Letting go.....

I've given it my all, this year..........

and have come to the conclusion 

it's time to let it go........

Wishing you a Spirited Holiday Season

and a

Magical 

New Year......

12 - 12 - 12

Weeks gone by....meaning to post pics of the result of the boil up frenzy....

but NO TIME for that....

Holiday Markets and 'do's to attend.....running back and forth making special little gifts.....

and

COOKIES.....

(over 600 of them)

 Then

My tradition of returning for Birthday Cake in my old home town....
celebrating birthdays same as mine for three little ones
all before Christmas.....

I'm spun up with the season and look forward to returning to my centered place before the New Year's bells ring.

In the mean time I'll take a moment and reflect on......

12 - 12 - 12

seems like a good day to take a deep breath

and

 focus

on

 Balance

ox

The Result............

Of a....

Pent Up.....

Boil Up......

A walk on the ditch.........

The North Valley of Albuquerque has a network of ditches that at one time irrigated the farmlands north of town........

these ditches pull water off the Rio Grande......and leave the river dry in the summer some miles south of the city.  

The Cottonwood lined 'ditch-ways' now create avenues for walking and running and riding horses........

and are a special feature if you live near one. 

This day I took a walk......to find the lone walnut tree I discovered last year........bags in hand......

in anticipation of a large haul.........

.......I was disappointed to find someone else had the same idea......

.....so I picked the old nuggets overlooked and left to dry from the year before.......

and took solace 

that I beat them to it last year!

Goldilocks........

I've been looking...

High

and

Low

for a new place to be.

To fill you in, I recently gave myself a 'gap' year.

That is normally the significant year after ending one school before entering another......and although mine did not correlate with formal 'schooling'.....but a significant change in life circumstance....

a 'timeout' seemed appropriate.

A friend or two suggested mine could be as long as I wanted.....gap 'YEARS'.....they suggested might be in order.

And that may be true, as this time in the high desert punctuated with many trips, 

is growing into a gap 'Year and a Half' come December.....

 actually more if you start from the beginning of this blog story...

In July of 2011 I took the leap.......put all my 'stuff' in storage in Michigan.......and drove to a dusty little  town in the middle of New Mexico........to rest........and drink in sunshine and heat.......and the deep sense of history and Spirit that permeates this landscape.  

The biggest struggle I have encountered is this concept of 'where' do I belong?  I've been spending a lot of time between the little town and the bigger one more than an hour's + drive away.  I have not put roots down in the little town as I had expected.  

So with the winds of winter.......I'm expecting to be blown in another direction. 

When one is not laden with their 'stuff' (OK, belongings)......

I suppose one can more easily move around.

(although my bags are getting heavier, as I'm prone to collecting things along the way)

One of the biggest challenges I've encountered is with the way I work.  I am process oriented ....and unlike some of my friends who seem to be able to work on the 'go'.......I need a place to sit.....a table and lots of supplies and tools to busy my hands.   And although I have been able to find a place to sit in my little casita.......and the shared 'shed' I call my studio......I feel like Goldilocks.......the place has been too hot, or too cold.......or too small.......and I have not found anything yet that is 

"JUST RIGHT"........

But now I am looking...........and for the months of November and December........I have decided to land here.......it is a bit far from my little town........but I am working out the logistics......

and for now.....

it seems......

JUST RIGHT

Wabi Sabi and dusty roads...........

One thing's for sure.........New Mexico is laced with long dusty roads........forgiving the east west I-40 sister to Route 66....and the North South I 40......and the divine I 65 that got me to Memphis this summer.....but once off those interstates.......it is wide open nothingness........tiny towns, many deserted....leave ghostly memories behind.....

This is the place where pickup trucks are left to bask in sun far beyond their usefulness...and adobe buildings are left to crumble like sand castles on the beach. This creates a beauty very similar to traditional Japanese esthetics.....influenced by the Shinto religion.....the awareness of nature and Buddhism....the belief that all things are considered to be either evolving from, or dissolving into nothingness......Wabi......transient and stark beauty......and Sabi......the beauty of natural patina and aging.

The Hermitary has a nice reflection titled Wabi and Sabi: the Aesthetics of Solitide HERE........

Counting Sheep.........

I had a dreamy time this past weekend....

 I drove back up to to visit the

 and met up with

 my delightful sisters of the cauldron...

Lori

and

Michelle

and there we ate delicious food....

  discovered this wonderful new place....

 sipped tea

stitched to our heart's content

and filled our Selves with the beautiful energy of this land and each other....

