Colorado Colors

Last week we traveled to Colorado to raft the Green River starting at the Gates of Ladore.  Fall is a lovely time in this beautiful country.  As usual, we were late getting off, so no time to stop and take photos, but here are a few out the window of the van as we drove north through Santa Fe, and Espanola, turning west towards Abiqui, then north again through Ojo Caliente, past Elk Mountain into Colorado.  Then east a bit to Alamosa, home of my college friend Chrissy Caton and her very large brood of children and grandchildren. No time to stop and visit this trip!  

On through Buena Vista where the Arkansas river tempts many boaters to run class four and, if you dare, class five rapids and on to the very quaint town of Leadville which in the hey day of mining operations had its own opera house.  We passed by many "14'ers" which are mountains topping out at 14,000 ft. or more where the clouds were depositing snow in the last days of September!

The aspens are turning and there were a few spots of red as well.  The colors are not as spectacular as some years because of the lack of rain, but still pretty impressive!

Sorry about the mirror, Ford Sportsmobile's have enormous ones to offset the lack of visibility in a camper van.

Don't try to enlarge this one or you will see all the squashed bugs on the window shield!

Drop by tomorrow and I will show you a baby Big Horn Sheep, a water snake, and some photos of the spectacular Green River.  

If you are in Albuquerque, click here for information about the new pastel show hanging in the St. Mark's Sacred Arts Gallery.

Do You Prefer Online Magazines or Ones That Arrive In the Mail?

I am only recently comfortable with the digital age.  I confess there are times when I still call my daughters to find out how to do something on the internet, although I now own an Ipad, a Mac laptop, and a digital camera. I probably would still be in the last century without the encouragement of my tech husband. 

My greatest joys in life are sitting down with a good book or opening a new magazine.   

                                                                                                              Some of my favorites are my Art Magazines...

 My Gardening Magazines  

My Design Magazines

However, today, I subscribed to three online magazines.  I had already been receiving the Lonnie Magazine online since that is the only way to get it.  But switch from an "in your hand" version?  I don't think so. 

I had been resisting doing so for many months because the best part of going to the mailbox is discovering a new issue of one of my favorite magazines just waiting for me to head home, brew my favorite tea, and sit awhile with it.  I savor unwrapping it from its protective plastic and even going through and tearing out all the annoying little postcard sized advertisements.  However, I don't enjoy the stacks of magazines teetering precariously on all my end tables, clogging up my bookshelves and filling up the trunk (or boot for my oversees readers) of the car to be carried down the hill and donated or recycled.

Perhaps as I get more used to finding my way around, looking at pages in a larger version, etc., I will change my mind and download more magazines to my Ipad, but for now, I am only looking at magazines online that are unavailable any other way.  How about you?  Which do you prefer?

Classic Cars and Quilts

Apparently I am not the only one who loves classic cars.  Last week I saw at least 15 vintage cars cruising the streets of Albuquerque.    I am wondering if those folks were in town for the State Fair since there will be a Classic Chevy's and Corvair's Show on the 23 or perhaps driving through on their way to Farmington, New Mexico for the Farmington "Collector Car Weekend Cruise and Swap Show?

 I hope they took time to stop and look around at the State Fair because one of the most outstanding quilts was the one pictured above.  My photo does not do the quilt justice.  It was truly magnificent.  My only complaint is that it was displayed too far away to read the name of the creator so I am unable to give her/him credit.

Here are some other beautiful quilts, some entered in the competitions, and some displayed by the New Mexico Quilt Association.

Add caption

There were many more lovely quilts, but somehow I got too interested in examining them closely and forgot to take photos.  If you are a quilter and missed this show,  I will try to keep track of upcoming events for quilters and post something about those for you.  

All of you artists working in any media should consider entering something in next years Fair.  I won a third place ribbon on one the first things I made in miniature and the first time entering the competitions. (Hey, its my blog, I am allowed to brag!)

Fair attendee examining Dumbledore's office.

Vicarious Pleasures

Last Friday, I finally made it to the State Fair, and what fun I had with my daughter, Brittany and my favorite sister, Rosalind.  (I can say that since she is my only sister!) 

We had visited my entry in the Creative Arts Building, looked at the entries of my competition which were very good, looked a a few more Lego creations, visited the quilts, enjoyed the handmade dolls, and then headed out to the rest of the Fair.  As you might expect, there were horses.  Horses at the rodeo grounds, horses at the racetrack, and the police were on horses as well.  Even the little half-pints were competing on stick horses in a barrel racing event.

Hoping to see a "Frizzle" chicken we headed to the chicken barn.  The chickens were just arriving for the competition.  Brittany raises chickens, so she kept correcting me when I called a "she" a "he"!  


Not a frizzle in sight.  Frizzles are not a breed of chicken, but rather "frizzled" feathers are a result of a mutant chicken gene, which can occur in many breeds. A frizzle's feathers curve outward instead of laying flat against the body, thus creating the furry, frizzled appearance. Many frizzles end up being show or exhibition birds because of their unique look. The most popular frizzled chicken is the Cochin, a variety of which is bred for its frizzled look, though roughly one in four chicks from frizzled parents will develop normal feathers.  

But there were lots of other wonderful looking creatures.

A sound asleep little baby goat.

A Jackalope

A "he" chicken (I think!)

I would call this one "Elvis" because of his pompadour.


