I know, another set of sunset pictures - but it never gets boring!

We've gotten a few more projects done.  The front patio is starting to take shape.  There's still half of it that needs work, but I did get one half done.

Next up was the garage.  We ordered some shelves and a cabinet and have everything organized.  Dave even had an empty table.  I'm laying bets on how long it stays empty.    He's got his mancave.  His poker table, and a dartboard is on the way.  The dresser will be out of there as soon as I refinish it for the guest room - that's my next project.

The sunsets here in New Mexico never fail to enthrall me.  I find myself looking out the window every evening to see how beautiful this evening's sunset will be.

Yesterday was Dave's Birthday and we both had a great day!

It was Tuesday, our normal Pool party/kaffee klatsch.  This week, Monika served up a wonderful German lunch with homemade bread, german meats, just to name a couple of things.  We also had german pickles, thanks to Lydia and other delicacies.

Dave's celebration started with dinner at Marisco's with Lydia, Peter, Monika and Reuben.  He enjoyed a great seafood platter.

Dessert, in the form of liquid libations were held at Monika and Reuben's house.  They have a spectacular bar that must be the envy of anyone who sees it.  Reuben was a great bartender and we were pleased to see that he had a bottle of Smoky Mountain Moonshine from our own Gatlinburg!

All in all, Dave had a wonderful celebration and we commented how fortunate we are to have this ready-made family of German friends in our new home.  Our Simple Life is truly wonderful.

We've finished off a few projects this last week, both inside and out that I wanted to share.  We've never had as much fun as we're having now.

I found a picture at a local thrift shop that I feel in love with, except for the frame.  So, I bought milk paint and distressed the frame to match the painting.

We moved the big painting out of the living room and into the kitchen where we had a bigger wall to display it.  My new painting and frame hang in its place in the living room.

At the same thrift store, I found two beautiful sandstone paintings of a Navajo boy and girl.  I knew the would look perfect in the study on the other side of the window from my western boy and girl.

Our nichos are looking great.

We had to hang a kokopelli in the kitchen.

We needed to get a small table for the modem, next to the tv.

I finally finished up the flowers in the bathroom.

Outside:

We finished the bridge with its solar lights.

All our big planters are painted and planted.  Now, to pray that the plants survive me.

We love the look of our fire pit with the bright chairs.

Yes, that's Luna, looking out the window to see what I'm doing.

Dave has also been working on getting out the weeds and junk from the area on the street side of the wall.  I don't have pictures of it, but this fall, after we cover it with stones and a few plants, I'll post pics.

And last but definitely not least, I brag about our sunsets all the time, but last night's was truly spectacular, even for New Mexico standards.

One of my greatest joys every evening is sitting and watching the sun set right outside our window.  No two days are the same.  This spectacular one was on July 4th.

And this morning, we had a visitor in the backyard, who decided to have breakfast amongst our morning glories.  Life is truly wondrous!

Now, if I could just get a picture of our rooftop resident...Roofus the roadrunner!

We've spent the last week and a half unpacking boxes and finding places to put everything, which was not a major chore because we have so much room!!!  Going from 300 sq ft to over 1600 sq ft has been a bit overwhelming.  But it's wonderful to have a place for everything.

Decorating has been an absolute joy.  I've always loved southwestern decor and to have this beautiful house as a backdrop makes it even more fun.  Dave and joke about losing weight because we have so much more room to walk in.

We were fortunate that Susan and Peter, the sellers, didn't need most of their furniture as they started their new journey in Vermont, so we've only bought a few pieces to round out the wonderful things we were already gifted.

We're still missing quite a bit of wall art, and that will come slowly, I'm sure.  We'll know when we find pieces that go into a specific place.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures and we welcome and suggestions or feedback!

As we prepare to start our new life in our new house in a couple of days, some of us spent the day working and some of us played hooky.

We spent the day at the new house with Susan and Peter.  Dave and Peter put up the side fence, and Susan and I went to some antique shops and headed back to Old Town for another shopping trip. 

We first stopped at the Church of Immaculate Conception in Bosque Farms.  What an absolutely beautiful old church that was remodelled beautifully.
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