Heart thread - 08/15/2009

Roseann reports at FB:

I'm in the hospital again. Good news is, it is not Swine Flu.

Tender-hearted God, we hold before you our sister Roseann who struggles with bodily affliction and endless uncertainties. Look mercifully upon her and sustain her, grant her courage and the peace that passes understanding, enfold her and Gary in your love, make your face to shine upon them. Guide those who minister to her that they may do so with knowledge, wisdom, skill, and compassion. May your holy angels guard and defend her. May Christ illumine her and console her. Amen.


I did not get a chance to put this up yesterday - requests from David @ Montreal:

i'd ask your prayers for Johnnie & Vaughan
Johnnie is a post-graduate student in ministry who has had to put aside his academic year to look after Vaughan his beloved spouse who has been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive cancer.
Johnnie and Vaughan are a truly beautiful couple and were married in the United Church of Canada just a year ago by Rev. Arlan Bonner.

i'd also ask your prayers for the successful realization of public health coverage in the United States. for the safety and protection of all those who speak truth to power, speak truth to insanity, speak truth to greed and fear.

prayers for the American Church, that those who have been able to afford vacations will return refreshed and ready to lovingly support those in reduced & frightening circumstances, and that together they will be open to the wondrous work the Holy Spirit is working in their province, that together they will take strength & comfort from the post- Anaheim realities for God' larger Church.

I'd also ask prayers for Terry & Demi, and all those personally impacted by the drastic budget cuts in the American Church.

(Yes, I'm still Canadian, and gratefully so, but the prophetic place the Episcopal Church finds itself in right now has been much on my heart)

and lastly a Mary Oliver poem which was waiting for me when I returned home fromr a lovely evening, a wonderful meal and fellowship and a viewing of' Susan & Louise's 'Claiming the Blessing.' (at long last!)

David@Montreal



Thirst - by Mary Oliver

Another morning and I wake up with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord, I
was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the
hour and the bell; grant me, in your
mercy, a little more time. Love for the earth and love for you are having such a long conversation in my heart. Who
knows what will finally happen or
where I will be sent, yet already I have
given a great many things away, expect-
ing to be told to pack nothing, except the
prayers which, with this thirst, I am
slowly learning.

(emphasis, mine-e.g., David's)

I offer thanksgiving that Padre Mickey, the Lovely Mona, Srta. Chompita, and their traveling companions are safely returned to Panamá.


At OCICBW we learn this:

From MARY (Massachusetts):

I'm asking for prayers for my friend Mardi and her husband Patrick. Mardi has just been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and will be starting a long and difficult odyssey through surgery and chemotherapy.

For the people of Burma and for Aung San Suu Kyi, who have been in the headlines of late. Offering thanksgiving that Senator Jim Webb was able to secure the release of the idiot who swam to see Suu Kyi.

For those who perished and those who deal with the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot that hit Taiwan.

For the people of the Diocese of South Carolina (we've been here before).

For peace, stability, and justice in lands torn by civil strife.

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us, unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

--the BB

Dry rub for barbecue

Inscribed many years ago on a flyleaf in my Fanny Farmer Cookbook are several family recipes. One is not really from my family but I am using it today.

Dr. Rich Davis invented KC Masterpiece ® Barbecue Sauce. Back when that brand was made national he shared a recipe for a dry rub. I copied it down and and we have always called it "Dr. Dick's Dry Rub." We put it on meat for barbecue (indirect heat, not grilling). I am about to put it on two racks of ribs. Here it is (translated from ounces to easier measurements):

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons black pepper
2 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon onion powder

Mix thoroughly and apply to your trimmed (and patted dry) meat. I prefer doing it the night before but I was not organized, so gonna put it on right now.


In the last 20 minutes slather KC Masterpiece on the ribs.

This has never failed us. Finger-licking good.

Enjoy!

--the BB

KC MASTERPIECE is a registered trademark of The HV Food Products Company (as in Hidden Valley). I doubt they will object to such a shameless (and unpaid, I assure you) plug. Full disclosure: in 1995 I worked as a temp for the Clorox Corporation which owns Hidden Valley and Kingsford Charcoal (and I won't use any other brand of charcoal but that's because it's a good product).

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Of course I've had both volumes of the classic for decades. We were a household where my ex and I each had a copy of it and just as Julie Powell in the movie thanks Julia for teaching her how to cook, so my ex constantly referred back to basic recipes in Julia's volume one... and still does. One need neither reinvent the wheel nor try to improve on perfection.

