Notes from Santa Fe

So the images in this post are in reverse chronology. Here is a pair of socks, one done and the other in progress. Thanks to "Safety Day" training at the Opera, the second sock is finished! Are you excited Jamie? I'll be in touch on where to send these.










That Guy and I took this picture on a roof top bar in Santa Fe, my temporary abode for the next two months. It is spectacular here! I found an excellent jogging route that has great views. My roommates are both very cool and fun, and the team I work on at the opera is great. It will be a very good summer. I can't explain to you fully, after this first year of grad school, how nice it is to be working and earning money. We had a great trip to SF, camping and seeing the Carlsbad Caverns, Taos, and SF (of course). It was good for him to see where I was going to be spending my time. The opera itself is an entire complex. There are something like 700 employees in all while they are in production during the summer. Singers, administrators, technicians, stage managers, you name it, we are all here. There is a Cantina if you don't want to bring your lunch everyday (it is several miles away from downtown SF) and a pool. You can bet I'll be swimming when the temps start to climb.

The Carlsbad Caverns were the first place we visited. They are sooooooooo vast inside. This is the view from the Entrance Trail, looking back up and out to the sky. From here we spent more than two hours underground. It was a little overwhelming, kind of like the House on the Rock. If you have been there, you know what I mean! Our campground was at Brantley Lake State Park. It was on a plateau. In the middle of the Chihuahan Desert. Thunderstorms were in the forecast the second night we were going to stay, so we beat a fast trail up to Santa Fe. This worked out better because it allowed us a full day in Taos, and a full day in SF.

Now that I am a little more settled in for the next two months, there is plenty to do. Work, yes of course, but other activities as well. There are several opera sponsored parties that the employees attend, and the employees like to hosts some themselves. It is tradition to frequent a particular Plaza bar on Tuesday nights ($2 beers, $2 for a dozen chicken wings, fantastic!). I'm still seeking out the hikers, but I've located several knitters. Yesterday I had the afternoon off, so I went in search of the local yarn shops. Wildly enough, they are all located around the Plaza area. However, they all carry different lines and types of yarn, so they aren't in competition with one another. I like them all! I purposefully did not take any money with me so that I wouldn't buy anything. I will allow myself a souviner skein or two, but I have plenty of yarn and I am trying to knit through some of my stash before I allow too many more purchases.

I'll keep ya'll posted!
Tschuss