• I was driving downtown and passed by the old Popular Dry Goods. There was a new business there with a shiny new sign. I refuse to believe that the old one is gone. Today I’ll have to drive by and double check because it was one of my favorites.
• We have a new president. I was sitting in the parking lot of the post office when I got the text from CNN that he was officially sworn in. As soon as I got home and turned on the tv, I saw the Obamas WALKING in the parade. I don’t know why that meant so much to me. I guess I’m used to the president hiding in a car, driving past protests. It was refreshing to see the crowds of people celebrating and have him out there with them. I truly believe that Barack Obama is going to try and unite this country, working with everyone and finding a common ground. He has a tough road ahead and I wish him well.
• I finally got a planner to keep myself organized. It is an Ansel Adams calendar and I chose it because it is simple and clean with lots of white space. Plus, the awesome photography doesn’t hurt. I’ve been using my PoGo to print out the occasional photo to stick inside. I have my notebooks from the past few years and it is fun to look back through them and see photos I’ve taken. The fact that I can print stickers just makes the process easier.
• The thrift store had a display with a ton of elephants. Obviously, someone collected them. It makes me a little sad when I see a bunch of them like that. I always think that maybe whoever worked so hard collecting them died. I collect elephants but never buy them in bulk. Getting an ‘instant collection’ defeats the purpose of collecting. I did choose a plastic circus one because it was different than any I already had. When Echo and I put in the batteries, it actually worked. Score!
• Best tweet yesterday, from Michelle_V: A rheumy-eyed old peacenik Buddhist-vet looked right at me and said, “I have it on good authority that it’s OK to be happy!“

I saw one of my favorite strangers this morning. I stopped to buy the paper and asked him for a picture. He doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Spanish, so I pointed at the picture of Obama and smiled. His face lit up. After I snapped this photo and started walking away, he called out to me. “Sí se puede!”

I saw my kids walking on logs in the middle of a field of weeds. But no. They were on boats in the middle of the ocean. I saw a pile of sticks and a giant spool of wire. They saw a magical clubhouse. It didn’t stop with imagination. They got to work and helped each other drag branches to one side. After an hour of working together, they had created an actual clubhouse with walls and a ceiling and a door. Imagination plus hard work can accomplish wonders.

After last night’s historic election, I am feeling optimistic. Yes, America has problems. Yes, the last eight years have left a huge mess. But I have hope.  Obama is a leader who will  unite our country; his message is one of inclusion, not exclusion. With a little inspiration and a lot of hard work, I believe that we will be able to create something great out of this pile of sticks.

Mica and I took my  mother-in-law to the rally in Sunland Park with Hillary Clinton yesterday. When we got there, we ran into two of her sisters. They had been huge Clinton supporters earlier in the election and were excited to hear her speak. There was a bit of grumbling about how she would be a better president and it wasn’t fair that Obama was chosen instead, but maybe that was the Lord’s way of teaching them patience. *sign of the cross* Although Clinton was over an hour late and it was VERY hot, it was worth the wait. She is an excellent speaker. Her message was simple: get out and vote. Vote for change.  The person we choose as our president will determine the course this country takes for the next four years. This is not a time for complacency.  It matters.  YOU matter. Get out and vote. Vote early. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. Vote for Change!

The presidential campaigns are focusing on New Mexico this weekend and locals have a lot of options. I would encourage you to attend one of the rallies on Saturday.  New Mexico will hear from Hillary Clinton [Sunland Park], John McCain [Mesilla] and Barack Obama [Albuquerque].  Click on the extended entry for specific details.
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When I read in the paper that Eva Longoria and Adam Rodriguez were going to be speaking at a rally today, I knew that I had to take my mother-in-law. She is CSI Miami’s biggest fan. In fact, she regularly refers to David Caruso as her ‘boyfriend’. We ended up waiting almost two hours IN THE RAIN. Eva and Adam both spoke to the crowd and then rushed off stage to a waiting car. You can tell Eva has a lot of practice with crowds [paparazzi!] because she made it to the vehicle in record time. People crowded around the car, taking pictures and trying to touch her. Scary! The crush of people was too much for Jean and she hovered around the edges of the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of CSI Miami guy.

Just as he was about to get in the car I got his attention and asked him to come over to where Jean was waiting on the other side of a rock wall. “My mother-in-law loves your show. She wants to meet you but she is too old to fight her way through this crowd.” He was so nice about it. Right away he walked through a group of people and shook her hand, smiling and nodding as she professed her love for him and all things CSI Miami. He made her day! What a gentleman. As soon as she let go of his hand, he hopped in the car and was gone.

On a more serious note: there are only two more days to register in the state of New Mexico. If you haven’t already, please register and exercise your right fulfill your responsibility to vote!