Between Santa Fe and Albuquerque (when you take Highway 14 through the mountains) there is a fun little mining town called Madrid. It seems to be populated with Hippies and artists. There are galleries, coffee shops, little trinket stores, and boutiques. The perfect little town to stop, stretch your legs, and get a beverage for the road. Here are some pictures from our recent stop with our friends right after the holidays.
First up, our friends the Hollands, with David and Tasha in the middle. You can see the main road behind them, where most of the shops are.
The whole town still decked out in Christmas lights.
This painting is outside of the Tavern where we stopped and ate.
Found this sign inside the Tavern. Luckily Tasha was attended to.
Always a delight when cute little Tasha tags along.
If you ever make your way from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, and you are not prone to car sickness, I highly recommend stopping in Madrid.
Have a lovely weekend,
Sofija
Got an I pad for Christmas. Yay! The camera is so crisp and clear, I thought I’ll try a little food photography…
My mother in law has sent me these beauties. They grow voluntary and abundantly in California gardens. Don’t ask me what I have gone through to grow a couple of tomatoes in New Mexico…
Have a great day,
Sofija
I have been wanting to share this with you because it has been inspiring me for some time. A friend of ours, who we know from our time in Chicago, moved his family to Norway. His wife is from there. Winters are long in Norway, so when his oldest son got interested in skate boarding, his outdoor opportunities were limited. At the time there was no indoor facility for his son to skate in the winter. Mike decided to create a space for kids to be active all year long. With help from local government and business owners he was able to built an indoor park. The facility is being used by skaters, scooters, bmx-ers, and more. What intrigues me the most about this, is that his vision is so much larger than to just have a place for kids to hang out and “contain” them. Once a year the facility hosts a camp, called Flipside, that invites kids from all over Norway and Scandinavia and has professionals inspiring and mentoring the kids. The camp is there not only for skaters but also for kids interested in gymnastics, music, film making, and the arts. He created a community for young people to be inspired, engaged, and empowered. Isn’t that something we all want for our kids? Wouldn’t it be great if our youth groups, after school programs were like that?? For kids to have interaction and mentorship with professionals in their fields of interest…to have a safe center of creativity and inspiration.
My husband and I try to do that on a small scale in our home. We have had adults over and talk about what they do that range from search and rescuers, police officers, helicopter pilots, musicians, artists, photographers, missionaries, to scientists. We don’t always do it in a formal setting. What is important is that we want our kids to embrace the big world we live in.
How about you, does this inspire you? Have you been empowered by professionals in your field before? Do you engage young kids?
Here is Mike’s Ted talk. I promise you, it is inspiring:
Chances are by now you are done freezing your tail off, and the thoughts of indulging in an Australian summer sound ever so appealing. Here you go, indulge…
I feel warmer already…
I like this Australian company’s flowing, flowery dresses. The top one is my favorite.
Have a lovely day,
Sofija
All pictures by Esa Lilly Photography for Arnhem Child
Over the holidays we visited a favorite church of mine. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you might know that I am a little obsessed with the Catholic churches in New Mexico. I love how they blend the Spanish with the Adobe, very different from the California Mission style (which I also love).
We went right after Christmas, so the Christmas lights were still on. You can find pictures of the church covered in snow here and from last summer here. We went on a double date with our friends, the Hollands and our 3 year old (she likes to tag along on our dates). Next stop was a little quirky town called Madrid, pictures coming soon.
Have lovely weekend,
Sofija
Wow, we are already half way through the school year, and learning at our house is back in full swing. I want to be more committed to learning myself and take advantage of some of the free online courses available. And I think they are an incredible resource for home-schooling, as well. In the past I have considered a Harvard history course for my high-schooler. We use Khan Academy if my kids don’t understand a certain math concept or need a refresher. I use Live Mocha for language learning.
I found an article “12 Dozen Placed to Educate Yourself Online for Free” that is a great resource when looking for a particular course or topic. I will be using this for reference in the future. I hope it will help you, too.
The French company Gabriel and Valentin completely wowed me with their photo shoot. The beautiful beach setting is so serene, set in white and grey tones…
I like how they use soft, fuzzy knits and furs to cuddle up and stay warm. I know a lot of you in the midwest and Canada are enduring freezing temperatures right now. Stay warm my friends!
Friends,
How was your start into the new year? Our’s has been slow; in fact it came to a full stop. Remember the party I was planning? Ha, well it never happened. After preparing, cleaning, and shopping, our kids started getting sick one by one. Consequently the people we invited opted out to not be exposed to our germs. I can’t blame them. So we had a quiet night with our visiting friends, the Hollands, eating a lovely dinner and watching two movies.
The flu hit us all pretty hard. It’s been 4 years since I have been this sick. But I must say, I am thankful for the timing. I’m glad it didn’t mess up our Christmas, and I am glad we are getting it out of the way before school starts.
So on to the new year. What are your hopes and dreams? Mine are decluttering the house, doing some home-improvements, but most of all having more adventures and traveling more, and visiting more with with our families. Tentative plans are meeting up with my sister and her crew over spring break in Phoenix. This year marks our 20th anniversary, so we are hoping to do something special for that. I’m also hoping we will have family visiting us. How about you, any fun trips planned for this year? Or a fun stay-cation?
I really hope to be back to my regular posting schedule next week. Thank you all for your patience!
Stay healthy,
Sofija
How was your Christmas? Was it what you hoped for, or where there a few surprises? I was dreading mine a little bit, as it was our first year celebrating Christmas without our oldest son. His aunt and uncle graciously flew him to California to spend Christmas with my husband’s family. It wasn’t easy letting him go. But I am glad he has the opportunity. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be (though I missed him), largely because I was distracted with visitors. Dear friends we know from my husband’s time in grad school spontaneously showed up on Christmas Eve with all the trimmings for an awesome late lunch and early dinner. I love when that happens! Christmas day was pretty uneventful, which in our house is a good thing. On Saturday we took the kids sledding. In my book it doesn’t get much more Christmassy than that. Never mind that one of our children fell face down in the snow on the first run. Thank God she is tough and we still had a great time. All in all I call that a good Christmas break. How about you? What traditions make it more complete for you?
Now on to the New Year. Any plans? We still are working out some of the details, but it looks like we will be having a party at our house. We haven’t had one in a few years. Growing up in Germany New Years was a BIG deal (sort of like the 4th of July here). It was hard adjusting to the fact that in this country it might or might not be a big deal,and that many people seem content to go to bed at 10.Over the years as we have added kids to our family big parties were less and less doable for us. Needless to say I am really looking forward to having a party again. It’s my Birthday as well so it makes it extra special.
But before I have some shopping to do…
Sofija
Photo credit: Hannah Scott-Stevenson for Tutu Monde
The whole town still decked out in Christmas lights.
Teach Where You Live 
