Thursday, May 31, 2007

New Mexico dreamin'

Sorry for the silence, but I flew out of town for a long holiday weekend. And when you've only got dial-up within a reasonable distance from home, well....things like blog posting tend to suffer.

For some people a holiday is a weekend getaway to the beach. For me, it's New Mexico. When I need to "get outta Dodge", I head for my beloved mountains in New Mexico. Imagine my delight when I found that my wild roses were in bloom, as well as the plants I purchased last fall at a local nursery!This is the view from my front door to the courtyard. The portal keeps the heavy sun out in the summer....The tree is on it's last legs, unfortunately, having had a heavy infestation of mistletoe. But it's still alive, so I will let it pass away naturally. Then it will become firewood.
But in the meantime....Yellow roses, yellow irises, pink and white flowers, and the air smells better than perfume. A turquoise sky in the day, and the moon so close at night you can practically hear it spin...

I spent my time in New Mexico painting the ceiling in the living room. (No pictures of that till it's done!) The living room tends to be a bit dark - especially the ceiling - from years and years of using a fireplace. It's amazing what a coat of white paint can do to brighten a room! I've kept the log beams (vigas) natural wood and am painting the boards between them.

And in between climbing up and down a small step stool (low ceilings) and climbing on furniture to paint around light fixtures, I ate chili. Enchiladas, for the most part. Chicken enchiladas in Santa Fe, a chicken enchilada for dinner at a local restaurant called Kokopelli's the night I got there, and one bean and chicken burrito with a margarita for lunch with a friend on Memorial Day.

And then it was back to painting.....

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great images, Toni, both in pictures and words. I spent Christmas in New Mexico once years ago, in Santa Fe and the tiny mountain town of Jemez Springs. It was perhaps the most foreign feeling place I've ever been inside the United States. That's something I love about this country--it encompasses so many wildly divergent places.

Toni said...

Couldn't have put it better myself, Terry. I've often said that going to New Mexico is going about as far outside the United States as I can go without needing a passport. And the food...... Ahhhhh...........;-)

Rachael Narins said...

Great photos. Such warm memories. Sigh. :-)

Toni said...

You were NINE!! And wearing a blue denim skirt and a red and white checked blouse, and Nils, bless him, put together a scavenger hunt for you, and we had ice cream cake...

Chris said...

Great post!L ove the pics!! Beautiful....and now understand the dial-up. :)

zevo hussein calamari said...

Wow! Love the pics. My mouth is watering for an enchilada .....
Love the colors of the New Mexican sky.

thanks
jeanie

Cyndi said...

I used to do a whole "New Mexico" unit in my honors 9th grade English - from Bless Me, Ultima to the poetry of Jimmy Santiago Baca, with a look at the culture and flavors, too. I love NM - from the Sangre de Cristos to the plains of St. Augustin to all the rest. You've brought back some good memories.

Toni said...

Chris - Yes, much of New Mexico has only heard about DSL or cable through rumor......

Jeanie - hope you and Norm can make it sometime!

Cyndi - Wow! I didn't know you knew that much about NM! Good to know that there are students who will grow up and know that NM is one of the United States!