2007 - 18 months later
I am in a new home since I last posted on this blog. I realized that if I wanted
to continue to write, I needed a more manageable home, smaller in size, and eventually, less costly. I chose Tesuque which is about 15 minutes from my old house and still about 15 minutes to downtown Santa Fe. I wanted a retreat like atmosphere with complete quiet and a property manager that took care of all the maintenance things that I had been hiring people for in the house on Blanket Flower. I found that at Pueblo Encantado. It is an older community and is mostly townhouse vacation rentals and second homes. I asked the Tibetan Monks, who were visiting here in July of 2006, to come an bless the house.
When I moved in, I was the only person living here full time, with one other woman who lives here 1/2 the year. She spends the other half running safaris out of Kenya, Africa. Since I bought this place last June, another couple has moved in full time. It was their vacation home, but they left California and live here now.
Auberge Resorts bought the property across the street. It was an old dude ranch and they leveled it and are building one of their upscale spa resorts across from us. That should open the summer of 2008.
I think 2006 was consumed with what it takes to move. Unless you are willing to give up a year's time and a year's salary, I don't recommend it. I was exhausted after the process of putting one home on the market, buying and fixing up the second one while keeping the first in showing condition. I got the offer in 6 months and the fix-ups at the new one were done enough for me to move in there (with just some plaster work to finish up).
It was almost 12 months to the day that I was able to close the door to my new home. I had decided to embark on this mission in February of 2006 and in February of 2007 I was able to sleep off the exhaustion. I spent a good bit of time on the front patio listening to the sounds of the granite stone mill fountain that I had put in. I don't miss the koi pond as much anymore.
Now in July of 2007, I wonder if it is worth it to distract oneself with all the activity of staging, selling, buying, fixing, moving and such. The reason I did it was to simplify my life in the future and have the ability to list my home with vacation rental agencies when I want to see other parts of the world. A long-term plan for sure, but one, I hope, that is wise.
One of the things I love about New Mexico is the ancient cultural feel of the land, the Spanish, the Native Americans, and we of the White Tribe. Easter here offers much spiritual lore and Chimayo is one of those locations that begs to be talked about. I went up to the Santuario de Chimayo to see what the celebration of those who walk from Albuquerque is like. It was a georgeous NM day and the trip was a big event to see what life is like here in a state that has the oldest capital in the US. The highway is posted with signs to alert the cars to be careful during this last part of Holy week.
Not only are there many families and couples walking, there are horses with riders too. I saw these two men as part of a group that stopped at the Tesuque Village Market in the morning to get coffee before the long ride up the mountains. There must have been over a dozen of them and hours later I saw them ride up and wave at me.
Once you arrive at the Sanctuary and Chapel there are outdoor spaces to rest, a place to grab a bite to eat, a gift shop, the main church and the small chapel.
Background: El Santuario has been called the “Lourdes of America”. No one seems to know exactly how this came about. However, there are testimonies that the extraordinary has occurred.
Fr. Sebastian Alvarez in his letter to the Episcopal See of Durango, dated November l6, l8l3, expressed his feelings of the people coming from afar to seek cures for their ailments and the spreading of the fame of their cures, induced many more faithful to come in pilgrimage. He did not mention any specific fact, but something was there. El Santuario has been a place of worship from the beginning - a place to pray, to thank, to ask, to meditate and to experience peace of mind as well as of body.
In time, the mass media paid attention to the little Shrine in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Newspapers from Chicago, Denver, New York and Los Angeles, Time and Newsweek magazines have all taken it upon themselves to inform the public about the Shrine. This has resulted in a considerable flow of mail requesting information about the Shrine. People come to the Santuario in the thousands, close to 300,000 a year. They come to worship the Almighty, to ask for peace in the world and in their hearts, to fulfill a promise, to feel the healing touch of God.
El Santuario (The Shrine) was built between l8l4 and l8l6. The “miraculous” crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas was found around l8l0. There is no written testimony concerning the apparition of Our Lord in the Chimayo area. What we have is tradition passed from one generation to another by the people of El Potrero. Here is one account of a “true” story as told by the storyteller.
One tradition recalls that during Holy Week on the night of Good Friday, Don Bernardo Abeyta, who was a member in good standing of the Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesus el Nazareno (Penitentes) was performing the customary penances of the Society around the hills of El Potrero. Suddenly he saw a light springing from one of the slopes of the hills near the Santa Cruz River. Don Bernardo went to the spot and noticed that the shining light was coming from the ground. He started to dig with his bare hands, and there he found a Crucifix. He left it there and called the neighbors to come and venerate the precious finding. A group of men was sent to notify the priest, Fr. Sebastian Alvarez at Santa Cruz.
