Feliz Navidad!

Ok, my Christmas greetings are 3 days late. I've been so busy. House/cat-sitting for two weeks, visiting with friends from out of town, the regular work stuff, my volunteer work at the Stray Arts Gallery, and just trying to stay warm. It's been below freezing for ages. I've got icicles on my brain! I did have a wonderful Christmas Eve though. Went to Taos Pueblo for their big bonfire night. It was so beautiful. The first fires are lit just as the sun goes down, then you stroll with friends around the grounds, hoping to recognize people in their layers of thick clothes and caps. Dashing inside when someone you know invites you in for a bowl of hot chile. Red or green? Both, Christmas! One lasting image is of the small adobe Pueblo church illuminated by the fires against an inky black sky.

Then I went to someone's home in Ranchos for yet more chile, posole and biscochitos. New Mexican holidays are special.

On the Road Again......

Yay, I had time to take a weekend getaway, sorely needed. Main reason was to see Willie Nelson at the Route 66 Casino on the I40 just west of Albuquerque. I was nervous that it might snow and I would never drive down the highway by the Rio Grande, even to see Willie. But the weather gods were with me, both coming and going. Freezing cold but sunny. I had a front row seat, but it was waaaay over to the side, in front of speakers and a Christmas tree. But still I had a pretty good view of the man, who was playing with Asleep at the Wheel. A fabulous show as usual.

I decided to spend a couple nights in Albuquerque since I usually just pass through there. Found a great cheap but super nice motel near the Old Town area, called the Monterey Non-Smokers Motel on Central SW. Proprietor was super nice and had a little old blind doxie. Very sweet. And it was just a couple block walk to Old Town where I spent all my time. Even had a personal tour of the Plaza. The guide knew so much Stuff! Did some Xmas shopping, picture taking. Oh, speaking of which: I had my camera with me at the concert but then realized I had left the media chip at home, so no pics of Willie, boo. Sunday evening a friend joined me for dinner at La Placita, a really old building that now houses a restaurant but used to be the Armijo Home. Had a nice dinner in a nice atmosphere, but got to admit, the tacos were not as good as the ones from the "taco wagon" in Winters, CA.

Monday morning found my car just about encased in ice, and this was just Albuquerque! So I found a cool diner to have breakfast, where the waitresses call you dear and the first song I heard as I sat down was "Little Old Lady From Pasadena! Great trip.

Amazing Grace

Last night I watched a great movie called "Amazing Grace", based on a true story about William Wilberforce, an 18th century English politician who fought for the abolition of slavery. It was made in 2006. I remember hearing about it then, but never got around to watching it till now. The dvd has some good comments by the director Michael Apted and the main actor Ioan Gruffudd. And Albert Finney plays the man who wrote the song, which just happens to be one of my favorite all-time songs, well, for me and millions of others! I love the bagpipes version. And, an added bonus, Yousouf N'Dour the singer (hope I spelled that right) also plays a main role.

And what a guy Wilberforce (love that name) was. Very passionate, caring, committed, witty and an animal lover to boot! He'd bring hurt animals into his home to get mended. Maybe I'll name my next dog after him.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

It's cold here! Right now the wind is blowing mightily, the snow is being swept past my windows, and I have decided not to venture outside except for a quick pee break for Cadbury. Which reminds me, I've got to get him some snow booties. He hates getting snow on his little delicate paws! I was supposed to do my volunteer work this morning at our Stray Arts Gallery but I cancelled. I'm really nervous now about driving in this icy stuff since I had a fender bender the other day. Was only going 15 mph but the impact made a huge crack in one of my fenders. What a creepy horrible feeling it is to tap your brakes and nothing happens! But I am so glad I wasn't going downhill.

I still have to go out to work this afternoon, at Mabel's. But I wonder if the opera singers from Santa Fe who are checking in today will bother to make the trip. It's really scary driving up the Gorge (as in Rio Grande) in this kind of weather.

