Day 47 Sam 365 Project

Day 47

Sam is coveting my gift from an Etsy seller: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sometimesiswirl.
Sarah created it for  me through our Team Project Treasury exchange.   We are Etsy sellers who make the home pages (sometimes) on Etsy.   Sam has decided it's hers, and well, we'll have to have a "sit down."  :-)  Thanks Sarah of Sometimes I Swirl, I looooove it!

Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz



No photos from this blog may be reproduced without the written consent of the blogger or Polkadot Magpie.

Day 40 Sam 365 Skeleton Project

Day 40
Night 3 of Hanukkah

Sam enjoys her first Matzoh.  She loved them!

 

Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz



No photos may be reproduced without the written consent of this blogger or polkadot magpie.

Day 36 Sam 365 Skeleton Project

Day 36

Sam is lying on the dinning room table at the moment.  We are fixing her broken arm and collar bone from her flight home.  So I thought I'd show you the button I give out when one meets her.  AND the new skull money clips in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/117252052/men-dad-boss-brother-husband-boyfriend
They come in white bronze, gold bronze on a bead blasted nickel silver clip. 

We hope to have her up and ready for more photos soon.  

Thanks for stopping by.
Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo,
Suz



No photos from this blog may be reproduced without the written consent of the blogger, or polkadot magpie.

Day 31 Sam 365 Project

Day 31

A very special Italian friend Matthew came to our hotel just to meet Sam.  In the lobby lots of kids had gathered around her.  They have no preconceived notions about skeletons that adults do.  They love to see how her bones go together, and touch her.  She really liked Matthew and his family.



Thanks for coming by.
Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,
Suz





No photos may be reproduced from this blog without the written consent of the blogger or polkadot magpie.

Day 23 Sam 365 Project

Day 23

Sam studies the map, and we leave for Milano!

Thanks for coming by.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz




No photos may be reproduced in any way without the written permission of this blog, or polkadot magpie.

Day 15 Sam 365 Project

Day 15

We arrived in NY/NJ for Bob's knife show.  Sam relaxing after the long trip.



Thanks for coming by.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

No photos may be reproduced without written permission of the photographer.

Day 13: Sam 365 Skeleton Project

Day 13

The guys at the UPS store posing with Sam after the "box expert" made her a custom box that fit her
styrofoam clam shell.  Not all UPS stores are so wonderful.  This is the one at Academy and Wyoming in Albuquerque.
I will pack her today.


Thanks for stopping by.

Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

No photos may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of this blogger.

Day 7 Sam 365 Project

Day 7

Sam has her first crush at the Day of the Dead Marigold Parade.


Come see her fan page on Facebook: Sam 365 Skeleton @ facebook.com
Thanks for stopping by.

Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

No photos from this blog may be reproduced without written consent from author.

Day 4 Sam 365 Skeleton Project

Day 4

Movember is here for Sam.  Silly skeleton!

Thanks for coming by.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

Out Of This World Love

A finished heart

Rarely does a material come across my bench that speaks to me the way meteorite does.   I had seen it used for knife handles by many knife makers.  I had also seen it cut on a lathe for wedding bands.  The machinery needed to work with meteorite is intense.  I use a large band saw that I sit at.  Very slowly the blade works it's way through the iron, and can only cut a straight line.  I joke that I could cut our living room couches in half with this saw, but it's true.  Then tough belt grinding to shape the hearts.  It heats up quickly, so I must protect my fingers while grinding.  Drilling the hole for the chain dulls drill bits, and gets too hot to hold before the hole is done.  I etch them in nitric acid which pops the texture.

Traced and ready to cut

Band saw cutting

The other reason that meteorite is so meaningful to me is it's origin.  I'm a space nerd.  Thinking about a meteorite  careening toward Earth, and crashing to the ground excites me.  I know, I'm a weird woman.  I don't care.  I think wearing something, or having something that has been flying around our galaxy is fantastic!  Which is why every year for Valentine's Day I make and sell meteorite hearts: "Out of this world love"  I call them.

The cost of the material is starting to make it prohibitive, as materials and my time to make this item make it costly for buyers. However, there is no one else making anything like them.  So I do. My husband doesn't even use this material.  But because of him, and sharing his knife making shop, we have the tools to work meteorite.   Below is the history of the pieces I am using for other science minded types who want to know more.

