Little Fires in Your Mouth

Photo from MexGrocer.com

Chiles for dessert? At first it might be hard to imagine these fiery little vegetables as part of your sweets, but when you’ve had some time to digest the idea it no longer seems so strange. To New Mexicans, who all seem to be addicted to chile anyway, this is just another way to get our fix. After all--hot and sweet together? What’s not to like?

While taking part in a discussion on New Mexican Foods over at the New Mexico forum on the City-Data website, I was intrigued by the mention of red chile fudge. It sounded like a novelty item, just another way to market something from New Mexico. A little exploration and research proved otherwise. There is a wide spectrum of these sweet-hot desserts, as you will see if you read this blog over the next couple of days.

After my research, I was ready to try out a recipe. I wanted brownies with chipotles, but all the recipes I found were pretty complicated and called for way more chocolate and sugar and butter than I wanted to use. So I turned to my favorite brownie recipe, Immediate Fudge Cake, from my ancient copy of Peg Bracken’s Appendix to the I Hate to Cook Book(1966). Here is the variation that I came up with:

Chocolate Chipotle* Brownies
Note: These are best accompanied by a glass of cold milk, to put out the little fires in your mouth

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
¾ cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
2 chipotle chiles, chopped fine

Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well (be sure the chiles are well distributed!). Bake in a greased 8” by 8” pan at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Glaze while still warm with:

Chocolate Glaze
½ square unsweetened chocolate
1 tbl. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
Tiny pinch salt
A little strong coffee

Melt the butter and the chocolate in the microwave, add sugar, vanilla, salt. Beat the mixture well, adding a bit of coffee, until it is the consistency you want.

*Chipotles: Buy them in a can. They are called Chipotles in Adobo Sauce. Store leftovers in a glass jar in the refrigerator. They will go a long way. I will scout out some recipes to help us all use up the rest of the can, and publish them in a future post.

Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video

Music in Clovis

Clovis is observing Music in Our Schools Week. I'm not sure if it is part of a current national "week" or if Clovis just does their own. It's wonderful to see the recognition given to music teachers here--that doesn't always happen in other school districts. Last week the editor of the paper sent out the question "Which music teacher had the greatest influence on you and why/how?"--something like that. As the week goes on, there are guest columnists every day on page 2 of the newspaper providing an essay on the topic. There was a big double page spread in the paper the other day with the photos of every single music teacher and music assistant (Music assistants? What a luxury!) in the city, along with the name of the teacher/mentor who was their greatest influence. There is a big city-wide concert tomorrow tonight, with the elementary school select chorus, the high school band and orchestra, etc.

Clovis supports a Community Band, which plays for special events throughout the year.

The city hosts an annual Music Festival. This year's celebration takes place from September 4-6, 2008. You can check out the entertainment line up here. The Norman and Vi Petty Rock 'N' Roll Museum will have its grand opening during the Festival. The Norman Petty Studio on 7th Street is known as the home of the "Clovis Sound. " It is where Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison recorded their music.

Twice a week at the community center (okay, it's a Senior Center, but I just don't like to call it that) nearest us there either a jam session or a performance by local musicians--folks who just like to get together and play. We went to the Sweetheart Banquet there (9 couples married more than 50 years attended; the champs of the group were married 67 years!). There was wonderful toe-tapping musical entertainment provided by The Triple L Band from nearby Portales. They are my new favorite group.

We're planning to go to The Friends of Oasis Bluegrass Night on May 31st. It's a fund raiser for Oasis State Park featuring The Triple L Band. Can't wait to hear that great music out under the stars!

Questions to Ask the Candidates

This editorial appears on the New York Times Opinion Page, February 17, 2008


Questions, Not Just on Iraq
How the next president plans to handle the disastrous Iraq war is the most important foreign policy question of this year’s campaign. But it is not the only foreign policy question that voters need answered.
President Bush’s mismanagement reaches far beyond Iraq. He has torn up international treaties, bullied and alienated old friends, and enabled old and new enemies. Before Americans choose a president they will need to know how he or she plans to rebuild America’s military strength and its moral standing and address a host of difficult challenges around the world.

Here is our list of questions. It is by no means comprehensive.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP Too many people who long admired this country as a beacon of democratic values now suspect and fear it. What steps would the candidates take to revive America’s reputation and its ability to lead? Would they immediately shut the Guantánamo Bay prison, commit to a global treaty to address climate change and press the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty?

CHINA How would the candidates handle relations with a rising China? How would they manage a potential military competition while also encouraging democratic reforms there? How would the candidates persuade Beijing to help dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program and contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions, or to play a constructive role in Sudan and Burma? How would they conduct relations with Taiwan?

NONPROLIFERATION Mr. Bush tore up arms control treaties, offered to sell civilian nuclear technology to India, then wondered why so many countries weren’t more outraged by Iran’s nuclear misbehavior. Do the candidates have practical plans to halt the spread of nuclear weapons? Would they commit to deep cuts in America’s nuclear arsenal, forswear the development of new nuclear weapons, and persuade the Russians to do the same? If the candidates see nuclear energy as a way to control global warming, how would they ensure that its spread does not lead to the spread of nuclear weapons?

RUSSIA President Vladimir Putin has crushed rivals, closed most independent news organizations and all but extinguished hopes for democracy. Washington needs Moscow’s cooperation on a host of dangerous issues. How would the candidates manage relations with an increasingly autocratic and increasingly powerful Russia?
DEFENSE SPENDING The United States’ annual military budget is now about $500 billion, with nearly $200 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan. That is a 62 percent increase in overall defense spending during Mr. Bush’s tenure. And there is no relief in sight. The American military — in terms of both its people and equipment — is badly strained. Even a new president committed to a swift withdrawal from Iraq will have to keep asking for large budgets to repair the damage and ensure that the country is ready to face new dangers.
There will have to be tradeoffs. What weapons systems would the candidates cancel? What new acquisitions would they seek? Should the Pentagon make nation-building a prime mission? Should the State Department play a larger role in postconflict reconstruction?

USE OF FORCE All presidents rightly reserve the right to take military action to protect the national interest. What has Iraq taught the candidates about the use of force? Do they believe in pre-emption or the use of preventive force? What about humanitarian interventions?

TERRORISM Is the war on terrorism a military fight? Should it even be called a war? How would the candidates improve America’s intelligence capabilities and elicit more cooperation around the world? What would they do to oust Al Qaeda from Pakistan? How would they ensure Pakistan’s cooperation while also pressing for democratic reforms that are essential for its long-term stability? What is their strategy to stop the Taliban and Al Qaeda from regaining control in Afghanistan?

MIDDLE EAST It is far too little and very late, but President Bush finally launched an Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. What should the United States, Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states be doing to increase the chances of success? Given that Hamas controls Gaza, is a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine really viable? How can the United States both protect Israel and encourage it to negotiate a peace settlement?

