Category: friends

February 5, 2019

I am a traveling dog…

Tynan the traveling dog in Hatch, NM — Can’t we ever just walk by weird things? Of course, not. (I remind you of the **Uranus Fudge Factory** she made us stop at in Missouri.) Notice she’s holding my head so that I’ll look at the camera. Anyway, this is Hatch,across the street from the famous Sparky’s Restaurant with its aromatic smoke.

Tynan the traveling dog back for a third week! Woof! Unfortunately, the idiots have no plans for us to go anywhere anytime soon. Bummer. But, as promised, I thought I’d catch you up on our Arizona trip, show you how I added a state to my repertoire, as it were.

If you’re not all caught up, check last week’s post, a quick summary of the trip, then sit back in your armchair while I drive for a change.

We left Albuquerque on Thursday, January 2, by about 10:00. The time was more tailored to ensure lunch at Sparky’s in Hatch, the chile capitol of the world. He’d never eaten there. Me, I got to sit in the car while the smoke coming from all those burgers and pork wafted in through the cracked car windows strangling me with its perfect aroma. It was not an auspicious start for the trip. In retaliation, when they ~~waddled~~ walked me around later, I peed on Sparky’s. Not my finest moment, I admit, but peeing on my people really wouldn’t have worked. Then they made pose for pictures in front of the kitschy stuff near the restaurant. Whatever.

At last we were off again. It’s a long ride to Tucson, and I snoozed through most of it. Finally, we arrived at our destination, the Best Western-Tucson Foothills. Apparently, she and my lady friends from the Adobe Wool Arts Guild (AWAG) prefer this place when they make their annual pilgrimage to the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers Hook-In. (Hook-in, yes they really call it that.) There is a reason for their fealty to this particular hotel: free booze! Yep, the place provides a gratis happy hour (more like three hours), and you know they aren’t passing by that. Wouldn’t you know it, we arrived during sed happy hour. So off to the “cafe” we go thinking the idiots will pick up a glass of quaffable, free wine and sit outside or, more realistically as the sun was already going down, head back to the room to drink then argue over who would go back to get the next round.

Tynan the traveling dog on the hotel bed. — Best Western-Tucson Foothills: Four paws up for the comfy bed. Pity the master kicked me off every single night once his **World of Warcraft** character bit the big one (over and over).

But then the beautiful bartendress sees me, and she says these magical words: “Oh, he’s so cute, Of course, he can stay.” She caresses my chin and whispers, “Would you like to go home with me? I can give you your own downy hotel bed, barbecue on demand…” Sorry, I digress there, maybe fantasize a bit. The point is I was invited in to happy hour all weekend. Nice touch, Best Western-Tucson Foothills. Oh, especially, that popcorn machine. Loved the popcorn machine!

Drinks drunk, we head back to the room so the idiots can rest. (Wow, tough day: eating, driving, and drinking.) Anyway, he takes over the desk with his laptop; she and I claim the bed. This traveling dog is really starting to love human hotel beds. They’re lower than the one back home, and they’re BIG! She doesn’t care if I take 2/3s of it. Very comfy.

Saguaro cacti in the Coronado National Forest. — On the way up to Mount Lemmon in the **Coronado National Forest**. Check out all the crazy **saguaro cacti**! Have you ever seen so many in one place? They even constitute a cactus forest!

Next day, we’re off to Mount Lemmon, Tucson’s tallest mountain. Back maybe 16 summers ago, they were vacationing in Tucson, checking it out for possible future residence. They tried to drive up but were turned back by officials. The mountain was on fire. Not this time! Of course, we had to drive in stops and starts since she had to take all her freaking pictures. Fortunately, there was some pretty spectacular scenery. And I got to get out of the car!

Rock formations on Mount Lemmon. — The topography changed on our way up to Mount Lemmon. The cacti gave way to juniper bushes and then pines. There were interesting rock formations on the way up. You could climb on them!

Cool tree on Mount Lemmon. — She captured this old tree for her friend Karen Miller of **Karen D. Miller Studio** in Ontario. I know why I’m fascinated with trees, but them????

View from Mount Lemmon of Tucson. — This is the view looking over Tucson from near the tree. Quite…expansive.

