This is a bridge in Bordeaux, clearly an OLD bridge. I include it under the NATURE category, because the Garonne River is a tidal river. For our boat to go under that bridge, the captain had to have exquisite timing. At low tide.
If you’re a regular reader, then you know that Tom and I took our first really GOOD vacation in ten years in early August. No kid, not even the dog. (Don’t feel bad for Tynan; he had himself a fine time at a guild mate’s “doggie spa.”) Amazingly, neither of us had even been on a plane in five years – when we were scouting out Albuquerque before our move here in 2015. If you consider that this year we celebrated 25 years of marriage, you can see why it was time. So, we headed to Bordeaux, yes, the one in France, and boarded a Viking long boat for a wine cruise. And, yes, it met every expectation that we had.
This is the clearance the boat had emerging from under the bridge in Bordeaux on our way to Cadillac. Thank goodness for a LOW tide.
We saw all kinds of things: vineyards, a big city (Bordeaux), tiny villages, 18th century forts,sculptures, chateaux, and so on. Got lots of pics to share. So many that I blew out my new Dropbox. Guess I have to pare down some. I don’t want to bore anyone, so I’ll post them according to themes. This week we’ll try NATURE.
Ultimately, we cruised along three different rivers near Bordeaux that week. Two met up at at the Gironde estuary not far from the Atlantic coast. Sadly, there were some, but not many, sea and river birds. I never got a good answer as to why that was given the estuary, but it might have something to do with the region’s agricultural practices.
Being in a world-famous wine region, of course, we toured several wineries. There was one which specialized in Sauternes wines – unfortunately, not my favorite, too sweet – but it was beautiful.
Madame La Dinde, a resident of the Sauternes region.
Mind you, chateaux in the Bordeaux area are not at all like those in the Loire valley. While those are about opulence and architecture, the ones in Bordeaux are more about commerce and the making and selling of wine. Often, there’s not a lot going on inside other than rooms for weddings,banquets, and wine tastings. These are real working farms and wineries. To that affect, see who we found at the one in Sauternes.
Colorful pots line the narrow streets of the little port town of Cadillac.More gardens in the medieval town of Saint-Emilion. (My favorite place of the whole trip!)
Those are some very old vines.
Espalier-trained pear trees. Yum!Les raisins étaient partout! Just everywhere as grapes should be in wine country world.
But we didn’t have to be on land to enjoy nature’s bounty.
There was the captain of the Forseti. That was the name of our river boat.
Don’t ask me his name. He was Greek. He had an accent. Isn’t that enough?
Is that not a picture-perfect sunset over the estuary off the Médoc wine region?
Damn, I can get a bunch of posts out of this trip. Next time we’ll talk old buildings or something. I mean, we saw the ruins of a castle from the Middle Ages. You don’t see that every day in New Mexico. Till then, Tynan brings you this week’s rug on the frame.
Tynan presents to you my new “thistle” rug. I started it last week during the workshop that Sharon Smith presented to the Adobe Wool Arts Guild here in Albuquerque. What’s on your frame???
Dan Ostermiller is the artist who brought the wild things to Santa Fe’s Botanic Gardens.
Last Wednesday Tom and I took a little field trip. Several months ago he’d surprised me with tickets to Santa Fe’s Botanical Gardens, a place we’d never been to. He picked them up for a sweet price on Groupon; I was good with that. Unfortunately, Tynan and his canine ilk are verboten at the gardens, so he had to stay home. (Not that he minded; he managed to log a lot of air conditioned snooze time on the bed with us gone.)
So, we get to the garden. It’s up on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. Friends had warned me. It’s no BioPark. The BioPark here in Albuquerque comprises both our zooand botanic garden – don’t ask me why it’s called “botanic” and not “botanical” like I’ve always heard. But I’m used to the plain BIGNESS of our botanic gardens becaue I’m there regularly; the Adobe Wool Arts Guild does demos there the first and fourth Tuesdays of each month (except June and July when they kick us out for summer camp groups).
