It's already July?

What the %^(#! The year goes by just too fast. Did we promise you, or did we threaten you, that we would keep you up with the goings on in our life on a regular basis? Well, here we go�while our newsletter won't be a quarterly, we'll at least make it a semi-annual! So, what has been happening to us in the past 6 months? We promise that there isn't any major health news, besides an update on Hannibal. Our health is actually pretty good.

Deustcher, mehr Deutscher, und sehr viele Deutscher: Part Eins

You can't say no to Germans, because they will hunt you down! Believe us, we tried. We got an invitation in the early part of the year to attend the wedding of our friends Kristen and Stefan. Kristen was a volunteer in the program that Mike ran in Milwaukee, and Stefan was a Pallottine priest. Ah, when a priest and a volunteer meet, sparks fly! Babies are born! They had a civil wedding in Germany, but decided to have the church wedding in Kristen's Methodist Church in Geneva, New York, and invited a number of their friends from Germany, all of which were friends of ours too. We were honored to be invited to give the sermon, but had to turn down the invitation due to lack of funds. Thinking that was the last of it, we turned to planning our dull, dull spring (because of no money). Well, Germans do not take NO for an answer. Our German friends came up with funds to fly us to New York for the wedding in mid-April. Sermons were said, and a marriage was performed, and everyone was happy. And we are deeply appreciative to our German friends who put their finances on the line for us.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas

That Vegas ad is supposed to imply that if you do naughty things there, nobody but you, the person you were with, and your god need to know. What we think, though, is that the new ad should state, "Whatever cash you have in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Because we can't seem to win there. We hear all the stories of some little 90 year old incontinent and crippled lady with a really nasty hairlip who just happened to drop a nickel into a machine as they were wheeling her and her oxygen tank out of Caesar's Palace, and hit the $5 million jackpot. Well, we drop change into those machines, and nothing happens. So we went to Vegas. Megan had to report on a huge retail conference there, and while she was working Mike amused himself on the strip. We got to see almost naked women at the risqu� Cirque du Soleil show Zumanity. Mike hasn't stopped drooling yet. We also spent an enjoyable time on our last day at the Star Trek Experience in the Hilton. For you Trekkies or those familiar with the show, part of the Hilton is done up like Quark's Bar (from Deep Space Nine). We ordered "Hamborgers" (get it?) in the restaurant, though Megan was sad that the "Wrap of Khan" which she enjoyed there four years ago was not on the menu anymore. We also went on the attractions. One is a silly scenario that ends in a ride in a virtual reality machine, and the other is entitled "Borg Invasion: 4-D". It is very silly and fun. Mike also managed to lose $10 at blackjack, which isn't bad considering fortunes are made and lost in Vegas.

Deutscher, mehr Deutscher und sehr viele Deutscher, Part Zwei

After the wedding, we arrived back in New Mexico. However, there is no rest for the wicked. Our German friends (the newly married couple, some of Stefan's family and some of their mutual friends�about 10 in all), flew into San Antonio and drove about 14 hours to Albuquerque. We entertained them all at our place. Well actually, we could only entertain a few of them because our house isn't so big, but they used our place as a base from which they could explore the Southwest. We had a barbecue one night in our back yard, and generally had a lovely time.

Hannibal update

Our last update on Hannibal related dire news such as kidney stones and near death experiences. However, kidney stones pass and Hannibal has settled back into life again, though a much slower life at 14 years old. His back legs don't want to support his weight like they once did, and he's on pain medication. After his kidney stone, he stopped eating somewhat and so it has been a battle to get him to eat so that his weight can get back up. With the change in diet, of course, came gastrointestinal difficulties. However, he's a fighter and he is still interested in life. Mike walks him three times a day, and he still begs food like a pro. Recently a blood test turned out great, and he's gained back some of the weight he's lost. So, Hannibal seems to want to be with us for a little while yet, and we are glad of it.

Job turmoil -- and rewards

Megan got a shock a couple of months ago when the editor who hired her at the New Mexico Business Weekly announced that she was leaving. Actually, she left suddenly because the local daily paper discovered that she was planning to leave. Megan likes her job, and really liked her editor, and so this was a difficult time. The upshot is that Megan has taken on a bit larger workload. But hopefully, this will all work out with as little stress as possible.

