Fairy Wonderland

Sunday 14 March, 2010

Well, it's cold and snowing again. It was sunny yesterday and I was in a t-shirt. I was meant to seep in but I woke up at 6.30am to work on the computer and talk to Geoff and the girls. The heater didn't turn on until midnight last night. This morning the hot water wouldn't work so there was no way I was having a cold shower. Alas, I was stinky girl rather than icy girl. Now it is 11pm and the shower is working again.

It's funny how they shovel all the snow from the road into one pile which is taller than me and takes up half of the road making it a one lane road outside the workshops. The pile of snow just doesn't seem to melt.

I got a lift into town and looked around at some shops, in particular the Santa Fe Boot Co- more on that later. How could I resist eating lunch at a place called “The Ore House”? It was snowing outside and I sat next to the log fire. The smell of wood burning is irresistible. I wish Geoff and the girls were here to share the beauty of this place with me. I ate Chile stew with tortillas and a coffee for my brunch.

What is it about the huge gaps between the door and te wall in the restrooms in the USA? People washing their hands can see the person in the cubicle in the reflection of the mirror. It is creepy and weird considering Americans pride themselves on their right to privacy and security.

The other toilet observation is that people don't wash their hands. I am being super careful about turning door handles with my sleeve pulled down over my hand knowing that the person in front of me walked straight out from the cubicle to the door without washing- ewwwww.

Mahalia read her speech to me on the phone today. It was about why she wanted to be a year 6 leader. She talked aout the importance of a sense of humour, listening skills and telling the truth. She is adorable- her ideas were great. She was eloquent, confident, witty and darn cute. Her little voice made my eyes well up with tears. I miss her. I feel torn because I am having such a great time here and I miss my babies so much. My inspiration for my work is really high right now.

You know that scene in “Pretty Woman: when Richard Gere and julia Roberts go into the dress store on Rodeo Drive and he says they are going to spend an obscene amount of money- that was me today. Only I wasn't Julia Roberts' character, instead I was the one spending an obscene amount of money. I found my dream cowggirl Boots at Santa Fe Boot Co. Or should I say they found me? I tried on my 4 favourite pairs and of course I had to have the one of a kind custom made black, red, green and cream boots. Now I can go boot-scooting with Lesleigh. The man in the shop said that the boots would outlive me even if I wear them constantly. I need to get some of those boot tree thingys to support the structure of the boots. Frankie better not eat them! I plan to display them as a work of art as they are beautifully crafted and very colourful.

Tonight was amazing. Raul drove us girls out to a beautiful house in a secret hidden compound that his friends Brandon, Ariel and Savannah were house-sitting. The snow was streaming down and I photographed heaps of scenery. I also did some portraits of Ariel and her daughter Savannah sitting in the window box with the snow behind them. Ariel was kind enough to cook for us too- beans and rice and red wine.

Then we drove into town to photograph The Plaza at night. It was a “Fairy Wonderland” as I labelled it. Everyone kept calling it that and laughing at me for being such a kid. The girls would have loved trudging around in the snow with the sparkly lights in the snowy trees. It was so beautiful to photograph the snow on the ground, in the trees and in the sky. Then we shot the snow falling onto the Cathedral. What a sight!

As a result of this fun night, I had to miss the welcome dinner for my next course. This is fine as I can just turn up a bit early to class tomorrow to meet the lecturer, Paul Mobley and tell him I was out in the snow doing photography and couldn't get to the dinner. Tomorrow, Inae and Alfonsina fly out to Monterrey, Mexico and Raul back to Miami.