Almost One Year

Such a satisfying driving lesson on Saturday. The day was off-and-on rain showers with spectacular clouds and thunder. As soon as I harnessed Lady, the rain started, so we waited for about 8 minutes till it stopped. Then we had a perfect partnership of a lesson, and as I finished a little pleasure drive around the property, the rain started up again. So exhilarating. It's my last lesson there by Lamy, only 15 minutes from our house. My instructor and all the animals are moving to a new ranch, north of Abiquiu, so my drive to the ranch will now take 1 1/2 hours. Yikes. But if I go maybe twice a month and make a day of it, it should work out OK. And in winter, there'll be a new sleigh to drive! I think I'm actually gaining some real expertise.
Now it's Monday. The gang next door at the restaurant is gearing up for the evening's production with their usual accompaniment of head-banger music. Since all our doors are now open because of the warmth, I get to participate. It's a lively little compound here.
Off to San Francisco in a few days. It's been a while, for me at least. Now, let's see what I need to stock up on there to take back to the hinterland....
This will be the weekend we moved last year. I remember it well. Oppressed with fog, we loaded the car and headed for the Bay Bridge, hoping for one last Whiz Burger for the road. Not to be — Carnival was going strong in the Mission, and try as we might, there was just no way we were getting to 18th Street and So. Van Ness that day. Bitter disappointment. I'm determined to redress that wrong a full year later.

Santa Fe Moments

Finally, my first celebrity sighting. Well, not counting Timothy Spall last fall in Rooftop Pizza (Harry Potter fans, take note), but I don't think he lives here. Today's highlight was — Ali MacGraw at the ATM where I go to pick up the mail! And isn't it curious that Steve McQueen has also been a topic on this blog(adept readers will find the citation without my hints)??
Everyone else in town sees the Jakes, Vals, Harrisons, Renées, etc. here at the gym, strolling around, exiting stores, you name it. My best up until now was hearing Judge Reinhold on the radio. And he actually lives here. Don't get me wrong — I'm a big fan of his: imagine having both Fast Times at Ridgemont High AND Beverly Hills Cop under your belt? Doesn't get better than that.
That's it for now. Oh, except here's the daily trivia from our mailbox place: who was the most popular box office couple in 1942? Don't say Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland because I did, and my pal there said "not that romantic". So I'm going back to collect the mail later, and my two final guesses are:

1. Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen
2. Abbott and Costello

And never, never do I research these things on the internet.
Bye.

VE Day

Today is VE Day. Victory in Europe. We would have a very different world without both VE and VJ days. Most likely quite worse than the sorry mess we have in many places today. Ah, the bright side. In homage to those who died in WW2, in whatever capacity and on whatever side, and to those who survived and carry the burden of memories I dedicate this day's entry. War is ultimately about individuals, as any soldier will tell you.

Blogs From Long Ago

Many famous diarists there are. Let's have a look at their inspiration and consistency. This will be out of chronology, based purely on flashes from history.
Anne Frank: a very good diarist. She had reason to be: cooped up, full of emotion, driven by circumstance, brimming with intelligence and curiosity.
Madame de Stael: 18th-c. French aristocrats had little else to do but document their days in the most excruciating detail. This ended only in 1789.
Samuel Pepys: persnickety, a bit; living in an interesting post-revolutionary, neo-royalist time.
James Lees-Milne: perhaps one of my favorite authors. He was an early and instrumental administrative member of Great Britain's National Trust. His diaries of war-time London are riveting and exquisitely written in both personal and historical terms. I treasure all the volumes of his diary that I have.
My grandfather: kept a diary in very small script from his days on the Western Front, July 1918-Dec. 1919, under fire, in places he termed "most unhealthy". I still have the original.

