Spring Cleaning

The warm weather following our blizzard has spurred a cleaning frenzy! Yesterday Kris and I went through piles of magazines, papers and books that have been accumulating in his room. He willingly said, "Good riddance!" to a few of them! Wonder of wonders, he wanted to get rid of clothes hanging in his closet as well. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Kris, are you sure you want to give some of these things away?
Kris: Don't need 'em. Too tighty, too scratchy.

We went through shirts, pants, sweaters, underwear and pajamas, and he was very quick to decide, "Keep it" or "Don't need it". Most of the things he didn't want to keep he hasn't worn at all in more than a year (or a decade); a few of the things he wanted to keep he hasn't worn for at least that long either.  He wanted to throw away just about every new shirt we've purchased for him while he's been here but I was able to talk him into keeping a few of them for a little bit longer.

When all was said and done we had quite a pile of clothes for Bertha to take to her family in Juarez:

One pair of socks and one pair of underwear ended up in the rag pile!

It Takes a Village

Groundhog Day

Due to extreme cold Kris and I decided to shake things up a bit and do something new today. We ended up going to Village Inn for breakfast - isn't that just about as exciting as you can imagine?!? Kris enjoyed his big mug of hot cocoa and buttermilk pancakes with carmel & pecan syrup. I had no trouble finishing off a 2-2-2.  There were plenty of El Pasoans who had the same idea, it was a very cozy and friendly crowd!

Kris wasn't quite sure why Tabasco sauce came with his breakfast

Other recent events and experiences you may like to know about:

Last night we had a lovely dinner at the Olive Garden with Jeff & Louise, who are in Las Cruces for work-related reasons this week. They left Pierre, South Dakota to escape the cold....surprise, surprise, surprise! Kris is always happy with an OG experience because he knows he'll get lots of Dr. Pepper and a big slice of cheesecake. There were only two blackouts while we were there; our dining experience wasn't too badly disrupted.


Last month Kris was pretty excited to show me what he bought for his brother's birthday at Circle K:

Keven wasn't the least bit disappointed either, and we all had a nice chips and queso fest!

Kris was very pleased with the vintage-type record player/radio Santa jumped through hoops to bring him, along with an Elvis album, for Christmas. Some very special elves made sure he had these goodies for Christmas morning!





He wasn't quite sure what to do with the Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce Sven & Hyuna sent him, though!

Sonja, you'll be pleased to know that the flame has returned! (inside joke)



A Little Bit of Christmas Love

This evening two angels came by and brought a special treat just for Kris!

Juliet Maestas, Kris, Francine Maestas

Angry Birds

Yesterday Ayrel & Ben arrived in El Paso after driving 2,800 miles from Cleveland. Kris was so very happy to see them, and was especially happy to be invited to celebrate Ben's birthday with the Gonzalez's. 

Tonight Soren landed in El Paso on an overnight trip and Kris was just as happy to see him. We had dinner at home (home-cooked meals on the road are a treat according to Soren), and then played several rounds of Mexican Train. While we were playing Soren showed Kris how to play "Angry Birds" on his phone....

We are a pretty intense bunch

.... Kris got the hang of it rather quickly.

And then Soren realized he was repeatedly pulling up Papa John's!

The Letterman Show

Kris received a package from Pam containing a wonderful surprise:



Thanks, Pam, for taking the time to make Kris so very happy!
Here are the answers to the questions you asked in the letter enclosed in the package:

Pam: How are you?
Kris: Fine!
Pam: Are you getting excited for Christmas?
Kris: I'm not excited at all.
Pam: Are there Christmas lights on the house?
Kris: Little bit, not that much. In Gresham we have a lot.
Pam: Who's coming to El Paso this year?
Kris: Ayrel & Ben are here today; Sonja and Tanja & Brad will be here this week.
Pam: Have you been Christmas shopping yet?
Kris: A little bit.

  

A few fun recent moments:

• Kris was not too keen on offering prayers when he first came to live with us. I guess he has become accustomed to the frequent invitations because he now responds with a, "Sure" when asked, throws his head back, and says the prayer without hesitation - even more than once a day on occaision!
• One day I went into his room to see how he was doing and noticed he was watching a cartoon that was unfamiliar to me. I asked him what he was watching and he responded with the standard, "Same thing as usual." I asked what the name was. He looked at me for a moment and then said, "I don't know - I've never seen it before."
• While dinner was finishing up one night I ran upstairs to grab a load of laundry. When I came back down Kris was in the kitchen eyeing a dish of candy. As soon as he saw me he immediately sat down on the floor. It was obvious that more than a few pieces were missing from when I had just been in the room and so I casually said, "Kris, dinner is just about ready. Why don't you put the candy back until after we eat!" He gave me a surprised look and then pointed to his calves. We both burst out laughing - he had already stuffed several pieces of the candy into each leg of his pants!

On a Tuesday in El Paso

Today Kris and I headed out to visit some of our favorite haunts - it's been a little bit too long since we've had a day like this. We had a good time and enjoyed the blue skies and warm sunshine.

Barnes & Noble and a new magazine!

Arby's on the run

In spite of Kris' protests he enjoys the sweet attention Alma gives him ....

especially when she finishes with a back massage!

And then he found some fun NEW items to take home from our trip to the grocery store.

We also did a lot of Christmas shopping (but sadly, only a little bit of Christmas purchasing), hunted high and low - unsuccessfully - for additional lights to add to our outdoor display, paid a visit to the pharmacist, and took Keven's shoes to the cobbler. Kris was thrilled to come home and check the mailbox where he found: 2 packages (thanks, Pam & Kelly and Kim & Sally!), a card from Merry Berry, and a new magazine. The day ended happily with cream puffs, making Kris a very happy camper.

Christmas is Coming!

Saturday morning Kris, Keven & I hunted down our Christmas tree - a beautiful noble fir from Oregon. The initial plan was to get hot cocoa once we found the tree but Kris was ready to head home - and since it was almost 70º we decided to save Starbucks for another excursion.

This morning was cause for celebration and Keven made us his famous waffles!!!

Let the festivities begin!