I've added it to the wheel of possibilities. Yes, I know it's expensive–but one does grow weary of believing one will only ever be able to afford to live in places so uncomfortable and unattractive that the rents are cheap, you know what I mean? I'm tired of being practical about everything.
Before I steel myself for another day in the salt mines, here are a few snapshots. I love to photograph religious shrines, and New Mexico delivered. I don't think any of these will wind up in my portfolio, but it certainly was fun taking them. Not pictured, because none of the shots are particularly interesting, is the honest-to-goodness Tibetan Buddhist stupa I visited.
I love Santa Fe.
Loretto Chapel
Loretto Chapel
Canyon Road
Juan Diego, Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, El Santuario de Chimayo
Crucifix with Votive Offerings, El Santuario de Chimayo
All images ©Franklin Habit. Use without permission in any format prohibited.
Thanks for that. New England's light has been dimming lately and that blue, blue sky was gorgeous to see against the architecture. Nice contrast.
ReplyDeleteWow. I especially like the Juan Diego one. Very captivating.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home, honey. Beautiful photos, as ever.
ReplyDeleteSante Fe is fabulous! For a recent knitter's report, Domesticat spent 2 months in Sante Fe during Sept. and Oct. and posted from here. Check out her archives.
ReplyDelete(Hope that link works.)
Love the Canyon Road shot. You certainly have a good eye.
ReplyDeleteI like the colors in Canyon Road. I see yarn.
ReplyDeleteNope. Domesticat is at www.catduck.com/Clog--she's got great sunset and green chile pics in her Sept/Oct archives.
ReplyDeleteNorthern NM is magical. Looove it there...even lived there a year. And, Taos...ah, Taos...........
ReplyDeleteSante Fe is gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteFH, don't pay no mind to Sean about the long NE winters. Come live in NYC. I have lived in Chicago and NYC winters are very mild compared to Chicago's.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, congratulations on sissue's new project.
I felt the same way about Santa Fe - gorgeous, and I don't know why, but surprisingly so. And the stretch of road between Santa Fe and Denver is by far my favorite, most breathtaking stretch of land I've seen in this country.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
I love the photos. You always take wonderful shots. You see things that most people don't see when they look at a building or objects. Glad you had a nice trip and made it back safe.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, Santa Fe . . . they don't call NM "Land of Enchantment" for nothing, eh?
ReplyDeleteThough, I do have to put in a good word for Ft. Worth (and Austin, to a lesser extent)! FW is a GREAT town, lots of art, nice and very genuine people.
I might have to move in if you head for Santa Fe, and that would really surprise my husband, it wouldn't make my commute to work in London any easier either!
ReplyDeleteIt would make for a very cluttered household - short bald dude, ex-pat Welsh house guest and a sheep ;-). I'm not very tall though, at least I wouldn't put things away out of reach.
Good luck with the search, and with being an uncle too.
whoo-whee! beautiful.
ReplyDeletethanks
and thanks for the correct use of the word votive.
may you please show us the stupa ? please o please o pleaseOH?
also, thanks for linking me to your mongolian reader who linked me to the stupidist article ever written about buddhism. after i read it i thoughti knew One; but then i realized i know nothing; so there we are.
Mmmm...I love NM. Thanks for the gorgeous pics!
ReplyDeleteI love Santa Fe! And remember honey, poor people live everywhere so don't let the thought that you can't afford it keep you from your dream. If you want to be somewhere, you will find a way.
ReplyDeleteThe Juan Diego photo is fantastic!
ReplyDeletePretty pictures, did you see the "hovering" spiral staircase? It's in a church that, right now, I can't remember the name of.
ReplyDeleteI hope you got to go to old town and eat open faced green chile cheese enchiladas at Garduños.
ReplyDeleteI like Santa Fe. You can lead the wool festival in (Taos?) And Dolores run the bars with all her sheepy friends.
ReplyDeleteB
Wow. *Gorgeous* pics. Thanks for sharing them!
ReplyDeleteFranklin, I am glad you had a good visit to my home state. I love NM. Santa Fe is beautiful, as you saw. The Four Corners area, where I live, is also beautiful, but unfortunately, the nearest yarn is in Durango, CO.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and think you are a genius. You never fail to inspire, make me laugh or make me think. Please keep up the good work.
I am supposed to be calculating final grades for college classes, and here I am sneaking off to read your blog. I needed the break.
Love the Juan Diego photo! Moving, moody, meditative. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteI love NM, and though I enjoy traveling to other places I would never want to live anywhere else. I guess that's what happens when your family has pretty much lived in the same spot for almost 400 yrs.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so apparently Blogger is having some issues about letting me comment if I don't sign in through the beta. I was trying to say that although I never made it to Santa Fe, I did spend a month on the Navajo Rez. It's a lovely part of the country, but insufficiently verdant to suit me as a long-term option. But then the "where next?" project isn't mine to decide.
ReplyDeleteAlso, congratulations, Uncle Franklin.
