Lets Take a Walk

I frequently go for walks around Santa Fe exploring different areas and always looking for something new to see or something I missed on previous walks. I also take pictures during these walks so I try to look at things differently. For my post today I decided to take you along for a walk in downtown Santa Fe.

I decided today to park in the PERA Building parking lot as my starting point for my walk. This lot is across Old Santa Fe Trail from the New Mexico State Capitol (aka The Roundhouse). I didn't go into the Capitol today but I do make a point to visit every now and then. There is a large art collection in the building and they have different exhibits in the Rotunda - so I like to stop in to see what is going on. But instead I headed toward downtown on Old Santa Fe Trail. I passed the Lamy Building (which houses a Visitor's Center) and across the street is the Guadalupe Cafe (a great place for breakfast). As I walked down the road I passed Rio Chama and the Pink Adobe - two popular restaurants. After a short walk I reached the San Miguel Mission (claims to be the oldest church in the country). I stopped and took a few pictures and then continued. Just across De Vargas Street from the Mission is my favorite pizza place in Santa Fe - Upper Crust Pizza. From here I continued up Old Santa Fe Trail passing Garret's Desert Inn/Ze French Bistro and crossing Alameda Street. I walked passed The Inn at Loretto and stopped at Loretto Chapel. I took a few pictures but didn't go in. But if you are visiting Santa Fe it is worth a look - the Chapel houses the Miraculous Staircase. Across from the Chapel there are a few galleries that are nice to walk through. I reached the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Water Street. I turned left and reached the corner of Shelby and Water. Usually I turn right here and make my way to the Plaza. But today I continued on Water Street. I stopped in at Santa Fe Hemp - they have lots of items made from hemp as well as some great bumper stickers and buttons. Always a nice time stopping in here. Just passed this store is Cafe Pasqual's - I understand it is a nice place to eat but I have been in Santa Fe for 20 years now and have never eaten here. This is at the corner of Water Street and Don Gaspar. One of my favorite places in Santa Fe is at this corner - Doodlets. This is a great little shop with lots of eclectic and fun merchandise. After a short visit here I walked up Don Gasper and turned right on San Francisco Street and made my way to the Plaza. I turned left on Lincoln and walked past another nice restaurant - Plaza Cafe. At the corner of Lincoln and Palace I took some pictures of the Plaza and the Palace of the Governors and then turned left on Palace and walked in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. A short walk took me to the corner of Palace and Grant. At this corner there is the Chuck Jones Gallery and the Santa Fe County Offices. I turned right onto Grant and reached the corner of Grant and Johnston. A little ways down Johnston is the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum - I opted to just keep walking on Grant and skipped the museum today. I walked past the Georgia O'Keeffe Research Center and reached the corner of Grant and Marcy. Here is where the new Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau is located. I didn't go into the building but I did walk around it and through the courtyard and took some pictures. The Convention Center takes up most of the block and by walking through I ended up on Federal Place. Across the street from the Convention Center is the main Post Office and next to that is the Federal Courthouse. I walked past both of these buildings and reached the corner of Federal Place and Lincoln. I made a right turn on Lincoln and ended up at Marcy Street. I turned left here and walked past Design Warehouse, Il Piatto Restaurant and Marcy Street Card Shop before reaching Washington Street. I made a right turn and passed the Santa Fe Public Library, Inn of the Anasazi, The New Mexico History Museum and The Palace of the Governors. Now I was at the corner of Washington and Palace. I turned left on Palace and walked pass lots of shops and a few restaurants and galleries - Rainbow Man, The Shop, Kokopelli Gallery, Susan's Christmas Shop, The Shed and then I turned into Sena Plaza. In this area is Goler Shoes, La Casa Sena, Poem, Todos Santos and a few other shops. I walked around and took some pictures and then continued on my walk. I turned right on Cathedral Place and walked past Cathedral Park, Institue for American Indian Arts, St. Francis Cathedral and La Fonda Hotel. I followed Cathedral Place around a curve and stopped at the corner of Cathedral Place and Water Street. I turned right on Water and walked past Old Santa Fe Trail to the intersection of Shelby. I turned left here and made my way to Alameda. I crossed the street and walked across a bridge over the Santa Fe River. I turned right and followed a path along the river for just a short way. I turned right and went through a gate and a parking lot for some apartments eventually reaching De Vargas Street. At this point I was at the North Capitol Complex. I turned left on De Vargas and walked past the Inn of the Five Graces and the Santa Fe Playhouse. I reached Old Santa Fe Trail and was back at Upper Crust Pizza and San Miguel Mission. If I had turned right here I would have returned to my car in a few minutes. Instead I decided to continue on De Vargas. I passed the Mission and Upper Crust and then passed the Oldest House in Santa Fe and then reached the Mission Cafe. Across from the cafe is the PERA Building and the parking lot where I started. So I returned to my car after a very enjoyable walk. The day was a little chilly but very beautiful. I mentioned places that I like and notice while walking. There are lots of sights, shops, galleries and restaurants downtown that are worth a visit. I hope you enjoyed this walking tour and get to visit some of these places yourself.

