Sending Some Paradise to You

Postcards from Paradise

September 4, 2011

I’ve never joined in on these Sunday postcards from paradise before. Thinking about how I feel like I’m in paradise now that I’ve completed my journey and have arrived safely at my destination of Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, I thought it appropriate to wander over here and crow a little about how fortunate I am right now in my life.

I believe before I say anything further, I will tell you that Postcards From Paradise is another one of the heartwarming creations of Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon blog. (she’s really into hearts you know). The idea, in Rebecca’s words, is to simply “...throw a lifeline of beauty, leave a word of kindness on each others blogs and let the circle grow.”

So, I’m telling you now about my paradise, and I am sending the most positive energy I can muster and sending it to all of you, whether you’re participating in this event of not.

I left home last Wednesday and drove through the day and night and into the next day and arrived Thursday by dinnertime. I dozed off a couple of times in rest areas along the highway and grabbed short naps. I just didn’t want to stop, get a room, go into restaurants, eat meals. I wanted the road to come up and smack me between the eyes and get me to my destination.

First order of business was a soak at the Riverbend hot springs. I’ve been busy every day, but I’ll get another pass for the hot springs along the Rio Grande and soak as soon as I get some chores done.

I put my Triumph Scrambler on the back of my Ford Ranger and hauled it down with me. Like a friend following faithfully behind. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t even started the truck. It’s been the bike everywhere I go.

One thing about being on the road continuously is that you don’t sleep through the sunrise as is evident by this shot of  Ole Sol popping up in my side view mirror. You know you’re going West when the sun is behind you when it rises.

I started seeing the cacti in Western Kansas, but this one is closer to my destination in New Mexico.

So I’m here. Now what? Well, I have my beloved RV, Morph, For Sale. It has a listing on Craigslist in Las Cruces, NM. I have had a lot of calls, and even some people have come out to look at it. But no one has made a commitment to purchase as of yet. By the time this post goes to press, I have three scheduled appointments for people to see it, two on Sunday and another on Tuesday if it is still available.

I want to sell it because I made a different commitment for lodging here in Truth Or Consequences. I paid rent and security deposit down on a 1 bedroom apartment not more than one block from where the RV sits. It is a very clean cute place with a great private patio.

I just don’t want to be crawling around on my hands and knees hooking up electric, water and sewer and worrying about charging batteries, filling LP tanks and generally just fixing stuff that is bound to break down on a 26 year old recreational vehicle!

So, I will rent this space year around. The idea is to be here now for planned activities and return early in November. What makes this idea so paradisiacal, (I know, probably not even a word, but Hey! I used it, so maybe it is. I certainly would have said it if I were talking to you.), is that I walk buy this small compound every day that I am down here and have for over 20 years. 

It is called The Palms Apartments. I always looked at this place with its yellow adobe walls and bright blue trim and wanted to live here. Now I will do it. Fulfill a dream, do a bucket list event. I can’t say that I know how long this will last, but I did sign a six month lease.

Saturday, I rode my motorcycle to Hatch and attended the 40th Annual Chile Festival for a couple of hours. I believe I will go back down there today if the people who are coming to look at the RV get here and leave me some time for myself. I forgot my camera Saturday, so no photos from the Chile Fest. But the green chile was great, and so were the rellenos!

I stopped in at the Happy Belly Deli and reunited with people I have met on previous trips. That also happened at the Black Cat Books &Coffee. It was the highlight of the trip so far for the proprietor of the Black Cat to ask me, “Where have you been?” Like I belong here and she was wondering where I was. Cool. At least I thought so.

That’s it. Life’s simple pleasures. I miss the Grandkids terribly. But they can use a dose of time without Papa around, and so can I. It isn’t forever. I won’t be away long enough for them to forget me or stop loving me.

The same “missing you” with Mrs. Spadoman. She is totally on board for the apartment scenario and there is even talk of quitting her job within the next year. There is already a trip planned for later in September and we have also talked about a December journey down here to meet up. I think she signed up for Skype!

I offer my Paradise to anyone that needs it. I pray for Peace every day. Peace in the world, Peace in your lives and the lives of those you love, and Peace in your heart of hearts.

This doesn’t ever mean I ignore the problems in the world. I don’t tell you about my ‘happenings’ to brag or give you the raspberries for not having happiness if that is indeed the case. But in the spirit of a Postcard From Paradise, I am soaring and send that energy your way. Take what you need and leave the rest.