Not Only About Cats

It's probably time for a cat update. I know it's been a month+ since I wrote here. Mea culpa. Lots of copy editing got in the way, which it will every quarter, so be forewarned. And just to get a little weather report in: it snowed last Saturday and then again on Thursday. Spring appeared between each snow visitation. It's again spring, probably for a while now; I hesitate to say for good until May is well under way.
So, cats.
They are now our little night fairies. I want to leave a pile of straw one night to see if we have spun gold in the morning. Their little bells tinkle all night long in such a charming way. Then when we open the door in the morning Tom is waiting in that curled-up cat way right outside the door so the idjit dogs can chase him back to his lair. Ducky of course has more sense.
Driving (the cart) has been so lovely lately—not freezing so that I can't feel my fingers even in my winter driving gloves (really). And you would not believe the shedding every time I harness her. I thought I'd had dogs that produced annoying amounts of hair. Try combing out a mustang who has spent the winter outside with her pals (three other horses [to whom she is matched in color and size for 4-in-hand driving], two mules and one Italian donkey named Luigi). At a certain point I just have to stop or I'd spend all my allotted driving time with her and the shedding comb.
And almost all the trees now have at least blossoms. Some have leaves. And yet, I do believe there is a chance of snow next week. Such fun. In another week the farmers market goes back outside.
Back to work now. This I wrote during lunch, like a real worker bee.
Love to all my worker bee friends out there.

Cars, Cats, & Canyons

Well, apparently it isn't Cerrillos Rd. that's the most dangerous through-way in Santa Fe. It's the parking lot of Whole Foods: wanderers, double-parkers, blind reversers, and general mayhem. It's a wonder I made it home with my meager (yet $$$) groceries.

We have stepped up the cat-exposure to Folly & Twist. Now there is a dog/baby gate across the Little Bedroom where the cats reign. We feed the dogs in the hallway outside and keep the door open whenever we're home. Tom especially is So Curious. He loves to steal up to the gate, look at a dog and hiss, then run away. It's a total game. Ducky is, of course, smarter and more circumspect, so she waits atop a bed to see what happens to Tom, the point man. Folly & Twist really are just interested—no drama, thank goodness. Maybe in a month or so we can ditch the baby/dog gate and see how used to each other they are. Looks good so far.

Last weekend we went on Saturday NW from here to Bandelier National Park, where there are fantastic cliff dwellings extant from the Anasazi settlement there of 800 or so years ago. We took a Lovely Picnic but ate in the car because of the snow and cold. The walk along the cliffs was precipitous at times but so engaging. The settlement is in a long deep canyon with a year-round creek running through it. Really a perfect place. Marg had been there with the 6th grade recently, so she stood in for the local guide and taught me how to survive on pine needles (and how to tell them from fir), which are apparently both sustenance and a dental cleaner. Clever nature.

Really Important Stuff

I just heard today that someone still reads my blog. I think that's great because I'm not stopping writing now. I haven't yet documented a whole year's worth of weather. You know that's why we came here in the first place, right?
So, today is Monday, yes, and it was pretty usual. The fact that it's the day after the clocks go forward did add a soupcon of interest: the alarm was not set properly and we arose 1/2 hour before Marg had to be at school. I was very noble and drove her. Then I headed out some time later.
One of the bigger irritations for the Santa Fe driver these days is the endless (way more endless than The Big Dig) refurbishing of Guadalupe St., which happens to be right on my way to work and right in front of Edible's PO Box at Pakmail! Thoughtless sods. Santa Feans are quite fed up. Perhaps I'll just take a little photo tomorrow via my trusty mobile phone and fill you in on the horror.
And then, later in the afternoon, as I sat working hard for the Edible Empire, I heard a familiar, long ago & far away sound: protesters shouting slogans. What could this be? I realize Santa Fe is Very Down With It, but this was a strength of feeling that isn't usually present here in the Land of Enchantment. Fearless Leader and I walked to the front windows and beheld: two cars of Santa Fe's Finest leading a procession down our (2-lane) street of maybe 36 people protesting the occupation of Tibet --- and all but 1 looked to be actual Tibetans! We raised our fists in solidarity and shed a tear for the cause and also for our long-faded days of marching with indignation and vision. Now we type out indignation and vision and still hope for betterment somewhere, somehow.

