Good day, sunshine

It's been sort of dreary and grey the last couple of days, so it feels totally joyful to have it be sunny and bright today.

We didn't get as much snow as we had thought we might get, but the ski valley got 12", so that's a good start for them. The temperatures have dropped rapidly...it was 9F this morning around 7:00 a.m.

When it snows, one of the tasks for Mr. Sunflower is to keep the solar panels cleared, so they can operate at maximum capacity. We (the dogs and I) accompanied him this morning as he did this. Along the way I found these little sunflowers wearing snow hats and thought they were pretty cute.

It takes a village

Today is the annual radiothon for Tao's Citizens Against Violence, an outreach organization/shelter that is fervently working to reduce domestic violence in our community. I've heard that domestic violence is up because of the down turn in our economy. I have no problem understanding how that could happen.

Statistics are grim (1 of 3 women will be raped in her lifetime), but if everyone remembers to support these groups, in whatever way you can, perhaps one day we won't have to have these big fund raisers. Remember that some of the worst sufferers of domestic violence are children and pets.

I didn't grow up in a home with physical violence, but there was another, more insidious thing happening: mental abuse. Abuse seems an extreme word to use, but it's the only one I have at hand right now. I saw my mom's end of life be miserable because of it, and I know how it has affected me. I can say my dad did the best he could or knew how to do, but the results linger long after his death. For those of you with children in your lives, I urge you to remember that sometimes what seems like a joke to you can hurt more than a smack, and a little bit of criticism can go an awfully long way (if it's even necessary).

On a lighter note: I've been herding dust bunnies and taking care of Mt. Washmore this week, so my creative time has been in bits and pieces. I've started some more log cabin squares (in front of TV at night) and have been working in my sketch book. Don't recall if I mentioned this before, but this summer I was inspired by my friend Liz to finally get the pencil, the book, and the eraser out and just go for it. Today I'm sharing a drawing I did while eating dinner one night last month. The painting on the wall is actually a copy of a real oil painting I did in class some years ago. I love that I have the freedom to make my world be any colors I choose. May you, as well.

Busy Monday

Today was town day...getting/sending mail, stocking up at the grocery store, other errands. First thing I saw when I went out the door this morning was my lavender bed, looking rather wintry and festive.

Today was my deadline for mailing the afghan made of the log cabin blocks. The blocks ended up being approximately 15" square, so I only needed 12 to make a nice blanket. By Saturday morning I could tell it was going to be a push to get 9 done, assemble them and finish the edge...so that's what I did. It turns out it's still large enough for the current campaign for items for the older children (ages 7-14) in Afghanistan, and the smaller blanket, which is one larger log cabin square, will go next month for their campaign for baby blankets. It felt really good to get these in the mail and I've decided I should just keep cranking stuff out so I have it ready to ship when needed. I thought these would eat up a bunch of my stash, but it barely grazed the surface. Gee, wonder how that happened.

Took the pic of the mountains as we drove home from town. I love when the winds are blowing the snow off the peaks.

Cloud report

Taken at 6:00 p.m. The colors in the sky did not come through in these photos. It was quite spectacular.

What a trip

We left San Diego early Thursday morning and drove out through the Imperial Valley. If you're not familiar, it's an enormous agricultural scene down there in what would otherwise be a desert wasteland (courtesy of water diverted from the Colorado River). We saw miles and miles of hay, stacked so neatly and high that from a distance, it looked like buildings out in the fields. Part of the drive we were only a stone's throw from Mexico, and saw the border fence that has been built in some places. We also saw pastures of sheep, sand dunes, and a stand of wind mills.

From there we cut through Phoenix and up through Payson on our way back to Winslow. Payson is where the author Zane Grey lived in his log cabin. (The cabin burned down some years back, so I don't know what is there now.) As we climbed out of Phoenix, we started seeing the saguaro cactus, indigenous to the Sonoran desert. Many of us envision the saguaro when we think of a desert scene.

We arrived in Taos late yesterday afternoon and discovered some snow on our local mountains. Traditionally we assume we'll get our first snow on Halloween (down at our elevation, that is)...so this week is time to get the rest of the firewood up to the house and be ready.

Time to go home

Tomorrow we head back to NM...a drive of almost 1,000 miles. I love to joke about how I had to move 1,000 east to live in The West. Curious.

My friend Liz and I were walking in the last day or so and found these flowers draped over a fence. I'm not quite sure what they are, but they caught my fancy. Note the camera shake. Sorry.

It has been a good trip, but now it's time to go home and jump start my other life again (the one that doesn't include Starbucks every morning and frozen yogurts every afternoon).

Thought I'd share a photo of this little Taos Fixer Upper, just for grins (check out the sign).

Trip project

For this trip, I packed every little bit of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted that I could find in the house. It's fun on road trips, because I can take lots to work with, and my palette is extended.

I'm planning to make 20 of these blocks for a 4 x 5 block blanket for children ages 7-14 in Afghanistan, the current campaign of Afghans for Afghans. Deadline is the end of October. It takes about 3-4 hours for me (including daydreaming time) to make each block. I'll crochet them together and crochet an edging. Putting them together is the most fun for me.

Yesterday I thought I'd go poking around the internet to see what projects are active for donations these days. I found one that particularly interests me, making blankets to comfort wounded and disabled soldiers. This project is called Blankets of Hope. I also found a long list of groups looking for donations on the Interweave Press site.

These are the blocks I've made so far. I have a hard time not being controlling over the colors and find it's best for me to pick blindly from a basket and not think it over too much.