New Mexico Finale

We lost our Internet connection for several days in New Mexico, so I was not able to upload the last photos from our trip until we returned home.

For this trip we rented a casita with mountain views. Getting a mountain view is unusual in Santa Fe. We loved the location of our rental because we felt like we were outside of town with the views, but it was only a 10 to 15 minute drive to the Plaza. Here is a photo that shows the views from the upper patio. In the afternoons we would sit and watch the light change over the mountains.


On one of our last days we went to Pecos National Park to see the Indian ruins. The Pecos Pueblo was abandoned in the late 19th century. Here I am standing by the ruins of the 1717 church.

This is a picture of the church.
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Steve is climbing into a kiva that has been rebuilt. Kivas were used by the Native Americans for ceremonies and sacred rituals.

There had been some rain, and this cactus took advantage of the water and bloomed.

More From New Mexico

On Sunday we went to Bandelier National Monument to do some hiking. We have been before, so we chose a trail that neither of us had ever taken. It was a 2 mile round trip walk under shade through Frijoles Canyon. A very easy walk, until we arrived at the ladders. The ladders take you up 140 vertical feet to Alcove House, a former home of the Ancestral Pueblos (previously known as Anasazi). I decided that I could climb the 4 wooden ladders to the top. Here are some pictures to prove that I did it.

It is going to be a long way up.


Steve begins the ascent.


I take a rest before beginning another climb.


Steve has made it to the top along with a number of Boy Scouts.


This is the view looking out from Alcove House.


You can't visit New Mexico and not visit a few churches. This one was too small to enter.


A visit to Taos isn't complete unless we go to Blue Fish. Here is the entryway and the fabulous garden in front of the building.



I love the colors of New Mexico. Here is view taken somewhere on the route from Santa Fe to Taos.

Saturday in Santa Fe

Today was our first full day in Santa Fe. It was hot but we kept busy anyway. One of our stops was to Shidoni Foundry and Gallery in Tesuque just a 10 minute drive from Santa Fe. They have two huge fields full of sculptures, but we were there to see the bronze pour that the public is allowed to see only once a week.

The bronze must heat to around 2000 degrees farenheit before it can be poured.


The workers have donned their fashionable heat resistant outfits before the pour can begin. The pour does not start until precisely 2:45PM. You can see by the clock on the right that there is a minute to go. The workers have been diligently watching the clock.


Here are the molds getting positioned for the pour. There is a winch in the ceiling that is used to lift and move all the heavy equipment. It is very loud and very hot during the pour.


You can see the hot bronze being poured into the molds. It took about seven minutes for the whole event. However, there was a lot of prep work before the pour can occur. I was told that the molds can be broken and opened in an hour. The metal will still be hot. Usually, they put the filled molds aside for the weekend and open them on Mondays.


Steve met a new friend in the sculpture garden. He was quite friendly, not menacing at all.

I Have Done It!

Today I completed my 18th chemo treatment. Ringing the bell was awesome.
We took video of the event, but I can't figure out how to insert it into the blog on this computer. Until then I have some still pictures to post.
Here are the double doors to the chemo room that I dreaded.


Now I get to ring the bell.

Steve posed with me after I finished.

Tomorrow is the Day!

At 9AM tomorrow I will be walking through those double doors for the last time. I never thought that this day would arrive--my very last chemo treatment. I am doing a little dance here that you can't see.

To celebrate the end Steve and I will leave for Santa Fe on Friday. So the pictures of me ringing the bell to mark the occasion may not be posted until we get back.

The Young Lady Who Lived in a Shoe Box

In Houston we stayed in Jo Ann's newly renovated "shoe box". It is an old shoe repair store that has been renovated into a 600 square foot apartment. I guess that you would call it a pied-à-terre. Here is a picture of Jo Ann and Chris standing in the front of the shoe box. You can see that they kept the signs on the windows and unfortunately have had to contend with several people knocking on the door with shoes in hand.

Here is a picture of the back of the shoe box. That is Deborah Oppenheim leaving out of the gate. She drove with us so that she could visit her good friends in Houston.

We are creatures of habit. Here we are at dinner at Vietnam Restaurant. You will find a very similar picture on a blog post from July 2008 from last year's trip to Houston. Starting on the left and going clockwise around the table are Rick (lives in Houston), Chris, Jo Ann, Annie (who used to live in NOLA), Eileen (who used to live in NOLA), Mary Stuart (who used to live in NOLA), me , and Joan (married to Rick).

I met Mary Stuart when we taught at McMain together. In Houston she is working as an artist making and decorating wooden objects. This picture was taken in her studio.

Tomorrow is Another Travel Day

Tomorrow I am going on the 2nd annual trek to Houston with Chris Cunningham and Jo Ann Moinet. Jo Ann has just finished renovating a very petite sized home in the Heights neighborhood. Last year we stayed at an apartment that she had rented for a year. This is a "girl's" trip filled with visiting friends, eating, and shopping. Look for pics when I return. Too bad I am not heading to cooler weather, but it should be fun anyway.

Lots of Pics to Share

We have had a busy week. We spent four days in upstate New York in the town of Sugarloaf visiting John and Elizabeth Simon with their two kids, Kaleo and Dennery; then when we returned to NOLA my nephews were visiting from Virginia. Here are a bunch of pictures to show you all the fun that we had.

We played a round of mini golf. Here I am with John and Kaleo waiting to take our turn at this difficult hole.


Mini golf can be brutal; here is the gang taking a break.

I convinced Steve that we needed to take a day trip to Frenchtown, NJ, so that I could visit the original Blue fish store. The first picture is the storefront. It is an old mill that has been home to Blue fish since 1984. You may recognize me in the second picture. I have a smile on my face because I have just purchased a brand new Blue fish outfit.



We traveled up the road from the Simon's house to get ice cream and take in this view of Warwick Valley. As you can see it is a beautiful spot.



Steve and I posing with the kids. Last summer we visited with the Simon family in Nags Head, NC. You can go back to an old post in June of 2008 to see Dennery and Kaleo with all of their cousins.


When we returned to NOLA, we returned to the heat. My mother and I took Joshua and Zachary to the Aquarium in hopes of a cool outing.