crash

Don't you love watching the neighborhood kids growing up? One day they're learning to ride a bike and the next they're driving the family car. Just the other day, Rick looked out the window and said, "Hey, we have a car crash out front." We both ran out to see if everyone was OK. They were, but the car wasn't, and neither was the tree it hit. Silly kid had come rippin' around the corner, lost control, spun out, and hit the tree. Poor guy, I bet he'll spend his summer vacation working to have it fixed. His mom came down the street screaming her head off. Something like, "Why? Why? Why?" I have a feeling he didn't have his license yet, and another feeling she didn't have insurance. Too bad. It was a nice car, probably worth more than her house. And apparently it had great sentimental value too, because her boss, a famous local artist, had left it to her in his will. These folks aren't close friends of ours, just neighbors we recognize from up the street. So while they continued the yelling, we ducked out of the situation and went back inside.

A while later they'd managed to move the car, but somehow forgot all the little car-bits that had fallen in our yard. I went out to clean up, and couldn't help but notice how pretty all that broken glass was, glittering under the Taos sun. So I picked it all up, brought it to the studio, and proceeded to melt it. The way I see it, fire is the ultimate purifier. So any bad juju in that glass was burned right out of it. I took part of an artist's car and turned it into art. Kind of a warm and friendly full-circle sort of thing. And then I was so excited about making beads out of garbage, I went through the recycle bin and started smashing up bottles with a hammer. I think I'm on a roll here. People are always asking me where my inspirations come from. I tell them, "everywhere", but I don't think they really believe me. Well, hey, you can believe it now folks. Even a car crash can inspire a nice bit of art.

two things for you

I have a couple of things to share with you today. And they're not about me...

First, my friend Peri has a new eBay store, where she offers her beautiful jewelry (OK, sometimes with my beads), as well as clothing from designer Brooke Wilen, at insanely great prices. If that "gathered-side skirt" came in black, it would be mine! Check out Peri's store at Peri's Potpourri. Then visit Brooke's website at WilenLosAngeles for the retail prices on these beautiful designs. You'll see what great deals Peri is able to offer you!

And for a nice visual vacation, visit Rob Glen Photography in Scotland. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks Michelle, for sending me the link. These photos make my eyes happy...

somethin' up my sleeve...

I've been dropping hints lately about a catalog of Troll-style Beads I'm working on for my website. It's a big project that will actually save me a lot of time once it's all finished. The plan is to have a nice group of Bracelet Beads that will be available all the time. I'll try to keep a few of each in stock, and make more as they're sold. I'll also have some one-of-a-kind beads, as well as the bigger focal beads that will also be one-and-only's. The beauty of the catalog is that I'll only need to photograph and describe these beads once. That will save me buckets of time from week to week, which pleases me quite a lot. And it should please some of you too, because it also means I can reduce the prices a bit. Always lookin' for that win/win situation!

So I'm spending most of my time right now making the inventory for the starter catalog. I'll add to it as I go along, but I want a nice bunch of beads to choose from when I launch it. I think I can have things ready to go by early next week, and if you're on my mailing list, of course I'll keep you posted! Till then, here's a picture of some of the beads I have so far. I have to say, it's a lot of fun to have this many beads at one time to play with. You'd think I'd get tired of looking at them, but I don't. I can sit here for the longest time, picking up bead after bead, and seeing things I never noticed before.



Now here's a question for you. It's your chance to have a say in things around here. Two or three of you have asked me to make beads that fit on Pandora bracelets. They have a larger hole than the Troll beads. I personally prefer the look of the Troll bracelets, and like the fact that Pandora and other bead brands will all fit on them. But maybe that's just me. Two or three of you aren't enough to get me to add the larger hole size to my line, but 20 or 30 of you might get me to consider it! So now's the time to speak up. You want Pandora-size beads? Then leave a comment here, so we all know how many of you want these!

let's do lunch

Here I am! Since Rick started working at the nursery I've been even more busy than I was before. I'm starting to get the hang of the new schedule though. With luck I'll still find time to pop in here most mornings, after Rick heads out the door. I spend the first part of the morning shuffling into the kitchen about a half hour after he gets up. He needs his meditation time, and I need... sleep. So he makes me tea and toast, and a few minutes later, when I can be trusted with sharp objects, I make him a most amazing lunch. I think it's been proven somewhere that a sandwich tastes better if someone else makes it for you. And I just happen to be a Very Good Sandwich Maker.

