HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ONE AND ALL!!

We hope your Thanksgiving will be as joyous as this family celebration was a few years back! May your feast be splendid and your blessings be many.......................

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR...........
Thanksgiving 2009

Danny's Photo got deleted from it's spot further down on the post. See if you can figure out where it belongs...............

Topaz is wondering what all this "Thanksgiving" is all about............

It's a time to be thankful for all your blessings--like Binky is being as she breaks into the pepperocini...............

And like we will all be when we get to eat her relish plate featuring the appetizer she invented herself--the hard salami-pepperocini wrap...................

Giano can hardly wait.................

Diana is thankful that all she has to cook is the turkey--because of medical emergencies this week, sister Sisi took over the role of Thanksgiving hostess...............

The whole family is thankful for the hostess with the mostest...................

Louie is thankful that he is going to be getting his very own tee-pee..................

Everyone is very grateful to Danny for being their life line on all things "computer"................
(Yup, this is where Danny's photo was supposed to be.....)

We need to be thankful for having someone to love........

And we need to be thankful for the brave example of good friends like Cathy who soldiered through so much medical adversity this year................

And for the bounty of an elegant table.................

And the joy of having such wonderful children....................

And an invitation to a welcoming home to celebrate the holiday with others..............

If you note the bandage on Dwight's neck, he was just days out of life saving surgery on his carotid artery when this was taken last year and this year we are doubly thankful to have him with us!.................

I am thankful for having a sensitive son who so enjoys browsing through wedding albums................

And a darling baby sister who is such a good cook..................

And the pleasure of having loving children who will spend the time and money to return home for the holiday..................

For all these many blessings--not the least of which is our baby Winston--WE ARE SO VERY THANKFUL!

TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY--SECOND HONEYMOON
LAS VEGAS, NEW MEXICO--DAY 2

As we pack up after a wonderful stay at the Plaza Hotel...............

I take time to write our musings in the little journal provided in the Bridal Suite...........

We have thoroughly enjoyed this new Ilfeld annex to the Hotel.............

But before we check out, ti's time for a country breakfast in the Landmark Grill downstairs...........

Dwight is soooo happy and behind him on the sideboard is a Victorian style clock that is just like one we have at home.................

Some detailing in the dining room................

Just perfectly appointed.............

I'm thrilled with the dainty squash blossom that Dwight gave me as a twentieth wedding anniversary gift--I guess twenty years is the turquoise anniversary..................

That's me reflected on the outside taking a picture of Dwight as he waits for the check on the inside. I don't like to wait around for the bad news of the bill.................

Before leaving, we explore the bowels of the Ilfeld building where a fitness center is located...........

As well as a delightful little card playing/library area.................................

All this is below street level.....................

But it is beautifully illuminated by the window wells below the street grating................

We will miss the elegance of the period furniture...............

And the grandeur of a time gone by...................

This darling photo graces the main lobby..............

As do these portraits from long ago..................

Goodbye Plaza Hotel!!--and thanks for the roses.................

Outside it's a gorgeous day in June.................

And there is movement afoot on the Las Vegas Plaza................

This is the grate illuminating the basement sitting room. This bridal store also sells jewelry..........

The old Veeder Building and an old Tudor carriage house...........

This cute brick building is dwarfed by the Ilfeld Building. It was built by Charles Ilfeld's son Louis for his law practice...............

Las Vegas is such a pretty town................

On the other side of the plaza, this old building once served as a courtroom............

The dancers from last night have all gone home, and there is now a crew of teenagers sprucing up the park...................

Dwight's ready to take off and explore other neighborhoods in Las Vegas................

Like the Carnegie Park District where many examples of Victorian homes and Queen Anne homes like this Waring/Rosenthal beauty stand................

Because of the large side yard, you can see a great deal of detail of the wood carving, tile design and stained glass that adorn this home...........

We are loving the whimsical nature of these unique homes.............

The color pallet of this beauty is most pleasing.................

A lovely rose arcade frames this neighboring home..............

With lathe-turned columns, folk spindle work, and bulls-eye stained glass windows.............

Another stately Queen Anne................

And an imposing Tudor.........................

This is a beautiful old stone mansion.........................

But it is currently in ill-repair. Any fixer upper types who would like to take this project on?.............................

This is called the Carnegie Park because in the middle of this leafy oasis is New Mexico's only .................................

Carnegie Library!!.......................................

This iconic style--patterned after Monticello--is so readily identifiable, that you can purchase copies of it for Christmas Villages. I WANT one!...........................

Inside, it is rather small, but.................

just PACKED with books.....................

The staff was so appreciative of our interest in the library that they gave me an old Victorian fan with the name of the Library on it..........................

Back outside, this lovely Lowry House Queen Anne is a stone's throw from the park and the library.............................

The Library is the meeting place-center of the area.................

Accross the street from the park, this couple was sprucing up their Queen Anne house for sale--asking price: $245,000...................

But for my money, I'll take this beautiful, huge Victorian on the corner that is selling for $495.00...................

It is pristinely restored with crenilated cornices, a widow's walk and period iron fencing..................

Wrap her up! I'll take her home..................

We pass a stately church en route to our next destination...........

Long ago, this was Las Vegas City Hall.................

We pass Highlands University......................

And an All-American Drug Store/Soda Shop.........................

Our Destination--the El Fidel Hotel......................

In the lobby, a rendering of the Hotel in it's glory days....................

It has a large impressive lobby..................Information on wall plaques tell of a very notorious murder of a prominent Las Vegas politico by gunfire in this very spot...............................

Despite it's gracious look today (much more impressive than it's homelier cousin El Fidel in Santa Fe ever was!), this may well be a haunted place...................

Dwight checks out the old hotel switchboard...................

"One ringee-dingee, two ringee-dingee................"...........................

Even this old phone booth is no longer operational.................

Details from the colorful facade...............................

A very glamourous spot for a morning respite from the hot sun..................

Detail from a neighboring building that is now being restored and that was once adjacent to the old Opera House............................................................

This ecclectic stone house was one of several built by James Ward in the residential area around Las Vegas' other lovely residential park from the nineteenth century, Lincoln Park..............................................

Another stone beauty that has survived in tact........................

Some delailing on the charming porch....................................................

But this is the beauty of them all--James Ward's own castellated home....................

Some details of the cornice and widow's walk...................................In a 1980s visit to Las Vegas, this home was for sale for $17,000--a paltry sum even in those days for a true Victorian home with it's cast iron fencing intact and across from........................

A shady park with a public gazebo.....................

If I had bought it, I think I might have altered what is a really underwhelming entry to such a gorgeous mansion.......................

But I didn't have the $17, 00 then, so all I can do now is to enjoy a respite from the sun in the shady gazebo..................

On our way out of town, we searched for and and finally found a famous well. It was apparently the only well in town not to dry out and was the only source of water during a horrible drought many years ago............

It looks pretty dry now, though..................

So we bid a very fond farewell to this lovely historical town that holds so many warm memories for us..............................

And return home with our keepsakes and memories that are "the stuff that dreams are made of".........................................