Waiting for Treats

Did it Rain?

Of course with all this talk of drought the weather decided that this day was a good day for a drizzle of desert rain while we were sight seeing through some of the shops. The rain only lasted about 10 minutes. Long enough for Sarah to get wet and chilled while she run back to her van to roll up the windows she had left cracked open for the dogs. (Yes, we had her dogs with us since we had started the morning by going to the river and had returned to her house yet. They are used to being in the van lots as she takes them with her as long as it is not middle of the summer weather.) But there was a nice rainbow afterward over the Mesilla plaza. Being November the trees around the square where still in their fall colors and they flashed color brighter colors to us after being washed by the rain. Old Mesilla (pronounced Ma - see - a, the double ll's on most Spanish words are silent.) was a stopping place for travelers going from Texas to California. Many of the building were built in the early to late 1800's. Mesilla was a stage stop for the Butterfield Stagecoach Company. It is said there was a population of .. in Mesilla in about 1860. Mesilla became part of Las Cruces as the two towns grew into one. Las Cruces being named for the Three Crosses that were put over the graves of three travelers or priests that died when they were attached by Indians. Now there is some non-religious person saying that the name of the town needs to be changed because the name Las Cruces or The Crosses has to much religious meaning. I am not a religious person, but the name has been there for so long it should always be there and as far as I can tell it really doesn't have any religious meaning to it. Most graves have a cross over them. That doesn't mean the person buried there was religious. I can not believe that so many people are going against our historical names here in New Mexico and other parts of the southwest and Yes, all over the United States and trying to change any little part that seems religious to them. Again I am not religious but I still say 'under God' when I say the Pledge of Allegiance because that is what I was taught in school, although research has shown that the first Pledge didn't have those words in it.
Sarah in the rain.









Desirae and Dustin in the rain.











































Many of the shops and business in Old Mesilla are adobe building that have been remodeled to bring them up to code but still have the old look.

Date Night and Day

We have tried to keep up on our date night since arriving here. What we have not enjoyed in many months is a day off together. I work every weekend and Nathan works during the week. Patti that I work with worked for Donna today. So she told me to take the day off and she covered for me too. We were so tickled pink to have a date night and a date day.



Last night we went to Abuelo's in Lakeland. We then went to the movie, The Vow, which was very touching.



We spent time in a bookstore after that where Nathan and I ventured off to different sections. When I went to find him, I found him in this section:



We arrived home very late to a frantic girl that is not used to being home alone that long. She paid us back by waking us up bright and early this morning.



That's ok because we had more fun scheduled for today. We ate a great breakfast in bed, hung out trying to figure out how to get audio books from Box.net to our phones. Then we headed out to Lake Wales. We stopped at a BBQ place for lunch.



They were really busy and told us they only had a half booth available. We said no problem and they said we would get dessert for free if we ate there. I was very excited to hear that. This is a half booth, and this is our free dessert.



Nathan ate his share of the huge 1/4 of a pie dessert and then ventured over into my territory and helped himself until I threatened to stab him with my fork. Everything we ate here was excellent.



After that we were off to Bok Towers. Diana and I took the kids to visit this neat place before, but Nathan had never visited before today. He really enjoyed it. All of the pictures here are from my phone, but I'll try to edit and add more pictures from the big camera this week.







When we arrived home, we saw Rich outside so we went over to see how their pickleball tournament went. We ended up sitting and having a nice time chatting with he and Donna and trying something I really enjoyed. I told Nathan to put it on the grocery list and I'll share more about that later.



It was a great day and it was so nice to have a whole day together!



Living the life in Florida!

Smorgasbord of upcoming trips to the Middle and Far East

Next weekend I will be flying to the FAR EAST to visit family. This will be a grand time spending precious time with my loved ones and travelling with them as well. My parents are getting old—my dad turns 70 and the family will be holding a big feast for him, hence this trip. My mom cannot travel long distance as well to visit me because of her health, so we recently made a pact that we’ll just travel locally, within the Asian region, as long as it’s not a flight of more than 4 hours.



