A Chapter of our Life Ends

The closing on our house in Kansas was July 24. The sale went very well and quickly, and the process was fairly painless.

It was a great little house but it was just a house. What made it a home were all the wonderful memories there: birthdays and Christmases, various dogs and other pets, putting our personalities into it, having visitors and friends there, doing gardening and remodeling.

My son took these final pictures of the house before closing last week.

Zia license plate and Curves

Two big events today...

We went to the MVDExpress site to pick up our New Mexico license plates. John chose the newer license plate with the hot air balloon on it, but I have waited 38 years to have one of the old Zia plates on my car, and NOW I DO!



After we got our license plates John dropped me off at Curves, for my first visit since our move to Santa Fe. It seemed really strange, since I felt so much at home at my Overland Park Curves, but the ladies there were all very nice.

They have a spacious pleasant facility. They have two less machines than my old Curves, and the music wasn't loud enough, but I know I will feel at home there and meet some good people and it already feels great to be working out again.

Chocolate Maven, Santa Fe

(Photo from flickr.com)

Sure doesn't look like much...

The Chocolate Maven Bakery and Cafe is located in a warehouse in a business district on San Mateo Rd. in Santa Fe.

We had heard it was good, so we went there for brunch last Sunday. Good just does not begin to describe it.

We arrived just before the opening at 9:00 a.m. and there was already a line of people waiting to get in.

The place is divided into three sections, the bakery in the front, dining rooms on two levels, and the bakery itself, which you can view through a glass wall. We watched a man making the HUGE croissants the bakery seems to be noted for.

Breakfast was relaxing and very good. I am not too adventuresome, so I had the breakfast burrito. Great green chile! John had the french toast topped with almonds and raspberry sauce which was just elegant, and I had a few bites to determine it was as delicious as it looked.

After breakfast, we browsed through the bakery, and picked out a gigantic chocolate-filled croissant, a huge apple filled bear claw, a chocolate cheesecake muffin, and a slice of almond poppy seed cake to bring home. We nibbled on those goodies for days.

We will be going back for more wonderful breakfasts and brunches in the future, along with stops at the bakery...and we remarked it was just the kind of fun place to take visitors when they come to Santa Fe.

.....yummmmmmmm......

Pecos, New Mexico

I have a lot of "favorite" places in New Mexico ... and for different reasons.

The area around Pecos, New Mexico, is one of my favorites because of the red dirt, big pine trees, scenic views, and the nice atmosphere. Pecos is a 30 minute drive from our house in Eldorado, and lies midway between Santa Fe and Las Vegas, NM.

We were in Pecos last weekend, and here are some pictures. The Pecos River flows through the town and seems to be a popular fishing spot.

And I loved the church in town, Saint Anthony de Padua.

The church at Macho Valley, New Mexico

Macho Valley, NM is on the road between Pecos and Cowles, NM. There is not much there, but there is a COOL little church right at the roadside.

Sunrise over Eldorado

Don't ask me why John was up at the crack of dawn taking pictures of the sunrise.

But I am glad he did, because I was asleep at the time, and can look at them now!

The Double Rainbow

We had an incredible double rainbow in Eldorado tonight about 6:15 p.m.

It was just to the east of our house, and we could see the entire double rainbow from horizon to horizon.

It lasted for 40 minutes before it faded.

Neither John nor I had ever seen anything like it.

Independence Day 2008 in Eldorado

Today was our first July Fourth in Eldorado.

This is how we spent our morning:

Stormy Weather

What a wild afternoon we had!

After watching storms all around us for the past week, today a heavy thunder/lightning/hail storm hit squarely on Eldorado.

It was noisy on our flat roof and skylights and drained for hours off the canales.

We had some damage to our trees and flowers; even though they needed rain badly, they didn't need all that rain so quickly.

Tonight it has all passed through and the stars are out.