Peace to All

   

Going On The Road Again

Captain's Log
Stardate Wednesday Morning  August 31, 2011

It's early. I still have a few odds and ends to pack, but the motorcycle is loaded onto the back of the pickup truck and for the most part, I can get anything I forgot at a local store, either on the way or when I get to Truth Or Consequences. I'm headed out today and looking forward to sitting in those fabulous hot spring pools at the Riverbend Hot Springs by Friday.

I have a laptop and will be posting here and there. I have a couple of cameras, a new digital number and my older trusty Nikon S8000. Plenty of photos this time, I promise.

I'll check in when I arrive and get set up in the old RV. In the meantime, take care of each other. Be kind. And practice Peace in your lives. It makes you feel good inside and out. I'll be waving as I drive by, I promise.

Peace

Sunday Morning in Spadoville, Sunrise edition

Sun breaking through the trees in the Spadoville back yard

This is more like it. Cooler weather. High in the mid 70's today, with plenty of sunshine. No plans in particular. Attending a small event this afternoon, otherwise, gathering what I need to bring to New Mexico. I'll be on the road either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week and need to pack a bunch of stuff I'm taking down there.

I plan on being away from Spadoville until late in September. Mrs. Spadoman is flying down and will join me after September 15th. We'll enjoy the hot springs in Truth Or Consequences together and hopefully do a little visiting of friends before we head back North together.

Things have settled down here in Wisconsin now that the recall elections are done. The next big one at stake is next year, when the Democrats will attempt to recall the Republican Governor. So, politics is quiet news these days. Not much to talk about at the early morning table at the Dish and the Spoon Coffee Cafe.

I've been going early in the morning as my days have been filled with errands and projects. I don't have the time to get there and sit for 2-3 hours and meet and greet everyone. There have been some changes at the cafe anyway. Gone is Kelsie. She was a barista there when I first came in the place in March of 2009. She had her last day last week and is moving on to her chosen career. I will miss her.

That leaves Kris and the owners that are still there and know me. The new faces behind the counter take a while to remember names. Starting over, so to speak, at the coffee shop it will be. Now, if I can get them to remember to leave me some head space at the top of my Americano.

I guess I am lucky that is all I have to worry about. There are definitely more pressing things that could and probably should keep me stressed, but I'm not carrying these things today. Maybe the time in the Sweat Lodge yesterday had something to do with that.

In that Lodge, I did remember a couple of blog friends that are going through trying times right now. My friend from Rio Rancho is dealing her husband's loss of his Mother. I send good vibes in that direction. And my friend in Ioway that has just had a spell of miserable luck. I wish her well and send healing energy to both of these friends.

On the project front, I have some Dream Catchers made and will be getting them finished up and sent. I also gathered the materials for making Snowshoes again this year. So, if you want a pair or two, E-mail me and place your orders before the rush. Dream Catchers too. I do sell the Snowshoes, custom made. The Dream Catches are made and sent on an as needed basis.

I will have a laptop with me and internet access in New Mexico. I'll be able to post and keep up. This Summer has had me very busy with virtually no time to visit blogs as often as I'd like. Seems like when the sun sinks down below the horizon in November, much earlier than it does in the Summer months, there's more time to sit around and play in cyberspace. For now, I ask forgiveness for my lack of attention spent looking at your marvelous photographs and reading about your awesome adventures.

I do pay attention though, and am aware of my friends having problems and worries. I send my best to you, whoever you are.

Time to get moving on the day.

Live in Peace

Back Yard Paradise

Haiku My Heart

August 26, 2011

Each week, on Friday, people gather and write haiku. Some with photos, some with events in their lives to describe, some pouring out feelings, both comic and tragic. Some filled with whimsy and others calling out the cold hard facts of life. To read more, or to find out how to participate, please take a look at Rebecca's recuerda mi corazon blog. 

My sister’s back yard

A place to pray, or share space

With Virgin Mary

Earlier this Summer, we went to a family reunion. This was the first time the family has ever done this. There had been gatherings in the past, and often, almost weekly visits to Grandma and Grandpa’s house on Sunday afternoons. But we never had a family reunion. 

This was on my Father’s side of the family. His younger brother and his sister, the baby of their family, my Aunt and Uncle were in attendance. My aunt is in her 80’s, Uncle Joe is 90. All the cousins were there, and most all of their children and their Grandchildren as well. Four generations of the Spado clan.