Getting Prepared

Today I spent the day getting some things ready for Thanksgiving. First I made a cornbread for the cornbread stuffing that I am going to make on Thursday morning. Also for the cornbread stuffing I use a chicken. So I boiled the chicken to separate the meat from the bone and make some chicken stock. After the chicken cooled I took the meat off the bone and put it aside. Then I strained the stock and put it in a container and then into the refrigerator (when it gets cold the fat will separate from the stock). I then took the meat and cooked it with salt, pepper, onions, garlic and celery. When that cooled I put it in the refrigerator and took out the stock to take the fat off the stock. Then this was put into the refrigerator and now it will be easy to put the stuffing together on Thursday.

The next thing I wanted to do was to make some pies. The first thing I did was to make two pecan pies. I preheated the oven and got all the ingredients mixed together. I poured everything into the crust and topped it off with pecan halves. Once they were in the oven I started getting the stuff ready for an apple pie. I got everything mixed together and ready to put the pie together. But I had to wait for the pecan pies to finish cooking. That gave all the spices a chance to mix with the apples. I got the pecan pies out of the oven and finished putting the apple pie together. I got it in the oven and watched it carefully - this is the first time I ever baked an apple pie. When I felt it was done I took it out of the oven and put it on top of the stove with the pecan pies to cool. I think I did a good job but I guess we won't know until Thursday when we taste them. They do look pretty tasty and I am looking forward to dessert on Thursday.

I feel pretty good about what I got done today. It will make Thanksgiving morning a little easier and I can spend some time watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The turkey has been ready for a week now. Thomas got a fresh turkey and de-boned it and got it all seasoned. It is in the freezer and ready for cooking. We are going to have some homemade rolls, green beans and mashed potatoes along with the turkey, cornbread stuffing and pies. I think it is going to be a very tasty day.

Out for a Walk

Mid-morning I decided I needed to get out of the house so I went for a walk on the property. Daisy is always up for a walk so she tagged along. As I walk she tends to run just a little ahead of me but never goes very far - in fact she always stays where she can still see me. It was a nice day and we had a great walk. We did about a half mile and pretty much didn't see anything. It was a pretty boring walk truth be told. So anyway we sat for a while, well I sat, Daisy walked around and explored the area but soon got bored and I could tell she wanted to start heading back. We started walking and not long I looked up and saw a coyote about 100 yards away. The coyote hadn't seen us yet and Daisy hadn't seen the coyote. So I kept my eye on the coyote and we kept walking. We only went about three steps before Daisy spot the coyote. And she started barking. If you read my post - Daisy and the Coyotes - then you know that she doesn't like them on the property. She starts barking and it is very high pitched and very fast. Since I was with her she tends to be a little braver and she started toward the coyote. At first she didn't go far and she kept looking back at me and I kept walking trying to ignore the coyote and hoping that Daisy would follow me and leave him alone. No chance! She just kept barking and slowly crept closer to him. I finally realized that she wouldn't stop until he was gone and by this time she was getting closer to the coyote and he hadn't retreated at all. I looked around to make sure that there was only one coyote and then I made a decision. I decided to start running toward the coyote knowing Daisy would follow me but hoping that the coyote would turn and run away. I lucked up. Daisy stayed close to me and the coyote took off running. By the time we got to the fence the coyote was no where to be found and Daisy had calmed down. It still took me a while to get her back to the house and calm her down. I made her come inside the house with me just to let her relax and maybe forget about the coyote. Later I let her out again and the first thing she did was go to the back of the house to check things out. I was glad to see that there were no coyotes present and she quickly forgot about it and went on to play as normal. I am hoping that the coyotes will eventually stop coming to the house so that she will be safe and stop freaking out. Even with all this drama today we both had a great walk.

