Serve by Design

We recently returned from a two-week visit with our family in New Mexico. The temperature was unseasonably warm, winds were light, and the daily bright sunshine is what is expected in the Land of Enchantment. This is a high desert experience with lots of sagebrush, tumble weed, and sand. Albuquerque has a beauty all its own with its narrow green belt down the Bosque and Rio Grande River. And who can refuse three-hundred days of sunshine! ABQ Balloon Fiesta The conditions were perfect for the Balloon Fiesta this year! It is the world’s largest hot air ballooning event. It is so unique to be down on the infield at Fiesta Park where you can stand side-by-side with pilots and crew members who prepare their balloons for launch just after sunrise. The Balloon Fiesta is a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should have on their bucket list! This year we passed on going down to the launch site since we have already been on three other occasions. Instead, we let the balloons come to u...

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, 10:36 am, a spectacular event occurred that could only be observed in parts of the western United States, as well as Central and South America. Weeks in advance of the annular solar eclipse, I was reading and hearing about it on the news. I knew that we were going to be visiting our family during this exact time. I just didn’t realize, at the time of first hearing about this, just how unique it all would be! We quite literally were in the “right place at the right time!” The zenith point for optimal viewing of this epic eclipse was Albuquerque, New Mexico! Looking upward with our "stylish" eclipse glasses! We took it all in so easily as we stood in our daughter’s kitchen in the suburb of nearby Rio Rancho and looked out over the Sandia Mountains to the east. It was like we were standing in a private celestial theater. What made this solar eclipse so unusual was that it happened when the moon orbited at its farthest point from earth. As it passed...

It was fun to take the celebration of our 50 th  Wedding Anniversary “on the road” last week. We had a somewhat understated, yet meaningful remembrance back home with just the two of us on the actual date of our anniversary, June 10 th . This involved a movie and a meal! But, for months now, we have been planning to take the celebration to another setting in July. We affectionately called this part of our anniversary celebration, “The ABQ Blitz!” One of our twin daughters and her family have lived in an Albuquerque suburb for 16 years now. Their residence became home base for this gathering. Melissa and Reece with their three children, Klay, Karter, and Klaire, and three dogs, Sophie, Oreo, and Mocha, were in their element as hostess and host to us all! Our other twin and her family of six and one dog, Groot, have been spending part of their summer in New Mexico for years now. We knew that Michelle and Dan along with Chloe, Danny, Charlie and Dawson had already planned to drive the...