November 2022

 We returned from Santa Fe just in time for a Group Dinner at Freestones. A gathering of the Boynton siblings followed close on the heels. It was fun to be together for a couple of days to eat good food, catch up on everyone's families, and relive old memories. BYU's Museum of Art had a wonderful Maynard Dixon show that some of us attended, and the Boyntons all went to SLC to visit Aunt Donna, Grandmother's oldest living sister (101 years old and sharp as a tack). Mid November, Meagan came from Hawaii and was joined a few days later by Phillip. They came to watch Meg perform in the BYU Luau. We tagged along. Of course we ate good food and they cooked, too. They were here until after Thanksgiving and joined us at Emily's for the feast. Before they left, they strung the lights on our Christmas tree and helped us decorate. The best Christmas present possible! On the last day of the month we drove to SLC to help Tucker get his car sorted out. It just needed a new battery and some gas before it was back in order.

Kris's birthday flowers from the AZ Youngs

Carne-assado tacos at the Freestones

Yummy

Silly selfie with the top of Rod's head at Siegfried's in SLC

La Casita is a Boynton favorite

Veteran's Day Flowers for Matthew 

(I don't think he is a flower guy, but we

thought they were nice)

MOA for the Dixon show

These are some of my favorites

I think this is Mount Carmel

I love the blue and orange

Reminded us of our recent time in NM

Timp was showing off for the Boyntons

Bombay House take-away, of course

Aunt Donna and the Boyntons

Meg dancing the hula

The Hawaii Taylors

The Provo Taylors

Cooking pork butt for Sunday dinner

Jayson and Phillip on Thanksgiving

The ladies and Erick

The hostess shredding the Turkey

Good food, good folks; what's not to be thankful for?

Stringing lights: the best gift 

Traditional tree-decorating nosh

It was delightful having these folks here for several days

Tucker doing the things to his car

Delicious dinner (except for Tucker's vegetable and tofu soup) 

at Mi La-Cai Noodle house next to the friendly Auto Zone

That's a wrap. More in December, for sure.

OXO

D.

October 2022: Santa Fe Part III

We made the trip north to Taos on a beautiful morning for a visit to the Taos Pueblo. They were burning weeds in the pueblo cemetery, so there was a thick cloud of smoke covering the area for a few minutes; face masks helped a bit. Debby bought some fry bread for us to sample: delicious, and there was some native jewelry that was irresistible. We had a late lunch in a nice little restaurant at Ranchos de Taos near the splendid sculptural adobe church of San Francisco. The Rio Grande Gorge south of Taos was fall-beautiful with bright yellow cottonwood trees. October 29 was Kris's birthday. We celebrated with flowers, gifts, lunch, and a raspberry cream cake from Clafoutis. And later that evening, Clara went to her homecoming dance. We had yet another New Mexican meal as Debby's visit wound down, before she flew off to Texas. We replaced some of Debby's Talavera that was broken in shipping and reshipped with much better wrapping. Our final fling was an evening at Santa Fe Prep watching Clara's performance as the murdered cook in Clue.

Taos Pueblo church: San Geronimo, 1850

Hlaukwima (South House) 

Hlauuma (North House)

Fry bread with honey

North House

Native crafts

Charming seller

San Francisco at Ranchos de Taos

Primative reredos in the apse at San Francisco

The girls seated in the plaza at San Francisco

Colorful cottonwoods along the Rio Grande

The Rio Grande

Birthday flowers for Kris

Gifts for the birthday girl

Birthday lunch at Vinaigrette

Birthday cake 

Looking fantastic for the dance

Late lunch at La Choza: last Mexican fling

So surprisingly good!

Mexican metal art at Camino Real, the Talavera warehouse

Curtain call for the cast of Clue

The best cook and corpse ever!

We rarely saw Clara who was busy with school, play practice, homework, dances and a Halloween party, but it was fun to be with her when we could. It was delightful sharing all we love about New Mexico with Debby. That's a wrap on the Santa Fe trip, but the holidays are at the door, so there will be more.

OXO

D.

October 2022: Santa Fe Part II

The adventures continued with a visit to the Santa Fe Railyard for some shopping, a movie, and lunch at Second Street Brewery. The first snowfall of the year dropped on that chilly day. The next day we ate lunch and sampled pastries at Clafoutis, and because Debby is also a Longmire fan, we drove to Los Alamos and up into the Jemez Mountains to Valles Caldera. That was followed the next day by trip over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Mora to Chimayo. Of course we stopped at Rancho de Chimayó for an early supper. The following day, a visit to Pecos was a first for me. The weather was windy and cold, but the skies, clouds, and ruins were spectacular. Back on the outskirts of Santa Fe, we had a late lunch at Harry's Roadhouse, one of of my many favorites.

First snow

Movies at the Violet Crown in the Railyard

Clafoutis is an authentic French bakery

Delicious apple tart

Early winter in Valles Caldera

Beautiful farm-scapes near Mora at the foot of

the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

The remnants of huge summer fires

Came here decades ago with Tony

Kris and Debby at Rancho de Chimayó

Pecos National Historical Park

Pretty little nameless (to me) flowers -- where is

Anders when you need him?

What a beautiful pile of melting adobe

Slivers of blue

Wild and beautiful New Mexico skies

I love NM

Meatloaf and pie at Harry's Roadhouse

There were a few more days in Santa Fe; they will follow in Part III. This is all for now.

OXO

D.