An Early Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving today with Thomas' Aunt and Cousins. Some of the family are leaving on Tuesday for Peru so they wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner all together today. So this morning Thomas made a fruit salad and some whipped cream. I put some green beans in a casserole dish with onions, garlic and olive oil. About 45 minutes before we were to go to his Aunt's house I put the green beans in the oven to roast them. At 2:00 we got Thomas' Dad in the car and we headed over to his Aunt's. It was a nice visit. We started eating right when we got there. There was a huge turkey, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato salad, asparagus, beets, fried chicken, little ham sandwiches, little turkey sandwiches, two kinds of stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and a green salad. For dessert there were two pumpkin pies, pumpkin chiffon, cranberry fluff, two fruit salads and chocolates. It was quite a spread and all of it was really good. After dinner we sat around and visited and had coffee. It was a great way to kick off the holiday week and now that I had some turkey I am looking forward to more on Thursday. Well here is to hoping that all you have a great Thanksgiving!

Missing Out on the Day

Today was a beautiful day, sunny with clear blue skies and there was a chill in the air. Unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy it. Lately I have been feeling down and some days are worse than others. When I woke up this morning I was feeling okay and I started doing a few chores around the house. I then got on the treadmill but only managed to walk three quarters of a mile. I just didn't have the motivation to do more. After I stopped my walk I did manage to complete three projects I was working on. The entire morning I just kept worrying but it wasn't anything in particular. The problem is that I worry about everything I say and do and I worry about what people think. I always want to do the best I can and when that doesn't happen I beat myself up. I take things personally and I dwell on them. I can't shake it and I end up removing myself from whatever it is that I failed at.

I took a short walk on the property this afternoon and I took a few pictures. I didn't really feel like doing this but I needed to take at least one picture. I returned to the house and spent about three hours reading. I never moved. I sat in a chair and just read. There was another project that I have been wanting to do but for some reason just never got to. So I went to the computer and started working on putting a book together with the pictures from my As I See It 2008 blog. I am doing this through Blurb. They are having a special that ends this weekend. I am hoping to get it finished tomorrow morning and get it sent in.

I am glad that I got a few projects done but I really want to shake this feeling of sadness. Unfortunately at this time I have given up on a hobby that I was involved in and I have done some thinking about it. I thought that I could continue with the hobby but everytime I think about it I just get more sad. I am trying to work on things and trying to enjoy things without putting too much pressure on myself. The day wasn't horrible but I didn't get to enjoy the beautiful weather the way I would have liked.

Filled Up With Memories

Tonight we had a Netflix night. We watched Disney Pixar's Up. I really liked this movie. It was a great way to end the week. The last few weeks I have been feeling down and this was just the lift I needed.

