Rabbit Ears Plateau

Two weeks ago - March 25 - during Spring Break - Ed and I set out to hike the Rabbit Ears Plateau trail in the Organ Mountains. We failed to appreciate the value of trying to spot the cairns - at least until near the end of the hike - and so we found ourselves off the trail. We later discovered that we had headed east when we should have headed north. We did a lot of bushwhacking followed by a lot of scrambling before deciding that we were in fact off the trail and turning around. After more scrambling followed by more bushwhacking we found the correct trail and followed it for awhile before turning back and eventually discovering where and when we had lost the intended trail.

Still Catching Up

During my blog hiatus I went up to Santa Fe twice to visit with my sister and brother-in-law and it was great fun to see them and to get out of town for awhile and a nice and welcome break from being a full-time puppy parent.

My parents came here another weekend to visit and helped out a great deal with the dogs which was another nice and welcome break for me. We also went to the NMSU versus Boise State WAC final basketball game which was a very exciting game with multiple overtimes.

At the last test the dogs still both tested positive for coccidia but they finished another round of medication last week and I will take another sample in to the vet tomorrow.

Bodhi is at the kennel this weekend from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon because I had meetings all day Friday and a hike all day Saturday and the kennel does not open until this afternoon. Maddie was supposed to go to the kennel too but she came down with an eye infection or eye injury so I took her to the vet instead of the kennel on Friday. She got some medication and is looking and feeling better and it was nice to have her here with me on Friday and Saturday nights. It is strangely quiet without Bodhi around but very nice to get some one-on-one time with Maddie again. I took her to the vet on Saturday morning for boarding and then my phenomenal neighbor Kim picked her up in the afternoon and dropped her off at the house.

Dog training is going well with Bodhi learning lots of good things and Maddie being reminded of lots of good things that she learned a while ago.

I think my dishwasher is broken and so I envision a new one in my near future. I got an online subscription to Consumer Reports so I could get information on all large kitchen appliances. I had picked out new everything based on the reports. But then I started reading consumer reviews on other sites and it turns out that consumers were not necessarily happy with products that got good ratings. So I am still gatering information and doing dishes by hand.

Working Backward

I will work backward to update the latest interesting and not-so-interesting happenings.

The water was not draining out of my dishwasher and so I looked online for information on this. One good web site gave a lot of possible reasons and instructions for evaluating each possibility. The first suggestion was to disconnect and clean out the drain hose. I did not particularly enjoy learning how to do that on Wednesday. But it seems to have done the trick. After disconnecting, flushing out with the hose (no obvious junk came out), and reconnecting, the water has been draining just fine.

The dishwasher was and still is sounding a little bit funny - so I am wondering if I might have to get a new one soon. If so then I am tempted to get all new stainless appliances. Not sure how that will look in my kitchen but if I change the cabinet knobs from gold to silver then it might be okay.

This is the end of our Spring Break week. Classes start back up on Monday.

Hiatus

I took an unplanned hiatus from blogging because raising the new kid to be a good boy - with another dog in the house - has been more demanding than I had anticipated. So - with this first blog back - I wish a very happy belated birthday to a number of friends who have turned a year older in the past month or so.

So, Happy belated Birthday to:

Austin & Jesse & Leda on Feb. 10
cannot believe they are 22!
and college seniors!
have known them since they were 7!

&

Kim on Feb. 10
Cheryl on Feb. 16
Ian on March 3
Laura on March 10
Tom on March 14
Nancy on March 20

Kid Pics

Runners Blog

I wonder if blogging about running will help me run more or at least more consistently. I was running every single day of the new year until I got Bodhi. Since then I have not been very consistent and both Maddie and I are missing it. This morning I ran in a Mesilla Valley Track Club event with Ed - the Super Bowl Fun Run. It is a trail run up Geothermal Road and there are 5k and 10k events. We both did the 5k this time but I have done the 10k in the past. It is a tough run with lots of little hills and lots of soft sand. I may try to make this the beginning of a new running streak. We will have to wait and see. I was glad I went this morning because I saw a number of people that I know or have met in the past - Shannon and Mary & Eddie and Jules & Kate and John.

It is a small world after all. John is one of my neighbors and I met Shannon through Team in Training which was coached by Kris. I first met Jules & Kate at a party at the house of Kris & Steve. I have since met them again at a party thrown by Kevin & Lisa and another party thrown by Mary & Eddie. I met Kevin & Lisa through Ed. I was introduced to Mary by Steve after the marathon last year that Shannon and I and Steve did - and Kris coached. Steve and Mary and I spent the several few post-marathon hours at the finish line drinking beer instead of drinking water or stretching or showering or napping. What fun. I met Eddie when Mary invited me to a party at their house a week or so after the marathon. Ed met Eddie through a friend of his who is a colleague of Eddie. I am intrigued by the small worldness of life in this town.

Puppy Games

Some of the puppy games we play:

Potty outside like a big girl/boy

Fetch like a retriever

Tugs and kisses

I do not bite you - Why do you bite me