Sidetracked Charley

I suppose it is natural to think of traditions during the holidays if only in the manner and style in which we prepare the meal and set the table. But a friend of mine here in blog land recently recalled an old man fishing that stood with his hat off in silence while a funeral convoy passed. I have not seen many funeral convoys or corteges of late. But then I live outside a small community that until recently did not even have a cemetery. But I do remember my Uncle Ray passing this bit of behavior to me on his lawn in Kansas City. My father also always stood in silence with his hat off and over his heart when the United States flag passed by in a parade. It is in there will all the other passed down knowledge given to me by my elders. And I was of the generation that believed traditions like wedding ceremonies held back progress in society. Age has changed me. I now see so many of these stumbling blocks to progress as glue that holds a society together. The fisherman that stood in...

I was reminded this morning when I considered my topic and searched my brain for a lead photograph that when I originally began this blog I used old photos I had searched in Google for. This was one of the first ones I used. Fortunately blogspot keeps them all in Picassa albums so I was able to get it back for today's topic of shopping in Taos. The wagons now have wheels but I don't know that the look of my fellow customers have changed much. Taos residents can be an odd lot. Especially at Walmart. First stop yesterday was Albertson's. I had made a list of items I needed for my after Thanksgiving open studio event and I am more familiar with their layout of products than Smith's. And I was trying to avoid Walmart to be honest. I seldom, if ever, go into Walmart once the holiday season has kicked off. I am obviously not a good American consumer. Albertson's also has the bogo sales on things - buy one/get one. They had extra thick organic pork chops perfect for s...

Mt. Wheeler with snow cap Finally got back from vacation mentally. And moved out of idle into a gear that at least got something done. Biggest thing was getting the desk moved out of the studio. It gives me so much more room and the person that came and got it is really enjoying it. With it gone it makes it easier to rearrange things and prepare the studio for my Holiday opening, November 25 and 26. Another boon to mentally returning from vacation is I got out the camera and snapped some more photos. Though honestly I was still thinking of fall when a snow capped Wheeler Peak revealed itself from under the clouds. The weather was nicer than I though given the really cold nights we have been having - like the single digits. And so my walk up the lane to look in at a friend's cats invited lingering to get that just right photo. Fir tree cones And then some lingering over captured images on the computer and Corel Paintshop Pro 4x. Seed Drill Some Modifications An...

Not sure where the last week went. Yes, there were little things I got done but there were also huge blocks of wasted time. Almost as if once back from vacation physically my mind took its own vacation. Yes, I caught up with laundry and I got all the photos I took edited and organized. Still need to upload to FlickR. But the list of things I was going to jump right back into like sewing projects (though I have the area to do them established) and cleaning up the studio (the bags are unpacked and no longer in the middle of the floor) are not done. Every other day I have been doing 20 minutes of light weights but not moving beyond that. I did join the Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce but I have not done a write up and e-mailed in in to the membership manager. It is the end of the first week of November and I have to get the peddle to the metal soon. No more watching streaming videos all day long. Or playing computer games past my bedtime. Yesterday the local firewood supplier delivere...