The Santa Fe gardens are far more modest. Really, it takes very little time to cruise through it. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant place to spend a warm (read: HOT) early summer hour or so. And one thing really stood out – or really twenty-three things: the animal sculpture exhibit of Dan Ostermiller called “Gardens Gone Wild.” If you’re thinking of seeing the garden, I recommend going while the critters are there; they made the place. According to the literature we picked up, the exhibit runs from May, 2018 – May 12, 2019. In the meantime, check out some of the pics I managed to get.
This is “Bullfrog.” There were actually two of them hanging, but I spied this one when we first started down the garden path. He charmed me especially as my maiden name is “Croke,” and for decades I collected froggies.“Melba” is a whopping 69x72x41 inches. I suggest that you don’t try to take one of her eggs for your breakfast. (Even if they’re bronze like the sculptures.)
Wouldn’t this ramadain the midst of the rose garden make a perfect place to get married or to renew your vows?Meet “R.B.” He’s quite the distinguished looking bunny rabbit, no? He stands 55×50.5×42. After I put him (or perhaps one of the other two rabbits in the exhibit) up on Instagram, there was a discussion regarding how much he looks like a chocolate rabbit. Yum!But before you eat the chocolate, you have to eat your veggies. Artichoke, anyone?Near the various herbs and the artichoke, of course, was the horno, an outdoor adobe oven that was used by Native Americans and early settlers. Drive around New Mexico and you’ll see them in backyards being used still. Good kitchen equipment never dies.
“Boys Will Be Boys” is just one of several bear sculptures in the exhibit. Together these two are 50x80x73.
This is a close-up of “Ursus.” He actually stands 98.5×46.5×39. He’s a BIG BOY.
This was the sculpture that really WOWED me. “American Gold” is huge! If I read correctly, 113 inches across the wings. Just seeing this one animal sculpture would’ve made the garden trip worth it.Meanwhile, my own wild animal clearly had a wild hair across his butt during his latest photo shoot. He decided it was face-scratching time rather than presenting “What’s on the frame.” Hm, maybe it’s a full moon… Or the almost 100 degrees today. Stay cool, people!
This fine metallic gentleman greeted us at the door when we stopped to lunch at Sparky’s in Hatch, New Mexico. You know, the chile capital of the world. It’s an AWAG tradition to stop there for lunch on our way to Tucson. (Even if you’re on a stupid elimination diet…)
Like every good blogger who goes to a hook-in, I have returned home from last weekend’s Tucson Hook-In to share the event’s rug porn. Okay, I’m a little slower getting to it than the ladies who were at the Eliot Hook-In in Maine last weekend – a couple had there photos out by Sunday! – but does that matter? No!
I’ve got pics for you. Enjoy!
Okay, NOT rug porn. But I love bougainvillea so much. This big bush was growing outside my hotel room. And blooming in January! That doesn’t even happen in Albuquerque.
Did I mention our guild’s project, our friendship rugs? Here’s a sneak peek of Nancy Hart’s. It’s done; all she has to do is finish it off. Lucky girl.
This was the view from the terrace where some of us ate lunch. Have to hand it to the Paloma Country Club and the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers (OPRH), they certainly know how to feed folks. Always a fabulous salad bar and BIG cookies. (Although, those of us who are gluten-free and also on an elimination diet at exactly the wrong time, might feel a little sad about those cookies…)This spectacular rug “Mimbres” was hooked by members of OPRH: Kathy Kavoric, Julie Gibson, Adrienne Price, and Diana Foltz.The “Very Wet Bear” was hooked by Russ Nichols and designed by Kari Lehr. Makes me swoon and wish I’d hooked it.“All is Well” was hooked by Kathy Kovaric. Cheers the heart, no?I have to stop making a habit of picking up frames at the silent auction. Two years ago it was the Anderson frame. This year I admit to somewhat aggressively pursuing this Puritan frame and stand. Hey, I have students coming in March. I needed one more frame!Another amazing silent auction win. This beautiful, little mat was hooked by Diana Foltz. I do not lie when I tell you that I give more money to OPRH and their auction each year than I do my own guild
Lastly, I bring you a gorgeous picture of some seriously cool rock formations. I took the pic at a rest area on the way home. See why I love New Mexico? Thanks to Melinda, Cathy, and Mary for a fun weekend!
