Jim's Perfect Pizza

We made our own pizza tonight. It was a joint effort. Jim prepared the dough, Ginger ladeled the sauce on the crust, Marcia and I chopped the vegetables, and we all had a hand in arranging the cheese and toppings. It was truly a communal work of art!

Having made quite a few pizzas myself, I can attest to the challenge of working the dough into a circle. Most of my pies wind up looking like trapezoids with holes. Jim did a splendid job making a near-perfect circular crust.

Can you spot the green chiles on our pizza? (Clue: they are only on 1/3 of the pie.)

Noche Buena 2008

"Noche buena" means "good night," but in the Southwest, it means Christmas Eve. Back East, the really big holiday was Christmas Day, but here in Albuquerque it is most definitely Christmas Eve. Holiday traditions here in New Mexico are colorful, rich with history and memorable. Instead of keeping warm at home on Christmas Eve with family and friends, leaving the house briefly only to attend services, people in the Land of Enchantment hit the streets for the biggest festival of the year. Old Town Albuquerque is adorned with thousands of luminaria. In Santa Fe they're called farolitos. Either way, the brown papers bags holding sand and lit votive candles are beautiful. They line streets, sidewalks and rooftops, as well as ledges and walls. They are everywhere! My favorite part of Noche Buena, however, is the pungent, unmistakably sweet aroma of piñon smoke rising from kiva fireplaces throughout Old Town.



This was our third Noche Buena in Albuquerque. Our 2006 Old Town stroll was numbingly cold. Christmas Eve 2007 was not only cold, but windy. This year, however, we enjoyed perfect strolling weather, with temps above freezing, very little wind, and a reasonably clear night. After some spicy hor d'ouvres, tamales and cider, we took to the streets of Old Town where we explored streets, alleys, nooks and crannies. Later, we drove past a park a few blocks away where seven hot air balloons were tethered for a "balloon glow." I didn't have my camera, and this is not my photo, but here's what a hot air balloon glow looks like.


A traditional New Mexican Christmas Eve dinner for four followed the outdoor celebrations. We served posole - a hominy and pork stew with green chiles - very hot and spicy...


and Ensalada Noche Buena - Christmas Eve salad (and yes, those are pomegranate seeds, along with beets, jicama, baby greens, queso fresca, golden raisins, oranges and pine nuts).


After this hearty meal, all of us were too full for dessert, but did manage to munch on a few bizcochitos while watching the classic 1951 B&W film Scrooge, starring Alistair Sim, released in 1951 as A Christmas Carol. I grew up with this movie and am happy to report that it lived up to expectations some 50 years later.


At 12:30 we called it a night. My brother and his wife left for their home across town, the dogs tucked themselves in for the night and, anticipating Santa's arrival, I fell into a deep sleep.

This 'n That

This morning, deep in the bowels of winter, the temperature is barely 20. Frost adorns windshields, snow glistens on the Sandias, and thick, menacing clouds hover at the summit. On this quiet, windless morning I hold a glimmer of hope that the day will warm to the low 30's. It will be our coldest day this season.

Christmas has come and gone, but we are still enjoying our small, festive tree, decorated with Southwest trinkets that accompany our more traditional ornaments collected over the years. Some of our glass ornaments dating back to World War II decorated holiday trees from my childhood. This year we discovered red and green chile pepper covers for our white lights in the Basket Store in Old Town. They are really quite beautiful!









It's been forever since I've written anything for this blog, in part because I've been very busy. More accurately, though, I've been remarkably uninspired these past few months. With so much on my emotional plate, there's been little time for reflection and writing. Now that life seems to be winding down and easing a bit, thoughts and feelings are beginning to spill into daily life. Work has served me well in distancing from the disappointments that were constant companions for many months. Still grieving a major loss, these smaller losses have seemed much bigger, collectively. And, as we all know, the holidays are amazing vehicles for emotional exaggeration.

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions, but I do think it's time to get back to writing. Buddha agrees. Stay tuned.

No Wonder My Brain Hurts