Hydrangea year three

My hydrangea plant is still alive. This will be the third year, and we didn't think it would survive the first summer because it is so dry here and the hyrdangea loves moisture.

It's been hibernating inside all winter, and putting out new growth and is waiting the move to outside in a couple months.

I guess the woman at the florist shop knew what she was doing when my daughter requested a plant that would do well in Santa Fe's climate.

End of the Session

As I said in my last post, the 2011 New Mexico legislative session has ended.

For us, that means no more trips to the hearings and various committee meetings, and more free time.

I have a few pictures that I took at the Roundhouse that I have not yet posted, so I am putting them in this final blog post for the year's session.

I am admittedly a political junkie, and I love all the activity that accompanies the annual sessions in Santa Fe, but I also like wandering around the building looking at the artwork and taking pictures.

More next year!


This peaceful sitting area is outside of the House Majority Office:




John looking at one of the many statues on the NM State Capitol grounds:

The North Capitol Annex

We have been spending a lot of time at the New Mexico State Capitol Building in the last two months, watching the legislature in action and attending committee meetings.

For us, one of the bonuses of living in Santa Fe is that we are a 20 minute drive to the Roundhouse and can go there frequently to keep an eye on the goings on.

Another bonus is that the NM State Capitol is like a museum, just full of wonderful artwork, furniture and architecture. There is no end of things to take pictures of. As New Mexicans, we can be proud of having such a grand facility.

A long walkway connects the Roundhouse with the North Capitol Building, which houses the Secretary of State's office as well as office for many state legislators. The Annex hallway is a beautiful walk filled with natural New Mexico sunlight and interesting art. Here are some of the sights:


The Annex hallway:



Several of the more "unusual" art pieces in the annex:




The Secretary of State, Dianna Duran's office is in the North Capitol Building:


This is a portion of the rotunda seen from the top floor:



This wall hanging in the North Capitol Building depicts New Mexico themes and is completely done in needlepoint:

Blanket for Preston

My cousin Tiffany back in New York just had her first baby, a little boy she named Preston. I got this baby afghan for him finished just in in the nick of time, as he decided to arrive several weeks early:

Espanola Day at the Roundhouse

John and I have been spending so many hours at the New Mexico State Capitol Building that it has begun to feel like our second home. We have attended countless committee meetings, followed proposed bills that are important to us, met some really good people who are working hard to fix this state, seen some of the most outrageous behavior from legislators that you can imagine, and experienced many more disappointments than victories. We're tired. The annual session ends this weekend and we get our lives back.

The nicest part about our days spent hanging out watching the proceedings, is that every day at the Roundhouse there are exhibitors there from many New Mexico organizations, cities, colleges, etc. I love wandering past the exhibition tables, talking to people from all over the state, and picking up little goodies they are giving away. Just last week, at the Navajo Nation Diabetes table, they gave me a potholder, a back scratcher, a fan, and a set of measuring spoons. A week before that John and I got really nice small leather bound calendar/appointment books from a medical clinic in Espanola.

Speaking of Espanola, a couple of weeks ago they were having an Espanola Day at the Roundhouse, with lots of interesting exhibits. A girl from Northern New Mexico College gave me some fresh bulbs of garlic from their college garden.

I got a few pictures that day:







The House of Representatives chamber taken from the visitors gallery:

Frost in Eldorado

We had heavy fog last Friday night -- and in the morning everything was covered with a layer of frost. It looked surreal for a while before it quickly melted:











(Pictures by John)

La Plazuela Restaurant at La Fonda

On Friday night we went out to eat with our good friends Mary and Kent; a rare and special treat for all of us. We went to La Plazuela, the restaurant at the La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza in Santa Fe. (I forgot my camera, so the picture above come from the La Plazuela website. )

What a beautiful restaurant! It is designed to look like an outdoor cafe, and the skylights above give it an outdoor feel. I especially loved the small handpainted windows that surround the room.

The wait service was good and the food was excellent. It was fun watching the waiter prepare our guacamole right at our table. It was nice to find a treasure in Santa Fe that we had not discovered before. We will be returning, especially to bring out of town visitors to show off one of the nicest restaurants in our city.

More scarves and hats off to Zuni

I didn't get too much knitting done in the past year for my friend Bonnie who teaches out at the Zuni pueblo, but I packed up and mailed off to her the few things I got made this past year. My goal for next year is to complete at least twice as many items!