Warning: Travelogue
Desert not-so-solitaire: I would love to dazzle y'all with brilliant descriptions of northern New Mexico, but I can't seem to rouse the descriptive muscle this morning. Better to read Willa Cather, Edward Abbey, John Nichols or Barbara Kingsolver for verbal portraits of the Southwest. Even better, go. New Mexico is magic. And, if you're like me and I know a bunch of you are, it will keep you up at night plotting the design of your adobe dream home.
The gist: Mom, the 'Phews and I set off for Taos Friday a.m. and even before pulling into the Kachina Lodge that afternoon we hit Lalana Wools. Knowing the preadolescent male mind, Mom and I suspected (and rightly so) that Clint and Sam would have limited bandwidth for yarn shopping, so we decided to dispatch the yarn shopping straight away before the boys spied the hotel pool. Of course I immediately asked the fellow manning the cash register if Julia Roberts ever pops in (she does and he's seen her). Many new designs were on display--Valentina Devine has whipped up a gorgeous poncho and indeed ponchos were everywhere, lending truth to the statement, ponchos are the new scarf. There was a stunning felted bag with intarsia chilies running up the wide shoulder strap, totally cool and not at all kitschy. A sweet new summer cami. And this uber-chunky wacky handspun called Wild Thing. Alas Lalana's web site is dated, so few pictures are available. Plus, Lalana's yarn is so expensive--many yarns run $9-$10 an ounce--Julia Roberts is one of the few who can afford it.
To placate the boys, we hit the souvenir shops. Want to make an 11-year-old male happy? Get him a whoppy cushion. We didn't. But it would have made him happy.
The next day, we went to Chimayo--there's a legend there about the healing powers of the earth--and people make pilgrimmages from all over to take Chimayo earth away with them. There's serene chapel on the site, built in 1816. We took the High Road back, mainly because I wanted to visit two of my all-time favorite artists--Paula Castillo and Terry Mulert who operate the Castillo Gallery in Cordova. Cordova is the home of the traditional wood carvers, who for centuries have used local woods to carve stylized images of the saints--santos. Terry trained with older carvers and continues to carve in that tradition, but he has also developed his own contemporary-style wood carvings using the old techniques. And Paula, she works in oil and metal and is just amazing.
On Sunday, we went to the Taos Pueblo, which the kids loved. More than 1,000 years old, the Pueblo provides a view into the past; about 100 people still live there with no running water or electricity. Our tour guide, a lovely young woman raised in the pueblo, explained that many young people contemplate returning full time because of the site's peace and beauty.
Enough said. Want a snapshot? Here's me with the younger Petrovski generation. All together now....ahhhhh, aren't they cute?
Click me, I get bigger!
7:33:46 AM 
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