Checking In

Currently watching: Chocolat
Currently listening to: James McMurtry, Where'd You Hide the Body; Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
Currently reading: Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey; Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, by Tara Stiles

Yesterday was the 81st annual Burning of Bodie; my hiking buddy came up and we spent the better part of the day hiking to the top of Beauty Peak and back, then went to the commemoration potluck and had a hootin' hollerin' time. In honor of Chocolat, I baked a Mexican Chocolate Cake with cayenne pepper in it for my "red hot" dish to pass. It was all eaten up by the end of the night, and good thing too, because it was too hot for me!

Plans are well underway to visit Alyssa in Sequoia within a month. I'm taking a couple days off, and I'll be driving down there to do some major hiking. I've called Alyssa twice now since I got here from Big Bend, both times the conversation easily lasted over an hour, and I was left feeling so grateful to have a good friend like her. I would even say a best friend. I can hardly wait to see her next month, and we have both said that we look forward to being neighbors again in Big Bend in the winter. It was Alyssa who introduced me to James McMurtry - my current music craze - and listening to the album (which I used an iTunes gift card to download) reminds me of fun times with her and West Texas in general. I absolutely love it. Word from our silversmith back there tells me that, very soon, I should be receiving my specially commissioned bracelet depicted the dear view of the Sierra del Carmen which I used to see outside my house every day in Rio Grande Village. My boss still wants me to come back early, but no word yet on when exactly that will be. But it's nice to know that he hasn't forgotten about me.

I've been trying to get back into the swing of things with yoga again. The book I've got from the library - Slim Calm Sexy Yoga - is very helpful for learning sequences that aren't too long. I've also been downloading different free yoga podcasts through iTunes, some of which I enjoy, others which I delete without even finishing. It's a lot of experimenting, and mostly enjoyable. Though it definitely serves to make me glad that I mostly have the house to myself when I'm pulling all these crazy poses!

My current books read count is at 5, with two more on the way. Maybe not the amount I could accomplish back in my childhood, but I will be glad to have read 7 books in two months when I'm working 40 hours a week and all the other shenanigans that come up on top of that. I would say that my computer addiction is somewhat at a middle-ground right now - still a bit more wasted use than I would like, but fairly balanced with other, more productive activities.

Speaking of which, I think I ought to call this good, finish some emails, and log off so I can do some yoga! :)

Until next time!