June 19, 2023 Breakfast - Oatmeal with Pear and Apple Chutney. Lunch - Sandwiches at La Ventana Arch. Dinner - BBQ Pork Ribs with an Ear of Corn and Blanched Broccoli

June 19, 2023 Breakfast - Oatmeal with Pear and Apple Chutney. Lunch - Sandwiches at La Ventana Arch. Dinner - BBQ Pork Ribs with an Ear of Corn and Blanched Broccoli

We woke up in our own bed, having left the Camper at La Ventana Arch, and Suzette started communicating with AAA about a tow.

We dressed and showered and I made oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins and some of the anpple and pear chutney Suzette made.

We received a call around 10:30 from AAA that they had located a tow truck operator in Thoreau who would meet us at La Ventana and tow the camper to Albuquerque.

So I made a sandwich with salami, ham, Manchego cheese on two halves of a sbuttered toasted piece of baguette and bagged some dill pickles. Suzette packed the sandwich in a cooler bag with ice and we drove back to La Ventana in the Prius.

The last ten miles we were followed by a bid red tow truck that turned out to be Jim, the driver for Thoreau Wrecker Service, our tower.

When we arrived at La Ventana at 12:30 Jim did all the paperwork and loaded the camper onto the truck and told us the fee would be $577.94 to deliver the camper to Jody’s yard in Albuquerque and AAA would pay $500.00.  We scraped together all the cash we had which was $73.00 and Jim accepted that for the extra $77.94.

We called Jody and notified him to expect Jim in 1 1/2 hours and waved goodbye to Jim and our camper.

We took the cooler and food basket from the camper and I put the wine and beers in the iced cooler.

So at 2:00 we ate lunch at the same table we sat at yesterday with the incredible view of La Ventana and finished the bottle of Vara Tempranillo and ate the Oreo cookies the nice Hispanic family gave us yesterday for dessert

We then drove back to Albuquerque, arriving at 3:45.

Suzette lay down and I fetched a roasting pan and a rack with 1/3 inch of water underneath and the boneless pork ribs we bought at Costco and spread BBQ sauce on the ribs and put them into a 350 degree oven.

Suzette came in a few minutes later and saved the meal by covering the pan with aluminum.

We roasted the ribs for 4 hours but they never got soft enough to fall apart with the touch of a fork.  

Suzette boiled two ears of corn and some broccoli while we watched Antiques Roadshow and then at 8:00 we served dinner with the two bottles of Dos Equis we carried to La Ventana and back.

I liked dinner but realized that the boneless ribs were actually sliced butt meat and would take several more hours than 4 to soften.

Suzette was unhappy with the result.

After dinner we watched another episode of Antiques Roadshow and ate some chocolate cherry ice cream to finish our big Juneteenth celebration.

Suzette went to bed while I stayed up to watch Rachel and Lawrence.

We were very lucky to get the Camper back to Jody in one piece and at minimal expense to us.

I called Amy to thank her for buying us the AAA membership and she told us about their harrowing aborted trip to Amsterdam after a three hour delay in Denver and a cancelled flight to Amsterdam last week.

Alas, travel is becoming difficult. 

Bon Appetit

June 18, 2023 Father’s Day Brunch - Buckwheat, Blue Corn, and Strawberry Pancakes with bacon Lunch - Sandwiches and La Ventana Dinner - McDonald’s at Acoma Truck Stop.

June 18, 2023 Father’s Day Brunch - Buckwheat, Blue Corn, and Strawberry Pancakes with bacon Lunch - Sandwiches and La Ventana Dinner - McDonald’s at Acoma Truck Stop.

Today was one of exceptional experiences.

It started calmly enough with morning news show and then a brunch of Buckwheat, Blue Corn, and Strawberry Pancakes with bacon.  

I made charcuterie sandwiches with Jarlsberg cheese slices and grapes with Vara Tempranillo wine and a couple of beers.

At 11:00 we drove the camper West to Acoma Pueblo Cultural Center where Suzette bought beaded earrings in the shape of ears of corn.

