Well-behaved Women Rarely Make History

Greetings From the Land of Enchantment!

This post was written yesterday but posted today due to technical errors ... mine! I couldn't get a connection here in the Land of Enchantment so had to wait until this morning to get help. Sorry.
The last few days have really been great ones. We're on the road again, and one never knows what treasure or surprise might lie around the next corner.
After going through over two hours of one of the most torrential downpours we have ever encountered, we arrived in Tucumcari, NM on Tuesday where we were going to visit with Frank's nephew and his family for a couple of days. They are such delightful young people and we had a great time visiting and remembering things that we had shared in the past, including many fits of the giggles over old family experiences and gatherings through the years. They are both in the educational field .. she's a school principal and he's a superintendent. It's so nice to find people who have devoted their lives to help young people find a place in the world where they can benefit others as well as themselves.
After staying there for a couple of nights, we left this morning and made our way through the back roads of Northern New Mexico to Taos for 3 days. We went through Tres Ritos, Mora and Vadito which were areas that the Salazar family settled in the early 1800's. It was a good experience for us to be able to walk in the footsteps of Frank's ancestors and get a bit of the feel of what his relatives felt when they came here in wagon trains from Missouri to help settle the state and make a home for the family when it was literally the wild west!
We made an unscheduled stop at an Alpaca farm and it was wonderful. There had been a baby boy alpaca born just this morning and they hadn't even weighed him yet. His name was Alfalfa and he was adorable. It was great fun to see all the animals. They also had Pyrenees dogs there to guard the herd of Alpacas and we were told that they have never lost one Alpaca to wolves, bears or coyotes which is unusual in this part of the world. They are wonderful watchdogs.
We arrived in Taos around 1:30, had a bite of lunch, and then checked into El Monte Segrado which is a resort and spa. It is one of the group of the Leading Small Hotels of the World and it's truly amazing. We have been blessed to have been able to stay in many top places and this one rates right up there with the best. We were greeted by the staff when we arrived, taken on a tour of the premises, and then shown to our suite of rooms. When the staff finally left us, we changed into silk bathrobes which were terry-cloth lined, had a martini delivered by the valet, and sat on our portal and enjoyed listening to a light rainfall which was lightly splashing on the lilly pond outside our rooms, along with the gentle rustling of the aspen leaves and the waterfalls. Makes one desperately want a nap! If you want to check it out, go to http://www.elmontesagrado.com/
Our suite is located on the Sacred Circle and is named Handsome Lake. Handsome Lake was the Seneca Tribe half-brother of Corn Planter, and was most noted as a prophet who developed a religion called Gai wiio or Good Message, which combined elements of Christian and Native beliefs. After Handsome Lake's death in 1815, his teachings continued to spread and became the foundation for the Longhouse religion. Still a vital force, this religion plays an important role in preserving the Iriquois sacred and cultural heritage.

The Sacred Circle is a green space located in the heart of the grounds which is surrounded by cottonwood trees, some of them over 400 years old, willow trees, gardens and waterfalls. It is a place for meditation, a place to unwind and relax. Each of the suites in this area are named after prominent Native Americans who were leaders in their tribes. There is also a sculpture garden, swimming pool, library, art gallery, computer station just to mention a few of the amenities.
There is a full service spa and we plan on taking advantage of several of the things they have to offer. There is a fully equipped gym as well as massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, steam rooms ... you name it. I'm going to be pampered for a few days, have room service and take total advantage of the facility before we head for Santa Fe. No painting at this time ... just R&R. Everyone needs to be spoiled occasionally.
More to come later. Don't know when I'll hook up the laptop again before we go to Santa Fe. We'll enjoy the cool mountainous breezes, listen to the Aspen trees singing as the wind gently blows and dirty a few ice cubes for you. Wish you were here to enjoy this little bit of Paradise on Earth with us.
XOXO, Pcasso

Photos from Broken Bow

At last ... here they are!!!