Thank you to OPRH for once again putting on such a classy and fun hook-in. One that was worth the eight hours of travel each way. See you next year!
Tynan’s back with this week’s “What’s on the frame?” As you can see, the mystery rug is coming along. It must be because I’ve started to make some corrections. Still not completely sure how it’ll look when it’s done, but I press on. More next week!
Tynan will tell you, life does go on. There’s always a new rug on the frame, and there are always biscuits to eat.
Last week’s post was about the consolation of making art for art’s sake; this week it’s about having to move on. Unfortunately, fires are still burning in California, and it appears that as many as 85% of Puerto Ricans still don’t have power. My problems are NOTHING compared to those, though I’d never belittle anyone, including myself, who’s concerned about their kid. Still, we make our way through new situations. She’s still keeping her room and bathroom pretty clean, and she’s definitely working hard to avoid arguments that don’t have to be had. I call that maturing, and, damn, I still have a hard time with it!
You know you’re luck’s improving when you head off to Walmart and come across the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile!
In the meantime, Tom and I are dealing with the changes too. We’ve been to Home Depot and identified the shelving we’ll he’ll build for me in the laundry room. It should go a long way towards getting the clutter up off the closet floor. And, frankly, we’re coping with maybe the most acute disappointment of our new/old living arrangement. Today we and the dog were supposed to head back east on our first visit with family and friends since we moved here. We’re still sad, but, after two weeks, are coming to terms with it. Again, you have to move on even when life hands you those lemons.
So, tomorrow we’re off on a different adventure, a day-trip that Tom’s never been on. Almost a year ago to the date, Tynan and I headed up north on our own. Tom couldn’t come for whatever reason, and I wanted to get up that way before the snow started to fly. We drove north of Taos to check out the ski area – nothing to see but lots of construction it turned out. On the way back to town, we did some hiking then explored this nifty, itty bitty village called Arroyo Seco. There are some shops, including one with perfect pottery and, of course, Weaving Southwest, which has fabulous rug yarns. There’s a great little restaurant/ice cream parlor too.
My new hiking toy with Tynan’s bowl (turquoise for New Mexico). Tom’s fanny pack is black.
Tom’s not been north of the town of Taos, so we’ll be heading up that way. Today we even picked up nice, new, fanny-type day packs at REIbecause I’m tired of being the one to carry everything in the pack including the water bottles. At Albuquerque’s new Cabela’s (which – for all you New England peeps living near the Patriots’Gillette Stadium is NOT NEARLY as cool as the Bass Pro Shop with its giant fish tanks and honest-to-God, full-fledged pub) Tynan got a new, collapsible water/food bowl. I’ll happily carry that for him.
Yesterday was my last day vending at the Rail Yards this year. While I sold a good piece, this year’s not been that profitable there for me. It’s great for exposure and spreading the gospel of rug hooking, but I think that next year, I’ll cut back to once a month there and look for another venue. More on that in the coming months.
Last day at the Rail Yards Market in Albuquerque yesterday.
BIGGEST NEWS I’ve received lately came yesterday when I checked my email as I sat at the Rail Yards. Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Council puts on an exhibit every other year (one that’s smaller than the Fiber Arts Fiesta held on the opposite year, no vendors). The marketing committee informed me that they’ve chosen a photo of my entry in the show back in April, 2016, to appear on the marketing materials for the 2018 show on April 7 and 8. Woohoo! I’m very honored and can’t wait to see the flyers and such. You know I’ll be sharing that when I get it. 🙂
Living on the west side of Albuquerque near the Rio Grande gives us plenty of balloon photo-ops most of the year.