Mostly I feel bad for the dogs and cats who are outside in the cold all day and night. I am going to make it my main New Year's resolution to educate people ("people"?, jerks I mean) about the inhumanity and downright meanness of this. They are domesticated animals, not livestock or wild ones. Some of the "loosely-owned" dogs that roam around here don't even have dog houses to retreat to. What is wrong with their owners? I am going to get some igloos for the ones that visit me, at the least. And there is still one at Mabel's that we haven't been able to catch yet, it's been months now.

People, let your dogs and cats inside in this weather, please! They are such sweet, loving creatures, if you only would give yourself the chance to find out.

Giving thanks after...

I've got to admit, I would have preferred to be at my sister's dining table in California for Thanksgiving, basking in her fabulous cooking and the warmth of family and friends. Maybe next year? But a couple of friends and I did have a wonderful dinner at a fancy hotel, El Monte Sagrado, in town. The buffet was incredible, three kinds of meat, an array of roasted veggies, and loads of desserts including my favorite pumpkin pie. The service and ambiance were just right, except the piano playing could have been toned down a bit. When you get over 50 background noise really needs to be softer so you can hear each other!

The really hard part was having to go to work afterwards. Ugh. I was so stuffed and so sleepy. Thursday is usually my day off but I had offered to work half a day so the other receptionist could enjoy the holiday too. Yes, I am at least grateful I have a job, well actually three of them, all part-time (typical Taos!). But I also have every other Saturday off and there are so many wonderful things going on here in town. A big holiday arts and crafts fair to get me in the mood, then an open house at a horse sanctuary (and I am SO grateful for people who start places like that), another walk with my little doggie before it snows, then maybe a hot buttered rum at my favorite place, the Adobe Bar of the Taos Inn. They always have 3 hours of free live music there; it's always crowded and nicely decorated, the vortex of my entertainment world. I'm burning daylight, got to go!

Today

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Stray Arts

One new thing: Our Stray Hearts Animal Shelter will be opening an art gallery in town called Stray Arts! Very exciting, and I will be volunteering there once a week. All the proceeds will go the Shelter. We're looking for artists to donate works as well as people who have art works sitting around their home that they don't want any more.

Just Stuff

Time to go to bed, another glass of vino blanco, stress at work. Take it personally when guests don't like the inn I work at. Lady was nice but guy (a Nazi whiner) wanted a tv, geez can't he read a book? Maybe too rustic for him, send him to generic motel where they will seal him in their sterile whiteness, ha. I love Mabel's, it has character and history and interesting people, always has. So what if there are a few adobe bugs here and there, won't harm ya. One more stray dog we can't seem to catch and it's getting so cold, it was 2 degrees the other night. What is this, Antartica? Thankfully the sun shines here every day. No gray skies. Only in my head. I'm getting older, it's scary. My spirit is ageless, I feel great.

"And sometime when I wasn't looking, I got a different life...."

Mr. Moose RIP

Those fun and crazy loose dogs from the neighbors across the field killed Mr. Moose. Relax, not a real moose, just a huge stuffed toy one I had found in a field near my house a year ago. I had him propped up in a chair on my patio. There are no fenced-in yards here in my condo complex, so these guys just wandered up one day, probably were bored, and tore poor old Mr. Moose to pieces. I came home to find his snowy white guts all over my neighbor's yard, actually thought it was snow at first!

Dog Gate

Now for the dogs. We've had so many stray dogs living in the bushes behind one of the places where I work. It's so sad. Then one of them had a litter and that prompted coyotes skulking around and all the dogs barking all night. Not good for the inn business, especially when there is a "Silent Retreat" going on! Tell that to the dogs. Finally had to call animal control, and with their live traps were able to catch all but one of the core group of dogs, including the 5 just-born pups. These were all transported to the Shelter and they will hopefully find homes. The last remaining dog, a very pretty brown female, is very wary of the traps. We've tried to entice her with chicken, bones, etc but no go. Want to rescue her before the Big Cold Winter comes in. An animal rescue group has said they will help us tomorrow, so keeping my fingers crossed. I will keep my wild Irish temper in check here, for now....I just wish I could take all those jerks who mistreat, abuse or neglect animals and.......

On a more encouraging note, some of us Shelter volunteers have been going to pre-schools and grade schools and talking to the kids about pet care. The kids are adorable and have asked some pretty intelligent questions.

