May 8, 2026 Breakfast - Granola. Lunch - Santa cafe. Dinner - Oysters, chicken Salad and cheese from Whole Foods

 May 8, 2026 Breakfast - Granola.  May 8, 2026 Breakfast - Granola. Lunch - Santa cafe. Dinner - Oysters, chicken Salad and cheese from Whole Foods - Santa cafe. Dinner - Oysters, chicken Salad and cheese from Whole Foods

Billy and Elaine spent the night. When we woke up I ate a bowl of granola with fresh strawberries and blueberries. We then packed up and left a few minutes after 10:00 and drove to Santa Cafe in Santa Fe. 

At 11:30 Rebecca, Mickey, Shawna, and J.P. arrived. We sat in the sunlight outside the restaurant for a few minutes until the wait staff was organized and then took our usual corner table for nine.

Soon Amy joined us and Willy called to say he was on the way from work.

We ordered two appetizers of Fried Calamari and a bottle of AIX rose and chatted for about 45 minutes until Willy arrived.

Five of us ordered chicken enchiladas, the enchiladas served served with an excellent green tinted rice due to the pureed cilantro that had been added to it. The rice was the surprise of the meal besides the chicken in the enchiladas that was stewed chicken in herbs and spices, Ropa Vieja in Mexican Cuisine, that was like pulled pork, soft, tender and infused with flavor. I ordered the lobster salad  and shared it with Suzette who ordered the squash and corn soup.  Willy ordered the burger and Shawna ordered the lobster roll.

The lobster salad had three or four small claws that had clearly been frozen and a pile of gourmet lettuce, the soup was uninteresting and bland. I realized that there was no signature chef in the kitchen but some very capable Mexican cooks, who, when given the chance, could replicate favorite Mexican family recipes. I made the mistake of thinking French Cuisine when all the creative energy in the kitchen was coming from Mexican Cuisine because the cooks were mostly

Mexicans.

After lunch we drove to Santa Fe Auction and picked up the two paintings Suzette bought and the Howard Shleeter painting I bought.

We then drove El Rey and checked in and napped until to 6:00 when Suzette, Elaine, Billy and I drove to Owings Gallery and walked to the La Fonda on the southeast corner of the Plaza and went up to the roof bar called the Bell Tower for drinks. Suzette and Elaine ordered a special Gin and tonic with juniper berries. I drank a coke and Billy drank water.

We sat and enjoyed the lively weather until sunset at 7:56. Willy joined us at 7:30 and drank a glass of red wine.

During our time at the Bell Tower Suzette and I came up with an idea for dinner, $1.00 oysters on the half shell at Whole Foods and other items of each person’s choice. Suzette fetched the 36 oysters and cocktail sauce. We then went to the extensive food court area and bought a loaf of sliced sourdough bread, a small container of chicken salad. Willy took a hot meal of grilled salmon, broccoli and rice. Elaine and Billy chose three cheeses, a thyme Havarti, an aged Gouda, and a wedge of Manchego plus a box of Carr’s wheat biscuits. We then drove back to El Rey and re-assembled in the cactus garden room for dinner. We opened a bottle of Le Rose rose from Provence we brought from home and ate regally until around 9:30.

We then joined three young ladies at the fire pit for a few minutes and then we four oldsters went to bed and Willy joined the wedding party for Rebecca’s friend in the bar.

Bon Appetit

May 6, 2026 Breakfast - Sausage, fried eggs and potatoes. Lunch - Baked Chicken, rice, and stir fried Chinese Broccoli. Dinner - Chirashi

May 6, 2026 Breakfast - Sausage, fried eggs and potatoes. Lunch - Baked Chicken, rice, and stir fried Chinese Broccoli. Dinner - Chirashi 

What a full and fabulous day. There were four high points: three great meals, I timely filed my Reply in the LRGA, I bought a new painting at Auction, and I had my best day in the market in my life.

I slept until 8:00 which got me rested enough to push through all the activities of the day.

