11/29 - Touring Mom Around Santa Fe

Saturday we took Mom (Irene) into Santa Fe. It was clear but fairly cold - especially when the wind was blowing... in the shade. We could see the fresh snow in the Sangre de Cristo's - so beautiful. The ski resorts should be getting excited!

Our first stop was at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. This market is the largest in New Mexico and hosts over 100 full time vendors and assures that 100% of the vegetables, fruits, and nursery plants available at Santa Fe Farmers Markets are grown right here in northern New Mexico. This is also true of the crafts that are sold there - at least 80% of the ingredients and materials used to create the crafts are grown in northern NM. The Market is now housed in the newly renovated Railyard area. (http://www.santafefarmersmarket.com/)

Santa Fe Farmers Market

After our stop at the Market, we headed to the Plaza. It was a brisk walk around the Plaza, that was unfortunately under a lot of construction, as it was pretty chilly. We visited a few shops and peeked into the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral. The facade of the cathedral was under scaffolding and plastic wrap for renovations, what a bummer that Mom wasn't able to see the beauty of this church. And there was a wedding happening inside so we weren't allowed in any further than the vestibule/gift shop where we could peek in the back windows.

The Cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 - 1886. It was built an older adobe church called, La Parroquia (built 1714-1719). La Parroquia in turn was built on an even older church built in 1626. The cathedral was built around the original adobe walls for support, once the cathedral walls were stable, the adobe was removed through the front doors.

We spent some time in the Palace of the Governors, originally built in the early 17th century as Spain's seat of government for this region. This Palace is the oldest, continuously occupied public building in the US. The building now houses the New Mexico History Museum. We joined the tail-end of a tour and then walked through the exhibits on our own. As Santa Fe celebrates it's 400th birthday (yep, 400 years!!) there is a special photographic exhibit on display. Try to visit this museum if you get a chance. It's small but really nice historical account of New Mexico's history.

From there we visited the famed Loretto Chapel with is miraculous staircase. In 1873 the construction of the chapel was started and completed 5 years later in 1878. The 'miraculous' staircase was builtby an unknown carpentor sometime between 1877 and 1881 - it took at least 6-mos to build and has two full 360-degree with no visible means of support. The Loretto Academy was closed in 1968 and deconsecrated as a Catholic chapel in 1971. It is now a private museum.

Loretto Chapel
Alter at Loretto Chapel
The "Miraculous" Staircase Loretto Chapel

The last church we visited is the San Miguel Mission. This mission was built between 1610 and 1628 making this one of the oldest, if not the oldest mission in the US. During the Pueblo Revolt, the ceiling was burned and the church rebuilt in 1710 and several more times in its history. The alter and sacristy are so simple, but that's what makes it so beautiful.

San Miguel Mission

Alter in San Miguel Mission

Bryan & his Mom in San Miguel Mission

After our day of sightseeing in the capital city we headed south to see the River of Lights (http://www.cabq.gov/biopark/garden/educationlights.html) display in Albuquerque. We stopped for dinner at the Sandia Resort & Casino, Thur Shan Buffet. It was surprisingly good. Mom really seemed to like it and Bryan and I just ate too much... After dinner, we sleepily made our way to the Botanic Gardens to see the Christmas light display. We got stuck in the Twinkle Light Parade along Central Ave. After missing our turn into the Gardens and having to backtrack back through the traffic to try again, we called it quits and headed home. Hopefully Bryan and I can go see the lights sometime soon.

Irene headed home this morning (Sunday) for Dallas.

11/28 Touring Mom Around Old Town Albuquerque

We took Mom (Irene) into to Old Town Albuquerque on Friday, 11/28. It was overcast and cold but it was nice to walk through the shops at Old Town and see some of the Christmas decorations. Albuquerque had their Christmas tree up - it was HUGE and having been around the area we can attest to the fact that there aren't that many HUGE trees around here. So we examined it more closely and decided it was made up of smaller trees lying on their sides (base of trees were pointed inward, toward the "trunk" with the tops of the smaller trees being the 'branches' of a large tree). But for some silly reason, I didn't get a photo of it.

We had dinner at La Hacienda, there on the square. Very tasty, but Bryan & I thought their red-sauce was a bit salty (which for me is saying something since I'm a saltaholic.

After lunch we went to the Albuquerque Art & History Museum. Very nice, although none of us are very into contemporary or modern art which they had a lot of on exhibit there. We did enjoy the traveling exhibit: Jamestown, Québec, Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings. The exhibit outlined the beginning of these three cities, how they differed in their settling and dealings with the First People of the Americas. Amazing to think they they were all being settled around the same time by three different countries - France, Great Britain and Spain. Outside the museum are several sculptures - some modern, others very traditional bronze castings. The most impressive - to us - was the large sculpture depicting the Don Juan de Oñate expedition and also displaying the names of 600 families that traveled from Mexico to this area in 1598. Many of their descendants are still in New Mexico.

