El Santuario de Chimayo

Our visit to one of my favorite places, El Santuario de Chimayo, included a lovely impromptu visit with Father Roca, who was strolling in the Plaza. He asked where we were from and told us about his long-ago visit to a monastery in Maryland.

As during past visits, there were very few people in the Sanctuary and in the adjacent plaza. It's an extraordinary place. Made more so by the sunlit peace surrounding it.
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Harry's Roadhouse

There have been a number of busy days since the workshop ended. At left is John inhaling a dollop of guac at Harry's Roadhouse. Which establishment I recommend for their green chile salsa, OMG, which I on my side was busy inhaling. ("'Scuse me, miss. Do you sell this salsa by the quart?")

Other activities of note:
-- A number of visits to the Farmers' Market (not much yet except greens and radishes, but a very nice ambiance -- I bought a beautiful gourd yesterday)
-- Excursions with John and Marie (and with Tony the real estate agent) to look at condo properties. John and Marie are on a serious quest to decide whether they want to re-locate here from MD. I was initially just along for the fantasizing, but am getting beguiled. It's most tempting -- the local opinion is that the prices haven't bottomed YET, which is remarkable and a little nerve-wracking.)
-- Strolls around the Plaza and around Canyon Road (yesterday afternoon there was a six and a half foot tall guy in weird short striped pants, sporting an exquisite and utterly monumental Ace Ventura hairdo, tooling around the Plaza hand-in-hand with a little child. We and a number of the other vendors decided it was indeed Jim Carrey himself -- hey, why not?) In addition to "Ace", the Plaza is really hopping right now, what with all the holiday weekend visitors. Very nice buzz! Fun!
-- A visit to the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival, running this weekend in the Convention Center downtown. "Museum-quality" merchandise = Wow. I was happy to meet John and Marie's new friend, Mark Winter, owner of Toadlena Trading Post, who had a booth there. He is devoted to the Navajo weavers around him and he (naturally!) had some beautiful rugs there at the Festival.

The weather lately has been exquisite. Very cool nights and mornings and sixties-low seventies days with blue skies. My casita is just great. (I even hosted a cook-out a few days ago. The grill works fine!)

Possible activities to come include a cooking class or two, a papermaking workshop, and a few out-into-the-surrounding-hinterlands excursions.

See the pic gallery for more iphone pix. Love that camera!
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Workshop Results

The most important thing to remember is that the process is the key element here, not the product. (sigh)
Lessons learned:
-- Rectangular is good. I am going to stick with the rectangle format for a while to see where it leads me. For some reason the rectangle is more soothing, more familiar, less pressurized, than the square.
-- Be strong and stick to your plan. Try like hell not to revert.
-- Drink more water in the high desert.

(More pieces from this workshop are here.)

Tia Sophia's

Gen-U-ine!

My four-day encaustic workshop has begun and it looks like it's going to be great. Weather, food, friends, views, vistas, coffee, and my adventures here have all been outstanding. I really feel comfortable here.

This is another pic from Taos Pueblo. (And yes, I did pay the surprisingly high camera fee, over an above the ten buck entry fee. No pic pirate, me! Too chicken.)

The best things in life aren't things

Taos Pueblo, May 2011
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Kansas Sky

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And the channel line-up in a state whose denizens take inspiration from their sports. This is a state, remember, where: "On August 11, 1999, by a 6–4 vote the Kansas State Board of Education changed their science education standards to remove any mention of "biological macroevolution, the age of the Earth, or the origin and early development of the Universe" . . ."
Yes, since repealed, but still.

Crossing Eye Street

Hebrew National

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Azaleas

Western Union

It May Rain

She's Gone Now

Desk by the Window

Subtitled: Don't Look Down