Camping Behind the Shop

ME AND THE CAT, 

CAMPING BEHIND THE SHOP

I've been out having a life, but not blogging about it, for going on about a year now.  I came back from my Thailand trip with a bad case of thyroid disease, and never did have the energy to write it up with all the gorgeous pictures.  I replaced my 1985 Toyota Dolphin with a 1984 20-foot Lazy Daze mini-motorhome, "Brownie".  I've been on an epic RV trip up the Great River Road with my partner Steve, and I flew to visit my daughter in Seattle where I frugally camped rather than pay high hotel prices.  Boy, I've got some stories!  But they'll have to wait.  I'm going to tell you about today.

I'm trying to resume aspects of my life that fell by the wayside when fatigue set in so badly a year or so ago.  I have been able to maintain most aspects of my nomadic life.  Most months, I open my art gallery in Truth or Consequences for about four days during and surrounding our Second Saturday Art Hop, a citywide event (on both streets!).  When I don't have Sun Gallery open, I'm out looking for inventory, painting, or traveling. But I haven't had the energy for "extra" commitments, such as blogging.  I'm hoping that is over.

Sunset at Texas Canyon, a rest stop along I-10 in Cochise County, Arizona, where I spent a night on the way back to TorC

I just got back from a visit to our primitive campground in Why, Arizona, and now I'm keeping the gallery open for six weekends in a row to capitalize on the holiday shopping and high tourism season.  I drove in from Deming, my last stop on the way back to TorC, on Tuesday morning, had a coffee party in Brownie with a couple of dear friends, and then went into the gallery to work for a while.  

In the afternoon when I was ready to leave, Brownie didn't start!  I called Steve, and we ruled out the battery, because the headlights and various other lights work.  After a little research, we realized it has to be the ignition switch or starter or possibly the alternator.  So, Brownie needs a tow to my mechanic.  

Because I'm working all weekend at the gallery, I decided to put off the tow until Tuesday, the day my mechanic has time to deal with my rig.  So, in the meantime, I'm camped in downtown TorC.  

I was upset by being stuck here for a little while, because I'd envisioned camping at this bend in the Rio Grande that's a free Bureau of Reclamation site:

Instead, my view is this (which improves during weekday hours when the honey bucket trucks are out working):

So it goes.  I was kind of upset for a little while, but I got over it pretty quickly once I'd walked over to the Pelican Spa for a soak in the hot springs and then eaten a big bowl of green chili at Latitude 33.  Downtown living ain't bad, I remembered.  My gallery is actually just a few doors down from the apartment where Sonja, Steve and I once spent a winter, so this is all really familiar.  The cat is fearless about hanging out in the parking lot back here, so I have to watch her carefully.

I'm prepared for the possibility that Brownie might have to be at the mechanic's shop overnight.  If necessary, I can stay in the gallery.  More dear friends are coming to my rescue, lending me an inflatable bed and a dorm size fridge.  I already have small kitchen appliances to make it possible to make coffee and do a little cooking.  It's so funny--I remember the adjustments I had to make when I learned how to "do without" electricity and city water, and now I have to make adjustments in my life to go back to living with these things.   
 
I've kept the gallery open.  It's not profitable, but it almost pays for itself and it's a heck of a lot of fun.  During my recent time in Arizona, I made a couple of paintings, and this one has already sold:

You Are the Star, acrylic, 20 x 20 in.

And now for the gratuitous cat picture, so I can be draw this entry to a close:

Sonja Begonia, age 10, with 25,000+ miles of RVing on her

Six Months in the Southwest

  In front of Sun Gallery, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

My last blog post was in August, when I had just returned from a four-month West Coast solo RV trip.  I commented at the end that I was going to return to my routine, but couldn't remember what that was anymore .

Sometimes it's good not to remember an old story and to start a new one.  That's basically what I've been up to lately.

  Intuition Is My Compass, Mixed-Media on Canvas, 12 x 12 in.

I spent a few weeks just getting reacquainted with Truth or Consequences...hanging out in coffee shops, seeing friends, spending lots of time with Steve.  I also started making some new friends, since I'm now old enough to eat lunch and participate in other activities at the Senior Center.