Family is important and when you live across the globe, those few moments every year when visiting should be well spent.



So here’s my a lil bit crazy travel itinerary:



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates







I have never been to Dubai so I am very excited for this stop over. I will be staying a night and a whole day in Dubai and have already mapped out my agenda. I even booked an afternoon tea at the Skyview Bar of the only 7-star luxury hotel in the world (I know there is no such thing), Burj Al Arab! I cannot wait!



Also, I am quite relieved that the Dutchman is not travelling with me this time because in Dubai you can get in prison for giving a peck on the cheek to your other half or even just by mere holding hands! And its Ramadan so they are uber strict. You know, I cannot get off my hands from the Dutchman.



SINGAPORE







Will be staying a few days with the sister who lives in sunny Singapore. I will do the rounds while she works during the day. In the evening we’ll paint the town red. Wait, I think I am too old for that.



This is going to be 2 trips to Singapore and I'm crafting my agenda to cover many things to see and do, stuff that I have missed since my last visit several years ago.



CEBU, Philippines!







Ah, my home (is)land. Daddy’s big party -- he turns 70! This is going to be a massive family reunion as well. I am really curious about my relatives from both sides of extended families. How they look like now, how they are now, their kids, what they are busy with now, etcetera. I do have good relationship with a few of my cousins but for the rest, I haven’t seen them for a very long time. I was 21 years old when I left Cebu (I am 43 now), thus I rarely joined extended family gatherings.



I just realised that I have lived more than half of my life on earth outside Cebu. That is a milestone.



HONGKONG SAR







A week (well 5 days) in this busy metropolis with mom, dad and my sister. Brother and his family will not be joining because someone needs to run the business at home and pay for this trip, haha. The last time I was in this city was 11 years ago. That long.



MACAU SAR







The perfect side trip from Hongkong, but what I am really thrilled is the Portuguese Pastel de Nata (egg tart) and the bakeries in Macau are selling them. They are sooooooooo good.



Macau was once a Portuguese colony.



MALACCA, KUALA LUMPUR & CAMERON HIGHLANDS in Malaysia







A road trip with my mom! And oh, driving right hand on the left hand side of the road is going to be a bit of a challenge I am sure! Not panicking =)



We will see a little bit of culture and history in Malacca. I read that this used to be under Dutch territory so I am quite curious to see some Dutch architecture and influence in this city. KL for a quick stop over to admire the Petronas Towers, then we head off to the Cameron Highlands for some nature tripping and a lovely cup of tea in the middle of the luscious tea plantation. I heard they have a strawberry farm there as well.



So much to look forward to with the family.



July-August

Asia Travel

Thanks, Miriam!

Sunday, September 19th - - It was a delightful day that was spent with one of my favs – Miriam Midkiff of Ancestories :: The Stories of my Ancestors. Miriam has already written about our day but I just wanted to add that it was my pleasure to be able to spend some time with her - to get to know her a little better and to meet her son and husband. Her son, being a teenager, didn't have much to say but her husband and I had several engaging conversations while Miriam was off doing something else. The pot roast was delicious. It was very nice to have a home-cooked meal for a change!

Miriam Robbins Midkiff and Becky Wiseman. Photo taken September 19, .. by her husband.
Even though I knew that Miriam and I probably wouldn't get together until Sunday, I arrived in Spokane about mid-day Friday. I had decided that this would be a good opportunity to have a couple of “down” days. I had to tend to some errands – get the oil changed in the van, laundry, grocery shopping – you know, things that “normal” people do on a regular basis ;-)

I also took advantage of having electricity at the RV park to work on the photos from August on the netbook. I don't normally stay at commercial RV parks (or resorts, as this one was called) because they usually resemble parking lots. But for some reason the state of Washington closed the campgrounds in some of its State Parks in mid-September so I had no alternative. This particular RV resort was actually kind of nice. There were some trees and bushes in between each parking space, which provided some degree of privacy. A rarity in an RV park! They also had wifi available but I kept getting kicked off the network after about 15 minutes online. Luckily there was a McDonalds across the street...and their wifi worked great.