Mount Lemmon Ski Area. — This is what a **skiing area** looks like in…Tucson. We saw three people ski across that hill. Three. Can you say “ice”? Unfortunately, the rest of the road to the top was blocked here with snow. No telescopes for us. But we got pretty close.

Man in front of restuarant. — The master after a fine lunch at the **Iron Door Restaurant** across the street from Mount Lemmon Ski Valley. Notice that I am not in the photograph. Perhaps someone should alert the authorities regarding how often they leave me in a vehicle while they stuff their faces.

Tynan the traveling dog on snow hike. — After lunch on the mountain, the pudgy ones decided to work some of it off with a hike. I’m always good with that. And unlike them, I miss snow, so this was a fine activity.

That night, my AWAG ladies finally showed up at the hotel. At happy hour, of course. Mary R. brought me gifts, and…the popcorn machine was working! Nan watched me while the idiots went for food. She let me on her bed. I love Nan. Plus, she brings toys for me when she comes to our house.

Saturday morning, we drop the mistress off at the La Paloma Country Club for the hook-in. Looked like a swanky place for something with such a stupid name. He tells her not to spend so much at the silent auction this year. Right. (Later she called not breaking $100 a win. He did not.)

Back to that day, he decides to take us to some park; he’s already forgotten the name. (At least she wouldn’t have done that.) We get out of the car. Something is not right. He wonders why I don’t want to do the usual who-peed-here sniffs, but something smells really bad at this park. “Come on, ” he tells me not particularly patiently. He calls me squirrely, mocks me with that word. But I’m trying to tell him, I think there are f-ing rattlesnakes here! They paid for me to have that hateful training, but it did work. I smell their dirty asses (not that I’m exactly sure where a snake keeps its ass). Finally, he’s fed up with me; we turn around. There is a god! We head back to my favorite Best Western. Frankly, I think he just wanted to get back to his stupid laptop and World of Warcraft. Whatever, I got the bed to myself.

That night we do happy hour with the girls again. Folks fawn over me especially when they hear what he did to me. I appreciate that. Sunday morning we’re off for home. She gets an idea that she wants to take a different route, not the one we came on. He’s skeptical, but of course, she wins. We turn the car to the north. At first it’s nice, sleep-inducing. We stop at McDonald’s for their “quality” brunch, then get into some more remote country. I’ll let the pictures (she took soooo many) tell the story.

El Capitan Pass in Arizona. — Excuse me for waxing poetic, but you have to drive around this great country of ours to really appreciate how big and beautiful it is. This is **El Capitan Pass** in Arizona. Things were getting pretty desolate out here, and no, there was absolutely no cell service to call AAA. (We were in another rental; he didn’t dare risk driving his ancient Honda Accord on this trip. She wouldn’t have let him forget it if the damn thing broke down.)

Snake River Canyon in Arizona. — Okay, this killed about an hour, but she insisted it was worth taking all the photos then hanging at the visitor center. While they’ve been to and even hiked down the Grand Canyon farther north and west, they didn’t know crap about the **Salt River Canyon**. It and the many switch-backs it took to get down to the river were admittedly impressive.

Snake River in Arizona. — A view of the Snake River down at the Visitor Center.

Traveling dog at Snake River in Arizona. — A view of us practically under the old and the new bridges where Route 60 crosses the Snake River. How many of pictures can one person take of the same thing?

And yet another one of the Canyon after we’d crossed the bridge and started to climb out of the Salt River Canyon.

Cliffs in New Mexico. — Finally! We get to something in New Mexico! And it was suitably impressive. These cliffs and rock formations were in the **El Malpais National Monument**. (They didn’t know anything about that either.) Driving through there was even more desolate than going through Arizona. Again, thank God for the rental car!

Malpais arch. — Incredible as **La Ventana Arch** is, she didn’t spend a ton of time outside, though she still took way too many shots. It was cold and windy; she was dressed for Tucson. Ha! It’s always good to wear just one outfit your entire life. Me, I’m ready for anything in my naturally red and white fur coat.

At least we made it home before dark, and now I’m coming to terms with my lack of hotel beds and popcorn machines.