Much of what I have learned from Julia over the years came from watching my beloved cook from Julia's techniques, such as drying meat with paper towels so it will brown properly. Today I will dry my two racks of ribs before putting the dry rub on this morning.

Hence, do I need to tell you I enjoyed Julie and Julia last night?

This morning I came across an article in Newsday titled "Critiquing 'Julie & Julia' food scenes."

Trailer from the movie site:



I think a great deal of what works so well when learning from Julia is that her cooking is honest. It may often, though not always, take longer than we are accustomed to in our American haste. But things like drying the meat so it will brown, not crowding the mushrooms, or using lots of water when you blanch your haricots verts (green beans) are simple, straightforward techniques that were learned by generations of cooks and make a huge difference in your result. The goal is not something pretentious but something delicious.

And delicious is not what we usually treat ourselves to. We settle, more's the pity. We settle for cookies with vegetable shortening instead of real butter. We settle for bland, for way too long on the shelf instead of fresh from the garden, for homogenized, for crammed with additives. We need to respect and love ourselves and those with whom we share food far more than we do.

I say this as one too lazy to cook for himself, who eats cheese and crackers for supper because it's quick. Granted, I eat better cheeses than I knew as a child. And even by junior high school my mom and I had switched from American "cheese" to sharp cheddar. (If it's processed, it ain't cheese. End of discussion.)

Bon appetit!

--the BB

Looking forward...

... to the weekend because there is nothing new to report for today.

Watered the yard tonight (before there was a light rain). Explained some of my comments in a venue that is neither here nor FB (imagine!). Ate madeleines.

But I am looking forward to the next three days.

Friday night at the movies - Julie and Julia with my friend Diane. Two foodies watching a foodie movie.

Saturday - friends coming here for barbecued ribs prepped with a dry rub and cooked for hours over indirect heat.

Sunday afternoon - driving to Santa Fe with Bill to see live theatre: Iphigenia and Other Daughters by Ellen McLaughlin. Last Saturday on the Plaza we met two energetic young members of the troupe hawking Greek tragedy. I can never resist Greek tragedy. (Long story for another day) One of them was the actor playing Iphigenia.


For the record: I love Greek tragedies; I deplore many of the deeds and motives therein. The sacrifice of innocents for testosterone poisoning was evil then and is evil now. Just saying.

And dang! the expression on Irene Pappas' face, playing Clytemnestra in the movie... that last scene as the wind blows, her cart heads home, and you know Agamemnon will get a homecoming he'll never forget.



--the BB

Heart thread - 08/12/2009

My friend's brother-in-law Bill died Saturday. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. May the family and all who love him be comforted and sustained in this time of loss.

Let us continue to hold Roseann in our hearts. She posted this on FB today:

I am sick. I hate my life.

To which I replied:

While you are hatin' on your life, we're lovin' on you.
(((((((((((( Roseann ))))))))))))

May we all pray that lies will be countered with truth? This side of glory, I mean. Here. Soon. Now.

--the BB

780

08/12/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Bruce E. Ferrell, 21, of Perdido, Ala., died Aug. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, NC

4331

08/11/09
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Richard A. Walters Jr., 41, of Cleveland, Ohio, died Aug. 10 in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 14th Combat Support Hospital, Fort Benning, Ga.

Young heroes dream of glory

A. was amused watching the lads vie for any notice by the princess and her husband, the duke. They were like her own children—wanting attention, eager to show what they could do, and dreaming of a future devoid of loss or setback.

“How much they have yet to learn,” she thought to herself and once even said as much to V. He was the same age as H. but A. could see how the burden of rule added years to his soul. The duke chuckled.

“We are all children faced with an ancient world. We have much to learn and suffer and discover. Stars be thanked, we also have much to taste and enjoy. Imagine the years of [the goddess of wisdom]. Do you think that if we lived that long we might have her compassion?”

“The [sea] must be a small drop of lifeblood in her great heart, Cousin. She embraces all things, and I cannot begin to fathom that. May she help us hold the small fragments of the world we know.”

“I believe,” said the duke, “that your forest nurtures sages.”

It was A’s moment to laugh. “I believe, [Your Grace], that your court nurtures flatterers, but it was kindly spoken and I thank you.”

They looked at each other and giggled. It was a comforting moment of humor amid the grim business of war and they knew how precious and fleeting it was.
--Excerpt from Chapter 61

I commend Марко's recent post to you.

Also his citation of William Porcher Dubose.

