At the Theater Last Night

Looking up at NMSU's Center for the Arts

Retirement is a great time to try new things. For one reason or another--academics, work, child raising, finances--we practically never went to plays, except for a few notable exceptions way off Broadway in New York. At those performances we knew the playwright and the producer and some of the actors, which lent a special tension to our enjoyment of the evening.

Now that we are here in Las Cruces, we are taking advantage of senior discounts and a lively local theater scene. So far, we have sampled various programs at the Rio Grande Theater (Minds Interrupted); and plays at the Las Cruces Community Theater (When You Coming Back, Red Ryder; Steel Magnolias), and the American Southwest Theater Company at the new Center for the Arts at New Mexico State University (Our Town; Picasso at the Lapin Agile).

NMSU's Center for the Arts doesn't look much like the other buildings on campus, and it generates plenty of public comment for that reason. For such a large building, the size of the theater itself is surprisingly small and intimate. The rest of the building is used for classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and costume storage.

I am a big fan of the NMSU theater itself. The photo above is of the ceiling, which is several stories above the seats, and which seems to stretch far beyond. I believe that it is somewhat magic--the first time I saw it a couple of months ago at its opening night, the painted figure seated on the left was "painting" something more; this time there was a parasol over the paintbrush hand and the figure of a woman in a skirt has now appeared.

I love the way the parasol light fixtures hang down into the space below the ceiling, while more parasols--painted ones--appear above. And the painted pillars and balustrades mimic those below in the theater itself, which contains balcony after balcony.

Oh, yes. The play--Picasso at the Lapin Agile, by Steve Martin--was very funny and we enjoyed it immensely. But the theater! Now, that was the real star to me.

"Taking the Waters" - Visiting Hot Springs in New Mexico

I was always fascinated by the phrase "taking the waters," which appeared in Jane Austen's novels and referred to the custom of visiting Bath (in England) and bathing in and drinking the steaming mineral waters found there. I finally got my chance, but the waters in question were just a bit over an hour away from home, at Riverbend Hot Springs, a mineral springs resort and spa on the Rio Grande in the picturesquely-named Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. 

One of the soaking pools with a nearby dry and shaded spot for your dog 

To tell the truth, much of T or C is not particularly picturesque, although there is a section of funky second hand stores that I'd like to explore on the next trip. However, the Riverbend resort was just the sort of place I like; not too formal, just a nice comfortable, friendly, and very reasonably-priced place. And we found three great restaurants in town that added to our enjoyment: The Arizona Cafe for lunch, Cafe BellaLuca for supper (best rigatoni Bolognese I've ever tasted, and some very yummy bourbon-pecan gelato), and the Happy Belly Deli for breakfast. 

The dining patio, where you can grill and eat your own food if you wish

Taking a room for the night gives you access to patios, decks, five public soaking pools (there are private pools available by the hour), and even the use of the big gas grill. There is a free coffee and tea bar, with service out to pools in the early morning hours. Imagine watching the sun coming up over the nearby hills and soaking in the a steaming mineral bath in the cool morning air while watching for deer, raccoons, and coyotes; then having a nice young man deliver a cup of hot coffee or chocolate right to your pool! It was pretty nice...

Two stone-lined pools, taken from the river observation deck; these photos
look a little dark because the sun wasn't quite up yet

The owners are installing this sauna, a nice addition 

We love our aliens and chile here in New Mexico

On the left, you can see one of the waterfalls flowing out from the soaking pools;
in the center are stairs leading down to the river for those who want a cool dip

Dawn arrives over the Rio Grande; we were ready for a hot dip in the cold morning air

Overflow water from the hot springs flows down into the river. The resulting warm water
attracts fish and the birds that prey on them

For My Northern Friends

Down in the Alameda neighborhood in town, the willows are leafing out and the daffodils and fruit trees are in bloom. A little north of town where we live, our neighbor's lilac is blooming and my pansies are putting on a good show. I planted them last fall and they have bravely bloomed all winter long. Soon they will give up as the days grow hotter. 