IRAN Iran continues to defy the United Nations Security Council by enriching uranium — the hardest part of building a bomb. How clear and present is the danger? What are the candidates willing to offer Iran in exchange for giving up its nuclear efforts? If Iran shows no interest, are there realistic military options? Must Iran also cut all support for Hezbollah and Hamas? Can Iran be contained without a military confrontation?

NORTH KOREA Since Mr. Bush took office, Pyongyang has tested a nuclear device and produced enough fuel for 10 or more nuclear weapons. Now a deal to dismantle its nuclear program appears to have stalled. Would the candidates continue those negotiations, offer additional incentives to speed up denuclearization or look for new ways to pressure Pyongyang?

On Iraq, there are still many unanswered questions. Most of the discussion during the campaign has been stuck on the past (who supported the war or not). Voters need to know more about what the candidates would do from their first day in office. Whether they plan to stay or leave, how would they accelerate political reconciliation there? What would they do to ensure that Iraq’s chaos does not spill beyond its borders? Americans deserve to hear the candidates’ answers, long before they go to the polls.

What the World Thinks of Us?

President Bush responds to a question
during a news conference in the Rose Garden
at the White House. (AP / J. Scott Applewhite)

A friend in Canada has alerted me to this survey, written about on the CTV Canada web site.

Bush has made the world more dangerous: polls
Updated Fri. Nov. 3 2006 11:06 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

United States policy has made the world a more dangerous place and President George Bush is among the leaders who pose the greatest threat to peace, four new polls suggest.
The polls were conducted ahead of Tuesday's U.S. mid-term elections, which many expect to hinge on the issue of the Iraq war. A majority of people surveyed in three out of four countries rejected the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The polls were conducted by EKOS for the Toronto Star and Montreal's La Presse in Canada, and by other polling firms for newspapers in Britain, Mexico and Israel. The survey suggests 62 per cent of Canadian respondents believe Bush has made the world less safe since he became president in 2001. The poll also indicates 34 per cent of Canadians felt Bush is a "great danger" to the world.

Canadians declared the American president the world's third most dangerous leader, behind North Korea's Kim Jong Il. Top spot went to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was fourth, while Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was fifth.

The most pessimistic responses came from Britain, where 69 per cent of people said American foreign policy has made the world less safe since 2001. In fact, British respondents said Bush poses an even greater danger than Kim Jong Il. "I think the primary issue that's driving public opinion about Bush in this country is the mess in Iraq right now," CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy said Friday on Newsnet. "This country never really supported the war, in spite of the fact that British Prime Minister Tony Blair tied himself to Bush and participated in the war in Iraq. And I think that's really dragged down public opinion about George Bush and I think, as well, about Tony Blair."

Canadians, meanwhile, have overwhelmingly soured on the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the poll suggests, with 73 per cent saying Washington had no justification for it. When EKOS asked Canadians the same question in April 2003 after the U.S. invasion, 53 per cent thought it was unjustified.

Israel was the only country where respondents were in favour of the U.S. invasion of Iraq -- with 59 per cent for the war and 34 per cent against. Only 23 per cent of Israelis said they felt Bush was a serious danger, with 61 percent disagreeing.

The survey was conducted in late October and involved about 1,000 people from each country. The results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Wineries in New Mexico

La Viña Poster


Did you know that New Mexico’s wine industry the oldest in the country? When we lived in Las Cruces in the late 1990s, we often visited the La Viña Winery in La Union, attending some of their wonderful wine and jazz festivals. According to their web site, they "host a Harvest Festival and Grape Stomp each year in October and a Blues & Jazz Festival in April, as well as an old fashioned country picnic and open house on July 4th." It's a lovely way to spend an afternoon. You can picnic and sample a variety of their wines, and come home with a selection of wines and souvenir wine glasses to help you remember the occasion. We bought posters and framed and hung them when we went back to New Hampshire, so that we wouldn't forget that we were meant to be living in New Mexico. Now that we're back, we look forward to exploring some of the wineries around the state.

For a little history and background on the New Mexico wine industry, see Wine and Vineyards of New Mexico. Here is part of what they have to say:
"...New Mexico has the distinction of being the country's oldest commercial wine-growing region, predating California's entry into the field by 140 years. It was in 1629 that a Franciscan and a Capuchin monk first planted grapevines on the east bank of the Rio Grande near present-day Socorro. By 1633 the vines were producing, making sacramental wine available to mission priests throughout the northern territory of New Spain. Winemaking flourished for centuries, but had pretty much ended by 1920, done in by depleted soil and Prohibition. But in 1978 a revival began, and today oenophiles can visit some 19 wineries throughout the state. Production includes a number of varieties of reds, whites, and sparkling wines, many of them of award-winning caliber."

Here is a Wine Tour of New Mexico in five parts with a commentary on the wines, from wine enthusiast Jim Eastman's blog, Music & Wine:
-Part 1: Ruidoso and Tularosa areas
-Part 2: La Union
-Part 3: Deming
-Part 4: Albuquerque
-Part 5: Northern New Mexico, near Velarde and Dixon

For a list of NM wineries and tasting rooms, see the Wine Growers Association web site.

Viva New Mexico lists New Mexican wineries by region.

Posole

Photograph from Library of Congress*











Posole defined:

1. Kernels of corn that have been soaked in lime water, hulled, and dried.
2. Hominy and pork stew flavored with red chiles



Posole stew is a New Mexican tradition and can be ordered as a side dish in many New Mexican restaurants. You can order some real NM posole from the resources below, or you may substitute yellow or white canned hominy in the recipes.

Blue Corn Posole recipe, resources, and a wonderful memory about eating posole at San Ildefonso Pueblo

A nice collection of New Mexican Posole Recipes

Posole Recipe courtesy of Comida de Campos farm and cooking school, Embudo, N.M.

Posole recipes from the Santa Fe School of Cooking

Posole Stew, A New Mexico Holiday Tradition

If you have a moment, take time to read this evocative New York Times article--In Pueblo Food, Deep Respect for the Earth, which includes a recipe for posole. They might spell" chile" as “chili” but they know how to make New Mexican food sound delicious.
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*The Library of Congress knows of no restrictions on the publication of this photograph. If you do, please let me know via the comments section on this blog.

Red Chile

Red Chiles Drying (Library of Congress)*
If you travel around New Mexico during harvest time you are bound to see ristras (strings) of red chiles hanging outside to dry in the hot sunshine. Down in Mesilla, south of Las Cruces, we saw them spread out on rooftops and up north in Chimayo they were hanging everywhere.

You can buy fresh green chiles in the summertime and the dried red ones later in the fall. They both come from the same plant—the red ones have just been allowed to ripen longer on the plant before being dried. They have an earthier flavor to me. When I grew my own chiles in Las Cruces, I couldn’t get over how many wonderful chile colors could be found on a single plant—the greens at first, and then as the chiles ripened they ranged through yellow and orange to red.

