Merry Christmas!!

In a couple days Santa will be bringing gifts to those amongst us who are believers. Everybody else will probably get something from someone else. Of course the true meaning of Christmas for us Christians is the birth of Jesus Christ…but it’s nice to get a little something under the tree too.


When I was young, my aunt and uncle would host a huge Christmas Eve gathering for the family. It was a really big deal. I remember one time someone said there was over 20 kids under the age of 6 there. They would have a dinner and everybody would dress up in their Christmas finery. They always had a big white flocked Christmas tree with lots of lights, balls and tinsel on it.

At the appointed hour, one of the adults would sneak outside and jingle sleigh bells. All of us little ones would get ushered into a bedroom to await Santa’s entrance. There were lots of shrieks of excitement and the adult chaperons stood guard by the windows to keep curious deviants like myself and my cousins from peaking out the windows.

One of the male adults, preferably one who was a bit on the portly side, would dress up in a Santa suit and do his “HO HO HO” thing with more bell jingling. Another adult would climb up on the roof and clomp around driving us kids nuts.

After what would seem like a couple of hours of torture, the door of the bedroom would open and we would rush out. Somehow they always timed it so we would catch Santa in the doorway just as he was leaving (they didn’t have a chimney). He’d turn to face us and belt out “Merry Christmas” and before anyone got too close to him he’d duck out and the door would slam shut. Our attention was quickly diverted to all the gifts piled high under that magnificent tree.

Years later when I was older I remember a star struck little guy who walked up to my Dad, tugged on his pant leg and shouted, “Uncle Glenn! Santa has shoes just like yours!” Gasp, gasp! A hush fell on the room. My Dad just winked and patted him on the head and said that Santa must shop at the same shoe store that he did. That was good enough for the little guy and he turned and joined the other kids ripping into their presents still a believer.

Yah, those are some good memories. I don’t remember when it was that I learned any different nor do I remember exactly when I realized that just maybe there really is a Santa Claus. How about you? Merry Christmas folks! Thanks for stopping by.

The Art of...

This column I wrote for the Montrose Daily Press is reprinted here for Anna...hope to see you soon.

Over the years I’ve expressed my appreciation of “the art of…” a lot of different stuff. Of course we all know that art is very subjective. I’ve gotten into a bit of trouble with you folks for expressing an opinion of what I thought art is. That’s not bad though because it has opened my mind up to some really beautiful designs and ideas that I had previously ignored.


One aspect of art that I’ve only scratched the surface of with you folks is the art of cooking. While I know that a number of you are no doubt better versed on this topic than I am, I do have an appreciation of a well prepared meal whether it is served up in a high class restaurant, a diner down the street or at home. It makes no difference.

My wife is a good cook. Because we both work longer hours than we’d like to, she doesn’t get to practice this art as often as I’d like. Consequently when she does put something together, it is a real treat. She has a couple of recipes that if we were ever to open a restaurant they would need to be on the menu.

A recent creation involved Anasazi beans. Never heard of them? They are grown right over in Dove Creek. Lots of acres devoted to the little multi-colored bean. They are good, if you like beans. Ironically, we came across a bag of them at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, in Santa Fe of course, the last time we were down there. I’m told that they are available at City Market too. I would hope so.

Kathy, my wife the cook, adapted a generic recipe for beans and ham using the Anasazi bean and some ham hocks. She added another favorite that we have come to use in a lot of dishes, chopped/diced Hatch green chiles. Our daughter lives in Albuquerque so we have a somewhat direct source for them. She buys them by the gunny sack full, has them roasted and then chops them up and freezes them in quart bags, which we pick up a few of whenever we visit. Daughter Mandy’s “significant other” is a chef in ABQ so that helps too.

Southwest cooking in general is pretty good eating. I’m originally from Minnesota, land of meatloaf, tuna casserole and white gravy, but I really enjoy well prepared chile rellenos, huevous rancheros and the like, anything I can put green chile salsa on.

Here’s a little tip. If you like green chile salsa, look for Santa Fe Seasons Fire Roasted Green Chile Salsa in the market or go to www.santafeseasons.com. Highly recommended. See you downtown.