on a beautiful, cold, rainy day

in arroyo seco, new mexico. we're staying an extra day because i took my hiking boots to this repair place in taos (like twenty minutes south and a much larger town) and he's backed up with work and won't be finished until friday. so here we are, "stuck" in this glorious, peaceful little town at a totally awesome hostel called "the abominable snowmansion;" it's so very close to taos ski valley that it must be an excellent cheap place for skiers to stay during the season.

i'm in a little café called the "taos cow," i just finished a portobello sandwich with a fabulously-caffeinated cup of coffee, i'm listening to awesome music from the 70s on the speakers, and watching the rain outside the window.

that thing with richard has hopefully blown over. i have made a very serious personal effort to forgive him for it and soften my heart (a lot of prayer has gone into this), and he has gradually revealed that his dumpy mood was more about not working this whole time and being anxious to get out of this traffic (taos traffic, OMG!!) and back into the field. yesterday we went and hung out all around taos; we went to the plaza and i got "lost" and spent 45 minutes talking to this awesome shop owner in some imports store about life and spirituality and living on a shoestring and being closer to nature. after that, i was pumped up, but you-know-who was totally boring and lame to be around. then we went to the taos pueblo, supposedly the oldest continuously-inhabited settlement in the country....but i dunno. i've seen that claim in a lot of places, including tucson, arizona, demming, new mexico, and on peruvian postcards...etc. anyway, i had to pay a fee to use my camera, but i did take lots of cool pictures. it was a very windy, dusty day, so that makes me worry that my camera will be filled with grit and i'll need to have THAT repaired soon, too. then we went to the hot springs down by the rio grande at the bottom of the rio grande gorge. we met some cool folks there, too, who teach horseback riding and river rafting lessons. i had to get into the springs in my underwear again...oh well.

then we came back to the hostel and i had taken up antagonizing richard about being in a funk.

(now it's SNOWING outside!!!)

"are you in a better mood yet?" i'd say. "how 'bout now?" then if we were talking about something else, and he was right about something, i'd say, very emphatically, that he was right. then i'd say, "doesn't it make you feel good to be right? surely you're feeling better now." he managed to eek out a few genuine smiles. then i'd go on to say it's so nice to have the happy richard back.

it's obviously not my responsibility to keep him in good spirits, but it certainly makes my life better if he doesn't have a stick up his ass. it does get a bit exhausting to be enthusiastic for the both of us...

i wish my brother were here. or wendy and sequoia. or tauni. or aaron and robin. or any number of other people who would probably be SO MUCH MORE FUN right now. but besides that, it has been incredibly refreshing to be at hostels this past week. there are so many cool people, they're all happy to make conversation (unlike my usual company) and they seem interested in what i'm doing and what i have to say. plus, i always get such a good response from people when i mention i live in tucson. seems like tucson is okay in the small-towner's perspective. it's okay by me, too. anyway, it's nice to have other company and other people who make decent conversation and don't get bogged down by the inability to decide on anything.

while we were in downtown santa fe, in the bustling gallery/touristy district, i wandered into this beautiful imports store (seems to be where i often end up) where everything was from thailand and indonesia. the shopkeep there was this incredible woman with a true light emanating from within. she was content as a cat to sit and watch the world go by outside the shop. i bought this gorgeous handwoven cotton scarf from indo with sage and earth colors, beautiful and utilitarian (because my neck gets awfully cold sometimes).

it's still snowing outside, heavier than earlier, and people are coming in and out of the restaurant in an assortment of winter/rain gear, t-shirts, light sweaters, etc. very cute. i like arroyo seco, although from what i hear it's very expensive to live here and it's difficult to make money to support oneself.

i have to send off some emails before i leave this little hideout. i should probably purchase another coffee or a hot cocoa to make the moment last (and to not overstay my free wi-fi welcome). i don't feel like walking anywhere in the snow wearing sandals!