A few years ago I celebrated my 60th birthday in Santa Fe, NM and declared then that it was my last trip to the Land of Enchantment. Truth be told it was my 13th trip and I felt I had been there/done that. That is until SAQA announced their annual conference would be held in Santa Fe, NM. I could not make reservations fast enough!
Initially hubby was going to go along and we were going to drive as the country between here and there is vast and glorious. About a month ago he decided he would rather stay home and plant his summer garden than ‘kill time’ in a place he had been to 5 times. So I booked a flight and have just returned from the most wonderful, relaxing, indulgent, stimulating and soul-enriching week in the city different. It may have been my final trip there or not …
Because I have been so many times before I did not even bother to take a camera. Instead I used my iPhone from which I have learned to embrace Photo Stream…no more tedious downloads. I also did not take an excessive amount of photos which really was a relief as I already have so many. This trip however seemed to carry a central theme and that was… food. Lots of great food!
In an Einstein moment my friends Franki Kohler, Franki’s husband David, Gay Young and I signed up for a three hour molé cooking class at the Santa Fe Cooking School.
We watched with interest and intrigue as the two chefs prepared an entire meal of chocolate & chile delight and then served us the results. Gay quickly became my Lactaid dealer allowing me to fully embrace the NM dairy experience. The warm Mayan chocolate pudding was possibly the best chocolate anything I have ever eaten! We left with full bellies and itemized recipes (which I seldom use but in this case will… at least once). We bought spices in the shop and vowed to take a local culture cooking class wherever we travel from now on. And we jotted down the chef’s recommendations of the best food in SF and managed to get to several before leaving. I felt sad for the conference attendees who dined only at the hotel restaurant. They missed so much!
I indulged in a three-hour spa treatment at Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese spa higher up in the mountains. My treatment included a facial and I committed to remembering the names of the 8-9 luxurious organic processes layered onto my skin but alas forgot them! This morning while walking I tried to again remember the names but only came up with it felt just like a PB&J to the face! Ymmm…
We went to Bobcat Bite for the best green chile cheeseburger in the state. As one who seldom eats beef, I decided to go whole hog (or whole steer) and add bacon to my GCCB! Fabulous. On my way to the airport I stopped at the Range Cafe in Albuquerque for a last ditch green chile indulgence of huevos rancheros! Sure beats airport food.
Over the years one thing has been consistent in my Santa Fe photos…lots of doorways and passageways.
In fact my first award-winning work was inspired by a Santa Fe doorway. I also took a requisite number of texture and pattern shots.
Even the freeways are beautiful in New Mexico!
Beyond the food of course was the conference, a chance to reconnect with peeps who speak my language, perusing galleries, a wonderful art quilt exhibit at the state capitol, wearing my favorite Native American art and the acquisition of more….it’s my birthstone after all!
The best part of this trip for me was a chance to just be myself and relax after a tough two years. I feel grateful that all my post-surgical rehab and hard work enabled my body to function as it should, grateful that my husband gifted me this time to recharge my batteries, grateful for good friends to share this adventure and blessed to be energized to get back to art-making.
ough yet to travel. Finally I decided there would always be a FIRST trip so why not now? So we went, I did fine physically and learned I was much stronger and had better stamina than I had thought. First lesson.
y 
ens.
on learned: I don’t really care how that horn was made just blow it already!
art pieces in Scottsdale I bought nothing but a FLW inspired fridge magnet! Between cleaning out my father’s things, having the urge to purge my own and starting a new life chapter I just did not want anything bad enough to bring it home. Lesson learned: I have enough. Possibly the best lesson of all: to experience life without having to possess it.
This weekend two pieces from my
I’ve finished this piece on Lake MacDonald which I started in an abstract landscape class with 
was taken through over-hanging branches. In the end I could see it surely did not need any more layers of fusing or stitching, proving that contrary to popular belief you can mess with mother nature!
returned from what will likely be our ‘big’ trip for the year. I am between knee replacements strong enough to wander yet preparing psychologically for round two this summer. Then..Katie bar the door I will be ready to fully roam once more.
 I was capturing images on the ground, up the side of the wall, and even peering into glass brick bathroom windows!
…the metal awning at a Luby’s Cafeteria
I was captivated by Lady Bird Johnson’s diary of her time as first lady. I opened the volume in a bookstore and turned immediately to 1966 when LBJ dedicated the Point Reyes National Seashore (about 20 miles from my home) and she had breakfast in bed in a San Francisco hotel overlooking the bay, or harbor as she noted. I have always loved reading biographies which essentially is history with a voice. I decided to both read the book and resume my own writing.
Yesterday I had the privilege of being a juror for “Out of the Comfort Zone: New Directions in Quilting” which will exhibit March 2-July 29, 2012 at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, CA. It was a wonderful process, a lot of fun and an interesting observation of my own artistic process.
e things on my pre-surgery list has been to flesh out two of my five lectures. With one finished I am hard at work on the other. All five lectures have been given numerous times so it is indeed time to freshen.
Once I got past the terror of the MRI I seem to be on a roll. I am actually looking forward to surgery mid-October, getting it past me and on to the next trip, art quilt, surgery, GF cinnamon roll, commission or whatever life holds for me.
I just added 
with me. It has a vintage feedsack batiked as a focal point and discharged-hand-dyed cottons.  It  just felt off. Last night I cut off 7″ one direction and 3″ another and like it better. Since I had pillowcased the backing I just added facings along  those edges.  It is weird how sometimes I  love the fabrics but not the end result. It just has to grow on me I guess!