Hooked rug. — She’s still not letting me sit on her current rug, the “**Big Boucherouite**,” and get a treat for sharing it with you, but she’s got this tiny photo for you. Looks like all the others if you ask me

I hope she’ll let me come back again sooner than later. I enjoy sharing my travels with you. And you make good witnesses as to how the idiots treat me.

Later,

Tynan the traveling dog

January 8, 2019

New year, new lords and masters…

Fitbit on wrist in the new year. — Master #1 of the new year.

The new year is here a week. Already it’s gotten busier than intended given that I was trying to make 2019 more a year of making and less one of busy-ness and meetings and social media. Not that I have any intention – or ability – of getting rid of those latter items. They’re necessary (often evil) parts of an involved life. I just want them minimized some.

A week in and I’ve identified a couple of new masters and commanders demanding my fealty and, more importantly, my time. One was unexpected, and I’m here to warn all of the A-type personalities present. You Bs are probably safe enough and can just enjoy a good laugh. Type A folk: Do not get a Fitbit! Oh, you think it’s going to help you, ensure that you get all those steps in, make you healthy. (If you’re like me, you were already working out each day anyway.) Instead, the damn thing is just another mark to hit AND SURPASS EVERY SINGLE DAY. Tom gave it to me for Christmas; I’ve wanted one for a couple of years, and since December 27th when I put it on, he’s regretted his generosity.

Tynan and I and the new Fitbit master out New Year’s Day morning just as the snow was starting. Oh, Tom came too. 🙂

Like I said, I work out most mornings, so that gives me a leg up on the 10,000 steps. Usually. Unfortunately, it can’t “translate” time and effort on the recumbent bike unless I thrash my Fitbit-clad arm about trying to fake the Master into thinking I’m walking (or running up Mount Everest). On those days, I know that I should just account for the exercise in my mind and not worry about making it to the magic – and completely arbitrary – number of steps. But I can’t, so I try to…compensate. Tom’s becoming irritated. I have to hide my furtive attempts to get to 10,000. The far bathroom’s good. I can pretend-jump rope in there or jog in place while I count to 50, 75. Playing keep-away with the dog’s toys is always good for a 100 or so. Then we take another walk around the block. The neighbors behind the house have seen me dancing in the kitchen like no one’s watching. Or should watch.

Results thus far:

I have hit the magic 10,000 number every day but two.
The dog is exhausted.
I’ve walked before and during one snowstorm, my first here in Albuquerque. It was beautiful. And worth more than 17,000 steps!
My dogs (feet) are barking, one knee is ready for a sling, and I’m pretty sure that my recent RA flare-up was caused by my new obsession.
The epiphany that if I join an online Fitbit community or even share results with a friend, the “friendly competition” would probably kill me. The dog would be collateral damage.

You’d think I’d give up on the thing after all this, but NO WAY! I’m loving it. Luckily, this morning’s walk down by the river in the cold was invigorating. Plus it got me all the way to 10,000 in one shot! And – besides the dog – who do you think was with me doing all those steps? Tom! Tom who started to surreptitiously use his phone to count his own steps. Gotcha!

Dog and hooked rug in the new year. — An exhausted Tynan presents 2019’s first “what’s on the frame.” You can see why I’ll need the steps to combat all the sitting I’ll be doing the next two months as I get the “Big Boucherouite” done.

The Fitbit master will stay, too, to combat all the sitting I’m doing for the second master of the new year. Yes, the Big Boucherouite‘s time has finally come. Pictures of a finished BB are due March 1. That’s the last day you can send entries in for Albuquerque’s big Fiber Fiesta 2019! Get the details by clicking, and think about sending something in. You don’t have to live here. Any questions, check the Fiber Council’s website or give me a yell. A fun and educational time will be had by all. I promise. (And do you know how large the Manual Lujan Jr. Expo Center is? Gonna get in a whole lotta steps.)

What or who is moving you these early days of the new year?

December 10, 2018

Rugs on the frame this week

Rugs on the frame are the thing this week, peeps. We’re busy, busy, busy. Not only is Christmas coming, and the tree’s not finished, but a student will be here Wednesday and Friday too. Then tomorrow I’m at a friend’s for a day of dyeing wool for my friendship rug (more on that later). Okay, Cathy will be doing more of the dyeing while her five new puppies distract Melinda and me. Who can resist baby dogs??? No worries, I’ll take some pics. Maybe even a couple of the wool-dyeing.