We make a very simple version of Carne Adovada at our house. We brown pork strips with onions and garlic, then simmer all in red chile sauce (below) until the pork is tender and well done. I know that traditional versions call for a long marinating period, but the kind we make is absolutely delicious.

For some good basics to get you started, see Chile Colorado (Red Chile).

Visit the Focus New Mexico web site for information on both red and green chiles, where to find them in New Mexico, and how to use them. Be sure to check out the rest of the web site, too, for travel information.

For a good Red Chile Sauce Recipe: http://www.pepperfool.com/recipes/southwest/nm_red_sauce.html

*Library of Congress photograph: I do not know of any copyright restrictions associated with this photo. If you do, please notify me via the comments section of this blog.

Blue Corn Meal

Hopi Women Grinding Corn in Arizona*

The December 2007 issue of New Mexico Magazine had an article on blue cornmeal recipes called “Holiday Blues” which was beautifully illustrated with a photo of a blue and white china bowl filled with blue corn atole topped with plump blueberries. Atole is, as they explained, a gruel that is served as a porridge or a drink. They made it sound like such a wonderful cold weather breakfast dish that we went shopping around Clovis for some blue corn meal of our own. We found some at the S & S Supermarket on 2204 N. Main Street. This little market, by the way, was delightful because of its “just right” size—not too big, not too small—and the friendliness of the staff, who even helped unload our cart onto the checkout counter for us.

I couldn’t find the New Mexico Magazine article reprinted online, so you may have to search out a print copy of the issue if you want to read it. In the meantime, the Foodways of the Rio Grande web site has some wonderful photographs and tells us: “…blue corn meal is used in the making of atole, a hot breakfast gruel; chaqueque, a moist blue corn bread; and special blue corn tortillas, a type of flat bread made from a watery batter and poured over a hot griddle. Atole is also given to anyone who is ill and it was frequently a dying person's last meal.” If you are interested in reading about blue corn production in New Mexico, take a look at New Mexico State University's article on Blue Corn Production in New Mexico.

Blue Cornmeal Recipes

Blue and Yellow Cornbread

Blue Corn Bread

Blue Corn Tortillas

Blue Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

Blue Cornmeal Cakes with Chile Salsa

Traditional Native American Recipes Includes recipes for blue corn atole and blue corn porridge.

According to the High Beam Encyclopedia, which quotes an article from Sunset Magazine: “In a time when food ideas and supplies seem to leap from one part of the country to another almost overnight, blue corn has kept pretty much to its native terrain--you've generally had to travel to New Mexico to get a supply.” Luckily for you, the Internet provides some alternatives. You can order blue corn meal online from these sources.

Santa Ana Pueblo

NM Pinon Coffee Co. (on the Seasonings and Mixes page)

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*The photograph above (LC-USZ62-56416) is from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. The LC believes that there are no restrictions on the use of this photo. If you know of any, please contact me via the comments section on this blog.

Great News for the Obama Campaign

My friend Gail with her friend Barack Obama on his campaign bus in New Hampshire (photo taken by another friend)




The Obama campaign has received some big endorsements in the last day or two. Carolyn Kennedy, in her op-ed piece for the New York Times, said "I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans. " See "A President Like My Father."

Voice of America: [Senator Ted] "Kennedy Endorses Obama for U.S. President"

Time Magazine: "Why the Kennedys Went for Obama"

For some background on the Obama campaign, read the December 2007 Atlantic Monthly article entitled "Teacher and Apprentice," which was recommended by my son. The Atlantic tagline reads: "Hillary Clinton tried to teach Barack Obama about power, but then he got ideas of his own. A story of nasty surprises, dueling war rooms, and the Drudge Report."

Pinto Beans

Photo: “Bill Stagg, homesteader, with pinto beans, Pie Town, New Mexico" by Russell Lee, 1940.*

You know you’re in New Mexico when you find pinto beans in bulk in the produce section of your grocery store. You just scoop them up and buy them by the pound, or you can opt for some very large prepackaged bags of twenty pounds or so.

Here are a few pinto bean facts, in case you are interested. Come on, you know you are.

~The Legumes web site , which has a lot of other bean information as well, tells us that the pinto bean is the “most common bean eaten in the US with a consumption rate of almost 45% of all the beans eaten. Part of the reason for this is they are generally the cheapest bean you can purchase. But that doesn't mean they are cheap in nutrition or flavor. The nutrition in pinto beans compares favorably with their higher priced cousins and they have a pleasant, earthy flavor and powdery texture that blends with many other foods.”

~Chile and pinto beans are New Mexico’s State Vegetables

~Moriarty, New Mexico (the Pinto Bean Capital) has an annual Pinto Bean Festival, held on the 2nd Saturday of each October.

Long ago, I used to try to make something called "beans and cheese" for a friend who remembered his mother making the dish. Unfortunately, he had no idea what went into it, so we would just put together some pinto beans and some cheese and a bit of margarine, as I recall. We could eat a pot of that stuff and keep the whole week's supper budget under two dollars, cheese included.

Over the years I have refined my approach somewhat, resulting in the following recipe for Refried Beans. You should know that refried beans in general are neither fried, nor are they refried, but that they do sometimes contain large amounts of shortening or lard. I just can’t bring myself to put great slabs of white fat into a dish that is meant to be consumed, so I add a little bit of butter, which is bad enough. As a matter of fact, you might bypass (nice word, in this context) this recipe altogether, in favor of my healthier Pinto Bean recipe which I’ll also put down below.

Refried Beans
1 lb. dried pinto beans (pick through, wash, soak overnight and drain, or bring cleaned beans to a boil in a little cold water to cover, boil one minute, turn off and cover, let soak for an hour, and drain). Add one quart salted water, simmer covered for 20-45 minutes—only until just cooked but not mushy. You might have to add some cooking time if you’re at a high altitude.

In the meantime, pan fry ½ lb. chorizo, or sausage, or ground beef (if you are a meat-eater) and set aside.

Sauté 3 cloves chopped garlic, 1 large onion, 1 tsp. cumin seeds.

Drain the cooked beans, save the liquid.

Mash the beans; add them to the meat and the onion mixture.

Add ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander, ¼ cup fresh lard (this is optional—you can use a bit of butter instead or skip it altogether), 1 cup grated jack cheese, and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Add a little of the reserved liquid until it’s the consistency you like, simmer while stirring for a few minutes.

For a healthier alternative, see the recipe for Pinto Beans.

Pinto Beans
2 cups dried pinto beans (pick through, wash, soak overnight and drain, or bring cleaned beans to a boil in a little cold water to cover, boil one minute, turn off and cover, let soak for an hour, and drain).