Cats to Colorado

It's been raining cats and dogs these days. I volunteer for our local animal shelter, Stray Hearts, and drove a van load full of howling cats (in cages) up to Castle Rock just south of Denver. Had Cadbury along for company. I thought he'd be excited with all those crazy cats but I think all that feline energy was too much for him. He hardly turned around to look at them! We had a surplus of kitties at our shelter, so the Buddy Center kindly agreed to take them since they have more of a population base for adoptions up there. And what a beautiful state-of-the art shelter they have. One big gray cat got out of his cage, after much muscular banging and meowing, but he proved to be very friendly, even with Cad, so I left him out till we got there. I feel so good for these cats, they'll have a better chance there, but I was exhausted by the time I got back to Taos that night. Nine hours of being in a noisy old van, and the drive back, after getting thru rush hour in Colorado Springs, all in the dark.

Tome on the Range

I forgot to mention the coolest store in Las Vegas, NM, "Tome on the Range". Isn't that a great name for a book store? They had good stuff plus a nicely organized used book section. I remembered it cause I had my tiny (just 3 of us) book club over last night. We discussed Sandra Cisneros' "Woman Hollering Creek" and the NM Women Authors Fest that we'd attended in Santa Fe. Books on the brain for sure. And we got a reply back from Greg Mortensen's group CAI. He's the guy who wrote the hugely popular "Three Cups of Tea" about building schools, especially for girls, in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We had sent them a small donation. I hear he will be talking in Santa Fe in December, got to go to that.

The Other Las Vegas

Took a day trip a couple weeks ago and it was great fun. Of course took along my pooch, Cadbury. It was about a two-hour drive from Taos, through Santa Fe, stopped quickly at the Indian School there to say hi to a friend, then east to Las Vegas (means the meadows). Established by a land grant in 1835, it became a major trading point on the Santa Fe Trail.

We spent most of the time walking around the old part of town, into the Old Plaza Hotel which has been restored and sits right on the grassy Plaza. Will have to go back there some day and stay-they only charge an extra 10.00 for dogs, yay! Left pooch in car (it was a cold day) and had lunch at a little Mexican spot on the Plaza. You know you've discovered gold when you go in and the place is packed. Moms and pops, young kids, big local dudes with scraggly hair and tattoes, love it! And the food was good.

Then we wandered down the street, peaking into antique shops and thrift shops. Found a cool little wooden guy for my dog figurine collection, and a big old basket for kindling by my fireplace. This was at Plaza Antiques, in an adobe Territorial style building from 1835. Only sad thing was seeing so many empty shops. But there were others, fun places to window shop, even a nice clothing boutique with great stuff. Didn't have time to tour around the streets looking at all the old houses here, next time. We went a different way home, just taking small country highways through the mountains. Had some Willie Nelson playing, sun shining, antelope gazing at us as we drove by. Passed a small country graveyard, Camposanto de las Golondrinas. A few mountain settlements, a few old adobe churches. Not much traffic. A perfect road trip day.

Georgia

To all fans of Georgia O'Keeffe: there will be a tv movie about Georgia on the Lifetime channel this coming Friday. Joan Allen plays Georgia and Jeremy Irons plays her husband Alfred Stieglitz. Joan paid a visit to the Mabel Dodge Luhan House-it was great to meet her! Georgia had been a friend of Mabel's and stayed at the House.

On the Road Again Manana

Fall is here already, nice cold morning, misty rain. This morning is a regular ole day of dog walking, some house cleaning, reading, checking emails, maybe lunch with a friend, then five hours at Mabel's (hoping the gas has been turned back on there, had to be turned off for a few days due to a leak.) Then tomorrow, finally, I have a full day off, and will do a one-day road trip to Las Vegas, New Mexico. My friend Annette went there and brought me back all kinds of guides and info, so I'm all set. I think it's just a couple hours drive from here. I really need it. Road trips help blow away all the crazy cobwebs that gather in the corners of your mind, take your thoughts away from all the stuff that is bugging you constantly, bugging me anyway! Thoughts of mortgage payments, depressed friends, alcoholic friends, mistreated and abused animals, growing old (that perky young grocery clerk who just assumed I was a "senior citizen" and asked if I wanted the discount), problems at work, etc etc. Cadbury and I will hit the road tomorrow and have a great time, yeah!!

