Happy Valentine's Day

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed...

Every morning I try to sneak up to the loft to get a bit of computer time -- at least to check email -- but soon enough I hear the pitter-patter of little feet coming up the ladder. Sometimes it's Laz, asking me to button or snap his pants, or "I just want a hug and a kiss, Mama!" Usually, though, once he's up here, Maggie is in hot pursuit, and my five minutes of computer time (four of them spent deleting spam email) are over. My loft, once my refuge, has been breached and is showing it: Maggie gravitates to my sewing corner, pulling open drawers and playing with fun little tools (the sharp ones are well out of reach now), and my thread bobbins have now been completely de-threaded and scattered under the sewing table. Lazarus has arranged and rearranged the empty CD cases that I've never managed to fill with CDs containing backup data, pictures, music, or anything else, and his obsession with a small tile clock that just needed a new battery has rendered it useless. They both are emptying my paper trays, page by page, and the pens they palm to create their masterpieces are probably congregating under the bed, along with stray socks and fat dust bunnies. It's far beyond time to clean up the loft, both because I can't find or do anything anymore and because I'm supposed to set a better example for my children... so it seems, anyway. Though they sure do have fun up here, and, although it means losing my alone time, I have fun, too.

Sunrise, Sunset

Yes, it has been a long time since I've posted. December was too busy with the store, and after Christmas I fell hard into my usual winter slump. I feel okay, just tired and wanting to hibernate. And the weather -- oy. I guess I'll take this winter's busy storm season over last year's dust bowl; winter is for enduring (for me), so the earth might as well get snowed on. At least I know my bulbs and perennials will be bursting out just as soon as spring returns....

I've also been spending my computer time getting my little online jewelry store up and running. Right now I'm using Etsy.com, since it has the e-commerce part built in; someday I'll get ambitious and make a real site. Just not now. Check it out and let me know what you think!

So that's it for now; I'll try to be more ambitious about posting here, if only to show how big the kids are getting!

Over the river and into the woods...

Here's where we'll be for Thanksgiving.

That's a few miles northwest of Dusty, off NM 52, in case you were wondering....

New(ish) pictures!

I got some great pictures of the kids on our Halloween trip to Cloudcroft to see Jai and Christine. Laz and Jai looked great in their costumes; Maggie said "No" to her Tinkerbell costume (I wasn't surprised, though a bit disappointed because it was adorable) but joined in the fun, too.

The next day, we all went to White Sands, and the kids had a blast playing and digging in the snow-like (but NOT frosty, hence the eventually bare feet) sand:

Daydreaming

So let's just say the Democrats do gain control of the House of Reps on Tuesday. And then in January, when all the newly minted reps show up for duty, and current House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi becomes the new Speaker of the House, let's just say someone starts talking about impeachment of both Dubya and Evil Cheney for the high crimes and treasonous acts with which they have hitherto gotten away. And let's just say the impeachment actually happens.

Then the first woman President in US history would take office. A woman. From California. San Francisco, no less.

Now how cool would that be?

Please, nobody wake me up....

The View from Up There

Antonio asked a rancher friend to take Laz up in his workhorse Cessna 182, and this is what we saw:



Magdalena sure ain't much, from the ground or the air, but that's why we love it so. The empty-looking land in the second picture is (roughly) the north half of what is now the Lear Ranch -- Mom and Dad closed on it today!

Laz had his nose plastered to the window for the entire half-hour flight. Mom and I did okay, too, except for a few moments of vertigo on my part. Thanks so much to Mr. Guin for the great time!

Aster-Senecio

Senecio Aster
Originally uploaded by stannabelle.

One of the many, many wildflowers from last week's outing: a Senecio Aster (thanks to this great site for the IDs). More here. And the rains keep coming, and the flowers keep blooming...

The Wild

We took a little drive today, undeterred by the continuing threat of rain and road washouts, and came across some interesting neighbors:



The bear came to see what we were having for lunch -- he was downwind of our picnic, and I saw him or her in time to scuttle the kids into the car, call Lucy, and grab my camera. Lucy was smart enough to let the bear see her protecting us but not to bark or bait the creature. It looked like a yearling or two-year-old, not so big but not small enough to have a mama bear nearby (though I kept my eyes pealed), and it sauntered down to the creek when we waved some sticks and yelled (from the safety of the car, of course).