Add one quart salted water, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, ½ tsp. black pepper, ½ tsp. cumin, simmer covered for 20-45 minutes—only until just cooked but not mushy.

*This photograph is in the Public Domain and the Library of Congress believes that there are no known restrictions on its use. If you know of any restrictions, please let me know via the comment section of this post.

Honey Spreads

When I wrote about resources for local honey, the product descriptions got me to thinking about honey spreads. One of my favorites from back east, which we can’t find here in New Mexico, is a blended Honey Maple Spread from Maple Grove Farms http://www.maplegrove.com/ in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Fain’s Honey in Llano, Texas lists Pecan-Honey Butter, Almond Honey Butter, Amaretto-Pecan Honey Butter, Lemon Honey Spread, Cinnamon Honey Spread, and Creamed Honey, all of which sound scrumptious and any of which you could buy from them by going to their web site at http://www.fainshoney.com/. It’s worth the visit to see the web site’s honey bee cursor.

Since we’re all about local food sources here, you could make your own, although I wouldn’t add anything to many of the wonderful-sounding local honeys, like the “rich-flavored, almost chocolaty” honey from Star G. However, here are some great-sounding recipes I found online.

Amalou, or Moroccan Honey Spread

Basic Honey Butter Spread

Fig and Honey Spread

Honey Blueberry Butter Spread

Honey Butter Recipes, including Almond Honey Butter and Chocolate Honey Butter

Honey-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Spread

Honey Dijon Spread

Honey Pumpkin Butter

Nut and Honey Cream Cheese Spread

Orange Honey Butter

Peach Honey Butter

Whipped Honey Nut Spread

The Search for Local Honey

I wanted to test out the somewhat controversial theory that locally produced honey acts as an immunity booster for allergies caused by the pollen in local plants. Even if honey has no impact on allergies, I like to try to support local food sources. I asked the people on the New Mexico City-Data Forum at http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-mexico/179967-local-honey-eastern-new-mexico.html where to find honey produced on the high plains of New Mexico or reasonably close by. Although this led to a few awful honey puns—Did you say you were looking for a local honey, as in the personal ads? Bee-hive yourself!—the good people on the forum soon sent in suggestions about New Mexican honey.

I’ll list their local honey sources below, along with a few more I found in my research. First I’d like to quote, with permission, a delicious commentary on honey varieties produced by Star G Honey. It includes a great description of the beekeeper, whom I must presume is a very close friend of the writer.

“Native Son” writes: Star G Honey in Mosquero produces 6-8 different varieties of honey each year... ranging in color from white White Sweetclover through very dark amber Desert Wildflowers, and including very light amber Spring Wildflowers and Yellow Sweetclover, light amber Summer Mountain Wildflowers, amber Mesquite & Cactus Flowers and Autumn Mountain Wildflowers. Some of the darker honeys are very rich-flavored, almost chocolatey, while the White Sweetclover and Spring Wildflowers honeys are delicately mild-flavored.

Star G Honey has sponsored supplemental premium and ribbon awards for amateur beekeepers at the New Mexico State Fair for the past 15 years, to foster and encourage beginning and amateur beekeepers.You can find their honey at the natural food store in Las Vegas and at the mercantile store in Gladstone. They also ship honey to all the 50 states. Or you can get it directly from the beekeeper at the honeyhouse in downtown Mosquero. But it's always best to call in advance before planning to visit, because the beekeeper is often many miles away in a canyon, the mountains, or somewhere out in the vast and beautiful high plains of northeastern NM. They're listed in the phone book.

The beekeeper at Star G Honey has been practicing the 'gentle craft' of beekeeping for 38 years... 37 of them here in northeastern New Mexico. He's usually a pretty nice guy, and extremely knowledgeable about honeybees and, in general, the flora and fauna and natural history of New Mexico and the greater Southwest. But he can sometimes be an irascible old codger and doesn't always suffer fools with any of the patience with which he keeps and tends his honeybees.

According to other members of the forum:

Star G Honey has a pretty extensive operation in Mosquero, NM, about 35 miles NW of Logan, 110 from Clovis. Star G sells at the Santa Fe Farmer's Market and provides bulk honey sold at most Northern NM Food Coops and organic food grocery stores.

Star G Honey

25 Main St.

Mosquero, NM 87733

505-673-2325

There's also Tule Creek Apiary outside of Tulia, TX... their honey is usually available at Lowe's/Super Save groceries in NM.

Tule Creek Apiary

HCR 4, Box 14E

Tulia, TX 79088

Contact: Mr. Kenneth PattonTelephone: (806) 668-4414

While searching the Texas Food Directory, I found:
Fain’s Honey

HC 09, Box 14

Llano, TX 78643

Products include: Pecan-Honey Butter, Almond Honey Butter, Amaretta-Pecan Honey Butter, Lemon Honey Spread, Cinamon Honey Spread, Creamed Honey.

The New Mexico Specialty Food Retail Directory lists:
A-Bee Honey Farms
P. O Box 903
Edgewood, NM 87015
Phone: (505) 286-4843
Fax: (505) 286-8735
Email: nmbeeman@aol.com

Zia Queenbee Company
277 CR 63 Apodaca
Dixon, NM 87527
Phone: (505) 579-4552
Fax: Same
Email: ziaqueenbees@hotmail.com
Web Site: http://www.ziaqueenbees.com/
Varietal NM honey from northern to southern NM.
See a listing and description of their varietal honeys at http://www.ziaqueenbees.com/honey.htm

Mimbres Valley Honey
104 San Tomas Rd.
San Lorenzo, NM 88041
Phone: (575) 536-9772
Fax: (575) 536-9772
Email: beekeeper@gilanet.com
Web Site: www.gilanet.com/beekeeper
Raw honey & bee pollen.
For information about their products: http://www.gilanet.com/beekeeper/products.htm

Images from Winters Past

Buried Bug

Back in New Hampshire where the snowfall is serious stuff, we misplaced our VW Bug one winter. We really love the "snow" here in Clovis--especially when we hear that some people clear off their sidewalks using a hair dryer! The buried bug photo just made Photo of the Day on the Clovis News Journal's online edition at http://www.cnjonline.com/sections/editors-notebook/photooftheday/. Too bad, it was just there the one day and I can't find a way to get to the photo archives, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Find the VW Cabrio

Snow up to the second floor!

New Hampshire Primary

When we lived in New Hampshire, we hosted house parties to organize early campaign strategies in the last election for governor. That, together with the fact that my husband once ran for the state legislature, put us on all kinds of mailing lists. We were invited to "meet the candidate" house parties, big dinners for the party faithful, and picnics and rallies all over the state. Of course, we were also invited to contribute either time or money to the campaign of our choice.

This is such an exciting time for people who live in New Hampshire. Yes, I'm sure plenty of them will be relieved when the media rushes away tomorrow in the early hours and life starts getting back to normal. However, I don't think that there is any other place in America where regular people get to take part in politics in such a personal way. Every person there has a chance to meet the candidates--in a living room, a school gym, or a restaurant.

