BEGINNINGS, BLUE RIBBONS AND TECHNICOLOR MACKENZIE

Two months ago I entered a juried art competition in Dallas at the Park Cities Presbyterian Church. The theme this year was Beginnings.

The art was to based of the book of Genesis. There were 4 themes this year:
Theme One - Beginnings of Creation(Genesis 1:1-2:3)
The seven days when God creates heaven and earth
Theme Two - Beginnings of Man and Woman(Genesis 2:4-25)
God's creation of man and woman, with His plan and purpose for mankind
Theme Three - Temptation and Fall(Genesis 3:1-7)
The origins of temptation and sin that lead to the fall of mankind - Theme Four
Judgment and Hope(Genesis 3:8-24)
The consequences of sin, the separation from God, and the subsequent search for hope

I decided to enter my work in the third theme, The Fall of Mankind.

First of all, the show had a new location! To celebrate their Grand Opening, the Villa Rosa Gables, located in the heart of Uptown at Cole Avenue and Cedar Springs, hosted the PCPC Arts Festival in their lovely new facility.
Second, the show dates were extended! As requested by many of the 2007 PCPC Arts Festival artists, they hosted a three week run of the show, Beginnings.
The Arts Festival was displayed in the Villa Rosa Gables in Dallas, TX, for the DADA (Dallas Art Dealers Association) annual Spring Gallery Walk reception on April 19 and the spring Uptown Dallas Art Walk on April 24. The show was viewed by even more people than the 4,000 who attended last year.
All of this took place while we were in New Mexico, so even though I didn't get to see the actual show, I won a blue ribbon!

The explanation of my painting was this:

Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent. I have used the apple to represent Eve, though the scriptural verbiage was fruit, not an apple, to illustrate that it only takes one rotten apple to ruin the entire bushel. Satan tempted Eve with the fruit, and she, in turn, tempted Adam which was going against the Word of God ... hence the Fall of Mankind.

I have to be perfectly honest, I really don't like this painting all that much. I only chose the subject matter in order to be eligible to enter the competition. No one was more shocked than I was to have won! It goes to show that you never know what the judges are looking for. I also won a lovely coffee table book which I will leave out for all to see. I was both susrprised and pleased.

I am feeling much better today than I have in several weeks, so I decided to paint again. Frank had to run over to Dallas to pick up my winning painting, so he brought my things in from my studio and I painted while he was gone.
If you remember, our friends in Raton have a dog whose name is MacKenzie.




She was named after Spuds MacKenzie, the Bud Light dog in the beer commercial since her markings are so very similar. She has such a colorful personality that I decided to paint her in a very colorful style. I am calling her "Technicolor MacKenzie".




Doing this little painting has really lifted my spirits tremendously and I hope that it will lift yours as well. I have missed being at my easel.
We have decided to try something new and go out for dinner tonight. We'll go to a little place that none of our friends frequent so I can go with my hair looking less than attractive. Since I can't raise one of my arms above my chest for the next 6 weeks, all I can do is wash it with help. At least it's clean! Once the doctor gives me the go ahead, I will hopefully be looking like a normal person again and will get on with my life.
Have a great weekend and once again, thank you so much for your continued prayers. They're working ... I'm healing!!
XOXO, Pcasso

PORTRAITS, OPOSSUMS AND PACEMAKERS

This is quite a journey I've been on. As most of you know, I was taken ill in New Mexico and when we returned to Texas, the doctors discovered that I needed a Pacemaker. Less than a week after we returned I found myself in the hospital and was having this miraculous piece of medical equipment implanted in my chest. It seems that my poor old heart is wearing out, but hopefully this will take care of the problem for a while.

Unfortunately you can see the lump where the pacemaker is, so no more strapless evening gowns for me. I look like I have 3 boobs!