I am posting these photos for my friends in the North--no, not to make them envious, but to reassure them that Spring is making its annual march toward them up from the South. In a couple of weeks, they'll be seeing an end to all the snow (we hope) and the new beginnings of springtime.

Faces

 We visited La Buena Vida Alpaca Ranch in Anthony, New Mexico not so long ago. 

The faces were beautiful

The personalities were tranquil and very calming to us

Everywhere we looked, we saw alpacas we would like to know better

So many colors

And so many comments from the herd

By the way, the ranch, the house, the studio, barn, paddocks, the alpacas, some goats, and a few llamas are all for sale. See La Buena Vida Alpacas for information.

Happy Chickens

We finally got our expanded chicken yard made and covered over with netting. At last the girls can run and flap their wings and explore a little more of the world while staying safe from predators and our playful dogs. I know the new area looks a little bleak - this is the desert after all. However, once the pecan trees start leafing out and our old lawn grass starts to grow, things will look better.

I know that any grass growing within the pen will get eaten before it can grow much but luckily I discovered grazing frames for chickens: You plant grass to come up through screens, allowing the chickens access to the greenery while protecting the roots, which the hens would otherwise tear out. See photos and instructions on how to make grazing frames here: http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens/. We may not be the greatest carpenters, but we'll try to convert some wooden pallets into frames so that we can plant some grass, marigolds, and nasturtiums for the girls.

In the meantime, I've been looking around for thoughts on what sorts of things make chickens happy. I've collected lots of articles and information on my Pinterest board, called "Chickens!" You can find it here: http://pinterest.com/clairz77/chickens/. If you haven't done so already you might have to sign up for Pinterest to see it. Don't worry, you'll enjoy yourself.

Not shown in the picture above are some of the things I've just added today for the chickens' delight: Some semi-rotted leaves which probably contain lots of interesting bugs, nice green weeds I've pulled, an old log to climb on, and a somewhat dead potted plant for the girls to deconstruct.

They've rewarded me a thousand times over. I love to sit out there, little Dweezil the Pup in my lap, and just enjoy the chicken world. The girls hum, and cluck, and chuckle and sing; they announce both upcoming and just-laid eggs, and they call out congratulations to the latest egg layer. They run after flies and take dust baths in the sunshine. They wander from the yard to their waterer inside the coop, and from the sun to the shade. They look like happy chickens to me!

Appearances Can Be Tricky

This photo has appeared on the blog before; I still like to take it out and look at it closely every once in a while. Although it appears to represent reality, it's really a sort of photographic riddle. 

Our property here in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico is a fenced-in lot with a few big trees, some cacti, a vintage adobe house, a garage, and a chicken house; it is surrounded by pecan orchards that are owned by someone else. I am always grateful for the shade and the bounty of these trees, some of which drop their pecans onto our yard. We have a huge supply of pecans in the freezer, we have pecan-shelling/sharing parties with our friends, and we cook with pecans all year round. 

I am also grateful that someone else does the work and makes the decisions associated with the orchard:  The plowing, fertilizing, pruning, harvesting, and the watering. As our drought continues and less irrigation water is available from snowmelt via the Rio Grande, wells are being drilled and groundwater pumped out to water the trees. The expense grows, as does the moral dilemma. How much water does one dare to bring up from the ancient deposits below the surface of the desert? When should farmers here just say enough is enough, and leave the pecan-growing to the farmers in rainier places like Georgia, where the trees are grown without the need for irrigation?

In the meantime, we are left to ponder the orchard. Although it looks like it has always belonged here in the Mesilla Valley, its existence here in the desert is not natural; should it stay or should it go? Is it what we see or what we think we see?

This is the actual orchard on irrigation day; the photo at the top of this post has been flipped upside down. It's not easy to see which is real and which is perception.

Shroud #3

This is the third shrug (also jokingly known as a shroud in our family) that I have knit for my sister. You can see the first one here and the second one here. This time, the pattern is a different one called  the Calypso Shrug/Shoulder Wrap, and it comes from the book, Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders, by Judith Durant.

