Gracie & Me #3: We go to Taos, Gracie goes to camp & Mom's Gall Bladder

     Boy oh boy, a lot's happened since my last blog. Starting with our new dog, Gracie, it's been a whirlwind.
     I left off in my last blog with the story behind Gracie getting her name. She's apparently taken a 'shine' to it as she does come and stay when commanded. You know, "Gracie come!" or "Gracie stay!"
     Before I go on, I still gotta tell ya that I can't believe this dog's incredibly good demeanor and behavior. It's really got me stumped. The vet told us that she was barely one year old. I can't think of a single dog I've ever had that at that age wasn't bouncy, jumpy, chewy, messy and practically all but impossible. Gracie is absolutely none of those adjectives. None!

Golfing w/ Gracie/Scurry Co. Golf Club

     The picture at the right was when I recently took Gracie golfing, which was an adventure. I'll get to that sooner or later. But first, let me tell you about our trip to Taos and Gracie's trip to Canine Camp.
     We'd planned a long weekend in the New Mexico mountains many, many months, at least weeks, before Gracie pounced on our porch. We didn't want to back out of our plans but we had to find a safe place for our new dog. Long story short is, Gracie went to a boarding house in Snyder and we went to Taos.

     The Canine Camp (klip'n k-9's) was at first crazy traumatic. Thank goodness I had Gracie on a leash. We walked in. A Doberman puppy kept barking and barking and barking. Gracie didn't like it and "Remi" the barking Dobie gave me a headache. The whole time I was thinking; 'This is a bad idea. I'm never gonna get out of here." But, I gotta give kudos to the "klip'n k-9's" operator. She took charge. Got "Remi" to hush. Made Gracie comfortable. And, I got out of there. Bottom line is/was, Gracie was super well cared for and really didn't want to leave when we returned from Taos.

Taos NM/2019

      Taos, GOD's country at 7,000 feet! I bet I haven't been to Taos in 40, maybe 45 years. I don't think Teresa's ever been. We couldn't have been more pleased.
     Our place was an easy walk from the plaza. We'd walk, eat, people watch and walk some more. I dunno if I'd call Taos kid friendly, unless it's ski season. But, it's definitely almost AARP friendly. If you can just slow down a bit, enjoy that amazing blue sky, watch the cool 'granola crowd' and loosen your belt for a gastro-experience, Taos is top shelf.


    We never found Julia Roberts who supposedly has a ranch somewhere in the area, but we did get an eyeful. Our mission was; Eat a big breakfast, get in the car and just drive. Then later, we'd sit and people watch.

Rio Grande River Gorge/Taos, NM

     Isn't it funny that when you get older, you can just relax and be amazed at natural and man made wonders. The Rio Grande River Gorge Bridge is an absolutely show stopper. The picture is small but the sky is incredible and the bridge span is phenomenal. Imagine seeing it in real scale. It was amazing and it's only seven miles from the Taos plaza with a great restaurant on the way.

     If there was nothing man-made in the Taos area, just looking at the mountains, watching the sky and enjoying the crisp high altitude air would be enough. But there are plenty of man-made things to take-in. I'm not necessarily saying take-in and like, but more take-in and appreciate.

Earthships/Taos, NM

     If you want a full dose of 'off the grid,' don't miss the Earthship Biotecture that's just a little further down the highway from the Gorge Bridge.

     Everything at this compound is recycled.... everything! We didn't take the tour because by this time the wind was howling, but we did drop by the Visitor Center. In fact, if we'd taken the tour we would have gotten the senior discount. Woo Hoo!
     I bet Teresa and I could live in an Earthship given it's proximity to Taos, but I don't know if either us have the 'Nature DNA' to help or enjoy any of the construction.

Red River Bike Rally/New Mexico 2019

     We did have 'people watching' overload during our visit. I suppose even a normal weekend would've been fun considering we already know most of the people in Snyder, America.
    But this was Memorial Day Weekend and that meant it was Red River Bike Rally Weekend. I bet for every one four wheel vehicle we saw, there were at least 50-to-75 various versions of motorcycles that roared around us.
      I took the picture to the right because I'd never seen such an exaggerated 'Trike.' By the time we left Taos, we saw dozens of these modified motorcycles. What a time we had in Taos and what a shock we returned to when we got back to reality in Snyder.

Mom's Gall Stone

     We got home. All seemed good and then BAM! Unbeknown to us, mom, a.k.a. Marianne, had been really feeling bad before, during and after our Taos trip.
     We were back at The Windmill Ranch taking care of our regular routine when I got multiple texts from my older sister, Laura. They read something like:
     Laura: "Hey are you aware of the stomach ailments mom's been having the past few days?"
    Me: "I had no idea."

     Long story short is... Mom was in pretty severe discomfort. She drove herself to see her primary physician. We met her there. The doc didn't take long to order a C-T and labs. Both should Gall Bladder issues.
     The rub is/was, that was on a Thursday and into a Friday before the tests returned. My little sister, Julia, came in from Albuquerque for the weekend to help. By Monday morning when mom already had a consult scheduled with a surgeon, she was in more than severe pain. I could show you a picture, but she'd be real pissed.
     Anyway, we didn't wait for the afternoon appointment. We took her to the E-R in the morning and by 3:00pm, she was out of surgery with that giant gall stone as a souvenir. That was the biggest, but she had dozens of more stones.
     Post-op wasn't pretty. M had lots and lots of pain. She got more morphine than I knew anyone could have. In fact, she was eligible for a morphine 'hit' every 10-minutes.
     But GOD is indeed good. By the next morning, she was weaned off the morphine and getting a Tylenol-3 drip. She was a completely different person. The only rub was.... She talked and talked and talked. We couldn't decide if it was the meds or just the fact that she likes to visit.
     Now, we're three days post OP and she's sitting up, lipstick and eyes done and wearing pearls and earrings.
     I wish I could remember the exact prayer I offered over her before they wheeled her through those big swinging doors. I can't. But, I can say ABSOLUTELY everything that I/we prayed for was answered. Absolutely everything!

     So, we got a dog that doesn't jump and an 87-year-old mother/grandmother who feels great. I wanted a dog. I got one. I wanted my mother to be relieved of her pain and discomfort and she is. I prayed about both. I got both. I'm thankful and blessed.

Bill Robertson
Next: I dunno bc every time I think I'm gonna write about something specific it seems I get a strange curveball. If I had to be specific, I'd tell ya... I'm not  in charge.