Bryan and his Mom at Museum

Oñate sculpture

Don Juan de Oñate

Thanksgiving Day

We hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving Day. Ours was very nice and despite the cake fiasco the day before, dinner turned out very well. Yea!!!

The day dawned cold and wet, a disappointment for us since we were having company but we really did need the rain. It proceeded to rain off and on all day but we were cozy watching football games and eating...

Happy Thanksgiving

Some of the things we are thankful for:

Each other
Our families & friends
Our health
Our new sunny locale, being closer to our families
Spending more time in the last few months with our parents than we have in a long time
And the rain expected on Thanksgiving Day that is desperately needed in this area.

We hope you have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!

Bryan & Raymona

11/25 - Learning (slowly) How to Cook at a High Altitude

OK... so now (Thanksgiving, mother-in-law coming into town) is not the time to find out that you have to really rework recipes in order to make them come out correctly at high altitude (6000+ feet). We've noticed things take longer to cook, or we've had to up the heat on them but really... this is ridiculous!

This is my Mom's (and sorta mine too) famous carrot cake. I have to say, this has never-ever happened to me... OK, once with a berry cobbler but NEVER with a cake. What the heck?!?! Mom was stumped, Dad giggled...

I looked up high altitude cooking on the web (I'll post more on that later) and I guess you have to reduce a lot of the ingredients in your recipe... who knew??? It tastes great, really! Just looks a little... rough. And it took about 2 hours to cook. ARGH Turkey-day should be quite the adventure!!

Stop laughing!

11/21 - Dutch was adopted!!

I found out today that Dutch, our little foster puppy, was adopted the day after I took him back to Watermelon Mountain Ranch.  I knew he would be adopted quickly, he was just too darn cute... I just wasn't sure if his skin condition would let him go out but we were diligent with his treatments and I guess he was cured.

YEAH!!!!!!!!  I'm so happy.  

Nov 19, Part 1 - Jemez State Monument

Today we took a day trip along SR 550 and Hwy 4 to Jemez State Monument and Bandelier National Monument. The route along Hwy 4 was really beautiful with a few camping spots we'll have to check out . Check out the next entry in order to read about Bandelier.

Our first stop was at Jemez State Monument. Over 600 years ago the Jemez people built villages along this narrow canyon. Jemez SM preserves one of these villages, Giusew and its 17th-century Spanish mission. As is usual in the pueblo ruins that have been touched by the Spaniards, the mission and convent are much better preserved than the pueblo. There is a reconstructed kiva and some pueblo walls, but most of the ruins you will see are of the mission church and the attached convent.

There is a small museum located at the site and the admission fee is $3 per adult with a self-guided trail guide.

Looking toward the nave & bell tower

Courtyard of convent

Just past the Jemez State Monument is the Soda Dam, a 300 foot natural dam that was created by mineral build from nearby hot springs. Before the paved road went through in the 1960's the road went over the dam. The building of the "new' road affected the hot springs and the dam is no longer growing. Notice in the photo below, right-hand side, the Jemez River squeezing through the dam.

Soda Dam

On our way to Bandelier we went thru the Valle Caldera National Preserve. A working ranch (95,000 acres) from 1860 to 2000, the ranch was purchased by the government and turned into a national preserve - monitoring the coo-existance of ranching and wildlife preservation. There are many activities in the area but all are by reservation (www.vallescaldera.gov). The valley in the photos below was created when a volcano caved in on itself.

Nov 19, Part 2 - Bandelier National Monument

We arrived at Bandelier just a little past Noon and after a quick look at the small museum and a 10-min information film we hit the trail. The setting here is surreal... the cliffs are made up of volcanic rock called tuff. The tuff is easily eroded but some parts erode more quickly, leaving behind Swiss cheese effect. The Ancestral Puebloans used these holes & caves to their advantage, enlarging the caves and building in and around them.

Us - Frijoles Canyon in the background

The first people that actually settled here were the Ancestral Pueblo (formerly known as the Anasazi (ah-nah-SAH-zee), an outdated term with Navajo origins that mean "ancient enemies" and is no longer used), however human activity can be traced back as far as 10,000 years!! Frijoles Canyon, where many of these ruins are located, is part of the Pajarito (pa-ha-REE-toe) Plateau that was formed from two violent eruptions (each being 600 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens) of the Jemez Volcano.

