Grateful End of Year Thoughts 2020

2020 will be remembered as the year of the first global pandemic in our lifetimes, and 102 years since the last pandemic which Michael's Grandfather experienced as a young physician. This has been a year to try to forget in some ways, but there are always valuable life lessons to be gained. I have learned to be extremely grateful for my continuing good health, my adequate financial situation, and for my comfortable home. I always feel grateful for my good fortune, but this year it is especially poignant to think these thoughts of gratitude.

Reading over my past several year's end of year thoughts, I discovered that we did achieve one of our life goals. In fact, the pandemic probably led us to make a decision quicker and more forcefully than we might have otherwise. This was the desire to purchase a camping vehicle as our aging bodies do not sleep as well in a tent as in past years. So in May when it was obvious that our annual summer residence in Canada was not going to be possible, we began searching harder for a camping van. We had a fairly low budget and desired to find something in the state of New Mexico if possible so we would not have to travel far to view due to Covid19. We found an option in Santa Fe, one in Taos and one in Silver City, New Mexico. The one in Silver City was our choice. It is a Canadian made class B Pleasure-Way that is now 21 years old and has over 100,000 miles, but it was meticulously maintained and everything worked when we bought it which was very nice. We have enjoyed overnight stays in our local National Forest, State Parks, and one longer trip just over the border into Colorado in Pagosa Springs when the pandemic seemed to be getting under control somewhat in August. We call her Wilma the Van.

The day we made our van purchase! We bought it from a wonderful couple in Silver City and they took this photo right after we handed them the check!

Michael lost all his income from workshop teaching which had been a primary source of income for 15 years, but he got a contract to write a book in the next year so that was a great development. Also, all my family members and friends have gotten through their unrelated hospital stays without getting sick from Covid19 which was a relief. Ironically, this was the year that 3 of 4 of our parent's had to be hospitalized for the first time in my memory and the 4th parent was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but she is in the very, very early stages and is 89 so it is not as much of a tragedy as it could be.

Fresh Beets at the Santa Fe Market! I thought the colors were very appropriate for the Winter Holidays.

Taos Bridge Kaleidoscope

Happy Holidays to All and let us hope that 2021 brings the beginning of the end of the Covid19 pandemic.

Grateful End of Year Thoughts 2019

As I begin my seventh decade of life, I reflect more on the positive things happening in my life right now. Michael and I have all our parents still alive and living independently and with only some of the indignities of extreme age.  We look forward to some more travel in the years ahead as we begin our retirement or refocussing as Michael has termed it.  We hope to buy an old van to do more western travels and for Michael to use as a paintmobile or mobile outdoor studio this year.  In the meantime we enjoy our twice annual Sedona plein air painting workshops, Lubec area plein are painting workshops and other special workshops and events which involve travel around the US and the larger world!

 We are very settled in our Ramah, New Mexico home and look forward to more summers on Campobello Island, New Brunswick with my parents where I continue to learn about organic gardening from my farm raised father. 

The only sadness this year was learning our young rescue dog Raku has a lifelong eye condition which might lead to blindness.  In the meantime we administer eye drops twice per day for her pannus and hope to keep blindness at bay for many years. 

Happy Holidays and have a great 2020 to all who reads this blog.

Grateful End of Year Thoughts

Michael and I had a very busy year which was very happy with the exception of losing our best friend Saba after 17 years on April 10th.  Michael and I are still in the depths of our grief for her, but are rebuilding our habits in our new home in Ramah, NM and also printing out some of the over 1500 photographs of her life we documented which were all happy times!  There are several feral cats living on our property which I am now feeding so I am not entirely without "pets".  We have a pact, I feed them, and they keep the mice and pack rats away!

I have taken lots of photos this year, but done far fewer kaleidoscopes and seem to be moving back into quilting and incorporating cold wax medium into paintings along with photographs.  Michael and I are experimenting together in his studio which is great fun.  Come visit us at the new location of Pumphouse Studio Gallery or take a workshop with Michael through his new Paint the Southwest mentorship program or a regular workshop.

We just got back from Santa Fe where we saw several interesting artists work.  It was an interesting trip as I fell and passed out right at the end of Canyon Road on some loose gravel.  I was paying too much attention to the art and not enough to the ground.  After warning my 87 year old dad to be careful not to fall when walking, he had some advice for me!

Michael and I had memorable trips to Zion and Capitol Reef National Parks and Chiricahua National Monument.  We also paid Tucson and Sedona a visit in the Fall while Michael taught workshops.  I did not get to Bear's Ears National Monument which I had hoped to before it was reduced in size and scope.  We also had a wonderful week in the early fall in Nova Scotia and, of course, a nice Spring of 2017 in Sedona, Arizona before the move in April and a wonderful summer in Lubec, Maine and Campobello Island, NB.

We feel grateful that all of our parents are alive and quite healthy for their ages as they enter and surpass the beginning of their 9th decades.  They are our models for dealing with the aches and pains of being an elder.  Both our dads stubbornly do a lot of gardening despite balance and strength issues, while our mothers drive and do the household chores and even volunteer at various non profits.  We hope we are so lucky, but we do both have some good old age genes going back centuries.  I am still going quite a bit of genealogy and learning much about the world's history in the process.

Happy Holiday Season to All

Spring in New Mexico and Living out of a Suitcase

Left Arizona Saturday and will be living out of a suitcase for more than 4 weeks. It's fine with me, I like to see new things, especially natural areas in the southwest.  Many of the old ranches have been subdivided into large lots with significant common lands for the common people like Galisteo Basin Preserve near Santa Fe and Timberlake Ranch near Ramah, NM.  We have seen lots of afternoon wind and billowing cloud formations and even a few sprinkles of rain. We have a particular fondness for El Morro National Monument and El Malpais National Monument.  Tomorrow we will visit Pecos National Historic Park.  We hope to see the Randall Davey Home on Friday afternoon at the Audubon Center.  Below are a few recent kaleidoscopes of our travels in New Mexico.  Enjoy!

 New Mexico Clouds

Muddy Water in Ramah Lake

rocks over Ramah Lake

spring has sprung

the stock tank

the photographer

Timberlake Cliffs

feral kitty