August 8, 2026 Breakfast - Croissants and Coffee. Lunch - Enchiladas with Rice and Beans Dinner - Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet

August 8, 2026 Breakfast - Croissants and Coffee. Lunch - Enchiladas with Rice and Beans  Dinner - Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet

I slept until 8:30 which is unusual.

Then at 9:00 we rode our bikes to the Farmer’s Market where Suzette bought two regular Croissants and one almond croissant and a loaf of Country brread from Le Quiche Bakery.

Then when we returned Suzette ate her regular croissant with a latte macchiato while reading the morning paper and I started removing the husks from the cloves of garlic we grew this year.

Suzette left for work around 9:30 and Willy arrived around 10:00 and we split The remaining almond and regular croissant and ate them with latte macchiatos and had a deep dive into our stock investing strategies.  Willy is doing very well, especially with long term options.

After he left around 11:00 I returned to separating cloves of garlic from their husks until Suzette arrived at 12:30 when we heated leftover enchiladas wirh beans and rice for lunch and drank beers.

I then finished husking cloves and Suzette lay down for a nap.

When I finished husking garlic at 2:30 I also lay down and napped until 4:00 when we got dressed and at 5:00 drove to Isleta Hotel to attend the Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet.

Suzette had paid for a table for Senior Living that was a new member and because her manager, Vicki Baldenado, was to receive the outstanding Board member of the year award.

I had never been in the convention area of the hotel and was amazed how beautiful the long barrel vaulted main corridor was.

After we sat at our table, got drinks (I took a glass of Merlot), and a lot of introductory remarks, diner was served. I was amazed how good the food was, there was gourmet salad blend with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes plus a tomato and caramelized red onion salad.  Then came the entrees, a vegetable medley of lightly sautéed red onion, yellow and zucchini squash, and haricot vertes, then mashed potatoes and then chicken, stewed brisket, and baked salmon fillets. There were also squares of carrot and chocolate sheet cake.

I took the brisket and it was really good, slow cooked for hours in a beef broth sauce, but the best dish was the vegetables with the thin haricot vertes and fresh squashes.

After dinner there was another two hours of introductions and awards and soeeches abd pictures taken by each of the 15 or 16 new members including Suzette’s Senior Living crew (pictured above) and Vickie and Jeff’s company, Sunrise Builders. Then the award winners were honored including Vickie as Outstandimg Board member of the year.

Finally at 9:15 we drove back to Albuquerque in Suzette’s 1990 BMW roadster with the top retracted. I had fun driving Suzette’s roadster convertible.

When we arrived home we went to bed.

Bon Appetit