I of course, have no idea of your plans for the holidays, but I'd like to suggest you make a trip to lovely and colorful Taos, NM.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I know you folks in Texas can get in the car and take a drive out here! It's a great drive in the fall . . . cool enough out in the Texas wilds to be bearable (meaning the asphalt doesn't put out waves like a mirage), and you know how good the food is between Texas and New Mexico . . . down home beef barbeque along the Texas roadways to authentic northern New Mexico chile getting closer to the border.

When you get to Taos you can stay in any number of wonderful B&Bs, one of our well-known hotels on the main drag, or rent a fabulous vacation adobe and have the whole fam-damily out here at once. That way you might satisfy of all your family holiday obligations for awhile . . . but don't quote me on that.

If you can't get here for Thanksgiving, come on out for Christmas! Be here by 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and go to the Pueblo for the Christmas pageantry. It's really amazing . . . the church service begins the festivities and after the service the Virgin Mary is brought out of the church on a litter carried by Indian braves shooting their rifles into the cold night air. And don't worry about being in the dark . . . the night sky is lighted with several giant bonfires, 20 or 30 feet high, blazing away until the procession is over. It's a very mystical and spellbinding event.

Go to one of our many wonderful restaurants for Christmas Eve dinner or the next day for Christmas Day dinner, and then ski Taos Ski Valley if you're not too stuffed. The week from Christmas through New Year's is filled with great activities . . . shops are open, galleries are showing their best artists, the cold air delicious with wafts of pinon smoke streaming from fireplaces all over town.

You'll fall in love with Taos over the holidays. And I know you'll want to find a piece of this special place you can call your own. Taos homes and land have never been more affordable. You must call us when you're here and let us show you this wonderful piece of paradise.