Today he has ham and turkey and jarlsberg cheese with cranberries, lettuce, and wasabi mustard. He's gonna love it. And then there's the rest of it... grapes, apple, Fritos, cookies, almonds & chocolate, and granola bars, just in case he's hungry for a little snack. If I ate all that I'd be a big fat toad in about a week, but he's one of those Skinny People, and besides, they're mostly moving around trees in big pots this week. That's a workout I hope to never experience. I'm happy to be able to help keep him fueled up. I pack it all up in a cooler and send him off like a kid going to school. Bye Honey! Have a nice day!

And the best part is, he is having nice days. He really likes it there, and likes the people he works with. (If you're in the neighborhood, stop in and visit him at Petree's Nursery on Blueberry Hill) He's always loved plants, and has been frustrated by the growing conditions here in the high desert. I won't be a bit surprised if we wind up with a green house one day... Oooh! Fresh tomatoes and lettuce and herbs! I'll even help water!

I read someplace that if you want to change things, all you have to do is go outside and move a rock. It's true. When you change one thing, you change everything. No telling what will happen from here, but it sure does feel like all the doors and windows have been opened.

girls' day

Lauren's going back to school today, for her last few weeks before graduation. We took some time yesterday to get her a haircut and to go to lunch. It's not much, but it's the only time she really had free this whole week. And there's always something fun about some salon time, no matter who's in the chair. Our friend and neighbor, Kathleen Brennan, is more than just a terrific hair stylist. She's also a photographer, so it's a total experience to walk into her studio and see the new work hanging on the walls. You have to remember, I don't get out much. I'm so happy when I can get my hair cut and look at art too!

After Lauren was all beautified, we had some good Chinese food and just talked about nothing important. For me it's not the big parties that stand out as perfect memories, but these little times, just hanging out, that count the most. Pretty soon she'll be done with school and looking for a place of her own, rather than coming home. Of course she will. It's time for that. Still, I can't help but get a little misty, you know? More big changes. They just keep comin'...

And I want to wish a Super Happy Birthday to Susan!!! Cheers to you, my friend!!!

picnic

Yesterday was the first beautiful, blue wind-free day all year. So instead of going to the Ski Valley (we don't ski anymore), we went to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge for a little hike along the rim, and a picnic under the big blue sky. Days like this are why we live here. They're the days that make me wonder why we're moving. But we haven't moved yet, and have no real idea when that will happen, so isn't it a good idea to enjoy every minute of it? I think we've both been on the launch pad for the last few weeks - not really being here, but wanting so hard to be there. So silly. What's the point? We might be here another year. We have no way of knowing. It's not really in our hands. Nothing is really, now is it?



Our picnic was sort of a celebration - of the beautiful day, the Equinox/Full Moon/Easter week, and of a big change in our little world... Rick got a job. It's no secret that the retail world is struggling. The economy sucks, or at least the government and media have us all scared into believing it does. I know that when I leave the TV off and just look around me, everything is fine. But the mirror of the economic fear that's spreading around the country shows up as record-breaking low bead sales for me.

It's discouraging, and also freeing. I don't need to work so hard, because nobody cares anyway. So there are picnic days, and longer mornings spent writing. The downside, of course, is there's not enough money. I've been the money-maker in the family for some years now, and it felt like a terrible failure to have to tell Rick he could no longer be my Lovely Assistant.

But there's always a bright side. He went right out and got a nice job at a local garden center. If he was home this time of year, he'd be playing with plants anyway. He loves to garden, so this way he'll get paid for it. Today is his first day. Very exciting. I sent him off with a nice, man-sized lunch, and I'll get to hear all about his Adventures in PlantLand this evening. My days will change now too. I have no real idea how just yet, but I know I'll be doing more cooking and laundry for myself. I'll have to go to the grocery store... ick!... and the post office, and might even talk to actual people sometimes. No telling where this could lead.

And beads? Yes, there will still be beads, and I still wish everyone would stop buying temporary comforts at big box stores, and save their extra pennies to buy actual art made by actual artists. China has enough of our money. But I can't change the world, now can I? All I can do is go outside now and then, look up at the sky, take a deep breath, and then go back to doing what I do, knowing that somehow, it's all going to work out fine.

are you board?

