Don’t know about you, but for me the three R’s ain’t (sic) “Readin’, Riting’ and ‘Rithmetic,” but rather are “Rest, Rain and Reading.” Which is precisely what I did this weekend with my husband in Cloudcroft, N.M.
After missing out on going up to our cabin in the woods last weekend, we were determined not only to forego a last-minute trip to the ER and make it safely to our wooden abode nestled in the pines.
The only free Wi-FI source in Clouedcroft, at the Jamocha Bean coffee house (Well, it’s not free. Ya need to buy at least a coffee) was kaput this weekend, leaving us tech-free and having to resort to, gasp, LOW TECH ways of amusing ourselves! Oh my! Actually, it was the greatest thing ever. I finished a book in just 24 hours, a feat I hadn’t accomplished in years, got enough rest to tide me over for at least a week, and we got to sit on the porch as it poured cats and dogs outside, with the fog rolling in and enveloping us. It was bliss.
I have doctor’s orders to take it relatively easy, which kept me off the hiking trails this weekend, but didn’t prevent me from walking 30 minutes each morning around town (flat terrain). After that, I was basically on my ass for the most part, with no apologies.
As is customary for us these days, we stopped by the Lowe’s grocery store in Alamogordo to pick up some provisions, as well as a quick dinner for when we arrived at the cabin. We got a citrus-infused rotisserie chicken, some ciabatta bread, some rye bread from Marina’s German Bakery in El Paso, and Christian brought with him his kartoffelsalat that he’d made that afternoon. That was our dinner.
We also had some delicious hamburgers made with Gouda cheese, pico de gallo and the ciabatta bread, 
as well as rigatoni with tomato/basil/mushroom sauce.
We agreed we’re in a comfort zone with our meals, and it’s time to branch out a bit, so Christian turned to Uli, his “stepfather,” to email us some of his tried and true recipes that he’s cooked us when we visit. Dampfnudeln, anyone?
It was so damn hard to pack the Jeep this afternoon to head on back to El Paso, but we made the best of it, belting out the soundtrack to “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” then dropping by my dad’s house to take the dogs for a walk. And then a stop at Taco Cabana for some MORE chicken for me and the Mexican combo plate for Christian. I just love going to places like Taco Cabana, with its free salsa bar. To, I guess, dissuade customers from stockpiling the salsa, they only offer tiny little condiment cups. But man, you should see how imaginative some customers are when it comes to getting as much salsa as possible to take to their table. Using their own water bottles, cut in half; just bringing their plates to the salsa bar and shoveling the pico de gallo on top; using napkins to cart away a salad bowl’s worth of cilantro and lemons… lol. Fun people watching potential there.
So, the amniocentesis is on Tuesday, and we’re both frightened. I had the most tremendous weekend in terms of growth in my abdomen. I swear I must have expanded at least two inches in circumference this weekend. Oh, and the round ligament pain? I am fully aware of what that means now. But I’m also in AWE of the feeling because although I haven’t felt any fetal movement yet, I can now feel the uterus, shaped like a giant water balloon! We just may know if the baby’s a girl (we have names, but that’s our secret) or a boy by Tuesday!
To be continued!
Krautundcracker 