It has been unseasonably cold in Albuquerque. It snowed on Tuesday, closing down the university and Paloma's daycare for a few days. Paloma and I stayed home where it was warm and cozy... But she really wanted to go outside and play! She kept looking out the window and saying, "no-ing!"
She spent a lot of the day looking out the window, hoping to convince me that it would be worthwhile going out. I thought about it - building a snowman did sound like fun - but it was CHILLY, colder than I had ever experienced before. I think the maximum on Tuesday was about 16F!
Paloma made it hard though. Look at that cute face, pleading with me to take her out. I am such a mean mama.
Oh, well. She will just have to stay content with looking at the snow through the window...
Paloma's passport arrived soon after we got back from San Francisco. Now we can travel to Australia any time we want! (Actually, we're coming in August - see youse then!)
A couple of people have asked about Paloma's passport photo. They don't believe me when I say it looks like a mugshot.
Well, you should believe me:
Maybe I should have brushed her hair.
Or something.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to San Francisco. We loved it! It's such a beautiful city - it reminds me a lot of Melbourne but with hills like Brisbane.
Our first stop was a visit with Howard's aunt and uncle - Susan and Jonnie. They were kind enough to pick us up at the airport and then take us home for a day of good food, good wine and good times. (Jonnie grows his own grapes, but we didn't get to taste his wine - this time!)
Susie was kind enough to share some of her toys with Paloma.
We took Schnapps out for a stroll, down to the park. It was really nice to be outside in the fresh air after the plane ride. I enjoyed seeing green lawns and big trees and breathing in humid air.
I think Paloma really enjoys cruising about in her new stroller.
We stopped off at the playground - Howard liked playing on the jungle gym and Paloma really liked the swing.
Wheeeeeeee!
(Shortly after this, Paloma threw up.)
The next day, we headed in to town. We went on a whirlwind tour of all the one-way streets in downtown San Francisco (I honestly have no idea where we were - thanks for driving, Jonnie!), went out for lunch and then enjoyed the Asian Art Museum with Jon and Susan - so much spectacular art! Not enough time!
Then, we headed off on our own for a couple of days. We stayed at a charming little bed-and-breakfast just outside of Chinatown. It had one of those crazy old-fashioned elevators with two doors to slide shut (kind of like this, but not quite as fancy) and a bell that dinged whenever we went up or down. Fun!
We had some time to kill before dinner, so we went for another walk about town. It seems like San Francisco is a very walk-able city (!). We stopped for a drink at a little bar around the corner from our hotel - with Paloma. We tried to hide the stroller among the bar stools, but it was a sharp reminder that we are no longer travelling light and free-and-easy with our time any more.
Champagne for me, fancy beer for Howard, and sippy cup for Paloma.
My, how times have changed...
On Monday, we walked and walked and walked. (I told you that San Francisco was a very walkable city.) First, we walked to the Australian Consulate in the Financial District for Paloma's passport interview.
Howard took this sneaky photo of us at the Consulate -
it is currently being renovated and didn't look as fancy as we had hoped.
Then we walked across town, through the Tenderloin to Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Park is huge! We could have happily gotten lost while wandering around there...
Paloma was happy to nap while we kept walking, and walking...
Instead, we stopped off at the Academy of Sciences and spent some time ogling at fishes and admiring the roof-top garden before escaping from the crowds to laze about on the lawn for a while.
Enjoying some time out in Golden Gate Park, singing songs.
If you remember from our list, Howard still had to eat Dungeness crab. So, we jumped on a bus and headed over to Fisherman's Wharf. We found an old boat and spent some time crawling around amongst the rigging, or whatever it is you do on boats (I'm a landlubber).
Paloma enjoys the sea breeze.
And then we walked back to our hotel...
We added it up later, and guesstimated that we had walked at least eight miles, probably nine. Up and down those San Francisco hills.