My friend Francine had the opportunity to introduce Hillary Clinton to the crowd in Dover, NH yesterday. Here are some photos commemorating that occasion that were taken by friends in the crowd. Sorry they are blurry, but they were the best that could be captured at the moment. Right now Francine is out doing what so many in New Hampshire are doing today--standing up for the candidate of her choice, shaking hands, and holding signs. Stay warm, Francine.

Melting the Mainframes

Obama Girl: "The Sleeping Giant in This Election"

I Got a Crush…On Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU

Debate ’08: Obama Girl vs. Giuliani Girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekSxxlj6rGE

Obama Girl Returns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENCRu-2d35g&feature=user

Obama Wins! Obama Girl Reacts!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOnn1hWN-Og&feature=user

Obama Girl: Behind the Sweat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtqbsqonu0&feature=user

Wikipedia article on Obama Girl and the making of the videos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Got_a_Crush_on_Obama

Magic Wave Hits Clovis?

Ah, the retired life. Things are easy, things are slow. There's plenty of time to think things over, to look at the news, and to draw some conclusions. This morning's Clovis News Journal (there is an online edition) has a couple of interesting ads in the Lost and Found section. I see that someone has lost a black handbag. The very next ad tells us that someone else has found a white rabbit...

For some very real magic, take a moment to watch Barack Obama's victory speech after the Iowa caucus. It's all about change we can believe in.

Page Turners

It's time for another mass collaboration book list, only this time I'm asking for books that are on your curl-up-by-the-fire-and-read-a-real-page-turner list. Not those challenging books we listed last time. I really am working my way through my challenge list, but have to take a little break. I was reading Black Swan; The Impact of the Highly Improbable when the author used the word "empirical" for the third time. That was it for me--time for a little wintertime "beach" reading.

Here, I'll start us off with my list of really great to read books. I'm currently reading my way through several series, each featuring a crime-solving protagonist and all having a strong sense of place.

Barr, Nevada: The Anna Pigeon books, all starring a National Park Ranger who works all over the country. The first is Track of the Cat.

Burke, James Lee: The Dave Robicheaux books, all of which are set in the area surrounding New Orleans. Burke's descriptions will fill your senses, and make you crave a Dr. Pepper with crushed ice, cherries, orange slices, and mint leaves--really. Start with Neon Rain.

Hillerman, Tony: Wonderful mysteries set in Navajo country. The first with Joe Leaphorn is The Blessing Way; Hillerman's other main character, Jim Chee, is introduced in the fourth book of the series, People of Darkness. There is a nicely annotated list at Dancing Badger.com.

Jance, J.A.: Books featuring Joanna Brady, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, starting with Desert Heat. We stayed in Bisbee, AZ, where the fictional sheriff has her office.

McGarrity, Michael: The Kevin Kerney books, starting with Tularosa. All take place in various settings around New Mexico.

Stabenow, Dana: This series is set in Alaska in an unnamed national park, and stars memorable heroine Kate Shugak, Aleut detective and former FBI agent. The first in the series is (I believe) A Cold Day for Murder. The series gets better as it goes along and as Stabenow matures as a writer.

Ready? Send me your lists of the books you like to read. Just put them into the comments section of the blog so we can all share. Thanks for collaborating!

Knit for Kids Sweater Chart

When knitting sweaters using the Knit for Kids 10th Anniversary pattern, I ran into trouble a couple of times. There were no problems with the simple pattern itself, but I sometimes transposed numbers and occasionally ended up with some odd proportions, which meant ripping out some rows. So, I made a chart with large print and different font colors for each size for quick reference, to be used along with the complete directions. My copy is printed out and enclosed in a plastic page protector so I can keep it with my current project in my basket of yarn.

Please note that in the "Cast on" column, the "x 2" refers to the way I knit the pattern on round needles--for size 2, I cast on 61 x 2 (122) stitches with markers to separate the front and back, then knit round up to the yoke. Then half the stitches go on a stitch holder, and I add on and knit for the front yoke/sleeves per the original directions, and then repeat for the back yoke/sleeves. If you are knitting one side of the sweater at a time on straight needles, you should just cast on 61 stitches for size 2, 65 for size 4, etc.

To print out your own chart, click on the one below, enlarge it if you wish, and print. Remember, this is the 10th Anniversary pattern, not the basic pattern that Knit for Kids started out with. As they say, they "resized the traditional pattern to better fit slender children and added longer sleeves for greater warmth. The sweater now fits snugly at the bottom with a ribbing stitch."

Suggestion For a New Year's Resolution

You know you have moments here and there when your hands are idle—riding in the car, watching TV, sitting in meetings, or chatting with friends. Why not use that time to produce some warm mittens, socks, hats, simple baby quilts, or sweaters for someone in need? If you’ve been reading this blog for any time, you know that I make hand-knit sweaters for Knit for Kids. I’m on sweater number 32 right now, and all of them have been created with time that would otherwise have been wasted. It warms my heart to think that some little kids might be more comfortable this winter because I put my spare minutes to work.

Here are some links to web sites that will get you started, no matter what your craft or level of expertise. Why not pass on this information to other people who might help out? You might even organize a group at your club or church to work on projects together.

Charity Connection: http://cache.lionbrand.com/charityConnection.html
Search by craft or organization, and by zip code to find a local charity that needs what you make.

Crafting for a Cause: http://www.recipelink.com/crafting.html
Many crafts are represented here, including quilted sleeping bags for the homeless. Patterns are included.

Handmade for Charity: http://home.att.net/~susanBinKC/hcharity.html
Baby blankets, sweaters for adopted kids, blankets to make animals in shelters more comfortable, afghans for Afghans, socks for soldiers—here are all kinds of crafts: Knitting, crocheting, quilting, etc.


Happy New Year!

Christmas Lights in Clovis

I've been experimenting with nighttime photography without a tripod. The pictures of our house and neighborhood so far are very out of focus, so I'll have to try again. However, these shots taken down at Jimenez Custom Harvesting came out much better. Apparently, the guys down at Jimenez spend several days setting up this display and have done an incredible job. You can enjoy the animation if you drive by 1000 W. Brady Ave..


Merry Christmas!

Christmas Around New Mexico

For those of you, like Towanda in Kansas, who may be far away but still thinking about Christmas in New Mexico, here are some links to videos that will give you a tiny bit of the flavor of the season here.

Farolitos on Canyon Road in Santa Fe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Q-_KX3zh0 (has some odd audio)

Lights on the Plaza in Santa Fe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feDg05M_kjY

Las Posadas, Taos, NM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWFTEXJRZ8
Learn about some Northern New Mexico beliefs: The miracle at El Santuario de Chimayo y Santa Niño de Atocha, Santa Niño’s empty basket, and the Ceremonia de Compadrismo.

