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Where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, so I’m hoping you’re wondering where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. To tell you the truth, most of it’s been fun though some of it… wasn’t so fun.

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Myself, Tom, and Yvonne at Madrid’s Hollar having a stellar lunch.

First off, we welcomed my sister-in-law Yvonne and some of her family to New Mexico on September 29. Yvonne stayed with us for about a week and a half. During that time we made all kinds of excursions. Of course, we headed up to Santa Fe one day. We drove the fun way, via the Turquoise Trail which goes right through Madrid, an artsy, little, one-time mining town. We poked through galleries and shops then had lunch at the fabulous Hollar Restaurant (If you ever get there, I recommend the ahi tuna sandwich. A bonus: they carry gluten-free buns!)

Brother and sister on top of the world. Or at least on top of the Sandias.
Brother and sister on top of the world. Or at least on top of the Sandias at almost 11,000 feet.

Other days we perused Albuquerque’s Old Town for gifts for Yvonne to carry home to Boston. We headed to the tramway that goes up Sandia peak but it was mobbed given all the tourists here for Balloon Fiesta. Instead we opted to drive up the east side of the mountain. On the way back down I convinced Tom to take an alternative route, one not on most maps mostly because it quickly becomes a rocky, dirt road type of adventure. Especially if you’re in a Honda Accord. But what views! And now I know where Sandia Man Cave is; not that I’ll see it any time soon. Unless we trick out my Honda Fit with big-ass wheels as Tom’s Accord is done with that route.

 

A "glowing" balloon at Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta.
A globe “glows” at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta.

 

 

 

 

About Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque’s annual, international party. Last year we attended mass ascension. That takes place in the early morning when all the participating hot air balloons pretty much take off at the same time. It’s an incredible sight, something to put on your bucket list. Because many of balloons tend to fly close to, if not right over our house and Yvonne got to see that, we chose to visit fiesta during the special shapes “Glowdeo.” Special shape balloons aren’t round like most,but are made to be a character or animal or an item like Wells Fargos’s trademark stage coach.

Uncle Sam comes alive as the sun goes down.
Uncle Sam gets all fired up as the sun goes down in Albuquerque. Wish I could’ve gotten a good shot of Darth Vader and Yoda.

 

On certain evenings the fiesta holds a “glow” during which pilots fire-up their balloons in the dark. They stay tethered to the ground, as you can imagine it’s probably not a good idea to fly at night.Turns out, you should put this event on your bucket list too. It’s that special.

 

On Yvonne’s last day, the three of us and Marcelle, one of her daughters, enjoyed a tasting at Acequia Winery in Corrales, a neighboring village in which I think almost every resident owns a horse or three. It was a fitting send-off after a good visit. We hope she comes back next year.

 

The view from the back patio at Acequia Winery. There's no place better to sit and sip.
The view from the back patio at Acequia Winery. There’s no place better to sit and sip.

 

 

Now for the less-than-fun I mentioned above.

 

My dentist had started prepping me for a crown not long before Yvonne arrived. Shit happens and my crown became the root canal from hell. Ostensibly, it was finished the day Yvonne arrived and that was to be that. Except, except – and some of those who know me will find this funny – I developed lockjaw. Which continues to this very day. I understand it could be a few weeks or even two months (!!!) until it clears. In the meantime I have to cut up all my food into itsy-bitsy bites till it all resembles a nursing home meal. My only saving grace? I can still drink. Let the margaritas flow! And Acequia’s wine while we’re at it. Oh, and Tom Brady’s back winning with the Patriots, so I guess life’s not bad at all.

What have you been up to these past few weeks while I’ve been on social media-light?

NOw that you know where I've been and what I've been doing, you can also appreciate all the hooking I've done too the last few weeks. My guild held a 3-day retreat last week. What fun!
Now that you know where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing, you can also appreciate all the hooking I’ve done the last few weeks. My guild held a 3-day retreat last Monday – Wednesday. I managed to get a lot of my tree done. Here’s to a big reveal soon!
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Pumpkins are popping!

 

"Pumpkin"; 20"x21"; all recycled t-shirts
“Pumpkin”; 20″x21″; all recycled t-shirts

It’s officially fall, and the pumpkins are popping even here in New Mexico. Along with them come the roasting chiles, the mums, and Halloween costumes and candy in stores (we’re not even gonna talk about the Christmas shit stuff I saw in Walmart yesterday). While I love summer and warm weather, I won’t deny my affinity for most things autumn: cooler temperatures, pumpkins (of course!), candles, sweaters, fires (even if out here they’re usually gas-fueled rather than wood), exchanging flip-flops for my kick-ass, little booties, and so on.

 

"Little Pumpkin"; 10"x10"; all wool (not one t-shirt loop!)
“Little Pumpkin”; 10″x10″; all wool and even llama (not one t-shirt loop!)

Like New England, New Mexico holds off till fall to show its best self. In Albuquerque we may not get the range of foliage colors quite like we had in Massachusetts, but the yellows and golds of the cottonwoods and aspens stand out brilliantly against the almost daily blue-blue sky. And there’s little chance that a nasty, wind-driven rainstorm (worse, an ice storm!) will strip the leaves off the trees one night while we sleep.