And speaking of boobs, the word for sandals in Spanish is Chanclas. When I was at the Cardiologists and they were getting ready to do an EKG, the nurse who was Hispanic made this comment to me. I was wearing sandals, lying on my back so I couldn't see her face.

Just as I pulled up my top for her to put the little electrical nodes on my chest she made the comment "Nice Chanclas". I said thank you. I thought she was talking about my boobs but she was referring to my shoes. Darn!!! :-)
While I was waiting to find out what was wrong with me, I had a portrait commission that I worked on. Amazingly enough, it turned out very well and my client was very pleased with it. It's a portrait of her father and will be a gift to him for his birthday. My hope is that he will be as pleased with it as she is. I'm so glad that I got it finished before I became too ill to paint!

Hopefully I'll be back at my easel before very long.
The day I came home from the hospital I noticed a squirrel sitting on top of the bird house and he was really fussing at something. All of a sudden this nasty old opossum appeared, so I grabbed my camera for another Kodak Moment.

It came right up to the kitchen window and looked in. They're very scary looking. I hope he's gone forever. Frank thought "it" looked pregnant so I hope our backyard doesn't turn into an opossum nursery!
Our little grandson, Ian, spent last weekend on a farm that belongs to one of his friends.

They had a great time. He spent the weekend driving a tractor, fishing, watching bull riding competition and all the things that you do in the country. He is even the proud owner of a cowboy hat now! It was a real treat for a city boy.

When he returned home he made an announcement to his family that they needed to buy a truck. Fat chance :-)
All of my friends have been so kind to us during this recovery period. They have been bringing flowers and food.

I even received a Bougainvillea Bonsai Tree from California that friends we met when we were on the China trip sent. It was such a surprise.

We're eating so well that Frank and I will have to join Weight Watchers after I recover to take off the extra pounds from all the good food! He really appreciates not having to be Chef Boyardee all the time.

I will continue to post to my blog when I feel up to it. Regardless of what people say, this was not an easy surgery and I'm still very weak and having trouble breathing. I've been told that it has the same effect on your body that by-pass has and it will take a month or longer to get back up to speed. I hate that because I don't sit still very well. In this case however, I don't have much choice.
Please keep in touch. I love hearing from you. It makes the days pass more quickly. I can't drive for 2 weeks and can't lift anything over 5 pounds for 6 weeks, so I guess I'll just have to drink single martinis since they are lighter in weight than the doubles ;-)

When something else develops I'll write again. Until then, thank you for all of your prayers. They have helped us get through a tough situation.
XOXO, Pcasso

BAGLES, BENEDICT AND ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END!

We left Saturday morning for Raton, NM and Bearadise. I had one of my favorite breakfasts, Eggs Benedict,

at a local place called Baglemania. It's off the beaten path and mainly locals eat here. We found out about it last year and the food is delicious, so we make a point of eating there several times when we're in Santa Fe.

We were on the road by 10:00 and on our way to Raton. We decided to stop in Springer, NM, where Frank was born and go by his old homestead. Things have changed so much that we hardly recognized the place.

This is where Frank and his two brothers grew up and where he took me 52 years ago to meet his parents. There are lots of wonderful memories under that roof.

From there we went to the cemetery where his parents and his middle brother, Tommy, are buried.




It's a beautiful spot in the summer when the trees have their leaves. It was a trip down memory lane. We visited and talked about all the old friends and family members who have been laid to rest there. It is the town's history.

Frank's eldest brother, George, was killed in WWII and is buried in France. When we were there about 15 years ago we visited his grave. It was a very special time for Frank as well as for me. I did not have the privilege of knowing George, but through family stories and memories, I feel as though I knew him. He received a Medal of Honor which was cherished by the family.

From there, we drove by the church where we were married 50 years ago. With the exception of several new coats of paint, it still looks the same even though we don't.

We arrived in Raton around 1:30, had lunch, and went to our little casa in the mountains aka Bearadise.

As always, the welcome sign was out, and we unpacked and called Bev and Larry to let them know that we had arrived safely.