Everyone Should Have an Aunt Hazel...

and an Uncle John! These two intrepid travellers are on a road trip, all the way from their home in California to see family in Iowa and points in-between, like Taos. I spent a fun day with them yesterday, giving them my 25-cent tour of Taos. Started with the Gorge Bridge, hanging on tight to the guardrail as a truck passed and shaked the bridge, as we gazed waaaaaay down to the Rio Grande below, scary but beautiful. Then a drive around town, taking the back roads where they could see wonderful adobe houses and peaceful rural scenes. The St. Francis Church, made famous in photos by Ansel Adams and paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe, among others. Wonderful and wacky gift shops. Then to my Casita Bonita for a New Mexican lunch of green chile chicken soup, red wine and peach cobbler. Some more shopping, at the shops around Taos Plaza, then a rousing mariachi concert at the Gazebo on the Plaza, followed by dinner at Ogelvies. Whew, and guess what? Hazel is 80-something and sweet John will be 96 in a couple weeks!

The smells of New Mexico

I did a very New Mexican thing the other day. I bought a huge burlap sack of green chile and had it roasted by the outdoor vendor at a market. That earthy smell says New Mexico to me more than anything else. But of course, being a white girl from California, I bought the mild and not the hot! And I split the bag with two friends from work. But now I will have chile to add to my cooking, such as green chile chicken enchiladas or green chile scrambled eggs. Yumm.

Fall is coming up-I can tell by the cooler nights we've been having. And that will bring another wonderful smell-pinon and cedar wood burning in our fireplaces.

Another mouth-watering smell is the smell of cooking at Mabel's. When there is a workshop, the cooks do all three meals in the big old kitchen; otherwise, it's just breakfast for the B&B crowd. Smells wafting into the reception office where I work of scones, muffins, creative egg dishes, coffee. And I get to eat too. What a perk of working in an already interesting and fun place!

Sunday in Taos

Wow, it's been almost 3 months since I posted here. Three part-time jobs, company, and a temporary obsession with Facebook are all to blame. It's now Sunday morning August 23, another perfectly wonderful sunny day here in Taos. I went to a classical music concert last night, so good to hear that music live. I especially loved a piece by Mendelssohn, "Song Without Words for Cello and Piano". My good friend Annette was here for a few days, wish it could have been longer. She is the perfect guest, interesting, independent, and she even washed her sheets and towels and put the sofa bed back together! Not to forget the wonderful goodies bag she brought me from Trader Joe's. We went to see the "Julie and Julia" movie, which my sis had recommended. Loved it, and it did make us hungry, had to go have a nice dinner afterwards. And drink red wine! The references to Pasadena were fun, since that's where Annette and I are both from, and where Julia lived for a bit when she was a child, in fact, just around the corner from Annette's.

Now I have just a couple wonderful hours of free time before I begin my 8-hour day at one of my B&B jobs. I might just spend it sitting outside, gazing at the hills in the distance and reading Robert Mirabal's new book (he's from the Pueblo) "Running Alone in Photographs".

Run Softly

I just finished reading a sweet old book called "Sweet Thames Run Softly" by the engraver Robert Giddings. I think it was in the 1940's that he floated on the Thames (a dream of mine) musing about the flora and fauna, the characters he met on the way, on just life in general. At the end of the story is this: "Some people say that it is impossible for people with imagination to be truly happy, for realizing all the misery that is in the world they must be affected thereby. This seems to me a doctrine of defeat. Admittedly there is cruelty and illness and poverty, but there is also abundance of kindness, good health, and richness of spirit. For every child that cries by the roadway there are fifty who are laughing in the fields; for every bird that is taken by a hawk there are a hundred still singing in the trees. Even in these days when hell bursts upon our world, like boiling lava from a volcano, let us remember that for every insult offered to humanity there are a hundred deeds of heroism." He wrote this while WWII was brewing, could be good words for today.