Broken Bow and Other Destinations

The past few days have been very busy. We traveled to Oklahoma so some of the men in the family could go fly fishing. It was a fruitful trip. Ian and Franklin learned how to fly fish (Boompa has been fly fishing for years), so now it has turned into a family affair. Ian's guide said that he fished like an 18 year old. He was amazed that it was his first time on hte stream. He's a real natural and looked great in all his gear. Guess all those years "fishing" in our swimming pool paid off ;-)
Beth and I stayed home and played card games while Connor played his electronic game which is his favorite thing to do. He's not much of an outdoor person, so he stayed on the couch most of the time playing games that I can't even comprehend and watching cartoons.
They boys went swimming at a swimming hole, visited a museum which was very interesting and they did a few things with their folks while the old folks rested up. It takes a lot of energy to keep a 7 & 9 year old entertained all the time. Where did the days of jump rope, hop scotch, hide and seek, kick the can, telling ghost stories and those kinds of games go? I always loved to play outside on a summer evening when I was a little girl. My mother had to call me a million times before I would come in. Didn't want to leave the other young people in the neighborhood. It was such fun to have to use your imagination and come up with things to do, but that seems to be a thing of the past now that it's an electronic age. Sad.
One thing from the past did emerge, however. You could see fire flies at night (we called then lightin' bugs when I was little) and the boys loved that. We don't seem to have them in thte city anymore. Probably too much pollution. That's also sad.
We are home for less than 24 hours and we will head for New Mexico and Colorado. That gives me just enough time to secure the house for a month, re-pack, clean the refrigerator, turn everything off and get ready to hit the road. I'll be taking my laptop with me, so I won't be completely out of touch.
I've included a photograph of the resort where we'll be staying in Taos for a couple of days before we go on to our condo in Santa Fe. Frank surprised me and booked us into El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa in Taos. It's a wonderful place and we can't wait to get there. You can check it out at http://www.fivestaralliance.com/luxury_hotel/taos%2C_nm/el_monte_sagrado_living_resort_and_spa if you want the whole overview.
You can also see Franklin and Ian fishing in Oklahoma. We had a wonderful time with the family and are looking forward to another short trip together as a family unit in October.
I'll blog again in a few days. Better finish the laundry and packing again. It will be a busy day before we can leave, but we'll have lots of time for R&R when we reach our destinations.
I'll send more photos along the way of the upcoming part of our summer retreat. we have a lot of parties to attend in Santa Fe plus a big pancake breakfast on the Plaza to celebrate the 4th followed by a private party at some friends house that they have every year... about 100 people for a cocktail brunch. A lot of local artists and entertainers will be there so that is always fun.
Have a happy end of June and I'll be back atcha soon :-)
Pcasso

I need to include my other fishermen!

We're off to Broken Bow, Oklahoma for a few days to go fly fishing. Frank has lined up a guide to teach Franklin and Ian how to fly fish so Beth, Connor and I will find something else to do. The boys will be going with us and their folks will come down Friday morning. They needed a little time to themselves. They're such good parents and spend every free moment with the boys, so they really need a grown up break!I understand that the area around there is beautiful.

Broken Bow is in McCurtain County in Southeast Oklahoma. It's the gateway city to Broken Bow Lake, Beavers Bend Resort Park, the Mountain Fork and Glover Rivers and the Ouachita National Forest. It's near the Ozarks and supposed to be beautiful.We're taking enough food to stay for a month even though we will only be there a few days. Lots of games, fishing gear and my camera, so I will get some good shots of my sportsmen :-) I'm sure that Chef Connor will fix us something wonderful to snack on while we're there, so we'll have a wonderful family time together.

Today is Paco's birthday, so we'll all celebrate it in Oklahoma on Friday, hopefully with a fish fry. (Paco is what we call our son. It's better than Baby Franklin ;-)

Let's pray the the boys are all as lucky on this trip as Papa was on his last fishing trip on the San Juan River in Northern New Mexico.I will not have my computer with me, so I won't be blogging for a day or two. Hopefully I'll have lots of good things to report next week.Have a great rest of the week and try to keep cool and dry! Pcasso

Father's Day with Harry and Bailey

Yesterday was Father's Day and we had a great evening at our son's house. His little wife cooked dinner for all of us. Her Dad and his wife were there and we really enjoyed the evening. They had just returned from a Cursillo weekend, so we shared lots of wonderful stories and memories about when we were very active in the movement for nearly 30 years.

