Spring fever hits us all in different ways, but there seems to be a universal urge to get away from our usual routines, kick up our heels and plan breaks and adventures and fiestas, large and small.
It was a week that started with a belated income tax filing deadline, progressed through the Jewish Passover commemoration of deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and closes with today’s Easter celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In that spirit of freedom from bondage, transcendent spiritual journeys and new starts, there’s a lot to celebrate.
It’s a time to rejoice in the triumph of faith and hope, in highest aspirations of humanity and miraculous soul perspectives that soar beyond the material realm.
It can be hard to remember during an era when budget deliberations seem to be turning into a blood sport, but sometimes, some of the best things in life really are free, especially when you live in the creative Mesilla Valley.
This week, I’d like to share some of my favorite online freebies of 2011, portals to virtual adventures that could help cheer you up through the rest of the year.
The first involves our favorite fruit — or veggie, some say. Personally, I think chile transcends all limiting classifications and should simply be considered nature’s most perfect food, a legal endorphin rush that’s good for what ails you at any time of the day or night.
If you like some new ideas, or a refresher course on some chile basics, check out a free downloadable Chile Cookbook from Linda and David Taylor, who run Guacamole’s and The New Mexico Catalog in Fairacres. For your free copy, go to www.nmcatalog.com/graphics/cat/COOKBOOK.pdf.
And now, how about some uplifting music to go with your chile treats?
If you missed the semi-flashmob experience during February For the Love of Art Month, when more than 100 singers converged on the Las Cruces Museum of Art to make music among the sculptures, the magic (and the music) lingers on in cyberspace.
Jerry Ann Alt, director of New Mexico State Choirs, rounded up singers of all ages from throughout the community. Juan Robles, Jeanne Gleason, Tomilee Turner and Frank Torres worked together to make sure there was a YouTube record for posterity.
Here are three links for a good time.
• Hear “Five Hebrew Love Songs” at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMHaKvqFiuk.
• Enjoy “City called Heaven” and the angelic voice of soloist Guo Ying at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyDsCvOc6z8.
• And finally, check out my fave: “All You Need is Love” at www.youtube.com/watch?v=weA1YB3Ru4M.
If you feel like a little getaway and aren’t in the mood to wrestle with luggage or reservations, check out 360cities.net, my current favorite of the online map sites for casual international virtual flights. I recently zipped out to Christchurch, New Zealand, and then checked out some of my favorite old haunts in Europe and the Caribbean. That inspired me to spend a little time in beaches I love in Michigan (Lake Michigan at Muskegon, and my grandparents’ old cabin on Lake Margarethe) before comparing the old growth pines at Hartwick Pines near Grayling to our own Gila Wildnerness.
From there, I headed for the Grand Canyon and Sedona, and decided to take the scenic route home, through Taos, Santa Fe, a leap to Shiprock, and then back to Albuquerque, where I did a quick zoo fly-by and pondered a Sandia Tramway ride before deciding to follow the Rio Grande south as far as Elephant Butte Reservoir.
Then I went soaring over White Sands and hung a left, landing on my own little adobe rooftop.
It’s nice to be back home, where we have a lot more chile and creativity to look forward to as we enter spring in the Mesilla Valley.
Life is good. Happy Easter.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
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