It's the 22nd of January, and here in Lemitar, the sky is robin's egg blue and the temperature is at least 50 right now.  How are things where you all live?

Now to show you some pics Santa Fe and our stay there.  The historic district is wonderful, with a great plaza surrounding the Governor's Palace, and on the other three sides, shops, art gallerys, and places to eat.  In the plaza were also several people playing instruments; one was playing folk music of the 60's; another was playing a beautiful harp.  Food was being sold, and handmade jewelry, clothing, and art abounded with Indians sitting outside of the Governor's Palace, with their wares set out on blankets for everyone to view and hopefully buy.  Kat, Phil and I went into the Governor's Palace to find the print shop where a friend of hers worked.  Unfortunately he wasn't there, but she talked to one of his associates and we bought a few items actually printed on the very old presses.  

Santa Fe is really for active walkers, and I was glad to have my walking stick with me.  The roads were partially icy, as were many of the side walks, and fortunately my kids were watching me closely so that I didn't slip.  One day all of us went down to the Plaza and walked from there to the Loretto Chapel, with its miraculous staircase.  For years, I read to my children,  from Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book, the story of the Miraculous Staircase.  The Chapel was beautiful and all dressed up for Christmas...

 
Walking back to the Plaza, luminaries rimmed the tops of the buildings and hotels. What a beautiful sight.  We had lunch at a nice restaurant just off the Plaza, The Blue Corn Cafe.  Good food, and I loved being surrounded by most of my family.   Snow  was falling in very interesting shapes.  I was able to get a close up of one flake.  Very neat...

 We had a fun Christmas day.  Scott gave Phil a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree...

Do you recognize that ornament hanging on it?  One of our favorite movies to watch at Christmas - The Christmas Story!!!!  Phil got that in his stocking...here is where the gifts were set up...

 

And here are all the participants with the exception of yours truly - I don't like being photographed in the morning!!!!...I am sure some of you understand...

First grandson Frank, then Siobhan and Scott, Phil and Kat, and last Sergeant Pepper...

Casa de Serenidad all dolled up for the season!

 Phil holding Pepper inside my house - a great pic!

On the 11th of January, after meeting with my Lunch Bunch, I drove down to Truth or Consequences, or as everyone around here calls it - TorC. It is about 70 miles from Socorro.  I was on a Yoga retreat, the first time I have ever done one.  It was for the weekend, and the leaders were two gals, who have retreats several times a year.  Marisa owns a yoga place, just 9/10 of a mile from me here in Lemitar.  In fact, tonight I am going up there to continue my yoga experience.  Halli owns a business in Bernalillo, just above Albuquerque, and is a Life Coach.  Both were just wonderful, and I found I could do most yoga exercises with the exception of getting on my knees, or on my belly.  But they gave me exercises that worked just as well.  We had shared rooms at the  La Paloma Spa, which is in the historic district.  This is the area where most of the hot springs are located.  The rooms and the bath house are orginal buildings, made a little more livable, with heat and hot water and bathrooms.  There was also a flat TV, which never once was turned on by my roommate or me.  I went down to the bathhouse once, and soaked.  Heavenly!  I could have gone more often but didn't.  Next time, however!!!

The nights were very cold, and the two fountains outside near the parking lot were running and frozen at the same time...I don't know if they were hot, because I didn't put my hand in...

 

The Yoga studio was several blocks away in one of the old buildings.  In it was a huge area, with polished wooden floors, and art work for sale on the walls and benches, which were also for sale.  The piece of art I loved the most was this...

 

I really wanted to buy it, but then where would I put it?  The lawn mower really works also! TorC has a great many artist galleries in the historic district, as well as many pieces of art outside around the area...

And the most amazing discovery was that my sister, Marty, had opened up a business in TorC without telling the rest of us!!!!  Well, this is Truth or Consequences, isn't it?  I wonder what Marty will say if she reads this...what do you think?