This week I’m finishing up three mug rugs to sell Sunday at my final Rail Yards date for the year. (Until December 11’s Holiday Market, that is, but more on that later.) Two are autumnal in nature, one being a pumpkin. There are two other pumpkins in my inventory, and I’m hoping that at least a couple of them find new homes this coming weekend.

Okay, this little guy is all t-shirt too. I can't help myself. He's 6"x6".
Okay, this little guy is all t-shirt too. I can’t help myself. He’s 6″x6″.

No blog next week; we’ve got my sister-in-law coming into town just in time for Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta. Tom and I are looking forward to going  to a “Glow” one evening which is when they fire up some of the balloons after it gets dark. They don’t go anywhere (because flying in the dark would be a CRAZY thing to do), but they look pretty…glowing. Hopefully, pics will come out so that I can share them here.

 

What do you look forward to most when cold weather and fall finally come calling? Share your pumpkins on High on Hooking’s Facebook page.

Fall colors of Albuquerque.
Fall colors of Albuquerque.
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Taking stock

The rug I was working on as I moved last summer. "Welcome to New Mexico."
The rug I was working on during last summer’s exodus: “Welcome to New Mexico.” Since then I’ve been taking stock of our first year here.

 

Taking stock – that’s what I did with some of the time I took off from the blog these past couple of weeks (which passed by REALLY QUICKLY). July 30 held particular significance and not just because it was the day before my kid’s 19th birthday. This year it marked exactly one year since we rolled into the state of New Mexico to stay.

Wow! We can’t believe it either. At times it’s been tumultuous, there’s no denying that. The holidays, they were tough without family and friends. The kid crashing her car – no injuries other than to pride! – means that just like in high school, Tom’s stuck driving her back and forth to work till she saves for a new vehicle.

Big picture, though, the move’s been most everything we wanted.

 

Where Tynan and I walk in the Bosque along the Rio Grande.
Where Tynan and I walk in the Bosque along the west side of the Rio Grande. This is city living Albuquerque style.

CLIMATE:
Certainly, the weather’s wonderful: lots of sun, lots less winter (compared to New England). One day last January, we hiked in the snow on the east side of the Sandia Mountains then drove the 45 minutes to home where it was 55 degrees. No need for a stinkin’ snowblower here!

 

RUG HOOKING (this is a hooking blog):

You'll find many of AWAG ladies demonstrating rug hooking at Albuquerque's Biopark the first Tuesday of most every month.
You’ll find several of us AWAG’s ladies demonstrating rug hooking at Albuquerque’s Biopark the first Tuesday of most every month.

Who would’ve guessed that there’s such an active guild of hookers out here in Albuquerque? I’ve made some great friends this past year, even one, Melinda, who moved from New Hampshire about the same time I moved from Massachusetts. Now the two of us try to get a hooking afternoon in each week. Better yet, she and her husband are New England Patriots fans just like us. Tom and I are no longer alone in a sea of blue and orange Bronco fans.

 

"Desert Gone Wild" went to a good home just last week.
“Desert Gone Wild,” a table runner or wall hanging, went to a good home just last week.

As High on Hooking, I’ve managed to start selling pieces and been involved in not one, but two shows. The Adobe Wool Arts (ATHA) guild volunteered me as our representative to Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Council which is currently planning next May’s Fiber Arts Fiesta. Then back in January, three of us headed down to Tuscon in Arizona for a hook-in with the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers. It was 80 degrees there! In January! I even managed a little sunburn!

 

You can't get much closer to a balloon without being in the basket. This one landed behind the house last fall.
You can’t get much closer to a balloon without being in the basket. This one landed right behind the house last fall.

 

 

 

 

HOUSING:
While we didn’t down-size like we planned (hey, with no cellar or attic, we realized we needed an extra room for the treadmill and bike), we found a great house close to the Rio Grande. That means the dog and I can head out to walk the scenic trails of the Bosque (the forest) whenever we wish. In summer this is best done in the early morning hours.) So far we’ve come across a snake, hawks and hummingbirds, lots of bunnies and geckos, two coyotes, and, just last week, a porcupine.

 

Tynan running free in the Bosque. Like, Just like New England, autumn is the best time to be in New Mexico.
Tynan running free in the Bosque. Just like New England, autumn is the best season to be in New Mexico.

 

 

PERSONAL:
I turned 52 this summer. Moving here signaled the start of the next half of my life. (You think I’m optimistic, but one of my grandmothers died as an active 93-year-old, and the other is still very much alive.) One reason we moved here — besides the BIG sky, the art scene, and there being less people — was for the outdoor lifestyle. We like to hike. Unfortunately, a couple of months before we left the east coast, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I won’t lie, it’s been a pain in my ass, amongst other places, but especially for my knees. That’s limited our hiking some. But I’m on a new med; here’s hoping it works without too many side effects (the scary kinds they recite to us in all the TV ads). And that the damn hot flashes stop soon. (I am 52.)

