use real butter

Recipe: house dressing

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We went for a little road trip to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. I used to half-snort at New Mexico whenever we visited because I didn’t think much of Albuquerque. I mean, it’s a fine place, but it didn’t stir any deep emotions within me other than the fact that my dear Jeremy is a native son of the town. I always called it Dirt City because I grew up in verdant, lush Virginia. I have now lived in the American West for a total of 13+ years and I love it here.

Perhaps my time in the West has helped me to appreciate New Mexico more? Let’s face it, Colorado is *easy* to fall in love with (at least the western half of the state…), I think New Mexico had to grow on me. Or maybe I just like northern New Mexico and still don’t care much for Albuquerque. Yes, I think it is the latter.

We drove our two cars across the state border, heading south down the San Luis Valley (a high alpine valley atop the Rio Grande Rift) and from the lonely two-lane road, I watched the sun set to my right over the Colorado Plateau. As it dropped behind the mountains, the clouds and sky exploded in a palette of colors that changed and deepened over the next two hours. To my left, I witnessed equally dramatic colors splashed across sky, the Sangre de Cristos, and the valleys and plains. This was New Mexico as I had never witnessed her before - big sky, endless landscapes, achingly beautiful colors. I understood at last what they meant by Land of Enchantment as stars and Venus began to sparkle at me from a velvety purple-blue dusk.

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On the drive back to the house after dinner last night, fantastic lightning storms were raging in the sky over Pagosa Springs. Just as I grabbed my camera off the kitchen counter to go outside on the deck, it began to rain, then sleet, then hail like nobody’s business! It was too much even for me. Before MIL and I went back to work in the quilt room, I watched Jeremy and his brother playing some game on the Wii. If you think it is fun to play, it is equally hilarious to watch as two 6-foot tall, thirty-something, skinny guys punch the air while shouting, “No way!” or “How did you do that?!” or “Come on!!!”

When I stepped out onto the deck this morning, there was some snow on the ground. Woooohoooo! Even though Pagosa is further south than Ned, we usually get less snow than my ILs do. Still, we’ll gladly take less if it is enough to ski. Winter is coming.

from the deck

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I heard winds roaring about outside the house this morning. I rolled over on my side and thought nothing much of it since winds are not uncommon for our part of Colorado… until I remembered that I was in a different part of Colorado, in my ILs’ house. I muttered to Jeremy that we must have brought the winds with us from Ned.

quilting

We had rain and hail and winds all day, but there was a lot going on. Jeremy installed and set up a wireless network for his folks. Mom and I worked on a quilt together. Dan made mochacchinos. Jeremy, Dan, and Dad took turns beating each other up in Wii Boxing. The dogs ran around like crazy animals having a blast.

all eyes on the treats

**Jump for more butter**