“when you follow your ‘bliss’, doors will open where there were no door before. “ By ‘bliss’ he meant the deepest fascination of your Life. ~ The Art of Pilgrimage ~ [Phil Cousineau]

Is time with it’s big and little hands moving on faster in this urban environment or was it less aware of it’s pace while back in the Desert? Thanksgiving has come and gone as we are now falling into the weekend days. The best of any Thanksgiving. Days, their duration, are more important here, it seems they have a control over it all, control when one depends on the influx of traffic, hours of stores and specially when faced with what they call “black Friday”. Of course, we are not here for long. As always, writing this as if we had been here a gazillion times which we have not, the travel besides the last one hundred miles faced with a headwind and cooler temperatures was of a familiar one. “Old Faithfull” was purring the 600 miles it took, listening to the tunes stored made the miles go by endlessly, there is always new sights to discover with the skies upon us filled with clouds of a constant change.

So we did not go the traditional route for our Thanksgiving dinner. Why settle for Turkey when taken to one of the best Food Market  in town (AJ’s) starring at the vast array of the premium incredible meats backed up with the butchers buzzing around on this jovial occasion with only their aim to please us. It was going to be of a quick dinner and yet, lamb, lamb chops is what would be grilled. My contribution, what I could myself carry from “The Oasis” was of some pecan wood and some fresh duck eggs from Terlingua, eggs which end up that morning being a cheese, kalamata olives, real tomatoes, and flat leaf parsley omelet. Not a bad way to start the day.

Our “Mini Oasis” I called it when feeling the warmth of the logs burning in the Weber grill in the backyard, warmer even increasingly with the presence of my Friend Robin… supervising the ongoing operation. In the meantime a mint sauce for the lamb. Mint Jelly as a medium, chiffonade of fresh mint leaves, a bit of Dijon, a pinch of Herbs from Provence, a couple cloves of garlic and a dash of Balsamic Vinegar. Some peeled asparagus, blanched and thrown into ice water to keep their firmness before heating them up again, awaiting a nice lemony and a bit tangy Hollandaise sauce, some sweet fingerling potatoes with only butter and chopped flat leaf parsley. The chops wrapped at their ends with some foil as to not burn them, it all came together nicely, not a hitch, it was a treat for the both us. I still know how to cook. Amazing.

A bit of Pistachio Gelato with a couple wafers left the Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream in the dust, all in my book stored as a memorable dinner followed by a good Movie. There is comfort in this Life I might say, it is the company we are keeping. And yet the horizons are not open here. Obstacles obstruct the vision cut short by the man made structures all around us as I do understand why so many, even if it is for a few days, will take the path to our Desert and take it all in, absorb as much as they can. So many years in the wilderness wandering around, that time still amazes me when I go through my own entries, look at the photography and realize so many spaces we have experienced. Open spaces. My batteries should be full, they are, but drain quickly never keeping a full charge unless back with my other companion “Mother Nature”.

I was wondering what she was doing this morning as the cold has made it’s mark here with a hard freeze. I have been watching the weather forecast for next week as we will make our way back. It is going to be a cold, very cold ride back unless it all warms up a bit by the middle of the week. Should be. Winter always hits me on the head like an unpleasant hammer. I don’t seem to comprehend very quickly about the short days, the early and late sub freezing temperatures. This only happens after a couple real cold rides when I have to face the facts, the harsh facts. There is a bit of melancholia knowing this might be our last long ride. “The Oasis” is more than adequate as a Base Camp, there is no complains, why should there be. My own inner Space however I know will not be the same ever. There will be without a doubt a mental and physical void as the immediate so close by presence of my Friend will be missed as much as we constantly envision and apply our living into the “moment”.

Be well…

Ara & Spirit

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 28th, 2010 at 3:23 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.