Megan also won a fellowship to attend the Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment in Boulder, Colo., for a week in May. Highlights included Rocky Mountain National Park, the National Renewable Energy Lab and the Center for Atmospheric Research, and catching up with her old Milwaukee roomie, Mary Manion Fent and family, who live in Golden.

SAT scores and standardized patients

Mike, in the meantime, decided to get off his lazy butt and try to contribute something to the family income. He spent some time grading the essays from the new SAT tests. This was helpful because it brought in $17 an hour, but neither stint lasted as long as was originally planned. In addition, both of us signed up to be standardized patients at the University of New Mexico's Medical School. If anyone has seen the Seinfeld episode where Kramer pretends to be a patient for medical students who must correctly "diagnose" him, then you have an idea of what Megan and I will do. We will get a case, learn how to act it out, and then serve not only as the "patient" to the medical students but also their evaluator as well. When they are finished, we rate each student according to their communication skills and bedside manner. It is an invaluable resource for medical students who must learn how to deal with real people.

Grand Canyon: The Germans strike again

Once again, it is difficult to say no to Germans. After staying at our house for three to four days, they proposed a lightning trip to the Grand Canyon. Again, we weren't sure that a quick trip to the Grand Canyon was the right thing for us to do, but we allowed ourselves to be talked into it. We learned that the Big Hole is only about 6 hours from our door. If you have been to the Grand Canyon, we don't need to describe it to you. If you haven't been, well, it looks just like in the pictures, except you can't fathom how deep the thing is. We only got a real sense of how big it is when we walked down into it. After a couple of hours of hiking, we stopped at a place that was only about 1/3rd of the way down (from about 7200 feet at the rim to about 5000 feet�the floor of the canyon is at about 2000 feet). It's deep and impressive, and a place we plan to visit again.

Sandia

Closer to home, we have a playground right in our back yard in Albuquerque. The Sandia Mountains rise on the eastern edge of the city, and have 400 square miles of protected wilderness. There are numerous trails throughout the whole area. In winter, when we wanted snow, we could head to Sandia Peak. In summer, if we want cooler temperatures, we can head to the high country. Recently, we got a book called the Sandia Mountain Hiking Guide, which gives detailed information on the trails throughout the area. We are systematically exploring as many as we can.

Gardening

Mike has planted a small garden, which is the first time in a long time he has tried growing one. So far our five tomato plants, four basil plants, two rows of cilantro, and a pot of rosemary are doing great. The tomato plants have two tomatoes on them so far, and more flowers have recently formed so we are looking forward to more. Our expected apricots will not pan out, however. Just as the neighbor's tree (which hangs into our yard) blossomed this spring, a freak snowstorm killed the blossoms. We will have pomegranates on our tree out back this fall, however.

Gila Wilderness

We decided to make a camping trip with our friend Anne down to the Gila Wilderness, the first wilderness set aside by the federal government. Expecting a lot of people, we were pleasantly surprised to find an empty campground under some pines next to a stream. One day we drove a harrowing but beautiful 2� hours over mountain dirt roads to Mogollon, a former mining ghost town that is now a haven for artists. That same day, we visited the Catwalk, in a box canyon where Geronimo hid from U.S. troops before giving himself up. We swam in a nice pool underneath a waterfall there. During the days, the temperatures were hot. At night the temperatures were cool, the stars were incredible, and we were able to light up a campfire and grill our dinners. On the way back we stopped in Pie Town at the Pie-O-Neer Cafe (yes, that's a real place!) for pie, and listened to the magical story of a young couple from New York, both writers, who ended up managing a restaurant for 6 months in that little out of the way place. Only in New Mexico!

Closing

For those of you who didn't get our last e-mail, our cell phone numbers have changed. Some of you may be reading this on our newly revamped website, where you can get background, news, photos, and many things pertaining to us and New Mexico. If you aren't reading this on our website, drop by! http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4209