What's going on, Albuquerque?

Barelas Babe's Stories Tagged 'Barelas' (25)

Car Vandal Values

I returned home last night from a road trip that was equal parts camping, conferencing, book proposal team writing, and socializing. Given the lateness of the hour, I only partially unpacked my car -- removing one duffel bag with clothes, my computer and hiking backpacks, hiking boots, toiletries bag, two pillows,…

Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on August 17, 2012 at 1:00pm — 6 Comments

Paloma as Public Philosophy? De(a)finitely!

Love doesn’t need an audience or even a dress rehearsal, but sometimes it helps. Last night I sat through a dress rehearsal of Anna Garcia-Romero’s fabuloso play Paloma, which is…

Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on August 3, 2012 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Vinagre y Turnips

Skarsgard Farms (formerly Los Poblanos Organics) delivered turnips and beets to my front porch last week. Seeing these root vegetables side by side in my refrigerator gave me a hankering for Lebanese-style pickled turnips with beet juice. Since there was…

Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on July 31, 2012 at 1:30pm — 8 Comments

A Good Burque Friday

Hola Fixers! It has been a while, sí? I’m now blogging as Barelas Babe, Ph.D, which has a nifty little ring to it, don'cha think? But no worries, this Bareleña isn’t going to get too big for her pantalones (or should that…

Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on April 7, 2012 at 11:00am — 12 Comments

Fiesta de Barelas

Sacred Heart Church in Barelas had its Fiesta last weekend on the site of the old church. They tore down the church decades ago due to structural problems - with a little reconfiguration and a consecration, the old school gym became the Sagrado Corazón we know today. (If you venture into the parish office, you will see a painting of the old church by a… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on June 14, 2010 at 2:00pm — 6 Comments

It's a Neighborly Day in this Beauty Wood

A few weeks ago I was getting my Morning Fix and clicked to a KOAT story about off duty police car use. The story was interesting, the first reader comment actually made me think, but three comments later it devolved into the usual local teevee forum rant. Just as I was about to go back to DCF, an HGTV story caught my eye - “… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on March 15, 2010 at 1:00pm — 15 Comments

Toiling Over Tamales at Christmastide

The busiest place in South Barelas on Christmas Eve is not a church, but a temple of tamal-making – El Modelo. Longtime (and not-so-longtime) residents of Albuquerque have memories of lining up and waiting to pick up tamales to enjoy on Christmas Eve with their families. For more than a decade, we’ve joined in this tradition.

Some restaurants are more than just a place to eat – they are places where food is intertwined with memories.… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on December 21, 2009 at 3:30pm — 21 Comments

Ghosts of Halloween Past

Each Halloween is a little bit different. Some years I dole out the candy one by one, concerned that I may not have purchased enough to last the night. Other years the trick-or-treaters are few and far between, and I start tossing in generous handfuls of candy so that I do not get stuck with too much leftover candy.

Sometimes I get it just right, though that is a rarity.

Since last year was a meager year for trick-or-treaters, I… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on November 2, 2009 at 10:30am — 13 Comments

The Ants Stop Marching One By One

It is that time of year again. Signs that fall has arrived are rampant: hot air balloons a-soaring, green chile a-roasting, politicians ~~a-yammering~~ campaigning, and ants disappearing.

For years we've waged a multi-generational war on our property. It isn’t the usual exterminator/home owner battle, though. We’re more sophisticated than that – we're established some subtlety in staking out our philosophic positions of what I'll call,… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on October 5, 2009 at 2:00pm — 7 Comments

Perplexity, Persistence, and the MRGCD Elections

This is a tale of perplexity and persistence. More than a decade ago, when I purchased my first home and moved to Barelas, I registered to vote, wanting to do my civic duty and wanting to have my say about matters close to home. I read all of the election literature I received, including the newsletters sent out by the Middle Rio Grande… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on May 29, 2009 at 11:30am — 30 Comments

Building Boom in Barelas

With the economy taking a dive and people losing jobs and (struggling to get their unemployment benefits), it seems like an odd time for a neighborhood to grow by increasing housing and services, but that is what has been happening in Barelas, even after our current recession began.

