tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363784442024-03-05T23:57:26.308-05:00Full Hook UpsGo With The FlowBethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-62453507813619621102012-04-25T12:40:00.000-04:002012-05-14T00:05:06.061-04:00A Photo Tour of the 70's and 80's... and Cake.I just returned home from a 6 day trip to Illinois to visit family. Whew! 6 days includes the two travel days getting there and back again so I was really only flashing around town in Rockford for 4 days which is really not long enough to do things I would have liked to have done. I haven't been there to visit since last July so there are a lot of people I should have tried to see and say HI to but did not get the chance. Time goes by too fast. I was also seriously lax in taking photos while I was there. I did however shoot a bunch of quick pics of old photos from the picture box so that I would have them on my laptop here for the long haul. These are not scans.... I just took a picture of the picture with my little point and shoot so some of them look pretty shitty... but I am posting them anyway because they are funny. These are in absolutely no particular order.<br />
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My Dad and I at a wedding circa 1977. </div>
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A 25 year old Billy on Nantucket. </div>
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My Grandpa Pete. The coolest guy you could have ever known.</div>
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My friend Andrea and I with her new baby Max... this pic is about ten years old. Andrea is battling breast cancer right now and she is one of the people I went home to see specifically. Love you lady! </div>
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One of my super fly school pics from middle school. This dress was a favorite though and if you can score one of these nowadays they sell for hundreds on vintage sites. Why didn't somebody comb my damned hair before they took the pic? </div>
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My Mom and Dad & Billy and I when we first came home from living in Hawaii about 9 years ago. </div>
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My Mom teething on a Schlitz beer can.</div>
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My Gram's family out in the field of their Arkansas cotton plantation. My Gram is the second person in on the left. </div>
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My Mom rocking some fierce bell bottoms and platforms in the early 70's. </div>
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Here are a few from my brief stint modeling when when I was about 14 years old in the 80's. Hilarious. </div>
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Mom and Gram. It still cracks me up to see my Mom with a cigarette in her hand. </div>
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Annnnnd this will be the one that my Mom will kill me for. Sorry. Had to post it. Rock on Gold Dust Woman. </div>
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My Mom and I with our cat Xanadu. Because you named your pets after Olivia Newton John movies back then. </div>
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And finally my Mom dressed up as a witch (vampire?) for Halloween in the early 80's. Look at the tv.... and the fact that there is an actual macrame item hanging on the wood paneled wall. Love it. </div>
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I did snap a couple shots on my last day when we had lunch for my Gram and my Aunt Rose. </div>
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My Gram and I. </div>
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I baked a fresh strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream and Mom made a Thomas Keller mushroom quiche recipe. </div>
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Here's Gram pretending that she baked the cake. </div>
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This is a crappy photo but it's my Mom, Gram, Aunt Rose and I. It was so much fun to have the chance to get together like this. </div>
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Gotta run for today! Hope your Wednesday is shaping up to be a good one. It's gorgeous here in Santa Fe. </div>
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<br /></div>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-83324582048050801352012-04-12T16:28:00.000-04:002012-04-12T16:28:00.664-04:00Unfocused Blogging and Stunt IdiotsIt's time for another random act of blogging. Hey... at least I am trying to reach out.... to make the connection... to impress you with my scattered, noncommittal ways. Because nothing is more impressive than being scattered and noncommittal. It's a form of self sabotage really. If I get my act together then I have to try to <i>keep</i> it together and honestly the thought of it is more than I can bear. So. The topic of todays blog is this.... Stuff We Did Lately. This has also been the topic of almost all the posts from the past two months. There you see, is the level of consistency I offer you as a reader. You can always count on me to tell you about some stuff. Stuff that happened lately. And when you get right down to it that is the essence of what a blog should be, right? Sure. Let's go with it!<br />
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Where to begin? Let's start with Rudy. Lately he has been fussy. He barks at people in the yard, even people that he knows. He leaves mouthfuls of dog food all around the house on the floor. He makes calls to Bermuda on my cell phone and then tries to blame it on Rochester the neighbor dog. Here is a picture of Rochester.....<br />
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And here is a picture of Rudy. I will leave it up to you to decide who looks more guilty.<br />
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Here is a picture of Rudy attacking Billy in bed at night. I think you can clearly see by the look on Rudy's face that his intent is to be a menace for pure sport. He is sinister and thinks it's funny.<br />
