October everywhere - liminal advertising

October (from the Greek okt, meaning "seafood with tentacles" and the German ober, meaning "so over it") means we are tired of the clingy, hot days of summer. It's a month of thresholds; friends are leaving and friends are returning. Auf wiedersehen! Hasta la vista, Baby! and Welcome home!

Elephant Butte Lake

A dear old friend came through town unexpectedly, and we enjoyed each other's company for a while. This is the sort of enchantment one can expect in New Mexico. 

I was happy to lunch with friends, old and new, when Barbara from Me and My Dog ... rolled into town and also introduced me to another full-timer.

The pleasure was all mine when I met a new friend from San Francisco who also loves to make jewelry. I shared my borrowed studio with her for an afternoon.

Not bats.

John Vardo

... and then there was one.

Rocket Inn. Good place to stay in T or C.

Sweeties I'm with now:

Things I Like: 

Polarr photo editing. Works offline on my Chromebook. It also offers an Android app. The free edition is more than I need, and it offers tutorials. 

Daniel A. Brown (Into the Wild Blue). His work makes me forget to breathe. You can also see selected pieces at The Ranch at Taos gallery.

"The Beauty of God"

Stories I Omitted:

Bonnie, the Angry Great Dane (ends well).

Stuff even duller than what I included.

I'll be home* for Christmas (*wherever that is)

My five weeks in Truth or Consequences was satisfying, as it usually is. I lived happily in three homes this time, and found a near-perfect balance between solitude and pleasant company. Betty says T or C is my second home, and I suppose that feels true.

Whoa there, cowboy. Didn't you see the hydrant?

One of these guys had a hearty breakfast at Maria's.

I was able to meet up with a couple of RVing friends this time. David, who runs the Facebook groups Staying Warm for RVers and Prius Camping, blew through town and we met up to compare strategies. 

He uses some techniques that I haven't tried and might, and some that I haven't tried and won't. He has fashioned an actual kitchen which is clever and functional (Yeti cooler, induction "hot"plate, and a small pressure cooker). I admired this set-up, and then asked myself, "If you don't cook in a house with running water, gas stovetop and dishwasher, do you think you'll cook in the front seat of Spud?" I replied sheepishly, and so that's an innovation for another (life)time.

David is very enthused with his life in his Prius, and that revived some of my old enthusiasm for Spud-living. I lost a lot of that mojo in August's microburst, and I can feel it returning.

Later that day, I met up with PleinGuy (David), whose art is available here. We enjoyed dinner at BellaLuca, where I learned he has lived in unconventional and fascinating ways. He generously gave me a giclée of one of his paintings, which couldn't be more perfect for my cabin. Also, it has allowed me to say "giclée" a few times.

Lots of you revel in the season's merriment, and lots of you hunker down until it's over. I guess I've done my share of both lately. If you're a hunkerer, relax knowing it's almost done! And if you're a reveler, it's almost here!

Silver City, New Mexico

Slip off your high heels and step into your mellow shoes. Dude.

Maybe you look for the "real" downtown wherever you go. Silver City has a ton of it.

Guerrilla crocheting. Warmth is hell.

Just in time for their Bison-tennial. 

Yankie Creek, where coffee flows like water.

Truth.

Not anymore.

Busker Keaton

One block to the _____ (left), check out the ravine that used to be Main Street. That last flood was one flood too many, and they made it into a park.