There are the Barelas Townhomes across from the famed Barelas Coffee Shop, the Barelas… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on February 16, 2009 at 12:00pm — 11 Comments

The Hunt for Tingley Field (aka Tingley Park)

Shortly after I moved to Barelas, I discovered Tingley Park. With two little ones, Tingley Park was a far enough walk away from home to feel like an adventure and close enough for us to make a quick dash for home in case we needed to.

There was also the bonus of Tingley Park’s location across the street from the Rio Grande… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on February 2, 2009 at 3:00pm — 21 Comments

Hope and Renewal in Barelas

I went to a party last weekend and was outed as Barelas Babe.

My identity is no secret, but once people discover this, cocktail conversations head in a predictable direction. So I spent more than a few minutes last Saturday night talking with a longtime Albuquerque realtor about changes in Barelas. When you live in a community it is easier to notice incremental changes, especially if you walk it daily. For the infrequent visitor driving… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on January 12, 2009 at 2:30pm — 6 Comments

Christmas in Barelas - Redux

I can see the smallest onion domein Albuquerque from my house. It isn’t quite like seeing Russia, but given that this is New Mexico, it will have to suffice.

When I first started looking for a home in Albuquerque, I had two criteria. First, home had to be walking distance (2 miles or less) from UNM, and second, it had to be in an…

Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on January 7, 2009 at 2:00pm — 11 Comments

Las Posadas de Barelas 2008

The older I get, the more drawn I am to local neighborhood holiday traditions. Part of it is a nostalgic longing for community – I have happy childhood memories of large extended family gatherings. (To give you an idea what I mean by extended family - in just 10 minutes I came up with a list of more than 200 family members, and given another 20 minutes I could probably double that list. And this is without conferring with my mother, whose memory has a… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on December 22, 2008 at 1:00pm — 6 Comments

Growing Up Purple

I’m looking forward to voting this week. One of my earliest childhood memories is of walking down the street on Election Day with both of my parents and my younger brother, whose toddler exuberance was constrained with a baby blue ~~leash~~ child harness.

It was rare that we’d walk somewhere together as a family of four. Most of our family outings involved getting in the car and… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on October 19, 2008 at 2:30pm — 3 Comments

El Jardin de Barelas

Less than a mile from the heart of downtown Albuquerque is a community experiment in progress. If you drive (or even walk) down 4th Street south of Central Avenue, past the streets named for entities in the Periodic Table of the Elements, you might notice a small plot of land with raised garden beds painted in bright colors.

Enclosed by a six foot high chain link fence and a locked gate,… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on October 6, 2008 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

Filling Up at the Filling Station

The first weekend after Labor Day is always bittersweet for me, marking the psychological transition from summer into autumn. Mornings are cooler, there’s a hint of green chile in the air, and leaves begin to acquire a tarnish of gold.

On a personal note, it means that I get to reacquaint myself with the Sunport and life as a commuter traversing the friendly skies. This weekend was my first weekend… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on September 8, 2008 at 10:30am — 1 Comment

Beautiful Barelas

“Beautiful” is not a word often linked with Barelas. Ours is a close-knit community, held together by corazón y familia, but beauty doesn’t figure into most descriptions of Barelas. Speed through the main thoroughfares of our barrio and you’ll likely miss the beauty that lives in… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on September 1, 2008 at 1:30pm — 6 Comments

Walkability - Barelas Style

I’m up too late on a Saturday night (for reasons of insomnia, not fun) and feel too groggy to throw on some clothes and walk a few blocks down the street to the Church of Beethoven this Sunday morning.

So I make my mug of Ohori’s Italian Roast drip coffee, all the while dithering over whether I want to start my day with the New York… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on July 28, 2008 at 1:30pm — 8 Comments