For those who don’t have a sober friend to get them home, the cheapest help — it’s free — is offered by the New Mexico branch of the AAA. The AAA “Tipsy Tow” service begins tonight at 6 p.m. and continues through 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Day. During that 30-hour period, anyone who needs a ride home (users do not have to be members of AAA) can call the service for a lift for themselves and their car. The service can be used to transport the tipsy drivers and their cars up to 10 miles. Those needing to travel further than 10 miles must negotiate a separate fee with the tow-truck driver. The destination must be home or a hotel where the would-be drunken driver is a registered guest. Only one person will be transported free of charge. Other AAA services such as tire changes will trigger the normal fees for service.

Santa Fe County’s CADDy (Chauffeur and Designated Driver) program — which normally only operates Fridays and Saturdays — also will be available on New Year’s Eve. That service — which begins at 5:30 p.m. and continues through 2:30 a.m. — offers riders a reduced-rate cab ride home. The service also can be used to go to a celebration without one’s car. But all rides must begin or end at a residence. It cannot be used for bar or party hopping. The cost for the CADDy program varies based on the number of riders. Solo riders can get a cab ride anywhere in the city for $5. Riders coming from or going to a destination outside the city limits pay the flat fee from or to the city limits and the meter fee for the remaining miles. Two to three people can use the service for a $10 charge. The CADDy program cannot be used by minors. Santa Fe County DWI program coordinator Becky Beardsley said the reasoning behind that restriction is that the county does not want to encourage underage drinking.

An anonymous spokesperson for a new, teen-founded “safe ride” program said the informal organization has stepped up its word-of-mouth advertising in anticipation of New Year’s Eve. But, she said, the program is having some difficulty recruiting drivers. “It’s hard to get people to commit to staying up all night on a weekend driving drunk people around,” the teen said. “So we are trying to come up with alternatives.” She said members of the group have been talking to their peers about not drinking on New Year’s Eve so they can offer friends a sober ride home. “The idea is to go out but not party and still be able to help out your friends,” she said.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office announced this week that additional deputies will be patrolling the city and county on New Year’s Eve, looking for impaired drivers.

Nonmotorists should beware as well: According to a blurb in Tuesday’s New York Times, studies have shown more pedestrians are killed on the first day of the year than on any other day, and that many of those walkers were also intoxicated.

WHO TO CALL

AAA Tipsy Tow: Call 1-800-222-4357 to get a free ride home plus a tow for your car between 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve and 11:59 p.m. New Year’s Day.

Santa Fe County’s CADDy program: Call 995-9528 for a $5 to $10 (depending on number of people) ride anywhere in city limits between 5:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve and 2:30 a.m. New Year’s Day.

Phaedra Haywood | The New Mexican

And, now that scientists have created superintelligent rats, getting rid of the pesky things will be even harder. Maybe that’s why SITE Santa Fe is giving them away. For SITE’s 2004 biennial, artist Kim Jones created a grotesque facade made of rubber rats and, apparently, the place has been infested ever since. This year, highfalutin art rats are handed out willy-nilly at the organization’s holiday book sale. SITE has a hell of a library of art books and artist catalogs for sale this year, at discounts of up to 50 percent. A modest purchase enters one into a drawing for a limited edition Lorna Simpson print; additional prints are on sale at benevolent-baby-Jesus prices. SITE is open Christmas Eve for those procrastinators among us, but the sale goes on into the new year. Disclaimer: Rats aren’t entirely free. They come with a $50 purchase; but having been hanging out on art books, they won’t just be superintelligent, they’ll be hyper-cultured.

ARTICLE: 

“Snowboarding,” one veteran skier told me on our ride up the lift, “is like riding a bicycle on the highway; I can see why it’s fun, but I’d rather you didn’t.”

Seventeen years after throwing aside my skis for what many considered a fad, the traditionalists who wish I’d go back are fewer and farther between, but, apparently, still exist and aren’t afraid to be vocal.

