I ♥♥♥ Durango

The pine cones are bigger in Durango

Durango station of the D &R GWRR

 My friend Sarah  moved to Durango a couple of years ago.  I suppose I can forgive her sister for luring her away from Albuquerque to the mountains of Colorado. I have just found out that her parents will be moving there as well.  Sarah and her parents are responsible for us finding our beautiful house.  I am not looking at their move as a loss, but as a gain.  I too have fallen for Durango Colorado.

Could there be a better coffee shop?

My first trip was with Sarah's mom Ann.  The drive is west on Route 550, then north over the border. Late spring was not the prettiest time of year.  But New Mexico's mesas and colorful rock formations entertained us for the 4 hours drive.  This weekend I drove with Charles, Sarah's Dad.  The landscape was completely different.  The road had a ribbon of gold along both sides.  Wild sunflowers, chamisa, and asters were in full bloom.  The grass was still green, AND the mesas were lit with early morning sunlight that only autumn has.  Both Ann and Charles are great company for the ride.  I truly feel blessed to be able to spend this time with both of them.

Greeting me at Sarah's is Stella, a 105 pound rottweiler.  I'm crazy about her.  She has the roundest head I have ever seen on a dog.  It looks like a fur lined bowling ball.  I run my hands over it looking for the 3 holes. :-)   Sarah invited me to join them down at the Animas River for a swimming game of fetch the tennis ball.

Sarah would throw the tennis ball in the river with the orange "chucker" that she is also scratching Stella's butt with in the bottom photo.  Stella is one happy girl. She was able to get the ball in the river and 2 sticks in her mouth at the same time.  40 throws and fetches wore me out just watching.

 Engine 481

Sarah booked our tickets for a train ride I have wanted to take for half my life. We rode in an open air car which was excellent for hanging out of and taking pictures. It's 3 1/2 hours to Silverton on a narrow gauge track. It's a 130 year old steam train fired by coal. We had to stop and get water several times.  The open car made us magnets for cinders careening toward our eyes. We were instructed to wear sunglasses.  A blanket of ash covered everything, and everyone.  But I didn't mind.

 The train snakes along the Animas river.  At times I wondered what our track was on...because one could not see flat terrain.  There were huge drops that were below us.  Everyone would take their cameras and move to the side of the train with the view.  Being an old sailor, I wondered if we needed ballast to counter balance the weight hanging out the windows on this narrow ledge.  

We arrived in Silverton for lunch.  Sarah directed us to the "Handlebars Restaurant and Saloon".

The Handlebar is filled with antiquities, taxidermy, and mustaches.  I met the owner Alice, within 30 seconds of arriving. We hit it off instantly.  I told her I made mustache necklaces.  She immediately gave me her card and can't wait to get the glow in the dark version!  My sloppy joe sandwich was pretty tasty.

I didn't realize Bigfoot was so organized as to have a central headquarters in Silverton.

Our bellies full, we slowly rocked our way back down the mountain toward Durango.  I even nodded off for a bit.  We were joined by a couple from Rockford Illinois.  The seats as well as the tracks are narrow gauge. 3 adults is a bit crowded, and so we got to know our seat mate.  We made jokes all the way home.  It's amazing how much fun you can have with a complete stranger on a train.

I leave this morning after we inspect Sarah's parents new house.  It's been a wonderful trip. Too short. But I'll be back after the snow melts.  Hopefully, bringing Bob with me. 

I <3 Durango!

Thanks for reading.

Every day is a gift. Open now!

xo

Suz

A Mustache Gathering

 G-10 Rainbow Layered Stache

We are just back from Las Vegas.  Anyone who knows me, knows Vegas is not my scene.  The only reason I went, was to see all the people from the USN Forums.  I never left Planet Hollywood for 3 days.  One doesn't have to.  I kvetched, and moaned all over Facebook before we left. But I went, and am glad I did. As usual, it all went too fast.   As our plane landed, Bob got a message that Bob Loveless had died.  Bob loveless was like Obe Wan Kanobe of knives to my Bob.

 Toni Nealy and I

I had not planned on bringing any jewelry to the show.  It's a social gathering.  I looked at it as a 2 day party.  So I wanted to bring something fun to put on the table.  I had a couple of pieces of horn on my bench that I had been pushing around for weeks while working on other things. It looked like a wavy mustache to me.  I also had this "moon glow" acrylic sheet and a rainbow sheet of G-10.  I've seen mustaches on Etsy, I wouldn't be the first or the last.  So I made a batch of mustache necklaces  out of scraps and the afore mentioned materials.  I had so much fun.  Each one I finished, I would hold under my nose to show Bob.  Who shook his head.  However, he said nothing when I put them on his table.   10 Minutes after the show opened, he was sold out.  So we needed something to fill the space!!

Val and Allen Elishewitz at their booth. His hot new knife project with Hogue behind them.

Allen felt pretty much the same way Bob did about them, so he used a banana!

Owen was all over it!

The Moon Glow mustache sold first.  Bob sold it while I was away from the table.  The night I made it, I went outside the shop door and had him take a photo with the iPhone.  It really glows green! I've had this material since last December. Lucas Burnley, a New Mexican knife maker turned me on to it.