The shrug is essentially one long rectangle that is fastened with two buttons at the elbows. The lace is called "seafoam," and it is simple to do. I am sure that lots of other lace patterns could be used in a shrug like this one. 

The yarn is Malabrigo Sock (100% merino wool) in the Primavera color way. It's an interesting color; in some light it looks rather khaki-ish, but close up you can see the color variations. 

I hope you can also see the bronze colored beads when you enlarge the photo above. This was my first project using beads in knitting, and it won't be my last. If you are interested in beaded knitting, check out this article which will tell you a great deal of what you need to know. 

There are different ways to get the beads on to the yarn. I just followed the directions in the book and used a crochet hook to place each bead as its stitch came up. The only bad moment was when I accidentally harpooned myself in the leg with the very tiny crochet hook, but that's a story for another day. 

The possibilities for beaded work are endless, I'm sure. I can't wait to try again. (Just as soon as my leg heals).

Hangin' with the Mimbres Twins

We went down to see the El Paso Museum of Archeology a few weeks ago. We've passed the building many times as we've traveled the Transmountain Highway into El Paso on our way to the airport, but never had the time to stop. 

The building is much larger than it seems from the outside. We promised ourselves that we would check out the desert trails in the surrounding 15 acres the next time we visited; as it was, the hour we had available between dropping off and picking up visitors at the airport gave us time to look at only part of one of the wings of the museum. After all, the museum exhibits cover 14,000 years of prehistory!

I spent most of my time with the Mimbres Twins exhibit that illustrated a hero twin myth as commemorated by the Mimbres peoples in their pottery.

According to the Smithsonian: The Mimbres occupied the somewhat isolated mountain and river valleys of southwestern New Mexico from about 1000 to 1250 AD. (More here).  

You can see a pdf version here of the Mimbres Twins pamphlet that is sold by the Museum; it contains the complete myth and more illustrations from the exhibit. 

It's so tricky to take photos through glass cases; this one is blurry and the one below has reflections

Next time, I plan to continue my explorations and get the whole story on this snake jug (from Mexico, as I recall) and this wonderful dog effigy, which reminds me of our own Little Pete.

Ancient Mexican dog effigy

The modern version: Little Pete

A Shroud for Auntie Bucksnort, Revisited

I first published this post a couple of days ago with some woefully unfocused photos. I took a new batch of photos this morning (thanks to a patient Bucksnort) and am trying once again. 

I suppose you might call our family irreverent. We laugh at everything, appropriately or inappropriately. When Uncle Buck mistakenly referred to the new shrug I knit for my sister as a shroud, we loved it, and that's what we'll be calling it from now on. For a shroud, it's got some mighty bright colors, and sequins, too.

This is the second in a series of three shrouds/shrugs that I am making for Auntie Bucksnort. You can see the first one here. I keep fooling around with the basic pattern (Dream Shrug) and used a chevron lace stitch for this version, which is made from the brilliantly-hued Yarn Bee Diva Sequin Yarn in the Denali color way. Look closely and,you can see the sequins that appear randomly. 

A shroud with sequins? We should all be so lucky.

Mitten Weather

We have just emerged from a rare week of really cold weather which reminded me that I never showed you these mittens that I made quite a while back. The yarn and pattern came from Knit Picks, a fine online company that supplies some very nice yarns in seemingly unlimited color ranges. These mittens are part of a kit* (a gift from that nice Beez) that provides enough yarn for SIX pairs of mittens, each representing a different cold weather month. Well, six months of cold weather somewhere - not here in the Chihuahuan Desert. 

The yarn supplied with the kit is Palette, which is 100% Peruvian wool. Take a look at all the colors it comes in by searching "Palette yarn" on the Knit Picks website.

I plan to (eventually) make the other five pairs of mittens in my kit. The design in the one pair I have completed ("November") is pretty abstract to me, but if I scrunch up my eyes and stand way back I can make out some falling leaves.