 Jeff, John, Beverly and Joel enjoying lunch at the Senior Center

 
Something that has come up in my thinking many times over the years since I started spending time in TorC is the possibility of having my own art studio, art gallery, book store, antique store, or any combination thereof.  I began exploring this possibility in my talks with friends.

Desert Eden Mandala, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in.

About mid-September, I decided not to partner up with anyone and to start my own folk art and antiques gallery.  The vision I've had for this type of business for many years has been to be open only part-time.  I've seen this model work in small towns where business isn't heavy enough to justify being open full-time.  TorC has a Second Saturday Art Hop, and I decided to have my new Sun Gallery open each month during the Art Hop weekend.

 Front window of Sun Gallery

 
I found a workable commercial space in the very busiest part of downtown TorC.  I'm in a block that is a beehive of small businesses, one of the hoppingest places in town.  After renting the space, I worked very hard to get it filled up.  I picked up my paintings, sculpture, mixed-media work, etc.,  from other galleries in town except RioBravoFineArt where I will continue to show my work.   

One of dozens of carloads of antiques that I have found for the gallery

 
I also bought many, many antiques in travels to Las Cruces, where I have a great working relationship with a woman who rebuilds, refinishes and even repurposes old furniture.  I also got to buy some great primitives from a local pecan farm where an old house was cleared out. Besides Las Cruces, I've had some fun shopping excursions throughout the Southwest this fall and winter.  

 Me on flute, Gina on djembe, Rich on keyboards, Bob on drums and Mario on guitar at one of our Second Saturday Art Hop openings at Sun Gallery

I opened the gallery in October and have worked pretty hard at it throughout the fall.  I was open for the Art Hop weekend in October, then headed to Arizona to do some antique buying and camping.  Most of November and December, I was open each weekend so I could garner the holiday sales.  Then it was back to just one weekend per month in January.

 A series of four large acrylic paintings about the Elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) that I painted after returning from my 2015 travels

 
This schedule is great.  It allows me to travel and make art in between gallery openings.  After my January opening, I had a full four weeks off before the upcoming February opening!  So I've been able to spend a nice long time relaxing at our place in Why, Arizona. 

 Local arts critic James Durham's first review of my new gallery

Just yesterday, I returned to Why from a quick buying trip to Palm Springs!  There is no better place for thrift store shopping than the Coachella Valley.  Driving along Highway 111, the loop through all of those connected desert resort towns, I was able to hit about 20 thrift shops in two days.  There were probably another 10 that I could have shopped if I'd had the stamina.  

 Desert Hot Springs wind farm

 
I had hoped to include some sightseeing in my Palm Springs trip--maybe a couple of nights up at Joshua Tree National Park or a side trip along the Salton Sea to Yuma on my way home--but we got the big winds this past weekend that hit the entire Southwest.  With 25 to 35 mph winds with gusts up to hurricane speeds, it wasn't a good time to drive my little Dolphin on I-10.  So I holed up for a few nights at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, which has a nice big lot for free RV parking.  

 The heavy winds that kept me sitting in one place for several days

 
Yesterday on my way back to Why, I stopped in Quartzsite to lunch with some of my Solo Wild-Women RVer sisters.  And today it's great to be back here in the quiet Senoran Desert!  I have a few days to relax, then it's back to TorC for the February Art Hop weekend opening.  I have a few new paintings to exhibit in February that I painted here in Arizona this past month, and I've also been able to start doing some mosaic again now that I have space to work in and a nifty new compound tile nipper that doesn't make my arthritic hands hurt. 

 Back to doing mosaic after a few years' abstinence

 
I'll be going back and forth between our New Mexico and Arizona camps for the next few months.  Then I have some big travel plans for the spring (New York City!) and summer (RVing up the Mississippi to the Midwest).  Stay tuned!  I'll try not to get too busy to blog.

For those interested in visiting my gallery, please visit my Sun Gallery Facebook page.
     

An interior view of Sun Gallery

 

Art Show, Art Show, Art Show--Geshundheit!

 

 My "Fantasy Road Sign" Series (plus a few mandalas)

hung at the Remix show at Grapes Gallery

I get busy when I stay in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  

Steve and I returned here early last month to try to sell my old Toyota Dolphin, the Guppy.  For the first couple of weeks, I agonized about putting it on Craigslist and talking to a bunch of strangers and risking getting scammed.  