Suzette then wanted to drive further west to El Malpais National Monument which I had never seen.  It lies in a large basin south of Grants that experienced successive lava flows over the last 10,000 years.

We drove south to the overlook (above) and then further south on Hwy. 117 to La Ventana Arch, the second largest arch in New Mexico that was very impressive.  Here are some photos.  

We ate a late lunch at 3:30 and at 4:00 were unable to start the camper.  We called AAA, but they did not send a tow truck and at 7:00 we hitched a ride with a lovely family returning to Albuquerque from Mesa Arizona with six kids and a mother-in-law who gave us a ride to our house where we arrived at 10:30

We all stopped at McDonald’s at the Acoma truck stop, which was quite a scene sitting amongst the kids and Stan and his wife and their grand-mother eating fish filet sandwiches while they ate quarter pounders and happy meals and chicken sandwiches.

I really enjoyed being with a big family for a change and gladly paid for dinner for our saviors.

Tomorrow we will rise early to deal with the camper that we left at La Ventana.

Bon Appetit

June 17, 2023 Brunch - Eggs, Smoked Pork Chop, and Refried Beans. Snack - Costco Hot Dog. Dinner - Sautéed Scallops with Tomato, Green Onion, and Asparagus in Marinara Sauce over Ricotta filled Ravioli

 June 17, 2023 Brunch - Eggs, Smoked Pork Chop, and Refried Beans. Snack - Costco Hot Dog. Dinner - Sautéed Scallops with Tomato, Green Onion, and Asparagus in Marinara Sauce over Ricotta filled Ravioli

I woke up and drafted a summery of face for a Petition to the New Mexico Supreme Court in my water case.

We ate brunch around 10:30.  Suzette Fried a smoked pork chop and three eggs and the PPI Refried pinto beans and toasted a flour tortilla and added two Gaige’s of an apricot raised in our gardenwe had a lovely brunch. 

During brunch pI opened my Father’s Day gift from Luke, a baseball cap sold by the Ram Dass foundation that reads, “Be Here Now”.  I instantly loved it and will wear it to Spain.

We also received a circular bumper sticker that says on one side, “Nowhere to Go” and on the other side of the circle “Nothing to Do”’ which is more esoteric but conveys the same thought as Be here Now.

I then picked roses and put them in vases and we then drove to Costco in the van to fill it with gas for our drive to Acoma tomorrow.

We shopped at Costco for several items, including beer, a bottle of Domaine de Tamaray rose, eggs, Dewar’s scotch, grapes, charcuterie, and boneless pork ribs to BBQ for Father’s Day tomorrow.

After shopping we each ate a hot dog and then drove home.

We rested until 4:00 and then planned e first two weeks of our trip to Spain until 8:30 when we cooked dinner.

I chopped two green onions, and the Provençal Tomato and Suzette chopped about a dozen stalks of asparagus into 1/2 inch rounds.  She also cooked the last dozen ravioli and in a large skillet sautéed the chopped diver scallops and seasoned Marinara sauce from our meal Wednesday evening with Ken and Mary at Le Troquet loosened with some of crab broth.

We also ate the last of the Vichyssoise we made last week with crab broth.

I went to the garden and picked five or six chives that I sliced in thin ringlets to garnish the Vichyssoise.

We opened a bottle of Kirkland Sauvignon Blanc from Marborough that was overly acidic and clashed with the acidity in the tomato sauce.

After dinner I made a cup of tea and heated the brownie from last night’s cocktail party.

Finally, Suzette went to bed at 10:00 and I followed at 11:00.

Bon Appetit

June 15, 2023 Lunch - Meat Pie and Salad. Dinner - Sautéed Smoked Pork Chop with Pear and Apple Chutney and Cauliflower Couscous with Asparagus

June 15, 2023 Lunch - Meat Pie and Salad.  Dinner - Sautéed Smoked Pork Chop with Pear and Apple Chutney and Cauliflower Couscous with Asparagus

I have taken seriously combatting the rise in my A1C so I ate granola, milk, yogurt, and strawberries for breakfast.

