Snow Canyon in the red rock country of Utah

Sunrise in the Bosque

Festival of the Cranes in the Bosque del Apache

4 months oh no!

It's been 4 months since I posted here, good grief.  Well, Facebook is mostly to blame, and the fact that I was so busy with work and pet sits over the summer.  But I enjoy this so here goes.

Some highlights of the past few months:  a fabulous trip to Utah with my sister, another short trip to the Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache below Albuquerque, visitors from Pasadena for Thanksgiving, a new one-day-a-week job at my favorite bookstore, and now it's finally snowing.  I spent the morning baking biscochittos (sugar cookies with anise, the New Mexico state cookie) for the holiday party today at Mabel's, listening to the three tenors sing carols, drinking eggnog with whiskey, stoking the fire, and gazing at my pretty little Christmas tree.  I was supposed to start an overnight pet-sit today but they postponed it till the snow clears.  And I've got to find Cadbury's little snow booties-he hates getting his feet in the snow!

Duncan

Duncan, my doggie soulmate, born 8/15/1988, lived for almost 17 years!  This was at the Dog Beach at Huntington Beach, Southern California.

Carlos Medina y Los Gallos

Carlos Medina sang 3 hours non-stop at the bar of the Plaza Hotel

An inviting area in the adobe complex

A nicho on an outside wall of an old adobe complex

These small adobe homes had sprung up along old trade routes in the 1850's

The Vicente Silva house, built in the 1870's

Silva was a sheriff-gone-bad, had a bandit gang in the 1890's

"Montezuma Castle" built in 1886

now the Armand Hammer United World College-originally built as a hotel by a railroad company

The Gehring House built in 1899

The Taichert House built 1908-1913

The Historic Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico

Viva Las Vegas!

The New Mexican one!  I just had the greatest little road trip.  Las Vegas is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Taos.  Used to be one of those wild west towns.  I stayed at the old Plaza Hotel right on the green grassy plaza.  Wonderful place, well worth a stay.  The night I got there, I went to have a quiet dinner in the bar but ended up staying for 3 hours when a young mariachi trio came in, Carlos Medina y Los Gallos.  They were terrific!  Carlos has a warm style and strong beautiful voice and sang non-stop for the 3 hours.  I ended up sharing my table with two different couples and made some new acquaintances.  One of them might use my pet-sitting services, and the other were locals, Armando and Josie, wonderful couple who I bumped into again at a cafe.  The owners knew this couple and gave us a free lunch.  Enchiladas swimming in red chile sauce, and the best soapapillas.  (I tried to make those once but they came out like hockey pucks.)

And of course I stopped in at Tome on the Range, their wonderful independent book store.  And of course I bought some books (got to stop this!!).  Wanted to buy a copy of "Reading Lolita in Tehran" for my book club, and a huge book on New Mexican painters.

The main reason for my visit was the house tour.  I thought it would be all Victorians, but there were some surprizes.  A quirky adobe compound, old houses added onto room by room so many years ago.  I really liked this one the best.  The owner has one of the 7 units and she has fantastic collections of Stuff, glorious stuff, including a beautiful photo of Amelia Earhardt.  These old adobes are so organic, sensuous and colorful.  No sharp edges or predictable rooms, and the outside walls had little alcoves with statues.  They reminded me of an old Craftsman bungalow court I lived in once in Pasadena.  And it even had a shared outside area with chairs set around a firepit.

Another interesting building was the "Montezuma Castle", an affectionate nickname given to a World College for brainy high school students who want to study with an international flair.  This is in the forested hills in Montezuma a few miles outside of Las Vegas.  The original buildings both burned down in the 1800's, what a shame after all the man power and money it took to build them, but it was Railroad money and there was plenty of that at the time.  Anyway, this third attempt is just as beautiful as the first two, a huge rambling affair bursting out of the trees with domes that remind me of Russian churches, an all-wood lined lobby, and a nice wrap-around verandah with plenty of rocking chairs from which to admire the view.