My stop-over in Spokane was a nice break in my journey. Several tasks were accomplished and I got to spend some time with a friend. Thank you, Miriam! And I look forward to our next visit, someday!

Quick coffee in quiet Vrijthof

I like my terrace view: The Vrijthof -- Sint Janskerk, Sint Servaasbasiliek and the Hoofdwacht.




Nowadays I drive to all 4 corners of the
Netherlands. Each week I burn between 700 and 1000+ kilometres and that makes
me the queen of the road =)





Last week I was in Maastricht which is
200+ kilometres from Amsterdam. Maastricht is located at the southern tip of the Netherlands bordering Germany and Belgium. I have a business partner here and we finished
the meeting earlier than expected. I saw that I have a few
missed calls, as well as I can see continuous emails coming in to my phone so I decided to work a bit before driving back to the Randstad. A quick swing by at Vrijthof(the main big square of Maastricht)for some coffee while I check and answer my emails and call back people would be the best scenario.




While sitting at a café terrace on
Vrijthof and sipping my coffee it dawned on me that I really liked my job. Even if it is stressful.
Even if sometimes I feel the heavy weight of the responsibility. Even if I have to juggle, find out, search and justify things on my own.




Vrijthof before 12 noon is very quiet. I
have never seen Maastricht this still. However, I noticed people trickling into the square when I left about half past 12. Many of them with cameras hanging from their necks.



It was nice to have seen the quieter side of Maastricht.

Quick mid weight down jacket comparison?

Whenguys get together there is usually no lack of posturing. When it comes to climbing, the Internet allows all sorts of spewing that won't happen in person, face to face. "Stand and deliver" actually means something on the rock. It is how we measure ability..and mouth some times.



Some might have expected by now that I like measurement and comparisons. I see a lot of gear and the small percentage of what I do like I can easily put words to. But I find it even more interesting when very similarproducts are forced to "stand and deliver". Get down to the details and there is generally a different worth noting.



Two mid weight down climbing jackets I like a lot and have mentioned before on the blog seemed worthy of a side by side comparison. Both jackets run a little small compared to US sizing. The numbers listed here are for a men's XLin both jackets. I am 6'1" and 187#. Both jackets fit me well with even light layers under them. The RAB being the slightly bigger of the two for overall fit. But easy enough to call both patterns "athletic" for fit.



The Narrona Lyngen, 22.3 oz or 632g. 3" of loft at the shoulder. Retail? $348.95 Only one US retailer.

(3/4" ofadditional loft and a big drop of 9.5 oz in weight from my first Lyngen of 3 years ago!) One seriously has to wonder what changed?



"Aero™down proof 30 g



A super-lightweight and down proof technical fabric, aero™down proof weighs about 30 grams/m². It’s soft, water-repellent and windproof, and has a good strength for being so lightweight.

down™750



Our down products use the highest available down quality that we can find, which is a by-product of the food industry (in contrast to being killed just for insulation). Our down comes from the mountains of Pyrenees in France where the birds spend their days outside in a free gazing environment. All treatment of the birds complies with European standards, and the highly specialized washing of the down passes the Oeko-Tex 100 standards. Our down™750 means down fill power from 750 to 800 cu in/oz with the percentage of down cluster from 93–96%.



PrimaLoft™ One 130 g



PrimaLoft™ is a patented micro-structure that gives great thermal insulation to help the body maintain its temperature, minimizing energy loss. Extremely light and soft, it was originally developed by the US Army to replace natural down. As down absorbs moisture, it becomes wet and loses its thermal-insulating abilities. PrimaLoft™ absorbs three times less water, is 14% warmer when dry and 24% warmer when wet, than the competitive insulation."



