New Mexico, part 5

Date in Santa Fe:

On Friday Rob and I took the car and drove up to Santa Fe. It snowed the whole time. Wet but pretty. We saw the cathedral on the square, then went shopping! I bought a small nativity from Peru. The Mexican and South American nativities are very different from the ones I'm used to seeing. We went into a pottery gallery and bought a little pot made with black clay, and a decorative band of sparkly green clay (it's made that way because of the minerals in the clay) There is a history behind the pot and the artists who made it, I'll have to do some research to remember everything the gallery owner told us about it.

We walked to a different part of Santa Fe and went to eat at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame BBQ. The food was alright, we had the BBQ sampler and sweet potato fries. The decor though was awesome, tons of pictures of cowgirls on there horses with their lassos. I should have bought a t-shirt.

On the way back the the car we stopped at the Church of Our Lady Guadalupe and took some pictures of the statue there. Many people have left candles and flowers at her feet. Then headed out of town before the snow got worse.

Oh, and on the way back to Mary's we stopped at one of the casinos and gambled away $4.91.

And when we finally did get back we had some peppermint cake and pie a day early for Valerie's birthday.

Here are pictures from Santa Fe:

New Mexico, part 4

Christmas Day!Christmas morning we woke up and once everyone was ready and dressed we opened the presents from Santa. It's so nice to know he found us in New Mexico. I got moccasins and Mary gave me some silver bangles that had belonged to Rob's grandmothers. Rob got a vest and a new shirt. Everyone liked the wedding pictures we gave them.For lunch we had a huge meal of steak, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli with white cheese sauce, and delicious sweet potato pear soup. I really can't believe how much and how well we ate. After lunch we went to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Interesting movie - definitely a go see.

When we got back to the house we built a fire and settled in for another snow...and some more singing. Merry Christmas.

New Mexico, part 3.2

When the sun started to set on Christmas Eve, we drove into Albuquerque to see the illuminarias. The tradition in New Mexico is that there was no room for Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus; so if your home is open to the Christ then illuminarias are lit. These are paper bags with sand and a candle, that is lit. They line the path to the door, and sometimes the sidewalks, porch walls, and roofs. Everyone in downtown Albuquerque lights them and it's miles and miles of lights to show the way for the holy family. We walked though the neighborhoods for about an hour, then headed to a Christmas Eve candelight service.

Here are some pictures of the walk. And because hot air-ballooning is so big in New Mexico there was a balloon glow too.

New Mexico, part 3.1

Christmas Eve:

This is the first Christmas I've spent away from my family. It was a whole new experience to find some new traditions with my new family.

We spent a relaxing morning and of course some hot chocolate before heading up the mountain. Mary and Ahad took Rob and I up a different trail to see their "elephant." We packed our pockets with sweets and off we went.After a hike in the warm weather, don't be fooled by the snow, I took off my coat I was sweating so much, we got to the "elephant." Do you see him hiding in the rock? Look carefully.And this explains the sweets in our pockets, they were for him. At the crack that is the "mouth" we gave our offerings and made a wish for the new year. I took some candy, of course. Rob brought cashews, Ahad, a cookie, and Mary, a cucumber slice. Here she is wishing and feeding.Also by the "elephant" Mary recently found a GEO box. This is a game I guess, where someone puts a tin with some object, and then posts the coordinates. Then others go looking for the box. When you find one, you leave something, and take something if you want. Kind of cool.

We returned home to the lunch Valerie had put together, then Mary and Ahad taught us some songs. And we sang some Christmas songs, that are favorites of Rob's and mine. Easily, the favorite of the week was "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (Rob is still humming it.) I really like that they sing. It's something we did a little when I was in college and my dad started to play the guitar. I enjoy the family sing-a-long. And Ahad and Mary taught us some of the songs they sing at the dances they lead. We learned a few of the dances too.

