COMPUTER WITHDRAWAL

I want to tell you about our trip to Santa Fe. But the painters are about to arrive to give me computer withdrawal since they are painting this room - the office - and will have to remove the plugs to the world and cover everything in plastic, or worse, move it all out of here. If plastic, then this evening when they are gone, I might be able to sneak under it and have enough oxygen to log on if I can extend the cords.

Having strangers in the house makes me very nervous anyway, so add to that the stress of staying offline; it might just finish me as a non-drooling web citizen.

If I could simply find a use for drool.

Sad news: we looked everywhere but could not find Santa in Santa Fe. I had a list.

We almost escaped without buying art. The last store we visited... and we went to every gallery we could find... had bowls inlaid with turquoise. The one we wanted was marked down JUST FOR US ON THE SPOT to $6700! No! We didn't. But there WERE others, smaller, and now there's one missing.

Turquoise is ubiquitous in Santa Fe. They have signs "Help Us Conserve Water - This Is The High Desert - But Take All The Turquoise You Want, And Don't Forget The Neighbors!"

We were lucky to be in Santa Fe for Fiesta which goes back many years. In a town that dates over 400 years old, you'd think they have this celebration DOWN. Police were all over the place - even the SWAT team, a huge mobile command post, EMS guys on bikes... no incidents we could see, but I've never seen such a heavy police presence. No Turquoise on the cops though. They should change the license plates which are yellow to Turquoise and then change the slogan to NEW MEXICO - THE POLICE STATE.

I must now vacate the room. Soon it will be LOWE'S BRS7 "Buried Treasure" brushed suede. Wait - the painters just called - they'll be here at 10. That's Hispanic for 11.

Back to Santa Fe - if you buy a home with its own water well, you have to have radiological testing done on the water. Drink it without knowing and 1- you'll have the whitest smile in town and 2- people will be able to see your teeth even when your lips are closed.

Santa Fe is about 40 miles from Los Alamos, where they built the first atomic bomb. Did you know it was encased in turquoise?

I took hundreds of pictures. I'll post a few of the best when I get the room back.