Christmas on the Pecos Parade, Carlsbad, NM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64ejRGLgSo

Clayton, NM Christmas Light Parade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_UJhFSoO64

Living Christmas Tree, Las Cruces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5ob3jumsI

Christmas Lights of Clovis: http://www.cnjonline.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1155316076&bclid=1155290738&bctid=1351306729

The Mall in Clovis

I'm not much of a shopper. I know that's practically un-American to say, but there it is. When faced with absolutely having to buy something I'd much rather do it online that to have to trudge from store to store looking for a particular item. I do my best to support local industries when I can, but you will rarely, if ever, find me out shopping just for fun.

However, Harry O from the City-Data New Mexico Forum asked if I could get some exterior and interior photos of our local shopping mall, so I headed on over there this morning. It was fairly early for shoppers, I guess, because at 10:30 AM there were lots of parking places available. I wandered around the parking lot, getting shots of the bigger stores, then went inside. I was hoping to get some pictures of everything all decorated for Christmas, but was soon stopped by a nice mall employee who told me that for "legal reasons"

interior photos of the North Plains Mall are not allowed. I was pretty embarrassed and kind of worried that he would want to confiscate my beloved new camera (purchased online, of course), but instead we chatted a while about malls in general. I found out that GGP (General Growth Properties, Inc.), the company that owns the Clovis mall, owns over 200 regional malls in 44 states; and that Habitat for Humanity is their corporate charity of choice. We parted in good spirits with holiday smiles and I scampered out to the car, glad to have escaped a run-in with mall security.

A Dangerous Childhood

The Dangerous Book for Boys, by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden. Collins, 2007. 270 pages.

When I was a child in the 1940s and 1950s, our neighborhood in San Francisco was noisy with the shouts and cries of the children who lived there. We rode our bikes, we roller-skated, we played dodgeball, and we played jump rope. We raced on foot, on bikes, on scooters, and on skates. We took our skates apart and used the wheels on various invented riding vehicles. In quieter moments, we sat on stoops and played jacks and pickup sticks. We collected rocks and cracked them open on the sidewalk, always searching for that elusive geode. We played every sort of game of “pretend” that we could dream up, most memorably something called Covered Wagon, where we used a sturdy wooden gate as a wagon seat for the lucky wagon-driver-of-the-day, while the rest of us hunched down behind him in the “wagon” bed as we traveled west. We took turns playing good guys and bad guys, riding pretend horses and shooting at each other with our cap guns. We ran, we skipped, we hopped, we jumped, and we turned cartwheels. We fell off our bikes, my sister’s foot got caught in the spokes of my bike when I gave her a highly illegal ride on the back fender, my friend Skippy broke his arm roller-skating, and Trudy’s little brother broke several things when he discovered that he couldn’t fly off a second story porch. It was an exuberant, vigorous, and yes, somewhat dangerous life, at least by today’s standards. In those days it was just what kids did all day until called in for supper.

The Igguldens remember that kind of childhood, one where every day was spent outside playing. It’s the kind of childhood that doesn’t exist any more, for whatever reason. They have written a book that might inspire some of today’s kids to have some adventures, covering every subject that kids—boys especially—get excited about. Keep this book on your bedside table and grab it up when you wonder how to make a tripwire, or a paper airplane, or a bow and arrow; or if you’re wondering about the stars, or the clouds, or the tides, or famous battles; or if you want to read extraordinarily inspiring stories about courage and bravery. It’s all here, from tying knots to Shakespeare, from skipping stones or cooking a rabbit to the Ten Commandments.

The Igguldens are unapologetic about providing instructions for potentially dangerous activities which they note “…should be carried out under adult supervision,” although they obviously realize that children have secret lives that adults know nothing about; and they aren’t afraid to inspire and instruct: “Stories of courage and determination are sometimes underrated for their ability to inspire.”

This is the second book I have read on my personal challenge list. I didn’t actually read it from cover to cover, as it is a kind of reference book, to be picked up and perused before going off on another adventure. I think that it is the perfect book for my grandson, an inspiration for bringing back a healthy kind of childhood, full of exploration and excitement.

Dear Bradley

Dear Bradley,


I’d like to tell you something about the retirement gift you left on my desk last year on my very last day of being a school librarian. I was just about to walk out the door when I saw it lying there. I knew that by then you were back in class, and I knew if I said good-bye to one more person I would start to cry. I also knew that, once started, I would have a hard time stopping. I was leaving so much behind—my career, my school, my library, my friends, and my wonderful students. So, I tucked your present into my pocket and continued on my way. When we got to our new home in a new state where I didn’t know anyone, I put your gift on my bedside table, with its little note still attached.

I don’t even know what to call the little gadget you gave me. I guess it’s a desk toy, shaped like a little hourglass. It reminds me of a tiny lava lamp, and when it is turned over the bubbles shift into a new design. Every time I see it, I turn it over and think about you. It brings back all my old school memories. When I turn the little “fidget gadget” over--

-I remember when you first came to school, a brand new first grader and a good reader already.
-I picture your cute little-boy "skater" haircut.
-I think about how kind you were to your classmates in 2nd grade, even when they weren’t being lovable.
-I remember your first disagreement with your best friend, and how hurt you were.
-I think about the tragedy that struck your family. It was way too much sadness for a little boy. Even the adults at school were worried about what to say when you came back, but you put us all at ease with your matter-of-fact approach and frank words.
-I picture your kind smile.

You are almost a whole year older now, a big third grader. Even though I mailed you a thank you note for the gift long ago, you have probably forgotten all about it. Perhaps the gifts we give that we hardly notice can turn out to be the most important ones.

Bradley, I just wanted you to know how much you gave in a moment you might not even remember. Funny, it’s just a little gift for which I have no name, but it means all the world to me.

Love,
Mrs. Z

Tony Hillerman: The Man and His Books

Every time we travel through the Four Corners area my eyes follow those little dusty roads that disappear off over the horizon. I find myself thinking about Tony Hillerman’s characters Jim Chee, Bernie Manuelito, and Joe Leaphorn, driving alone to some far-off hogan to investigate a mysterious death. The books of Tony Hillerman are set in this part of the country, and although I started reading them long before I came to New Mexico I could already see those lonely little roads in my mind’s eye.

Hillerman writes with respect and knowledge about both the Navajos (as exemplified by Leaphorn and Chee) and the Hopis (the wonderfully named Cowboy Dashee, for example). In reading his books, you learn about this part of the country and its peoples--their beliefs, their ceremonies, their prayers, their homes, and their customs and traditions.

While I've been a fan for many years, here is what I’ve always wondered about Tony Hillerman: How accurately does he portray Native Americans and what do they think about his writing?

