MotherPie

Nuns on the Pilgrimmage...

These two nuns were the only nuns I saw trekking the 20-plus miles from Santa Fe to the Santuario de Chimayo for the pre-Easter traditional celebration.  This annual venture pulls thousands to journey along stations of the cross set upon the hilltops of the high desert.

We have our women in burquas, too, but we're not used to seeing them on the Christians.  Nunneries are in decline and there is only one nun left in Santa Fe who belonged to the Sisters of Loretto.

3/30 Update: The Vatican just announced that Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion.  Catholics make up 17.4 percent of the world population but Muslims make up 19.2 percent (all Christians, including Catholics, make up 33 percent of the world population).

 

More Snow...

So there is even more snow falling as I write this. The mountain base Santa Fe Ski Basin has over 90" of snow.  The La Niña winter. Not very many tourists are here.  Maybe it is the economy.  Maybe it is just that time of year.  This is my first year to ever experience skiing when the slopes aren't full of spring break families, or tourists in for the holidays. No lift lines.  Pure heaven, if you ask me. 

We'll be on the slopes, meeting our son and others at the halfway house for Green Chile Stew for lunch.  My friends, if you are reading this, I've already told you to come play chez nous.

Update: 25" fell overnight and this morning it is still snowing.  Not sure now about skiing in white-out conditions.

The Quiet of A Snowy Morn...

Stillness.  A reason not to go out.

Quiet.  Pinyon trees outside the window hang heavy.

Challenging: Skiing yesterday in powder and white-outs.

Cold. Snow still falling. 

Lazy. A Santa Fe winter day.

Warm. The fire crackles.

Cancelled. Meetings will not go on.

Calling: Snowy day projects on the to-do list.

Gifts & Trends...

At the end of the Santa Fe trail, on the plaza, sits Rudolph In Ice, part of La Fonda's holiday exhibit and gift to the city that, unlike most other gifts, just melts away. With the cold weather here, it is lasting longer this year.  Christmas in Santa Fe is one big delight.  While displays with the farolitas make up traditions here along with tamales and posadas,  I was thinking of new trends I'm noticing.

Gift Cards -- this uptick trend in economic tight times was certainly part of our gifting strategy.  Gas cards were #1 at our house.  This might be the biggest story this year in consumer spending while Target and other stores saw ho-hum sales. Also a new trend: peer-to-peer lending is expected to increase 800%. 

What color trends will happen in a recession? Pantone's color is Blue Iris -- blue is a color of trust.  Kathy caught the color of the year, but with the subprime fiasco hitting hard, I wonder if the resale factor is going to swing us back to the neutrals -- beige or grey?  Blue never goes out of style and the Color Marketing Group predicts not only blue, but "green" trends such as natural fibers, hand-made and unbleached will be strong along with ethnic accents.   

Pet trends? Flexpet - for dog lovers who can't do full-time ownership (via kchristieh) might be what my Dallas daughter  could do.  Meanwhile, my mom is interested in her long-hair dauchsund breeder's new blondes. I've promised my mother I'll take her little Lili when she's gone, even though Lili isn't coming with a trust fund like Trouble. My sister-in-law says the blonde dauchsunds might be dumb. ha.  Neighbors in NYC dyed leopard spots on their golden retriever.  Actually I thought it looked pretty cool. Can you imagine a little blonde dauchsund duded up like a leopard?

Shopdropping is the newest trend to pique my interest.  This might be the way to get rid of the white elephant/fruitcake gifts you can't pass on to anyone else.  You just stick on a  note "this is free" and drop it down as you shop.  This is a tactic used by political and cultural activists.  Have you come across this?

What other trends are you noting?   

Santa Fe: The Oldest Capital City...

Santa Fe is celebrating its 400th anniversary, starting this year and continuing through 2010.  A three-year celebration sounds about right for a city founded before Plymouth Colony that thrives on tourism. The contest is on for the logo design; my favorite is this one, at left.  The new city convention center was delayed when artifacts were discovered; now the new city rail line is stalled so that a prairie dog colony can be relocated this spring once their hibernation ends. 

This city has a look of its own called the Santa Fe style, thanks to architectural codes that are 50 years old this year and which echo the historical adobe structures, both Indian and Hispanic Indian-influenced.

After living in some of the biggest cities in the U.S. - Atlanta, Houston, NYC , living in the oldest capital city is a real treat.  I grew up in Oklahoma -- celebrating its 100th anniversary of statehood this month.