Sweet dreams, my mischievous muskrats!

--the BB

Another deather

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) continued the thoroughly debunked right wing euthanasia/death panel meme today, telling a town hall crowd, "You have every right to fear....a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on Grandma."

--Rachel Slajda, TPM



At long last, Senator, have you no shame?

If he is willing to pull a stunt like this (and he has to know better) then there is NO reason whatsoever to pretend he is acting in good faith. The only thing that needs to have the plug pulled is the pretense that bipartisanship will accomplish anything in the Senate. Ignore Grassley, produce some decent legislation, and move on. He has just forfeited any right to be given credence.

--the BB

ALL presidents must be held accountable

I voted for Obama. Enthusiastically. I support him. I criticize him. I want him to succeed. And I intend to hold him accountable. I'm already pretty pissed about several issues.

The Obama administration has, alas, a less than stellar record so far on some significant legal issues.

bmaz writes today on the issue of rendition.

Just to keep y'all informed. And to keep the President on his toes.

We must also remember: (1) He was not and is not the Messiah... or the anti-Christ; (2) he is not a liberal or progressive, he is a left-leaning centrist; (3) he's human; (4) he's trying to clean the Augean Stables of Bush's crime spree and clusterfuck; and (5) it is the job of the People to make him do the right thing.

--the BB

Americans have a right to organize and speak, and we have a right to know who they are and what they're up to - updated

Dr. Maddow takes on FreedomWorks and their connections. Because y'all should know.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

UPDATE:
Rachel will educate you about FreedomWorks, their background, their ties, their methods.

From the transcript of Rachel's show, the conclusion of this segment:

Washington lobbyists and health care executives and former Republican Party officials have just as much a right to shout down the policy debate about health care reform as anyone else does. These folks have just as much a right to try to derail this entire process as anyone else does.

But we have a right to know who they are and who is paying them for their efforts. These guys are pros. This is an industry. This is beltway politics being organized and played out in town halls across the country.

And as we have said before-and I fear we will have to continue saying and saying and saying again-this should be reported as such.

[Emphasis mine]

--the BB

The princess ponders

“And what would I do if I had them? Mount their heads on pikes at the city gates? Will that heal the land?”

Damn, I'm glad I'm not in charge of anything.

It has not been a good few days for writing. The weekend was busy, and so have the last two days at work been. At night I get caught up on reading, post a bit, get through e-mail and the evening is gone. Poof.

I eked out a few paragraphs finally today.

Time and focus.

How can life be so busy when I don't have pets, children, or a heavy social calendar?

Sweet dreams, my playful pandas!

--the BB

Disingenuous twaddle

"Child raised by wolves." We all know the idea and there are stories. Well, in my case it was, "child raised among fundagelicals."

By the mercies of Godde there are also stories of those who have experienced their own exodus from Pharaoh's fulminating fruitcakes. And horror stories of those who did not make it out.

I was more than ready to leave my spiritual past. I hoped to take the best with me: being steeped in scripture, a love of storytelling, a message of grace, a message of God's love. I also hoped to leave the crazy behind: the paranoia, the literalness, the bibliolatry, the visceral fear and hatred of the other, the enforced uniformity, the anti-intellectualism, the platitudes that do not square with life as it is really lived, the coercion, the hatred of the world and the flesh while there is altogether too much fixation on the devil.

So I came to Anglicanism, as many do, as a "foreign" immigrant. I was not just fleeing from some things, I was joyously running toward historical rootedness, sacramental mystery, respect for individuals, celebration of history and embodiment, symbolic expression, etc.

It seems that many of the types who most lament the state of The Episcopal Church have come from traditions not unlike the one I left. But they brought the crazy with them. They have no idea that bibliolatry is not Anglican (or, to be more pointed, outright heretical) or that demanding everyone have the same experience or same beliefs is, well, coercive and disrespectful and almost certainly an anti-mark of the Spirit. If God did not make us all alike and the Spirit does not give us all the same gifts, then why would anyone conclude that God wants us all to think, teach, and worship alike?

The same sort of codswallop that infects our political discourse these days appears in our church as well.

The rector and vestry of a local church, that will go unnamed, has written to the standing committee. One paragraph:

For the last six years, Episcopalians in the Rio Grande have drawn comfort from the knowledge that, while the Episcopal Church believed that the Spirit was doing a new thing with respect to the sacrament of marriage, we were not. And while other bishops and dioceses in the Episcopal Church might believe otherwise, the Diocese of the Rio Grande confirmed the apostolic witness that "Jesus Christ died for you," and shared that Good News throughout our congregations every week.

