Abandoned

We welcomed the Superior Aunt and its Superior Offspring with a cold front that dropped the temperature down about 25 degrees. The nice thing about living here is that you can get temperatures chilly enough to produce goose-flesh and yet still get sunburnt if you're rash enough to wander around outdoors for any length of time (we did. However I'm not an idiot and thus was well sun-creamed. Didn't protect against the sun-induced exhaustion though!).

So, we admired a large selection of aquatic things (once spending several minutes staring at a rusting shrimp boat in a disturbingly green "pond" and trying to see something, anything larger than a minnow), including petting some rays and almost-but-not-quite petting a very small, very wary shark. We then wandered around some gardeny type things and correctly identified: roses, cacti of various types, grape vines, several sheep, a cow and two very large horses. Then we headed home and collapsed for the rest of the evening (well, the adults did. The broods were removed to a distant location where their exuberance wouldn't spill over onto those collapsing).

Also, chile rellenos were successfully located and consumed (so I hear. Darn work) and sopapillas filled with honey so as to ensure the greatest possible spread of stickiness.

However yesterday the Superior Aunt and Children and one grandparent folded themselves into the rental car and took off south with the intention of seeing: a) some observatory thing of some sort b) White Sands [where there is Natural Beauty as well as a missile range] c) Carlsbad Caverns and d) Roswell UFO museum. I argued passionately for them to stay at The Little A'le'Inn but was ignored. If they survive all of that they will, in theory, be back tonight, possibly hungry.

I think I'll spend the day trying to figure out how best to add green chile to Coq au Vin.