As it happened, Larry was in Albuquerque on business and would be back the next day. FYI, here is a little background on Larry. He is a brilliant man and highly respected in his field. He spends a lot of his time working with the government on projects that he cannot speak publicly about. He spends a lot of time overseas, in Russia as well as Washington, DC. Here is a little background on our dear friend.

Larry G. Stolarczyk received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1960 from the University of Colorado, the M.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1965 from the New Mexico State University (NMSU), the Sc.D. degree in electrical engineering and related areas of physics and mathematics in 1970 from New Mexico State University, and the M.I.A. degree in business in 1975 from the Robert O. Anderson Graduate School of Management from the University of New Mexico. He worked from 1960-83 as Chief Scientist and director of Research at A.R.F. Products, Inc. before establishing Stolar, Inc. in 1983. He is co-founder, Vice President of Research, and Chairman of the Board of Stolar, Inc.
Dr. Stolarczyk is a member of IEEE Circuit and Systems Theory Group, Antennas and Propagation Group, and Vehicular Technology Group, Geological Society of America, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute. He has been nominated for the National Technology Medal by the U.S. Bureau of Mines for his contribution to the development of underground radio technology. He has also been nominated for the medal for the development of the radio imaging method for tomography scanning of subsurface geologic structure by NMSU. He received the 1986 National Award for Energy Innovation for Development of the radio imaging method. He was named an outstanding alumnus at the 100-year Anniversary of the NMSU College of Engineering. He is also a member of the Nation Physics Honor Society (Sigma Pi Sigma). He is Vice President and trustee of Raton Public Service Company.

To give you an idea how special he is, here is a photo of him teaching their new dog, McKenzie, how to drink Vodka in case she goes to Russia with him on his next trip.

I neglected to mention early that at Bearadise we have a "Room With a View". There's nothing like living on top of the world! In fact, to quote Barbara Streisand, "On a Clear Day, You can See Forever" :-)

When we first arrived, Beverly said that they had a new pup. I asked what kind and she said. "She's an American Staffordshire Terrier". When I got my first look at her I said. "That dog is a Pit Bull"!

As it worked out, the breed is a relative of the American Pit Bull Terrier. Early Bulldog-Terrier crosses were brought to the US with the British and Irish settlers, especially after the Civil War, where they were mainly used as fighting dogs, but also as hunting dogs and farm and guard dogs. This is good for Bev since they live on top of a mountain and she is alone a great deal of time while Larry travels on business. McKenzie is a sweet dog but would scare you to death if you didn't know her, and that's good.

The next day we took a drive and went by the hospital where our youngest, Franklin was born.

From there we drove by Frank's first office where he started in General Practice in 1958. Talk about lots of old memories! I worked with him for a short while and then we both decided that I would be better off at home being a Mother and homemaker. He practiced out of this office for 7 years and then decided to go back to school and specialize in Orthodontics. It turned out to be a very wise decision.

The next day Frank and Larry decided to go to Cimarron Canyon and fish. They have had so much snow here that it is not safe for them to go to the San Juan and fish as they had planned, so Frank waved goodbye and he and Larry were off to catch and release so big trout!

The next day the weather forecast was not good, so after having lunch, we decided to come on home and hopefully beat the storm.

We made the right choice. We drove as far as Amarillo and spent the night. The first few hours on the road were dreadful as the fog was so thick that you could barely see beyond the front end of the car, but we made it into Texas safe and sound, went to bed early and got an early start the next morning. We were safe and sound in our wonderful home the next day in time to go to lunch and come home and unpack.

As I said in the title of this post. "All good things must come to an end", but I'm looking forward to our next trip to The Land of Enchantment in the late spring. I hope that you have enjoyed traveling with me.

XOXO, Pcasso

PACKING, CHINESE PAINTER, AND THE BLUES

Leaving Santa Fe is always bittersweet for me. We started the day with sweet rolls that Frank bought at The Sage Bakery. This is the sweetness part! The bitter part is having to leave The City Different.