At-Home Thursday

SNOW DAY. Yes, the update is Yet More Snow. Probably 8-10 inches (as of now) where we are and lots more in other areas. So we are: cooking, cleaning, typing, cranking up the tunes, tracking the storm, thinking about walking dogs, grateful for Netflix.
Last weekend another satisfying visit from a Dear SFo friend. We wined & dined, walked in the 70-degree weather on Saturday and sat around the cozy fire on the 30-degree Sunday. The advent of spring is quite interesting around here. As Marg said: summer on Sat., winter on Sun.

Ice, Ice, Baby

No, not what you're thinking, although we do have a new layer of snow as of last night. This is actually about the lack of ice cubes in our house with which to grace the G & Ts of our latest friends to visit from SFo. The icemaker doesn't work, and we long ago lost the knack of filling ice trays, so dear Jason & Adra had to gently remind us that some people do put ice in their drinks (even Scotch!), and they graciously showed us how to place the ice tray in the freezer replete with water, which then turns to ice! So tonight their G & Ts will be the proper temperature. And maybe I should stop to buy a bag of ice on the way home from work.
I had to stop at the gas station this morning, in the snowfall, and fill up so the little light on the dash would go off. While standing there, a large snow-plow truck pulled up and emitted that oh-so-evocative scent of diesel in the cold & snow. Takes me back, back to winter in Leningrad when I was a slip of a girl. Amazing how powerful scent can be. And interestingly, this one is connected also with temperature. It has to be cold, preferably with snow, for the diesel aroma to work its magic on me.
So all is cozy and good here. Building memories in a new place with lots of help from dear friends from the old.

Monday Ramblings

Muddling around in February. It's just that kind of month. Some birdies are beginning to make brief appearances. On Saturday at Abiquiu we stopped to photograph the icy river, and the stirring sight of a V of Canada geese flew right over our heads, honking and headed north. Lovely fat white bellies not so very far above our heads. And the air was mild, at least during the day and in the sunshine.
Tom and Ducky are healthier and happier now they've been out of the shelter for several months. And we've been ever so slowly introducing the dogs to them, gradually and more & more. Maybe next fall we can thoroughly integrate....
The farmers market(no apostrophe!) has dwindled to greenhouse tomatoes, breads, dried herbs, cheeses, beeswax and oils & vinegars. Also, baskets and yarns. We buy our cat food there (Local, humanely raised creatures with one bad day [which we all get to sooner or later]feels way better than dubious canned "goods".) The breakfast burritos there are fabulous. So if you are someone planning a trip here be sure to include a Saturday morning so we can take you to the farmers market. It's indoors in the winter, but you'll still have to bundle up.

On Into February....

Oh, bloggy-blog, how neglectful I've been. But just look at the justifiable distractions: prepping for a Big Meeting in Charleston, SC all January! and...well, prepping for a big meeting in Charleston in January.
We're back now, and it was so great being back in Charleston, this time on my business trip (anybody seen Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion? Remember how they were 'business women'?) with Marg as my sidekick instead of the other way round. She was an amazing amanuensis (more vocab from KW). So wonderful & supportive & fun. And she brought me my cell phone when I left it in the hotel room! I guess I set a good example all these years.
Probably the highlight of Charleston was our escape to our very special Folly Island (yes, namesake of our special bully dog), where we walked the beach, in rather windy cold weather, found shells (more on that presently), and Marg stripped to her bathing suit and braved the 50-degree Atlantic just for the crazy fun of it. Briefly. I was Support Staff holding the towel.
SHELL STORY: 2 astoundingly beautiful, large, unbroken, corrugated, multi-colored whelks (?) that we found just peeking out of the wet sand at low tide. They turned out to have creatures housed inside, rather thick, slug-like creatures, but living nonetheless. Moral & ethical debates ensued: beauty vs. life. (An aside attributed to Modigliani (paraphrased): in a fire, choose life (a cat) over beauty (a painting). We chose life, much as we admire & revere beauty: The whelks were tossed back into the sea, where they could at least escape the jaws of the seagulls lurking on the sands.

