Under a Red Roof

Summer Road Trip 2024: Chattanooga II

June 18, 2024 in Learning, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Hello from our digs in Chattanooga! Since our travels always include Juniper, it is wonderful when we can find a place with a yard, so she can get her wiggles, wees, and poos out unencumbered by a leash. Huzzah!

This place was pretty stellar, as it was rather spacious and had a record player, too. The selection of music was limited to what was on hand, but it was quite eclectic and mostly suited our tastes. Very fun!

There was a beautiful trail about a block from our rental that led to a view of Chattanooga. If you look carefully near the center, you can spy the blue pedestrian bridge we cross down yonder. Cool, cool, cool.

Kinda like Lombard Street in San Francisco but for human powered traffic.

Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing…

The Tennessee Aquarium

The Tennessee River

Someone tell me why this scene makes me think of Logan’s Run.

Our first visit to an aquarium! The Tennessee Aquarium is pretty cool, and, as you can see, includes some non-aquatic species, as well. It is divided in two, one for the River Journey, one for the Ocean, with a pretty spectacular stop with fabulous butterflies!

If you click on the explore section of their website, you can see live streams of action in the various areas. Greg and I are especially fond of watching the otters.

We learned the geographical area surrounding Chattanooga has the highest density of species of all kinds in the United States. Pretty cool, considering how few we actually saw while out and about. Nature and her secrets! That said, there was abundant birdsong everywhere on our trip, with Cardinals the loudest (most catchy?) singers of them all.

Made from trash recovered from the ocean. Please don’t litter…

The butterfly room also had a lily pond, complete with eye-popping lotus. I had never seen that color combination before. Truly stunning.

A quiet spell of porch sitting, for a quintessential Southern experience: heat and shade and the gentlest of breezes.

When I asked Juniper to smile after the first photo, that was what she did. So cute. Plus, her handsome bearded pal! ALL LOVE…

Tags: Traveling

Summer Road Trip 2024: Nashville II

June 16, 2024 in Learning, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Very Continental!

Beam me up, Scotty.

Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame

Ryman Auditorium

The best trouble is Good Trouble. Thank you, John Lewis!

If you want to know the primary reason why I chose Tennessee for this year’s road trip, I have one name for you: ELVIS. I would not call myself a major fan, but a deep appreciator. The velvety voice, the charisma, the looks (I mean, seriously, so handsome), a body can’t help but be intrigued.

This is R.C.A. Studio B, where he recorded the vast majority of his work. It has been refurbished to look like it did at the beginning of his career, and the Steinway is THE piano he played both to warm up and record.

Dolly Parton also recorded here. Hallowed ground, my friends.

In addition to touring R.C.A. Studio B, our country music stint included the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It is a treasure trove of memorabilia! Most everything I photographed probably seriously dates me; I am 53, after all; including THE car from Smokey and the Bandit. I regret to report the film has not aged as well as my love for 1970s and 80s era Trans Ams. Oh, but, to hear Burt Reynolds laugh!

Willie Nelson’s hat and sneakers

Steve Young wrote the Seven Bridges Road, popularized by The Eagles, whose fab windbreaker is pictured below.

The Eagles!

Two of the Flying Burrito Brothers Nudie Suits. So freaking fabulous! Of course, Gram Parsons is the one covered in drugs. Not during his era (R.I.P. Gram), but this is my favorite song by the band. I doubt it will be a surprise to anyone.

The FIRST modern solid body guitar!

This beauty belonged to Elvis, of course. A 1960 Series 75 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine, which, thanks to 24-karat gold plate highlights and trim, was called his “Solid Gold” car. Customized by North Hollywood’s Baris Kustom City for a reported $65,000, it is covered in 40 coats of paint, called “diamond dust pearl,” that is made of crushed diamonds and fish scales. It did sparkle!

Webb Pierce’s 1962 Pontiac Bonneville, complete with guns, horse heads, a saddle, and 150 silver dollars, as embellished by Nudie Cohen of the Flying Burrito Brothers suits above. The man knew how to add flash.

Roy Rogers!

Minnie Pearl!

Next stop Chattanooga…Choo! Choo!

Respite

March 8, 2024 in Learning, Loving, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Last week, Monday to be precise, I took a solo excursion to New Mexico, firstly in search of places to celebrate my Native Mexican heritage, with that dash of Comanche. My ancestral lines go back to Peru and the Maya of the Yucatan, and who knows how long they journeyed the thousands of miles to New Mexico or where they lived in between. Life is full of mysteries.

My primary concern was finding where long departed grandparents were married or baptized. Sadly, for the first stop, my camera, likely in an act of inattention, got out of setting and took the weirdest, mostly unsalvageable photos (save one – you’ll know it when you see it). Perhaps in an effort to cement my return, I wondered, because I definitely will be back.

Santa Cruz de la Canada, where three grandfathers (Jose Candelario Garcia, Jose Antonio Maes, and Jose Joaquin Garcia de Noriega) were baptized, and two sets of great-grandparents were married, (Jose Joaquin to Maria de la Concepcion), and most exciting, Antonia Olaya Xiron (such a beautiful name!) to Francisco de la Cerda on March 4, 1743. Isn’t it amazing to think this happened thirty-three years before before America was even a country?

The above two photos are in and around Espanola, the land of Ohkay Owingeh, where my Grandma Esquipula was baptized in 1827. This eastward view is one she took in, too. If you’ve done any similar traveling, I’ll bet you experienced that crushing sense of wonder and home. I come from this place. My soul lies in this soil.

My next stop was Abiquiu, the place Georgia O’Keefe made famous, and where a handful of my grandfathers were baptized at Santo Tomas Church: Juan Rafael Serna, Valentin Serna (born on Valentine’s Day!), Jose Felipe de Neri Cisneros, Florencio Casillas, and Marcos Antonio Alire.

