Up, up and away

in a hot-air balloon, an almost daily sight in Albuquerque, NM. 
      
       Charlie's daughter, who lives in Tennessee, mailed a package to New Mexico.  The conversation with the Post Office clerk went something like:
Clerk: New Mexico?  That will be the international rate then.
E: No. New Mexico is part of the US.
Clerk: New Mexico is a foreign country not a US state. International rates apply.   Et cetera.  These kinds of exchanges are not uncommon.  But with a Post Office employee?

EDIT: (or as it is called on another discussion board an EDITH.) There, it has taken an hour and a half after arriving home  to eat, unpack, upload a few pictures to Flickr, and get here to update today.

       Just two of us playing with George at Apple Mountain Music this morning and we worked on putting the three parts of the Waltzer  together which meant each taking a part. Parts one and two are fairly easy (they are the ones I know the best) but the third part is not only contrapuntal but counter rhythmic. It was a productive hour.

       I had to stop at World Market on the way home for treats.  I haven't denied myself McVitie's plain (dark) chocolate digestive biccies for Lent and Marmite is good for me I'm sure.

       Driving home listening to a variety of music.  Round the House album Safe Home.  Claire's singing and bodhrán playing is fabulous.  Round the House is no more but she and Dave Firestine are still leading lights in the Tucson trad-folk/contradance scene and Dave is one of the leading lights of Carp Camp at Winfield each September. They used to play together as Pùca; but their web site has not been updated for three years and I last heard Round the House live nearly six years ago.  Doesn't time ...... 

       This month I went home my usual way west along I40 then across El Malpais, the Acoma reservation and The Narrows and just before the Fence Lake - Quemado road junction I turned right into the High Country Alpaca Ranch and met John and Carolyn, the owners, who graciously showed me around.

       After that visit I arrived at Quemado just in time for the four o'clock vigil Mass for the first Sunday of Lent.  From Quemado it is only and hour's drive home west along US60 into the setting sun.

       Wandering thoughts whilst driving: young people use so many short cuts with spelling and what they call acronyms but actually are unpronounceable that a couple of old ones that used to be written on the envelopes of love letters came to mind.  The romantic S.W.A.L.K and the racier B.U.R.M.A.

      And now I have an ear-worm - Accordion Crimes Enjoy.

      Now it's time for Last of the Summer Wine  and a mug of Ovaltine before bed.  I'll catch up with you all tomorrow - or should that be later today?