And that's not all.  I drove back to Santa Fe that night and treated myself to a front row (at eye level with the fast as lightening feet) ticket at a fabulous flamenco show.  Juan Siddi who is from Germany but is of Spanish and Italian descent.  What a force of nature he is, wow!!  He has taken over from the famous Maria Benitez, who has retired I think.  I saw her in Taos 20 years ago.  I love the passion of flamenco.  His whole troupe was so incredible, including a couple very young boys (8 or 9?) who had the moves and the expressions down pat.  And the singers and musicians were just as astounding.  Though I was partial to the handsome Spanish guitarist, a real gypsy guy.  And the girls costumes!  I've got to go down there again before their season is over (like next week I think, darn).

On the Road Again.....finally

Heading off tomorrow for a short road trip, another one to Las Vegas, the real one aqui in Nuevo Mexico.  There's going to be a tour of the old mostly Victorian houses scattered throughout the town.  Staying at the historic Plaza Hotel, right on the Plaza, imagine.  There'll be music and fun Friday night, then the tour on Saturday.  Then Sat. night I will look up my old neighbor Grace who moved to Santa Fe, then, and then, a flamenco concert!  Can't wait.  I need a break, been working non-stop at pet-sits, dog rescues, overnight housesitting, and good ole Mabel's.

Speaking of Mabel's, we've had back-to-back groups staying there, mostly writing workshops, which means fabulous dinners by our fabulous cook Adrian.  Roasted chicken, salmon, fish tacos, curries, etc etc.  Another perk of working at this historic, atmospheric, quirky house.

Four Goddesses: Joan, Lisa, me and Sally

Front Door to the Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Bird Houses at Mabel's

Mabel's bathroom at the inn-windows painted by DH Lawrence

The Rio Grande Gorge

St. Francis Church in Ranchos de Taos

The Gas Station Collector

Breakfast at Mabel's

Earthships

Joan, Lisa and Sally's trip to Taos June 2010

Here are some photos from my friends trip here to Taos.

Friends

I've just had several friends visiting and it's been wonderful. First Alison from England, her first visit here. Her daughter had been here last summer. Then three friends from the last place I lived before moving back here to Taos, Winters, CA. Joan, Lisa and Sally. What fun amazing women. And it's interesting to see your town through others eyes, good and bad. But we all had a blast. We went to the Pueblo of course, Tony Reyna's Shop, Robert Mirabal's, the Earth Ship homes, the Gorge Bridge, a picnic on the Rio Grande, Arroyo Seco-had to shop at Francesca's! Beer and green chile cheeseburgers at the Adobe Bar while listening to an incredible band, and more shopping. And an adventure searching for a tiny piece of property in Tres Piedras over rutted dirt roads. Never found the exact spot but the scenery and views of the mountains were worth it.

The three stayed in Mabel's own room at the Inn, first time I really got to hang out there. Alison will stay there next time-the Taos Inn room she had wasn't as nice! Now they're all back home and hopefully planning their next trip here. Friends are great.

House Sits, Hopper and House Work

Well, I've hardly been home these past few weeks. Have had several house/pet-sitting jobs and now look forward to some human company (and margaritas at the Adobe Bar!). I've also been working extra days at Mabel's cause of others being on vacation.

Speaking of Mabel's, I had my 15 seconds of fame! Got filmed by channel 7 (KOAT) news talking about Dennis Hopper and his last visit to Mabel's back in April. He just passed away a week ago-had owned Mabel's back in his drug-addled hippie days and the newspeople just wanted some human-interest stories about him. He had come with all his kids to tour the house one last time and they all seemed to be happy to share the experience, and stories, with him. It was sad though, and he looked so thin and frail after all the cancer treatments. They had the funeral for him at the famous St. Francis Church, then he was buried in a local cemetary. No doubt about it, he sure must have loved it here.

Now back to my house-cleaning....My first guest, from England, comes tomorrow.

picture errors

Dang it! I uploaded some wrong photos, then cancelled them (so I thought), but they still showed up in my Magdalena post. Annoying. So the non-Hwy 60 ones are the cat, the adobe house and my Day of the Dead altar! Oh well.

