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July has been a month of non-stop very fun activity.

We started off the month by picking our friend Tri up at the airport. It is always a joy to spend time with him and give him more of the american experience! Tri comes yearly to the Folk Art Market to show and sell his family’s gorgeous shadow puppets. This year he also participated in an exhibition at the Folk Art Museum called the Art of Survival which addressed natural catastrophes around the world and how artists cope, and how their art is impacted by the catastrophe. Very interesting!! I noticed also how well liked Tri is by many other artists and how many great friends he has made through his visits to Santa Fe. He is a fun, kind, and generous man.

Tri’s family is renown in Java as traditional puppet makers, which has been in their family business for generations. Each puppet takes months to be completed out of water buffalo hide – specially treated, and out of the buffalo horn – for the handle. Each puppet is a masterful work of art!

So Tri decided to eat American food this time. He tried salad (He liked it best with a little honey!), ice-cream, nachos, tacos, chocolate, and root beer – which he didn’t like too much. He’s also a great cook, so when he wanted his familiar nasi goreng he could make it himself! And I made him dishes that I hoped were familiar to him like chicken stewed in coconut milk! Now that, really tasted good!

We celebrated Jordan’s 21st birthday with a surprise party. It was a fantastic success with many friends and family traveling from out of state to celebrate. And really was a surprise! Even his grandmother shocked him by coming all the way from Minnesota!!

The Folk Art Market began the second Friday in July and went through Sunday. We as a family all volunteered and had a blast. Jim was an artist’s assistant for Tri, while I worked in a booth with the Bolivian weaver Ique, an Ayoreo woman who still remembers my mom and dad. Prisma and Jordan worked the soda stand.

Two  Cuban artist were able to attend the market. It was fun to connect with them. Because of my Bolivian roots, Cuba and Che have a special appeal for me!

Here is Roberto with Prisma and Jordan. (From Roberto’s camera. Thanks Roberto!!) His images are so colorful and playful!!Roberto left early to see his family in Miami but Cenia was able to come home with us to Taos for 2 days, before she headed home.

It was Cenia’s first visit to the US so it was fun to see our world fresh and new through her eyes. She was excited to bring beautiful things home for everyone, which she picked with great care. We all enjoyed her happy presence.

Here is one of Cenia’s amazingly magical pieces.      And it is still in the USA and available for sale!!

Here is one of Carlos’ images that sold at the market!! Beautiful! He was not able to come to the Folk Art Market this year. Hopefully I will get to meet him in person, next year.

I was able to photograph the artist’s work and make small portfolios for each of them.  I trust these portfolios will support them as they achieve more success as artists.

Somewhere in all this activity, our back acre got ripped apart and a new state of the art (if there really can be such a thing when referring to this!) septic system was installed. The happy news is that we are finally compliant with NM regulation for wells and septics! Yippee!

Here Prisma and her best friend Lindsay work on the plaza selling fresh fruit juice!

We are so aware of Prisma’s departure for WWU in Bellingham, WA, so ever moment seems precious.  It becomes more difficult with each day to even have her out of my sight. Currently we are on a little road trip in Texas. It is the best way to not get all tied up with daily commitments and just have fun together.

That’s it for now. I trust you are all having a fabulous summer!!

This summer seems to have a theme of fires (It does make for amazing sunsets!!). We have been  surrounded by  forest fires since the beginning of June and now the Jemez/ Los Alamos fire is  blowing  our way. I wake up to the strong smell of pinon and ponderosa pine trees burning. Our beautiful blue skies are polluted with a heavy gray wash!

Last week, as we  had a fire to the  east of us, we suddenly had snow on the mountains, between it and Taos. (I believe  that some of our  friends had been out, doing a protective ‘moisture dance’!!) We awoke to mist and  snow, thick on the  mountain tops on June 20th. Something I’ve never seen before in Taos. That  must have really helped  manage the blaze.

In spite of the fires, we are having a spectacular display of flowers, especially the three varieties of      peonies!! And I see that next year we will have yet another new variety!

The red oriental poppies are breeding wildly throughout the garden and blazing their own neon splash of color. New this year, is a trellis  laden with purple clematis and a few white ones on a second trellis, which seem to have appeared  out of thin air. The climbing roses have been trimmed back (thanks Jim!!) and are now blossoming  beautifully – but will the lilacs ever flower?!?

I wake up, thinking every day is Saturday – because Prisma is home. Oh yah, she’s on her summer  vacation! It’s more challenging for me to get my work done when it’s so much more fun to hang out  with her.

The Folk Art Market is around the corner!! Watch out for highlights on individual artists!!

Prisma graduated, and we had a lovely dinner and dance party for her at the Taos Country Club. It was perfect and so much fun!!

Prisma organized the party to highlight the possible gorgeous sunset and we did have it, just as wished for! She wanted the party to be bright and colorful, so we decorated with lots of flowers on the tables – arranged by my sister, and we made about 60 big and very colorful tissue paper flowers, with which we created an arch people walked through, as they arrived.