The back side is a nice design, too, although I messed up in a couple of places. The next pair I am working on has deer and mountains, and some lovely lavender and blue and white shades. Perhaps they'll be ready for mitten weather when it comes again next year.

*****

*As far as I can tell, this particular mitten kit is no longer offered.

Learning to Knit a Cable

I've always admired knitted cables, although because they look so complex I figured that they would be really hard to do. Since cables were first on my list of knitting skills to learn this year, I chose a pattern that looked pretty straightforward and didn't involve a lot of yarn.  It's called the Sulka Scarfette, and you can download the pdf file for free here from Babetta's Yarn Cafe, where it appeared on the last page of a 2009 newsletter. 

Once I got going, I was thrilled to see an actual cable emerging from my needles. So thrilled, in fact, that I didn't notice that little mistake (some purl stitches where some knit stitches were supposed to appear, up at the top of the first photo) until after I snapped the picture.

To make a cable, I found out, you simply slip some stitches off the knitting needle and onto a cable needle. Then, in this case, the cable needle with those stitches is held in the front of your work while you knit some of the next stitches that are still on the needle. Then you knit the stitches you have been holding on the cable needle, and continue knitting the rest of the row. That's it! You put that little cable needle down where the cat can't get it, and you won't need it in this pattern for another seven rows. 

Now, I've only made this one kind of very simple cable, but I felt very successful about it. The completed scarfette makes a very cosy addition on a chilly day. You can wear it over a sweater or under a jacket for some extra warmth.

I used size 10 needles and some yarn given to me called Scheepjes Luzern Tweed, a wool/acrylic/viscose blend made in Holland. I'm not even sure that it is still being made, as a quick search showed that it mostly appears in "stuff from my mother's stash" type of ads on eBay. The project took less than a 50 gram/90 meter skein.

I've just ordered some lovely merino/alpaca/donegal tweed yarn called City Tweed Aran from Knit Picks so that I can make a couple more of these simple little scarfettes. I'll let you know how those turn out.

Books Read in 2013

This page is really for me to keep track of the books I've been reading, but you are welcome to check back here from time to time to see the latest additions. I can tell you that, because of lists like this and because my Shelfari page helps me keep track, I read 92 books in 2010, 112 in 2011, and 141 in 2012. At the end of 2012, my always-growing list of books to be read still numbered somewhere around 753, so I won't be running out of things to read any time soon!

*****

Arana: American Chica; Two Worlds, One Childhood

Barr: Burn (Anna Pigeon #16)

Belin: From the Belly of My Beauty

Berry: The Amber Room

Birbiglia: Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories

Boo: Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Bradley: The Mists of Avalon

Burke: Dixie City Jam

Cash: A Land More Kind Than Home

Chabon: Gentlemen of the Road

Chua: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Cleave: Gold

Coplin: The Orchardist

Crombie: Necessary as Blood (Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James #13)

Crombie: The Sound of Broken Glass (Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James #15)

Doig: The Bartender's Tale

Egan: The Worst Hard Time; The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

Erdrich: Round House

Evanovich: Wicked Appetite

Evanovich: Wicked Business

Fleming: The Organized Family Historian; How to file, manage, and protect your genealogical research and heirlooms.

Gabaldon: Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)

Gabaldon: Outlander (Outlander #1)

Gabaldon: Voyager (Outlander #3)

Galbraith: The Cuckoo's Calling

George: Place of Hiding (Inspector Lynley #12)

Gilmore: The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove

Gilmore: Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Glass: Three Junes

Grafton: U is for Undertow

Grafton: V is for Vengeance

Griffiths: A Dying Fall (Ruth Galloway #5)

Griffiths: House at Sea's End (Ruth Galloway #3)

Griffiths: Janus Stone (Ruth Galloway #2)

Griffiths: A Room Full of Bones (Ruth Galloway #4)

Grisham: The Innocent Man

Hamilton: The Camel Bookmobile

Harrison: Deed of Murder

Heller: The Dog Stars

Hendrickson: Finding Your Roots Online

Hoffman: The Dovekeepers

Hoffman: Here on Earth

Hoffman: Seventh Heaven

Hollingsworth: Gardening on Main Street

Itani: Deafening

Itani: Remembering the Bones

Itani: Requiem

Jance: Left for Dead (Ali Reynolds #7)

