WHO SAYS IT COSTS ALOT FOR TOYS THESE DAYS?

So I write myself on the creativity of my Grandchildren and how they (like me) can find alot of fun uses out of not much. My Grandaughter found a roll of blue tape and instantly she decided to create a mask and some fun! Guess what she is getting for Christmas?

Her Mother may want to remember this photo when she gets in high school. Haha.

NEW MEXICO HAS FOLK ART EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK AND ANGELA'S FUNERAL WAS TODAY

So, I did not buy a Day of the Dead purse although maybe I should have. I love the hats the girls wear and the happy memories that people show when they design these. It is hard for us Americans who are not used to thinking of skeletons as a happy reminder of those loved ones who have gone before us. I "get it" now.

Above was just one of the lovely cupboards in the casita Molly and I stayed at wonderful stained glass and there were other there as well.

This large painting was in the lovely dining room at the bed and breakfast we stayed at. I thought it was lovely for color and action and composition too.

I have always loved these folk art Hispanic cowboys that are carved. Very fun.

I have never liked snakes but adore chickens. Here you see a nice mix of both and with the beautiful colors, I think I wouldn't mind a snake but then I didn't buy one so I can say that. And this is the first time I have ever seen a Navaho lime green chicken. :0)

How would you like a wall in your home covered with these?

I love anything of any culture that shows the love of a Mother and a child. I thought this was quite beautiful.

This sculture is HUGE and it stands out side the Museums in Sante Fe. It is so much more wonderful in person. This is called Musuem Hill and it has wonderful exibits in two or three different Museums. Georgia O'Keefe's Museum (downtown location) is there as well.

They had wonderful metal work of the Sante Fe Trail. I thought this cowboy looked handsome and the horse was wonderful!

Molly decided to ride along with the boys. I thought this was great fun!

This was outside the Indian Museum in Sante Fe. I didn't see anything even close to this when I got inside.

I am not sure why-maybe because my Dad took us to Rodeos every summer and because we often went to the Calgary Stampede but I adore anything with a cowboy and a horse on it.

A sunset scene....wow, I never get over the color God provides to our eyes at the end of the day.

Look at this color! As the sun went down, the buildings turn a gray color and the sun throws this beautiful red/orange color on the building to remind you it is still here a little bit and what beauty it provides.

So, today while everyone else was shopping my Husband and I attended the funeral of my daughter's best friend (since 3rd grade). There were alot of tears shed by alot of people and everyone who wanted to had a nice chance to share what they wanted to about knwoing Angela. I was very proud of my daughter who got up and shared memories including hours listening to Debby Gibson songs when they were young. This lovely photo shows Ange 2nd from the left when she had a break from the hospital and my daughter to the right of her as well as their other good friends. This has impacted my children greatly to see that at 31 it can be over and they all have said they want to let people know more that they love them and not to leave anything undone with family or friends and to let people know you care. Hope you already knew that lesson of life. Count your many blessings and remember that people are our greatest treasure, NOT stuff.

CRASH! BOOM,BOOM!! BANG!!!! (loudly)

So when one is on the road everyday is an adventure and one never knows what they will face. Molly and I rented a darling little casita when I finished teaching so we could look at art and such in Sante fe and Albuquerque. One night I was reading in the living room and Molly said she was going to the desk to plug in her computer and read her emails. It took about two minutes for the loudest crash I have ever heard! I thought the wall caved in (no kidding). I said "are you ok?" And she said, the desk fell totally apart while I tried to plug in my computer. I can around and saw the bottom of the desk on the floor and it had NO nails and NO screws and it was holding up tons of weight. Luckily there was no child there or they would have been killed.

The pot above was resting on the desk and luckily it did not get broken. Here Molly has a relieved look as I take a photo for memories sake. Shhesh! It was a great room but......

Cute buildings and grounds!

WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING BLESSES ME

Here I am with my three children last night at a benefit for my daughter's best friend (the daughter next to me). It was a good chance to get a photo of us. My husband was at work and couldn't attend with all of us.

Ange Ayers (age 31) went to school with my daughter and spent alot of weekends here for sleepovers. They were good friends for many years and Ange was adorable with a quick sunny smile and beautiful blue eyes. She thought she had a hernia and later on found out it was cervical cancer. Last week she passed away. The good news is that my daughter and Ange's closest friends all had a good chance to say "goodbye" and the night before she passed, four of the girls knelt at her bedside and told her they loved her and then they talked about old times, old boyfriends, old adventures etc. Ange listened and smiled and commented horsley from time to time.

Ange had two children and no insurance so the girls called all of the friends they graduated with and got donations and had a large hotel get in on giving them a free room for a silent auction. The hotel offered another room with 80's music and said they would give 50 cents for every drink and a part of the food intake also. They had all kinds of wonderful things to bid on including quilts and hundreds of people came. It all started with a few friends.

I am thankful that out of sadness comes goodness and there will be alot of money set aside for her children's education. What a gift. And before she passed away she said she was happy that "she" could bring so many people together and she did.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for YOU, for my many blessings, my family, my dear friends, my church, my house, heat, food in my refridgerator, health of me and my family and friends, the smell of the air, the snow in my yard that is fun to play with, plenty of fabric and art supplies, a car that runs and so many other things.

Thank you for coming to my blog. It takes time for me to do this and it is because you come and read and see the color and quilts and things that I do this. I do appreciate you and hope that you have many things to give thanks for.

HAVE A WONDERFUL, HAPPY, DELICIOUS AND THANKFUL THANKSGIVING!