Max Gomez played the guitar and sang his own compositions – very nice!

We had a Mexican buffet with grilled steak, chicken and all the important side dishes like guacamole and beans. Prisma’s boss, Brian from Freshies, donated gigantic jars of wonderful fresh fruit juices.

I made the cake – for 100 people! Prisma wanted a tiered cake – which I had never done before. Each tier was two layers with a raspberry mousse filling between. The bottom layer – 16″, was made of a chocolate cake. The next layer up – 12″, was vanilla, and the 3rd layer  up was a raspberry cake. The tip-top layer was just for Prisma and had a layer each of chocolate and vanilla with extra raspberry mouse between. Making the cake and putting it all together took 3 days! I couldn’t have done it without many fine friends, Lilia, Dan and Lily, and my awesome sister Barbara!!

The best part about Prisma’s graduation was all the family, who came from far and wide, to celebrate with us! Jim’s daughter Lael and her husband Dan came from all the way from NY. My sister Barbara came from California, and many of Jim’s family came: from California – Joel and Sarah, and from Texas – Sally (Jim’s mom), Tim (Jim’s brother) Jacque, and Taylor.

Sunday morning we had a brunch for our family at our home. Jim cooked omelets while we sat out in on the back  porch and drank mimosas. So, after the big party I actually had some time to play and enjoy all my family, too.

What a great time!!

Sept 10, 1920 – May 13, 2011

My dad made his transition on my birthday. The funeral was yesterday.

Sitting in the Winnipeg airport, I feel a bit lost, at this moment. It will be good to be home with Jim, Prisma and Jordan.

Every time I look at my cell phone now, I am so aware of the photo of him, as I open it. He’s smiling at me and the caption says ” I love you”. The caption is hardly needed. The smile and his direct gaze says it all. In spite of it all, my dad does love me.

Things aren’t always easy between us. I’m not exactly what he had hoped for. I am not male, meek, or easily directed. But worst of all, and the constant unresolvable friction between us is my lack of interest in his religion. I have rallied for spiritual independence as he has tried to impose his authority. When I was a child and in boarding scool, I needed his presence and leadership. In endless ways! Now, in my fifties, it is slightly irritating and saddens me. Will I never be acceptable – just as I am?! Will he never trust me or God, that all is well, and that I am a capable woman?!

My dad, the only one I’ve ever had! I want him to tell me he’s proud of me. I want him to accept me. For me, coming from a generation who wants to hear it spoken, by a generation that rarely did speak of such personal things, and ultimately if they did think about it, imagined it to be an exercise in ego building, I am left with the gift of discovering it for myself.

In the last days of my mother’s life, I was struck with a deep sadness for what she had missed, in my childhood. So busy being a really great and amazing missionary, she totally missed out on my childhood, as I spent endless years away from her, in boarding school. Now I am overcome with the awareness that even as adults, after they retired and came back to North America, they missed out by not getting too involved or asking too many questions about my life. They just couldn’t handle what they would discover if they got too close. The assumption was that whatever I was doing would be so sinful they would have no choice but to be ashamed for me.

Now as I sit in the airport waiting for a flight that will take me to his bedside, those things seem so trivial and unimportant.

I’ve been told that he may not still be alive when I get there.

Aren't they a darling couple!?!

Does it sound like everything is about Prisma these days?!? You bet ya’!! This is her year, her time. And she has truly earned it. I am so proud of you, darling! Congratulations on all your hard work!

Of course, that is Jordan, always next to Prisma. We love you, Jordan!

And here are Prisma and Lindsay with their dates, Andrew and Jordan. Heading for dinner at El Meze.

It is so much fun to play with Prisma. We had a great time in France and the fun continues as we get ready for her graduation, the prom, and choosing that school of higher learning.

Today we took some photos for her announcement and got pretty goofy!

I love you so very much, my darling girl!

Here we are again

Since France I’ve been in Canada for a week and then headed down to Texas to celebrate with Jim’s family. James Avery was having an anniversary dinner. We had a great time. It was so good to see many of his family and get caught up on our lives.

It feels good to be home! Jordan has left for just a week to ski at Mt. Baker, and Jim leaves next week to go to Bali.

Prisma is busy with her final months of high school, prom, and her graduation party! There are scholarships to apply for, and the final decision of where she will go to school in the fall.

That’s it for now!

Wishing you every blessing.

So, here we are at the end of this visit!  

We’ve spent the last few days in Toulouse. Christine and Grace joined us there to do some shopping and visit some monuments and churches. Yesterday we spent most of the day looking for a prom dress for Prisma. 

Then we went out to a tapa bar – not my favorite food. There was a very lively crowd there. By one a.m. many people were dancing up on the tables, singing loudly!!  The girls did some dancing as well and had a great time. 

Tonight we are at the Radisson out by the airport. We got in too late to be able to go into town! So  close and yet so far from Paris!

I will be putting up more photos from France soon.