You may be wondering where the church photos are, as I definitely have them, but I decided on painting watercolors and sharing them at a later date. Stay tuned…

And again, I was struck by the familiarity and awe of this landscape, a warm embrace of my ancestors welcoming me home.

Rio Ojo Caliente, here and a few below

My final stop was Ojo Caliente! I hadn’t been there since 2016 and had never gone without Greg, so it was an especially meditative time of very little speaking and much listening, to the fall and splash of water, wind over naked branches, and the early quiet of day.

I ate a few delicious meals at the Artesian, walked in the chill of morning (after the wild creatures in the labyrinth!), practiced yoga, and scrubbed and soaked and steamed, over and over again, fully aware of my great privilege to do so in a place my ancestors received similar respite.

Ute Mountain and the freshly capped Sangre de Cristos

All is revered, all is home…

Tags: Colorado, New Mexico

L I F E

November 29, 2023 in Cooking + Baking, Learning, Loving by Colleen | Permalink

Hello! Gah. It’s been a minute. Yeah. I kept getting sidetracked – shopping, errands, a weekend of gaming and eating with Jeffie, Thanksgiving, reading, making jewelry, doing puzzles, binge watching Reacher (he’s funny!) into the wee hours on a weeknight. You know, L I F E. Also, this feeling of letting the blog call to me when I’m ready.

That feeling is accompanied by a deep sense of appreciation. My dear friend Bebe, with whom I make jewelry, is nearly eighty. Her husband has cancer, and at our last get together (reindeer bracelets were made!), this truth really hit me. How much longer will we have the privilege of sharing time? This thought cascaded to just about everyone in my life. I want to eat up every last second. Which brings me back to this little blog. If I’m happy in the moment, especially if it is spent doing something I cherish, and especially with someone I cherish, it’s absolutely fine if there are gaps in my blogging.

It reminds me of a favorite scene in Serenity, the gloriously perfect, albeit very sad, end to the fabulous and short-lived Firefly, when Kaylee is finally given recognition by Simon. Her response? “To hell with this, I’m gonna live!” Yup. I want to live, peeps. Every single day.

To that living! As I mentioned, we had another memorable weekend gaming (Dune! Point Salad!) and eating with Jeff. We ate at one of our favorite places (Phantom Canyon Brewing), and I made a delightful Chinese takeout inspired meal, with crab Rangoon (baked, not fried), scallion cakes, and orange chicken (no breading or frying, orange juice instead of water, sugar cut in half!) with broccoli and bell pepper. It was pretty amazing and chuckle worthy because I defrosted our largest package of chicken and thought, well, it’s a lot, but leftovers are no problem. Dear readers, we ate every last bite that night, and practically licked the plate clean, too!

We had a sleepover at Michael and Mary’s for Thanksgiving, with walks and yoga, puzzle making, and a beautiful sweater vest handmade by Mary, just for ME. When I was hunting cookbooks for what to make besides pecan pie (duh), I found two very yummy and not-at-all Thanksgiving themed appetizers. Would it be a gut-buster if I made them, too? Perhaps, so Mary and I hatched a plan. It would be appetizer Thanksgiving, with a little turkey sandwich and stuffing situation for Michael, as that was important to him. Jalapeno popper wonton cups and a whipped cream cheese and feta dip with bacon jam and grape chutney (homemade and fabulous, of course), as that was important to us. So good. Since it is the time of year when I bake cookies, I also made biscochitos! Food, food, food…

Hope all is well in your world. Happy living…

Drama-rama

September 15, 2023 in Friendship, Learning by Colleen | Permalink

Hello, and happy Friday! Anyone else remember the 80s band called Dramarama? They had this fab song, so I honestly can’t tell you why I wasn’t a fan at the time.

Anyhoo, the title refers to my own bit of drama. Seven days before my surgery, I had a sandal malfunction on the back steps and blew out my knee, again. It happened so quickly, and I fell so hard, life-alert style, that I could not get up. Luckily, I made quite a painful roar, so Greg was out to help me in short order.

I’m glad we didn’t get rid of the crutches or knee brace the last time, so I was able to get around without much of a problem. Also, how cute is my sweet nursemaid?

Thankfully, my injury wasn’t nearly as bad as last time; because, let me tell you, I was worried my surgery might need to be postponed, and I did not want that. I kept it elevated, iced, and diligently used my crutches. I only need a stretchy bandage now, for a little extra support. Hooray!

As for the surgery, it was last Thursday and really could not have gone better. My wonderful surgeon, Dr. Allen Tanner should you need the same, was whiz-bang quick, only taking twenty five minutes! I recovered in the hospital for a couple of hours before heading home with my champion bestie of besties and fine chauffeur, Greg.

I am very grateful that the pain was manageable enough that I only needed narcotics for a couple days. My incisions, four in total, are quite hideous, and do not feel great to the touch, but are healing nicely and very much starting to itch!! I still cannot cough or sneeze without great pain and fear of everything ripping open, but I have been able to laugh heartily, on occasion. I have also ventured out on dog walks the last three days. I come home exhausted, but it’s progress!

And now, to the sweetest bit, the flowers! Greg bought the top bunch for me, and the lovely roses are from my sweet neighbor, Corinne. I would also like to express my sincerest thanks, however unlikely they will ever read this post, to Jack, Brenda, Julie, Dr. Grady, Stephanie, Genesis, Liz, Malinda, and every other hospital staffer whose name I did not catch, but was essential to my care. Thanks too, to my friends and family who have called and texted their best wishes. I am definitely feeling the love!