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On the trail again at Tent Rocks.

Luckily, though, while my fingers have swollen some, they’ve suffered little pain. Maybe all the hooking keeps everything lubed up. Thank goodness. I know that most of you feel like I do: hooking is therapy. Without it, life would, to put it bluntly, suck.

Life here in Albuquerque definitely does NOT suck. There are all kinds of new experiences:

 

Tom posing in Tent Rock's curves.
Tom posing in Tent Rocks’ curves.
Navajo rugs up for auction.
Navajo rugs up for auction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could go on, but I won’t right now. There’s too much to do. Rugs don’t hook themselves. Plus, we have company coming early September through mid-October. I can play Julie McCoy to the relatives.

 

How’s your summer been going?

 

Mass ascension at Balloon Fiesta 2015. Have you ever seen so many balloons in one place?
Mass Ascension at Balloon Fiesta 2015. Have you ever seen so many balloons in one place?

 

"Welcome to New Mexico", 29.5"x20", $225, Recycled t-shirts
High on Hooking says “Welcome to New Mexico.” Stay for a while and see why we love it here.
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This moving thing’s a bitch and a busy one at that

Balloons are dropping in all over the city this week.
Balloons are dropping in all over the city this week.

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of hooking news and fun these past few weeks, but this moving thing is truly a pain in the patootie. There are still unpacked boxes not so stylishly decorating the house. We can’t find all our stuff…because it’s probably hiding in the aforementioned boxes. Lamps! I’d kill for more of my lamps. And don’t even start me on the need to get bookshelves. Then there’s the busy-work: finding doctors that we need asap; running to Lowes to buy a new dishwasher (the one that came with the house pools alarmingly when not in use); locating the local grocery stores; and our personal favorite, teaching the kid to drive. Today was my turn. She did okay, though we do apologize to the honking car next to us at that one light; she did swing r-e-a-l-ly wide to the right to make a left turn. She’ll do better next time; I promise. Not!

 

Damn little camera on my phone. You probably can't see the hundreds of balloons at different levels participating in mass ascension. (Better photos after we head to the Fiesta field.) In the meantime, see the Rio Grande there - okay, not looking all that grand - some balloons swoop down from the sky and do a "splash and dash." Very cool. I learned more from one of the hookers in my guild; she and her husband work a balloon's chase crew.
Damn little camera on my phone. You probably can’t see the hundreds of balloons at different levels participating in mass ascension. (Better photos after we head to the Fiesta field.) In the meantime, see the Rio Grande there – okay, not looking all that grand – some balloons swoop down from the sky and do a “splash and dash.” Very cool. I learned that term from one of the hookers in my guild; she and her husband work a balloon’s chase crew.

Not that there haven’t been the fun moments. Our hopes were great after that pre-fiesta balloon landed behind our house last week. Now we’re deep in Albuquerque’s famed Balloon Fiesta. We humped up the hill to the neighboring Catholic high school – which happens to have a great view – and watched the first “mass ascension.” (Okay, fellow Catholic peeps, the ballooning term “mass ascension” is nothing but a coincidence. Ironic though. Maybe they could’ve gone with “the Rapture,” but I digress.) Tom and I will head to the fiesta tomorrow in the early, early 50-degree morning. We’ll be right on the field, phones/cameras in hand. How I wish I had a really good camera…

And I have been hooking; most evenings, in fact. I finished hooking, though not blocking and such, my rug-sized New Mexico mat that will eventually grace the floor somewhere in the new house. Now I’m working on a table runner: t-shirts and some gossamer, chiffonny fabrics. Going for a different texture. I got to work on it at a hooking demonstration with my new Adobe Wool Arts guild just yesterday at the BioPark Botanic Gardens. I’d love to share some photos of this (insert long face here) – I even brought my phone.camera and planned on it – but we were so busy chatting with one another and visitors, that I plumb forgot…till we were packing up. Next time, I promise!

Georgia O'Keefe's Petunia No. 2, 1924.
Georgia O’Keefe’s “Petunia No. 2,” 1924.

Another highlight this week: a visit to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe. It’s taken me two vacations to the area and a final move to make it there, but Friday was the perfect time. Tom’s niece – an artsy type, too, with good taste – was in town and also wanted to see it. There was an American Modernist exhibit going on with O’Keefe’s and others’ work represented. Excellent! Oh, and the street food on Santa Fe’s plaza was fabulous.

Alexander Archipenko's Woman with a Fan, 1958.
Alexander Archipenko‘s “Woman with a Fan,” 1958.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, while this moving thing’s a bitch, we managed to tame her for a bit and just enjoy the area. Hey, it’s why we moved here. So far, no regrets, and that’s all that matters.

PS – How do you other bloggers remind yourselves to take pics when you’re all agog listening to stories and looking at beautiful things? Tell me the secret!

My favorite piece, I think. (I reserve the right to change my mind, of course.) O'Keefe's Pond in the Woods, 1922.
My favorite piece, I think. (I reserve the right to change my mind, of course.) O’Keefe’s “Pond in the Woods,” 1922.

 

 

 

 

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