Category: Angel Fire NM

Posted on by

Ready or Not, Here Comes Fall!

What a blur the summer was.  Didn’t it just start last week?  That is how it seems to me, after running through July, August virtually vanished (though I did have a fabulous 50th birthday) and here we are now in September.  Unbelievable! Yesterday was the MVAC’s Arts About Town.  Not so much about town, as there just weren’t enough participants to fill out multiple locations, it still turned with great crowds and reasonable sales for all.  By late afternoon vendors were wrapping themselves in the cloths that had been on their tables, as temperatures fell, the wind began to gust and then, right on cue at closing time (and packing time), the sky opened.

Today, the clouds are hanging so low it looks like a black and white photo outside.  Sprinkling giant drops of water now and then.  The outside temperature is 54 degrees at 11:26 a.m.  I actually have a sweater on! It’s a quiet day for rest and rejuvenation.  Grace is asleep at my feet and the heavy cloud cover makes it seem extraordinarily quiet.  Makes me glad the show (Arts About Town) was yesterday!

Guess I won’t be out doing the outside work on the house I need to do.  Hmm. Sounds like an opportunity to paint! 

Angel Fire ArtSpace,
3469 Mountain View Blvd, Suites B2-4 Angel Fire NM
Posted on by

I love the rain

I know, I’m not a great poster.  I get so involved with life and living, I forget.  Usually it takes something to get my attention to make think “I should post that!” 
So, what snapped my attention today?  Well it started with the first clap of thunder.   A week or two ago we grew weary of the frantic running and barking that signaled the start of monsoon season.  Drugs, even “natural” ones were scary and left us uncomfortable, with our beloved Grace wandering drunk-like and bleary eyed, too tired to bark or eat or anything.  We saw an ad for the Thundershirt and decided to try it.  It came last week.  I was working everyday, so it was left to hubby to try it out.  First cool thing was that he was able to get it on Grace without a battle royal.  Next cool thing was that he said, “It works!”

My first experience with it was today, at the first clap of thunder, I called her from her running bark and she came and stood in front of me, expectantly, like she was asking for the Thundershirt.  I laid it across her back, velcroed the pieces that go across the front, then velcroed the pieces under her and around her chest, then used the flap to snug it, all while she stood patiently while I did it.

Then, she wen to her favorite window at the end of the kitchen, and laid down.  And so, that is where she has been.  When I moved to the chair to write, she followed me, and laid down.  It is raining steadily and the thunder is crashing regularly, but not a sound from her.  Every now and then a low rumble of “grrrrrrrrrr” comes from her…but that’s it.  Hubby went to nap and she followed and they are both now sound asleep.  I love it, love it, love it.  Thank you Thundershirt!

Angel Fire ArtSpace,
3469 Mountain View Blvd, Suites B2-4 Angel Fire NM
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Jumping thru June

Ok, so not exactly.  But when my husband came into the kitchen where I was finishing up the dishes and said, “I have an idea for you…’Jumping through June’ ….since you’ve not posted since ‘Meandering into March.”  “very funny” I smirked.  “you know how hard it is to type with one hand!”  Of course he does, since his hands are so disfigured by R.A.  None-the-less, he was right.  One handed or not, it is way past time to post.  So, here’s the story.  Short version.  I got my right leg tangled in a cable and when i moved forward, it did not go with me, knocking me off balance.  I reached for the couch to catch myself, but the couch slid and I was headed for the brick floor.  The sliding couch had sort of torqued me around and i was falling backward.  Somehow i got my left hand behind my head just before I bounced on the brick,instantly writhing in pain. Broken bones?  no.  Crushed knuckles. Crushed, mangled muscle,tendon and cartilage in the main knuckles of my thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger, pinky to a lesser degree.  It happened May 17 or 18..I’m not entirely sure which.  I did mange to get my rings off before my hand grew fat and puffy.  Black, blue, green and yellow.  Now its mostly normal looking, though puffy between the knuckles and between the index finger and the thumb.  Still sore, and weak, though I try hard to keep my fingers moving. Pressure, lifting, twisting or pressing all hurt.  So here I my still handed.  Jumping? Definitely not.

Despite that, life goes on.  newest news is that I am working with the Veterans Healing Retreats that are running in Angel Fire this summer, teaching watercolor as relaxation tool.  It has been fun and incredibly rewarding. Speaking of which, I need to get ready to go.  I’ll try to be more reliable here.  Thanks for hanging with me!

Angel Fire ArtSpace,
3469 Mountain View Blvd, Suites B2-4 Angel Fire NM
Posted on by — 2 Comments

Mardi Gras, Valentines Day and SNOW

In the after math of the string of fun, from Powderkeg to Shovel races to the Mardi Gras ball last night (thank you, Krewe H.), I must have been crazy to try to dig out the gate to the side yard (and the propane tank…what were we thinking, putting it behind the fence?!). Snow blown from the driveway piled high against the gate and made it completely accessible…though it was frozen solid enough a long legged person could have just stepped over! Unfortunately..the snow on the other side was well worn down by the dog nesting on it, laying guard lest someone should dare enter her turf.

Anyway, dig it out I did and now my shoulders are screaming at me. I stretched, heated and now I’m resting, computer on my lap, leaning back in a comfy, puffy, leather chair. A dose of bromelain will help ensure my flexibility for painting this afternoon at the Visitor Center.

Speaking of which, I didn’t actually realize it’s been two weeks since I posted. hmm. Where did that time go?! I promised I’d put the piece I was working on up here, and so here it is:

36 x 18 Acrylic on Panel…and I sold it just before I got my signature on at the bottom (Yay)

Today I have to finish a landscape I’ve got going, 30 x 24 acrylic..and then I’ll start on a diptich, which i think will be more sunflowers. I had alot of fun painting this one. Was in a way sad that I sold it so quickly! My husband John never even got to see it except for this photo. Not complaining, mind you. Kind of blown away.

So, sore shoulders and all, I’ll lug my portable studio back to the Center and be there at 1pm! It’ll be a hub of activity as the staff will be decorating a float for the Mardi Gras parade….and OH….HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Angel Fire ArtSpace,
3469 Mountain View Blvd, Suites B2-4 Angel Fire NM