Then someone on my women's RVing online group said, "Hey, nobody's posted lately; what is everybody up to?"  So I replied that I was about to try to sell my old rig.  And it turned out that one of our RV wannabe members had been looking for something like the Guppy!  

Kate makes guaranteed crap-free soaps, lip balms, salves, bath salts, etc., in Pennsylvania.  She sells in stores and at various fairs and events.  Having an RV will expand Kate's opportunities and will definitely suit her business model.  Did I tell you that her business is called The Vagabond Tabby?  She'll be out West later this month for an event in Colorado, so she'll swing down to get the Guppy first.  

Kate was concerned about not having quite enough money to buy my rig, but then she mentioned that she'd be selling her Saturn wagon.  Oh, my!  Just the sort of car I was thinking about, to tow behind my Class A, the Beluga.  So we made a deal that should work well for both of us.  She'll leave the Saturn with me, and drive off in the Guppy.  I have no idea how we do the paperwork on that sort of transaction, but we have time to figure that out.

 Grapes Gallery on Main Street in TorC

Another great reason for coming back to TorC was that I was invited to continue showing artwork at Grapes Gallery for another two months.  We're having a "Remix" show.  I took down a bunch of pieces that I'd hung there in May, and put up my new Fantasy Road Sign series that I'd painted while we were staying in northern Arizona.  This series has been very well-received and three of the pieces were sold before the show even started!  Wow!  I've had requests that I make cards and T-shirts from these paintings, and I will. 

 

 The most recent Fantasy Road Sign painting.  "Icy Conditions May Exist."

If you look closely at the mountain, you'll see that other things may exist, too.

July's Second Saturday Art Hop was super duper fun.  I spent time at Grapes, of course, because that's where my artwork was hanging.  People wanted to talk to me about my work while they looked at it.  I also visited a couple of other galleries and it looks like I'll have a couple of solo shows coming up in Spring and Fall of 2014. 

 Here's what our local theater looked like on Art Hop night.

I went to see "The Lone Ranger" the following night and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Critics are stupid.

I already had one solo show scheduled for November at the Happy Belly Deli.  I'm working on a new series of mixed media pieces, all done on various types of serving trays.  The theme of my show is women and food.  Women are nurturers who provide nourishment for others in so many ways, and women also have lots of issues with food.  So I have many ideas for paintings and collages.  My first piece is called "Make Peace with Food," shown below.

My friend Janice and I are also going to be coordinating a group show at the Happy Belly Deli for December.  It's an annual Postcard Show, and a Call to Artists will be going out for 4x6 inch pieces in any media, priced at no more than $50.  

Make Peace with Food  

Mixed media on 11-inch tin tray

Yesterday, I had a craving for a bagel, so Steve and I went to the Happy Belly Deli in the morning.  I admired their newly repainted blank walls and asked Miranda, the owner, what artwork was going up next.  She said she didn't have an August artist, and Art Hop is coming up this Saturday.  So I volunteered to do another show.  Fortunately I have about 16 pieces ready to hang.  They are "Mostly Mandalas," which seems like a great name for a solo show.  

 

 My friend Janice in her new red car

Art isn't the only thing that keeps me busy when I'm here in Truth or Consequences.  I've also been listing a lot of scarves on eBay and taking some antiques to January's to sell on consignment.  I'm subbing for January in her shops when she needs a few hours off here and there.  And my social life is always busy here.  I get to have coffee at Passion Pie Cafe with my friend Janice at least once a week, and sometimes we get together to play Scrabble or to share a meal or run errands or whatever. 

 

 My friend Jia, one of the co-owners of the glorious

Passion Pie Cafe

 

 My friend Virginia, who invited me over for coffee

and to meet her new puppy Gus.

Ruby Sue is on the right.

Virginia is in school to be a dog trainer.

Look how well her dogs behave!

We are still staying at the Artesian Bath House and Trailer Court, and it looks like I'll be here through early December, although Steve will probably leave for his place in Why, Arizona, in September.  I'll join him there for some part of the winter, when I'll take a break from showing artwork for a few months.  (Here, anyway--I plan to participate in "The Red Show" in Ajo, Arizona, in February.)  We had a site here at the Artesian that was close to the bath house, but we just moved to a larger site on the perimeter of the property which feels more peaceful.