(and went back to gather more than a few bags full!...)

 I was so blessed to be in 

the high country of New Mexico 

to witness the first firey elements of autumn.

The Cottonwoods like to gather by the Rio Grande

and the pockets of trees look like firepots along the banks.

Those and the bright sunny yellow of Chamisa (Rabbitbrush or Rabbit Bush) along the roadside

lit my path home....

enjoy this sweet little video by Tookie Blue Eyes on the Rabbitbush

and I love THIS.... inspiring post by Robyn Gorden over at 'Art Propelled'

I'm yearning to get back into my studio for more silent chatter from my Spiritual Crowd...

San Diego.....

Usually when some one invites me to 'come with' my answer is a resounding 'Yes!'........and last weekend, my 'Yes' brought me to San Diego...........

Where we visited.....the amazing and beautiful

Balboa Park

The site of two world fairs on land set aside in 1868 has set the stage for an amazing grouping of museums and parkland

and at the sprawling San Diego campus of the University of California.....UCSD

we viewed example after example of monolithic architecture.... buildings made of poured concrete

and mirrored glass......

anchored in groves of eucalyptus

and enjoyed wonderful California cuisine......

and beautiful sunsets over Pacific Beach and La Jolla Cove

but my favorite was the tour we took of this place

The Salk Institute, in La Jolla

Where I learned of the ideas behind this timeless archtecture ........

a melding of the ideas of two brilliant men......Dr. Jonas Salk, famous for his polio vaccine and existential architect Louis Kahn........

Their vision and working relationship, bound together with their mutual Spiritual understanding and practice formed the breathtaking beauty we see here today........

one of the premier scientific research facilities in the world....

New Mexico perfect............

It seems like it took me moments to plan...........

this week long journey of ours, my dear friend and I....

 as I have travelled these roads many times before, with friends and alone......

We drove north from Albuquerque, our first stop......

Tesuque Village Market,  just north of Santa Fe, for Sunday lunch.......

fire grilled shrimp over a New Mexican mix of greens and beans!

and another at the Tesuque Flea Market

 for treasures she won't stop talking about for some time to come....

Then we ventured on to

Taos

and the Mable Dodge Luhan House..........now her favorite place to be
(and mine)

The next day was spent touring around Taos.......with a visit to

the Taos Pueblo

That night,

dinner at the Love Apple was divine.......

surpassed only by.....

our breakfasts at the Mabel Dodge......

And sad as were were to leave Taos......

The next day treated us to lunch

 in the sweet little village of Arroyo Seco

.....and on we drove to the Gorge Bridge

with breathtaking views of the Rio Grande from the desert plane high above............

where I found out more than one friend of mine is a little scared of heights....

and we made our way down the windy gravel road heading south to Pilar from there..........

and took the high road to Chimayo where we spent the night.........

The next morning we

made a quick stop at the amazing weaving studio...

Centinela Traditional Arts

to see their incredible collection of award winning tapestries and rugs....

then we moved on to visit

 the Santuario in Chimayo.......a place of pilgrimage

and drove to Santa Fe.......enjoying the breathtaking views from the High Road.....

stopping for photo ops along the way...

We arrived in Santa Fe late in the afternoon......in time to visit the New Mexico History Museum to see the story of the making of the St. John's Bible, Illuminating the Word........and a photo exhibit of Sacred Places in New Mexico.......along with a moment in the meditation room there..........we dashed into the Patina Gallery........and enjoyed a swift visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum.   

Then we walked to

   for a glass of wine on the sunlit patio.......and arrived just in time to secure those seats for a delicious dinner.    

We decided to have even more 'big girl' fun and booked a room at the exquisite and monastic

Hotel St. Francis....

And in the morning, we had breakfast at the Burro Alley Cafe.......a lovely French Bakery.......took a stroll.......and then made our way to the Museum of International Folk Art, home of the amazing Alexander Girard Collection, which includes my favorite wall of talismen and tokens from around the world..........

We eventually tore ourselves loose from the hold that Santa Fe had on us

and drove to the little town, in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico, where I live.......to spend a day visiting with my friends.....the amazing women there....who make their own way......

build their homes......share their wisdom.....and dreams......

and finally on the sixth day of our journey.......we made our way back to Albuquerque, where it all began......

to visit Old Town.........

and enjoy a ride up to Sandia Peak........

on a gondola.... for dinner....

to watch the sunset.....

and reflect...........

on all of this.......

and much much more