This past weekend was a busy one for me, particularly in the hooking department. It started early too. Thursday found me hooking with friends. That was good; it let me finish hemming up the Boucherouite. Yes, I finally finished it. It took longer than anticipated thanks to plenty of one-directional hooking – the orange and yellowish areas. That was to imitate the weaving of the real Moroccan rugs. But I have to admit that I love how this one came out. Your thoughts? Me, I’m thinking that I have to make a much bigger floor rug. Time to collect the bed sheets…
On to Friday: Cathy Kelly gave a class on microwave dyeing to four of us in the guild. Thanks to Darlene for providing the space in her own “dye garage”! (She won’t hear that as she’s about to jaunt off to London and Paris. Why, yes, I am envious. How could you tell?)
The class was great fun. Come on, who doesn’t enjoy playing with color? Rather than wool fabric, we dyed yarn. Except for Nan, who’s high on felting, not just hooking. Here you can see the three skeins I dyed. Guess I was in a pink-purple-yellow mood. Note to self: next time work in the blue-green zone. But aren’t they wonderful and color-full? Thanks so much to Cathy for the class!
Friday evening – Saturday: Time to update the inventory and pack the car for the Sunflower Festival in Mountainair. Then bed. We had to be up early given the hour-and-a-half drive. But, damn, it was worth it. We’d never been to Mountainair before. The ride was visually stunning: bright blue skies; wide, open spaces; long freight trains; mountain passes. The best part was the cooler weather. Mountainair’s up about 6500 feet. For the first time in a long while, I didn’t sweat setting up the booth. Always a plus when you’re hanging with the public. And the tent gave nice shade. Again: perfect, end-of-summer weekend.
I can’t say enough about the festival. I managed to sell a few things, certainly enough to get me back next year. There were plenty of art and food vendors. The bathrooms were near nearby and clean. You had your choice of the indoor type or the fancy porta potty type that I’ve seen out here. AC and everything! Plus there was full-on cell phone coverage when I’d been told not to expect it at all! The festival is obviously one of the big events in this tiny community, and it showed. Kudos to the Monzano Mountain Art Council!
Sunday dawns: We’re tired what with being outside all day Saturday not to mention the three hours of driving. Took the dog for a 45-minute walk then headed off on the weekly grocery shopping trip. I don’t know what I did between then and 5:00 when we left for Santa Fe’s Opera House. (That’s about an hour’s ride.) You see, I’ve always wanted to see an opera there, but Tom, not being into opera AT ALL, demurred at sharing such an experience with me. It’s wicked expensive, so I couldn’t fully blame him. He did, however, agree to see Garrison Keillor with me. Woohoo!
The experience met ALL expectations. Again, perfect weather. Then there’s the view. The Opera House has a fabulous vantage point and, therefore, a gorgeous view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the Jemez to the west. It’s an open-air theater (a word that doesn’t do it justice at all) so you can literally see for miles. We bought a ridiculously overpriced glass of wine to share and took it all in.
The show started about 15 minutes late. No matter. Folks drifted in toward their seats. If they hadn’t finished their cocktails, standing just outside the theater proper to watch was perfectly acceptable. (Only bottled water is permitted inside.) Keillor moved through the audience singing extemporaneously, shaking hands, and questioning our cell phone usage.
Making it to the stage eventually, he laughed at those of us who were “saluting.” I learned a valuable lesson: Next time I attend a show at the Opera House, I’ll bring sunglasses. The seats all face directly west, right into the glaring, setting sun behind the stage. Next time I won’t be such a newbie.
The show went on a full three hours. “Intermission” was a sing-along. While Keillor clearly didn’t have to pee, Tom and I certainly did. We didn’t head home till well after 10:00, arriving about 11:20. Bed called, and the perfect, end-of-summer weekend came to a close.
Now there’s just one big question: Whatever will we do for Labor Day?
Can’t there be another perfect, end-of-summer weekend? What do you have planned end the summer?
Whatever you do this weekend, make sure you take time to say a prayer for the folks of Houston who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey this past week. Their next days, weeks, and even years will be difficult.