Magdalena

On the way back I went west out of Socorro onto Hwy 60, what a beautiful ride. Vast grasslands, craggy hills, wide open skies. I was on a mission to find Pie Town, a real place where some man had started a cafe back in the 1930's I think for east/west travellers. It was a long drive only to find the cafe closed. Bummer. I was craving pie! But as luck would have it, I was passing through a sweet village called Magdalena and found an open cafe called the Bear Mountain. The nice women who run it served me a delicious lunch capped off by a rich piece of chocolate pecan pie. I was in foodie heaven. And they also had a gallery next door full of beautiful arts and crafts. I definitely want to come back here and explore some more. There is a ghost town called Kelly I'd like to see, just 3 miles from here.

I also drove past the VLA (Very Large Array). It was way in the distance but so eerie. Are they trying to commune with outer space?! And I drove through Datil (don't blink or you'll miss it), the former home of Frances Nunnery a rancher and all-around adventurous woman who moved to New Mexico all by herself when she was 21 in the 1920's.

Truth or Consequences

Well, I did a little road trip last month, headed down south to Truth or Consequences (formerly known as Hot Springs) just cause I loved the name and wanted to check it out. I love being on the road, pooch at my side, wind in my hair, my time is all mine. Took 5 hours to get there. T or C is south of Albuquerque. Got its name from Ralph Edwards of the tv show who said he'd promote a town which would change its name to T or C. Then he lived up to his promise and went back there every year for 50 years! Very cool. The town itself isn't much to look at, except it has the Rio Grande flow right through it, the Raph Edwards Park is right on its banks, very nice. It's kind of a small desert town, quite a few shops closed, boarded up. But I hear the folks there are hopeful because that Space Port thing is supposed to be built nearby.

I found a great little place to stay, Blackstone Hot Springs. Perfect. They have a room that allows dogs, and you have your very own tiled tub that you can fill up with the hot springs mineral waters. Wonderful to soak in after a long drive. The room itself was pretty and colorful, very folksy. I had a full kitchen, a nice round table with a bright oilcloth tablecloth, tv, music, and it was right in town so I could walk to restaurants (some very nice ones too) and shops. I think I must have some gypsy in me, could easily spend my life on the road.

And its funny, I just picked up a book someone left at work and what's it about? Gypsies in France.

Big Sur March 2010

Well I've been home for 2 weeks but can't get those ocean scenes from Big Sur out of my mind-which is a good thing, very calming. We stayed at Deetjen's Big Sur Inn which is very much like Mabel's here where I work. Rustic, charming, old and magical. And there is a great place on a hill above the inn where you can sit on a bench and look at the ocean as long as you want. My only disappointment was that many of the hiking trails were closed due to heavy rains the month before. But we took short walks on the beaches, seeing sea lions, otters, pelicans and gulls.

And of course spent much time sipping wine on the porches of Nepenthe's overlooking the ocean. Also splurged on a dinner at the fancy Post Ranch Inn, which has been deemed the best hotel in California. The hotel is out of my budget, but it was great to be at the restaurant with huge picture window views of, yes again, the Ocean!! And the meal was wonderful. For my birthday we had dinner at Deetjen's own restaurant, totally different from the Post Ranch but equally nice. It's like an Old World inn, cozy and romantic.

stay tuned

Got back last week from a wonderful vacation in California, first seeing family and friends, then driving up the coast to Big Sur with my sister and brother-in-law. What a special place! The ocean, the mountains, the calm atmosphere, Deetjen's where we stayed, all good. I will write more later, have to meet my friend Anna today for lunch.

An 8-dog night and the Olympics

Well, it's still cold here. Had a blizzard of sorts all day Monday. I only did one hour of work then went back to the place I'm house/pet-sitting (the 7-dog one, plus mine makes 8). Settled in and spent the whole day and evening watching the Olympics, two dogs on either side of me, a couple more at my feet. There's a cat in the household now too, a brave and funny one. Seems to get along with all the dogs (to whom she was introduced one at a time, smart). She has a habit of jumping up on your shoulders as you pass by a counter, but keeps her claws in luckily.