In searching for the answer to this question, the most helpful and complete biographical information that I have found so far online is from the Public Broadcasting System’s Mystery! web site. Here is a quote I found there: Although the tribe has named him a Special Friend of the Dineh [Navajo people] for his accurate portrayals of Navajo life, Hillerman still worries about getting it wrong. He reads copiously and runs his manuscripts by Navajo friends to check not only for accuracy, but for believability as well. He even had a Navajo English class in Shiprock consider a subplot he was planning to see if it would work. When the students said no, he junked it. "For me, studying the [Navajo] has been absolutely fascinating," Hillerman told Publishers Weekly, "and I think it's important to show [my readers that] aspects of ancient Indian ways are still very much alive and are highly germane."

It's also interesting to note that Hillerman has also received the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, and the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, in addition to a great many other awards.

For a chronology of Hillerman’s books and reviews of each one: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=92230

For information about the films that have been made from Hillerman’s books: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0384917/

To get some insight into Hillerman’s character, his writing process, and how he
feels about the Navajo people, read the PBS Interview with Tony Hillerman: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/american/navajoland/hillerman_intv.html

See a video interview of Hillerman at http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3487

Tony Hillerman’s web site: http://www.tonyhillermanbooks.com/

"Feeling Uncomfortable in This World"*

Born on a Blue Day; Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant. A Memoir, by Daniel Tammet. New York: Free Press, 2007.

This is the first book that I’ve read from my personal challenge list and reading it has made me very glad to have embarked on this project. This is an amazing book, both because of the author’s “extraordinary mind,” and because he is able to describe what is going on inside his head in such a clear way. Reading his descriptions made me realize that understanding the thought processes of anyone to such a degree would make incredibly fascinating reading; being given this chance to look inside the mind of an autistic savant is like traveling to another planet. Daniel’s mind works in ways that are so unique—well, let me give you a few examples.

Before reading these quotes, you need to know that Daniel has a rare condition known as savant syndrome—think Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man. He experiences numbers in a visual and emotional way that is called synesthesia, and his synesthesia is an unusual and complex type, through which he sees “numbers as shapes, colors, textures, and motions.” Daniel is able to perform incredibly complex computations in his head, and he is able to give us an inkling of how that process works and what it feels like. Here are a few quotes from the first chapter:

“The number 1, for example, is a brilliant and bright white, like someone shining a flashlight into my eyes."

"Five is a clap of thunder or the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Thirty-seven is lumpy like porridge, while 89 reminds me of falling snow."

"When I divide one number by another, in my head I see a spiral rotating downwards in larger and larger loops, which seem to warp and curve. Different divisions produce different sizes of spirals with varying curves. From my mental imagery I'm able to calculate a sum like 13 [divided by] 97...to almost a hundred decimal places."

As a child, Daniel hardly noticed his peers, and kept to the edges of any social gathering. He is able to describe in great detail what exactly was going on in his head during these childhood years—what he was thinking at times when he appeared to others to be merely staring at a spot on the floor for hours at a time, or rocking, or walking around and around trees in the schoolyard.

Daniel brings us along on his journey from being an isolated loner to growing into a young adult within a loving relationship--"from profound isolation and sadness to achievement and happiness," as Daniel says in his NPR interview . I have known children with autism, and I wanted to find them all and give them this book to read so that they would know that someone else had experienced life in a way that was similar to their internal experiences.

************

To read an excerpt from the book, listen to a powerful interview with Daniel and with autism experts, and to hear callers with questions about autism, go to the National Public Radio program Talk of the Nation at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6860157. It was extremely touching to me to hear Daniel describe his experiences in his beautifully quiet voice, and there was a heartbreaking moment when a caller named Ethan, who was apparently autistic, said that for him the "candle wasn't worth the game."

While you're on the Talk of the Nation page, be sure to scroll down and check out the links for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a novel featuring a math whiz who has Asperger's, and the interview with Temple Grandin, a livestock facility designer who is autistic.

Daniel's web site, Optimnem, can be seen at http://www.optimnem.co.uk/book.php.

Find out about the documentary Brainman, which follows some of Daniel's experiences: http://science.discovery.com/convergence/brainman/brainman.html. For other excerpts and information about this documentary, Google "Brainman."

Daniel Tammet Meets Kim Peek (who was the original inspiration for Rain Main): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdeAq7_r63g

To see other videos about Daniel, search "Daniel Tammet" or "Brainman" on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/

*The title of this post is a quote from Daniel in the NPR interview

A "Few" Good Books; Our Mass Collaboration

I admit it--I'm compulsive, or I wouldn't be a librarian. I couldn't leave well enough alone and just had to go through your comments on the Looking for a Few Good Books post and put everything in alphabetical order. Here they are--all 68 titles (so far) that we recommended to each other. If you want to read the original comment, I have included the name of the person who recommended the book. Just go to Looking for a Few Good Books and scroll down to the comments section.

-Baker: Mezzanine (Benjamin)
-Barry: History of the Millennium (So Far) (brassring)

-Beyond Brokeback; the Impact of a Film (j)

-The Bible (j)

-Bin Laden: Inside the Kingdom (photokeeper)

-Blight: A Slave No More; Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation (Anonymous/JL)

-Boonshaft: Teaching Music with Passion (brassring)

-Box: Books featuring the character Joe Pickett [Savage Run, Trophy Hunt, for example] (photokeeper)

-Brashares: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (jacksonrnnr)

-Brown: I'm Just Here for the Food (Benjamin)

-Colbert: I am America (and So Can You) (clairz)

-Counselor: Wild, Woolly, and Wonderful (lin)--This book is out of print. Ask your librarian for a copy. Note: Lin originally posted the title for this book over on La Casa de Towanda. Because she is living off the grid and has electricity for just a short time each day, I was glad to copy and paste it here for her.

-Crystal: Seven Hundred Sundays (ameriaussie)

-Dante: The Divine Comedy (brassring)
-Denton (editor) : Plays and Playwrights 2006 (Benjamin)
-Diaz: Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (clairz)
-Dyer: Real Magic (brassring)

-Enright: The Gathering (clairz)

-Esquith: Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire (This title was recommended twice--by Anonymous/jl and clairz)

-Feinstein: Winter Games (b)

-Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love (Anonymous/JL)

-Greenlaw: Slipknot (brassring)

-Gruen: Water for Elephants (ameriaussie)

-Horgan: Rational Mysticism, Spirituality Meets Science in the Search for Enlightenment (j)

-Hosseini: A Thousand Splendid Suns (clairz)

-Iggulden: Dangerous Book for Boys (clairz)

-IIibagiza: Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan (Anonymous/jl )

-Joyce: Ulysses (b)

-Junge: Until the Final Hour (jacksonrnnr)

-Kakalios: Physics of Superheroes (Benjamin)
-King: Cell (brassring)

-King: Lisey's Story (brassring)

-Kitchell: Coyote Speaks (j)