   

 A view of Turtleback Mountain, taken from the Artesian,

on one of our rainy July monsoon nights

Since we're back at the Artesian, where I have lived off and on for over two years, I'm letting Sonja go back outside.  She was an indoor cat for almost two months while we traveled in Arizona, and she did okay with that, but needed much more interaction with us than she does when she can go outside.  Needy kitty!  Now she goes outside and has adventures.  

 Obligatory cat picture.  What is a blog without them?

Older and Wiser, and Having More Fun All the Time

Grand Canyon, 16 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas, SOLD

A few days ago, I celebrated my 58th birthday here in Pinetop, Arizona.  We are not towing a vehicle this summer, so we decided to go out to eat lunch someplace that was on the Lakeside-Pinetop bus route.  

We'd noticed an Asian buffet, but we really couldn't tell what it was like from the outside.  So we took a chance, and I'm so glad we did!  Sakura Buffet turned out to be very, very good.  Everything was fresh and delicious, including the sushi, which was much better than typical buffet sushi.  The restaurant was much larger than I would have guessed from the outside, and it was clean and tastefully decorated.  It was also reasonably priced, so we won't be waiting until another birthday or other special celebration to return.  If you get to the Show Low area, I'd say it's worth the drive down to Lakeside to eat at Sakura.

We have about another week-and-a-half here at Blue Ridge Motel & Cabins.  We can't extend our stay because they're fully booked for the rest of the summer, but we're also ready to move on, anyway.  I'm craving a little travel, new scenery, and a larger campsite.  So I've looked into a couple of RV parks that are part of the Passport America program, and we'll probably head to Clay Springs (about 30 miles away) next for about a week, and then on to Overgaard (another 15 miles) for another week.  We are definitely on the s-l-o-o-o-w tour of the White Mountains this summer, and I'm glad there are so many places to stay up here where it's cool (highs of about 90 degrees, while lowland parts of Arizona are hitting 115+ degrees this weekend!).    

For those who aren't members, I'd definitely recommend Passport America.  It is a 50% off campground membership program that costs about $50 per year.  So, if you use it for just a few nights, it's been worth the yearly fee.  Every campground has its own rules about PA rates.  They usually limit the number of nights you can get half-off, and they also often limit what time of the year or what days of the week as well.  But, if you take the time to look at the fine print and plan accordingly, you can get some pretty good deals.  

Fortunately, after a career as a law librarian, I'm a planner and researcher.  I spent a couple of hours online yesterday figuring out why these two Passport America parks would work best for me.  Since I sell on eBay and we don't have a car with us, staying within bicycling distance of a Post Office is important.  Also, because I use Verizon as my Internet access, I like to know how good the signal is going to be.  Post Office locations can be found pretty readily on the U.S. Postal Service website under the "Manage Your Mail" tab.  And yesterday I found out how to locate cell phone towers, too.  I'm glad I figured this stuff out, because it eliminated several campgrounds I'd been considering going to next.  

I'm working on a couple of things as we finish our stay here in Pinetop.  First, I'm lowering some of my eBay prices.  A few months ago, I bought 1000 vintage scarves from a person who used to be known as "THE Scarf Lady" on eBay.  She used to list her scarves at very high prices and she had a lot of success.  However, it's been a few years since she did much eBay selling, and people just aren't buying stuff like they used to.  After buying her inventory, I initially tried pushing my prices up to the maximum of what I might expect to receive, but the result has been fewer sales.  So I'm going back to the kinds of prices I used to charge, and hopefully that means I'll get a lot more sales.  This has meant spending hours reworking existing eBay listings, but I think it's going to be worthwhile. 

Second, I'm working on my series of road sign fantasy paintings, which I'll be sending to Grapes Gallery in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in time for July's Second Saturday Art Hop.  I'm having a lot of fun making these paintings, and so far the response to them has been very positive.  I've already sold two of the paintings before even getting them to the gallery, just from sharing them on my FaceBook page. 

Deer Crossing, 16 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas

The older I get, the more comfortable I am with just creating artwork that springs from my mind, without having to edit myself or worry about how the work will be received.  The more fun I have making the work, the more my joy of life is reflected in my paintings, and the more people like them.  I currently have enough ideas to make art for years to come, and I'm just going to keep doing it.  