For those of you who are not familiar with Cursillo, it is a ministry that originated in the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in Majorca, Spain by a group of laymen in 1944, while they were refining a technique to train pilgrimage leaders. It has since been adapted by numerous other Christian faiths, some of them retaining the name "cursillo" while others have given the program a different name. The word "cursillo" means "short course" in Spanish.
The cursillo method focuses on training lay people to become effective leaders over the course of a three-day weekend. The weekend includes fifteen talks, some given by priests and some by lay people. One emphasis of the weekend is on preparing those undergoing it to take the movement's methods back into the world, on what they call the "fourth day".

My husband and I made our Cursillo in 1986 and it was truly a life changing experience for us. We remained active in the movement until just a few years ago, volunteering 2 days a week at the Episcopal Center for Renewal for nearly 10 years and then becoming Ministry Consultants with thet Anglican Institute and traveling all over the world for 2 years with Bishop Michael Marshall of London, England. It was a very blessed time in our lives. We had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people and are still in touch with a lot of them on a regular basis.

Now, back to yesterday. I DO tend to wander. I call it half-haimer's (not quite all just yet ;-)

We all had a wonderful visit, a lovely dinner after a few cocktails, and were able to toast our son for getting a raise at his company for a job well done. We're so proud of him!

The wildest part of the night was when the two Pomapoo brothers (Harry and Bailey) kept running around the house chasing each other. It was the first time I had seen them together and they're really a mess ... a cute mess, but a mess. The photograph included with this post is of all the Dads on their special day and the "brothers". Harry belongs to our son and Bailey belongs to Beth's Dad. Hope that your day was as great as mine was. There's nothing better than being with family. The only sad thing was that Tiger lost the U.S. Open. Guess it was time for someone else to have a turn.

Pcasso

Wedding Bells Long Long Ago

I have included photographs of my Grandmother as well as me and my Daddy in this post. I neglected to mention earlier the fact that today would be my maternal Grandparent's wedding anniversary. They were married on June 17, 1896, which was one hundred and eleven years ago! When my Grandmother was quite elderly, she gave me her wedding ring which was engraved with that date inside. It was at that time she told me that it had been her father's wedding ring and had been sized down for her to wear when she married my Grandfather. I would have never know that if she had not been reminiscing about their wonderful life that day. That made the ring 26 years older, so the ring is now one hundred and thirty nine years old. It's a lovely little gold band with the inscription inside. It is very special to me and I have it among my many family treasures. I plan to pass it along someday to my Granddaughter.

For those of you who are old enough to remember, there used to be street photographers in downtown Fort Worth. The shot of me and my Father was taken as we were going to meet my Mother for lunch. I didn't have a lot of hair as a little girl, so my Mother kept bonnets on me all the time and said that it was to protect my skin but I think that she wanted to make sure that no one thought I was a little boy!

It's time to get out the palette and start to work. Church is over and I have some time before lunch to at least get colors blocked in on the canvas. Have good Sunday and a Happy Father's Day!

Patti Picasso

Pcasso's Pages

I have said all along that I did not want to become a "Blogger", that I didn't have any interest let alone the extra time, but I hate being left out, so here goes!

My name is Patricia and I'm an artist. I paint with a group of 10 other Texas ladies and we call ourselves Canvas by Canvas. We do collaborative painting, but we also have our own original artwork.

I am also a professional photographer, so I incorporate a lot of my photographs into my paintings. There's no place I'd rather be than at home in Texas unless it's in Santa Fe where we spend our summers. We are blessed to have the best of both worlds! You can go to our website http://www.canvasbycanvas.com/ and see some of our work.

Today is Father's Day and I am told that it's a day where Dad's get to do anything that they want to do. It's a rainy day in Texas, and since it's the final round of the U.S. Open, my husband will be watching golf all afternoon and I will be painting. As you can see, we will both be doing what we love to do, so everyone comes out a winner!

I am looking forward to posting things from time to time and hope that you will add your comments on my page. The painting that I have included in this post is entitled "Earth Angel" and I have painted her in Santa Fe folk art style. I felt that this was the appropriate painting to include today since it's Sunday and a day of prayer. She's a Guardian Angel and I hope that she is looking over all the Fathers today as it is their special day of recognition. I'm sure that she is with my father who is now in heaven and enjoy her company.

Patti Picasso