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That's really all I have for you about little dogs at this time. Little dogs think that the whole world should be a party just for them all the time and Rudy is their ring leader.<br />
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So I have talked about bootcamp here... it's the exercise class that we go to three times a week. We are still going and it is still kicking our asses. We have two weeks left in this 8 week session, then we get a week off before the next one begins. The good people who run the camp are having a photo contest where you can win 30% off the cost of your next session. The only rule for the contest is that you are wearing your bootcamp t shirt in the snapshot. Billy and I set out a few days ago to take our winning photographs. I really can't stand the idea of anything less than 1st place. They are giving 2nd and third place prizes of 20 and 10 percent off but those amounts are for someone else who is not willing to look like a complete idiot in their photo.<br />
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We decided to hike up to the top of Atalaya mountain which is right up behind our neighborhood. It's about 9,100 feet in elevation so it gives an awesome view of the city and the surrounding landscape clear to Albuquerque. I wanted the epic view behind us for our series of pictures we had in mind.<br />
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Let's start off with some super idiotic looking shots of me doing a side plank (sort of) on some boulders on the edge of a cliff! Normally side plank would be done on the floor and from your elbow not up on your hand like how I am here.... but sometimes you have to make modifications when trying not to fall off the precipice and die. I think these two pictures scream out "TA DAAHHH!" Don't you?<br />
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Next we have Billy jumping. Jumping can look very dramatic at 9, 000 feet, no? You may wish that Billy was wearing a parachute or that he had wings here.... but it's all an illusion. He only hurt himself mildly upon landing.<br />
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And again with the side plank. Man, are we happy or what? Try to imagine what other hikers passing by must have thought of us if they caught a glimpse of our activity. Also... try to imagine me getting in to this position within the ten second time frame the camera gave me before firing off.<br />
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This is a favorite. I can almost bet that you have not seen this before. Or at least not lately. This is Big Bill McLane's fancy stunt version of a head stand. Whaaat?! And again.... done near the edge of a cliff for dramatic effect. People... do not try this at home.<br />
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Finally.... Billy posing as a tree limb. Anther amazing feat not many people are probably prone to even try to do.<br />
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What do you think? Is the winning shot in there? 30% off worthy stuff? I hope so. We had a few risky moments involved in getting these pics. For example this one....<br />
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At first glance it may look like I am running through the scene like a champ. But NO! On closer inspection (see the bottom foot) I am falling sideways off the boulder into an area of smaller rocks and a drop off a few feet beyond. Why did this happen? Because I was trying to do this pose....<br />
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What does this pose even mean? It seemed like a good idea at the time. Really though... it's more of an ice skating maneuver don't you think? Yes. And then I fell sideways (it was Billy's fault... he told me to twist my upper body toward the camera more so he could see the shirt better) and nearly died. Somehow while falling, as my life flashed before my eyes I managed to twist in mid air and ended up sticking the landing with both feet and came out unscathed. Bootcamp. It can transform even the biggest idiot in to a strong, balanced and capable idiot.<br />
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OK! That's all I have. I hope it was enough. I will report back on the outcome of the photo contest. Cross your fingers for us that nobody has images of themselves lifting a baby hippo over their head while riding a unicycle in their bootcamp gear or something. Have a great weekend y'all.Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-35798099041643801132012-04-02T22:02:00.000-04:002012-04-02T22:02:01.929-04:00Another one bites the dust...Another one meaning the spring bloom that has already gotten off to a rapid start here in Northern New Mexico. Check it out.... this is happening right now.<br />
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Whatever. I know it pretty much happens every year. But still! Bullshit! Why can't we just get RAIN!? I think I can count in one hand how many times it has rained here in the past year. Ok. Rant over. On the bright side this should squash my allergies for the next two or three days which is actually just shy of being miraculous.<br />
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In other news.... we are still working through Greg's passing. We had a memorial service and party in his honor this past weekend. I had a chance to sit quietly one last time in the living room late one night before the majority of Greg's personality was removed from the room.... the next morning many of the carpets, furnishings and paintings departed to new homes.<br />
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And you know you are at the right party when there are clay sculptures of Conquistador heads, empty whisky bottles and homemade nutter butter cookies filled with peanut butter buttercream.<br />
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Max and Greg's brother Steve continue to unearth the most fabulous old pictures of Greg.<br />
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What a total and complete ham. And cool cat. Right? Like I have said before... Greg was a gem. I am so glad to have known him the little bit that I did.<br />