After years and years of no way will it ever happen, Taos Ski Valley is opening the mountain to snowboards today. This is big news around here. And although I don't care a lot about this, I am interested in ch-ch-ch-changes I see all around me. Taos Ski Valley is just one example of changing minds in changing times. (Catchy. Yes, I came up with that all by myself.) Of course it makes good business sense to stop excluding the hoards of snowboarders who come to the area each winter. But I think it also makes good sense, in a broader way, to just stay flexible and open-minded. Never say never, and all that. I know it gives me a thing or two to think about. Maybe I'll talk about that later. For now, all you boarders out there, I hear the snow is bitchin'. Maybe Rick and I will head up there and check it out... or at least have some lunch.

go outside

It's a beautiful, quiet morning here. No wind. No clouds. Even sort of warm.
After Lucy and Heidi did their usual go-outside-come-back-in-run-around-the-house this morning, Lucy decided she wanted to go out again. This is not normal, so I paid attention to what she was doing. From my spot at the kitchen table I watched her wander slowly around the yard, along the fence, and back again to her favorite sunny spot on the small step that's next to the hot tub. She sat there enjoying the sun long enough for me to think maybe she was on to something. So I got my tea and a book, went outside in my bathrobe, and sat on the edge of the step next to her. She was right. It was just the place to be.

We sat there together for a few minutes, listening to the neighbors go to work, the little birds having breakfast in the fir tree, and the ravens flying so low over our heads we could hear the whoosh of their wings. I assume she was listening too, and I even think she was reading over my shoulder. After a bit, she got up to check her fence lines again. But I stayed where I was, sunning myself like a dog with a good book.


This was the first morning of the year for Going Outside. To me, this is worthy of celebration. I might just take the whole day off and go outside some more.

it ain't easy being green

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and top o' the mornin' to ye, and all that. I've always sort of liked and not liked this particular holiday. I do have quite a bit of Irish ancestry, so I'm entitled to participate. I'm just not quite sure what to do with it.

As a kid, there was that terrible dilemma of finding something green to wear so as not to be pinched at school. As far as I know, I've never ever owned a green garment of any kind. And I never though to plan ahead, so I'd always end up with a green ribbon or a sticker or some lame thing like that. Later I started wearing turquoise jewelry and proclaiming it "green enough". By then, any of the mean boys who would pinch me knew I'd probably punch them in return, so green was green, just because I said so. A few years later, green beer seemed to be enough for most people. If it turns your tongue green, I guess that's as good as wearing it.

Then there's the food... Irish food is not my favorite, especially since I became a sort of vegetarian (actually, a pescatarian because I do eat fish sometimes). It all seems to be heavy on the meat, and the soggy wrung-out vegetables really don't make my heart sing either. Around here we have a heavily Hispanic culture, which means nobody knows or cares much about anything Irish. You want green? Try some green chile on your enchiladas. That's about all you're gonna find here. Rick and I were thinking about going out tonight, but there's not much going on except at Ogilvie's, and we've never had a good meal there, so forget that idea. I guess we'll stay home... sigh... At least we have some Green Tea Vodka in the freezer. Oh my.... yum. It beats a green beer any day!

And back to food, because along with beads and love, it's a very important of a balanced day. How about if I make that good Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli Thing? Want some? Here's how you make it: Cut some fresh broccoli into nice little bite-size trees, and steam them until they're bright green, but still quite crunchy. Next, make some mashed potatoes. Real ones. No cheating. We like Yukon Gold potatoes for this. When you boil them, throw in a bunch of cloves of garlic, so when you mash them the garlic gets mashed in too. Then while you're mashing be sure to add lots of butter and cheese, some salt and pepper, and if you have any pesto or basil, throw that in too, along with a blop or two of sour cream. Now spread that in a big 9x13 baking pan, and plant the little broccoli trees all over the top of the potatoes. Then grate a bunch more cheese over the top of everything, and bake it for a while until it's nice and hot and melty. It's also good with a sprinkle of sunflowers seeds for crunch and protein. For us, it's a meal, but if you're making corned beef too, this will be a helluva lot better than soggy cabbage and carrots along with it!