Joyce: Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Kartus: Knit Fix

King: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower 1)

McCall Smith: A Conspiracy of Friends (Corduroy Mansions #3)

McCall Smith: The Importance of Being Seven (44 Scotland Street #6)

McElroy: Reinventing the Chicken Coop; 14 Original Designs with Step-by-Step Building Instructions

Montefiore: The French Gardener

Montefiore: The Mermaid Garden

Montefiore: Sea of Lost Love

Montefiore: The Woman From Paris

Morganstern: The Night Circus

Niffenegger: The Night Bookmobile

Nunn: Blessed are the Dead (Detective Emmanuel Cooper #3)

Nwaubani: I Do Not Come to You By Chance

Penny: The Cruelest Month (Armand Gamache #3)

Penny: A Fatal Grace (Armand Gamache #2)

Penny: Still Life (Armand Gamache #1)

Picoult: Salem Falls

Radish: Tuesday Night Miracles

Renick: Genealogy 101; How to Trace Your Family's History and Heritage

Ridpath: Far North (Fire and Ice #2)

Ridpath: Where the Shadows Lie (Fire and Ice #1)

Shaffer: Family Acts

Simonson: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Stabenow: Bad Blood (Kate Shugak #20)

Stabenow: Better to Rest (Liam Campbell #4)

Stabenow: A Deeper Sleep (Kate Shugak #15)

Stabenow: A Fine and Bitter Snow (Kate Shugak #12)

Stabenow: Fire and Ice (Liam Campbell #1)

Stabenow: A Grave Denied (Kate Shugak #13)

Stabenow: A Night Too Dark (Kate Shugak #17)

Stabenow: Nothing Gold Can Stay (Liam Campbell #3)

Stabenow: So Sure of Death (Liam Campbell #2)

Stabenow: Prepared for Rage

Stabenow: Restless in the Grave (Kate Shugak #19)

Stabenow: A Taint in the Blood (Kate Shugak #14)

Stabenow: Though Not Dead (Kate Shugak #18)

Stabenow: Whisper to the Blood (Kate Shugak #16)

Stanley: Death of the Mantis (Detective Kubu #3)

Thurlo: Black Thunder (Ella Clah #17)

Tohe: No Parole Today

Trussoni: Angelology

Trussoni: Angelopolis

Verghese: Cutting for Stone

White: Nothing with Strings

Zusak: The Book Thief

A Blogger's Year: Looking Back at 2012

A nice way to review a blogging year is to take the first sentence written from the first post of each month. Here's a look at our 2012, month by month. 

January: Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you'll be right.  ~H.H. "Breaker" Morant (Enjoy Yourself!)

February: If there is one thing that I have learned in my many decades of life, it is that any given group of women will have some amazing stories to tell, and my knitting group is no exception. (Maggie and the Blessings)

March: I'm having a little trouble blogging lately, mainly because we are doing so many bloggable things! (Memories at the Window)

April: In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. ~Tennyson (Springtime in New Mexico)

                                                                                                           

May: I was slow to embrace cell phones, but I'm catching up. (Dialing Back the Calories)

June: We are far from our southern New Mexico desert in every way. (What We've Been Doing Lately)

July: Pretty catchy name for a clothes store, isn't it? (Allsaints Spitalfields)

August: What a summer it has been! (Vacationing in a French Country House)

September: What do you do when your doctor disappears? (The Case of the Disappearing Doctor)

October: One of the first places we visited while in France last summer was the town of Chauvigny in the Vienne  department of Poitou-Charente. (A Day in the 12th Century)

November: City-light diamond necklace at the throat of the mountains... (New Day in November)

December: December may be my favorite time in New Mexico. (A Night Filled With Light)

That was our year, filled with some surprises and more adventures than I might have imagined. I hope that your year was a lovely one.

Happy New Year!