THEME: DRINK (Post #69; Day #69)

Does anyone recognize/remember this drink product? In the late '90s, the Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation marketed this strange drink called Orbitz. It was non-carbonated, fruit flavored, and colorless except for the small edible balls that floated in it. They said it was a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage." I always thought it looked a bit like a lava lamp, myself!

We are preparing our house to be put on the market, and I ran across our single surviving bottle of Orbitz today. We only bought six bottles back in the day, and even our teenage son thought it was too weird to drink. Thus the one remaining bottle, which we have moved from Oregon, to Alaska, and to New Mexico. I guess it will make one more move with us, in about a year.

THEME: NEGATIVE SPACE (Post #68; Day #61)

Early morning sky. As my husband was driving to work the other morning, he called me and said, "You should go outside and take a picture of the moon and Venus." So I did.

THEME: DESSERT (Post #67; Day #61)

I'm involved in a monthly "Daring Bakers" challenge, along with about 3000 of my on-line friends from around the world. In February we were challenged to make Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies. Here's my effort.

THEME: PASTA (Post #66; Day #61)

This is a favorite quick pasta dish of mine. I just put melted butter and grated parmesan cheese on the Angel Hair pasta, then chop up fresh grape tomatoes and black olives. That's all there is to it, and it's yummy.

THEME: REFLECT (Post #65; Day #60)

This is the last of my images from the New Mexico Veterans Memorial. This is "The Word From Home" station of the Memorial Garden. Veterans and their families shared the text of their personal messages to and from home during their time of service, to be engraved on the wall. I think this picture captures the theme of "reflect" in two ways. Reading the messages, I reflected on the experience of separation during conflict, while, more literally, the wall reflected the surrounding scenery.

THEME: EARTH-TONES (Theme #64; Day #60 )

This station - bar stools and bar, looking over the winter earth-tones of our high desert - memorializes the conversation and camaraderie that the veterans, when asked, said that they remember from their time in the service.

THEME: CONCRETE (Post #63; Day #60)

This concrete archway and the pillars form a beautiful frame for the Sandias.

THEME: HERO (Post #62; Day #59)

THEME: TEXTURED (Post #61; Day #58)

This is the side of one of the white blocks in the memorial below. I loved the texture.

THEME: ARRANGED (Post #60; Day #58)

These carefully arranged blocks make up a station called "The Fallen Friend."

THEME: EMOTIONAL (Post #59; Day #57)

My Dad was in the Navy during both WWII and Korea. I felt an emotional tug when I stood before this, the Navy uniform (see yesterday's post). For some reason, those empty shoes were especially touching. Our generation had big shoes to fill, coming along behind the "Greatest Generation."

THEME: REMEMBRANCE (Post #58; Day #57)

I stopped at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial yesterday. I was alone there, and the sky's powder blue was beginning to cloud over. I was almost overwhelmed with emotion as I stopped and considered each of the stations.

This one is in honor of the five branches of service: U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. On the outer edge of the circle are five bronzed uniforms, one for each of the branches. Each uniform "hangs" on a hanger, with the hat placed above and the shoes beneath.

THEME: OVERCAST (Post #57: Day #56)

There aren't many overcast days here, but this afternoon the clouds moved in.

THEME: CIRCULAR (Post #56; Day #56)

THEME: STOREFRONT (Post # 55; Day #56)

Our local Apple Store. In case it's not clear -- I think those are silver balloons in the window, on the floor. You can see one of them "floating" above, with an Apple MacBook Air tied to it. The idea, I guess, is that the Air is so light that a balloon can carry it away. Cute.

THEME: FENCE (Post #54; Day #51)

THEME: LEADING LINES (Post # 53; Day #51)

Los Poblanos Lavender Fields, with rows of lavender leading the eye eastward. Later in the year, these gray-green plants will bloom and the field will be filled with the color and scent of lavender.

THEME: FLUFFY (Post #52: Day #51)

THEME: ON A FARM (Post #51; Day #50)

THEME: DEPTH OF FIELD (Post #50; Day #50)

THEME: IN THE CITY (Post #49: Day #50)

Looking down Central Ave., which was the old Route 66, running through Albuquerque.