This event was held in the Chicago area. That’s where I’m from. That’s where I grew up. Most all the family still lives in that area. My brother resides in Arizona and was on his way to Minnesota to visit his wife’s family, so he gets the prize for traveling the farthest distance. I made the trip there for the purpose of attending the reunion. I came in second.

As I often do, I stayed at my sister’s place in the Chicago suburb of Palatine, IL. Her and her husband Bob have owned this house since the late 1960’s I think, at least they owned it in 1970. I stayed with them when I got out of the Army after the Vietnam experience, and that was February of 1970.

Grotto display beneath a huge stand of lilacs

Their back yard is unique in the fact that it is totally unplanned and unlandscaped, and yet it is totally landscaped, and in a very artistic nature I might add. It’s done in a splendid Bohemian style all its own. Pieces of this and that are used to decorate this or that. An old piece of wood, or a line of used bricks, creates distinct areas within the area. Borderless, as there are no fences to speak of on two of the sides, yet the barrier is there and evident in a very unique way.

The artistic decorating style is no style at all, yet very artistic. Click any photo to enlarge the view

One of the focal points of the yard is this old, and therefore large, lilac bush that sits alone in a quadrant of the yard. As the years rolled by, a statue of the Virgin Mary was put there. Other items that came from either purposely buying them or accumulated from what seems like flotsam and jetsam have made the display parklike and certainly artistic in every definition of the word.

These photographs are of the Mary statue. The entire display holds the Crucifix of Jesus Christ, flowers in small planters, a cement patio slab, plaques honoring holy cards of other Saints, an arbor, some cedar lattice and the lilac bush as a backdrop. 

The Cross is made of wood and comes apart as the top slides away from the bottom to reveal a cavity that once held a bottle of holy water, a bottle of anointing oil, candles and a cotton swab. The corpus image of Jesus is pewter. This “special” cross is called a sick call, and used for the sick or dying.  A Catholic Priest using this sick call set would have lit candles any time a Sacrament, like Communion, would be present. The holy water is used to sprinkle the person and remind him or her of their baptism. The bottom of the cross, serves as a tray to hold the items. The image of Christ, in this case in pewter, is stood up in a slot that is revealed when it is slid away from the base.

Stock photo of a sick call in use

Mary dons a veil made from the discarded mesh wrapper of a grocery store box of clementines. Where this comes from and why she is wearing it is not my concern. What I like about it though, is the unassuming way it is used and how natural it seems. It could have been, and probably has been, discarded by most everyone that has purchased a box of the sweet tangerine-like seasonal fruits. Whose wisdom, whose artistic eye, whose ability was stretched into thinking that Mary should be wearing this veil? Surely the item wasn’t bought for the sole purpose of decorating the yard statuary.

Mary and her gauzy veil

Genius. Pure and simple. And as we sat near the sliding patio door next to the portable steel fire pit, complete with roaring blaze, we were in the presence of The Virgin Mother. My Mother lived in this home. My Mother took her faith, with Jesus and his Mother Mary as the focal points of her life for her entire life, and left this world. There is no one that can tell me she didn’t go to the heaven that she prayed for and imagined through her faith.

My sister will too. Her faith is in her yard, wearing a custom made veil, amongst deep purple flowers, with the image of Jesus overlooking the whole neighborhood, protecting his beautiful Mother. She'll have a new statue this year. I plan on bringing her a very colorful depiction from the Southwest of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Peace

Encouraging Thoughts for a Wednesday

A pair of stately Triumphs on a bridge deep in the Ottawa National Forest

Well, I hope you all had time to whip up a couple of Clafoutis with the recipe from the post below this one. I'm doing some cooking today and will make one for dessert. Going blueberry again as it was an instant hit and the blueberries are still in season here. Also making a waldorf salad and a tuna/mac salad that the kids love. I'll round off the BBQ fixins with some beans that I'll doctor up just a bit with some bacon, maple and brown sugar.

We're serving hamburgers, hot dogs and Italian sausage from the grill this evening, along with the above mentioned side dishes. My daughters will be here and the Grandkids will be visiting from their dad's as he is attending a ball game tonight in Minneapolis.

We made some moves on the vehicle front here at Spadoville. Gone is the full size E-150 Ford van. It is replaced by a smaller Ford Windstar minivan of the same vintage. I gained miles per gallon and miles on the odometer, and we're still able to haul all the people when we need to, just less room for cargo and camping gear. No photos yet, but I'm sure there will be plenty as time moves along.

