gus and his monday morning stomach ache

rich and sophie over the rio grande gorge (it was freezing and windy!)

gus, not so happy to be out in the cold

gus is home with a monday morning stomach ache. it isn't his first, but i was so mean to him yesterday that i didn't argue much about his staying home today. and he may really have one (but i doubt it). we were in taos all weekend, which was lovely and clear--a perfect ski day for gus and rich (sophie and i stayed in town). then on the drive home gus was being annoying so i basically yelled at him the whole way back, hence no argument about staying home today. if kids only knew the extent of parental guilt for whatever reason...

taos was incredible--really good food, really good beer, really good music, and the ski valley is 100% open. we went to the earthship community for the first time and were totally impressed. we're trying to figure out if we can retrofit our house to take advantage of the passive solar part at least. they use water four times before it is discarded, and all of it is sourced from snow melt or rain (however since they only get 8 inches a year it seems like there must be another source--that level of water certainly couldn't hold up to rich's obsessive bathing rituals). the first use is for the tap, the second is for the plants that grow inside along the south-facing windows, the third is for the toilets, and the fourth is for exterior plants. very cool. i have to say, with our energy bills approaching $1000 for this month alone i totally dig the idea of an energy and water independent home. we desperately need an energy audit.

it was great to get away from everything for a while--last week was no fun (but, thankfully, gus' strep was negative!), and unfortunately this week doesn't look much better. my mom is doing very badly with her move. she is depressed into total stasis and hasn't unpacked a single box. i'm going back to houston on friday to try and get at least her kitchen and bedroom set up, which means that gus and sophie will be left here FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER with their dad. i figure gus is old enough to at least feed himself; sophie is on her own. i'll make sure to leave some horizon vanilla milk boxes down at her level. i'm guessing i'll hear about this from rich for quite a while.

gus warily eyeing the entrance to an earthship

detail of earthship construction

the mission church at las trampas--san josé de gracia de las trampas--along the high road to/from taos (we took the high road back, which was a mistake, as gus cannot handle winding mountain roads)

detail of the outer wall at las trampas

side view of las trampas church--it was built in 1760 (the NPS site has the date wrong) and clearly needs some attention today...