Today I'm looking forward to the possible arrival of my friend Roxanne, who will be passing through this area on her way to visit family.  Can't wait to see her!

Goodbye, Guppie!...A Month at the Artesian Bath-House.

Yesterday I took the Guppy, my 1982 Toyota Dolphin, to a local used car lot.  I was glad to find someone else to sell it for me, because I have a lot of emotional attachment to my old rig, and it would be difficult for me to deal with strangers who'd give me lowball offers.  I've had so many adventures with the Guppy!  I'm sad to say goodbye, but also glad to be moving on to a larger rig that suits my needs better today. 

Steve and I have been living in the Beluga, my 1991Holiday Rambler Class A motorhome, since he brought it over to Truth or Consequences from his winter camp in Arizona around April 20th.  We're parked at the Artesian Bath-House & Trailer Park in downtown TorC.  I've stayed here four times in the past couple of years--it's my go-to place whenever I'm in transition.  It's inexpensive ($130 per month plus electricity), very close to everything, and RV guests get half-price soaking in the mineral waters.  

The Artesian is crowded, however, and I'm looking forward to getting out of town in a little over a week.  We're going to take the Beluga out to Elephant Butte for a little shake-down trip before we hit the road for the summer.  We'll spend a few days along the Rio Grande with no electrical or water hookups, seeing what life is like in this rig when we're using battery power and water from the holding tank.  We have a generator and a small solar panel. The rig is set up for solar and apparently used to have a bank of solar panels on top which were removed at some point.  We'll probably replace those and get several more "house batteries" in a year or so, when I have the rig paid off.   

In the meantime, we've been figuring out a lot about the rig while staying here in town.  Everything seems to be working well--stove, oven, fridge, freezer, shower, furnace, air conditioning, etc.  It truly is like having a small one-bedroom apartment on wheels.  I've been able to function very well in this space, having room to do artwork, sell on eBay, and even entertain a little bit. 

Of course, when we're not hooked up to electricity, we'll have to "rough it" a little--no a/c, for instance, unless we use the generator.  But that's why we'll be heading further north and to higher elevations for the summer, so we can stay places that are naturally cool. 

I've also been figuring out where to stow everything.  Even with lots of "basement storage" under the living space, I've had to make some hard choices.  I gave away all of my mosaic supplies and tools.  I decided that, much as I enjoy it, mosaic isn't going to fit into my life anymore.  Now I'm doing other art media that use some of the same processes of taking apart and putting back together again--collage, mixed media, fabric art, etc.  

 An unstretched canvas by Ruth

Speaking of art, I was pleased to find wall space in the new rig for the work of local artists that I've collected.  I've hung paintings and posters by Stacy Jo Harms, Ed Moss, James Gasowski, Roy Lohr, Ruth, and Delmas Howe.   

Also speaking of art, tonight is the last TorC Second Saturday Art Hop that I'll be around for, at least for a few months.  I have paintings at Grapes Gallery and later today I'll be bringing some new drawings up to January's Gallery.  

So, we're doing well in our new space. Sonja seems to be enjoying the Beluga very much.  Boy, is she going to be surprised when we start up the engine and she realizes she's once again on an RV adventure!!!

 P.S.  Steve says hi:

Manifesting

Busking--my way of manifesting a small cheese pizza

My neighbor Janice, who would probably prefer not to be photographed or discussed in my blog, works nights at the spa where I work two days a week. Sometimes when I'm taking over the reservation desk from her in the morning, there are no lodgers expected that day, so Janice's next night shift might be curtailed and she might make less money.

On those days, she leaves saying, "Manifest me some guests, Sue."

I'm, like, "Um, okay, will do."

I don't really know how to manifest lodgers, but apparently I must be doing something right, because every night by the time Janice returns to work, we have overnight guests. I wonder if I can take credit for this, or whether the guests come because it's getting cooler and they're more interested in staying at a spa where they can soak in the hot springs than they were during the middle of summer.

Well, anyway, this regular request from my friend and coworker has gotten me thinking a lot about manifesting. I've read The Secret and other stuff of that sort, and it seems to me that there's just one element that may be missing from the concept that you can get what you want simply by imagining having it while coming from a good place: work. But maybe that's just me.