Up is the story of a 78 year old man and an 8 year old boy. A very unlikely pair. The 78 year old man - Carl Fredricksen is just a boy himself when the movie begins. He has a hero named Charles F. Muntz. He meets a girl named Ellie and they realize they have the same hero and a lot of common interests. Ellie has a scrapbook that she titled 'My Adventure Book' and she admits that one of her dreams is to move her clubhouse to Paradise Falls. Their story continues as they grow up, get married and have their own adventure called life. They never make it on any big adventure. After Ellie dies Carl decides to move their house to Paradise Falls when the courts force him to move into a retirement home. So he attaches a ton of balloons to the house and takes off. What he didn't realize was that he had a stowaway - Russell. An 8 year old boy who is a Junior Wilderness Explorer and is trying to earn his last badge so that he can become a Senior Wilderness Explorer. Their adventure takes them all the way to Paradise Falls and when Carl gets there he opens Ellie's scrapbook to put a picture of Paradise Falls in the book. At this point he realizes that Ellie has already filled the book with all the adventures of their life - none of them were the adventure she first dreamed of but they were still important to her. There is a note at the end of the book that Ellie left for Carl to go on and live his own adventure and that is what he does - he and Russell have a great adventure.

Now I enjoyed the entire movie - it was wonderful. But what I really loved about the movie is the way they emphasized that we don't need grandiose, over the top excitement to have an adventure. Everyday of our lives is an adventure if we just look for it. It was incredible how Ellie filled her book with their wonderful lives. It really got me to thinking about some of the things that Thomas and I have planned and haven't been able to get to yet. It doesn't seem so urgent to do all these things - if we get to them great but if we don't that is okay as well - I know we will have a wonderful life. It has been wonderful up to now.

We have taken a trip to Europe, two trips to England, spent time in Vancouver and Victoria in Canada and seen a quite a bit of the United States. They were all great trips but after watching Up I started thinking about some of the simpler things. Like hiking up to Raven's Ridge and sitting on rocks at the edge, enjoying the views and watching chipmunks running around us. And cross country skiing on our property after a good snowfall. Spending an entire Saturday lying in bed and reading. Redecorating the house room by room. Road trips to anywhere (we really love driving together and spending time in the car - it gives us a chance to really talk). Taking walks in the arroyo behind our house. There are thousands of other things we have done that were our own adventures - plenty to fill a scrapbook with. This movie really made me smile and brought up a flood of memories that span the 20 years Thomas and I have been together. Thanks Disney I really needed that.

A Day of Catching Up

I woke up this morning with the intention to get a couple of things done around the house and then head out to run errands. But you know how plans change. I made some coffee while still in my pajamas. Once the coffee was done I put on my thick terry cloth robe and went outside. It was a cold crisp morning with lots of sun. I sat on the porch and drank my coffee, listened to the birds and enjoyed the briskness of a beautiful Fall morning. I ended up staying out on the porch for about an hour. Then I went back inside and took a shower and got dressed.

I then spent about 10 minutes catching up on email and while I was at the computer I needed to get some pictures posted on my As I See It 2009 blog. I had gotten behind in my posting. I had a folder with pictures picked out up until yesterday. So I picked one from yesterday and while I was having coffee this morning I had taken a few shots and liked one of those. So now that I had all the pictures picked out I started posting them. It took me a little while because I was 12 days behind. Well I got caught up and it felt good to have all those up on the blog. So I shut down the computer and moved on to the next little project, cleaning the house. It didn't take me too long to get the house clean, I had done some cleaning just a few days ago. As part of the cleaning i also did two loads of laundry and watered all the plants.

Once that was completed I thought about what else needed to be done and I decided I didn't care what else needed to be done. It was a beautiful day so I grabbed my book and went sit out on the porch and read. I was pretty close to the end of the book so I just stayed out there until I finished. I left the book on the chair and Daisy and I went for a walk - it ended up being about a two mile walk and then we returned home.

Since today seemed to be about playing catch up and getting things completed I decided to get the bills and accounts done. There wasn't much to be done and I was finished in about 30 minutes. So I then dealt with all the little papers that were strewn all over my desk. By the time I finished I had a clear desk. There were a few other things that I took care of and then got everything ready for work tomorrow. By this time Thomas was home and we sat down for dinner and after dinner we relaxed and watched Star Trek. Now I am getting this post done and the I can say that I had a very productive day and feel like I am caught up and ready for the weekend.