Merry Christmas everyone!

To all of our friends around the country ...

We wish you a wonderful Christmas celebration!

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El Santuario de Chimayó



La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe


Alessandro



Carlos, Victoria, and Alessandro

Inside the Cathedral

The interior of St. Francis Cathedral Basilica in Santa Fe is an architectural and artistic wonder.

When we were there on Dec. 22, the mood was festive inside the cathedral - tourists looking around, workers putting final touches on the Christmas decorations, children practicing for their Christmas performance at Mass.

The new renovations/restorations as well as the Christmas decorations looked amazing.

When we returned for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the mood was much more formal, worshipful and joyous.










We wondered about the Chihuahua in the nativity scene - sure there is an interesting story behind that!

Christmas at our Estambre Rd. house

Quiet Christmas here this year. No company coming. Just the two of us.

I only put out a few decorations. Just enough to make the house look Christmasy:

Countdown to Christmas.

These are busy days. Since my return from Texas last week, I am in the usual wild and crazy Christmas rush -- trying to get shopping done; gifts wrapped; packages ready to mail; and cards,letters, and annual Christmas letter done. Decorating the house and baking Christmas recipes will have to come after all the out of town stuff is taken care of.

My goal is to have a major rush to get everything done this coming week, so that the week of Christmas can be slower and more enjoyable and we can get out around town to enjoy the wonderful decorations and partake of the holiday spirit. Santa Fe is a great Christmas town and I don't want to miss it.

Anyway, I posted all this to say that I am going to be scarce around the blog for the next couple of weeks, but as soon as I get some good holiday pictures of Santa Fe, I will be back to post them.

I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season as it unfolds.

(The above pictures were taken in Plano, Texas when I was there in late November.)

Christmas Day at La Casa de Towanda

Christmas Day is so much more fun with a little child to share the excitement and joy. Our Christmas morning was such a good time and we will have the pictures and memories of this day forever.

And we notice how silent the house is now that the week is over, and life is getting back to our quiet "normal".

Santa Fe Plaza at Christmas

We went to the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe on Friday, the day after Christmas.

It was a bitter cold and snowy day, but we had fun wandering around the area, going in shops and watching Victoria play with a little girl in the snow.

Thank goodness for HOT COFFEE at Starbuck's!



Two mimes were on the bandstand waiting to annoy people:


Karin, Carlos and Victoria "enjoying" the Santa Fe weather:


Carlos thinking about a 90º Christmas in Buenos Aires:

My favorite picture from this past week.

My daughter and my grand-daughter were talking and watching the snow falling outside our living room window.


(Picture taken by John.)

Merry Christmas!

TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

HAVE A VERY HAPPY, JOYOUS, PEACEFUL AND MEANINGFUL CHRISTMAS!!!

Sharon

Playing in the snow

Karin, Carlos and Victoria have come to spend our first Christmas in New Mexico with us. Victoria doesn't get to see snow in Texas very often, and was so anxious to play in our snow here. Yesterday we went up into the mountains north of Pecos where there is a lot of snow on the ground, and we all played in the snow.

Now there is a lot of snow in our forecast for Christmas, and we keep looking out the windows of our house to see how much has fallen.

Christmas knitting is done

I have been busy this fall knitting simple scarves for Christmas gifts.

The pattern is so easy I can knit while I watch TV in the evenings. I have made five scarves, and these two are my last ones.

I hope for once my daughter is too busy to look at my blog, or she will see one of her Christmas presents!

The farolitos of Christmas in New Mexico

I’ve never spent Christmas in New Mexico. That is one of my unfulfilled dreams that I hope will come true in 2008.

The symbol of the Christmas season in New Mexico is the luminaria, which is called farolito in northern New Mexico. Christian believers in New Mexico place farolitos outside their homes at Christmas to light the way of the Christ Child to their homes.



The most beautiful farolitos are the lighted candles in brown paper bags, which give off a soft peaceful glow in the December night. In recent years, electric luminaries have made their appearance, but they are nowhere near as beautiful to me.


I have been in New Mexico several times at Thanksgiving and in December In past years. It is probably the most wonderful time of the entire year there. My hope is that by Christmas 2008, I will not be a visitor, but a resident, and my new home in Santa Fe will be lined with glowing farolitos.