Today was consumed by a visit to the Vein Restoration Clinic in the morning. After an ultrasound examination, I met Dr. Harding, a Southern gentleman educated at Columbia, who told me I had mild chronic poor pumping and I needed to pump my ankles or walk to strengthen my pumping muscles in my ankles.

At 11:30 when I finished my appointment I went home and at 12:30 made lunch.  I gathers about 1/3 of a basket of baby lettuce from the garden and added cup arugula and two leaves of romaine sliced and made a salad with a diced hard boiled egg, a sliced radish, slices of red onion, and handful of Moroccan dried black olives and added lemon juice and good olive oil to the jar of dressing and dressed the salad.  Then I heated a meat pie I bought at Cafe Istanbul and added labni as the attendant suggested and poured a glass of mint kefir for a Mediterranean lunch.

After lunch I checked the Market and was pleased with another .077% gain. Today was a strong gain in all indices with the Dow up 425 points and the S & P hitting 4525 points, which may be a new high for it, helped by the Fed not raising the discount rate for June that helped the rally spread to the broader market from the 7 big tech stocks.

I read some more land grant law and articles after lunch and then watched Ari and at 5:15 lay down for my nap after Suzette came home and we decided on sautéed smoked pork chops and I confirmed that I had bought a cauliflower that was in the garage.

Suzette awakened me at 6:15 with the explanation that she was ready to make apple and pear chutney to go with the sautéed pork chop.

I then sat at the table in the TV room where I could the news and cored, peeled, and thinly sliced four apples, three pears, and a piece of ginger that Suzette then added sugar, raisins, lemon juice, and water to and simmered.

Suzette also blended cauliflower flowerets in the blender down to couscous sized granules and sliced about ten asparagus stalks into 1 inch pieces and sautéed those in butter to make a vegetable couscous.

Suzette poured out the last of the Berne rose that Jim and Diane gave us and plated two plates with a sautéed pork chop laid on a pile of cauliflower and asparagus couscous and garnished with sautéed pear and apple chutney. We took our plates and glasses out to the table under the gazebo and ate a pleasant dinner as the evening cooled.

When we came in I watched a few minutes of Lawrence and went to bed to blog this entry at 8:45.

Suzette also boiled the crab broth and put it up in containers along with a container of the chutney.

So we cooked two new ingredients tonight besides a delicious dinner.

Bon Appetit

June 14, 2023 Lunch - Padilla’s. Dinner - Le Troquet with Ken and Mary

 June 14, 2023 Lunch - Padilla’s. Dinner - Le Troquet with Ken and Mary

I awakened at 6:30 and dressed and ate a sautéed slice of onion, patty sausage, two eggs over easy and three small buttered slices of baguette with a cup of tea.

I dressed and then went out to the garden and helped Suzette weed the raised beds that she had been weeding for a while.

I then worked at my desk until 1:00 when I went to lunch with Mike at Padilla’s. He ordered chicken enchiladas with green chili.  I ordered beef enchiladas with red chili and double beans.

They have great sopapillas that are served with the meal.

My A1C ticked up, so I skipped the honey and filled a sopapilla with beans.  I loved the flat beef enchiladas with beans.

After lunch I went home so Suzette could go on her errands trip. 

I checked the market and was pleased that I received another day on a gain, mI guess the market turned back up when the fed did not raise interest rates today.  My gain was another .7%.

I am now almost 7/10 of the way back to the prior high and above the level at the end of the year two years ago finally.

At 6:00 Ken and Mary arrived and Suzette gave then a tour of the garden.  About 1/2 of the grape plants were putting out leaves, so we will have grapes this year.

I woke up at 4:00 and meditated from 4:15 to 4:45.

I then changed my shirt and then rode .92 mile until Ken and Mary came.

We inspected the garden and then met Ken and Mary at Le Troquet for dinner.

It was a thank you by Ken and amaryllis for helping them respond to an aggressive attorney who obtained a judgment against them to set it aside and get them a good Attorney to represent them that will be paid by their insurance company.