Summer of Love

Memorial Day Weekend in Taos, and the Summer of Love marketing ploy is going strong.  I am already a little tired of all the hippie trippie stuff, but I put on my peace sign necklace and cruised the art galleries and craft fairs.  I'd given away my 60's clothes ages ago, can't fit into those bellbottoms any more, but hey, I looked at my clothes I wear now and my long hair and I fit right in.  Just no tye-dye please!  Or patchouli incense, ugh.  Taos is celebrating the colorful legacy of all the hippie types who lived here in the 60's, all those communes and free spirits, and the fertile ground that let so many ideas flourish.  I saw Lisa Law's show of photos taken during that time, then went in to see a movie called "Absurdistan" which was great.  All about the power of women!  Very funny movie, I'd recommend it.  A bleak dry village that desperately needs water but the menfolk are too lazy to work for it, all except one who wants to win his true love before the special star alignment ends.  Peace, brother!

The texture of a just-sheared alpaca!

Alpaca Fever

I had a new adventure the other day.  One of my bosses has a herd (?) of alpacas and it was the annual shearing day.  I'd never seen one up close so I asked to come along and help.  They have the sweetest faces, big soft eyes, and the softest hair.  But after they had been sheared, they look like Dr. Seuss characters!  And they make the strangest sounds.  Usually just a humming noise, but sometimes, I think when upset, a bizarre high-pitched whine like a sanding machine.  I had various tasks:  leading the alpacas in and out of the barn for the shearing, getting down on the floor and grabbing the hair as it is sheared (and keeping my fingers out of harm's way), then sweeping up bits of hair from the barn floor.  It was fascinating watching the 2-man team of shearers.  One mainly handled the animal and the other did the actual shearing with the razor.  

The Land of Scones

Old Priory B&B in Dunster, England

View from our cottage in Wales

Llanerch, our sheep farmers cottage in Wales

My sister Linda and me with Beau Brummel

Meanwhile, back in Taos

Well, a month's gone by and no postings from me.  It's Spring and new beginnings so I will try to post once a week at least.  Good discipline!  I bought one of Natalie Goldberg's books on writing and am having fun with it.  She gives you an idea and you run with it.  This is writing that no one needs to see so mostly it's "first thoughts", whatever comes into your brain at the moment.  She tries to get you to stop thinking and just write.  Just like Michelle Cassou does with painting.  I am back at my job at Mabel's and Ms. Cassou is giving a painting workshop there.  She wants to return the joy of painting to Everyone.  I went out and bought some acrylics and will give it a go.  The people who are taking the workshop sure seem happy.

And I'm finally getting up into the hills with Cadbury.  It sure is wonderful to have him back with me, that little cute brown pooch.  We are trying to make it a bit farther up the trail each time, till I can get my hiking lungs back.  And I'm back at Curves, got 10 pounds to lose.  Of course, yesterday I went to The Bean and ate an almond croissant, sigh, story of my life.  

The "Summer of Love" has started aqui in Taos.  A celebration of the hippie days here in town, and all those long-haired types who now have successful businesses in town.  Dennis Hopper of "Easy Rider" fame is in town to promote his new paintings.  He actually wrote some of the script for that film at Mabel's, which he also owned at the time.  There will be all kinds of arty and fun events throughout the summer, including a "Hippy Dippy" parade.  Should be interesting, that is, if I can sneak out of work and watch it!  Good thing I kept my peace sign medallion, the ceramic one that Dad made for me.  I actually couldn't stand the hippie scene, the communes, the drugs, the not washing, the panhandling, that smelly patchouli incense, argh.  Guess I was more into the "British Invasion", the Beatles, Stones, the music and the clothes.  So now you know, I was a teenager in the Sixties, too groovy.

Great Fosters

The last day of our British holiday. And yet another incredible hotel, Great Fosters in Egham, not far from Heathrow. This was actually used by Henry VIII and then Elizabeth I as a hunting lodge. As their brochure says, "Its past is evident in the mullioned windows, tall chimneys and brick finials...fine oak beams and Jacobean fireplaces..." I'm in the "Italian Room", all damask walls and gilt carvings. The bathroom is the size of my living room at home! Well, we are going out in style. It was my sister's birthday yesterday and the only evening I got really dressed up for dinner. Carried that pretty dress all the way just for that night. Sigh.