Saturday night was the Art Hop here in Truth or Consequences (apparently our town is too small to have a full-fledged Art Walk), and I decided to manifest a pizza.

Not having complete confidence in my ability to do this simply by creating my own reality, I took my flute and music stand and some baroque music that I used to play in college back when my flute chops were awesome, and busked on a street corner for a couple of hours. I manifested enough money for a small personal sized pizza, but I gotta tell you, I busted my chops to do it.

I am pretty sure that if I learn (or actually re-learn) some jazz and pop tunes from my former incarnation as a semi-professional flutist, I will manifest more money. "California Dreamin'" will probably manifest an extra large, and "Baby Elephant Walk" will manifest extra toppings. Of course, it will take me quite a few hours of practice to manifest this much pizza.

I may sound pretty skeptical about manifestation, but really I'm not altogether a doubter. I have had some pretty incredible things happen to me since I came here to TorC. The very day that I needed an apartment because I was feeling overcrowded in my small motorhome, I went for a walk and happened upon a friend who had an apartment available. And the day I moved into the apartment, Janice told me about the part-time job that I've held ever since. I did absolutely nothing to have these goodies come my way, except to realize that at some point I was going to need a larger place to live and a job to pay my rent.

Now, a few months later, my needs are changing, so I'm thinking a lot about manifesting. For one thing, the person who I replaced at the spa may be returning, and our original understanding was that she'd have the job back if she came back to town. This is really up to the spa owner to decide, but I'm inclined to bow out and let the old employee come back and have the job, which has been more difficult for me than I expected due to the knee problems that arose right about the same time that I started working there.

I think the work, which involves walking around showing people to their rooms and giving them tours and instructions on use of the bath house, as well as some light housekeeping, is slowing my recovery from surgery. I do a lot better on the days that I don't work, and after working a day, it takes me a few days at home to get back on track--by which time I have to return to work again.

Of course, I do "work" on the days that I'm not at the job. I get vintage clothing ready to sell on eBay...photograph items and write up auction listings...pack stuff that's sold and get it to the Post Office...shop for new inventory at the thrift store, rummage sales, yard sales, etc...smash plates and nip them into tiles...clean and paint items that I can mosaic...glue tiles onto the forms and later grout them...take finished works to the gallery for sale...ad infinitum. But when I'm working at home rather than at the spa, I can pace myself and I tend not to hurt nearly as much.

A $3 yard sale shelf in the process of being manifested into a $50 shelf

I'm more actively making art than I was when I first got to town, and I would really like more time to pursue this. Can I manifest all I need from doing artwork? I consulted a local Tarot card reader on Sunday (she manifested $15 from me), and she assures me that it's all clear sailing, with no need for a job. According to Rebecca, my artwork will take care of all of my needs, and the only thing that might hold me back is my doubts that are based my dark cloudy past. Let go of my worries, and I will manifest abundance.

She also confirmed that I'm on the right track in my partnership with Steve, with whom I'm planning to travel to Arizona for at least part of this winter, where my living expenses will be vastly less than here in TorC, because I'll stay at his place. We're also contemplating sharing rent for whatever time we remain here in New Mexico this year and in the foreseeable future.

Chiles are almost certain to manifest abundance in New Mexico...or at least a twenty

So, for right now, I'm feeling very open to the idea of just selling my artwork and antiques at January's Gallery and continuing to sell vintage clothing on eBay. Whatever happens with the job, so be it. I have been well cared for by a loving God no matter what questionable ideas I've gotten into my head over the years. I'll keep doing my daily morning routine of asking for guidance and see what manifests.

Sonja (in laundry basket) daily manifests kibble, water and canned cat food, merely by being my cat...or is it mind control???!!

Daytripping

4-Wheelin' in Style in Des's Geo Trekker

When I last posted here, I was getting a little concerned about my slothfulness. The initial novelty of living in Truth or Consequences seemed to be wearing off, since I'd seen most of the town, and I was getting into the habit of taking a daily siesta and not getting much accomplished. But that is so last week!

