This week, I'm thinking about miracles. Specifically, milagros, the religious folk charms that are used for healing purposes and religious ritual in Mexico and other parts of the world. (Do you know what I'm talking about? If not, here are some examples; note the individual body parts—lungs, eyes, breasts, hearts—among the kneeling figures.)
I've always had a thing for milagros; in my last apartment, I had a collection of sacred hearts of all sizes that I hung on the bathroom walls. Some were painted, one was ceramic, others were plain copper or tin, and all were collected from my then-limited travels around the United States. They're packed away now, wrapped in newsprint and nested in boxes in a storage unit in central Virginia. But, off the top of my head, I could tell you that one was made by an Etsy artisan, another purchased from a home décor shop in midcoast Maine, and a third found in a Baltimore boutique I used to frequent (rather appropriately named Milagro) when I called that city home.
You can buy milagros all over Santa Fe and Taos, and probably Albuquerque, too (though my shopping bug had died down a bit by the time we were there, so I don't know for sure). On more than a few occasions, I was tempted to add to my collection, but there were so many options, such variety, and they were all so perfect, that making a decision felt impossible...and, also, like missing the point.
Coincidentally, Saturday, on our way east on I-40, we passed a sign for Milagro, a town in Guadalupe County, New Mexico. Google it and you'll find a couple ranches for sale, but that's about it.
And then, driving through a new town yesterday evening, a red light stopped us at an intersection beside Casa De Los Milagros, a restaurant that doesn't really look like much, especially after all the quaint cafés and cantinas we spied in the land of enchantment (that's New Mexico's nickname). But, the repetition wasn't lost on me. Alright, alright, I relented. I get it. Miracles everywhere.
So, today, I'm wondering: What would be a miracle for you? And: What's the miracle you want to make?
'Til soon,
Helen
Notes from the week of September 20
CAMPED AT AMERICAN RV PARK
SPOTTED
+ New Mexico whiptails
+ more beetles
+ more cattle
+ more horses
+ a pet pig!
MEALS EATEN, DRINKS DRUNK
+ chile con queso (to. die. for.)
+ pescado blanco tacos
+ whiskey sours (we're digging 1792 Small Batch Bourbon)
+ vegetarian burrito with green chiles
+ tortilla soup
+ berries & cream Mexican ice pop
LOCAL COLOR EXPERIENCED
+ Garduño's of New Mexico
+ Frontier Restaurant
+ La Michoacana de Paquime
CURIOSITIES COLLECTED
+ New Mexico overpasses (lights, murals, sculptures—always an artistic opportunity)
+ a motorcycle club's ride in and around Taos Plaza (we're talking 75 to 100 motorcycles, riding in a pack and revving while waiting for the light)