Today will be our last full day here, so after coffee and rolls, Frank took Morrie and Wanda to the Hotel Santa Fe to catch the shuttle to Albuquerque and I started to pack things that would be traveling with us.

After getting our things in order, we decided to go to La Choza for one last enchilada fix. It's owned by the same people that own The Shed and we always like to eat there at least one time while in Santa Fe.

The food is always good and it's not too hard to get seated there as it's off the "main drag". It's really hard to get a bad enchilada in Santa Fe. Some are just a little better than others.

Just before we went to lunch, I called our friend, Young Woo, who is also a painter. He had just returned the day before from one of his other homes which is in California, so we were able to go up to his house for a short visit.

As always, we discussed art, food and travel. If you remember, I met Young about 25 years ago when I was in a photographic workshop in Italy and Egypt and we have remained good friends over the years.

At the time, neither of us had any idea that we would both have places in Santa Fe. Small world! He and Frank are good friends as well, and a trip to Santa Fe would be incomplete without a visit with Young.

He's a very interesting person and has been almost everywhere you can imagine, from Machu Pichu to each and all destinations in Europe. He has homes in Beverly Hills and London as well as Santa Fe and has spent the last 40 years traveling just like we have. We have so much in common and can share our travel adventures as well as our love for cooking. He is an excellent cook and when we are in SF we not only paint together, we cook together as well.

After our visit with him, we went back to the condo and rested up for the events of the evening.

We will be going to the El Dorado Hotel to listen to Alex Maryol one more time.

Our good friends, Ann and Walter joined us. We had a light meal in the bar and listened to the music. We will all be heading back to our Texas homes at approximately the same time.

As always, Alex's music was excellent. Ann and Walter left after the first set, but we stayed a while longer since we knew that there was no telling when we would have the opportunity to hear him play again. I listen to him on my Ipod when I exercise but we don't often get to see him live.

There is a great article on him and other high profile people in the latest issue if the Santa Fean. I quote from that article:

"Singer/songwriter Alex Maryol is as all-American a hometown boy as Santa Fe could have. He's tall, well built, with clear blue eyes set over a wholesome grin.

He's not only hailed as one of the best local guitar players, but also reads poetry and analyzes the lyrics of his favorite songwriters. He is presently working on a degree in music performance at the College of Santa Fe where he will graduate this year."

Having had the opportunity to visit with him at Java Joe's when we arrived last week, I can personally attest to the fact that he's not only a fine musician but a delightful young man .. one of whom any Mother would be proud. It was a great way to end a perfect visit at our home away from home.

Tomorrow we will be leaving this wonderful place and will head North for Raton where we lived when Frank started his Dental practice. I'll write more when we arrive.

XOXO, Pcasso

FAUST, DUCK AND A JAPANESE CHIN

The next three days were very busy ones. We went to the Hotel de Santa Fe to pick up our friends from home, Wanda and Morrie. They had taken the shuttle from Albuquerque and this was the drop off point.

After we picked them up, we immediately headed for The Shed for an enchilada fix. After lunch, we went to our little casita so they could get unpacked and we could discuss plans for their visit.
Our good friends from Dallas, Ann and Walter, had invited us out to their Santa Fe home that evening for wine. They are always such gracious hosts. While Wanda and Ann were getting acquainted,

the boys were discussing what they thought were more important matters, such as golf, fine wine and basketball.

Wanda's best new friend was Lucy, a Japanese Chin, who always comes to Santa Fe with Ann and Walter.

She is the sweetest little dog that you'd ever want to meet. I fell in love with her the first time I met her. If they every find her missing, they'll know where to look!
We had a lovely dinner at Andiamo and were back home around 10:00. Frank built a fire in the fireplace at our condo and we visited a while before we went to bed. I'm sure they were very tired. Traveling always does that to me.