My Zephyr

A day or two after my last post, I ran into my friend Phil at the thrift shop. He's the guy I used to live next door to at the RV park and he's a great bicycle mechanic whenever he doesn't have any beer money. He showed me a nice old 1980s Zephyr Boardwalk cruiser that had just been donated and said he could fix it up for me. Better yet, he would teach me how to fix it myself. It's my favorite color of green and now that it has newer tires and new tubes, it zooms along great in one speed--mine.

Later in the week, I met a new friend, Sam Ace, who is a poet. Friday night, I got to go out to eat at Groovy Grits, a new restaurant in town, with Sam and his wife Amrit, and my friends Des and Kelly, who have a sort of grandpa-granddaughter friendship that is very sweet. I had wanted to check out this cafe, but had been told it was pricey. Not so! I had a terrific Sante Fe Red Chili Cheeseburger with outstanding sweet potato fries and a bottomless tumbler of iced tea for about 10 bucks. The conversation was great, and we were well entertained by a singer-guitarist who looked familiar, and when we chatted I found out it was because he works at the local grocery store. I've forgotten his name, but the next time I shop I will reintroduce myself.

Saturday night was the monthly Art Hop here in TorC, and now that I've lived here a month, I actually knew some of the people involved in the events. James Gosowski had a great exhibit by local artists called "So Gay" and I really enjoyed hanging out there with his friends for a while. Then I had to hightail it over to Rio Bravo Art Gallery to hear Sam's reading from his latest book of poetry, "Stealth." Unfortunately I have no photos from that evening or from Friday night, because I was just having too darned much fun to stop and take any snaps.

Wild desert gourds that look like baby watermelons

Sunday, however, was a big picture-taking day. Kelly picked me up and we rendezvoused with Des and his neighbor Chris, my friends Roz and Dick, and Des's friends Barb and Gabe, and all drove out to Box Canyon near Monticello, New Mexico, for a wild day of four-wheeling. We had two vehicles, which was good, because the folks in the second one were all rockhounds and stopped more often than we trailblazers in Des's Trekker. It was an amazing day unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

Driving down the middle of the stream

The road through the canyon area is crossed at least 50 times by a shallow but quick-moving stream, and there were many times when we drove right down the stream bed itself. We went through a wide variety of environments--desert, oases, open range, homesteads, gentle hills, rocky little mountains--and we saw all sorts of vegetation, birds, deer, elk and even scimitar oryxes, a specialized breed of North African antelope that was introduced into New Mexico game ranches and that has since gone wild here, which is pretty cool considering they are now extinct in Africa.

Kelly kissing a horse, even though she just met him and doesn't even know his name

The conversations in the Trekker and the lunch break were also fun. Everybody shared great stories, and we pondered what it would be like to live way out there where some of the ranches are. This area is also where Geronimo is said to have hidden out prior to his capture in Arizona in 1886. We also wondered about what that stream must be like during the monsoons that hit New Mexico around this time of year. We did see a 10-foot water gauge one place along the creek.

Roz, scanning the rocks for the petroglyphs that we never did find

I also got to learn a little bit about photography from Chris, who is a very accomplished photographer. He suggests that I get a polarizing lens for my camera to help me get better desert colors, which seem to all blend together in my pics.

Chris, looking happy and relaxed at the end of our drive

We had a very full day and all went home exhausted in the late afternoon. I really missed my siesta! I'm so used to taking a midday break that I'm wondering how I'll cope once I start my job at the spa next week. I guess I'll have to bring iced coffee with me on my work days.

Today's eBay and Mosaic Fodder

I missed my siesta again today. I drove the Guppy 70 miles down to Las Cruces to apply for a replacement Social Security card so I can get my New Mexico drivers license. It is a joy to drive my eBay RV now that it no longer contains everything I own! With the art supplies, vintage fabrics, sewing machine, sheet music, etc., all removed, the Guppy drives much more easily. While I was in Cruces, I visited a couple of thrift stores (of course!) and got some great eBay inventory, including cowboy boots, cowboy shirts, African fabrics, and a bunch of Vera scarves. I also stopped at Lowes and bought grout and some great clearance-priced glass tiles for my mosaic work. I came home feeling very inspired, just as a monsoon started, which was a very refreshing break from our 100 degree temps. It's cool tonight and it should be very good sleeping. The thunder and lightening scares Sonja, who prefers to nap in the shade on a hot day, but there will be plenty more of those.