Signs of Change

bye bye house

Well we made it to Santa Fe.  It’s dry and warm and it seems to rain every day.  The hollyhocks, lavender and various wildflowers are in full bloom and fragrance the cool breeze.

Our drive up on the first day was somewhat easy but long. Luna and Aurora meowed a bit at the beginning then slept the rest of the way. By the time we reached Amarillo at 10pm Kara was getting grumpy but nothing a snack of trail mix and restful sleep couldnt fix. The cats were curious about this new space and Luna had her usual fits of rage after being released from the kitty cage. During the night they crawled on our heads and kept us up most of the night.

The next day was a five hour drive to Santa Fe watching the landscape change from flat to mountainous. The cats were not excited to get back into the cages and were more vocal about it.  Luna batted at Aurora and Frank as she was put into the plastic jail.  During the drive, they both freaked out a bit - Luna did her best to run around in circles and Aurora clawed at the metal front, bloodying her nails a bit. We drove through some storms and strange and interesting towns in the panhandle.

We arrived at about 1pm and retrieved our keys from Kokopelli Properties.  The house was freshly painted with low VOC paints but still was somewhat smelly. Kara is convinced that the former tenant put a witch spell on her because she swears she remembers the house to be 200 sq. ft. larger with a wall of windows. Perhaps the house is larger including the garage and there are definately some good windows on the south side, but the memory can play tricks on one. The house has a cute fireplace and a wonderful backyard and has great potential.

before arrangements

after arrangements

It was Kara’s birthday and after we loaded the goods from our car in the house we trekked on over to Body, a cafe/spa/yoga studio/boutique/performance space (does it sound like we’d fit in yet?). We hada meal of vegan/gluten-free lasagna, spaghetti and salad (yes, gluten-free). Then for Kara’s birthday dessert we had the best freakin’ chocolate gnache and carrot cake made completely of carrots and a pine nut icing. That night our neighbors set off fireworks in honor of Kara’s 28th year.

The next day we rented a 16 foot Uhaul and moseyed down to the the ABF facility in Albuquerque to pick up our goods. A 16 foot truck does not handle as well as the VW but it wasnt that hard to drive (empty, that is). Frank’s mom’s cousin Janet and her husband Ron graciously agreed to help us unload and load. Ron is somewhat of an engineer so it helped to have his point of view in loading the Uhaul. We got it all in nice and snug in a couple hours and we were on our way. We decided to leave the Uhaul and go have lunch at the Flying Star, an Albuquerque staple.

As soon as we got in their van, Kara started to feel an old back injury. As we got closer to Flying Star, Kara could not contain her grimaces any longer which got the attention of Frank.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to the Flying Star, Kara could not eat and was taken to Janet and Ron’s house to lie down and watch TV while Janet and Frank finished up their lunch.  When Frank got back to their house, Kara still could not go anywhere, and Ron offered to drive with Frank to Santa Fe and unload the Uhaul (thank you Ron!).  Meanwhile back at Janet and Ron’s house, Janet was graciously trying everything to make Kara feel better - a heating pad, Harry Potter movie, and a hot bath.  But the pain was getting worse.  When Frank and Ron arrived back in Albuquerque, it was time to go to the ER for Kara, who was huddled in fetal position, whimpering expletives.  The drive over to the ER seemed like a looooong time for Kara, and Frank was trying his best to not lose his cool.

When we arrived at the ER there were not too many people there, but some of them were complaining of waiting for 5 hours.  Kara did not think she could last another 5 hours in the state she was and got soo upset that she vomited in the hallway, curled up in fetal position, and continued to whimper expletives (a bit louder this time). This seemed to be the magic trick to get her moved up on the list and she was somewhat promptly (as prompt as things can be in an ER).  After taking down general info and a description of symptoms, we were escorted back to a little room, where Kara was given a nice cocktail of 800 mg of ibuprofin, valium, a shot of morphine in one butt cheek and another shot of an anti-nausea med in the other. After all of this, Kara was very dopey, and did not feel a thing.  But as Frank escorted her out to Janet’s van, she had to throw up a couple more times to make her first ever visit to the ER complete. She was sent home with perscriptions for valium, ibuprofin and vicodin (yikes!). We ended up spending the night at Janet and Ron’s in a big comfy bed (thanks again!).

The next day was a little better in the pain arena but the pills had given Kara some digestive troubles. That evening we went up to have dinner with Luke who lives with Richard (who is currently on vacation) on top of a mountain! We got to have salad with veggies and greens from Luke’s garden and watched a thunderstorm roll through Santa Fe. We were hoping to catch the peak of the meteor shower but we’ll try to catch it tonight as it seems a bit clearer.

On recommendation from Luke (and confirmed by Michael), Kara went to see Harijot Singh, a local acupuncturist with over 40 years of training. Harijot cant see very well, but nevertheless was in tune, sensitive and clearly knew what he was doing. Kara got some needles and electro-therapy which made her lower back hum and vibrate. In Harijot’s office there were pictures of Guru Ram Das (the sikh guru), Tich Naht Hanh, the Dalai Lama, and Guru Nanak - a very blessed place.Kara is feeling better and is closer to finding her herbal witch doctor after talking to Harijot’s assistant.

We sign out from the Teahouse, our new hangout. Hope all is well and we send lots of love to you!

F+K