Beautiful New Mexico has captured my imagination!

In case you cannot figure out what this is, it is a curled up horse painted on a table. There are two of them and I think they are fabulous! So many ideas, such beautiful use of color!

Who could live in New Mexico and not believe in God? He is everywhere-the light is fabulous!

Can you guess what these pencils represent? Ask Anthropolie and scroll to the next photo.

Below was out all time favorite place to eat and hang out in Sante Fe. Stay tuned either here or on my newsletter as I plan to give you the recipe for the best pancakes in the world. Keep reading.

The pancakes below are ricotta, LEMON, poppyseed and they are the best pancakes I have ever ever eaten. Sign up for my newsletter here on the right and keep reading this blog, I am posting the recipe on one of these places soon.

Here is Molly chowing down on pancakes and a breakfast burrito...I am running back to the table to eat, hence the fuzzy photo.

The other half of my breakfast....yum!

Great sculptures are everywhere! I love the folksyness of this one!

It is surprising that all of that fabulous color comes from people who live here in adobe houses...almost no color. :0) It is quiet and peaceful here in a wonderful way.

here is more of the Mural I took the photo of....there are lots of murals in NM but this was by far my favorite. Kind of a story like my quilts. No wonder I love it!

Here is another table from Harry's Roadhouse Diner. Neat stuff to see and eat!

Molly loved this cow so I took a photo of it. Perhaps she makes you smile too!

This wonderful candle holder was in the first house we rented. Pretty wonderful in color and design also. Wouldn't this be wonderful on a quilt?

Here is Molly and I waiting for a dinner table at Harry's Roadhouse again. We didn't want to try anywhere we might not like. Everyone at Harry's was so nice and the food was good so we kept going back. :0)

The above sculpture was in Albuquerque. I thought it was cool

This bunny standing on his hand was at the same place in NM. I thought this was clever and it made us all smile.

If you have not ever visited New Mexico, please do, as the people are lovely, the colors are sensational, the quilts ideas are endless, and there is inspiration everywhere you look!

New Mexico-Land of Enchantment, COLOR, peppers, and surprises!

The roses above are a carving on a sign in New Mexico. I had the chance to go and visit this lovely state for the past two weeks (almost). The color, beauty of the stars, sort of magic of the area is like nothing I have ever seen....escept maybe Sedona. There is kind of a silence in the area and a draw to beauty and to art and to color and to imagination. It is quite something and NO wonder so many artists move there. I didn't realize how much time one needs to see all of the lovely things awaiting.

I walked from my hotel over to a restaurant and ordered a quesidilla and some extra guacamole and chips. I didn't need to worry about gaining weight because I took a chip and filled it with a big scoop of Guacamole and it was the hottest thing I have ever eaten!!!! Yow! I didn't eat the dinner, it was simply too hot. But I did have alot of green chili soup and other things that were a bit hot and delish! By the way, I will be posting some delicious recipes on my newsletter this coming week and also during the Christmas season. If you are not signed up check on the right column and sign up for them. They are unique and delicious!

My Father always talked about the light in New Mexico and he said for an artist there was almost nothing better (Provence had some of the same type of light places).

Look at this one photo and the sun going down and all of the colors from the top of the photo down to the bottom. Brilliant!!! Think of something like this for a quilt! Oir painting!

Here I am with my three friends from Albuquerque. We had a lovely lunch after my lecture and then shopping. Note the deer behind us at Anthropologie-one of my favorite places!

Clouds are magic in New Mexico and his painting captured clouds in a lovely way.

Bright colors are everywhere and paint colors capture so much. Aren't these fabulous???

Above are the ladies that took my "Hoity Toity Houses" class. There are truly going to be some first prize winners in this group. Their work was excellent and they had fabulous ideas.

Holly is holding up her Grandpa which I wish you could see! Stay tuned for photos down the road of ribbon winners-I am NOT kidding. These girls "GOT IT!" They were lots of fun too! This was in fabulous Sante Fe.

Many people bought my new book "Out of the Box" and immediately loved Hoochy Mama blocks and all of the things one could do with them. I had 20 fun and fast sewing gals in my class in Albuquerque. Loved the color combinations- they aren't afraid of color there!

Below is the class in Los Alamos. I have a handout with loads of images for a Christmas wreath. I added more to my packet and soon we will be offering it (for next year.)

I finally asked my friend Nancy Nelson to refine and get my new patterns ready to sell in the New year. For you girls who want Cowboy Dan, she is doing that also.

Above we are standing with my sample. I have a larger sample and now I want to do a Southwestern sample too! What fun and you can personalize them too!

Here is Brook's quilt all ready to be sewn. With embellishments and dodads, it will be super fun.

I have an idea for a chicken wreath I am drawing up too. It should be a hit for chicken lovers and people who love country French!

I had to take a photo of lovely Mary Ann and her purse. She makes all kinds of things like purses and hair dodads and other fun things. Her story quilt (Hoity Toity Houses) is going to be fabulous-it is all Southwest inspired. Hope she sends us a photo to share here!

One can't help but be inspired by the Indian art everywhere. Lovely and original.

I have always loved still life's with fruit. Probably because my Dad did such wonderful work with these. Aren't these colors lovely????

I took the photo below at a hotel we stayed at. This was outside a building and I like the simpleness and the beauty of the whole thing.

As most of you know, I love and collect folk art. I thought these racoons were wonderful!

Stay tuned, now that I am back, I have loads of cool things to share and some funny stories too!