In the meantime, we go on. As in New England, fall is the most beautiful time here in New Mexico. Nights have cooled off, but days still run anywhere in the 60s and 70s. Our very BIG SKY is bright blue; you might have seen it on the news last week, NBC covered Albuquerque’s famous International Balloon Fiesta last week, and USA Today has a bunch of pics up and just called it “the world’s most photographed event.” Tom and I didn’t attend this year, but the beauty of balloons is that they’re pretty visible from all over once they get up there. Consider making a visit sometime; hundreds of balloons in the sky at once is a spectacular sight.
Just so’s you know, I’ll be taking a little “stay-cation” from the blog, a week or two at most, while Tom and I find a few more little adventures to share this month. When you live in a beautiful place, you have to take advantage of it. I’m sure I’ll have some photos to share when I return.
What are you doing these days to keep your spirits up and to appreciate great autumnal weather? If you’re going to New England, send some lobsters out here!
Tynan the Welsh Springer Spaniel here. After using my likeness so many times to sell rugs, she finally let me write the damn blog. I’m choosing to tell you all about my, I mean, our trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, last week.
First thing to get off my chest: Freaking cheapskates should’ve sprung for the whole week at the condo. First time in two years I get out of New Mexico (sure, she’s jaunted off to Tucson two Januarys in a row to rug hook), and they give me just four nights away and out of the desert heat. Arses, both of them.
Monday:
The master and I leaving the Wines of the San Juan Winery in Blanco, New Mexico. There are two bottles in that purple bag he’s carrying. And nothing for me.
So, the ride from Albuquerque to Pagosa Springs is just under four hours IF you take the most direct route. Do we take the most direct route? NOOOOoooo. Hey, I’m as good a car traveler as any other dog, but it’s still not my most favorite activity. (Favorite activities involve food and belly rubs.) Did they ask me about driving the long way just so’s they could visit a winery? NOOOooo. The Wines of the San Juan place was in the middle of nowhere. Really. But they were good people and even let me in the tasting room. Someone could’ve tossed me a pretzel, but at least there was AC. Apparently, my humans liked the wines because they picked up a bottle of the Serendipity Merlot and another of the Rosé of Dolcetto. Do they know how many Frosty Paws they could’ve bought for the same price?
Since we’re almost always in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico and Colorado – most of the ride was two-lane highway – they are so lucky I don’t puke in cars. More importantly, there was nowhere to stop for lunch. Okay, the chances of them buying me lunch are pretty much a big goose egg, but a dog can dream. I could tell she was getting a little cranky. All those pretzels he ate in the winery were definitely NOT gluten-free. She got nothing. Just like me. Ha!
The ride was kind of cool, especially as we moved from the high desert browns and tans and the juniper greens to the lush pines and aspens and all that grass on the cattle ranches. Man, being from Massachusetts, I’ve never seen so many cattle ranches. I’m not complaining. Who bitches about steak…on the hoof? She took tons of pictures – far more than any one person needs, if you ask me, which no one ever does – like she always does, even made him stop the car so she could get out and focus better. Perhaps I would’ve liked to have stretched my legs too. Nah, I just wanted to get there. Besides, I had the whole backseat to myself. At least they put my comfiest bed on it.
Part of Chimney Rock National Monument just west of Pagosa Springs. We didn’t go here, just drove by it a couple of times. But I think a return trip is going to happen.
Finally, I can tell we’re getting close to the place. They start discussing groceries and whether it’s cool enough to leave me in the car while they run in to pick up dinner stuff. I HATE it when they leave me in the car. Or at least that’s what I let them believe. So’s I start my usual whining and crying when they turn into the parking lot. Hunger clearly doesn’t agree with them; they tell me to shut up. What I put up with. I lie down in my bed perfectly comfy.
The view from the condo’s deck. Nice. Just look at all that green grass.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take them long, and even better, the condo’s less than a minute from the grocery store! They don’t even leash me when we get out of the car! The place was great! Surrounded by all this long, green grass. Real grass, not that fake shit we’ve got in our backyard back in Albuquerque. I pee (of course) then rub my face and whole body in the grass. So soft, so cool after those 105° days during the heatwave in the desert. Reminds me of the old place back in Massachusetts that we left behind. With the chipmunks which we don’t have in Albuquerque. I miss chipmunks, though the little punk geckos are pretty fun to hunt. But I digress.