We ordered a pate Maison appetizer for e table and then each of us ordered an entree.  I ordered a bowl of steamed mussels in an excellent mustard cream sauce with French fries.  Suzette ordered scallops in a Tomato Provencal sauce, 

Mary ordered a sole Meunière and Ken ordered lamb riblets,

None of the dishes were great, although I liked my mussels.

Ken ordered a bottle of McManus Viognier and Mary ordered a glass of house Cabernet Sauvignon. Before the food arrived Ken ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and when her food arrived Mary ordered a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc.  I loved the Viognier.  It was light crisp with a nice balance between acid and fruit.

We were finished by 8:00 and said good night.

We went home and walked about 1/2 mile a pond then watched news.

I drank a White Russian made with rum, Kahlua, milk, and ice.

Suzette went to bed at 9:00 and I went to bed at 10:30 after bloggingnthis entry.

Bon Appetit

June 13, 2023 Lunch - Pita Pocket sandwiches. Dinner - Arugula,nAsparagus, Smoked ham, and Burrata salad and clafoutis

 June 13, 2023 Lunch - Pita Pocket sandwiches. Dinner - Arugula,nAsparagus, Smoked ham, and Burrata salad and clafoutis 

I ate granola with milk, strawberries, and yogurt for breakfast.

Then I drove to my doctor’s appointment at 11,00.

After it, at 11:30 I drove to Cafe Istanbul and bought pickled lemon, labni, mint flavored yogurt drink, Tabouli, 2 meat pies, and a large can of dolmas for $40.00.

I then drove to Costco and filled up with gas and then drove home.

When I arrived at home it was 1:00 and indictment time for Trump.  There were no cameras allowed in the courtroom, so there were long periods of silence with occasional reports from reporters who had been in the courtroom.

I made two pita poker sandwiches with slices of salami, tzatziki, diced tomato, and Tabouli. Plus green and black olives, and pickled turnips and two dill pickles and a glass of yogurt drink.

The hearing lasted an hour and then there was lots of commentary.

At 2:30 I checked my stocks and found out I made another blunder selling 200 shares of Nvidia yesterday, because it rose another $17.00 today.

I had an okay day with an increase of .7%.

I walked around the block and when I returned lay down until Suzette arrived at 5:00.

She was hungry and wanted to make the new salad she devised and clafoutis.

I chopped 3 oz. of red onion, diced a Hormel smoked pork chop and cut six or seven stalks of asparagus into 1inch lengths. Suzette hardboiled four eggs and plated a pile of arugula in a pasta bowl, She then sliced a hard boiled egg and added it and sautéed the pork, onion, and asparagus and added them to the salad.  Finally suzette added 1/2 of a small burrata and drizzled a fig balsamic vinegar and olive dressing over green salad.

I was quite delicious with a glass of 2020 Berne rose from Cotes de Provence.

We swatched the first period of game five of the Stanley cup finals and soon Las Vegas was up 2 to 0 a the end of the first period at 7:00 so, ,I changed the channel to Finding your roots after dinner.

Suzette and I then pitted and cut in half four cups of fresh local cherries and Suzette made the clafoutis with two cups of heavy milk and 1 cup of heavy cream, three eggs, 7 T. of flour, and 10 T. of powdered sugar. And the four cups of pitted cherries.  The taste was excellent but the custard was lumpy rather than smooth and the flour still formed a crust on the bottom of the ceramic baking dish.

After finding your roots we turned it back to hockey and the game finished with Las Vegas winning the Stanley Cup by a score of 9 to 3.

We then worked on our trip to Spain until 10:00 when Suzette went to sleep and I blogged and read until 12:00.

Bon Appetit

June 12, 2023 Lunch - PPI Ravioli in a White Wine caper sauce with Crab and scallops Dinner - Pita Pocket sandwiches

June 12, 2023 Lunch - PPI Ravioli in a White Wine caper sauce with Crab and scallops   Dinner - Pita Pocket sandwiches 

I awakened from 3:00 to 4:30 and then slept until 6:00 when I dressed and Suzette and I walked to the Country Club and back. We measured the distance at 3/4 mile, which is encouraging.

