Web Love

Thank you to all my web friends imaginary and real for leading me along the path to New Places, New Voices that have got me swirling in that dizzydancing way:

Suzi Blu - I love your teaching, your video Church, love your Muse, et al!

Mary Stanley's fuzzy sweater critters - sooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!

Alisa Burke - Everything, but most especially Nov. 16, "You Haven't Lived as an Artist..." READ!

somuchtoSee, somuchtoINSPIRE!

but there are checkbookstobalance, paperstograde...

All I really want to think about are the yoyos to sew, collages to cut and canvasses to paint...

*sigh...* this life calls to me..........

Giving thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday at Stacy's house - cozy, relaxed, and FUN! Such a treat to see all the cousins together, really enjoying each other's company.

Stacy, Summer, and Katia above. Cloe and Katia below. So may beautiful kids!

We hadn't been able to get together for birthdays since early June, so it was a great big celebration for half the clan: Stacy (from July), Emily and Shawna (from September), Katia, Bryan, Willow, and Don (all from November)! Willow was the only one who celebrated on her actual birthdate!

My girls both had milestone birthdays this year: Emily is 18 and voted for the first time in this election year, and Willow is now Sweet 16. Yikes - it's hard to believe they're so grown up!

On the web today I came across gratitude journals, thanks to Stephanie, Elizabeth, and Christine, who tells you what it's all about. Such a good idea! So today I am grateful for:

My girls

My family for getting together to celebrate life!

Peggy for everything she's done to turn my life around

The gift of joy I have received this year

Wonderful friends old and new!

My fuzzy critters who keep me calm and warm

This beautiful planet God gave us to live upon

Happy Thanksgiving!

Soldering!

As mentioned, I finally took a soldering class this month after hungering to take one for six months! Although I worried about being tired after traveling back from New Mexico, I took this class the next day, and I'm so glad I went for it! It was held at the DIY Lounge at collage. Our wonderful teacher was glass artist Jennifer Wells. The first six photos are pieces that I made in the class. (The beads on the pieces that have them were added at home.) Above is a collage I made of Willow. Many of these were SoulCollage cards I made that I shrunk down at Kinko's to fit the glass squares.

Frida collage on the front, partial map of Mexico on the back.

My goddess pendant: La Virgen de Guadalupe on one side, Gaia on the other.

The Warrior and Tranquility.

I was so excited to learn how to solder that I bought a whole soldering kit that night! I finally had the time to play with it a couple of days ago, and made this bracelet for my sister-in-law Shawna's birthday.

Her name collaged on one side, faces on the other.

Big time fun! I can't wait to do more!

Beautiful fall day today - perfect for finally getting outside to get the garden ready for winter (oh rats! I'm a lazy gardener!)

Now it's time to catch up on the big goings-on in my life lately. Last week I had the good fortune to be sent to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a Dual Language Education conference. I met some wonderful people among the presenters and other teachers in attendance, like José-Luis Orozco, pictured here - beloved singer of children's songs, and a very funny guy!

But definitely for me the highlights were the concert that the conference threw for us and Santa Fé itself.

New Mexico is one of those places where I can imagine myself living some day, both for its artsiness and its earthiness. I adore adobe architecture - its organic quality and the way the terra cotta color glows in that desert landscape. Santa Fe is the quintessential adobe city. The streets downtown are narrow, making you feel you have traveled back in time to the days of travel by horse and wagon, but the shops and galleries are very chic and up-to-the-minute. I wanted so badly to spend much more time there! I was so mad at myself for forgetting my camera in the car the afternoon we walked around town - by the time I realized it we were too far for me to ask everyone to wait while I ran back to fetch it. But here's a great website where someone smart posted their gorgeous Santa Fe photos. I guess I'll just have to go back someday so I can take my own [good] photos! But in the meantime, here's a few that I did snap the day/evening before:

CUTE ladder and fancy folded towels in our hotel room.

Oh, BAD PHOTO of adobe, but I loved that big sky.

Sunset from the our hotel room balcony.

We stayed at The Lodge at Santa Fe, a lovely accomodation.

Gorgeous sky colors.