"Two masses were found in 1967, total 323 kg. It was determined as coarse octahedrite, bandwidth 2.0 mm(iron llE). There was new expedition on Seymchan meteorite place in 2004. During the expedition there were several finds of different size meteorite individuals. Recent find shows that this meteorite is close to Glorietta Mountain and contains NUMEROUS OLIVINE GRAINS!!!! SEVERAL SMALL INDIVIDUALS FOUND ON SPRING TERRACE. It was a big surprise after cutting the individuals that they contain few olivine grains and shows a nice structure. Iron meteorites are composed of primarily iron and nickel alloys and are believed to be derived from planetary cores that were broken apart billions of years ago. Meteorite is absolutely stable, not any rust going on it after cutting. The pictures shows metal structure, olivine grains forms, It is interesting that some individuals contain olivine and other not contain olivine. Some individuals has surface with fusion crust like Sikhote-Alin, some looks like Chinge, and some looks like Sikhote shrapnel."

Each piece is different.

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz 

Merry Hanukkah

It's early in the morning on Christmas Eve.  Tonight we will have a turkey dinner for friends who have no family here, or are alone this year.  My Etsy shop orders kept me busy until the last minute.  I tried to shoot a photo for our card, but it proved harder to get a photo of a  chicken in a santa hat than I anticipated.  :-)  It's been an exciting year.

Roma 2011

We got the chickens, which now number 23 hens.  The "coop mahal" was built and is working very well in the unseasonably cold weather we are having.  Travel was plenty with our trip to the National Parks and "home" to Rome for an extended stay.   We lost two elderly cats Francesca, and Columbo.  I spent 6 months in a cast with a broken foot. But now it's almost 100% and I am up and running.  For this I am extremely grateful.  My first walk around the block felt like a gift last week.

Bob and Fausto meet for the first time.

Last week I found 2 kittens as a gift for Bob for Christmas.  He missed sleeping with a cat in the bed.  And technically, they are to be his kittens.  I searched for a long time for a kitten who would "purr on contact."  The local shelters all got to know me well.  One ended up calling me last weekend to say she knew of 4 kittens that I would like, that would be available that day.  We got two 12 week old street cats.  Short haired, male, long bodied balls of purring fur.  One is named "Fausto" and the other "Figaro."  They are extremely friendly, and social.  Just what I was looking for.

Fausto and Figaro their first morning in our bed.

I also found out recently that my Grandmother from England was a Jew.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a latke party every year, and have lit a menorah on Hanukkah most of my adult life.  I am proud to be a Jew, if only by heritage.  Just as I was delighted to know I was a tiny bit black.  All of this was a family secret kept well hidden.  I continue to pursue our true genealogy in hopes of solving some other mysteries.  I feel a book is on the horizon telling the story of my Father's true father. Which looks to be a man we know as "Uncle Gus" who came to visit my Grandparents for 2 weeks.  He stayed for 22 years!!!  I imagine it's a long story.

Francesca and Columbo: their last photo together.

So tonight when I light the candles on our dinner table, I will be lighting our menorah.  My daughter and grandson arrive this week.  We will have our first latkes, and matzoh ball soup together.  I really look forward to celebrating all of my heritage with my kids. 

Columbo from Hanukkah's past

I wish you all a Happy Christmas, Beautiful Hanukkah, and a fantastic New Year!

Our tree from 2008. We decided not to get a tree this year with kittens.

Thanks for reading.  Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

Feast Day

Mateo Romero's painting that hangs in our home, Kiva baked bread, and an evergreen bough from the dancers.

I was honored to be invited to the Santa Domingo Feast Day. My friend and I drove there and we were welcomed into a woman's home who lives on the plaza of the Santa Domingo Pueblo.  I have been to many pueblos in New Mexico.  But never on a feast day.  If you have never been to a pueblo, go.
My first was the Taos Pueblo before they built their casino. Recently I went to Acoma Pueblo which has an incredible tour, and one is taken up to the top of a mesa where you can see half the state.  I included a link below that explains Pueblo culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puebloan_peoples

Cameras are not allowed, so I pulled these from google images.

When we were parking our car we saw two men carrying a large bucket of water out to horses and cows. The streets were lined with aspen tree branches stuck into the red, dusty clay ground.  The smell of chili cooking and bread baking was everywhere.  I could hear the beating of a drum as we walked into an adobe house past two stoves with big pots of chili cooking.  Food was everywhere, the table was set for 12.  Many women greeted us from the kitchen.  Through a very small window I could see color moving outside.