The condo freaked me out a bit when we first got there. Strange sounds; damn, my own toenails sounded so loud on the fake wood floor. And I had to be careful all the time or I’d slip. I much prefer carpet. The deck was pretty cool. Real wood. I liked hanging out there, but I wish they’d have let me off to catch that stupid cat that sashayed by.
That night we went out to dinner at Kip’s. It was great. They bought me a plate of fish tacos. NOT! I sat in the car then got to hear about the tacos and fresh salsa all the way home. Typical.
Tuesday:
Tuesday morning was good; the mistress took me for a walk. On the leash. Not optimum like in the Bosqueat home where I get to run free most of the time, but okay. Or it was till we took that wrong turn that kept us out for 90 minutes instead of the hour she planned on. Idiot. I’ll give her, she didn’t do that again. After breakfast – theirs, not mine, but at least I scored some banana, I love bananas – we…get in the car again! Didn’t we drive enough the day before??? They say we’re not going far. And we’re going on a little hike. Okay, I like to hike.
The most beautiful part of the Pagosa Valley. looks like a freaking movie set. I’m telling you.
We drive east, back through town. I can’t lie, there’s good scenery: mountains; lots of horses; the San Juan River and even river rafters; more steak-on-hooves and ranches that look like they’re straight out of a John Wayne movie. We go up, up, up on our way to the Wolf Creek Ski Area.
The master and I at the sign for the Continental Divide Trail up near Wolf Creek Pass. The idiots took pictures of this same sign back in 1995.
There was still snow up there! And this is how dumb my humans are. We come to a roadside stop for the Continental Divide, and they realize that they’ve been there before, back in 1995,
when they traveled around Colorado. They’d driven the same road (albeit in the opposite direction, from the east) on their way to Durango. Duh! We turned around at the ski area because our goal really was the hike to see Treasure Falls. Of course, there were more stops to take pictures before we got there. But the Falls were pretty cool.
That night we ate at the condo. Because it was vacation, I got a couple of bites of their steak. She didn’t even hassle him about how much it would cost him if I got pancreatitis from eating human food. Hey, I walked and hiked that day.
Wednesday:
Can you believe this, after our walk and breakfast, we get in the car again! Apparently, we were headed for Durango. Why? It’s not like they hadn’t been there before. They wanted to see if it was different. Duh, it’s been 22 years! Have you not heard that you can’t ever go home again? At least it was only an hour in the car. We left the alpine greens and headed back to the desert browns. I have to admit that Albuquerque seems a lot greener than Durango. (Never mind that I’m mostly colorblind. A dog can tell these things.)
The French crepe dude’s cart in Durango. And I’ve still never gotten to try a crepe.
So the idiots were kind of disappointed. We got caught in local traffic driving in. They seemed to think that the place was a crap-load bigger than in 1995. (Duh.) Eventually, we found a parking spot and headed into the Old Town/downtown area. Talk turned to lunch and how they had to find a place that had outdoor seating that allowed dogs. Pooh. I have great manners, and since I’ve become desert dog, I absolutely adore AC. Amazingly, they found a little stand with a French dude who made crepes – yes, crepes in the Southwest – and decided to stop there. Apparently, the crepes were quite yummy. Not that they gave me any, claimed there were green chiles in them. Right.
But there was a bright spot. Several, in fact. Most of the shops let dogs in! And several even had water and – get this – treats for us canines! At the expensive shoe store I managed to score two Milk Bones. Woo hoo! They liked me; found me quite attractive. And, since I’ve lost a couple of pounds and got the slimming haircut, I have to say that I am looking fine.
Thursday:
Yeah, this was supposed to be a day of rest. All we were planning on doing till we went out to dinner was to finally let Murphy’s ashes go. Murphy was my big brother. They’d adopted him out of Colorado six months before I arrived as a pup in 2008. He’d just turned 12 then and managed to live till he was 16 and a half! I think I can take some credit for that. I was five when he died. Five! They’ve been holding on to his ashes since then! But again, Murph was a Colorado dog, so taking home wasn’t a bad call.