Suzette made egg salad this morning with hardboiled eggs, mustard, mayonnaise, celery, and green onions.

When we returned from the walk Suzette left for work and I  made myself a lettuce and egg salad plate and ate lettuce wrapped around bites of egg salad for breakfast.

  I then terminated my representation as appellate attorney for the pre-1906 claimants because I believe an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court would be futile.

I talked to Karim for a while and set up a lunch with Nizar and him for Thursday.

At 12:30 i heated the 4 ravioli n a loose white wine sauce with diced Asparagus, bay scallops, and crab.

Two other amazing things happened today.  I received payment for my representation of a client in a water rights case and I received a call from a person who wants to buy a client’s property that has been aggravated for years by a purchaser of the property.  I must have sent ten defaults notices over the last 15 years waiting for a default to not be cured and finally one was not and a foreclosure commenced that apparently came to the notice of this distressed property buyer. I offered him an easy solution to free and clear ownership: if he bought my client’s REC he could then terminate the REC based on the default, take title by recording the Special warranty deed signed by the buyer, and negotiate a pay off of the mortgage with the lender and terminate the foreclosure. It is about as easy a path to ownership as a distressed buyer could wish for. 

I called my client and she was thrilled and so was I.

I felt like deciding to take a six week trip to Spain had somehow led to the finality of several vexing cases.

I rested in the afternoon while waiting for a client to come who did not come and signing in to meditate when the meditation did not occur.  

Finally when Suzette came home at 5:00 I helped her lash together three esplanade frames in the front garden and then we made dinner and cheered for Denver as it won the fifth game of the NBA Finals to win the 2023 NBA Championship. Denver was behind much of the game until the fourth quarter when they opened a five point lead to win.

Dinner was an easy and delicious one we make quite often. We had two grilled lamb chops left from dinner several nights ago that I sliced and Suzette sautéed with a diced slice of grilled sweet potato. Suzette then sliced an avocado and diced a tomato while I made tzatziki with 1/3 of a cucumber and a Persian cucumber salted plus a pressed clove of fresh garlic, juice of a lemon, a cup of yogurt, and about 1 T. of minced dill and mint that Suzette picked from our garden.

We drank a glass of Vara Grenache red wine with dinner and then another as we watched the NBA final. 

Suzette went to bed at 9:00 and I stayed up to watch a documentary on the Black soldiers’ role in the history of the US military.  There is no precise explanation for how black Calvary soldiers were given the name Buffalo Soldiers, but the most likely explanation is that the Ninth Calvary that was the first regiment of Black soldiers formed after the Civil War were sent to Texas and finally New Mexico to fight the hostile Indians ( Kiowa, Comanche, and Apaches) and the Indian warriors named the Black cavalrymen, Buffalo Soldiers, because the Blacks had curly hair like the Buffalo had on their heads between their horns and rode horses so resembled Buffalo. It was a title of honor, because the Buffalo was honored above all other animals by the Indians.        

I then watched Rachel Maddow and went to bed.  Rachel in her terrific grasp of political history explained how the present situation in which the Justice Department is prosecuting a person who may become President of the US has a historic parallel.  It was Spiro Agnew in 1973, who was Vice President during the Watergate investigation of Nixon.  The Justice Department made a plea deal to dismiss 40 federal bribery charges it had filed against Agnew if he agreed to resign as Vice President and not run for office again.  Rachel interviews Ron Leibman who was one of the three U.S. attorneys who brought the case against Agnew about the debate inside the Justice Department whether to offer Agnew a deal and both she and Leibman were quick to say that the current circumstances with Trump are different.  My guess is that if Trump is charged with Seditious conspiracy or treason, there will be no comprehensive plea agreement that will absolve him of that charge, because his guilt must be a warning to all future Presidents that they can not subvert the Constitution and the Rule of Law to seize power by force.

I went to bed at 11:00.