THEME: TRACTOR (Post #48; Day #50)

THEME: REPEATING PATTERNS (Post #47: Day #50)

THEME: EMPTY (Post #46; Day #44)

Empty swings. Empty park. Even the trash cans are empty.

THEME: ART (Post # 45; Day #43)

Coming upon this from the back side, it appeared to be just a huge chunk of nondescript rock, but after walking around to this side, I saw that it was a man's HEAD lying face-up on the concrete! At the brow, it was 6 to 7 feet tall. I wasn't sure whether to use this photo for the ART theme or the ODDITY theme, but decided that the sculptor would rather have me call it art.

THEME: WILD (Post #44; Day #43)

The sandhill cranes winter in Albuquerque every year. The birds in this particular flock were smaller than typical -- young ones, I guess.

THEME: STATUE (Post #43; Day #42)

THEME: METALLIC (Post #42; Day #42)

A metallic sculpture outside the downtown library.

THEME: BENEATH (Post #41; Day #42)

THEME: ARCHITECTURE (Post #40; Day #42)

THEME: PRICKLY (Post #39; Day #42)

THEME: RELIGION (Post #38; Day #35)

The Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) is tucked away among the shops of historic Old Town Albuquerque. It is said to be the smallest church building in Albuquerque. Despite its obvious Catholic character, it was originally intended as an all-faiths chapel for artists seeking a spot for relaxation and reflection. It is open 24 hours a day, every day.

THEME: DAYBREAK (Post #37; Day #35)

THEME: WINTER (Post #36; Day #32)

Winter arrived in Albuquerque last night. Having previously lived in Alaska, I can understand why most of you think this shot of our back yard hardly qualifies as "winter," but what you don't see are the roads, coated in a solid sheet of ice. The city is not equipped with much snow equipment, so driving is tricky. My normal 20 to 25 minute commute took more like an hour and a half, only to find that my workplace was closed because of inclement weather, so I had to get right back on the roads to return home. Got home two hours and 45 minutes after leaving. Should never have left!

THEME: HANGING (Post #35; Day #31)

Traditional chile ristras hang outside this shop window in Old Town.

THEME: BLUE (Post #34; Day #30)

THEME: RETRO (Post #32; Day #29)

THEME: BREAKFAST (Post #31;Day #29)

If you are ever in the area, stop at The Range in Bernalillo, NM, for breakfast. Today I got their "Home on the Range" Oatmeal. The melting dollop on top is a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. This is NOT your mother's oatmeal! (And no, I couldn't eat it all.)

THEME: TWO (Post #30; Day #28)

The clock on the old church in Old Town says . . . TWO o'clock.

THEME: CHAIRS OR BENCHES (Post #29; Day #28)

Hmmm. I think this bench must have been designed by a father who wanted to make sure no "feller" sat too close to his daughter - ha!

THEME: CANDY (Post #28; Day #27)

THEME: FRUIT (Post #27; Day #26)

Fruit is always nice, but it's BEST this way!

THEME: GATES (Post #26; Day #25)

GATES - Bill Gates, that is! This plaque sits at the corner of California and Linn, near the State Fairgrounds in Albuquerque. This is the location where Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft. I know, this probably isn't in the true spirit of the theme "Gates," but I couldn't help myself!

By the way, while looking for the address on the internet, I ran across THIS AD. Take a look; be sure to scroll to the bottom.



Here's a close-up, which is more readable.

THEME: ASYMMETRICAL (Post #25; Day #22)

Like them or not, you have to admit that these little vehicles are asymmetrical.

THEME: SKY HIGH (Post #24; Day #21)

When you stand at the base of this Redstone rocket, it appears to be SKY HIGH.

It sits outside Albuquerque's National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. It is 69 feet tall. Although it was originally designed to carry a warhead, it was never used as a weapon. Instead, these rockets were used for space exploration.

THEME: POINTED (Post #23; Day #21)

THEME: PRIMARY COLORS (Post #22; Day #21)

This model of an atom, in primary colors, is above the front doors of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History.