Goddess of Cocoa and Chocolate

Aunt Mary has decided that I should be called the Goddess of Cocoa. Probably because every other sentence out of my mouth was "You know, chocolate / cocoa / sugar _______ would go really great with this. I made candy, pudding, hot cocoa, and cake. We had a bit of chocolate with almost every meal. This won't surprise anyone who knows me and my sweet tooth, but I kind of like the new moniker, Goddess of Cocoa - it suits me. In honor of this title here's my Mom-Mom's candy recipe, which is what started this whole thing. We used to have this always at Christmas - but I'm sure it's delicious anytime of year. This recipe takes patience, and doesn't always turn out right (it didn't set completely in New Mexico) but even the mistakes are delicious.

Mom-Mom's Candy
3 cups sugar
3 heaping teaspoons cocoa
1/8 teaspooons salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium pot
Stir in milk - heat on low and stir continuously
Let mixture boil (about 20 minutes)
When the mixture begins to thicken (approximately another 15 minutes) Add 1/2 stick a butter

Test every minute with the cold water test:
Use a spoon to drop a drop of the candy mixture into a cup of cold water
When the mixture forms a ball in the water take the mixture off of heat

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter

Pour onto a buttered platter (13 - 18 inch oval or round) one with a vertical lip works best. Let platter sit until candy is hard. (several hours)

If the candy sets correctly it can be cut into squares of a hard sugar like consistency. If it does not set correctly it will be more like taffy and should be eaten with a spoon.

Enjoy!

New Mexico, part 2

On Tuesday we had a breakfast of english muffins and hot cocoa. (The first night we made a quick trip to the grocery for cocoa and sugar, two things every household should never be without.) Then Mary and I took Valerie shopping for some boots, so we could hike some. She got some UGG like boots with "LOVE" on the backs from Marshalls. She is so stylin' now.

After breakfast and shopping I made come candy (gotta love the cocoa) then we went for a short walk / hike in the snow covered foot hills of the mountain. Somehow we found the perfect mix of exercise and relaxation.



After lunch we went to Old Town Albuquerque for some shopping and sightseeing. We went to the old church there and saw the nativities and walked through some of the galleries and stores. There is so much artwork to be found. And everything is decorated for Christmas.Then when it got dark we went to the botanic garden for the Christmas light show. All the trees have lights. And there are hundreds of mechanical lawn lights. I liked the elephants that sprayed water on each other - of course that one we didn't get a picture of...


For dinner we had some authentic Mexican food. The first restaurant had a super-long wait so we went to the back-up. The food was pretty good, but the memorable part were the sopaipas. These fried dough pieces that you fill with honey are one of the most delicious foods I've ever eaten. Yum! (There is much talk of food in these posts from our trip, but we ate oh so well.)

New Mexico, part 1

Catching the Plane and Seeing the Mountains:Last Monday Rob, his mom Valerie, and I flew to Albuquerque to visit Rob's Aunt Mary and her husband Ahad. We got in right on time after some early morning airport drama.

I travel frequently alone, and rarely check bags. Hence, I forgot all about crazy Christmas travel and people who don't fly often, and also forgot to take into account that we were checking bags and traveling with someone who has not flown since before 9-11. So I only allotted an hour and 15 minutes to check-in and get through security. The car was 15 minutes late, and by the time we got to the airport at 6 for a 6:55 flight, well you can imagine. The kiosk wasn't working for us because we had a flight that had been changed several times or some other unknown reason; and of course the line to see an agent was at least 90 minutes. Uggh. So we got to cut in line to get our boarding passes, and then I talked our way in to cutting in the security line too. Luckily we had no liquids or gels to worry about. And we made our flight just fine. Or bags however did not, and upon arriving in Albuquerque we left our address with the airline, and our bags were delivered about 8 hours later. Crises averted; I'll file this under things to remember about holiday travel.

Monday with Mary and Ahad was pretty low key, we were all jet lagged and stuff. They have the most beautiful house with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

Oh how beautiful!

Traveling for Christmas

We leave for Albuquerque early tomorrow morning. I'll post about the trip next weekend when we get back. I'll miss the Frazier and Ables family Christmases this year. I'll miss you all.
Merry Christmas!

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothing and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
- Luke 2:6-7

December 19

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Chloe had so much fun trying to make snowballs this afternoon.

Angel Tree at the Met

Fifteenth Day of Advent - too warm for words

Since today was so unseasonably warm, here is a picture from a summer day at the beach.