Fall on the mesa

Just another Sunday at the Truth or Consequences LDS branch, blue dogs and all.

I am becoming more adept at toddler crafts.

Theo experiments in cross dressing, decides it's not for him.

The fair smelled like poop. There, I said it.

At Sparky's in Hatch, our go-to when we are on the road to the big city, Las Cruces. (or Cruces, as the locals call it)

Pumpkin patch in Cruces, the highlight of October for all of us.

Right before the cavity, don't worry, I wasn't smiling for long. And do worry, cause yes I am cutting my own bangs.

The first day I got to wear a sweater. I was so happy.

I have been very busy for the past few weeks knitting on a deadline. I like knitting, you can do it anywhere--in the car, sitting in the playroom, watching tv. Turns out one thing you can't do while knitting is blogging. Which is too bad, cause believe it or not, things are happening in this family! We are starting to hit more of a stride here in New Mexico. It still has its hard days where I'm feeling lonely and nostalgic for, well, a lot. I must admit some of the time I feel like a bit of a square peg fitting into a round hole. I may never be a mom acquainted with 4-H, but I am on the lookout for a killer bolo tie. We have met some really interesting people, and have probably scared some people.  Jon and I were talking with a member of the branch, telling him we came from Portland. His first (serious) question was, "Do they have good chile there?" After cooking with the chiles here a while, I understand the seriousness. I may love living somewhere with a good pizza place, but the people here would relocate for the chiles. My white bean chile has hit a new level of awesome.

Jon has been busy too--he is loving his job. He's spoken Spanish maybe once? but he interacts with most of the town on a daily basis. I even got into the office for a check up. While I was pregnant with Margot, flossing became painful and I stopped, which resulted in my first ever cavity. I guess I thought I was immune at this point, but I'm never dropping the floss again. The enthusiasm Jon had for filling this cavity was bordering on inappropriate. He only regrets that it was a perfect filling for the board exam, but I was pregnant then anyway. I have to say, his work was great except the shot huuuuurrrt. Like I went into shutdown mode like I'm having a labor contraction and start rocking side to side. But Dr. Hall does good work, I recommend him.

This past month we also got to attend the Sierra County Fair, which is a real live fair. No rides, no corn dogs, no carnies. Just blue ribbon pigs, jars of jam and quilts. And the like. I entered two things I had made, and it turns out 99% of categories go uncontested, so I won me some fair ribbons! I lost in the hand quilting division to some lady who made this thing that looked like a placemat in a bat shape. Can't win them all, I guess.

Our house has been nice, the view is beyond description--I am just still figuring out how to keep something clean that is not 700 square feet and three rooms. I mean, we jumped from one to three toilets! And I have a dining room table. It's way more work, and Theo doesn't help much. But these desert vistas, they are amazing!  Aside from the occasional missile/bomb testing, it's very peaceful out here. (Don't forget, this is New Mexico. Land of a million uses by the government.) Families of raccoons peep in through our back door and families of deer almost run into our car, but it's finally cool enough that I feel like the rattlesnakes are gone for a while. I have waited long for this day.