Sunday: Nov 18-- Day One of Thanksgiving 2012 Trip

Dear All-- Back in my casita, curled up in the big many-pillowed bed and trying to rehydrate after a long happy day of walking and talking to local artists punctuated by awesome food.

 Everyone is chilling out/ napping before we meet back at Angela and Z's time-share for margaritas. I find it hard to imagine better travel companions: Z is amazingly knowledgeable about and interested in local Indiana art, especially pottery. And Angela and I have such similar tastes that wandering the craft booths and shopping has been tremendous fun.

 The rhythm of our wanderings is very loose and sociable, starting up conversations with everyone and thanking them as we leave.. We started out early, meeting at the Plaza Café for blue corn pancakes with piñon nuts and turkey sausage.

 As I walked the four blocks or so over to the plaza, there was no one else on the streets; felt like I had the whole town to myself. Everything seems cleared out for winter— a monochromatic canvas of soft adobe tan, with white accents in the form of window sills and picket fences, and astonishing spiky sculptures of dried plants, all their summer flowers desiccated to hay-colored thistles.

 After a swooningly good breakfast, we ventured out into the cold, crisp sunshine. The native American artist market on the north side of the plaza was just starting up, so we strolled through, talking to people about their wares — A and Z teaching me the names of all the stones. We hit some early-opening stores (it was only about 9:00), including one huge place having a pre-thanksgiving 60% off sale, where I did some serious damage…but just think of how much I saved.

See that funny little twist on the tip of the lily?  That's "attitude"

 A&Z decided they wanted to go back for showers and a bit of downtime, so I wandered back towards home. Stopping in the O'Keeffe Museum to update my membership and check out the latest exhibit (probably two dozen pieces I haven't seen before), I hooked up on a docent's tour and wound up making a new friend; Marcia, the docent, and I bonded big time over what she calls "attitude marks," the little twists of eccentric line OK is constantly adding in.

Barely had time to make it back to the casita to pick up the car (did manage to solve the Internet problem—they had told me it required no password, but it does) and then drove down to the railroad yards to go to the local artist's market, where I met an interesting guy who does hand blown glasses—the kind I like to put up in my new lit cabinets. Clearly I'm going to have ship a box home.

 Had lunch at a brew pub by the RR tracks where Angela downed four tasters of different porters (Z is worried he's breeding a cold, so left us for a girl's afternoon out) and a genius waiter suggested I have them just wrap the buffalo burger in blue corn tortillas. Santa Fe Is getting very gluten conscious; I noticed a new GF bakery next to the OK Museum.

 After a fruitless trip to track down a pair of adorable turquoise suede shoes we saw on someone at the artists market (they didn't have any left in either my or Angela's size) we went to the brand new museum of American Indian women artists, where we saw a tiny show on Pablita Velarde, http://www.adobegallery.com/artist/Pablita_Velarde_1918_20061583363 http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/1014143

Old Father Story teller by Pablita Verlarde

 The potter we are going to visit at Santa Clara pueblo knew her. Over lunch, Ace and I planned out the whole week…quite an ambitious itinerary, visiting a bunch of places Ive never been. I am trying to make sure we have some time to relax in between. The big Christmas lights ceremony in the Plaza is Friday night, so that should be fun. Will make up for missing the P'ton tree lighting. Walked three plus miles today. I took a nap in the middle of this letter and am still whipped. But happy.