Ladies Who Lunch.....

.....belong to “book clubs” that socialize often and drink heavily. My neighborhood bookclub prides itself on Southern values: fine table settings, fashionable attire, gourmet food and wine, and gracious conversation.

Living in Texas.....

 .......means you spend as much time as possible away from Texas. Above, snowmobiling in Colorado on Christmas Day

 At Santa Fe School of Cooking, learning how to make chiles rellenos.

 Son #1 snowboarding at Purgatory, Colo

Tasty New Mexico food

Picnic at the Santa Fe Opera 

Hubster’s fave, The Frontier in Albuquerque

Madame Butterfly at the Santa Fe Opera

Christmas Eve in Santa Fe

At 12,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies

Santa Fe w hubs and son #1

Hobbies

My mom used to force me to take cooking classes; I think she was hoping to train her replacement. It must have worn off on me, bc I still enjoy it, especially if I get to eat what we cooked! I’ve taken a dozen classes at Santa Fe School of Cooking, going all the way back to 1991. It’s an excellent place to brush up on basic skills or learn fancy regional cuisine. 

Thanksgiving International

We had some grad students over for dinner this year....you know which dish the boys from India liked best? Pecan Pie from Goode Co in Houston.

Curacao and Bonaire

Willemstad, Curacao on a rainy day

After the devastating hurricanes of 2017, I was looking for a nearby (short flight) summer beach destination, and googled “islands not damaged by hurricanes”. My search produced the ABC islands, off the coast of Venezuela, below the Caribbean hurricane belt. Aruba most folks have heard of, but I knew Curacao only from liquor ads in 1970’s National Geographic magazines - a source of inspiration for so many of my life’s adventures. Researching coral reefs, a particular hobby of mine (goal is to see/ experience each of the top 20 before they are gone), produced recommendations for Bonaire, nearby. Off we went!

 Mamba beach, Curacao

Curacao Liquor Distillery

Hubster touring the distillery, posing in front of an old fashioned still

 Breath-taking natural blow hole on the island of Curacao

One of the world's Top Ten coral reefs, in Bonaire (island next to Curacao and a short 15 min flight hop across the water). We made this a day trip and snorkeled the reefs with a great local company that took us into the middle of the channel in a catamaran sailboat, and dropped us into the water.

*                                     *                                              *                                        *

Curacao was delightful for us for several key reasons:
1)As a part of the Netherlands, it was refreshingly 1st world, modern, plenty of folks spoke English
2)Not tropical but arid in climate, means no mosquitoes!
3)Dollars were universally swapable with the local currency, ATMs worked fine, no currency worries
4)Beautiful beaches, and completely uncrowded even in July
5)The total cost of this trip was cheap compared to a previous week spent in Hawaii
6)We stayed at an adult only hotel bc we are empty nesters and not really enamored with other people's crying kids and babies pooping in the hotel pool
7)The food was great

One of our best vacations, ever, and we will definitely return. I could even retire there. Seriously.