Catch-Up Weekend

I felt puny enough at work on Friday to actually take a half-sick half-day. Lots of naps this weekend. Ventured out with Dix to see Secretariat at the matinee. It was one of those times Dix was in a deeper level of involvement having personally met Secretariat in Paris, Kentucky when visiting Claude and Lola in the early 80's. The trainer was so tickled with Dix's enthusiasm, he brought Big Red out from his stable and offered for her to sit on him. She opted instead for hugs and a lock of his tail. We sat spellbound through the credits and after coming out of our trance, discovered we were the only patrons left in the theater.

Looking back on our visit with John and Candy in Santa Fe. John has found his retirement in a beautiful setting, if he could only retire. Working is driving him crazy but he feels he must follow through on a commitment he made to his company to secure a permit to mine.
They are animal lovers. Two rescue cats, Rhumbull (because of his purr) and Farolaita (streetlamp) from the Humane Society and a dog, Roxie, found nearly dead on their property from starvation and a mauling by coyotes. They care for the coyotes too, to the dismay of the other owners in their subdivision. Roxie has a neurological head twitch and shies from visitors but loves his masters. John playfully calls Roxie in a brash gravelly voice like in the song Roxanne from the musical Chicago. It's funny to see. Roxie will play chase to and fro with a single coyote but when more join in the "fun", John or Candy have to put a stop to it. Twice a day they go down and feed and clean up after their pet horses.
The highlight of the weekend was attending the Santa Fe Wine and Chili Festival - quite a fancy affair. The "chili" included everything from quail and polenta to shrimp with guacamole and creme brulee. Just as enjoyable to me was the farmer's market with vendors roasting chili and musicians playing instruments. We sampled sauteed Pedron chilies and took some home for later. The vendor had a sense of humor by including some hot, hot ones.


I cracked up reading my liberal friend's comment on my previous post as a cross between Grumpy Old Men and a Tea Party Rally.