-Kitchell: Get a God (j)

-Kitchell: God's (j)

-Kline: Shock Doctrine (S)

-The Koran (j)
-Kuo: Tempting Faith, An Inside Story of Political Seduction (j)

-Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching [available online] (brassring)

-Mabry: Twice as Good: Condoleeza Rice and Her Path to Power (b)

-Mahoney: Down the Nile; Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff (Anonymous/jl)

-McCarthy: No Country for Old Men (b)

-McKay: Saffy's Angel (brassring)

-Miller: The Crucible (j)

-Montgomery: The Good, Good Pig (photokeeper)

-Moore: Lamb (S)

-Obeidi: The Bomb in My Garden (photokeeper)

-Ohler: What Next (ridin' geeky)

-Oliver: Why I Wake Early (j)

-Pica: Jump into Literacy (ameriaussie)

-Pratt: Radical Hospitality; Benedict's Way of Love (j)

-Preston: The Wild Trees; a Story of Passion and Daring (Anonymous/jl)

-Pullman: Golden Compass (jacksonrnnr)

-Saunders: The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (jacksonrnnr)

-Schultz: 1000 Places to See Before You Die (jacksonrnnr)

-Sedaris: Me Talk Pretty Some Day (Benjamin)

-Sedaris: Naked (Benjamin)

-Taleb: Black Swan;Impact of the Highly Improbable (clairz)

-Tapscott: Wikinomics; How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (clairz)

-Tolstoy: War and Peace (brassring)

-Toole: Confederacy of Dunces (ridin' geeky)

-Tracy: Eat That Frog (Anonymous/jl)

-Troost: The Sex Lives of Cannibals (jacksonrnnr)

-Tsukiyama: The Street of a Thousand Blossoms (ameriaussie)

-Twitchell: Shopping for God; How Christianity Went from in Your Heart to in Your Face (b)

-Ung: First They Killed My Father (jacksonrnnr)

-Walter: The Zero (ridin' geeky)

-Weiner: Legacy of Ashes; the History of the CIA (b)

Hubbell Trading Post

The Hubbell Trading Post, now a National Historic Site, is located on the Navajo Reservation. It's in Ganado, Arizona near the intersection of Highways 264 and 191, on the site of the original Hubbell family 160-acre homestead. It is the oldest continuously operated trading post on the Navajo Reservation, and was purchased from earlier traders by John Lorenzo Hubbell (1853-1930) in 1878.

After the Navajos had been exiled by the U.S. government in 1864 to Bosque Redondo at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, they were finally allowed back in 1868 onto their ancestral homelands where today’s Navajo Reservation lies. Early on, the Navajos traded wool and sheep at the trading post for Anglo products like coffee, sugar, flour, etc. Later they began to trade rugs, jewelry, baskets, and pottery. You can read a more complete history in the Wikipedia article about the post.

Today the Hubbell Trading Post site consists of:

• The Visitor Center, where you can watch demonstrations of Navajo rug weaving, see a small museum display, and purchase books.


• The Hubbell family home, which you can tour during the summer months.


• The fully active trading post, which still trades with members of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and other tribes. There are rugs, baskets, jewelry, and other arts and crafts, such as kachinas, drums, and pots offered for sale.

There are two Native American arts and crafts auctions at the trading post each year; the next will be on Saturday, May 10, 2008.

Here’s an interesting fact. The trading post is on the Navajo Reservation, which recognizes Daylight Savings Time; the state of Arizona does not, and continues on Mountain Standard Time year round. Remember that during the months April-October, the reservation is thus one hour ahead of the rest of the state.

If you would like to look at some truly unique documents, see the drawings, photographs, newspaper articles about the Hubbell Trading Post in the Library of Congress American Memory Collection. Go to http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html and search “Hubbell Trading Post.” You will be directed to 13 pages of lists of primary source and archival materials. The site is slow, but worth the wait.

******************

Friends of Hubbell: http://www.friendsofhubbell.org/

Hubbell Trading Post on DesertUSA: http://www.desertusa.com/hub/

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbell_Trading_Post_National_Historic_Site

My Favorite Blogs

My favorite bone

You may have noticed my list of favorite blogs on the left side of this page. Here is a little additional information about each one. Go ahead, check them out--but beware of blog addiction!

Animals

-Bonobo Handshake: Vanessa is a writer and researcher with the Hominoid Psychology Research Group. Her blog is about her 2007 research trip to study endangered bonobos in the Congo.


Books
-A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: Liz B. writes about books, movies, and TV shows, with an emphasis on books for children and teens.

-Incurable Logophilia; reflections on a love of words, of literature, of language: A wonderful resource when you’re looking for books to read next.

-A Patchwork of Books: Amanda is a bookworm and children’s library assistant who is working toward her Master’s in Library Science. She writes about children’s and young adult literature.

Fiber Arts
-Knit Lit: Kate says “I write. I knit. I write about knitting. And I like you. I really, really like you.” Great writing, terrific ideas and photographs, and a list of links that includes I May Be Knitting a Ranchhouse, Skein Cocaine, and Fondle My Sweaters . What else do you need to know?

-Yarn Harlot; Stephanie Pearl-McPhee goes on (and on) about knitting.

Food and Recipes
-Desert Candy: Mercedes does some wonderful Middle Eastern cooking, then photographs and writes about it in this beautifully designed blog.

Life in the Southwest
-greenchilesandroses: Night Lightning Woman is a retired social worker who has lived her entire life in New Mexico and Texas.

-If the Creek Don't Rise: Lin (“I figure that fantasies should be game plans”) writes about living off the grid in the remote desert Southwest.

-La Casa de Towanda: Sharon is doing some New Mexico dreaming while planning her move from Kansas to Santa Fe. She writes lovely posts on northern New Mexico, with gorgeous photographs and a stylish layout.

-Picturing New Mexico: Lots of intriguing photos.

-Santa Fe Journal: “New Mexico, past and present, with photos and text.”


Sites That Appeal to My Librarian Self
-Love the Liberry : Amy and Marian write about the weird stuff that happens in libraries; librarians won’t be surprised, but you may be!

-Planet Esme: Children’s author (Sahara Special, etc.) Esme Raji Codell writes about children’s literature.

Impossible to Classify
-Overheard Lines: I love those snippets of conversation you hear when passing through a crowd. This eavesdropping playwright captures odd bits in that most fertile of listening posts, the San Francisco Bay Area.

-Philip Greenspun's Weblog: A posting every day, an interesting idea every three months. I’ve always loved Philip G’s photographs, now we can find out what he has to say.

-PostSecret: Anonymous handmade postcards each tell a secret never before revealed about their maker; an ongoing community art project that is now featured in several books. People slip even more postcards into the books on the shelves of bookshops and libraries.

-to-do list : A collection of lists and what they reveal (“quirks, compulsions, and habits”) about the people who make them.