The rattler was on the side of a dirt "road" that we were "driving" on (more on that in a moment) and Antonio spotted it (good eyes!). I took this picture from, again, the safety of the car.

Looking at the map after arriving home, I was surprised by how close to home we stayed. We had intended to go further, but on the first leg of the journey we had already crossed over a creekbed that totally washed out the "road" we were on, necessitating a dogleg down the creekbed a bit to a gentler slope back out than the eight-foot cliff where the "road" formerly exited. With rain threatening and perhaps already filling up the arroyos upstream, we doubled back and then went east for a ways. I had been in this terrain before, due north of Magdalena in the Bear Mountains, but I hardly recognized it because it is so green now. Here's one of the "roads" we took, and I was shocked to find it on our DeLorme map:



I took many, many pictures of the wildflowers that somehow managed to survive the winter/spring drought and have emerged from the dust and rocks; I'm still processing them, so I'll put them up later. Here's a car-window shot for Mom and Dad -- you guys know this place (and will get to know it a whole lot better soon) but might not quite recognize it:

An outing

Last Saturday we paid our respects to Antonio's grandma and grandpa Sisneros, who died some time ago but waited patiently for the family to scatter their ashes in one of their favorite fishing spots, the Cimarron River east of Eagle Nest.

Lazarus and Maggie enjoyed themselves thoroughly, especially at the very end when a rain shower descended upon us and they could finally use their new umbrellas.



The rains here have been amazing, especially after our long winter of drought. Even more amazing is how green everything is. I hardly recognized many spots along the long drive to and from the site -- I'd seen plenty of green around Taos before, but never on that long brown stretch between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. A sight to behold, for however long it lasts.

I love the contrast in these pictures -- my boy casting his eyes skyward, my girl intently focused on earth and stones:

The Old Timers Reunion

Every year in July, the weekend after the fourth, Magdalena holds its Old Timers Reunion come rain or come shine. Sometimes it's almost deadly hot; this year it rained buckets, though that never cancels out the rodeo because, well, this is the West after all. No cowboy worth a damn is gonna cry over a little mud on his boots. This is our fourth summer here and the first time I've managed to get good pictures -- here are a few, and the rest are on a Flickr slideshow. Enjoy!


Our friend Gerry, waiting patiently for the parade to start (and end)


One of the town's many vintage car enthusiasts


Alamo Navajo dancers (from the small rez 30 miles NW of town)

A sunny day

We went to Jai's birthday party today, and Marin (our marvelous babysitter, who is going off to college a year early -- sniff) was there. I asked her to pose with the kids for a moment, but she was otherwise off duty! (She handled the kids wonderfully for four long days last week, and not only did I not want to impose on her AT ALL today, I'm also broke now!) ;-)

Just pictures

Sherlock Sanchez (looking for ants) and Maggie pretending to be in a studio portrait (actually an action shot on our recent camping trip):

SOLD!

N017-Red and Black
Originally uploaded by stannabelle.

Someone bought this necklace yesterday, and although it's one of my favorites and I'm a tiny bit sad to see it go, I'm SO happy that it'll go to a good home! And I'm almost keeping pace with my May gallery sales -- I'm over $400 for June now.

Oasis

Last Tuesday, we went to a place that offers a slice of deep green nestled in the endless landscape of sage, grey and brown. A place where dragonflies hover, and healing waters bubble up from deep within the earth below. It's an 80-minute drive over rough roads, but that sudden shock of green reeds and grass and a winding stream makes time fall away, and restores a soul weary of drought.

Happy birthday, Lazarus!

My boy turned four yesterday, and when I asked him what he wanted to do, he exclaimed, "I want to go to Pie Town for birthday pie!" Out here, any trek is a big deal, and one that ends with pie is all the more special. So off we went, and on the way we stopped at the Very Large Array to see their giant radio telescopes up close. Laz and Maggie ran down the path toward the closest telescope, but their little legs faltered as they got closer and the 230-ton colossus loomed ever larger -- and they both stopped and then turned tail when it groaned and cranked on its base to swing over a few degrees!