Now, for the latter half of the paragraph, even folks like me who reject most Anselmian atonement theories still believe that Jesus Christ died for us and love to share Good News not only in our congregations but in the world where we live. I would say that it is more Good News that he rose from the dead for us than that he died for us, being the kind of guy who sides with the early Church on which side of the Paschal mystery to emphasize, but I still wonder where this putative divide exists.

As to the first half of the paragraph, I wonder how anyone but a drama queen could possibly claim to speak for Episcopalians in a diocese as diverse and sharply divided as this one.

Granted, this perspective is not that of one small enclave. An earlier bishop spend years poisoning this diocese. But no one can speak for all the Episcopalians of this or any diocese.

And I must say, monoliths are not healthy in any social body.

Alas, I am forced to conclude that the missive constitutes disingenuous twaddle.

Distortion, straw men, histrionic tone, and the most outrageous hyperbole make it difficult for me to judge otherwise. I do not speak for Episcopalians in general, for any body within this diocese or the one in which I am canonically resident, et cetera; only for myself.

Which leads us to today's phrase for popularizing:


I encourage its use, if only because there is so much of the stuff going about.

--the BB

* The lower illustration is from a manuscript illustrating the preaching of a crusade.

When the appatus of the state serves a political party....

Remember the Bush Crime Team? Ah, good times, no?

Papers have finally been released of testimony by Turdblossom and la Harriet. It seems Rove was very involved in attempts to fire the New Mexico US Attorney, David Iglesias. Imagine my surprise. Pressure from Pyjamas Pete Domenici and Heather "think of the children" Wilson and from the White House to fire someone who was not actively helping get Heather elected by pursuing scancals among Dems.

Anyone recall that the Department of Justice is supposed to operate in independence of the White House as a law enforcement agency for the nation and not as legal thugs for current incumbents and their party? No? I see. We can forget a lot in eight years, can't we? Of course, if the Supremes had stayed out of it and let the 2000 election proceed with all legitimate votes counted we would not have entered the eight years of the Bush Crime Team.

Poisoned water under a falling bridge.

Last time I checked some war criminals were still on the loose. Pity.



You can read sordid details at emptywheel and at TPM.

I really do want these motherfuckers behind bars.

And I am so proud that New Mexico turned solid blue last election.

--the BB

Visual tour of Bishop Lamy's Cathedral

Baptismal Font
Cathedral and Basilica of St Francis
Santa Fe, New Mexico

You may see my album of photos of the Cathedral here.

--the BB

779

08/10/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Tara J. Smith, 33, of Nashville, N.C., died Aug. 8 in Bagram, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related incident that occurred Aug. 4 at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan,. She was assigned to the 50th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade...

08/10/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Patrick W. Schimmel, 21, of Winfield, Mo., died Aug. 9, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine

08/10/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Javier Olvera, 20, of Palmdale, Calif. died Aug. 8, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force...

08/10/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Dennis J. Burrow, 23, of Naples, Fla., died Aug. 7, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division...

08/10/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Matthew K.S. Swanson, 20, of Lake Forest, Calif., died Aug. 8 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over July 19 in Logar Province, Afghanistan.

08/10/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Jerry R. Evans Jr., 23, of Eufaula, Ala., died Aug. 7 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment...

08/07/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (4 of 4)
Cpl. Christian A. Guzman Rivera, 21, of Homestead, Fla...assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force...died Aug. 6 while supporting combat operations in Farah province...

08/07/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (3 of 4)
Sgt. Jay M. Hoskins, 24, of Paris, Texas...assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force...died Aug. 6 while supporting combat operations in Farah province...

08/07/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (2 of 4)
Lance Cpl. Travis T. Babine, 20, of San Antonio, Texas...assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force...died Aug. 6 while supporting combat operations in Farah province...

08/07/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (1 of 4)
Lance Cpl. James D. Argentine, 22, of Farmingdale, N.Y...assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force...died Aug. 6 while supporting combat operations in Farah province...



Father of all, we pray to you for all those whom we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Morally reprehensible - updated

From an Investor's Business Daily editorial 10 days ago:
People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.

--from MLDB's post at Daily Kos

IBD's editorial also turns to Betsy McCaughey who was a leading figure in destroying the Clinton health care plan by, er, catapulting propaganda - i.e., misstatements. She's back with a vengeance and Ezra Klein has a lot to say about her and her track record.

