Best Thanksgiving Ever

My Thanksgiving in Santa Fe was probably the most enjoyable in my whole life. It was drama and stress free. The weather was perfect. Warm sunny days with cool clear nights allowing for skies filled with stars. It was great to spend time with the guys who are settling into a new life in Santa Fe.

I toured their building site which has a gentle slope with show-stopping views of the mountains. I picked juniper berries off a bush on the lot to use in a future culinary endeavor.

Cindi outdid herself with one of the most delicious Thanksgiving meals I have ever eaten. Every dish was tasty and came together to form a perfect symphony of favors native to the desert southwest region. The family house is secluded on a narrow drive off Canyon Road which is populated with art galleries. It is the quintessential funky Santa Fe adobe house filled with items collected by Cindi’s late aunt and uncle on their many travels. The ambiance of the house only added to the wonderful dinner.

Friday was a perfect day for an art gallery tour. I bought a painting by Mark Gould, who is Cindi’s friend who lives in Taos. Cindi introduced me to Mark many years ago at his studio. I always admired his work and longed to have one of his pieces. The gallery showing Mark’s paintings offered a black Friday discount which made the deal too good to pass up.

I stopped in Nuart Gallery to check out Rob Douglas’ work. I knew him when he lived in Denver. I bought a folding screen/sculpture from Rob when he left Denver. His work now commands a high price. It’s great to see an artist achieve success in the ever competitive art world.

Art is everywhere in Santa Fe. Go out for breakfast to a little café and you’ll find the walls covered with a local artist’s painting for sale. Sculptures pepper most outdoor public spaces. The galleries on Canyon Road offer a plethora of art styles and mediums. Many of the galleries are very pricey but the caliber of art is on par with galleries in New York and Los Angeles. It’s paradise for an art lover.

I joined the caravan of cars with Colorado tags leaving New Mexico on Saturday morning. Traffic was heavy at times but moved at a good pace. Countless tumbleweeds were blown across the highway by the brisk winds. Many exploded on impact when hit by cars while others ended up stuck to fences that lined the ranch lands adjacent to the highway. The last two hours of drive was practically bumper to bumper at ninety miles an hour.

I’m refreshed and ready to start the holiday season. Mike invited me to a Jewish Family Services fundraisers on Thursday. Friday is the ManCraft holiday market. Blake Street Glass Ornament Extravaganza benefitting Children’s Hospital on Saturday. Symphony concert with Jesse, Tom and Sheila on the 9th. My social calendar is filling up.

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Heading To Santa Fe

I’ll be driving down to Santa Fe on Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Cindi is hosting dinner at her family’s house. She’s doing most of the work for the southwest-inspired dinner. I’ll be making the cranberry sauce and baking the desserts. The guys are providing the wine. Here’s the Thanksgiving dinner menu:

Salad with kale, grapefruit, pomegranate and avocado
Turkey with ancho chili tamarind glaze
Mashed potatoes with roast poblano gravy
Wild rice dressing
Garlic green beans
Cranberry sauce with dates and orange
Mini tamales
Pumpkin tart with anise-seed crust
Persimmon-pumpkin pie with gluten-free ginger snap crust.

Do you think this is enough food for seven people? It should be a fun time.

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He’s Back

Mr. five nine texted on Saturday wanting to get together again. I replied on Sunday night with a message I would contact him when I return from Santa Fe in a week. I kicked the can down the road a week when I should have just told him no. I have a feeling that I should not see him again because he will probably want more than a friendship. I’m sure I gave him a false sense of hope that we will date. I have a feeling this man comes with a lot of drama that I don’t need. In reality, I don’t want to get involved with a man who acted so childish in our last texting exchange. Instead of just telling him no I probably made the situation worse. I didn’t want to hurt his feeling but I’m guessing that’s what I’ll do when I tell him he’s been moved into the friend column with no migration path to the boyfriend column. I forgot how hard dating can be at times.

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Sentence Of The Day

Here’s the latest gem to come across my desk:

I am totally sick of all this pushing for new projects and estimates because we really don’t have a chance anymore to do this right and I feel like we are just throwing estimates on things, but because of the mess I’m in most of those estimates come to be realty.

This one isn’t as bad as previous posts. At least this sentence has one comma. I think realty should be reality. It’s still a convoluted mess.

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Is This High School?

I had a texting exchange with Mr. five nine yesterday. He started the exchange with “Guess you didn’t like me”. How does one respond to that? It wasn’t that I disliked him. I just didn’t feel a spark and wasn’t sure if I wanted to put him in the friend column, or toss him back in the dating pool. The exchange went back and forth. I was polite while being non-committal. I did not call him out on falsifying his height and location. He told me he sits at home a lot because he doesn’t have many friends and hasn’t had a boyfriend in years. I was feeling guilty for not contacting him. I was about to suggest getting together when I return from my holiday in Santa Fe when he sent this: “Never mind… You’re not interested in me… good luck on your search for someone special in your life…”. No wonder this guy doesn’t have many friends. I am so glad I didn’t suggest a second meeting. He could have been a friend but I don’t need people in my life who act this way. Mr. five nine needs to grow up and stop acting like he’s in high school.