Are you ready for the holidays? Have time to work on your rugs? How do you feed your creativity during this often frenetic time of year???

Dog on hand-hooked rugs; rugs on the frame. — Tynan brings you the “rugs on the frame this week.” **Despite being sick** – I’m only feeling truly human today, thank you – I managed to do some work on both “Kleeful” and the “Big Boucherouite” last week. The latter is off the **Anderson frame** because it became a pain in the neck to use. One leg pulled out from the base, and one side wouldn’t keep the rug as tight as I need. So, it’s onto the **Puritan** we go. Bet that’ll be fun when I get to the middle…

November 20, 2018

Trying to lay low…

Two women and a hooked rug at Santa Fe Fall Fiber Fiesta — Something to be thankful for: When you meet an Instagram friend for the first time! Josephine of **lonnieandjosephine** Instagram fame showed up out of the blue, surprising me at my booth this weekend. And she bought a rug! Nothing’s better than that. Except that… she’s coming to next week’s **Adobe Wool Arts Guild** retreat here in Albuquerque. Woohoo!

Santa Fe Fall Fiber Fiesta 2018 is in the books, so now it’s time to lay low for a bit. Well, not exactly. It’s Thanksgiving week, and the kid is coming home tomorrow. Thursday’s dinner for our little family and a few friends is here, and you know what that means: cleaning and cooking! Not so much the hooking for a couple of days. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving with your own kin and whoever else circles your table – in body and/or soul. Enjoy one another! Lay low and tell your stories. Eat! Hook rugs! But do it together.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2018! What are you most thankful for this year?

Dog with hooked rug and stuffed turkey, trying to relax and lay low for the holiday — Couldn’t resist. I think this is actually last year’s pic, nonetheless, Tynan and High on Hooking bid you all a very Happy Turkey Day.

November 6, 2018

Fall fiber frenzy

Like I mentioned last week, I’m kind of slammed for the next couple of weeks in my own personal Fall fiber frenzy. This Saturday is the High Desert Studio Tour on the east side of Albuquerque. I’ll be at Stop #3 on the map below (if you click, you’ll get a better one) where Dagmar Beinenz-Byrd runs her ZiaWoolz business. Each year she generously offers me space for the event. This year Catherine Wies, another multi-talented Adobe Wool Arts Guild member, will have her wares there too: all kinds of versions of her “Everywoman Tote Bag.” I may have to buy another one to put Dag’s hand-dyed yarn and project bags in. Yeah, I’ll spend more than I’ll ever make. But the goods are all worth it. Plus we have a lot of fun. Stop by!

Meanwhile, I’m busy hooking away for Saturday and next weekend too up in Santa Fe at the Fall Fiber Fiesta. Then there are the meetings: guild (I told you I’m president now, right?); next year’s Fiber Fiesta here in ABQ; the Fiber Arts Council’s Education Committee; the food pantry I deliver to, and Susan’s Legacy. All this with a cold that won’t quit. I swear that between us, Tom and I can incubate it till next spring…

I hate meetings, but they’re a necessary evil for worthy organizations and causes. And if you have any interest in Fiesta or the Fiber Arts Council, click on those links above. Regarding Susan’s Legacy, if you’d like to help women trying to help themselves out of mental health and addiction disorders, see our website. Disclaimer: I’m a Board member, and such troubles have run in my family.

High Desert Studio Tour - part of Fall fiber frenzy — Info on the annual High Desert Studio Tour this Saturday in Albuquerque. More info on the website, **www.highdesertliving.net**. Remember, three of us will be at Stop #3. Follow the purple balloons!

Dog and hooked rugs - Fall fiber frenzy — Tynan ~~whores for a treat~~ brings you this week’s “What’s on the frame?” As you can see, there are actually four little rugs on there right now. I’m low on mug rugs which make excellent and unique gifts for the holidays. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Check out our **Etsy shop**. There may be one or two there right this minute. If not, give a yell and tell me what you need.

Hope to see you this weekend in Albuquerque or next in Santa Fe. Remember: Mention the blog post and get 10% off any rug. It’s part of spreading the gospel of rug hooking and buying handmade this holiday season!