Today the wonderful staff prepared a hamper for our lunchtime picnic. They are all so polite without being stuffy, so friendly and helpful. Stanley, who is from South Africa, carried it out for us, set up blankets on the grass by the lake, poured a red wine, and set out a spread of small sandwiches, Stilton cheese, chutney and fruit. What elegance! We watched the ducks and swan on the lake, drank in the peace and admired the beautiful brick hotel from a distance. I could get used to this. Soon back to reality, but I don't mind cause I love where I live and I miss my Cadbury!

Back in the 16th Century

Just left a three-day stay in the most incredible place, Dolbelydr, a Landmark Trust property in North Wales. I wish more Americans would know about the Landmark. They rescue historical properties that have fallen into decay and open them to the paying public to help with the upkeep. It's a rare experience to actually live in one of these houses, have it all to yourself. Dolbelydr was the home of a Mr. Salesbury who actually took the magical but difficult language of Welsh and wrote a dictionary. He seems to have belonged to a family of the landed gentry. His house appeared to me like a giant cottage, a simple 3-storied white-washed stone house with tall chimneys at either end. All the Landmark properties are self-catering, so you cook your own meals. We ate ours either at the long dark kitchen table or upstairs in the sitting room by a huge fireplace. My sister is the master fire starter but had trouble with this one since the wood seemed to be a bit green, and she had to use coal too, but she eventually got it going. Magical, sitting there by fire and candle light, drinking our g&t's and trying to pretend it was a few centuries ago!

It's always tea time

I hope to catch up with my blog later tonight. We have either been way out in the countryside where there is no wifi, or else I am all tired out after a day full of sight-seeing and walking. But wow, have we seen a lot. Small villages, ancient pubs, fresh cider and beer, sheep sheep and more sheep, potsfull of tea, crumbling castles, roundabouts that Linda has navigated really well, and all around us those fun English and Welsh accents. People here have been so nice and helpful. And so many rosy cheeks. If I lived here, would I get rosy cheeks?!
And of course Britain does have its problems, but I'll go into those later. Its teatime. Having a cuppa in my hotel room in Conwy, north coast of Wales.

Stony Stratford

We had a whirlwind visit in London, only stayed two days because we are always anxious to get out in to the green, wet and wonderful English countryside. Mostly we just shopped and visited friends. Met my old friend Bernard who does research in black holes in space at Queen Mary College, and teaches-he used to work with Stephen Hawking. Got a tour of his school then met his Japanese wife Mari for an East Indian meal. Took the tube back to our fabulous hotel where I felt like royalty, whew, what a change from my usual motel world.

Tuesday we started off with a snafu from Hertz (as in Hertz Hurts), they "lost" our car rental reservation so we went with a different company, that lost us 3 hours of time. But soon my brave sis got us thru the crazy London traffic. She's amazing. Driving on the wrong side of the street, thru many more traffic circle than Taos will ever see, and finally out into the countryside. Bill and I are too chicken to try. Eventually we arrived at our destination of Stony Stratford, I love these English village names! Stone and brick houses, old old inns, cozy pubs, spooky graveyards, churches, and lots of East Indian restaurants. We stayed at The Cock Inn, right next door to the Bull Inn, and really, this is where the term "a cock and bull story" originated. This village was a main coach stop from London, and travellers would hoist a pint and tell stories of their travels. I hoisted a pint myself, of hard cider, my favorite drink, and we found an inn dating from 1609 where we had dinner. I don't care what people say, I love English food: jacket potatoes, fish and chips, lots of peas, rich and wonderful cheeses, salmon and scrambled eggs, all washed down with pots of tea, brewed to perfection.

London!!!