The first ruins you reach on the trail is the pueblo village, Tyounyi (chew-OHN-yee). This almost circular village is only one of several located within Bandalier National Monument. Tyounyi contained over 400 rooms that ranged from 1 to 2 stories in height. They believe that around 100 people lived in the village.

Tyounyi Pueblo from cliff dwellings

The cliffs above Tyounyi are filled with cliff dwellings. These dwellings utilized the natural caves and worked at enlarging the rooms for living and storage rooms. These small caves are known as cavates (CAVE-eights) and many had rooms builts in front of them. Both the valley floor village and the cliff dwellings were inhabitated at the same time, no one knows for sure why some lived in the cliff dwellings and others lived in the pueblos.

Raymona looking in a cavate

Bryan coming out of the kiva cavate

On the trail at Bandelier National Park

While most sites in Bandelier are unexcavated there are quite a number that have been along the cliff face, dubbed the "Long Houses" since they follow the cliff face for quite a distance. You can see by the holes that held the vigas (beams that supported the roofs & floors above) how tall these structures could be (Bryan and I counted 3 floors in several areas).

Long House cliff dwellings

Further down, about a 1/2 mile from the Long Houses, along a vey level easy path is the Alcove House. It is a 140 climb up 3 30-foot ladder and one that's a little shorter in order to reach the house. It doesn't sound so bad, but it really is a bit unnerving. Especially going back down the ladders.

The start of the Alcove House trail

Second Ladder

Bryan & third ladder

Kiva at Alcove House & nice view across
Frijoles Canyon

Nov 16 - Old Town Albuquerque and Zoo

Today we decided to explore Albuquerque a bit so we headed out to explore Old Town and last minute, the Zoo.

Both were really great. I loved old town. The area was smaller than Bryan thought it would be but it just felt good. Not as pretentious as Santa Fe, the shops weren't quite as 'high-end' as they are there. At least we didn't feel like we needed a platinum AmEx card to enter the shops. HAHA The weather was fantastic, as you can see by the photos... a little cool but SUNNY!!!!!!!!!!! I loved all the little courtyards and small alleys that you could explore.

Old Town was established in 1706 and was a hub of activity along the Camino Real between Mexico City & Santa Fe. They have really revitalized the area and just a few blocks away is a really great part of Route 66. Lots of shops and eateries along the Route.

Old Town Plaza - Gazebo

Courtyard off of Old Town Plaza

Shop at Old Town Plaza

San Felipe de Neri Church

We were enjoying the sunshine and great outdoors so much we decided to take a look at the Albuquerque Zoo. It cost $7 each to get in - I guess that's OK, I can't remember the last time I went to a zoo... And it was nice as zoos go I suppose. Some of the exhibits need refurbishing but most were really nicely presented and all of the animals looked healthy and happy. There are a few areas 'under construction' and i think it was even nicer as it was so empty. A few hordes of screaming kids but mostly it was very quiet and peaceful. The weather was terrific, although cool if you were in the shade.

Andean Condor

Warthogs

A Snoozy Lion

Prairie Dog Rug

We were lucky to be there when they were feeding the Polar Bears (feeding time is around 2:20 PM every day). Those guys are HUGE and very playful when they were going after their fishy dinners.

Polar Bear eating a fish

Polar Bear waiting for his fish

Returning Dutch

I returned Dutch, our foster puppy, Friday. That was as hard as I thought it would be... and surprisingly we miss him terribly. I'm certain the people at Watermelon Mountain Ranch think I'm a fruit cake. The volunteer there kept asking, "Are you OK?". And when she asked me for his name all I could do was moan... Duu- Duu- Dutch! I know she was like - if you are this upset then why did you bring him back???? You horrible person, you! I felt like such a heel, like I was letting little Dutchie-doodle down.

I think it would have been easier if he was going to a family right away but he has/had a skin condition so unless it scanned clear he would not go out today for adoption. I'm too afraid to call to see if he was able to go out - afraid the answer would be no and then I'd have to go get the little terror tomorrow. The worst is thinking of him back in his little pen, all alone. OK,OK so he would be with his siblings but still...

I'll probably go in Monday or Tuesday to volunteer so I'll see him then... maybe...

He was really a good puppy... "puppy" being the key word here. He was learning to walk on a leash, was sorta housebroke and had learned to climb the stairs (still not great about going DOWN them tho). He got used to going outside and then waiting at the sliding glass door to be let back in - one time I had left the door open so he could just go in but he just sat there. I booted his butt but he didn't even try to go in. I finally had to pretend to open the door and he got up and trotted right in. Too funny!!! I hope he finds a forever home soon!

Bryan said I was more upset over him than I was over losing Bear. So NOT true - with Bear, I had been grieving for weeks before he passed... turning in Dutch was different.