One of the entries in the car show at Rice Lake, WI last weekend

Might have been the car show we stopped at in Rice Lake, WI on the way home last Sunday as I got the fever to buy a newer car. You see, I also bought a small Ford Ranger pickup truck. This is what I'll use to haul my motorcycle back and forth to New Mexico. More miles per gallon savings here. I plan on leaving home on Tuesday the 30th of August and be in Truth Or Consequences by Thursday the 1st of September.

1963 Ford Falcon Station Wagon. A rare classic. I want one!

I'll attend the Chile Festival in Hatch, NM over Labor Day weekend. From there, it's a motorcycle trip North to Taos via Santa Fe. I'll meet some friends for dinner at Maria's before I get to the Kachina Lodge in Taos where I'll be with other Triumph motorcycle riders from all over the country. This is the Western Rally and will include conversation, a meet and greet and rides every day if we want them. The area has some beautiful paved roads, and for those of us with a sense of adventure, the Carson National Forest offers plenty of gravel forest service roads through the mountains.

The pick up truck of my dreams

Last weekend, we attended an adventure riders motorcycle rally in Eagle River, WI. Mrs. Spadoman and I camped out. I rode about 200 miles on Saturday. It was a good time. Some thunder on Saturday night, but the daytime weather was fabulous for any kind of outdoor activity.

One of many gravel roads through the forest in Michigan's UP

I did enjoy a great lunch of chicken and ribs at Char's in the small town of Bruce Crossing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the UP.

Map of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the U.P.

If you're from there, you're called a Yooper. I believe it to be the last wilderness in the lower 48. The forests are vast and sandwiched between the South shore of the Great Lake Superior and the Northern edge of the Great Lake Michigan.

Chicken and BBQ rib special at Char's. The "rock" on the plate was a delicious baked potato

My motorcycle proved very stable and trustworthy on the loose gravel and dirt roads. I'm looking forward to taking it to New Mexico and playing with it this Winter while I'm down there.

More gravel/dirt roads

We didn't win any of the door prizes at the rally, but we were fed a great dinner on Saturday night. Did I mention how beautiful the scenery is up that way?

Camera mounted on my motorcycle's handlebars for this shot

That's the report for today. Pretty busy with a lot of places to be and commitments this week and through the weekend. I'll be around in spurts.

Peace

Clafoutis

Monday Mystery Tour
August 22, 2011

This week isn't so much a "tour" of traveling, but rather a tour of the pallet.

Just thought I’d post some pictures of the Clafoutis I made last week. They were delicious, and very easy to make. I had seen a photo of a beautiful dessert made from fresh Michigan blueberries that were in season. A friend of mine posted it on her Facebook page. She even posted a link to a blog that had numerous recipes for Clafoutis.

Fresh Peach and Blueberry Clafoutis

By the way, if you are a dummy like me, and you don’t know how to pronounce this word, here is the correct phonetically spelled, hyphenated and accented pronunciation instructions:

Kla-foo’-tee

Now there, wasn’t that easy? I had never heard of this delicious custardy dessert. When my friend Amy gave me  This Link.

The blog itself, Away To Garden, is great if you are looking for inspiration and topics about all things that pertain to gardening, from preparing the soil and planting the seeds, right on through making something to eat with the harvest and beyond.

The Blueberry Clafoutis close up and personal

This particular recipe comes from Martha Stewart. Other recipes and variations of the Clafoutis batter are listed as well, I made mine with Martha’s basic recipe, but I can see some variations to cut back on sugar and fat. My next batch will use Greek non-fat plain yogurt. I might skimp on the sugar or try a more natural sugar/sweetener. The fruit has plenty of built-in sugar as it is.

I made two. One to devour immediately at home and the other to bring to the motorcycle rally I attended with Mrs. Spadoman over the weekend. I was to meet a friend there and she has a thing for pie. Well, the Clafoutis isn’t really a pie, but it is baked in a large pie pan. So, in my twisted way of thinking, it is a pie, of sorts.

Fresh Michigan Blueberries, YUM!

Besides, as I was schooled, the acronym PIE stands for Pie Is an Excuse. You see, a group of Triumph motorcycle riders meet occasionally for a ride. These rides are called PIE rides. WE ride beautiful back country and scenic area roads in Wisconsin and the neighboring states, and stop and enjoy lunch together. Pie is usually ordered for dessert, but the real reason to do this is to ride our motorcycles. So, Pie Is an Excuse.

