2-week glorious vacation Part 1

If I still had the restaurant I wouldn’t have been able to take 2 weeks plus off and would have missed the glorious vacation/celebration I just returned from. The itinerary took me to Albuquerque, El Paso, Texas, Casas Grandes,, Chihuahua, Mexico City ending with some work in Queretaro, one of the most beautiful cities in all of Mexico. My birthday was on October 17th and it was an important one so everywhere I went there was a celebration and, oh how much fun I had, how much I relaxed and how good it felt. I needed that

Wedding pottery scene by Josefina Aguilar of Oaxaca used as centerpiece

For two wonderful years, almost every Sunday, Gabrielle Lopez and her law-student fiance Alex Uballez came to my house and worked on my archive, cooked with me, joined me on outings and Gabrielle gave the most beautiful speech when Mano a Mano gave me the Yoloxochitl award. They married shortly before they left and I gave them a wedding breakfast that turned out to be one of the most poignant events of my life. Alex’s father is a musician and he sang a song he’d written for him when he was born. Not a dry eye left in the room.

We grew very close. They were there when my kids were not and not only filled a void but were genuinely helpful. I miss them terribly and was thrilled when they invited me to go to the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque and catch up with them. Alex now has his dream job as a DA (may be assistant DA and Gabrielle is trying to get her progressive ideas implemented in the art related non-profit that she works for. Her parents hosted a beautiful garden dinner party where the star dish was a delicious chowder with potatoes, corn and cheese I think. I am waiting for the recipe

You need to be at the balloon fiesta by 6:00 AM to get the full thrill of witnessing the balloons rising and it spectacularly beautiful. We stayed for an hour and then went to Frontier where they have a very interesting concept: You stand in line, order and your number is called out when ready and it all takes less than 12 minutes. And it was good.

The second stop on this trip would be El Paso. My sister and her boyfriend Manolo met m in Albuquerque and we drove through 3 hours of flat arid desert to get there and was reminded why I don’t like to live here. Much of my family resides here as does my closest friend, Elisa so I come often. My cousin Almanita flew from San Diego for the occasion and we met at my cousin Lalo and his wife the- still- gorgeous Isabel’s beautiful home to botanear (snack) that is a very Mexican tradition. I made my avocad0 and chicharron salad (see recipe) and my niece Nadia pureed a jar of apricot marmalade with some canned chipotles and poured it over a block of cream cheese. Everyone loved it.

What I loved was dancing for hours. It’s so great to be able to dance with someone who knows the particular steps. I was whirled and turned until dizzy. It was exhilarating.

Isabel, a beauty with no make up Nadia, made up & gorgeous with her husband Christian

There are many people for me to visit in El Paso and seldom get to see most of them but I always make time for my sisters, nieces, My stepson Spanky and his wife Mary, my granddaughters Elizabeth (getting more gorgeous every day) and Alexis, another beauty (I need a current photo) and love to spend time with the Southern- Licona clan. Now I always stay with my best friend Elisa and her lovely husband Todd who always welcome me with open arms and have everything I need and like in my basement room. I commune with Mayo, an anthropology teacher at NMSU at Las Cruces and 3-year old Cruz, Amanda’s miracle baby, with the faraway look in his eyes that always makes me think that he will be the next Dalai Lama or some special being. This time I introduced him to my distant relative Cri Cri, Mexico’s foremost children’s composer, and the You Tube video of his song El Raton Vaquero. We also did yoga together. It was a special moment.