I fried two eggs, a patty of Jimmie Dean Sausage, and some of the leftover roasted potatoes from last night’s dinner. I also toasted two slices of country bread that I buttered and spread with cherry preserves.

Then I started working on my Reply until 12:30 when I reheated a baked chicken thigh leftover from last night’s dinner, some rice, and the last of the stir fried Chinese

broccoli from our Friday dinner at East Ocean. It was really a delicious meal.

I then worked until 2:30 when I check the Markets results and was thrilled that I had had the best day ever with my portfolio increasing almost 3.9%.

I recalled that the other EUFA final was being telivised so I watched Bayern Munich play Paris St. Germain to a 1 to 1 tie with PSG advancing to the final against Arsenal on point differential.

I then bid on several paintings being offered in the Santa Fe Art Auction and was able to buy an interesting 1969 Howard Shleeter painting and let three more go to higher bids.

I then finished my reply around 4:30 and sent the reply to Alex to do a final review.

At 4:30 Suzette came home in back pain. 

We watched a bit of news and then I diced the sashimi fish left from Henry and my chirashi bowls at Crazy Fish yesterday. We heated rice bowls of the leftover sushi rice and I made myself a cup of green tea,  suzette drank a glass of Pine Ridge Chinen Blanc/Viognier blend.

Henry hardly ate any of his chirashi, so we had a lovely dinner.

Then I returned to my reply and filed it around 9:30 to complete a jam packed day of good food and lots of activity.

Bon Appetit

May 5, 2026 Breakfast - Granola Lunch - Crazy Fish Dinner - Baked Chicken, roasted potatoes and Leeks, and sautéed Green beans with pinon nuts

May 5, 2026 Breakfast - Granola  Lunch - Crazy Fish  Dinner - Baked Chicken, roasted potatoes and Leeks, and sautéed Green beans with pinon nuts

I woke up around 6:30 and started working on my reply.

At 8:30 I showered and Suzette soaked and scrubbed my feet and rubbed in lotion and put rosemary extract on my toenails.

Then at 9:00 when Suzette went to her exercise session, I ate a bowl of granola with milk, mango yogurt, and blueberries.

At 11:00 when she returned we walked around the block.

At 12:00 Henry picked me up and drove us to Crazy Fish. We ordered Chirashi bowls with fresh wasabi. I ate half, but Henry did not have much appetite, so we packed them up for later.

We then drove to a two Wheel drive to measure my position on the pedals of the recumbent bike I bought, so they can adjust the length of the chain.

He then drove to East Ocean to pick up an order of wonton soup for Esther and drove me home.

I watched Arsenal beat Madrid Atletico in the semi-final of EUFA.

Tomorrow Bayern-Munich plays Paris St. Germain in the other semi-final but I am trying to file my reply tomorrow and there is an art auction I want to attend.

Finally at 4:00 I checked my portfolio and it was up 1%.

I lay down and watched the news from 4:00 until 5:00 and then worked on my reply until 5:45 when Suzette said dinner was ready.

Dinner - Suzette basted the eight chicken thighs I bought yesterday at El Super with the leftover Dijonnaise dressing I made yesterday with fresh tarragon and thyme from our garden plus a minced clove of garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice plus some herb de Provence.

Suzette also roasted thin slices of two leeks and several Yukon Gold potatoes in olive oil and sautéed green beans with pinon nuts for a green vegetable.

We drank glasses of Ridge’s Chenin Blanc/Viognier blend that was both slightly sweet and tart and ate under the gazebo by the pond.

We slept through Finding Your Roots and went to bed at 9:00.

We were tired, although I walked about 3000 steps and Suzette bought two female artist’s paintings on line at the Santa Fe Art Auction. 

