TFran on New Year’s Eve
We’re all packed out – the movers came on Monday and Tuesday and loaded up everything! It’s weird being in an empty house. We have the Consulate furniture, and they bring us a kit of basics (sheets, towels, dishes, etc.) but the house really echoes!
Last Sunday before the movers came, we went to Las Cruces, making one more run to the used book store. We tried to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant there, but unfortunately, it was closed.
Back to work on Wednesday and part of the day Thursday (the office closed early for New Year’s Eve). Wednesday, I went to see two U.S. citizen minors who were in the hospital after their family had a horrible car wreck – that was a tough visit.
Wednesday night, Pam and I had a nice dinner at Corralito’s and yakked for a few hours.
I was called downstairs at work one morning for a mysterious reason…about 20 people had gathered around. I was quite happy to be presented with an “Extra Mile” award for mentoring a distance learning class for nine of the local staff – the best thing was that I was nominated by them, which made it all the better and very touching. The class was a great experience for me.
Thursday in the late afternoon, John and I went to Lara and Ryan’s for a drink. We had a great time – her parents and grandmother were there, and Neal came, too. Her mom is originally from Chiapas and is so cute and funny. She and Lara’s step-father live in Kodiak, Alaska, where Dean is a fisherman, a la Dangerous Catch – he had some great stories. We really enjoyed ourselves.
Afterwards, we went to Michael and Teresa’s for a small get-together – the Nieves crew, Pam and Sam, and Jason. It was a perfect party for me – just the right size. We ended up outside by the fire pit until 2:30 AM. Click to see photos from New Year’s Eve.
John and I were amazingly up and dressed and at Caroline and Harold’s the next day around 11 AM for a yummy brunch. We hung out there most of the day as people came and went. Caroline is an excellent cook in addition to being fun – her sweet potato biscuits were out of this world!
The rest of the weekend we relaxed and got some things done – for relaxation, we watched “Angels & Demons” and started the latest Harry Potter movie.
Yesterday we took both cars to El Paso for oil changes and to take more things to Goodwill. We had our farewell hamburgers at Geske’s.
The movers, after getting the reclining sofa down the stairs