Posted April 26, 2024: This is the first post of 2024 (but harkening back to Christmas week of 2023 and bringing us on up to April 2024) closing out a major life passage, North Fourth Art Center. I’ve been writing my life from the perspective of being an active learning, traveling, working person for as long as I can remember. There are way too many journals, quite a lengthy blogging history, and even a book (soon) to prove it. Okay, that’s very much done—the working part at least, with “active” a bit wobbly in implementation.

Since my blog is also a sort of journal for me, I feel okay about being a bit silly from time to time–probably this post qualifies for that label so enjoy it before I get into those tall weeds of old-age and the apocalypse in the next blog series.

Lucky Me really is about my good fortune to hang out with such a choice coterie of family and friends. I use the word ‘coterie’ advisedly since it indicates a group of like-minded people, but I can honestly say there’s not a Maga-leaner among them. (If there are they have very effectively hidden it—I’m thinking Kim Philby-level secrecy)

Going back to Christmas 2023 and ending today—here’s my in-betweenish life. Lots of photos, not so many words. I’m saving them for later when I dig into those aforementioned serious subjects like old-old age (which actually one must laugh at or go mad), and politics (over which one stays mad…really really mad…in both senses of the word)

I included some photos of last Christmas in a post written on my winter visit to Robert and Marsha’s in Sierra Vista, AZ. I didn’t write after our last-minute trip to Naco, Sonoro, Mexico—so pretty pictures of a small and pleasant Mexican village are included…my second international visit for the year of 2023 (the first through a bit of Canada to Minnesota’s Northwest Angle).

The post is organized thusly: First people and the international travel…ending with a dog album as all stories should. The people story goes like this. I spent Christmas with my goofy brother (who is proof it’s possible to be goofy and old at the same time). Since I like words so much I decided to check out the dictionary meaning of goofy which means “mildly ludicrous” … which means “amusing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggeration, or eccentricity.” I will stand by a statement that all of the above (at least the ‘mildly’ version) applies to my bro.

Not the best photo of Buddy (he’s the dog), but having featured him in multiple past blogs this must suffice. Robert, on the other hand, is damn near smiling…unusual to say the least.

Then there’s his lovely wife, Marsha, best sister-in-law ever. Also on that goofy spectrum, but in different ways. For example…dogs. Who gets up in the morning and prepares three meals for the day ahead for…The Dog. Nice meals…meat (and not just any old processed meat), vegetables, maybe a touch of dairy. Attractively arranged. Refrigerated to remain fresh all day. Seriously!

Now, Marsha is a good people hostess as well, but…do I, her kindly old and fragile sister-in-law get the three-meal-a-day prepared in advance treatment. The answer would be No. Marsha in a restaurant where she starts grinning, one might say, goofily, at the glass-half-empty level.

We spent Christmas as one should. Talking, napping, watching TV, and eating often. The visit to Naco and other scenic places…and the area around Sierra Vista is quite lovely, not dissimilar from Albuquerque territory but perhaps just a little more dramatic. And we do not have a dirigible spy overhead. But I already talked about Christmas.

Naco

Since January 2024 was the last month of North Fourth, the organization, occupying North Fourth, the building, I had a small party at my house with a few of my favorite co-workers from the past few years. It was a little nostalgic, but pleasantly so.

And THEN Scott arrived for a month. Considering the Philippines is something like halfway around the world, one doesn’t come for a long weekend. We hung out around here mostly, with one side trip to AZ to visit Uncle Robert… Cooked, read, watched tv, talked a lot…was lovely. My sons and granddaughters, with a side of Robert and Marsha entailing a mini-road trip. Scott’s in California now…preparing to board his flight for the long ride “home.” Although the PI hasn’t actually become home, it’s a good adventure for the most part. A whole blog post about that coming up before too long. Meanwhile here’s time with my aging “kids.”

Back home in Albuquerque, we did more of the same. Enjoying each other in a most laid-back fashion. The nieces came over for dinner…and Scott, always appreciative of fine art got a present.

I’ve saved the best part until last. Granddaughter Patricia and her wonder dog, Luna, lived with me last fall. You’ve already seen a whole post of Luna photos, but there can never be too many dog pictures I’ve discovered from Facebook.

Luna always makes sure Sandy is enjoying her snack.

In conclusion…life is generally good, at least good-enough, even on the bad days. I get how fortunate I and my family, friends, and many of us are. We live in a world here in the U.S. where the death and destruction remains on a personal scale, brough to us primarily by gun-nuts/lovers/owners/obsessives, etc. instead of marauding gangs known as militias, terrorists (domestic and otherwise), and armies. However, we all know that the latter condition is just around a nearby corner, nearer every day Trump and his cult members maintain and increase power.

Damn. this was going to be a perky post all the way through. Puppy dogs and pretty towns and happy families. So how to end appropriately since I introduced guns and the cult into the mix?

One day, I baked such a nice cake.

One day, I tripped on trailing bag straps on a cracked sidewalk.

Broke only a finger and dented my brow. But at least I wasn’t shot.

Happy 2024.