My old buddy Murphy, the Colorado dog who spent his golden days in Massachusetts.
Murph was a cool dude, drove the idiots crazy those last years. (I loved it when he pissed on the mistress’s hand-painted cupboard in the foyer. Ha! And he was bullet-proof, would just look at her like “What? What? I’m old. What are you gonna do to me?) Anyway, he got them good last week too. They knew they wanted to let him go in a river somewhere kind of private rather than in the middle of Pagosa Springs. Mistress finds a river on the map not too far from the condo, though it required traversing the forest uphill on a dirt road. The master loves that shit in his Honda Accord. Not! Gets better. After his constant “Are we almost there?” she tells him “It’s just around this curve.” And it was, but it was a DRY river bed. I laughed and I laughed.
Where we let Murph’s ashes go on the San Juan River in the San Juan National Forest. Pretty sweet, no?
Now they’re desperate. It’s our last day in Colorado; dude can’t go back to New Mexico with us. She tells him there’s a place on the completely other side of town…she thinks. Okay, they want to do right by Murph, so we head back east toward Treasure Falls. We find the parking area and the trail. But her map is sketchy. Not a lot of info. We head down the trail towards the river. And get maybe a third of a mile before the path just…ends. We turn around, head back to the car. They’re testy. “It has to be farther up the dirt road.” (Another dirt road; he loves that.) “No, the dirt road goes uphill, up into mountains.” “We can’t tell that; the river is to the right. It has to cross in front of us near here.”
As usual she breaks him and we head up the dirt road. Lo and behold! Maybe a half-mile up and down the road we find the river. We have a little ceremony (me from the car so that I don’t go swimming), and now Murph is running free in the San Juan National Forest. You go, guy. I miss you. And I’m still laughing because what should’ve been a half-hour commemoration took us two hours! Even in death, Murph wins.
FRIDAY:
After our daily walk, we packed up and were out of the condo by 10:00 a.m. Thank goodness, they opted to take the more direct route home. One more drive through the center of Pagosa Springs, a right turn onto Route 84, another two-lane, and we were on our way. We only made three stops. We’d never been to Chama where the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is. We checked it out, used their bathrooms. The humans want to go back one day to take the train ride. I’m guessing that dogs are personas non grata, so perhaps I’ll be left at a doggy hotel for that trip.
Rug yarn at Tierra Wools in Los Ojos, New Mexico.
Back in New Mexico she made us drive two miles out of our way to visit, yes, a freaking fiber place, Tierra Wools. The master and I are in agreement here about these kinds of stops. At least they let me in to hang in the AC. She didn’t buy anything, but made sure she took pics of the rug wool colors for when she needs some. The master rolled his eyes like he always does.
We made one more stop at a cool place called Echo Amphitheater. While I was grateful to get out of the car to stretch my legs, it was NOT my favorite place. They might as well name it the “Fuck-Your-Dog-Over Amphitheater.” Yeah, the idiots thought it was great fun to call me and have it echo from the rock formation. I had no idea who was calling me and where the voices were coming from. Next time I’ll stay in the car, thank you very much.
And, just like that, we were home by around 3:30 in the afternoon. Our vacation over. I miss Colorado. It was cooler up there, and we’re back in another heatwave here. Ah, well. At least they’re talking more get-aways. In October it looks like we’re heading back to New England for the first time since we moved out here two years ago. And then in January, she’ll probably take us to Tuscon. No, we’re not going to the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers Hook-In with her, but the next day, we’re hoping to drive down to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, for a week. Very cool!
Hopefully, she’ll let me write more of these posts rather than just pose with her rug of the week. You’ll have to find that on the High on Hooking Facebook page later this week. Until then, thanks for reading.
Signing off and hoping I get to write again,
Tynan
Tynan the Welsh Springer Spaniel of High on Hooking