Back to the Clafoutis. I made one with all fresh blueberries. The other, I sliced fresh peaches and added blueberries to them and had a combination Peach/Blueberry affair that tasted heavenly.

These drippings added to the aroma in the kitchen while baking

I can see the use of plums, apricots and even strawberries. Any kind of fruit will work I believe. Traditionally, Clafoutis is made with fresh cherries. The Italian prune plums will be in season very soon. I will try one with those as soon as I find some at the market.

Here’s the author's adaptation of the Martha Stewart basic recipe. It’s quite simple:

    ½ cup sugar (reserve 1 Tbsp. to dust baking dish)

    ¾ cup milk

    ¼ cup heavy cream

    3 eggs

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    pinch of salt

    2/3 cup all-purpose flour

    In a blender, combine the ingredients, and blend on high for 1 minute, scraping the sides once midway.

    Into a 9-inch glass pie dish or a fluted porcelain tart dish that has been buttered first and dusted with the reserved 1 Tablespoon of sugar, pour half the batter.

    Arrange 3 cups of sliced fruit of your choice in the partly filled pan. Pour on the remaining batter and bake at 350 until the top puffs and starts to turn golden-brown, about 45-60 minutes.

    Note: Everyone’s clafoutis custard is a little different (just as is everyone’s pancake batter or pie crust, though the basics are the same). Martha even has more than one on her site. For example, Mark Bittman, writer for the New York Times’ Food Section Diner’s Journal Blog, recommends ½ cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup heavy cream OR plain yogurt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt). You may like more fruit or more custard on balance. Experiment, and enjoy.

If you make one, let me know how it turned out and how you liked it. If you have been making these for years, let me know that I’ve just arrived in the 21st Century. I won't mind, really, I will never get too old to learn.

I’m glad I happened on this easy to fix recipe. I’m grateful for my friend Amy who is quite an eclectic and resourceful human being. I admire her way of life. She hails from Ashland, WI. We made friends with her when we lived up there. Some friendships have a way of holding on. Even though we moved far away and don’t get to see everyone we knew and hung around with when we get up that way to visit the Great Lake Superior, when we do get to run into Amy, she always has hugs and a great smile to share with us.

I thank her for turning me on to Clafoutis. A quick and easy way to make dessert. Mrs. Spadoman was wondering where the whipped cream was when we cut into the peach blueberry concoction at the picnic table in the campground at the rally. That does sound like a nice touch, or just serve it in a bowl and drench it with ½ and ½. Sorry Mel, it's not gluten free. But I wonder if it would be if you used a gluten free flour? Let me know, will ya Mel?

Peace

Floating on a Cloud

Haiku My Heart

August 19, 2011

Haiku My Heart comes to you every Friday from Rebecca's recuerda mi corazon blog. Check it out to see more Haiku from the hearts of fantastic people and find out how to participate yourself.

Soft airy stillness

Gazing with visions of peace

A good way to be

I love to remember to have the good sense to allow my eyes to wander upward and find a sky full of clouds. Any kind will do. The large billowy puffy ones, the dark ones carrying rain, and these, the light ones, spreading out across heaven, bringing me a peaceful feeling.

I stand and stare at them, watch them move, or try to see if they are moving at all. I compare which way the wind where I am is blowing and whether it is the same direction, no direction or all directions.

Today, as I sat outside on this beautiful day, in front of the local Dish and the Spoon Coffee Cafe, I looked at the line of Locust trees in the median that divides Main Street in half. I heard some crows making a racket. As I looked to catch a glimpse of them, I saw clouds like these in the photos. I remembered that I had taken pictures out in South Dakota of clouds like these just a couple of weeks before.

The weather, hot and humid with many days of rain to go along with the heat, held on for a long spell, but changed. And now sunlit days with clouds like these, along with light breezes, have been in the majority. 

I tell you, I can sit for hours and just watch them move, ever so slowly, and change configurations. They look like waves or the small chop on the water from a light breeze.

Mostly, they bring me peace as I am mindful that I am living right here right now. Any strife is over, I don’t know what time will bring. It is now, and I am at peace.

I'm leaving today. I'll be traveling by motorcycle to Eagle River, Wisconsin to attend the Adventure Riders Annual Nationwide Rally. Mrs. Spadoman will be in attendance as well. We will camp out for a couple of nights, eat good food, meet old and new friends and generally have a great time being around motorcycles.

I wish Peace to you, too.