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Is 5´6´´ The New 5´9´´?

I met a guy for coffee a few days ago. Before we met face to face he started texting several times a day. I thought this was a bit much and gave me the impression he was desperate. His profile said he was 5’9″. After meeting I couldn’t help but wonder if 5’6″ is the new 5’9″? Did he think I would not notice he was several inches shorter than advertised? He also lived in a different part of town than shown on his profile. Why lie about the little things? It just sets an expectation that he will not be truthful about other things. The texting stopped after we met which is a good thing since there was no spark on my end.

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The Glamorous Life

Over dinner last night, Mike and Chris filled me in on the process of cleaning out Barb’s house. They found many photos of Barb from the late fifties and early sixties. There were numerous clippings from The Denver Post society column about Barb. One column was devoted to her European summer vacation with her daughter. The story detailed her six week Mediterranean cruise and the villa she rented on the French Riviera. The pictures accompanying the story were reminiscent of Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline. Barb was dressed to the nines in the vacation photos. Other pictures documented Barb in a variety of furs, Chanel suits and evening gowns getting out of big black Cadillac sedans, Lincoln Town Cars, and limos. Photos were also found of numerous events at the Denver Country Club with governors, mayors and other pillars of the business community. Barb was a high-profile fixture on the Denver society scene. She was also a trophy wife married to man thirty years older. The pictures detailed a glamorous, party-filled life that made it look like she didn’t have a care in the world. I couldn’t help but picture the Sharon Stone character in Casino.

So what happened? Why did Barb’s son commit suicide? Why is there no relationship between Barb and her daughter? Why does Barb not have any friends? That’s the part that the pictures don’t reveal. It’s a mystery that may never be solved. Perhaps Mike and Chris will discover clues as they continue to get her house ready for market.

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Does An Old Lady Live Here?

In the last few weeks I was invited to small gatherings at two different guy’s houses. I know both guys from the gym. They are fifty-something hyper-masculine guys. I found it odd that both of their houses were furnished like an old lady lived there. Perhaps the furniture, china, curio cabinets and Hummel figurines were inherited and had sentimental value that did not allow the items to be stored away or replaced. The house décor didn’t match the masculine package that both men present to the world. There was a disconnection between the men and their homes.

I wonder what impression my house leaves on visitors. Does my house project my personality? Do visitors think I have too much abstract art? I may have to run this by Cindi to see what she thinks.

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It’s His Loss

Men may disappoint me but art never will.

Coffee guy suggested getting together on Friday night to check out the art gallery openings. We texted on Wednesday and it was a go. I was to pick him up at six. I planned a gallery tour that would highlight the best galleries on Navajo Street, Santa Fe Street and in RiNo.

Coffee guy texted at little after noon asking if we could meet at six-thirty. At four he texted asking to push it back to seven. I was a few blocks from his house when he texted asking if he could push it to seven-thirty. It seems he met a friend for dinner downtown and was running late. I told him no and headed to the galleries on Navajo. He sent another text asking me to meet him downtown as I was leaving Navajo. I declined the offer and headed to Santa Fe to check out the opening at Vertigo, my friend Kara’s gallery. Kara is a visionary who curates magnificent trend-setting shows. I had a great chat with Kara before heading down the street to check out the offerings at Spark and Core. I was running late when I left Core and Spark so I skipped a number of galleries to see the new show at Point. Point was showing new works by David Menard which were mostly show-stopping beautiful cityscapes. Paintings by Michael Dowling were hanging in the back room. Michael remembered me from his opening so he introduced me to guys who own the gallery. We chatted briefly before I headed to the opening at Space Gallery which would be the last stop for the night. Space was packed with a young party crowd. The DJ had the party hopping. The mostly large scale paintings were from the Furtherrr Collective.

I was growing weary so I headed to the car in the light rain that started falling while I was in Space. Kara texted me with an invitation to her after-opening party at the Four Seasons while coffee guy texted asking me to join him at a wine bar on 17th Street. I told coffee guy I was headed to Kara’s party while I told Kara I was headed home. I’d been up since five-thirty so it was time to head home.

Coffee guy was a disappointment but it’s his loss. I don’t need an inconsiderate man in my life. If you want to spend time with me don’t double book yourself. I’m not going to allow myself to be treated that way.

I saw some beautiful art and had a stimulating conversation with Kara. Kara invited me to her new house to see her private collection and help hang paintings. I probably had more fun by myself than I would have with coffee guy.

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A Coffee Date

I had a coffee date on Sunday. He’s fifty-six and has two adult children. He’s retired thanks to a high-paying job and investing wisely. The date went well except the conversation mainly centered on him and his life. He only asked me two questions; where I lived and what I did. I thought that was odd and it sent up a red flag. The other red flag went up when he told me his partner of eight years died in April. I agreed to see him again so we’re hitting the gallery openings on Friday night. I may keep this one in the friend column too.

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