Here's a new knife Luc made with Pat Pruitt for the show.  Pat is a master CNC jeweler. It's Pat's first knife, and Luc's first CNC project.  They made an edition and each guy used their own handle materials.  I really love this layered G-10. Luc also gave me the layered G-10 I used in the top photo.
Luc has a forum on USN: Burnley Knives...check 'em out.

On a more serious note...there was a Brazilian knife maker at the show.  Bob has been oohing and aahing over this man's work on the USN Forums.  Gustavo Thome Cecchini.  I'd like to think his half Italian genes are why his knives are exquisitely designed: and getting an A+ in form and function.

Not only are his knives beautiful...but he is too!

Ladies, he has a stunning wife.

This brings me back to the beginning.  Cecchini's knives are on par with Bob Loveless' work.  I really felt a circle complete Loveless -> Cecchini.  No one can replace Bob Loveless in the knife world. But some will carry the torch.  To see his knives: GTCKNIVES.com .

Thanks for reading!

Every day is a gift: open now.

xo

Suz

PS. Remember the knife I had dinner with  in Atlanta by Todd Begg? Best in show here. I know, I'm just the "knife wife" :-) 

Harvest Time with Mother Night

My view of the West from inside the garden.

The last bit of the sun slips into the horizon.

My kitchen has been in full swing for the last week.  It's that time of year.  I am trying to keep up and manage what is ripening.  As the days grow shorter I can see less and less blooms, and new fruit.  13 hours of daylight means about 9 in the vegetable garden.  As always things seem to ripen all at once.  So I'm on one of those "Jetson treadmills" or Tetris moments where the same thing is happening, just at a faster pace.  Bob bought me a beautiful basket from Peterboro Basket Co. in New Hampshire to carry veggies back from the garden.  So here are some photos...mostly from my iPhone of this food factory I am running.

 Tomatoes and green chili.

I roasted mine and put it in

the freezer in ziploc bags.

I oil a rag to wipe the bbq 

grate, so they don't stick.

Bob is getting ready for the Las Vegas Gathering.  It's a very social show.  We have new things on knives that are my doing...skulls.  It's pretty cool to have collaborated a bit.  I realized that I can't be hustling for the show.  We need someone to hold down the fort.  So I won't bring my jewelry.  I'll post it on the USN forum, and in my Etsy shop.

The skulls are new, and my direct influence.

Doing what I can to support Bob right before a show makes both our lives more manageable.  So I bring him tastes from the kitchen and garden.  The peaches continue to rain down on us.  I have them on their own ripening treadmill.  Now putting them into the freezer.  Later to make jam and salsa out of.  Waiting for the big ones that are left on the tree to ripen for pies and crisps.  I hope we don't miss that window while we are in Las Vegas.

Peaches halved, pitted, and brushed

with lemon go in the freezer.

Later we can make jams &

such with them.  I plan to make

peach and green chili chutney.

I downloaded Clarissa Pinkola Estes latest series of broadcasts: "The  Mother Night."  Her soothing voice always makes me feel the Universe is right.  I have so many images coming to mind when I listen to her.  It seems that when I listen to her, I listen to me.  My authentic self is front and center.  Filled with images I scratch down in my sketchbook as fast as I can.  I've been listening through my lap top while working in the kitchen.  Bob has chopped for me, and peeled for an hour or two.  We really enjoy this canning thing together.  Pickles when we come back from our trip.  Hopefully Dilly Beans too.

I don't have her on when he is there, because I relish Clarissa.  It's a no talk zone when she's on.  What a gift she is to my life.  Her series on creativity, and death, and wild women have made their spiritual mark on me.  If you have not heard her CD's, I highly recommend them for the artsy and creative types. She feeds the soul with her "curandera" way of storytelling.  Very Jungian for those who are analytical.

Back to the food factory I am managing at the moment.  And back to learning to see in the dark.

The "Sandias" last night.  

Thanks for reading.  Every day is a gift: open now.

xo
Suz

From the Front Porch

Good morning from the front porch.  It's been a bustling morning here.  I should be getting ready for the Las Vegas "Gathering" show. However, there is just too much to do here.  It's harvest time. This means canning, and watching or ripening fruits and veggies so the varmints don't get them first. We've had huge winds and branches down.  Clean up as well as fruit that wasn't quite ripe to deal with.  The dinning room table is lined with brown paper bags with ripening peaches. There is a stack of boxes with peaches ripening.  I find by dinner time, I am out of gas.  This is something new for me.  So I try and get as much done before I run out of steam.

Just Peachy

Above the pears that came from our tree.  Some fell, some were picked by me climbing a 10 ft. ladder while Bob held the ladder.  When there were little holes or nicks in the pears, I put masking tape over them.  Some ripened as if they had their own skin, others just rotted.  Why, I have no clue.  I made pear marmalade, and pear butter.  Also, some green tomato jam for the first time.  Helping me was a new tool that I bought a Williams Sonoma.  It's a silicone spatula that gets into the edge of the pots while cooking.  It kept fruit from burning and sticking while boiling.  It's my new best friend. :-)

The pumpkins and various squash continue to get bigger. Lots of peppers, green beans, and tomatoes, strawberries,  and peaches are yet to be picked.

Thanks for reading.

Every day is a gift...open now.  

xo Suz