A Kiva oven.

Frankly, I came to see the dancers.   We were told to eat, so we sat down.  Homemade bread baked in a kiva wood fired oven was right in front of me.  I ate chili made with red chilis and beef, mopping it up with this delicious bread. We chatted with two women who had come up from Acoma pueblo.  Elders and children came and went.  The smell of every house cooking with windows and doors open is incredible.

I have included this NYTimes article, they say it better than I:
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/travel/a-timeless-pueblo-ritual.html?pagewanted=all

Finally we were able to sit our on the porch and watch the dancers.  You know I am former costumer. So what the dancers were wearing was so important for me to see.  We have a painting in our entry hall by Mateo Romero of a "Deer Dancer."  I walk by it 20 times a day.  In front of me in the street on the plaza were 100's of dancers.  The painting had come to life.  I was so moved for numerous reasons that I cried.  The women were wearing black dresses with turquoise "mantias" on their heads. Embroidered underskirts, belts, moccasins, and feathers by the hundreds moved to the beat of a single drum.  Young and old all danced together.  Time didn't matter.  I was watching a ceremonial dance that was hundreds of years old.  Tradition persevered.  I tried to ask questions, but was shushed as those things were not for me to know.  I respected that, and sat in silence... mesmerized.

A 3rd type of dancers were the "Koshas", which I had only seen in art form.  They are dressed in black and white, and these had black polkadots on white body paint.  They had corn husks that seemed to grow out of the tops of their heads.  They danced at the same time as the others. Weaving in an out fixing hair, belts, and various parts of dress that came undone or moved during the dance.  They did what I did for years: "Wardrobe, coming in!"  They are considered clowns who are able to go back and forth between the living and the dead.  I saw a show of them by Roxanne Swentzell, and now they too had gone from art to life.

Roxanne Swentzell's sculpture.

Ireland's "Corn Dancer"

A turkey wing, spirit doll from Taos Pueblo made of sage, bread that is all gone.

No cameras are allowed I cannot show you anything but Google images.  You will just have to come and see for yourself.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for reading.  Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo, Suz

Fig Jam

Black figs

Well, it's that time of year...fruits are starting to ripen.  Our local farms had a bitterly cold winter, late spring freeze, and no rain to speak of, fires that continue to blaze out of control. As I write this...it is actually raining real drops.  "You know you are a New Mexican when: you are thrilled about the possibility of rain." My chickens have never seen rain.  I checked on them while it was raining, and they were huddled under their porch.....some had gone into their sleeping coop.  Befuddled would be a good word for it. I put "Irma" the black cochin hen into the sleeping coop.  Furious, she ran out into the rain. Looked at me as if I was the cause, and ran back under the porch with the others. They will be pleased with the cooling temps this afternoon.

The inside of a canning pot. Rack to hold jars upright.

The canning bath pot towers over my largest pots!

Wash figs, then pour boiling water over them for 10 minutes.

The farmers markets have mostly root veggies and greens.  Talk of apricots brought me to one this morning in Corrales, New Mexico. Karen, our neighbor and new friend offered to push me in the wheelchair.  I came home with $5 a pint cherries...not any other fruit to be had.  I'm a practical woman sometimes. :-)  I decided that buying locally  could mean a year without any fruit that wasn't from my garden.  So I will buy from states close by that have had good enough weather to produce fruit.  Trader Joes had tons of figs.  So I bought 6 pounds: 5 lbs. for jam, 1 for eating.

Quartered with stems cut off....your fingers will be purple :-)

After cooking on the stove I put it all in the food processor...smooth.

Add lemon, and back in pan to boil for one more minute

Covered and in the canning bath for 15 minutes.

I looked in my recipes file,  and then went to my Google professor.  Here's the recipe I used eons ago. I suspect I will add a bit of ginger or rosemary to the batch.

2 quarts (about 5lbs) figs, quartered, destemmed.
6 cups of sugar...however I used 4
1 cup of water
1/4 lemon juice w/1 Tablesp. of lemon zest
Spices if you like: ginger, cinnamon, rosemary, orange water, lavender

Put washed figs in large pan or bowl.  Pour  boiling water over them, cover, let stand for 10 minutes.
Destem, and quarter each fig.
Combine figs, sugar, water and cook at slow boil until thick, stirring lots to prevent sticking (about 30 minutes.)  I put them in the food processor, you can use a blender, or mash them.
Add lemon juice and boil ONLY 1 MINUTE.
Ladle into hot jars, and process 15 minutes.  Makes 12 8oz. jars.
If you do not have a canning pot, you can put in your fridge.  They should keep for at least a month.
Great filling for thumbprint jelly cookies, or klachkys.
Enjoy!

