I'm a happy lady!

Monday, Dec. 11 through Sunday, Dec. 17

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Each day is a gift.

I’ve learned that whether I am happy or not is up to me. If I’m unhappy about a situation, it’s up to me to either change it or change my attitude.

I was reminded of this when I talked with a single female camper; I recognized her because she was here a couple of weeks ago. I walked over to greet her as she was getting hooked up. It was a beautiful day – lots of sun and pleasantly warm. As I greeted her I commented on the day and told her I was glad that she had come back.

Her response? “I hate this park with a passion!”

Wow! “Why do you keep coming back?” I asked.

She responded, “Because I don’t have any other place to go.”

Here’s a person who could benefit from a change in attitude. Needless to say, I’ve avoided any further conversation with her.

Cat is a happy cat - especially when she can be outside. One day I looked up and she was quite high up in the tree. She stayed put while I got my camera and took this picture.

The weather has been really nice and mild, although we have had a couple windy afternoons; nights only get down to the high 30s, days in the 70s. Many days I walk to the post office with only a light sweater; early mornings and evenings do require a warm jacket.

This week’s highlight was a visit from friends Hilda, Sylvia and Jesse. They arrived Friday evening, and we hit the ground running on Saturday morning.

After breakfast at Columbus’ Patio Café, we walked back to the park to see the documentary about the Pancho Villa Raid in 1916. Then they toured the park’s museum. Next we loaded into Jesse’s vehicle and drove around the village and through “The City of the Sun.” This is inhabited by many aging hippies. The “city” is private property and residents/members are given a plot of land to put any sort of dwelling on – and there is quite an interesting collection.

Next we went searching for the “Perfect Man Shrine” that I had heard about. The shrine has an interesting history – and I don’t remember the details (sorry). There is quite a bit on the Internet, but I’m just not that interested, and have better things to do with my time. We did take pictures, and here are a couple of them.

The shrine is on property owned by Sheila and Ken (don’t know last names) who also own the land across the road. We had a nice visit with them, and toured their ‘art garden.’ This couple is very interesting – they winter here and spend their summers manning a fire watch tower in Arizona’s White Mountains.

Well, we worked up an appetite during all this touring and visiting, so off to Palomas to explore the village and have a late lunch at the Pink Store. Sylvia and Hilda did some shopping and of course we took photos. Jesse, Sylvia and Hilda tried on hats!

We turned down two social events – Columbus’ Posada Party at the Lounge and the movie Pirates of the Caribbean II in the park’s recreation hall – choosing to stay in Jeremiah and play cards.

On Sunday morning we drove into Deming for breakfast and a stop at the grocery store so I could stock up on perishables. All too soon it was time for my visitors to drive back to Albuquerque. And I took care of some paperwork and reading.

Sunday evening the volunteers had another pizza party at the PV Lounge – and what a good time we had.

Each day is an adventure and I’m a happy lady.

Author Andrew Dunbar wrote:
The gift of happiness belongs to those who unwrap it.