Extended Blog Break~

Hi!
It's me... just wanted to say hello  & let you know I have just been taking a bit of a blog break due to life circumstances. If you'd like to know why... read on!

 It has been a crazy, busy time since I arrived back in Santa Fe on Aug 5th & I've been working pretty solid ever since. I spent my first week here working like crazy, living out of a motel room & looking at places on my lunch break & after work. (I had given up my apt when I went home for the summer in an effort to save money... thinking again I'd have no problem finding an inexpensive little rental once I got back into town, ha ha.) In hindsight, I wish I'd have kept that little apt.... but hindsight is always 20-20, is it not? At any rate, I did find another little apt that seemed like it would work & was in my price range... but it had a one year lease. Now, I typically don't do leases, because you never know how the place is going be until you actually move in... but  living out of a "cheap"motel & working overtime at stressful job I was desperate! So I signed. Yup, complete with the clause that should I break the lease, I would have to pay rent until it was re-leased, plus a $ 500 re-leasing fee. Yikes. Anyhow, I signed, moved all my things from storage, box by box in my little corolla, set up my air mattress & begun unpacking.

 That is when I found out how noisy the place was. Are any of you out there "noise sensitive?" I totally am. I like to come home to peace & quiet... it is essential to my well being! I explained this sensitivity to the rental company-  and she assured me it was a QUIET complex. What she did not point out was that the complex across from mine is a complex that has a play ground full of screaming kids (and sometimes screaming adults!) Don't get me wrong- I don't have a problem w/ kids, but... it's that ear piercing screaming that you usually hear from an unattended child in Walmart that drives me nuts. It's like nails on the chalk board of my soul! This was not apparent during the day time when I looked at the place... but it usually goes on during my prime relaxation & decompression hours after work~ from 5 pm til 9 pm. Despite closing my windows (which bothers me as I love that fresh Santa Fe air) & turning on the swamp cooler... I can still hear it. It does have it's moments of quiet- usually in the mornings when I am off to work. The walls are also paper thin, so I hear my neighbors when they come home late at night (it sounds like they are moving furniture in the room next to my bedroom!) Last night, after being woken by this noise from a peaceful slumber at midnight, I moved my air mattress to the living room, put in my ear plugs & turned on the swamp cooler. That is when I realized, 10 days after I moved in... I just can't do it! I will lose money & perhaps defeat the purpose of finding the "inexpensive rental," but there is absolutely no way I can stay here! A hard working girl needs peace at the end of the day. Period. So, as of tomorrow, I'll be back to looking for a new place, & hoping the finding of a new place coincides with the timeframe of someone renting this one... I really can't afford to pay rent on 2 places!

Yeah, so that is what I have been up to. Very frustrating really, and quite exhausting! I just want a simple, safe, quiet home to live in that is relatively inexpensive so that I can focus on taking classes~ (which start next week by the way!) And for some reason, I don't think it's too much to ask... but it seems quite difficult to find! I do get tempted during times like this to just pack it up & head back to be closer to family & some sort of support system, but I am really here for the clay, and I am determined to a finish at least one more semester of clay classes! Well, wish me luck. I have a feeling the next few weeks will be just as busy as when I arrived 2 weeks ago, and I seem to be having issues w/ an inconsistent internet connection currently~ but I look forward to catching up with all of you once I get truly settled.

High Sierra Loop Part 3

Our backpacking loop was short but sweet~ I'll take 3 days in the backcountry over none any time! Here are some photographs of our last day of hiking~

Large snow field near Evelyn Lake.

Morning sunlight on frozen ponds... yes, it froze during the night at our high camp, though daytime temps were perfect!

Evelyn Lake outlet looking toward still snow covered peaks~

Evelyn Lake reflections.

Saying goodbye to Evelyn Lake,

and Hello to Fletcher Lake... a great spot for a lunch break!

Beginning the descent, looking back toward Vogelsang & Fletcher Peaks.

Further down the trail... it is always amazing to me how quickly the scenery changes in just a few miles!

Looking down towards Tuolumne Meadows... we still had a ways to go to get to the thickly forested area in the distance.

Made it! Our last section of the hike took us back along the Tuolumne river. It was a great trip, and so nice to be up there again. I am always overcome with a sense of gratitude spending time in the Sierra. It is hard to explain, but I think John Muir describes it perfectly when he says "Going to the Mountains is going home..."

:)