I understand if you are not as enamored of chickens as I have become after eating wonderful eggs from my sister-in-laws "girls" and Brittany's, so I will stop with these few photos of chickens.
If you do not live in the west, you may not be aware that the little Jackalope is a fictional creature.  Only those with taxidermy skills can raise jackalopes!

No state fair experience is complete without junk food and this year we let Brittany chose what variety of grease we would consume.  It was mini donuts dipped in cinnamon sugar.  Just right with fresh squeezed lemonade.  We shared them with the volunteers at the quilt show being put on that day by the New Mexico Quilt Association.  Watch for photos in an upcoming post. 

And after an extended visit to the Native Arts Building, we finally made it to the Fine Arts building only to rush through it because it was getting late.  And twelve folks were coming to my house for dinner!  Rosalind bought a painting.  Which delayed us even more, but the painting is the "vicarious pleasure" of this post.  I get to look at it every time I visit her!

 Isn't it gorgeous.  Forgot to ask her the name of the artist, but I imagine she will let us know in the comments below. 



 

Fall Flowers and Foliage in the House

I have tried to grow Dahlias for years.  They always struggled and died in our harsh, dry, climate until this year when I planted them in pots and grew them on the deck that is shaded in the afternoons.  Finally!  These are arranged in a brass pot that I feel sure my parents bought in Morocco and sent to one of my uncles.  I placed it on my fall tablecloth with brass candlesticks that belonged to my godfather and uncle, Ben.

 Because my table is so long, it looked a little lonesome, so I added magenta Coleus and yellow Soldago in little crystal vases.  Thought those of you on the East coast might like to see the magenta colored fruits from the cactus that grow around our house, which I will turn into syrup to add to lemonade.

I am linking today with Jane's "Flowers in the House" Party at her Small but Charming blog.
 
Head on over there to see some gorgeous posts by her followers and her own cuttings from her lovely garden.  Click on the word "blog" above.
 

Cool on the Mountain-Time to Bake

Crown roast of beef with grapes and mandarin oranges. 

All summer I have avoided the oven like the plague, but with the cooler weather my thoughts have returned to cooking.  Cheesecakes, chocolate layer cakes, fudge, a whole roasted pig, some roasted turkeys, mashed potatoes, green beans, molded gelatin's and a crown roast!  You see, I have to feed a school full of hungry young witches and wizards and the house elves are frolicking at the State Fair.  They are in charge of guarding my miniature Dumbledore's office and my third place ribbon...

One of the tables for the Great Hall of Hogwarts

Since I had never made any miniature food before, I turned to the Internet to find out how to go about it. Wow! there are lots of artists out there creating mini masterpieces! I will soon be creating a new page where you can find some of my favorite miniature artists, so check back if you are interested.

Roast suckling pig with pineapple and mushrooms.

Triple layered mocha cake with whipped cream and cherries on a silver cake stand made from a hexagonal button, silver bead, and a base made from a washer.  Lime cheesecake with whipped cream on a wooden button platter.  Roast turkey and cranberries on a button platter.  Tutorial here.

Miniature pumpkin pasties on an antique bone button platter.  Pewter plates make of sculpy and painted silver.  Goblets made of earring backs and beads.

Green beans with butter on a shell shaped charm.

Asparagus with lemon slices and a lemon meringue pie.

  Totally forgetting food for the professor's table (maybe because I have not yet built the table!) next I think I will try making some whole grilled salmon, a baked ham, artichokes, roasted red potatoes, and maybe chocolate mousse in miniature glass goblets or a trifle if I can find a straight sided miniature glass bowl.  I found three darling little chairs for some of the professor's places in the Great Hall when I was out and about vintage store browsing...

Professor's chairs pictured here with Dumbledore's podium and the little gargoyles that will eventually be hung on the walls of the Great Hall to be torch bearers.

Hufflepuff Gargoyle

Chamisa on the Chama-Georgia O'Keeffe's adopted landscapes

This week Norm and I took a quick trip up to northern New Mexico to the Chama river.  It is one of our favorite spots to camp and catch some tiny waves.  This easy to navigate river is perfect to take small children rafting or canoeing because it is not too challenging.  It is the first place I ever canoed a river.  I am not canoeing these days because of bad knees, so I "ran the shuttle" which means I dropped off our friends Jim and JoAnn and Norm at the put in and then drove back down to meet them at the bottom.  What a glorious day it was to take photographs, to paint, and to enjoy some much needed solitude after several hectic weeks.

 The "man-van," our getting-to-be-elderly Sportsmobile, cheerfully powered the pump to blow up JoAnn's craft, and then never failed to start again as I made multiple stops to take photographs of this glorious country that was the inspiration for many of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings.  If you are a fan of hers, does anything in these photos look familiar?

The chamisa was in full bloom...

 Rabbitbrush, Guadalupe Goldenweed, Chamisa, Rubber Rabbit-brush
Ericameria nauseosa (Chrysothamnus nauseosus)
Asteraceae (Compositae)
A medium shrub about 6 to 9 feet high, rabbitbrush has blue-green linear leaves and woolly white stems on a woody base, and bursts forth with masses of yellow flowers from September to November. It grows in the western part of North America from Canada to Mexico.  It is found in dry, well-drained soil. It is cold hardy to below 0 degrees F, but goes semi-dormant in hot summers; in Southern New Mexico  it benefits from shade from the west sun. It could serve as an informal hedge along drives, and makes a nice contrast with evergreens. In order to keep it full and stimulate blooming, prune it severely in the winter.
Chamisa is growing exuberantly on our property, but is only beginning to show a little yellow, most likely because our dry summer.