Bolder Boulder

This year's Bolder Boulder was a lot of fun.  I was happy that I was still able to finish the race in less than an hour.  Then, I met up with my friend, Melinda -- and we got to hang out for the rest of the morning, listening to the Who-Do's.

They had a great spot: right on Pearl St., just past the 7k mark.  It was really fun to go back and watch the joggers/walkers -- they always have great costumes.  People kept stopping to dance & enjoy the music... it was a great vibe.

fishing the Green

Every year, Tom and Jack go to the Green River (in Utah) to go fishing.  This year I get the impression that the fishing was a little slow, but obviously they still had their moments!

the Who-Do's kick off the Erie Farmer's Market

When we returned from Santa Fe, the Who-Do's had a local gig: the Erie Farmer's Market.  I got to hang out with some former (retired) colleagues, which was a very nice way to spend the evening.

I was also impressed by how much the market has grown.  A few years ago it consisted of a handful of vendors in a dirt parking lot.  Now, the street is blocked off, and there are 40+ vendors (in addition to the music) -- my, how Erie has grown!

One of the local farms has a stand where you can fill a big bag with produce for $10.  Here was my haul.

moving on to Taos

By the time we went to Taos, we were pretty window-shopped out.  So we tried to go hiking in the gorge of the Rio Grande.  It was beautiful, but the weather was not cooperative, so we didn't stay long.

Fortunately, the next day, we had great weather -- so we had a very lovely hike in the Wild Rivers National Recreation Area.  It was perfect: we got back to the car after a nice hike, and within 10 seconds it began to rain.  As Tom is fond of pointing out: timing is everything!

more walking, more museums

Our second night in Santa Fe we went to a WONDERFUL restaurant (near the Rail Yard) called Radish & Rye.  They source all of their produce locally, and their proteins when possible (obviously, you can't get local seafood in NM -- so if there's any seafood on the menu, they promise that it is sustainably farmed).  We enjoyed a rye cocktail.... But the photos from that night are pretty dimly lit, so I'll skip those.

The following day, we went to the Folk Art museum.  I enjoyed the walk there: I thought the additions to the "walk" buttons were hilarious!

The folk art museum had it's moments, including a "take me back" snapshot here -- of a Lionel Train transformer.  My dad still has his father's trains (I suspect not just the transformer, but the tracks, trains, and everything), and I remember playing with them as a child.

There was a whole room full of thousands of dioramas (for lack of a better description) that contained various art from all over the world.  Of course, Tom and I had our favorites...

touristing in Santa Fe

Besides, the Farmer's Market, what else is there to do in Santa Fe?  Museums, and art galleries.  While Tom and I enjoyed the art galleries (there are about a million galleries/shops, and if truth be told: the quality of the art is outstanding), there's only so much window shopping that one can handle....

So, off to the museums!  This was in the courtyard of the New Mexico History Museum (which, overall wasn't my favorite place, but that's ok....):

And this was one of my favorite pieces of the weekend, in a textile art display (in a Contemporary Art Museum):

happy birthdays to us

I actually had a long weekend off (unrequested!) over the weekend that was between our birthdays.  What a treat!

Since neither of us had been to Santa Fe before, we decided to make the pilgrimage.

Overall, it was a very nice weekend.  We stayed downtown, and walked everywhere.  One of our favorite excursions was to the farmer's market on Saturday morning, down by the train depot.  One of the ways I judge a farmer's market is if there's actually produce (rather than "soap and earrings").  This market definitely passed muster.

We ate breakfast: Tom had a pear-pastry, and I had kimchi pancakes.  Now, you must understand: I've always been a little afraid of kimchi.  This is ridiculous, as I've never even tasted kimchi before.  So why the fear of kimchi?
Well, when Lowell was alive (Tom's father), he would tell stories of his business travels, including to South Korea.  His overwhelming sentiment about South Korea?  "Kimchi sucks."
Sorry, Lowell: the kimchi (at least, in the form of pancakes) was AWESOME.  hahaha.

hail guards

Tom has already planted "the kids" (the tomato and pepper plants that he started from seed) outside in the garden.  Especially early on in the season, this is a dicey proposition.  You never know when it might hail around here....
And this is particularly nerve-racking if one is heading out of town for the weekend.  Tom's solution? Hail-guards:

Each tomato and pepper plant has it's own "cage."  Potential hail problem - solved.  (And what's all that white stuff?  DME -- or, diatomaceous earth -- which protects the plants from insects such as grass hoppers.)

someone really didn't think this one through....

At Children's hospital - there is a lot of handicapped parking (for good reason).  There are various signs that attempt to discourage those who really don't need to park in the handicapped parking to NOT park in the handicapped parking.  Fair enough.

However, this one seems to be a bit off base to me.  Do you know anyone who needs a seeing eye dog who also needs a parking space???

garden goodness

The garden is already producing.  Tom made a stir-fry with (among other things) garden-asparagus, and topped with mustard greens.

Delicious AND gorgeous!
Another recent triumph: I made "Green garlic tabouleh."  Ingredients that I could instantly harvest from the garden: green garlic shoots, chives (which also had pretty purple flowers on their tops), parsley, and mint.