130g Primaloft is used in the hood and neck, and in side panels from the wrist's cuff to the arm pit and back down to the waist's hem.




http://www.norrona.com/Products/3170-09/lyngen-down750-jacket-m




The RAB Infinity, 17.4oz or 492g, 3" of loft at the shoulder. Retail? $299.95 Andmany US retailers



"[shell] Pertex Syncro (10D ripstop nylon); [lining] Pertex Quantum (10D ripstop nylon)



850-fill European goose down" (It seems RAB likes a short description, but that is all they have listed:)







http://us.rab.uk.com/products/mens-clothing/down_1/infinity-jacket.html


For agear geek is waskinda fun to make this comparison. For the 3" of insulation both jackets offer with premium goose down one has to ask why the weight and cost differences? And which jacket offers an advantage for the climber?



After all RAB has made its reputationbased on customers for the most part, members of the climbing community. Differing with what Narrona has done for the most part in the skiing community.



I have used both jackets climbing with great satisfaction. Again both jackets are sewn through baffling with an extra layer of material used as a wind panel across the chest. Simply sewn through in back. Both have hoods you can use over a helmet. The Narrona hood is much larger though and easier to use with a helmet and offers muchmore protection with a flexible visor and a tunnel design on the neck.






28" back





24" back




The difference in that 4" is a longer back on the Lyngen.

Below is a side view of the front to back taper on both jackets.






But the front, where the harness is, stays the same.





straight cut sleeves and arms





Raglan sleeves and articulated elbows





Sewn baffle comparisons





Hood and neck detail





Hood and neck detail





doublecuff on left and a single cuff on the right





Nylon mesh chest pocket that doubles as a stuff sack with haul loop









small internal chest pocket..of minimal use because ofsize


22.6 oz or 17.4oz ? As expected from two of the cutting edge climbing design teamsyou get a choice. 5.2 oz more in the Lyngen gets you a little more jacket for warmth and coverage. More hood, more garment length and the back up of Primaloft One in areas most likely to get wet in use. And most important a pattern more easilyallows one to climb some very difficult terrain and stay covered.



For a bitless than a 1/4pound in weight savings the Infinity gets you a very basic jacket with a great attention to detail and a littleless of weight.Hard to turn a blind eye to that fact with all the basic needs covered and$50 less @ retail.



Both jackets have single slide front zippers. Too bad because both could use a dbl slider to get around the harness. Both offer good zipper buffers/baffles and coverage.



The integrated stuff sack and tie in on the Lyngen is a nice feature. The Infinity chest pocket barely has enough room to carry thestuff sack that comes with it. The integral pocket with the net backing seems a bit fragile on the Lyngen. But it stretches to fit. The Infinity comes with its own stuff sack. Both carry systems have integral haul loops attached.













Compression is about the same on both jackets. Either will easily fit in the RAB stuff sack.



The shell material on either jacket will shed water for a good bitof time. But neither material is "water proof", The Lyngen 's nylon isheavier physically than the Pertex RAB uses. Neither material will do well wrestlingwith limestone.



So what did I get from this review? Comparisons generally have a single winner.



I added up the "points". Lyngen has a better hood, better cuffs, better pattern and articulated elbows. It has a better internal pocket to dry gear in and would make a better pillow if that is something you require. Call it 6 points better than the RAB.



TheRAB is simple. I like the fit and how light it is. I like the Pertex. I didn't notice the smaller hood or the simple pattern cut on the RAB while wearing it, only as Ilayed them both out on the floor for photos.



I knew I liked the Lyngen better but wasn't sure exactly why. But no question I like the $50 savings on the RAB. The RAB versionmight well have a better quality down and more of it. Ican't tell.



I am obviously nit picking here. Others may preferthe simplicity and less weight above everything else on the RAB. Both are seductive.



Both of thesejackets are exceptional garments for my own use. This review, like many I do was simply for my own edification. I am keepingand will use both jackets.