I can understand why Georgia O'Keefe chose to live in New Mexico.

And now for the concert! Here's Karen M. and yours truly boogie-ing to the groove of...

wait for it........

YEAH! They would be Los Lobos! Can you believe the conference organizers booked them for us?! And as conference attendees we got to go to the concert for free! ¡Guau! They were awesome, of course, and we danced the night away. Best part of all, on the last number they let a few dancers up on stage - Karen M. and I ran up and danced right by the lead singer during La Bamba! (Karen H. took a photo of us on her cell phone, which I have not received yet - sorry!) I can't believe I did this, but SOOOOOOOOO glad I did - what a thrill!

Now, from Nuevo México to Viejo México -
This is totally unrelated to the conference, in fact the event happened back in September, but I never got around to posting the images. It just seems somewhat appropriate to put this together.

My friends Blanca, Santa, and Andreina are in Danza Azteca, a dance group dedicated to the traditional dances of the Aztec people. What incredible costumes and headdresses, ¿qué no? And you should see the dances!!! You have to be quite the athlete to master the deep knee bends!

El jaguar was the leader of many of the dances.

La Calaca: Amazing costume! And I was told this dancer was also the creator of all the feather headdresses.

Gorgeous plumage! (My friend Andreina is dancing behind the woman in the foreground.)

Danza Azteca: Blanca in white, center front; Santa in white directly behind Blanca; Andreina kneeling on the far left. An amazing group! I feel priveleged to have been invited to see them perform.

Next post: I have finally learned how to solder!

uff! sometimes i get so bogged down in this boggybloggy world, so lost in the colors and shapes and dreams and creations anddriftyromanticthoughtsofstrangers... i spiral into a surreal haze enveloped into their lives as if i actually knew them and sharedsomething with them (some of whom i found by clicking on a favorite movie that we have in common: amelie - maybe that's the telling piece... )

am
i
dipping my fingers into the barrel of lentils?

high
on
the vibration of greennexttored?


carelessly

idling

in the moment?)


do myimaginaryfriends have livesmoreinterestingthanmyown?

or shall i awaken and create my own dreamworld?

Autumnal Change

The wetlands return to their more natural state, bringing new neighbors... Coyotes howling at 3 a.m. awaken and startle the kitty and me. (No more late night prowls for the kitty boos.)

An early morning walk with Shoobie, gratefully before the big rain. A rainbow appeared in the sky as clouds parted - a symbol of the optimism restored this week. The leaves have changed, it is time for change.

The breezy air carries a flock of leaves

to lay a new carpet, hiding my path.

Come closer

dream in the color and shape, so harmonious

intensity and contrast

revel in a new vision

Happy Days!

Computer was in heavy use for homework yesterday, so I couldn't get on here to say...
WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obama was elected!!! I was overcome with a euphoric sense of optimism.

I was relieved, too, that Bill Sizemore's evil initiatives 58 and 60 were defeated. I had never been so tense about an election. I'm happy it's over, and happy with the results!

¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!

A busier than usual Halloween / Día de los Muertos social calendar this year! Portland had a Día de los Muertos procession on Alberta Street coinciding with Last Thursday in the art galleries. Very fun procession with a giant calavera puppet, accordionists playing a delightful dirge and stilt walkers dressed in eery gossamer white. I definitely want to participate next year in my full regalia!

The next day was Halloween. No school for kids as it was a teacher workday, but I still had to get dressed up. I went minimalist - just every day stuff from the closet to get this Beetlejuice-esque effect. It makes me silly happy to dress up for work - Long live the tradition!

Sorry I don't have any pics of my Goth Angel costume that I wore to Jennifer's birthday party Halloween night - maybe later...

Saturday night I went to a Day of the Dead celebration and that's when I wore the Catrina costume at the top of the post. I won the scariest costume award!

Also for next year: I definitely want to participate in Día de Bloglandia. Thanks to Deirdra for mentioning these blogs to me! I'll probably spend hours looking through all the links...

I'm sad that I didn't finish Grammie's tribute in time, but I will definitely keep working on it and set up an altar next year!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!