Fun Friday: Home, Tina, Art and Tapas

We spent the morning making calls, doing marketing for our new business, catching up on emails, and otherwise taking care of business. I also did some yard work for a neighbor who recently had surgery, and got some laundry done.

Lucky for Tina, we didn't drag her anywhere today (unlike yesterday when I took both her and Mary to work with me!), and she got to rest to her heart's content and have small walks around The Commons. As she rested in her bed, we couldn't resist a photo shoot since she's so photogenic!

For our Fun Friday activity, we went on a date to an opening at one of our favorite art galleries, then had tapas at El Farol, a famous Spanish tapas restaurant on the equally famous Canyon Road.

It was another local Fun Friday, and we look forward to many more over the coming winter.

Next Friday's destination: Boston, Massachusetts!

Fun Friday: Mary and Snow Leopard

This past Friday, Mary and I went to the horse farm just next door to The Commons, and she took her first horseback ride without any assistance from her teacher and friend, Ellen. Mary's equine companion, Snow Leopard, was (mostly) a gentleman, although you'll notice in the video that he kept trying to make a bee-line for me based on the knowledge that I had treats hidden in my jacket pocket!



You may also notice that Mary rode Snow bareback without reins or a bit, and she actually did very well with only leg pressure and her close connection with Snow to keep him in line!

After conquering her fear of heights at the Grand Canyon in May, Mary has now also conquered her life-long fear of horses, with many thanks to Snow and Ellen for the opportunity!

Fun Friday: 50 Weeks!

Today, October 15th, 2010, marks exactly 50 weeks since we left Amherst, Massachusetts for points unknown. On October 30th, we will celebrate one year of being on the road and away from our beloved and beautiful New England environs. Stay tuned for our one-year celebration!

Meanwhile, today was yet another Fun Friday adventure, this week being an adventure close to home.

After a relaxing morning, we took ourselves out to a celebratory lunch at a fancy outdoor restaurant that we've been eyeing for months. Like most everywhere, lunch menus are commonly more affordable here in Santa Fe, so we took advantage of that fact and spent a wonderful lunch hour being tended to by the nicest waiter this side of the Rio Grande. This tall, benevolent man in a starched white shirt was so nice that Mary looked up at him as he served our meal and said, "You seem like such a kind person." He smiled and thanked her graciously, and he hopefully smiled even more when he received our 30% tip.

At the risk of boring our dear readers with even more photographs of the aspens changing colors up on the mountain above the city, we did indeed return to the mountain for a hike, and hereby submit a small collection of photos documenting our time high above Santa Fe.

The rest of the day involved a trip to REI to buy Keith a new pair of sandals on sale, a few art downtown art openings, and a return to a tired but happy Tina who is currently recovering from a shoulder injury that may turn out to be a chronic condition for an old girl in her golden years.

Fun Friday: The Beauty of the Aspens

Today, for our Fun Friday activity, we drove just 15 miles up the winding mountain roads to the Santa Fe Ski Basin in order to take in the beauty and splendor of the local aspen trees in their autumn blaze of glory.

From the city, we've been able to see that the mountains began changing colors almost overnight as Summer gave way to Autumn, and our friends and neighbors have admonished us to get up to the mountains as soon as possible before an errant storm has the opportunity to strip the trees of their leaves. So, today was the day, and we ventured out without Tina, who was home nursing a sore leg and old lady fatigue.

Although we had no idea the Ski Basin lift was currently in operation this week, we took full advantage of the opportunity and bought two one-way tickets to the top, where the views were glorious, if a bit hazy. The hike down was steep, but we took our time, waved and conversed with people on the ski lift above our heads, and arrived back to the car, tired but happy.

This is our first Autumn in New Mexico after twenty years of living in New England, so we've been duly spoiled with the reds, oranges and other resplendent colors of New England fall foliage. Still, the aspens of New Mexico do indeed offer a certain solace to the New England transplant, and we took in the deep yellows and golds (and patches of soft reds) with gratitude for the splash of color that they lend to the somewhat more austere New Mexican landscape that we now call (at least temporarily) home.

Fun Friday: Close to Home

Today's Fun Friday activities again kept us close to home after a very busy work week with lots of driving for Keith. Mary, on the other hand, commented on how she spent the last four days without even leaving The Commons, making us realize just how satisfying life in community can be. With kids, dogs, friendly neighbors, community meals and the spontaneous socializing that community engenders, one can stick around the neighborhood for days and not feel isolated or out of touch with the world.

So, the day began with a relaxing morning at home, a bike ride to town, and a leisurely swim with time in the late summer sun by the poolside.

Biking through town, we noted that Santa Fe is still crawling with tourists who continue to throng the streets, sidewalks and hotels, and there is no outward signs of economic turmoil here in "The City Different". At a local hotel, we came upon a group of housekeeping employees having a field day in the parking lot as they pelted their managers with water balloons, laughing uproariously. Some seemed less shy when the managers had their backs turned and didn't know who was throwing! In her infinite wisdom, Mary went up to the supervisor who had masterminded this "team building" exercise and gave her our card, inviting her to consider Laughter Yoga for their next team meeting or retreat.

It was a glorious day here in Northern New Mexico, and despite a weather forecast calling for "the possibility of late afternoon thunderstorms", the sun shone brilliantly from dawn to dusk, as usual. There has been precious little rain this summer, and the "monsoon season" amounted to little rain, but we were indeed rewarded with numerous breathtaking sunsets and rainbows.

After our outing to town, we were taken out to dinner by our neighbors and friends Bob and Ann, who graciously treated us to dinner in return for us dog-sitting for their beloved Barney while they were in Europe. Even the dogs came to dinner!

It was yet another glorious day here in Santa Fe, and we are grateful---as always---for the abundance of blessings in our lives!

Fun Friday: Local Color

This past Fun Friday, we decided to spend the day locally, eschewing the use of our car, and spending the day both here at The Commons on the Alameda and in downtown Santa Fe. It was a great day with those ubiquitously glorious blue New Mexican skies and many hours to do whatever it was that suited our fancy.

First, we enjoyed some time in the spacious home and cozy garden where we're house-sitting until the 10th.....

...then we wandered the community, picking fruit from the various fruit trees exploding with organic ripeness....

.....marveled at some of the flowers in the neighborhood....

....had a Skype video chat with a dear friend in Massachusetts....

...did a photo shoot of Mary in her new blue dress from the Tesuque Pueblo Flea Market.....

.....biked downtown to see the latest show of O'Keeffe abstracts at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum....

...swam at our favorite pool.....

...came home to Tina and Barney the Dog (who's in our care until the 10th)......

...and finished an action-packed yet leisurely day by having some kind neighbors over for a grilled salmon feast.

We're very grateful for our very high quality of life this summer, and recognize how lucky we are to be doing what we're doing. It's been a great summer so far, and as the kids return to school and September blooms beautifully, we look forward to seeing what autumn is like here in northern New Mexico. The Fun Friday tradition will continue, of course, and who knows what delightful surprises subsequent Fridays will bring!

Fun Friday: Laughter Yoga in Albuquerque

Here are some images from a very fun Friday at the 2010 All America Laughter Yoga Conference here in Albuquerque.......

Here's Mary in the Friday evening costume parade as a tomato........

We also did some circle dancing (Dances of Universal Peace) at the end of the night.....

This is Mary with some of her cohorts who were here for the Laughter Coach Training. The second person from the left is Katie West of The Levity Institute, who offers the only Laughter Coach certification in the world (and Mary is well on her way to graduation and certification!)

And finally, the man who made Laughter Yoga a worldwide reality, Dr. Madan Kataria....