Fortunately, the slopes at Ski Santa Fe are friendly to downhill skiers, telemarkers and snowboarders alike. And though these sports spawn a sense of individuality, they also result in a strong sense of community.

Nowhere on the mountain are the inhabitants of these varied subcultures able to mix so well as Totemoff’s Bar and Grill, a 50-something-year-old cabin located just above the bunny hill.

Named for Pete Totemoff — an Alaska native who came to New Mexico in the 1940s to fight tuberculosis and who spent the next 50 years helping to develop ski areas and fight forest fires throughout the Southwest — Totemoff’s is a cozy little spot that offers the perfect respite from a morning of eating snow and allows skiers and snowboarders to bond while they warm up with nachos, tamales or a piping hot beverage. From Friday through Sunday the grill expands its weekday menu of appetizers to include burgers (of the meat and veggie variety), fajitas and chicken sandwiches.

It’s the drinks though, that make Totemoff’s the place to kick a bit of snow off the old boots, loosen those bindings and take in the scenery. The “Totemoff’s Special,” a concoction of hot chocolate, Copa de Oro coffee liqueur and Wild Turkey, not only takes the edge off but, consumed at nearly 11,000 feet, makes it a bit easier to catch an edge on the way back down the mountain, unless, of course, you’re Wild Turkey’s most famous advocate Hunter S Thompson, who probably could have downed a dozen and glided down the hill with ease.

As I lack even a BA in Gonzo, my Wild Turkey adventure seemed like a good excuse to pair the drink with a deliciously spicy bowl of green-chile stew (personally, I prefer pork, but the chicken Totemoff’s uses is tender and flavorful) to ensure a safe run — for myself and my fellow outdoor athletes — down the rest of the mountain.

Since getting grub from the supermarket to the house on a snowy Santa Fe day can be an adventure in driving, getting it halfway up a mountain seems like an impossible task. Totemoff’s manager Christian Fallard, who began as a bar-back at the grill more than 30 years ago, says getting food up the mountain is “a big challenge because we must move everything very quickly.”

To get the food to Totemoff’s, where everything is prepared in the on-site kitchen, snow cats and trailers are employed and “when we don’t have too much snow, we use trucks,” Fallard said.

OK, that sounds doable, but what about beasts, I had to wonder. It seems like a restaurant on the middle of a mountain, surrounded by woods would be a prime target for a few greedy, fuzzy creatures looking for a snack and a bit of warmth. “Animals don’t come around when there are people,” Fallard assured me, which makes sense. Not only are Totemoff’s patrons a boisterous bunch, they’re also armed with pointy sticks and clompy boots, just the kind of thing to scare off the most devilish woodland critter.

Working at Totemoff’s seems like a pretty sweet gig and Fallard — who came to the United States from France in the ’80s — is about the friendliest bartender in Santa Fe. He welcomes old faces to the bar with an enthusiastic “hello” and is joyously greeted right back.

“I love when people remember me over the years,” he said.

And how could anyone not remember the man who makes every customer feel like an old friend with his gregarious smile and stiff drinks. In fact, were it not for the cover charge (lift tickets range from $30 for the beginner lift to $60 for a day pass) Totemoff’s would be one of the most reasonably priced, most homey bars in the area. The drinks are inexpensive ($6-$7), beers are local favorites from the Santa Fe Brewing Company and the food is satisfying and fresh.

Maybe part of Fallard’s joyful disposition is his need to live vicariously through his customers, as he doesn’t get much of a chance to ski himself these days.

“I’m pretty busy working,” he said. “I like to go when there is a lot of powder, but it’s hard when there’s that much snow because it’s harder to get everything up here and to open on time.”

Come powder or not, Christmas Day at Totemoff’s will be busy but, according to Fallard, “pretty low-key because it’s a family holiday, and we can only serve beer and wine on Christmas.”