Almost a month since my last entry, but I'd been sick and tired with the cold that wouldn't quit. Then I had to get ready for my big trip to England and Wales. I got a great house/cat sitter at the last minute, threw my dog in the car and took off on Hwy 40 to California. We spent a night at the Hilltop Motel on Rte 66 in Kingman, a fun old motel from the 1950's (at least from the outside-the inside was pretty bare bones.) It's nice to have Cadbury along because then I really do have to stop every now and then to give him a break.

So I, my sis Linda and bro-in-law Bill flew out to London today. The 10-hour trip didn't seem too bad. (Well, it was first class, more about that later!) I had a great new book to read, thanks to my librarian friend Deb Webb. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society", a novel about the folks of Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, who were occupied for 5 years during WWII.

London was sunny and warm when we arrived but soon morphed into its usual grey clouds, cold and rain. We don't mind, it's so very British. Makes you want tea and scones all the more. We were determined not to take naps, since none of us slept well on the plane. So we headed out to a traditional dinner of roast beef, Yorkshire Pudding, and sticky pudding for dessert (Linda's favorite). The funniest thing was the Yorkshire Pudding-it was huge like a giant puffy tortilla, not at all like the more flat and juicy ones we had had before. This was at Rules, a very old and traditional restaurant. But all three of us kept yawning through the meal and decided we'd better go to bed early. We walked through the busy, windy streets looking for a tube station. I had forgot how purposeful people look in big cities, all in a hurry to get somewhere, amazing. It's always fun to ride the tube though, and easy to follow the line maps. Now I'm listening to some Beethoven and will soon hit the sack.

Double Whammy Virus

The reason for my lapse in posts has been a double virus whammy! First I got a virus in my computer, first time ever, what a drag. Turns out my security protection had expired but I didn't realize it. Got that fixed. At the same time I came down with a nasty virus, the worst cold I've ever had. It's been two weeks now, was sick in bed for the first week and so tired I could hardly even read a book., which killed me cause I can't stand to just lay there. Now I'm much better but still a bit stuffed up. I was able to finish two big books though, "The Meaning of Night" by Michael Cox, a great English mystery, and "Georgia O'Keeffe, a Life" by Roxanne Robinson, more on that later. Off to work now. Feliz Dia de los Enamorados!

Obamanos!

I meant to post that historic day but didn't have time. I spent most of it watching the inauguration events on my laptop. Not as fun as watching with a bunch of people. All my friends back in Winters, CA had a ball, a real ball with gowns and champagne at the Palms Playhouse. They had a big party here in Taos too but I had to work. Well, good luck to the man!

Dances, Dogs and Drudgery

Oh, what's new? I started a Scottish Country Dance class, very fun, and the teacher is from my home town of Pasadena, California, AND he wore a kilt, a true Scot I'm sure. And tomorrow evening I will go to a contra dance at the San Geronimo Lodge. Great exercise and the dancers are all fun people. Mostly these past few days I've been working at Mabels, going to Curves, and taking care of annoying loose ends. Like the stupid phone company who cut off my service cause I hadn't paid the bill they hadn't sent, no warning, and the DMV who says the info I input to change my address and registration doesn't match what they have on file for me, so now I have to call them (and I HATE voice mail, give me a live person please!). All those things you have to deal with when you move. If only they would go smoothly. Last but not least, I borrowed a dog from the local shelter and sat outside an area business in the hopes that he would get adopted. This I did with another volunteer who works every day to help these homeless dogs. We had no luck that day, not even a penny dropped into our donation jar. I will have to do a spot about our local shelter, Stray Hearts. Sometimes it is too depressing to think about all these unwanted animals but they need our help, so I will continue to walk dogs there, help with adoptions, and repeat my mantra: "Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die." Amen.

Moon Madness

Well, here's a good neighbor. Grace just came over to get me outside and look at the full moon! Said it is the fullest it wll be in 30 years, whatever that means. Sure is beautiful.

I did check my new followers blog but of course she is from Indonesia and I can't read a word. Maybe this is time for all of us to learn Esperanto! Now I am off to see a short film festival. Be back shortly.

The Power of Story

So obviously I've discovered how to attach photos, though I may be doing it wrong. I have a lot of technical stuff to learn here. But what fun!! The winter is so pretty here and Taos is so different and interesting. I love seeing photos from other bloggers hometowns. And wow, I just noticed I have a "follower" from another country, that is so exciting. I'll have to check out her blog. My other two followers are friends so they just want to know what I'm up to, hey girls.