Lazarus got a t-shirt and a solar system mobile from the gift shop, and Maggie picked up a postcard of a telescope that she now brandishes as she runs around the house while chanting, "The giant telescope MOVED and it scared me, mama!!"

On to Pie Town, where we ate (as always) at the Daily Pie Cafe and chatted with the staff, who know us well from our numerous earlier treks (including Maggie's very first road trip). No time for pie (I grabbed a six-piece sampler for the road, though!) because Lazarus wanted to go straight to the Pie Town playground -- an outdated clutch of steel pipe and splintered wooden structures that nonetheless was fun because lots of kids were there for the town's graduation party.

Gotta go -- happy birthday, beautiful boy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love to all you mamas out there... I've had a mixed day (a bit of escape time, and a poop-encrusted Maggie when I got back), but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even an ice-cold bottomless margarita sipped while gazing at a tropical sunset somewhere far away, where the ocean waves lull me to sleep at night and gently awaken me at dawn.... Not that I've never been tempted....

I wish I could update more often, but I just haven't gotten much computer time lately. One reason: it's planting time! I got my veggie garden planted, finished tweaking the drip irrigation system, and have laid black plastic over most of the beds. That's a new one for me -- I keep reading about how it minimizes moisture loss (especially important here, where humidity has been around 8%) and also raises soil temperature, equally important because the nights are so cool even in midsummer. Last year my tomatoes just didn't ripen, except for a few tantalizingly sweet cherry tomatoes, and that just will not do -- I can't live without garden fresh tomatoes. So if the black plastic doesn't work, next year I might just invent some sort of solar/water heating system for them. It would give me my tomatoes and also maybe be patentable....

I just totalled up my jewelry sales at the co-op gallery so far: $467 since we opened eleven days ago (two bracelets, three necklaces, and seven pairs of earrings). Not bad -- I've recouped my whole investment as a co-op member and have started to make a dent in my materials costs. And that doesn't count a commission order from a neighbor who wants two necklace/earring sets. So, given how much I enjoy doing it, it's turning into a good little venture. I need to take pictures of my more recent stuff before it sells (I missed one necklace and a watch) -- speaking of pictures, here are two of my lovely children, from an outing with Granna and Granpa last month:



That's it for now. I have more pictures in the camera, and I also have work coming in next week, so I might actually update more than once this month. You just can't wait, can you?

"I'm the decider": A quote from Napoleon himself

No pix today -- too lazy. But I couldn't resist this:

Dubya's performance yesterday reminded me of a scene in Disney's The Aristocats, where the yokel hound dog Napoleon moans, "Wait a minute, Ah'm thuh leader! An' I decide when we go."

I know, you had to be there. (If you have children under five who love the movie, you'll get it...)

Dragonflies hovering at sunset

I've been busy making jewelry the past month or two, and am finding it both fulfilling and relaxing. Not to mention it's something I can do downstairs, even with the kids around, which means I get a whole lot more jewelry made than quilts or other objets d'art that require "studio time" upstairs.

Here's more. I'm partway through inventorying what I have so far, then I'll start selling it in town (at our arts co-op, our shop once it opens, and maybe another local gallery or two) and at art shows. I do hope it sells -- I love doing it but I have to make money to support this new habit....

I got some nice Easter pictures of the kids yesterday -- we went on a picnic with Granna and Grandpa to the Bosque del Apache. But the camera is downstairs, and so are the sleeping children, so y'all will have to wait till Wednesday to see those pix. Tomorrow I'm off to Albuquerque to return my parents to the airport, and I might take Lazarus because we haven't had a Mama-Boy outing in a long time. He's great company, and he loves being in the "big city" (my little country boy calls Socorro, pop. 9000, "a really really big city").

Is the cookie finally crumbling?

I opened my email this morning and found about seven newsletters announcing Tom DeLay's impending resignation from Congress! Holy crap, I muttered, not sure whether to believe this amazing news. Sure nuff, it's true, and I can only hope it's just the start of one big long land-mass-altering earthquake for the current regime.