THANKFUL

On Monday of Thanksgiving week we began our trek to Albuquerque, to share our Thanksgiving dinner with Tim in his new house.

That first day, we stopped in Abilene for lunch at Panda Express and then continued west to Lubbock where we spent the night. Sadly both of us were as sick as could be that evening - our guess was it was food poisoning, since we'd both eaten the same thing for lunch, and the sickness hit us within 45 minutes of each other. I was sure we would have to spend a second night in Lubbock, and might even have to cancel our plans and go back home. But, as is typical of food poisoning, once we made it through the night we were both feeling just fine the next morning.

About an hour west of Lubbock is Muleshoe, the town where Dan grew up and went to high school. We have often talked about stopping to see one of his old friends, Delton, whom I had also gotten to know during our college years. This time we decided to make it happen. We stopped at the insurance company that he owns and found him at his desk. We spent a really enjoyable hour catching up on things and reminiscing about old times.

We arrived in Albuquerque around 4:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday. We had made plans to meet Tim and a couple of friends, Mike and Paula, for dinner at Cheddar's. It was a great way to begin our Albuquerque visit.

I was so glad to see Tim's new home - the first house he's ever owned. He's so happy to leave apartment-living behind. His house is a townhome, with over 1500 sq. ft., on two floors. All three bedrooms and two of the baths are upstairs. The living room, kitchen, dining area and a half-bath are on the first floor. He has a great view of the mountains from his dining area and his back patio.

I enjoyed a little walk around the neighborhood one morning. I was really impressed with the walking trail that is a block or so away from his house and the native landscaping in all the yards.

Wednesday evening, as the sun was setting, an almost-full moon rose. I took this from Tim's back patio.

Then, on Thanksgiving night the November full moon rose behind some clouds. At first I was disappointed about the clouds, but in the end I was happy with the photographic effect of the clouds filtering the moonlight.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was good. The menu was pretty traditional: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pasta salad, cranberry sauce and rolls. Of course there was pumpkin pie for dessert. I have to admit there were some challenges preparing such a large meal in Tim's kitchen, but with a little creativity, it came together and was delicious.

Friday was an eventful day. It started with breakfast at Weck's. Weck's has several locations around Albuquerque, and was our very favorite place to have breakfast when we lived there. It didn't disappoint this time, either. Dan ordered "papas" - a mountain of hash browns with a choice of ham, bacon, sausage, carnitas, carne adovada, pollo, or veggies, served with eggs on top and a choice of red or green chili, and warm tortillas on the side! Weck's is famous for its papas.

Since Tim only has a couch and a TV in his living room, we asked him if he'd like to have a nice easy-chair, as well, as a combination house-warming/Christmas gift from us. He was happy about that, so we decided to go shopping. We weren't familiar with the Southwest part of Albuquerque, where he lives, so searched on line to find some furniture stores. The first two we went to were no longer at their locations. For a third try, we headed to American Home Furniture, since we knew where it was located. We got onto Interstate 40, around 4:00 p.m., and had almost arrived at our exit when we got a FLAT TIRE! We called for Mercedes roadside assistance, and I was surprised that the technician who came actually changed the tire there on the side of that busy 5-lane road!

Of course, the spare wasn't a full-sized tire, so Dan dropped Tim and me at the furniture store and took the car to Discount Tires to have the flat checked out. We were so grateful that the puncture (made by a screw) was repairable, so we didn't have to buy a new tire.

Tim found a chair that he liked, and we made the purchase. They scheduled delivery for Christmas Eve, but said if it arrives earlier, they will give him a call and deliver it earlier.

I had made plans with my former boss and good friend, Betsy, to meet her for lunch on Saturday. Dan drove me down to Los Lunas, where she lives, and she and I ate at a wonderful little Mexican restaurant called Teofilo's. There's nothing better than catching up on life stories with good friends, especially over good food! 

When Dan came back to pick me up, Betsy suggested we both come over to her house so we could visit more. Her husband, Ty, was off work, so we got to visit with him for a while, too. Dan and Ty share a passion for motor sports, so that was the main topic of conversation.

Ty and Betsy

The week had flown by quickly. Sunday morning, as Dan and I were getting ready to go to church, and to leave for home afterward, Tim was fighting off some sort of stomach "bug." He sent us off without hugs, fearing that he might be contagious. We learned, later, that by evening he was feeling better and did make it to work the next morning.

We enjoyed visiting the Northeast congregation, where we were members when we lived there. It was great seeing so many people we know and love, after seven years apart.

Then we started home, once again heading for Lubbock for our overnight hotel stay. Driving home, on Sunday and Monday, we drove past lots of typical West Texas scenery.

Cotton fields - most were already harvested, but some weren't.

 Oil pumps.

 Fall leaves. There were lots of them as we drove east from Abilene.

Wind turbine farms - mostly around Snyder, TX.

We arrived home before dinnertime on Monday. It was so good to get home! But we are thankful and happy that we got to spend time with Tim this Thanksgiving week.