I was just scouring through the photos and found these:
Brian and Sarah came to visit just before Christmas. We made the girls papier mache hats (Caroline, Abby and Paloma).I think the grown-ups had more fun with them than the kids did...
We also made hats for everyone on Christmas Day:
Don't you just love the way that Paloma is looking her great-grandmommy in the eye, as if they are having a private discussion about just how darn silly everyone else is?
Many thanks to George for another evening of craft-making with the Brandenburdetts!
We haven't written anything here since Christmas. Sorry! We have been busy and distracted, apparently.
And now we're having technical difficulties with our camera. Actually, the camera is ok - it's getting photos off the camera and on to the computer that is the tricky bit... Hopefully, we will figure it out soon!
So, here is a round-up of the last couple of weeks:
1. Paloma and I had a week off school/work. We had a fine time, playing with our new toys from Christmas, doodling about in the house, and catching up with one another. We persuaded Howard to take a day off as well and we all went to the Natural History Museum. We really enjoyed the dinosaurs and will definitely have to go there again. And again.
2. We spent new year's eve with George/Uncle Indian, in our cosy little home, around our cosy little fire.
3. We all went to a first birthday party for Finn and Liam - those boys have a lot of energy! It's like visiting a whirling dervish.
4. We all went to a birthday party for George - Paloma had a wonderful time wandering around and exploring the restaurant. Luckily, she is very cute and the other diners didn't seem to mind.
5. We all celebrated Aunt Cathy's birthday! Howard and I enjoyed a day on the slopes at Sipapu with Cathy while Paloma stayed home with Granddaddy. I managed to make it down without breaking any bones. Jim seemed to have a splendid time with Paloma, although he did tell us that he followed her all around the house on her adventures and he walked approximately 60 miles.
6. I helped a student start a new experiment and ended another one. Fun stuff - it was so nice to be out in the fresh air, despite having to crack ice to get our samplers in the water.
7. We packed for our trip to San Francisco! We are leaving on Saturday morning for a couple of days in the Bay City. Our number one reason for going is to get to the Australian Consulate for Paloma's Australian passport, but we are going to take the opportunity to visit some of the Wilson clan, spend some time at the Museum of Modern Art, stroll around Golden Gate Park and eat Dungeness crab (that last one is from Howard). I hope we have time to do it all.
And, I hope our camera is working again soon so that we can share some SF highlights with you soon!
Oh, and one last thing. Paloma is up and walking and exploring and opening cabinets and very curious. So we spent some time over the break baby-proofing some of the cabinets in the house. She was quite intrigued by the drill and enjoyed helping her Papa:
It's been a wee while since our last update, when Paloma started walking. It's been a busy couple of weeks - we have been busy chasing Paloma all over New Mexico.
Last week, we were in Carlsbad for Christmas with the Brandenburgs and Grandmommy Frances Joy. Howard, Paloma and I headed down a day early, so that we got to spend all day Christmas Eve there as well. We headed out to Sitting Bull Falls, despite the cool weather. We passed Rocky Arroyo on the way, where Frances Joy had been a teacher in the 1920s (it was wonderful to finally see it after hearing all of the stories!).
Sitting Bull Falls was beautiful! The desert in southern New Mexico is very different to that around Albuquerque. It was chilly, so I left the gang in the car, out of the wind, and ran up to the falls.
View from the hiking trail to the falls
Desert vegetation along the trail to the falls
When I got back to the car, I found that lunch was almost finished and everyone was feeling pretty snug and warm on the front seat. Paloma had a great time getting to know her Great-Grandmommy!
Howard wasn't satisfied with my description of the falls, so we decided to dash up there again with Paloma. She loved the views!
Huddled at the bottom of Sitting Bull Falls
She particularly enjoyed the view from the top, and the wind blowing in her hair!
The view from the top!
Christmas day
After all of the fun and excitement of Christmas Eve, it seemed unbelievable that there was a whole day of presents and family and more fun.
