Dinner and a Walk in Madrid

Every year at Christmas time Thomas and I usually take an evening and go down to Madrid to see the Christmas lights and do some shopping and try to have dinner. So we made plans and did that tonight. We left home around 4:30pm and made our way to Madrid. We decided to have dinner first and then do our walking and shopping. I did a little internet search before leaving the house to see where we might get some dinner. I found a place called The Hollar Restaurant. Here is a description from their website . . .

"the hollar specializes in the fusing of southern cuisine with only the freshest local ingredients. the result is comfort food done right!"

We had a great meal and a nice relaxing time, the place is wonderful and I hope to make it there again soon. After eating and visiting Thomas and I headed out to walk around town and do a little shopping. I took a few pictures and we went into about nine shops. I bought a couple of things and really enjoyed the relaxing meal and stroll around the town. It was a really nice time and a great way to spend a cold winter evening.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This morning I woke up and looked at my list of things to do and decided I really didn't feel like doing anything on the list. I decided I wanted to take a drive up the mountain to the ski basin and take a walk. So I got dressed (with long johns) and took off on my drive. Once I was parked I took off walking around the area and enjoyed the beautiful snow and the peacefulness of the area. I took lots of pictures and just thought about how wonderful it was up here away from all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. One of the things I loved about walking around out here was the pureness of the snow. It was clean, white and void of any marks - so beautiful. I stayed as long as I could tolerate the cold - about an hour and a half. It was just what I needed to get rejuvenated to get back to reality.

Isn't It Suppose to be Winter?

Winter started early for us in Santa Fe or so we thought. We had some snow and a few cold weeks back in October but then it was gone. Well not all gone, the mountains still have some snow on them but not much. Ski Santa Fe has had to postpone their opening due to lack of snow and warmer temperatures. The last few weeks have been unseasonably warm and the days have been beautiful. Now I am not complaining because I love the sunny days where the temperatures only require you to wear a light jacket. But I am missing the cold and the snow. Since moving to New Mexico I have come to relate the holidays with the cold. I not sure why. I grew up in Louisiana and can remember wearing shorts for Christmas. Now that I have experienced that "White Christmas" I just feel like the cold and snow just make it all more Christmasy.

The weather reports for this weekend called for colder temperatures and some snow. Well here it is Sunday night and it is a little colder than it had been but there has been no snow. Well at least not in town. Hopefully, the ski basin has gotten some new snow. I decorated the house for Christmas this weekend and was looking forward to seeing some snow on the ground. We will be traveling to Louisiana for Christmas this year and I am hoping that we get some snow in Santa Fe before we leave - it would make the holidays a little more special.