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".