Things will start to heat up again after New Year’s with the Beats on the Basin concert. Every other Saturday (beginning Jan. 9 with Albuquerque Americana band The Porter Draw) in January and February, a different live act fills the patio at Totemoff’s with live music, giving skiers and snowboarders another excuse to escape town and hit the slopes. I remember a DJ set at Totemoff’s a few years ago that was so hoppin’ people peeled off layers of snow gear as they danced and the runs were virtually empty!

While the bottom of the mountain features La Casa Café Grill, a restaurant with a slightly fuller menu, Fallard is dead on when he says, Totemoff’s is “more like a little family because all the locals love to come to the bar. There’s great food down below, but people won’t hang out down there.”

That doesn’t mean nonlocals aren’t welcome though. In fact, that’s what makes locals so fond of Totemoff’s, everyone — skier, snowboarder, native Santa Fean, import or tourist — mixes and mingles over their love of winter and the need for a little warmth.

By: Patricia Sauthoff

The New Mexican

Christmas is such a special time of the year in Santa Fe, and a nice, fresh coat of snow only adds to the charm. According to weather forecasters and the following New Mexican article, chances are good for a fresh blanket of snow!

Just after celebrating the shortest day of the year, Northern New Mexicans could well be singing, “Oh, the weather outside is frightful,” as a winter storm rolls into the area tonight.

The storm, blasting out of the Pacific Northwest and through Nevada, could make for a white Christmas in parts of New Mexico. Santa Fe has a 50 percent chance of snow through Wednesday.

Forecasters from the National Weather Service put out a winter storm watch for the northwest mountains, including the Jemez Mountains. Southwest-facing, high-elevation slopes are expected to receive the most snow, at least 8 inches or more. The storm is expected to drop snow in the north central mountains as well. AccuWeather forecasters predict 2 to 4 inches in Santa Fe.

The storm is expected to hit the northwestern part of New Mexico this morning and increase in intensity through today and Wednesday. A cold front associated with the storm will cause a big drop in temperatures through the holiday weekend.

The storm should be moving out by Wednesday afternoon, according to forecasts.

Travelers are urged to check weather conditions before heading out and to go prepared for emergencies — carry extra food, warm clothing, sleeping bags or blankets, water, medicine and flashlights.

Be sure someone knows your route and when you expect to arrive. Forecasters have predicted a wet winter because of an El Niño pattern in the equatorial Pacific. El Niño usually brings more moisture to the Southwestern United States.

By: Stacy Matlock

As seen in the movie, creative holiday decorating has its hazards. Before you blow away the neighbors with your rendition of rooftop reindeer and 500 megawatts of Christmas lights, take precautions that these seasonal “improvements” don’t lead to a whole series of home repairs.

There’s no better place for a Yuletide heliport than the otherwise-bland top of the house. But while it might be tempting to string out lights on the roof to spell a holiday message, remember the roof was put there to repel water. The last thing it needs is to be poked full of nail holes.
Limit holiday decorating to the roof’s perimeter, at the eaves and gable ends where the fascia is typically installed. These wooden trim boards offer plenty of surface area for securing light strands and other ornaments. Note that there will likely be a “drip edge” on part of the fascia, a piece of sheet metal extending down from the roof. Don’t puncture this drip edge, but install any mounting hardware about an inch below it instead.
The same advice holds true for the gutters, too: Don’t perforate them with screws or other hardware. There are plastic clips that easily snap onto the gutters to hold lights in place. As an alternative, the gutter mounting hardware may provide sufficient space for attaching light strings with a cable tie (those nylon “belts” with built-in “buckles”).
 
Remember that large surface areas (like on reindeer, snowmen and plastic elves) will act like sails when the wind hits them. When shopping for ornaments like these, check the included mounting hardware. Ornaments intended for rooftop display should have beefy mounts that are able to provide wind stability. Purchase extra hardware, like perforated metal strapping and tie wires, if additional mounting security will be needed – and if you can safely improvise. If in doubt, choose a better-made display or scale back. 