Anyway, I've been so mopey Bryan is like - go back and get him!!! haha If we weren't in a rental house I think I would (and grab one of his siblings too) but Bryan doesn't want anymore pets until we have a house again and as much as it pains me, he's right. But we'll see how long we hold out.

Holy Mother of....

Bryan & I went to dinner and then stopped to buy Monster (aka the poop-mister, aka Dutch) some food - we were gone MAYBE and hour and a half. We locked him in the bath room with puppy piddle pads everywhere. We got home and Dutch was howling at the top of his lungs and it looked like someone had tipped over a port-a-potty!! Crap (literally) was everywhere - how can one little pup that weighs maybe 6 pounds have that much poop??

And of course he walked in it and jumped all over everything! ARGH!!! Bryan couldn't stop laughing but that's because he wasn't cleaning it up!! I certainly didn't think it was all that funny.

And now Dutch sleeps peacefully at my feet... argh!

Nov 11 - Happy Veteran's Day

Day number 3 with Dutch. He is doing really well on the house-training... as long as we pay attention and jump when he whines. He will tell us he has to go out but he doesn't give much time in getting him out the door before he piddles, usually on the rug, next to the puppy piddle pad. GGGRRRRRRRR

We had to move his 'sleep box' from the master bathroom to next to our bed because he would NOT shut up the second night, he had himself so stressed out... pathetic. Just moving it next to the bed quieted him down and he is good about waking me up when he has to go potty at night - last night he made it about 5 hours before having to go. Yea!!! I'm trying to get him used to a leash but that's harder than it sounds, at least he tolerates his collar now.

He is also getting to the point where we don't have to be in the same room with him all the time (although then you run the risk of 'accidents'). Before he followed us EVERYWHERE. We are going to leave him alone and go to dinner tonight... we'll see how that goes.

On to other things - we are in job-hunting mode now. However, its kinda bleak here. I guess, really, there are a lot of jobs, but we are either under-qualified (Bryan's - they all want Masters or PhD's) or over-qualified (mostly admin or call-center positions). We have managed to find a few - about 5/6 each - but so far, no call backs. Bryan just got a call from a recruiter in Wisconsin but... we aren't moving to Wisconsin. At least not yet. HAHA

The holidays are fast approaching. Bryan's Mom, Irene, is coming out for Thanksgiving and if I can't get my parents here for Christmas I guess we'll go to their place. We are really excited to be here for Christmas, I've heard Santa Fe is just beautiful during Christmas.

Kale's Quilt

Here's a quilt I made for my great-nephew.

Nov 8 - Call me Sucker...

We donated Bear's food and medications to a no-kill animal shelter, Watermelon Ranch, in Rio Rancho a couple of weeks ago. I liked it so much I decided I'd volunteer, much to Bryan's dismay.

Today was my orientation to the Ranch and while I was there they brought in the CUTEST, saddest Lab/Retriever mix, Champ. He had been adopted at 8 weeks old but returned yesterday (at 5 mos) because his family's small children were scared of him. It took me a lot of cooing to get him out of the van - he was so scared and sad. Knowing that Bryan would kill me, I decided we should foster him until another forever family could be found. So I bundled him up in the Jeep and started home... I made it within two miles before WMR called me back - they already had a family for him. Boo Hoo!! Champ was terrific in the Jeep, just lying down or looking at the window. I thought he might be one to win Bryan over. But I turned around and took him back where a family of 6 were eagerly awaiting him.

So, that's it I thought and was getting ready to go - but Jenn (worker at the Ranch) talked me into looking at the 8 week old Lab-mix puppies... so I folded like a napkin... and brought one home to foster. He's a russet brown, named King Kong but I think we are renaming him Dutch, he looks like a Dutch. I'll have to take him in next Saturday to an adoption site but until then, he's ours to try to mold into something other than a holy terror. haha

Nov 1 - Popcorn Night

Sunset on Grandparents Ranch

Pep, NM

Yep, another big night in Pep, NM. Every Saturday my Grandpa (91 yrs old) hosts "popcorn night" for the family (usually just him, Grandma, Mom & Dad) and whoever happens to be there on Saturday. He has this really, really, really old popcorn popper - it's electric but OLD - that about 99% of the time will pop every kernel of popcorn. "Not like those microwave bags that leave half the bag unpopped" (quote from Grandpa).

Grandpa & his popper

The motley crew 

Grandma & Pa (standing), Bryan, Mom & Dad (sitting)

He sets up the bowls, the popper and our drinks and we just sit and visit with each other. Grandma will throw in some nuts and whatever candy is handy to round out our snacks. We used to watch the old, country story-teller, Buster Black but we've seen all the episodes now... more than once so we just visit and maybe watch a game show.

I love it.