I am a dog nut, obviously, and also an Olympic nut. I especially like the Winter ones. Love watching the figure skating but even more the ice dancing. I am rooting for the girl from Arcadia, CA, a town right next to my hometown Pasadena. The couples skating were all fabulous, but I wish the American couple had won, Charlie and Meryl. They were exquisite! I marvel at all of them though, and can hardly believe that people can jump up in the air and land again on those blades. I have ice skated a few times and it's impossible, for me anyway! I can stay up, that's about it, have to run into the edge of the rink to stop. Oh well. An athlete I never was. And I am glad the American guy won the gold, not cause he's from the states (I really don't care) but because he was wonderful, strong and exciting. I've always liked Plushenko, what a cutie, but he looked so sour when he "only" got the silver. Actually the Russians always seem to be a bit sour-looking, esp. if they don't win. Who knows, maybe they get back home with their silver or bronze medals and get demoted at work! Altogether, it makes me so angry, this emphasis on getting the gold medal. I mean, even the ones who don't win are Olympians. They are giants in my eyes. All the time, work and passion they have put into it should be applauded. So there.

One more word, I hope the parents of the luge guy who was killed get a lot of support and compensation from the O. Committee. I feel terrible for them. How come no one noticed the possibility of that pole that was not padded?! I know it's a dangerous sport, like a lot of them, but come on! And what a sad joy for the girl whose mom died.

snow wimp

Winter is here, it's been snowing off and on for days. I'm so happy for the ski people. I am driving like an old lady, one fender bender is enough! Maybe I should have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Little Old Lady from Pasadena". But everything is so beautiful, white and soft and very very cold. I met some nice women from Nebraska at one of the inns and one of then offered to drive me home last night, I was so embarrassed. I made it though. Saw one car spin out this morning, scary stuff. What a wimp I am. And here I am going to venture out again into the frosty night. The daughter of someone I know is showing a film she directed, one about a flamenco dancer. Love flamenco dancing, so here I go, not too far.

Happy New Year!

Well, we are already 11 days into the new year and I feel it will be a good one. 2010, a nice solid sound to it. I decided to drop a day at one of the inns I work at, so yesterday was the first Sunday I've had off in a year (besides being on vacation). Absolutely worth the money I will lose. Spent the morning reading my Sunday paper, the Santa Fe New Mexican, cleaning a small corner of my messy office/guest room, walking Cadbury. Then went out on the town! Saw an offbeat movie called "Untitled", a sendup of art gallery owners, esp. the pseudo hip types. Not bad, not great but I enjoyed it. I liked the main character, I mean the actor who played him, Adam Goldberg. A great face he has, what an intense look, serious but funny at the same time.

Then I was invited to a party in town. These two sisters put on a very last of the holidays soiree with tons of people, food, and good conversations. They do it in January to liven up an otherwise kinda boring month. And their house was beautiful, full of books and art. And now today it's some more cleaning up, greeting some neighbors dogs with biscuits, checking on a couple dogs at the Shelter, 3 hours at Stray Arts Gallery, then my regular job at Mabel's. And I now have something fun to look forward to: planning a trip to Big Sur, California (one of my favorite places) with my sister and bro-in-law in March to celebrate my big 60 birthday. I had originally planned a solo local road trip but figured I'd be too depressed "celebrating" on my own, so I'll do that one later on.

Oh shoot, New Years Resolutions, know what they are but haven't written them down yet. So I will do that here, then I can't back out, they're public! Go to Curves 4 times a week (well, I made it 3 times last week), lose 10 pounds, walk dogs at the Shelter at least once or twice a week, keep learning Spanish, create a budget and stick to it for pete's sake, hike more, and some too personal to publish.

The photo is of a ceiling at El Monte Sagrado, a beautiful local hotel.