Southwest Trip/ part II

After our fabulous trip to the Davis Mountains, our working people and school people had to return home as their Spring Break was about to end.  We continued on West into New Mexico for great food, art, and fun!

In Albuquerque...the Hot Air Balloon Museum

Inside the Balloon Museum

And another picture of hot air balloons

In Albuquerque, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center...with a great restaurant!

A beautiful park in the middle of the Cultural District, Albuquerque where we took a nice, long walk.

And the Albuquerque Art Museum which had a wonderful sculpture garden outside and great art inside. 

The visitors' center at the Acoma  Pueblo which we visited with a terrific local Indian guide.

Acoma is the oldest pueblo which still is lived in by the Indians...atop a mesa, a few miles outside of Albuquerque

A view of the Sacred Mesa, the original living area, from up at Acoma.

And on to Santa Fe...the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

One of the many great galleries on Canyon Road, Santa Fe..our reflection in a huge stainless steel chick!

Part of our room at a very cool motel...Inn of the Governor's, Santa Fe

Just a couple of blocks from our motel, a pleasant surprise..the state capital building housing some of the best art work we saw anywhere!

Floor of the capital

A huge buffalo head, created from found objects!!  It is probably five foot in height.

The Miraculous Staircase at the Loretta Chapel, Santa Fe...a must see for anyone.

And the famous Ranchos de Taos Church in Taos...about an hour from Santa Fe.

The green room in the Blumenschein Home, Taos, an artist known for starting the "artist" community of Taos.

The Big House of Mabel Dodge Luhan, a wealthy socialite who was also very influential in the art community of Taos, now a B & B and retreat area...great breakfast!!!

The door to the upper level...Mabel's private entrance.

Then on our last day, heading from Taos...we were in a snowstorm, in the mountains for about an hour and a half!


All in all, we had a wonderful trip, and other than a little snow, wind and dust, had perfect weather to enjoy everything!

Christmas Open House

Several years ago, we started hosting a Christmas open house for the neighborhood. There are 12 homes in our area...10 of the occupants and their families always come.  We all bring a dish to share, cookies to trade, and sometimes have a cookie decorating activity for the kids.   The past four years, other neighbors have taken turns hosting the event.  We will probably have it next year...we thought about having it this year, but because we wanted to be available to help with whatever Kathleen and family needed, we let some one else have it.  Great fun had by all!!!

Okay, six days until Christmas....I think tomorrow I will begin to wrap presents.  My poor little Charlie Brown tree looks a little bare!!  Colin helped me decorate it last Sunday and he thinks I need more ornaments and a bigger tree.  I just downsized last year...a large tree was just getting too difficult to get up and down from the attic, plus I wanted a pre-lit tree.  Hanging the lights was the one thing I really didn't like to do!!

Our Christmas party at my guild was Friday...much fun!!  We don't have a speaker at the December meeting, just a BIG Show and Tell!!  There were 62 people with quilts/sewing projects to show and many had more than one!!  And of course everyone brings FOOD!!  That seems to be what the holidays are all about!  EATING!!

And I had a glucose tolerance test last Wednesday, so I am trying to be better about the sugar intake!!!  Boohoo for me!!  I LOVE sweets...and that is probably why I have a little bit of a problem.  Am anxious to hear the results.

The other little "chore" I am going to work on this evening is addressing the Christmas cards I got last year to send out this year!!  And the needlepoint stocking I am making of a nephew's new baby is going to be a little late for Christmas, but since she isn't even one yet, maybe she won't miss it!!!

One of my New Year Resolutions is to become better prepared for Christmas next year!  Hmmm...after 65 years of NOT being very ready...do you think that can change!!!!  Well, being the eternal optimist, I am going to say "YES"!

I am watchin "60 MINUTES"...they are doing an episode on MEMORY...people who can remember everything!!!  Very interesting...I would love to have a memory like that....mine is very shakey!!

Thanksgiving Is Coming

Thanksgiving is coming...the goose is getting fat...oh, wait..wrong holiday!!  It is the people who will be getting fat!!!  In my article for TVQG newsletter I gave out a couple of websites...it is really my article from the library but I usually try to add a few other things for interest...after all there is only so much you can say about books.  But..I digress...the websites were one for Paula Deen's Southern Cooking and the other was for Weightwatchers!!  How mean is that!!

I started the big cooking thing today...have the cranberry sauce done, the meat for the dip (snacking after the game) done, the cake baked...I am making an orange cake like my mom used to make. It is my favorite and one of my daughter's had tried to get the recipe to make one for my birthday....her daddy looked virtually every where and could not find it!  He finally asked me about it and I had to say it is not written down...just in the head!!  So I told my daughter I would make one for Thanksgiving as it is a big cake and would write down everything as I did it....that means I will be expecting an orange cake every year from now on!!!!

I have the table clothes washed and ironed....I am looking for serving dishes that I haven't seen since last year.  Then tomorrow is continued cooking...the pecan pie, the pumpkin pie, the jellos...red and green...the giblets...will set one of the tables...the other on Thursday morning.

We have such a great time with all the family and the extended family.  My son-in-law says this is his favorite meal of the year...he wants my daughter to take note so the feast can continue when I decide to give up the honor!! So it is food, football, and fun (games).