The Annual Trek...

 

Gifts, Rugs and Rain....

I Took a trip, Dear Readers, to visit my folks in the Southwest, a Long Long Long way from home. It takes two days to get there so the first night I stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the next morning I take the little plane (8 passengers) down to the southwest corner of the state. The above picture is coming into Albuquerque over the Manzano Mountains. I dodged rainstorms wherever I went. There was a large "Tropical Storm" headed for my part of New England on the morning I left, but it stayed just far enough off shore that my flight was not cancelled. It was pouring in Atlanta when I changed planes, but the flights were not delayed. The morning flight from Albuquerque to Silver City re-routed around large thunderstorms, but we were on time for landing in the dry desert. They have not had a good Monsoon Season this year in this region. But it rained hard on my second evening at my Mom's!

Here you can see the water pouring off her porch roof!

And it rained again at my Dad's way up in the hills. 

They have had more rain where he lives, 

probably due to the higher elevation and the steep hills.

Silver City is at something over 6000 ft. elevation

 and my Dad's place is probably another thousand over that.

(Sorry I don't have the exact elevations!)

They are in "high mountain desert" conditions and

 last spring there was a wildfire just north of my Dad's home.

Here's a picture of my Mom, (aged 92!) and her dog Daisy.

I bring small petit-point kits with me when I travel out there

 because they fit neatly into my bag.

On last year's trip I had started the stocking you see above,

 and this year I completed it!

This year I spent quite a while going through

 old family Photos with my Mom,

 trying to identify and label them.

She had an old suitcase full of them!

I found quite a few Treasures, including some "missing" artwork

 that had been done by my Great Great Aunt and her husband.

 My Grandma had showed it to me when I was a teenager,

 and I hadn't seen it since.

Mostly very fine pen and ink drawings!

 

My Dad's partner gave me a bunch of little woven "mug rugs"

she and her weaving group made.

They are the perfect size for dollhouse rugs!

I love the texture of this ribbon rug!

This one has lovely colors and is a very fine weave....

Here's the reverse side.... I am not sure which I like best!

And these two are a pair. They have subtle differences.

And here you can see the reverse side of each.

All of them are approximately 4 x 5 inches excluding the fringes.

Of course, the visit was over far too soon, 

and the long trip home, done all in one day 

because the flights leave Silver City early, 

followed a familiar theme.

 

 

The flight from Albuquerque was re-routed to avoid

 storms in the upper plains on the way to Chicago...

but arrived on time anyway. 

And my homeward leg landed late in New England

 in the middle of pouring rain

 from yet another "Tropical Storm" 

that had set it's sights on New England!

Two former Hurricanes in two weeks?!?

 

 I was very glad to get home to my familiar little worlds.

 

 The Baktiari carpet is getting close to finished!

So I took my Annual Trek, Dear Readers, 

traveling a Long way from home.

But seeing my Family is such a Gift... 

and while the challenges of Travel don't get easier,

I Treasure the Time I had with my folks, 

and perhaps I also brought them the Gift of a little rain!