Advertisement
Published: April 22nd 2007
Eli and Cl__tus
Two men on the trail. Two men because Erin opted out of the vulcan death march she had attempted a few years ago. Instead she went into town for tea and writing. Aren't the men cute though! Well, we are here, snugged into our little Santa Fe adobe abode. We are enjoying the people, guacamole, and our private hot tub...not all together, that would be very messy. Santa Fe is truly a gulp of fresh air and we are breathing in deeply and settling into relaxation mode. Ahhhhhh...
Today we took a Salsa making class at the Santa Fe cooking school which was quite excellent (thanks Dad Tate and Mom Waugh) We are now completely overconfident in our culinary capabilities but our roasted tomato salsa was tops in the class, and Erin got to use our chef instructor, Rocky Durham's (real name, not kidding) knife because she couldn't handle the "big" knife. Rocky's knife is small. She felt special and inadequate at the same time. I think she blushed.
We have also been hiking around the maze of trails that surround and incorporate Santa Fe and the surrounding mountains. Trails meander in and out of private property and National Forest land as the residents have granted easements though their land. Yesterday the weather was a glorious 65 at 7000 feet and then today it snowed, also at 7000 ft but probably higher than that as
Erin Does Hike!
It's documented! Avert your eyes from the whiteness of her skin. Your corneas might burn, as is Cleetus' tongue. well. Both times, our lungs were not nearly filled with enough oxygen. Cleetus has already adapted to the thin air and is an excellent trail dog. He slobbers on any and all hikers, although in two days of hiking, we have seen a combined 9 other people and as many dogs. Eli met a Tarheel graduate named John who retired here five years ago after living in Asia longtime. Ahh, Santa Fe.
More important than all the wonder of Santa Fe is the unfortunate state of our dog's identity. This dog showed up on our doorstep right before Christmas (kind of like the baby Jesus, but not really cause sweet baby coddling Jesus was born on Christmas) and immediately dug his way into our hearts. He is smart and soft and really what more could you want in a dog. So, against logic, after posting Found Dog signs, we adopted him and it was the best decision we ever made. He fit right in, and Lola Belle, our golden retriever, and he fell in love. They frolicked, they licked, and they collected all of shoes and lay upon them in their doggie beds. We were all blissful and slept in doggie beds or with dogs in our bed in which case Eli was kicked out to curb. Then we had to name him.
The night we found him our dear friends Jennifer and Jay were over and the name "Cletus" was born (thank you Jay). It fit, instantly. He is part beagle, part unknown, and all Arkansas back-woods, bootlegging, dullie truck-driving, hunting dog. What better a name than "Cletus" for a red-neck, beer guzzling, bird-doggin' travelin' hound dog? Well this is where the debate begins. How in the hell should "Cletus" be spelled? Erin says Cletus "Clete". Eli says Cleetus "Cleet", and our friend Robby says Cleatus. Well, after googling the name, they are all legitimate spellings (of course they are--if your name is Cle((a)e)tus chances are you can't read, but which one should it be? Our poor son is set for an identity crisis, that is if we educate him. What will he do when he goes to doggy day care and he can't spell his own name because his parents can't decide. He is set on a path of neurosis that would do Woody Allen proud, so we ask you, our dear friends, to watch "Annie Hall" and give us your thoughts. All votes will be counted, and if we (Erin) is found to be on the losing end, then chads might dangle and hang, but justice will be served!
Isn't it always? Only if you ask George Bush.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.039s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 22; dbt: 0.0223s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Maren Blind
non-member comment
There are many comments to be added at this time!
Hello Friends, OK let me start by stating my extreme jealous, simply because you both are traveling and I am sure having a great time, even in New Mexico. Your travels so far do sound fun and entertaining. I am longing for a vacation as I read about you two. Is this the start of the travels? Are you going to Costa Rica soon? Moving past my jealously...about the dog and the spelling, being that I am a reading teacher at the moment (but also a terrible speller, so take that into consideration :). As far as names go, all bets are off in the correct spelling game, I should know with some of the unique spellings of names I have encountered in schools lately; for example my personal favorite right now is a second grader named Essence Passionaah, yes that is correct! So in this case the long /e/ sound is made by ee, ea, or an e added to the end of a word, but these rules are always broken, especially in AR. So I say Erin is right, because she wears green dresses well and writes very witty travel commentary. Ya, currently I do have a lot of time on my hands this evening, as Bryan is away! I am glad you are having fun and exploring nature! Can't wait to see you both for the wedding!