...5.24...New Mexico...Day 2...

...through the gate into our adorable little Casita...

...Our Airman was super tired after his 36 hour day of flights...and got to sleep a little bit late this morning...his classes begin tomorrow...

...I snapped this little section of the guest manual as it tells a little bit of the history of the house...love that...

...the arbor covered deck and front door...

...the living room...

...another view...there's a sweet little fireplace...but we won't be needing that...I think May may be the absolute BEST time to visit New Mexico...the weather is absolutely PERFECT!!!

...the kitchen...I love the blue cabinets...(in this house I mean...obviously I don't want it in my own house...haha)...

...this is our bedroom...the daybed converts to a king...

...and there is this little bird hanging beside the bed...

...it reminds me so much of the little birdies from the Birds Of Change Exchange from years ago...

...we gave Our Airman the actual master with the Queen sized bed...we thought he'd be more comfortable in there...

...the dining table folds away...which makes for a neat use of the space...

...our bed made up for the night...

...the spacious bathroom...the history tells us that this was the location of the kitchen before the addition of the two bedrooms...so this was a really small casita...

...the little yard is such a delight...

...so many plants...there are tomatoes and herbs planted here and there and the guest manual says we can use anything we want...of course no tomatoes are ripe...but it was so sweet of them...

...we spent a lot of time out here...this is a drink the Man made for me...it's actually one of Our Airman's White Claws sweetened and with a wedge of lime and a cherry...it was yummy...I'm not a fan of the White Claw by itself...it's like unsweetened Koolaid...haha...

...and the shady arbor is so nice...

...and there are BICYCLES...YAY!

...so I chose one...and adjusted the seat...it was still a little too tall for me...

...found a helmet that fit me in the closet...

...and headed out for a nice long ride...this is such a gorgeous neighborhood...and I'll share pictures tomorrow of one of our walks...

~Have a lovely day!

...5.23...New Mexico...Day 1...

...this will be kind of a phone dump of photos...just in the order they were taken...

...Saturday we got everything ready to go...packed and in the car...and then Sunday...immediately after Church...like it was a getaway car or something...haha...we got in the car and left for the airport..for our first flight in over two years...

...the airport was REALLY croweded...much more so than I'd expected...we were masked...of course...but I'd say less than 50% of the people were...we got in the long TSA line...

...then once we were through TSA...we nabbed a bite to eat...just a snack...fried pickle and Dr. Pepper...it was yummy...we'll get a meal on the flight...I chose the cheese plate - as the only nearly vegan option...without the cheese of course so it will just be crackers and fruit...haha...

...just another crowd photo from our gate...hardly anyone is masked...

...in our seats...

...leaving the jetway...

...in the rather long queue to take off...

...airborne at last...

...leaving the lush spring green of North Carolina for the desert of New Mexico...

...and then...no lunch...there was quite the medical emergency right in front of us on the plane...a man went into diabetic shock...and they called for "any licensed medical professional to please come to the front of the plane"...there were three on board...a PA...an army medic...and a retired EMT...

...I was so shocked that they just tried to stabilize him for the hour that was left of the flight...I fully expected to be diverted...but we got to Dallas a half an hour early...and of course there was NO wait time taxiing or waiting for a jetway after landing...the EMTs boarded and took the man to the ER...and everyone on board applauded the medical professionals who assisted in flight...it was pretty scary...and I hope the gentleman is all right now...

...so...we were then pretty hungry and we had more than an hour before our next flight...so we decided to sit down and eat...and I got the "Hippie Burger"...it was really good...and I ate the whole thing...not sure why this photo is sideways...sorry...

...then after all that drama...we were back in our seats for the flight to New Mexico...

...the land gets visibly drier as we go westward...

...and no meal on this flight...but we got some vegan snacks...mine...cookies...they were pretty good...chocolate-chocolate...

...the Man's...trail mix...also good...we both shared...

...and the fields become circular...so unlike North Dakota with it's VAST square fields...New Mexico uses Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation)...where equipment rotates around a pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers...because probably nothing grows here without it...and I don't know where the water comes from...

...and then as you approach the Sandia mountains...things are green on this side...

...when Our Airman's wife and I flew out in February of 2020...this was all covered with snow...because all of the rain and snow stops at the mountain and falls on this side...

...and then...as soon as you cross over the peaks...it's all dry desert again...

...we arrived a couple of hours before Our Airman...so we checked into the AirBnB and then went back to the airport to meet him...and this is our very first glimpse of him in person in a year and a half...we're super happy!

~Have a lovely day!

...5.21...Dinner and a Movie...

...I made a quick vegan mushroom soup...just chopped mushrooms, a little bit of flour and almond milk...

...and we had some cauliflower we wanted to use up before the trip...so I steamed that and we added it to the mashed potatoes...but we didn't really like...so we probably won't do that again...haha...

...added a bowl of steamed zucchini and bbq tofu...

...and my turn to choose the movie...and I cose CODA...the title is a play on words...coda...in music of course...it is the concluding passage of a piece...and it's also the abbreviation for Child(ren) of Deaf Adults...and that's what the movie is about...a teenage girl is the only hearing member of her family...so it's about her struggles with that...a little bit of a love story...and her desire to go to college and sing...I thought it was a good movie...it was pretty predictable...pretty much all of the things you would expect to happen do...not sure the Man enjoyed it at all...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...5.20...Friday Favorites...

...this is kind of a new to us way of making zucchini...just sautee in some olive oil...

...remove to a baking dish...

...I think it would be really good just like this too...

...but we take it up a notch and add some vegan parm...

...and then put it into the oven for a few minutes...this is such a delicious side dish...that I'll be making a lot this summer...

~Have a lovely day!

...5.19...What I Ate in a Day...as a Vegan...

...breakfast was a Vegan Probiotic Biscuit...from the freezer...with a lentil sausage pattie...also from the freezer...it was quick and easy...

...for a mid-morning snack I had an apple and some walnuts...and tea...not pictured...

...for lunch I 'griddler-ed' some broccoli...

...and had a BUNCH of veggies...a big bowl of spinach...a deconstructed salad with orange and some more walnuts...and the last of the fresh pineapple...

...and for dinner we were going to have leftover pintos...and I thought I'd just make some 'hoe-cakes' instead of baking cornbread in the oven...it's a lot quicker...just mix up a cornbread batter like you would for baked cornbread...

...and then cook it in a skillet like a pancake...

...and I fried a big pan of cabbage to go with it...

...these are the finished hoe-cakes...

...the texture is a little bit different...and the crust is not quite as crispy...but still light and fluffy on the inside...

...what did you eat yesterday?...

~Have a lovely day!