Here's a tidbit:

Betsy McCaughey first came to prominence for a New Republic article entitled "No Exit." The conceit of the piece was that unlike everyone else, McCaughey had pored over every page and paragraph of the massive Clinton health bill and come back with a clearer view of the legislation's contours than anyone had previously presented. And what she'd found was worrying. "The law will prevent you from going outside the system to buy basic health coverage you think is better," McCaughey wrote. "The doctor can be paid only by the plan, not by you." Hence, "No Exit." You were trapped in the system.

McCaughey, it turned out, isn't a very good reader. Section three of the Clinton health legislation ("Protection of Consumer Choice") held that, "nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting the following: (1) An individual from purchasing any health care services.” But in a policy debate, it's more important that your opinions prove convenient than accurate, and McCaughey's argument was certainly convenient: She got first one cover story in The New Republic and then a second. George Will picked up her views, as did the rest of the right wing media and legislative infrastructure. And this wasn't a "provocative" argument. It was simply wrong. It argued that the legislation said X when the legislation said not-X. It remained an enduring black mark on The New Republic's reputation. When Frank Foer took over as editor, among his first acts was making amends. “We recanted that story in the first issue and apologized for it," he says. It was that bad.

But enough about this highly-paid liar, let's get back to the IBD comment about Hawking. Don't they know he is a UK citizen and always has been and gets cared for under the UK health system? Can they possibly be that stupid? The alternative is that they know and are actually that mendacious. Either way it is morally reprehensible.

And that, boys and girls, is the phrase of the day that badly needs repopularizing. Let's practice saying it out loud now:


Very good!

Now, let's be sure to use it in conversation, correspondence, and blogging. We may add it to codswallop, twaddle, and barking mad.

By the way, I consider willful ignorance (not just ignorance but willful ignorance) to be an act of moral culpability. If you could and should know better, it's your own fucking fault that you don't and it falls within the sphere of sin. Just saying.

And that goes double for "journalists" who don't bother checking facts and challenging lies.

UPDATE:
Hawking himself refutes this sort of idiocy.

--the BB

It's like getting a new pair of glasses.

I need to adjust to the immense screen of the new computer. I feel as though I need to sit back another five feet. I'm quite overwhelmed. Big adjustment from three years on a laptop only.

The "kids" are going to help me remember the rule about turning it off by 10:30 each night. I will need their help. Though right now I feel rather bed-ready and it's just minutes past 9:00.

I've done three loads of laundry, watered the yard, folded laundry, and transferred all the data from the laptop to the iMac. Took a nap while waiting for that to happen. I am a very file-intensive computer user, but what is somewhere more than 80,000 files between friends?

And oh! The bliss of transferring with a firewire. I would have had to leave both my computers at the Apple Store overnight to have them do it. Right. Can y'all imagine me without a computer for 24 hours? Not a pretty thought, is it? This transferred all my applications too, so the hours I thought I was going to spend loading software: not needed. Hallelujah, praise King Jesus and Holy Mother Mary!

[This is where I do my happy dance but you will be spared the visuals.]

-the BB

Beware of smiling bears

Yesterday in front of Bishop Lamy's cathedral in Santa Fe

A more beatific face:

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

--the BB

La Conquistadora

Here is a teaser, one photo of many I took yesterday afternoon in the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis, Santa Fe. This is the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, La Conquistadora, "[t]he oldest statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the United States to whom a constant public devotion has been maintained."

A very devout history of the image may be found here.

You may click the photo to embiggen.

The quick report:
Lovely seeing old friends and meeting new ones at breakfast yesterday in Bernalillo. Since there was wifi at the Flying Star, I hung there until 1 then drove to Santa Fe. Met my BFF at the Plaza and we toured the cathedral, with my snapping away (about 60 photos). Then off to the condo on the north end of town, some time by the pool, and dinner at Max's. The food was really fine, from salads through entrées to dessert. We ordered different dishes, tasted each others, it was all superb. Washed it down with a couple of bottles of St Sulpice Bordeaux. Then to the Santa Fe Opera for Don Giovanni. Good strong singers. Lovely evening. This morning breakfast at Zia Café. Terrific. My friends, meanwhile, discovered two other good eateries yesterday at breakfast and lunch, Clafouti and Tart's Treats. All on Guadalupe in Santa Fe. Major eating weekend.

I think I'm going to open some boxes and play with computers later today.

--the BB