

Another couple of car pics:



I love that square cloud formation.



We got home just in time to go out again. Dinner with some family friends, who are very good to Barbara. I think we are going to avoid church on Sunday, which is a relief.

Hastings (the ancestral home) is a mobile phone black spot, and there is no easy wi-fi, so communications has been limited. It is odd to spend so long without a keyboard. Good for me, no doubt. I enjoyed looking at Barbara's knitting magazines from the seventies and eighties. Some of the patterns deserve a spot in Stitchy McYarnpants's Museum of Kitschy Stitches.

The journey begins

with a busy morning getting everything done, packed. Popped in on Mum to say farewell, and cuddled the Pug. Ordered a taxi from the website, it arrived promptly. To the airport, then the airport lounge. I''d checked in online, and asked at the checkin counter whether it made any difference to do that. No, she said. So I wondered why I had bothered.

14 hours later I arrived at SF Airport. Having had dry-finger-no-fingerprints twice now at Honolulu, I was prepared with handcream. Ooops! There is a new system where the dryer the better. Fingerprints too dark, had to go to the secondary customs area where I was checked out. There are no winners in this game.

Despite being sent to the domestic terminal I did make my way back to International where my old workmate and friend Michael was waiting for me. He whisked me off to their condo where I was ushered into the shower (bliss!) and we had a lovely salad and a long chat. It seemed like only yesterday I had seen him, but it was probably 1986. It was great to meet Ed, and the time was much too short. I hope to see them when they come to Australia next.



Refreshed, got back on the plane to go to Denver (about 3 hours, I think) then a half hour change at Denver to Omaha, another hour or so. Getting pretty weary, this is a long trip and I usually break this kind of cross country flying with a night in LA or SF. Michael was in Omaha to meet me, although he was pretty fragile having picked up some kind of bug. Kept us both awake most of the night, but at least I was lying flat! I drove down to Hastings the next day and was glad to see Michael's mother looking so well. Michael still really crook, so I cooked for Barbara and I. We'd stopped at WalMart coming into Hastings to stock up. Barbara doesn't cook at all, and I wanted some fruit and veg. Man, Walmart is ENORMOUS! Saw some fresh tomatillos so bought them, made a creamy tomatillo chicken dish for dinner.

The countryside is very autumnal, with golden cornfields at the end of the harvest, leaves turning. It is a nice time of year. There are some Halloween decorations about the place, but not as noticeable as last time we were here.

Off off and away

I'm back from two days in Brisbane, and off this afternoon to the US. Feel like my feet aren't touching the ground.

We've eaten enough Michael's-Away food (lamb chops, pork spare ribs, chicken livers, etc)

First stop San Francisco, where I will catch up with a friend from days of yore (thank you, Plaxo, for the reunion), then to Denver, then to Omaha. I will be a weary one!

The housesitter is ensconced, the dog walker is engaged, and all is well enough organised. Off we go.

Michael's-away meals 1

Michael is in the US for a month, and I will be following in two weeks. That means Michael's-away food for my mother and I for two weeks.

Last night was chicken-livers with polenta. The chicken livers were dusted in rice flour (for the gluten-intolerant member of the family), then pan fried, with a final splash of balsamic vinegar over them. I'd read that this is a nice flavour, and it was. The soft polenta was delicious and has been refrigerated so that tonight it can be sliced and grilled.

The Wedding

Eighteen months ago my daughter announced her engagement. She's blogged about it, so you can read some of the preparations (especially the knitting) for it here. I've enjoyed all the leadup to it, especially finding and buying the dress. According to Julie you know when you have the right dress when your mother bursts into tears. There were moments like that all along.

The wedding was on Saturday. It was a dismal day, cold and rainy, but nothing dampened the joy and love.

I went to her house in the morning for the 'fooofffing'. She had organised a hair and makeup person to come to her house to prepare us for the Big Day. The Bridesmaid was there, and we had such fun. Melony, the artiste, did a terrific job. We ate a healthy lunch, Julie knitted to keep calm while Bridesmaid and I were dollied up. The flowers arrived on time. I took lots of photos during the preparations.

The Bridesmaid's Husband was the Chauffeur and he shepherded us to the car, and we drove to Curzon Hall, where the wedding was held. It was to have been in the garden, but the weather precluded that, so it was on a beautiful verandah. There was a harpist accompanying. Curzon Hall is tremendously professional. The reception was in a lovely room inside from the verandah.

Everything was lovely. The Bride and Groom glowed, the Best Man looked terrific, the food, the music, the flowers, everything. What a charming occasion.