Walls are a better choice for decorating than roofs, since they’re easier to reach and less subject to weather. Attach mounting hardware to vertical surfaces, and choose locations carefully to keep water outside. Avoid placing screws or nails near joints, which could cause splitting and later lead to rotting. Wood siding shouldn’t be perforated when hanging lights; use a staple or other fastener that won’t penetrate the boards. Vinyl siding isn’t a good bet for any kind of hardware – find an alternate location for attachment. Lights can be mounted on brick siding with steel clips that just snap in place; for heavier ornaments, use plastic expansion fittings set in predrilled holes. Expansion fittings can be used on stucco siding as well, but set them in silicone caulk.
Group ornaments on the ground prior to installing them, and work out the arrangements before climbing a ladder. Adapt decorating schemes to the house, using available posts, window moldings or other trim as safe and accessible fastening points. Nylon cable ties and twist ties are handy for making temporary connections to fences, pipes or other irregular objects.
Be creative, plan for flexibility and think about convenience, too. Maybe it’s possible to permanently mount hardware (such as plastic clips or stainless steel screw eyes), and leave it in place even after removing the ornaments. That way, fasteners only have to be installed once, instead of once a year.

Happy Holidays!

Sunday through Tuesdays Dec. 13, 14 and 15, and Dec. 20, 21 and 22.

St. Michael’s High School sophomore Amanda Romero was shopping for a violin as a Christmas present for herself. “I want it to look nice and sound good,” she told David Slocum of Abiquiú, who played several of his restored violins for her Sunday at his booth at the Santa Fe Farmers Market artists fair, the New Mexico Artisans Market.

Amanda, 15, and her mother, Kathy, were among dozens of shoppers and browsers who used a dreary Sunday afternoon to walk indoors among the booths of about 35 artisans at the market’s weekly Sunday show.

“It just takes one person to make your day,” said Dominic Arquero, who with his wife, Imogene, was selling her jewelry and his Native American wildlife prints. It was only the second time Dominic, originally from the Cochiti Pueblo, and Imogene, a Lakota Sioux, had shown at the Sunday market.

Alexandra Merlino, manager of the New Mexico Artisans Market at the Railyard market site, said the artist fair is a natural, community-oriented extension of the Saturday farmer’s market held at the same location. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday.

She said local artists also appreciate having an indoor venue to show their work.

“It’s a very tight bunch, and they are very dedicated to making Sundays work,” Merlino said. A goal of the Sunday event is to bring in more growers from the Saturday market.

Several of Sunday’s participants were selling caramel apples or juices made from products they had bought from the farmers.

Julia Ives and Dwain Feeman, who have an art studio in Rinconada, bring their produce to the Saturday market and their woodcarvings to the Sunday event.

“We think this is the best show on the planet,” said Ives. “I will probably buy all my Christmas gifts here.”

Elyzabeth Stow of Santa Fe, one of the market’s “artists in action,” was busy knitting and felting slippers and cloth caps for sale at her booth. She began attending the Sunday event when it started in May, stopped coming and then recently returned.

“There is some really fine quality work here,” she said of the artists’ displays.

Other artists and participants included Holly Stults with original jewelry, Stede Barber with landscape paintings and Fred Coen, a Santa Fe reflexologist and pedorthist specializing in orthopedic footwear, massage therapist Mauro Jaramillo and acoustic blues musicians Marc Malin and Mike Handler.

Merlino said the market is preparing for its annual New Mexico Artisans Market holiday fairs Sunday through Tuesdays Dec. 13, 14 and 15, and Dec. 20, 21 and 22 in the market pavilion at the Railyard, 1607 Paseo de Peralta.

More than 50 artists and crafts people are expected to participate, as well as musicians and food vendors.

Dennis J. Carroll | For The New Mexican