Almost HouseBound

Today was the first day (not) back at school here in Santa Fe because we had a SNOW DAY. A Monday revelation for the girls from California. We trudged through the snow at 8 am with all 3 dogs up to school to collect some Important Papers for Marg to work on while at home by the fire. Snow blew in our faces, a very few cars drove by at quite a slow pace, the dogs were beyond thrilled (what's with that??), and I managed to fall on the ice. No breaks, just a possible bruise I haven't looked at yet. We've spent the day in front of the fire, the big one in the front room, reading, doing work by email, and checking the weather. White bean soup was made, knitting was knit, some boots were ordered online, laundry was done in case the power goes out (lots & lots of icy snow on trees and power lines), and housekeeping was accomplished (by MCR). I plan to go to work tomorrow even if I have to walk (which could be rather fun and Little House on the Prairie-ish). It's not very far. Laura wouldn't think twice about it.

Kit and Cats

The dark evening of the first of January. Time for split pea soup and forward thinking. It's a year of even numbers, a leap year, a (gulp) presidential year. Here in NM we have a potential presidential (vice presidential?) candidate. Perhaps now some people will realize that New Mexico is actually part of the Union. (And if you've read your Blood and Thunder you'll know that in the Civil War NM was a Union state, unlike heinous Arizona and Texas.)
We mark the new year today with a long walk in a box canyon in Ghost Ranch. The creek/river there is frozen over to varying depths, and we have to leap across its switchbacks several times. The poetry of the water gurgling below the ice crust is quite charming. There are large cat prints in the mud along the path, and Marg says that if we see one she hopes it's at least a mile away upon sighting or we'll have a "situation". Indeed. The dogs slither on the ice like Hans Brinker, and we hope no one breaks through or there will be yet another "situation".
My greatest challenge of the end of 2007 was negotiating an icy driveway at night in stiletto heels to attend a party given by new acquaintances not very far from our house. Isn't that terrible? Where's the damn red carpet? When we left the party several hours later the temperature in the car read: 11. But my shoes looked great. Do I write too much about shoes here? Is that possible?

Notes from Almost Below Zero and Almost 2008

Well, not really below 0 but close enough to have to cancel driving lessons! But of course the skier can go have oodles of fun (cold fun, though), which she totally deserves. And up on the top of the Ski Basin it was -45 today with the wind chill. How can you people do that??
In honor of the end of 2007, a year of events for us and ours, I present here the first parking ticket of Santa Fe origin to grace our checkbook. It is a lovely design --- see how the faint print is obscured by the noble seal of the City of Santa Fe? One can hardly read the fine amount! ($16.00--$16)And there is the little ribbon within the seal with the dates of the three (post-conquest)countries of Santa Fe's government history: Spain - 1610, Mexico - 1821, and U.S. - 1846.
We received this for neglecting to put in the ha'pennies required for several hours parking starting at 8 am. Well, the 8 am part is true; you actually need a couple quarters.
Of course we ring in the New Year with Gruet. Also black-eyed peas (the comestible, not the band)for that southern touch of good luck. Please eat yours, too. We love you all.

The Devil Did It

Tonight is the 100+ yr.-old festival here in SFe called Las Posadas. Our first trip here, oh so many years ago, we just happened upon it one evening around 5 in the plaza. Absolutely captivating -- a mix of Old Word Catholicism and All World paganism.
The devil roams the rooftops of the plaza(assorted civic worthies in costume) spewing vileness and lack of hospitality to poor Mary & Joseph. So that was why there was no room at the inn --- the bad guys got there first! Finally, after visiting all four corners of the plaza in search of lodging (and an obstetrics unit, obviously) the Palace of the Governors relents and gives them shelter from evil and the cold. History is made and all is topped off with cookies, hot chocolate, pinon fires and carols in Spanish.

Cold Morning

Well, we've finally -inevitably-reached the point of insanity we swore we wouldn't achieve again: two cats have been added to the mixola here. Tom & Ducky are currently living in the little bedroom while we convince the dogs (well, Folly & Twist; Bodkin doesn't really care) that Satan did not send them to lead us all into Hell.
The shelters here are overflowing with cats (can we blame George W. Bush?) and it was just time to make good on our re-surfacing laments, "Gee, I miss having a cat..." Should be an interesting winter.
It's Friday, which means I'm off work, for we have winter hours at my job! Fireplace blazing, jammies still on --- a Friday off is pretty much heaven. Not that I have nothing to do, mind you. It occurs to me that most of you have no idea what this publishing job I've landed is. Next year we'll have 6 million issues of 60+ slow food, local & sustainable agriculture magazines around the US and Canada. I get to be "Director of Operations" --- sounds a little like the CIA, huh? It really just means I have lots of things to do and occasionally a small fire to extinguish. Here's a photo of Edible San Francisco to give you all an idea. Check it out. Also on the web! for you modernists.