Upon hearing the extraordinary news, the priest and people set out for Chimayo. When they arrived at the place where the Crucifix was, Fr. Sebastian picked it up and carried it in a joyful procession back to the church. Once in the church, the Crucifix was placed in the niche of the main altar. The next morning, the Crucifix was gone, only to be found in its original location. A second procession was organized and the Crucifix was returned to Santa Cruz, but once again it disappeared, The same thing happened a third time. By then, everyone understood that El Sefior de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayo, and so a small chapel was built.
to continue to write, I needed a more manageable home, smaller in size, and eventually, less costly. I chose Tesuque which is about 15 minutes from my old house and still about 15 minutes to downtown Santa Fe. I wanted a retreat like atmosphere with complete quiet and a property manager that took care of all the maintenance things that I had been hiring people for in the house on Blanket Flower. I found that at Pueblo Encantado. It is an older community and is mostly townhouse vacation rentals and second homes. I asked the Tibetan Monks, who were visiting here in July of 2006, to come an bless the house. 
When I moved in, I was the only person living here full time, with one other woman who lives here 1/2 the year. She spends the other half running safaris out of Kenya, Africa. Since I bought this place last June, another couple has moved in full time. It was their vacation home, but they left California and live here now. Auberge Resorts bought the property across the street. It was an old dude ranch and they leveled it and are building one of their upscale spa resorts across from us. That should open the summer of 2008.
I think 2006 was consumed with what it takes to move. Unless you are willing to give up a year's time and a year's salary, I don't recommend it. I was exhausted after the process of putting one home on the market, buying and fixing up the second one while keeping the first in showing condition. I got the offer in 6 months and the fix-ups at the new one were done enough for me to move in there (with just some plaster work to finish up).
It was almost 12 months to the day that I was able to close the door to my new home. I had decided to embark on this mission in February of 2006 and in February of 2007 I was able to sleep off the exhaustion. I spent a good bit of time on the front patio listening to the sounds of the granite stone mill fountain that I had put in. I don't miss the koi pond as much anymore. Now in July of 2007, I wonder if it is worth it to distract oneself with all the activity of staging, selling, buying, fixing, moving and such. The reason I did it was to simplify my life in the future and have the ability to list my home with vacation rental agencies when I want to see other parts of the world. A long-term plan for sure, but one, I hope, that is wise.
One of the things I love about New Mexico is the ancient cultural feel of the land, the Spanish, the Native Americans, and we of the White Tribe. Easter here offers much spiritual lore and Chimayo is one of those locations that begs to be talked about. I went up to the Santuario de Chimayo to see what the celebration of those who walk from Albuquerque is like. It was a georgeous NM day and the trip was a big event to see what life is like here in a state that has the oldest capital in the US. The highway is posted with signs to alert the cars to be careful during this last part of Holy week. Not only are there many families and couples walking, there are horses with riders too. I saw these two men as part of a group that stopped at the Tesuque Village Market in the morning to get coffee before the long ride up the mountains. There must have been over a dozen of them and hours later I saw them ride up and wave at me.
Once you arrive at the Sanctuary and Chapel there are outdoor spaces to rest, a place to grab a bite to eat, a gift shop, the main church and the small chapel.Background: El Santuario has been called the “Lourdes of America”. No one seems to know exactly how this came about. However, there are testimonies that the extraordinary has occurred.
Fr. Sebastian Alvarez in his letter to the Episcopal See of Durango, dated November l6, l8l3, expressed his feelings of the people coming from afar to seek cures for their ailments and the spreading of the fame of their cures, induced many more faithful to come in pilgrimage. He did not mention any specific fact, but something was there. El Santuario has been a place of worship from the beginning - a place to pray, to thank, to ask, to meditate and to experience peace of mind as well as of body.
In time, the mass media paid attention to the little Shrine in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Newspapers from Chicago, Denver, New York and Los Angeles, Time and Newsweek magazines have all taken it upon themselves to inform the public about the Shrine. This has resulted in a considerable flow of mail requesting information about the Shrine. People come to the Santuario in the thousands, close to 300,000 a year. They come to worship the Almighty, to ask for peace in the world and in their hearts, to fulfill a promise, to feel the healing touch of God.
El Santuario (The Shrine) was built between l8l4 and l8l6. The “miraculous” crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas was found around l8l0. There is no written testimony concerning the apparition of Our Lord in the Chimayo area. What we have is tradition passed from one generation to another by the people of El Potrero. Here is one account of a “true” story as told by the storyteller.
One tradition recalls that during Holy Week on the night of Good Friday, Don Bernardo Abeyta, who was a member in good standing of the Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesus el Nazareno (Penitentes) was performing the customary penances of the Society around the hills of El Potrero. Suddenly he saw a light springing from one of the slopes of the hills near the Santa Cruz River. Don Bernardo went to the spot and noticed that the shining light was coming from the ground. He started to dig with his bare hands, and there he found a Crucifix. He left it there and called the neighbors to come and venerate the precious finding. A group of men was sent to notify the priest, Fr. Sebastian Alvarez at Santa Cruz.
Upon hearing the extraordinary news, the priest and people set out for Chimayo. When they arrived at the place where the Crucifix was, Fr. Sebastian picked it up and carried it in a joyful procession back to the church. Once in the church, the Crucifix was placed in the niche of the main altar. The next morning, the Crucifix was gone, only to be found in its original location. A second procession was organized and the Crucifix was returned to Santa Cruz, but once again it disappeared, The same thing happened a third time. By then, everyone understood that El Sefior de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayo, and so a small chapel was built.
posted by MCR | 12:58 PM
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