Coffee and Code

Autumn has taken hold in Santa Fe. My front yard attests to that, being completely blanketed in fallen leaves which I have no immediate desire to go out and rake up! (Lazy.) Anyway, it was a busy summer, and my girlfriend and I almost missed our chance to indulge in a standard summer ritual: our informal margarita tour.

Our favorite margarita spot is the same place most Santa Fe locals would guess: Maria's. In terms of both variety and quality, we weren't disappointed. This year, I was drinking the "Silver Bullet", and two of them left me feeling quite nice.

We checked out a couple of other local joints with mixed reviews. I won't name those places since  you can get a margarita pretty much anywhere in Santa Fe and the drink has to be really good to stand out. I will mention, however two other places that have done right by me in the past with regard to margaritas: The Cowgirl is one: I usually get a frozen margarita there since they serve it in a nice, tall frosty mug. I've had their house margarita as well, which isn't bad. The atmosphere is really western there and if you go in the wintertime, you can sit next to a wood stove.

The second place I'll mention is Tomasita's. (I couldn't find a website for it.) I've had margaritas there before that I bought by the pitcher with some friends. They were delicious and Tomasita's offers some varity in tequilas. I've heard they they offer a frozen margarita with a swirl of sangria, which sounds awesome but I've never tried it.

One other place in Santa Fe that I've had a good margarita at is Del Charro. Its prices are reasonable and they give you the shaker with some extra margarita in it along with your drink. That ain't half bad!

Now that the harvest season is upon us, I'm doing my best to get into the spirit. I bought some good scotch, which is a start. Have a happy fall and wintertime!

My girlfriend and I have been seeing these mantis-creatures clinging to the warm stucco on our back wall in the evening. The guy pictured above just hung out and let me take a bunch of really close pictures! Apparently, these guys can change color to blend in with the environment: Another mantis-creature we saw had changed its color to match the stucco perfectly.

Santa Fe has been wintery lately; the nights are much colder, the days are crisp, and hot tea has become my new favorite beverage. (Whiskey in the wintertime is another favorite, of course!) Now that it’s cold, I forsee a lot of hot stew and oven-roasted dishes in my future... mmmmmm...

I’m in the midst of rearranging my office to make room for a weight bench and my other exercise equipment. My plans for the cold months are to spend a little time each morning and evening at home, so I only have to go to the gym for the cardio equipment. Winter is also a great time to work on programming projects, so I plan a lot of that: New blog with .Net 3.5, new version of the I-Ching application, and a website redesign. Too ambitious? Maybe. We’ll see.

Until next time, reader, stay warm and have fun!