Santa Fe Time

Here's a good little story of our time & place. M. comes home and says "Squash your inner Scrooge tonight because we're going to watch the Santa Fe Christmas Tree lit at 5:30 at the statehouse. No arguments. I'll make it worth your while." She had it on Good Authority (a flexible term, apparently) that the tree would be lit between 5:30 and 5:45 pm. There would be charming schoolchildren there (from Waldorf, actually) singing charming carols. So I roused my inner Norman Rockwell, bundled up, and inquired, "Where are our flasks?" Perhaps a bit obvious, so we settled for a large coffee mug from El Indio in San Diego and a discreet stainless steel mug from nowhere. The "coffee" was actually Gruet champagne; staying local, as always.
As we pull up to the statehouse at 5:25 I gestured and said, "Is that the tree there, the all-lit-up one with many colors??" Sadly, yes. Our local source got the time wrong. I, however, was in a more celebratory mood than I thought possible because the flask and the lack of carols (people were fading away at this point) meant we could make our way to the tree without a tiresome crowd and enjoy the prettiness as one slightly modified curmudgeon and her chastened wife. It was fun! Let's do it that way next year!

Winter Activities

Here we are back in Santa Fe after a whirlwind weekend (movie title?) in San Francisco. Good whirlwind but bittersweet as always. Contrasts, contrasts. Eat, drink, be merry, fly away.
I took Margarita carriage driving last week. Well, it was actually a little marathon cart. A pair pulls that cart, and we had sleigh bells on Lady because the weather is cold enough. We trip-trapped, jingle-belled down the road and back for a mile or two in the open country northeast-ish of Santa Fe. Happy ponies in the cold were quite frisky. I'm more competent at driving just a single now, so my very wonderful instructor sits with me when I drive the pair. See photos.

Tipperary, PSAT, & Truffle Oil

What are you reading? I so much prefer that question at a cocktail party to "So what do you do?" Well, I'm reading lots of stuff: Blood & Thunder, The Origins of the First World War (surprise), and about to start reading a certain person's thesis, titled "Syntactic Strictures: Errors of Grammar, Style and Usage on the PSAT". How fun is that?
Blood & Thunder tells me that New Mexico was violent and dangerous to live in even before the Cerrillos Road corridor was built. But pretty darn fascinating and beautifully written. Finally I read it, after 825 people told me to. Thank you, Elizabeth.
And what are you cooking? Made a fun little pizza last night with truffle oil and arugula and sheep's milk cheese. Oh, and an egg on top for me.
And what are you listening to? A new favorite around here is Architecture in Helsinki (of course just the name is hard to resist), and I have a newly compiled CD of World War I favorites, quite good sound quality, in case anyone needs a stocking stuffer. It's bound to be this year's Cool Gift. And reasonably priced.

On the Road Again

Clearly I'm not gifted in the dailiness of journal writing. Tried, can't. So here I am close to 4 weeks after my last post, again in Chicago. Not in the library today, since the laptop accompanied us here. It's a conference, and I got to tag along. Well, I needed some new shoes, and Akira in Chicago is just the Best Place Ever for such projects. Yes, already went there and found much but bought only one pair. Such restraint.
Last night we dined with dear old friend Shane and his fabulous child Hayden, all of us (except H.) transplants from San Francisco. Tonight it's the free night at the Art Institute, so we'll be roaming around there for some time. This being in places so very different from San Francisco is something I think I appreciate so much more now that I'm older and not the roving college student. Is it about confidence or experience? For some reason I'm just more accepting of getting "lost", which I think is a good way of truly feeling one's way round a place. I like the challenge of getting out of the lostness. I guess it's another puzzle, like figuring out irregular verbs.