Everyone has a story and I find them all (well, most of them) interesting, inspiring and provocative, even the so-called boring daily stuff. Each person's life is so different from everyone elses. Maybe if everyone had a blog and told their story, we would all have a sense of connection and compassion.

The Famous St. Francis Church in Ranchos

Tibetan Monk working on Mandala at Mabel's

Pigeon Houses at Mabel's

The Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Cadbury, my Chocolate Angel

Snow Angel

M. Moose, our mascot

A White Christmas

view AS (after snow)

View from my casita BS (before snow)

Casita Bonita

me and friend Marilyn at Taos Balloon Festival

Ivar Irvig

Talking about creative juices, I am constantly amazed when I read other blogs. Everyone has their own story, their unique creativity and thoughts. I think everyone in the world should have a blog. Cause once you're gone, you're gone, along with all those stories and thoughts and lifetimes, unless you're already a famous author or artist or have a ton of grandkids to pass them on to. I just looked at a blog by a guy in Norway, Ivar Irvig, what a great name! I thought we had so much snow this past week, a couple feet (which is like 20 feet to someone from California) but his photos of the snow and cold in his country are fantastic. And he loves it, the snow. Now, if it wasn't for blogging, I'd never had heard of Ivar Irvig.

Oh Tannenbaum!

My creative juices aren't flowing so well today. I think I've been staying home too much since I've had some days off. But I needed to - finally - take down the Christmas tree. I hate to do that. I love having a tree in my house, especially one that smells so good. I couldn't find my tree stand so I had used my ash bucket filled with cat litter (cat litter is like duct tape, there are so many uses for it!). Only problem is I didn't use the cheap stuff. I had some of Lilly's regular litter in the closet and used that but it's the clumping kind, so when I added water to the tree, the litter became like cement! It held the tree really good. Just hope I can get it out of the bucket. Oh Tannenbaum! Maybe some people think it's schmaltzy but I think Christmas trees are magic. I never get tired of looking at them, and when I was young I used to sleep on the sofa just to watch the tree till I fell asleep. I love those little lights and the smell of pine. I really feel sorry for those misguided people who insist on fake trees, yuck! They hate the mess of cleaning up the needles I guess. Miss out on the magic.

So apart from the dismantling, I've been tidying up, as they say in England, taking naps when I feel like it, and reading my latest Elizabeth George "Careless in Red". She is my favorite mystery writer, and I just saw in the book jacket that she has moved to Washington State. Now that seems more conducive (sp?) to getting an English atmosphere for her stories than Huntington Beach, California, near where I used to live. I've only gone out into the world to get my mail and exercise at Curves. Then I spent an hour on the phone with my sister planning our much anticipated trip to England and Wales in March. Maybe tomorrow, if it doesn't snow again, I'll drive down to Santa Fe and window shop. Cheerio!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody, 2009, wow! I had a quiet one. Worked at Mabel's until 9pm, then picked up my date Cadbury and headed on over to Zeus's house, where I was sitting. I did make myself stay up till midnight and remarkably didn't hear any gunshots, just fireworks. Kissed the dogs and went to bed. The next day my friend Marilyn called and invited me over to lunch at another friend's house. Which was great because when she called I was just getting into my car and wondering what I'd do for lunch, didn't feel like cooking. Had a delicious meal there, but spent the rest of the day in bed cause I felt like I was coming down with something. Ugh. Got a lot of sleep and today (the 2nd) I feel fine. The sky is clear and sunny but they predict some more snow this weekend. So I did go and buy a bag of the cheapest cat litter to carry in my car. I actually saved a damsel in distress the other night. I was just arriving at Zeus's house when I saw a truck slide into a bit of a ditch, then couldn't get out. It was a young woman who said she even had 4-wheel drive but couldn't get out. I remembered that thing about gravel or even cat litter helping so I grabbed a bag of it and voila! she got out in seconds. We shouted out "girls rule" and she drove on all happy.