Of course I had my camera and took lots of photos. They are in the album linked at the side, and here are a couple of the best ones:

From Wedding

From Wedding

From Wedding

Mango Mourning

We are in deep mourning today as our mango tree is being removed. As I sit typing this I hear the sound of the chainsaw. Over the last few years it has been ailing. We have had the Tree Doctor in several times.

On 15th January, 2003 the notes say "the tree is showing marked signs of decline. A secondary infestation of ambrosia beetle exists."

On 7th April, 2006 the notes were "leaf colour is poor with interveinal clorosis throughout the canopy."

Nothing lasts forever, and the tree is probably sixty years old. It now looks terrible and it is time to bite the bullet.



Over the years it has given us enormous pleasure. It gave shade, and it gave fruit. The fruit were enormous - sometimes over a kilo each. They were sweet, delicious, and a blessing. To harvest one's own mangoes in inner city Sydney was an amazing thing.

Farewell, tree. We loved you.

I've got a new toy

And I am truly besotted. It is an Asus eee PC 901 netbook.

For years I have sought connectivity on the road. I've trundled around a Texas Instruments Silent 700 with acoustic coupler.

No screen, a roll of thermal paper, and two sockets to plug your phone into. I used it for my first email on the road. Email then was done 256 characters at a time, from a DOS command prompt, and printed on the thermal paper. This must have been 1979-80.

There were the years of trying to find (and often unscrew) telephone connections in hotel rooms, near a powerpoint. There were the years of going through switchboards to try and call interstate numbers for packet switched networks. Those were the days before free calls or 1800 numbers, and switchboards often had bans on interstate calls.

I've lumped around heavy laptops and experimented with all kinds of different ways of staying connected. I've pointed my infrared mobile phone to my old Palm Pilot (yes, it worked) and jumped through all kinds of hoops just to get online.

Things are so much easier. I now have gmail on my mobile phone with no problems at all. Even in a hotel room in Athens, without having made any prior arrangements, I could just click and receive my mail.

One of the big changes in my computing over the last year or so is that I have moved just about everything out into the 'cloud.' Because I travel a lot, and have a laptop and desktop, I got sick of making sure all my files were on both computers, that Outlook had copies of all my email, that I had a memory stick with the appropriate files on it. No more. I have moved everything to gmail. I use Google docs for the files that need transferring. Plaxo and gmail run my contacts. I use Facebook and various wikis and google groups. All I need is connectivity, I don't need huge processing power.

I thought about an IPhone, what with all the hype, but that really isn't what I needed. My Nokia 6230 does a lot of good stuff for me and I saw no need to replace it. I have an iPod already and it works well.

When Michael showed me an article in the SMH on netbooks, I was hooked. It took maybe two weeks for me to make up my mind, rush out and buy one. I did a bit of research, and it came to a decision between the Acer Aspire One, and the Asus eee. My local computer shop has been very good to me so I like to give them my business. They recommended the eee, so I went ahead.

I picked it up on Saturday and spent the weekend playing with it. It was a joy.

I turned it on, it booted up with no problems. I asked it to connect to my wireless network at home - no problem. I was downloading Firefox within minutes. Then I thought I'd see about a bluetooth connection with my phone, so I activated the bluetooth connections on both machines, downloaded the Nokia PC Suite, and synched my phone. I'll configure it to work with my phone as a dialup modem too, just to be on the safe side.

I wondered about connecting it to our small digital camera - no worries. Just took the SD card out of the camera and plugged it into the socket on the eee. Up popped all the photos. Today I'll see how it goes with the bigger CF card from my Canon 30D SLR. I'll just plug the cable into one of the USB slots.

Skype? No problem, built in webcam and microphone.

I am overwhelmed with how easy all this was, compared with the struggles I have had in years past. Getting some of that functionality to work in the past has taken days of frustration.

Now Michael wants one. Who can blame him?

Being organised

Sunday is my washing day.

In this Sunday's Sunday Life (SunHerald) was an ad for ANZ which caught my eye. It features a clothesline, with the tag line "Organised savings options for organised people."

This clothesline is the one of my dreams. There are four parallel lines, with the washing arranged in PERFECT order.

From left to right are blue jeans with red pegs, then pink shirts with green pegs, purple/blue shades of teeshirts with yellow pegs, singlets in shades of green with white pegs, and then striped socks with blue pegs.

From the back line to the front they are arranged from largest to smallest.

Not that I am obsessive about hanging washing out on the line, of course. Not that I have to have matching pegs or anything. Or that socks MUST be hung in pairs by one side of the cuff only, not by the toe.

Whoever did this ad has my enormous respect. I wish I could find a picture of it to show you.