We were up bright and early the next morning. We went to the pastry shop in the La Fonda for breakfast and then went to the Plaza so Wanda and Morrie could shop. They had certain items in mind, so we left them on their own so they could search for Santa Fe treasures (and there are always an abundance of those!) Our first stop of the morning was the Wine Shop in Sena Plaza.

Morrie is a wine connoisseur , so he picked out several bottles of wonderful wine for us to share while they were there. Believe me, when their visit was over, there wasn't a drop left!
While we were still in Sena Plaza, we went to the candy store there. You have never seen as many different elaborate presentations for candy in your life. They were all wonderful and it was really a feast for your eyes as well as your palate!

When I was in Santa Fe a couple of years ago, we were in this same plaza and I decided to go and look in the candy store. I saw a lovely, tall blonde woman with an adorable little girl go inside, so I decided to follow them and see just what the interest was. When I got to the door, this gentleman who was inside opened the door for me and I suddenly realized that I was face to face with Ben Kingsley! He was in the store buying this child a sweet treat.

He is a British actor and is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mohandas Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 film Gandhi, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor.
I have always been a huge fan of his and for once in my life, I was speechless. Suddenly I blurted out, "I saw you on "Inside the Actor's Studio" last week and you were wonderful. It's not often that I'm at a loss for words, but I was then. He graciously thanked me, kissed my hand and left. I thought I was going to faint!
That evening they treated us to dinner at The Compound, which is a very exclusive restaurant on Canyon Road.

Our meal was indescribable! We started with champagne and then had wonderful wines which complimented our meal. I had halibut which was on a bed of mashed potatoes that had to have at least a stick of butter with garlic in the one portion. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Frank had duck that absolutely melted in your mouth!

The Sommelier introduced us to this amazing wine which is made in Napa California at the Faust vineyard. It was a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a very special bottle of wine and had an amazing flavor. It was like drinking silk.

After we finished our meal, we asked the the waiter to take our photograph so I could record this memorable evening. As you can see, we were all very happy and full of delicious food. It was an evening that will be long remembered.

The next day they continued on their shopping trek and we met them for lunch at Santa Cafe. This has always been one of our favorite places to eat in Santa Fe that isn't Mexican food.

We had a very good lunch and then I decided to be really bad and ordered warm double chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a hot chocolate sauce on it. It was to die for!

Being the wine connoisseur that he is, Morrie passed on dessert and drank the rest of his wine. I think perhaps mine was the better choice since I love chocolate :-)

Wanda has a friend who lives in Santa Fe part time and we went to see his house on the Old Santa Fe Trail. It is nestled on several acres and is a lovely place.

This is the view that he has from one of his decks. It was an amazing home.

We had the combination to the gate, so we were able to see the outside of the house and the grounds which were exquisite. I can only imagine what they would look like in the summer when everything is in bloom.

Since the owner was out of town, we didn't get to go inside, but we did manage to sneak a peek through the windows. I'm not called "Nosy Rosie" for nothing!

He also has what I would call an outside home as well. There were many portals which were completely furnished as living rooms and even a kitchen. You could literally live outdoors.

One wonderful thing about Santa Fe is that the weather is such that you can do this. It's much too hot and humid to do this is Texas!
Before they left for Texas, we managed to have two more enchilada fixes. The last night we ate at Maria's where Frank had me birthday party 2 years ago. the food was still as good as it was then and Morrie said that it was the best Mexican food he had ever had. They are famous for their Margaritas, so of course, we had to sample those as well.

All in all, it was the perfect time spent with friends. The accomplished their shopping mission, we visited lots of galleries and looked at fine art, and their last morning, we sat around the fireplace, drank coffee and ate almond croissants. I hope that their visit to Santa Fe was as enjoyable for them as it was for us.
We have one more day in Santa Fe before we leave for Raton. Stay tuned!
XOXO, Pcasso