Mmmm...we had it on toast this morning.

I ordered a second pot  today from Walmart of all places.  (I told you I was reasonable.) With shipping it was under 25 bucks.  Two will not actually fit on my stove in any configuration to come to a boil, but we have the guest house stove.  There are lots of supply houses online for canning.  Here is one link:
http://www.canningpantry.com/

The rain had stopped by the time I finished writing. However, it's still cloudy, and I'm hoping for more.
Thanks for reading,
Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo,
Suz

Australorps and Elephants

The 4 new Australorp chicks.

Last week I went to pick up 4 baby chicks from a local chicken breeder who was supposed to trade chicks with me in early May.  Typical New Mexico style he emailed me 6 weeks late (after I had sold the pullets to trade) and said "your chicks are ready." They are Australorps, a large breed, black, clean legged, and usually very gentle. They also lay very large eggs. My son had asked for them when I told him I would be getting chicks. However, Murray-McMurray were out of that breed.

They were 10 days old when I got them.  They had never been near a human.  It's obvious, as they are totally freaked out by me and Ethan when we attend to them.  I will try to hold them and tame them the best I can.  I'm on a mission!  They hide under anything they can.  I recommend to those who have never had chicks to get day old ones, so they can pattern with you.  My other chicks...who are adolescents hear my voice and are all lined up at the coop gate waiting for me.  Some hopping on their a-frame and talking to me to get my attention.  They, as you may remember came to me a day old and I am the Mother Hen.

Maggie and Lulu

What glaring dichotomies baby chicks and full grown elephants are. 

The entrance to P.A.W.S.

We went to P.A.W.S. in San Andreas California.  Ethan and I had waited long for this event.  The weather said rain all day and 50 degrees.  I haven't had that weather since I was in NYC.  Our tour began with looking at several Asian females: "Maggie, Mara, and Lulu."  Maggie and Mara had worked in a circus over 25 years ago.  We were told when they saw  each other, they ran together like old girlfriends who hadn't seen each other in years.  They are now inseparable.

Our group in the rain

Maggie on her way to see us.

Maggie getting as close to us as she can.

Maggie and Lulu

"Nicholas" is an Asian bull.  He was trained to ride a tricycle in a circus by 2, and by 4 he had enough of riding a tricycle and became aggressive.  At that time he was locked in a stall until he was rescued at 13 by PAWS.  9 years is a long time.  Ethan and I had a hard time getting our heads around what this elephant did for 9 years in a stall.  Humans in jail even get an hour out a day.

Nick's ear to ear grin

Nick clowning for us

Nick's own water park

Fire hosed and loving it.

When Nick saw his trainer, and our group coming over the hill, he began to walk back and forth. Then he sat on one "cheek", then another.  He was clearly smiling.  We could see it.  A fire hose was turned on and a shower of showers started. Nick sucked the water up his trunk, then hosed himself repeatedly with water.  He'd lift one foot at a time and got an elephant pedicure.  Leaning on the huge steel bars to get closer to us.  The smile never left his face, or ours.  We stood in the rain ( elephants like the rain) freezing, and not really caring about anything but elephants.

The elephant jacuzzi they built for therapy

Nick's polkadotted ear for examination.

We ate lunch inside an elephant barn, as it was inclement outside.  Then followed the director and staff to the newest barn where Nick met us.  We passed a huge bull (whose name I don't remember) who had his tusks cut and capped with steel and chained together.  He eyed us suspiciously. One could see by his posture, that he was broken. He'd only been with PAWS 6 months.  They had a long road ahead to gain his trust.  The director fed him lots of fruit, and bran. We watched his trunk scoop up food from the floor with amazing accuracy.  This is the barn where they are seen by the vet, and given medicine if they need it.

The new bull hiding from us.

It was an adventure we will never forget.  I'm happy to check it off my bucket list.  Our first trip together. Amazing memories.  I gave Ethan my camera I used on the set for years.   He took beautiful photos, and learned iPhoto on our trip home in the airport.  I think he is planning an Etsy shop that sends most of the proceeds to PAWS. If you can, go see them. Worth the time and expense.  Here is their website: http://www.pawsweb.org/

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo,
Suz