Week 52-25 - Curiosities

Greetings from the Mesa

We are enjoying the last two slow weeks of 2025. On Monday took a day trip to Bandelier National Monument next to Los Alamos. It was a beautiful and ridiculously warm day - 65. Bought a new parks pass to avoid the 2026 Washington/Dump card, and had a picnic outside the Juniper Campground. We continued our Christmas special TV watching, with a finale of the annual viewing of Christmas Vacation on Christmas. Quiet Christmas opening some gifts, eating some delicious food, and knitting/reading. I finished Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. For 'Dead Week' we will be starting our annual puzzle shortly - a cactus scene called 'Oasis Bloom' that KP's mom sent us. The slow wind down to 2026 begins...

The 2025 Top 5 round up (in no particular order):

Books
1. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (Fiction)
2. Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (Fiction)
3. The Notebook by Roland Allen (Non-Fiction)
4. White Teeth by Zadie Smith (Fiction)
5. Becoming Little Shell: Returning Home to the Landless Indians of Montana by Chris La Tray (Non-Fiction)

TV
1. South Park
2. Mo
3. Slow Horses
4. Pluribus
5. Silo

Movies (weirdly all documentaries)
1. Listers
2. Pee Wee as Himself
3. Mountain Queen
4. Devo Documentary
5. Pangolin Kulu's Journey

Adventures
1. Blanco Road Abiquiu
2. Los Lobatos Bridge Colorado
3. Wild Rivers Picnic
4. Bandelier Picnic
5. Xmas Lights Taos

Unusual (for here) Birds Spotted
1. Horned Lark
2. Black Throated Sparrow
3. Nighthawk
4. Western Meadowlark
5. American Goldfinch

I'll see you next Friday for the first post of 2026 - then we'll be back to the usual Wednesday morning posting time the following week. I've also posted the next installment of my graphic novel (days 4-6).

Merry Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!