Most people had their own yoga equipment, but I didn't.  I was happy to know that Marisa had brought down a great quantity for those of us who didn't have our own.  We had yoga classes four times; at 5:00 PM the night we got there; at 8:00 AM and 4:30PM on Saturday; and at 8 AM on Sunday, after which we sat in a circle and told each other what we had gotten out of the retreat.  Dinner was provided on Friday night, and all breakfasts were provided at a cute little cafe across the street from the yoga studio.  The Cafe also provided and packed our lunch choices for Saturday.  I loved everything from the time I got there until I left.
 
Well, Barack Obama has been sworn in twice, and gave a very low key speech to the American public. I think the Republicans have found that U.S. citizens are fed up with their antics and attempts to obfuscate what Obama is trying to accomplish.  Maybe once again we will have some bi-partisanship in Washington, D.C.  

Yesterday, the appraiser came to measure the house inside and outside.  I know that Mary, the executrix, really wants to get the deeds drawn up for all of Anne's property.  I do too.  Thursday, she is bringing an antique dealer to look at what is Anne's (most everything) and put some kind of value on it.  Anne has some very old things here that were her parents, and I am wondering if Anne's cousin are not interested in any of them.  That would be unfortunate, but her cousins are not young, and I have no idea if any of them have children.  I have drawn up a list of things that I would like to buy from the estate, if I can afford them, but none are any of the antiques.  I will have to get back to Virginia and take everything out of storage when this all happens.  As my daughter, Kat, noted when she and Phil drove down after Santa Fe, the house is still Anne's, and once all of her belongings are gone, it will become mine.  That is true.

In the afternoon, yesterday, Lizz and I drove the Quebrada.  This is a very unusual area of formations made by many volcanic eruptions over millions of years, and then having an shallow ocean covering the entire area of the South Rio Grande area.  The rock formations, the mountains, the shale hills, the colors, canyons and arroyos, are incredibly beautiful.  The road is rough in many places, and runs through both BLM lands and private lands.  The drive is 26 miles long, and we drove north to south - from Escondida in the north end to San Antonio in the south end.  I plan on going back and just writing a blog about the Quebrada with photos of many of those beautiful sights.  The drive took three hours, and will probably be more than 4 hours for me, as I will be stopping frequently.  

In San Antonio, we stopped at the Buckhorn Cafe, where we met our friend, Priscilla.  The Buckhorn Cafe is famous for its green chile cheeseburger.  The owner and Bobby Flay had a cook off (I know that isn't the right name, but so be it) and the Buckhorn won!!!  And the burger is good, the green chile even better!!!!

We went to the Cafe not only to have dinner but to hear Blue Monday, a five piece group, who sings rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and what not.  They are all local men, the bongo and harmonica player being the owner of the Buckhorn!  There was also a sax player, a guitarist, a bass guitarist, and a singer.  The singer and the bass player have been playing together for twenty years.  They rocked the house, and we were all singing some of the songs and having a great time.  They played for two hours, 6PM to 8PM, straight.  

I have read THE TE OF PIGLET, which I loved, even though I am not quite sure what Te and Taoism is exactly.  I am currently reading THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE by Julie Orringer, which Marty sent to me, and though I just started it, I have been captured!

Next Monday, the book group will met here at Casa de Serenidad.  I told people to bring a chair in case there are more present than chairs to sit in!  We will discuss WOLF WILLOW by Stegner.  I plan to have a fire going to warm up the room.  

I can't remember if I wrote before this that I have a temporary roommate, Lizz Taylor, whom I met at the Bosque when I was volunteering down there.  She was a volunteer working on the Festival.  I told her to park her rig in my back yard after the Festival so that she could drive to Louisville, Kentucky without hauling the rig.  Much of her family lives there, including her son.  I don't know when she will be leaving to go down to Deming for a couple of months, but it is fun to have someone staying here and we have lots of long talks about many things and take road trips also.  She will be volunteering next at the National Forest, near Mena, Arkansas in the spring, then be back at the Bosque in August for the organizing of the next Festival of the Cranes.  

Life is good, folks.
I love you all,
Sally