Bon Appetit

May 4, 2026 Breakfast - Bagel and Lax Lunch - Duck Salad Dinner - Leftover Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli and Rice and a salmon spread and avocado sandwich

May 4, 2026 Breakfast - Bagel and Lax Lunch - Duck Salad   Dinner - Leftover Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli and Rice and a salmon spread and avocado sandwich

I awakened at 6:30 and toasted two halves of a bagel and spread them with cream cheese and then garnished them with slices of red onion and Gravad lax and drank two cups of Earl Grey tea with them and then edited my reply again until 1:30, when I made a salad of romaine lettuce, a diced Belgium endive, a few grape tomatoes halved, two radishes sliced, Kalamata olives, a hard boiled egg diced, and the last few oz.s of roasted duck heated.  I melted slices of Brie cheese on two slices of toasted baguette and made my favorite Dijonnaise dressing with minced fresh tarragon and thyme from the garden and a clove of garlic plus lemon juice, red wine  and Spanish olive oil.

I also drank a glass of Spanish Mencia.diluted with ice cubes.

I ate half of the salad and then watched Everton beat Man City in a PL match and dozed until Suzette arrived at 3:30. Suzette ate some beans with a leftover lamb ribblet while I finished my salad. 

Suzette then lay down and I finished editing my reply and then drove to El Super and bought, milk, green beans, sweet potatoes, chicken thighs, and mango yogurt. Produce is increasing in price. Many items have already doubled and I suspect more increases in the near future.

Perhaps the future has arrived in the stock market. Today oil went up and the Dow dropped 557 points and my portfolio dropped another .8% in value.

When I returned home neither of us wanted to cook, so Suzette ate avocado toast for dinner and I heated some leftover Chinese Broccoli and rice and spread Swedish salmon spread on a piece of buttered toast and garnished it with slices of avocado.

We watched The Antiques Roadshow and then Suzette went to bed.

I stayed up until 11:00 watching the Ken Burns American Revolution series and then Rachel Maddow and ate the last chocolate chip cookie.

In bed I blogged this entry.

Bon Appetit

May 3, 2026 Breakfast - Cottage Fries, fried Eggs, and homemade sausage. Lunch - Leftover Mapo Dofu and Rice. Dinner - Duck, beans, and Chinese Broccoli

May 3, 2026 Breakfast  - Cottage Fries, fried Eggs, and homemade sausage.  Lunch - Leftover Mapo Dofu and Rice. Dinner - Duck, beans, and Chinese Broccoli

I had another night of bad rest, although my body seems to be healing and my nose dried out. To make up for the lack of sleep I rested several hours during the day today.

At 9:00 Suzette ground the rosemary, sage and garlic chives we dried overnight and mixed the spices and a 1/2 T. of Aleppo chili with the remaining 1/2 lb. of ground pork and made two patties. She then sliced a potato into thin slices and fried them.

Then she fried three eggs and i toasted and buttered two slices of bread and fetched the cherry preserves.

We put cherry preserves on the slightly Spicy and dry sausage to good effect and enjoyed breakfast.

I watched Tottenham win its match and kept itself out of relegation.

Then I chopped a carrot, 1/3 of an onion, and a stalk of celery that Suzette sautéed and added the beans she had soaked overnight and water and simmered for several jours until the beans were cooked.

Then I made rice with seaweed and garlic chives and at 2:00 we heated the leftover Mapo Dofu and served it with rice for lunch.

I then worked and then lay down until 4:00, when toured and sat in the garden.  

Dinner 

When we returned to the house I deboned the leftover duck from last night’s meal and cut the leftover braised Chinese Broccoli from last night’s meal at East Ocean into bite sized pieces.

Suzette sautéed the duck in a skillet and steamed the Chinese broccoli in the microwave and served spoonfuls of eac over a pile of the cooked beans as a deconstructed cassoulet.

I opened a bottle of 2017 Gruner Vetliner 

Then we watched two episodes of Finding France with Eva Longoria, Burgundy and Alsace.

At 8:00 between the episodes I ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream with a dash of cognac.

I watched an episode of Astrid at 10:00 and went to bed at 11:00.

Bon Appetit