Visiting artists at work in the high desert: September 17, 2016

We visited several artists' studios on the Pojoaque River art tour.  The air in the high desert is fragrant with mountain sage (plant with yellow flowers).

This artist makes hollow clay birds.  The birds, stuffed with healing herbs, are attached to a person's clothing.

Finished spirit birds.

George Rivera is a sculptor.  This is a statue of Popé or Po'pay (/ˈpoʊpeɪ/; ca. 1630 – ca. 1688).  He was a Tewa religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh (known since the colonial period as San Juan Pueblo), who led the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 against Spanish colonial rule.  The cantilevered statue will be placed outside a museum in the pueblo.  The pole beneath the horse's belly won't be needed as part of the permanent exhibition.

Santa Fe Farmers Market: September 17, 2016

Sante Fe Farmers Market at the Railyard.  Yes, that's a railroad track in the background, behind the blue kitty cat and me.

Artistic artisan bread

Squash blossoms.  Saw them on menus.  Have no idea at all how to prepare them.

Staircase at Loretto Chapel

Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction.

When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.

Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.

The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.

The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

Lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Burro Alley

Burro Alley was marked not only by a street sign but also by a statue.  Made me wonder:  how do you load all that wood on the back of a burro without the wood rolling off before it's tied down?  How do you coax the burro to stand still?  Made me also think of the time, when I was 4, that I rode a burro bareback and it ran under the limb of  a tree to knock me off its back.

Live music near our table.

Santa Fe architecture

Adobe buildings dating back several hundred years cover blocks of the city's center.  The word adobe /əˈdoʊbiː/ has existed for around 4000 years with relatively little change in either pronunciation or meaning. The word can be traced from the Middle Egyptian (c. 2000 BC) word ɟbt "mudbrick." Middle Egyptian evolved into Late Egyptian, Demotic or "pre-Coptic", and finally to Coptic (c. 600 BC), where it appeared as τωωβε tōʾpə. This was borrowed into Arabic as الطوب aṭ-ṭawbu or aṭ-ṭūbu, with the definite article al- attached,^[9]tuba,^[10][11] which was assimilated into the Old Spanish language as adobe [aˈdobe], probably via Mozarabic. English borrowed the word from Spanish in the early 18th century.

Adobe style in Santa Fe, New Mexico

In more modern English usage, the term "adobe" has come to include a style of architecture popular in the desert climates of North America, especially in New Mexico.

Art galleries dominate.  The human shadows are long; the tall sculpture shadow is short. 

Interior courtyard of downtown hotel, with hanging dried chile peppers.

Annual girls' trip with Cheryl: September 14-18, 2016

This year, Cheryl and I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  This statue is of  the first Native American to be named a Catholic saint, Kateri Tekakwitha, who lived from 1656-1680.  She was a member of the Mohawk tribe in what is now New York state.

 This statue commemorates the first European settlers to the Santa Fe area in 1598.  The colonists introduced horses, cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, and poultry to the area.

Trimming trees

Papa Tom took his chainsaw up on the garage roof to trim back elm tree branches that were scraping the shingles.  You can see our next door neighbor's addition under construction.  

Dad and family: September 9, 2016

Dad treated us to dinner at Twisted Root. Donna saw a great photo op.  As she explained:  "You, booze, and guitars."  

None of us has root beer.

Martin requested carrot cake for his belated 60th birthday celebration.  Happy birthday, Martin!

Martin, Donna, Dad, Martha, and Craig.  Charles didn't want to be in the photo.  We're going to snap you sometime when you least expect it, Charles!

Stay-cation: September 6-9, 2016

We took a stay-cation to get several projects done;  turned the Princess room into my home office, moved the vegetable garden to the back yard and put in a rose garden out front, I visited Dad and siblings in Shreveport on Friday, and Papa Tom took a friend to a dental appointment in San Antonio while I was gone.  Oh!  And I painted the front porch.

Rock-a-bye Chase

We treat this kitten like our baby.

Celebrating birthdays: September 4, 2016

The Horns visited from Waco on Sunday.  After dinner at Mandola's, Papa Tom and Al watched the U.T.-Notre Dame game while Joyce, Emma, and I went to Half-Price Books in South Austin and drove past the Horns's former home in Shady Hollow.   Met back at the house for Italian cream cake.  Here are Papa Tom, Joyce, Emma, and . . . Al's arm! 

Happy birthday, Papa Tom, from the Horns.  Guns & Oil is an Austin brewery with a very Texas name!

Emma, taking close-ups of Chase.

Joyce is spoiling that kitty cat!  She's letting him lick cake icing off her finger.

Chase bats the flowers

I'm not a crazy cat lady, but I am crazy about Chase.

Jim's 4th birthday party: Saturday, September 3, 2015

After we shopped for Jim's birthday present, Fox and Chase hung out until party time.

The party was at Dart Bowl, where Skyler used to work.  Tiny bowling shoes, tiny bowling balls. So cute!

Papa Tom and our grand-niece Lucy.

Papa Tom and Lucy, and Kirk and Jake.

Birthday boy Jim.  He and Emma have the same birthday, August 24.  Busy Daddy Kirk wrangles Jake and photographs Jim.

Landlords no more! September 2, 2016

1601 Faro, Unit 1004: sold!  After the closing, we celebrated at ZTejas with Condo Joe, our real estate agent.

Hatch chile season brings hatch chile nachos.  These were Amon's.  I suspect they were mighty delicious!

Condo Joe's license plate.  On the way home, Papa Tom said we should have a license plate that says "Oz-tin."  I like it.