Next time, swing by Albuquerque. Same gorgeous views, much more affordable!
ReplyDeleteI too LOVED Santa Fe when I was there in October. Gorgeous. I missed the Taos Wool Festival by a day, though.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
I'm a New Mexican by birth, and a Santa Fean by choice - come west, young man! - 360 days of sunshine a year - and it was unusually cold when you were here - gotta love it!
ReplyDelete"Juan Diego" has been in my head since I first saw your post this morning. I love how you got the shadow crosses in the picture and your use of light. Thanks for sharing something so lovely.
ReplyDeleteSanta Fe has a lovely inner beauty. My friends Keith and Andre just moved there and they are loving it! There are lots of fiber enthusiasts (Mystical Creations) in the area. Plus Taos Wool Festival is in October in the mountains west of SF. Four seasons but no damp windy crap. Good luck with your journey. Anna M
ReplyDeleteStunning photographs, Franklin. Santa Fe is a beautiful place. I lived in Albuquerque four years so got up there occasionally. Sky and sunsets are breathtaking. I still miss the green chiles that we used to get each fall.
ReplyDeleteThere's a beautiful song called "Santa Fe" from a terrible movie musical called "Newsies" that you would probably enjoy. Debra Gravitte-Shapiro does a rendition that always makes me teary.
ReplyDeleteSanta Fe is lovely. My in-laws live in Truth or Consequences, NM (not the lovely part of the state) and I always insist on a few days in SF if we have to go to TorC. Your photos are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photography, all of 'em... But I have to admit, I like Canyon Road the best. I get mesmerized by the shadows... Thanks for the great photos, and keep enjoying your journeys!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the Habit clan! And that of your bro-in-law, of course.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've no great desire to be a parent, I LOVE being an aunt. You can spoil your niece/nephew then send them, hyperactive on food colouring & sugar, back to their parents. Because you're never the disciplinarian you're always Cool. (I've had a serious discussion of the hunting habits of birds of prey with a 7-year-old.) You can take revenge on all your sister's evil deeds as a kid by buying her child the most annoying (for her), wonderful (for the kid) toy you can find.
Enjoy!
For me, northern NM would be the ultimate place to live. I've traveled there 5 times in the last 15 years, because it just is good for my soul. I think it would be good for you, too, Franklin. If you feel you have to leave Chicago, then move to northern NM, OK? Not sure if you like this sort of thing, but there is a very affordable place with natural hot springs just north of Santa Fe called Ojo Caliente. You can just enjoy the hot springs or you can also get massaged, etc. Ojo Caliente is so remote, a cell phone won't work there...but that's often a plus!
ReplyDeleteI love Sante Fe and Taos. Did you stop at any of the weaving/dyeing studios between Santa Fe and Chimayo? Those were cool. And Los Ojos is worth a trip for the fiber fanatic.
ReplyDeleteWow. The photo of Juan Diego - I can't stop looking at it. The shadows of crosses on the statue are just... mesmerizing. I keep looking at them, waiting to see them shift a bit in the breeze.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time!
I particularly like the chair on Canyon Rd.
ReplyDeleteShould you be missing NM too much, read *Death Comes for the Archbishop*, Willa Cather, if you haven't yet. You can prop it up whilst knitting the christening shawl (perhaps a bit too much multi-tasking).
ReplyDeleteWonderful. I was there on a 'study abroad' trip (from Delaware, believe it or not) this summer. I miss Santa Fe. But if you loved the architecture and the look of the place, you should read Chris Wilson's The Myth of Santa Fe -- very interesting read about Santa Fe history and how the place got to look the way it does.
ReplyDeleteNot having been to Santa Fe, I cannot in good conscience dissuade you from choosing it.
ReplyDeleteBut but but - if you are pining for European-type cities, and cities with streets that vibrate with energy, and cities where creative-minded knitters (and artists, writers, photographers, musicians, and Zen dogwalkers) are thick on the ground, there's just no substitute (in the US) for nyc.
I say this purely out of selfishness, as New York needs all the cool creative people it can get. Greedy greedy greedy.
Hi Franklin, I've been reading your blog for a while and just wanted to comment that if you move to the Land of Enchantment, there are some great SNB groups here in Albuquerque, we'd love to have you.
ReplyDeleteEmilee
Your blog had me laughing out loud (actually Harry's bit did, I think he's destined for stardom).
ReplyDeleteWe went to Santa Fe on our honeymoon in June 2002 and it was a truly awe-inspiring place. I'm more of a city-and-snow than hot-n-dry kind of girl (ok, so I live on a farm now, long story) but I was completely fascinated by NM.
Gorgeous photos!
I believe everybody ought to look at this.
ReplyDeletecheapest sale of Jenna Leigh | clearance sale of Majestic | buy on clearance sale Graham Spencer
I do accept as true with all of the ideas you've presented on your post. They are really convincing and can definitely work. Still, the posts are too quick for beginners. Could you please lengthen them a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.
ReplyDelete