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Not much else has been happening. We attempted a yard sale this past Sunday. It was stupid. We were disorganized and no one came. I made $34. I deserved to make less. People really should have been driving by and throwing water balloons at us for the audacity of pretending like we mattered at all out there in the driveway with our measly offerings. We will make a better effort again in a few weeks. I think. We shall see.<br />
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The last thing I guess I have to report (confess) is that I made <a href="http://gimmesomeoven.com/irish-soda-bread/" target="_blank">THIS</a> last night. We ate the whole thing. I gave one end piece to Max and then Billy and I ate the REST of it. Gross. Where is the control? I have no power where good toast is concerned. Therefore I must shy away from all things toasty. Especially when they involve buttermilk and currants. I actually added a fair amount of fresh nutmeg and lemon zest in to the recipe as well as brushing the outside of the loaf with buttermilk before it went into the oven. Hot diggety dog people. It's disastrously delicious and easy to make. Go make some. Right now. Join the club and eat the whole loaf hot out of the oven with butter. You can do it and I won't tell anyone.Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-30457099819536343842012-03-25T00:14:00.001-04:002012-03-25T00:14:57.439-04:00Departures, Little Dogs, Anniversaries, Allergies and Yard SalesHi all.... it's been one heck of a weird week. Really sad in some ways and really lovely in others.<br />
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After my last post, the very next day we suffered a loss in our little family here at El Zaguan. The elder member of our group <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/santafenewmexican/obituary.aspx?n=john-gregory-tweed&pid=156647788" target="_blank">John Gregory Tweed</a> made the leap to the other side late on the evening of the first day of spring. Having known Greg for the past 9 months or so.... I can say that he was as genuine an individual as one would ever hope to meet. He was a gem of a human being. Greg's health was failing him this entire past year but we still managed to have some wonderful times listening to his grand stories and hearing him sing in his amazing, beautiful baritone voice. Greg had the sharpest wit around and doled out compliments by the dozens. He was someone who made you think about the mysteries of life and made you laugh about all it's goofy pitfalls. It was an honor to have known you Greg.... and to have you as our neighbor. Bon Voyage kid.... see you around.<br />
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We had a get together at Max's place last weekend to celebrate Greg's life.... Rochester, Greg's Giant Pinto Chihuahua was always under foot. He has no lack of people to look after him in Greg's absence.<br />
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Rochester's fate has yet to be decided.... will he stay at El Z or will he go to live with one of Greg's close friends who lives nearby? He and Rudy get along quite well... so Rudy casts his vote for his buddy to stay of course. Little dogs have to stick together.<br />
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Billy and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary on Friday. We kept it simple and just walked downtown for a bite to eat at <a href="http://labocasf.com/" target="_blank">La Boca</a> then came home and toasted our longevity with an apple martini. I am not usually a martini drinker. Yikes. It's just a bit too ferocious for me I guess. I'll stick with my homeopathic gin and tonics thanks.<br />
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Today we found a gift from our neighbor Brenda hanging on our doorknob.....<br />
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Inside was a huge cupcake. It was delicious and was a perfect sweet for after a big lunch of mole enchiladas at <a href="http://tuneupcafe.com/lunch.aspx" target="_blank">The Tune Up Cafe</a> this afternoon. Pistachios, orange zest and a sweet cream cheese frosting on a perfect yellow cake. I think there was some lemon in there too.... it was really good.<br />
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I have to admit that I am writing this post through an allergy fog that is thick as pea soup. I may not be capable of keeping an entertaining story line going here. In fact I am pretty sure that this whole post is going to come off like dry toast. Sorry. I'm at a rock bottom low point for the season so far. I made the stupid mistake today of switching to a different allergy pill. No Bueno. I feel like a couple of banana slugs crawled up my nose and are mating up in there somewhere. See? That's what I mean. I should not be writing right now. Seriously though.... how much longer can this crap go on? I can't even think straight anymore.... I'm too cracked out on meds and lack of sleep from the struggle that ensues in the night (every night.) Nose blowing, parched dry throat. itchy ears and a pounding headache. So wonderful.<br />
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Spring has definitely sprung here in NM and the weather has been awesome the past few days. Brenda and I scooted out to an estate sale this morning and I grabbed a pair of Navajo moccasins for twenty bucks. I lovvvvee them.<br />
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We have daffy's popping up all over the yard... and if you want to get a real nice sunburn you can hang out in the orchard for twenty minutes and hook one up no problem at all. I could show you my face and arms as an example right now but I will spare you the imagery. </div>
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The lettuce has been planted in the garden.... and we are excited to get a bunch of seeds started. This years garden is going to be a success... drought be damned. We will not be stopped. </div>
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In closing, here's Rudy soaking up some rays in the orchard. Happy Sunday to y'all and enjoy your life people. Every day counts. </div>
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-35786985562625177602012-03-19T22:37:00.001-04:002012-03-19T22:37:22.813-04:00Some Kinda Update.Yo. It's almost spring.... so even though it's a very confusing 72 degrees in Illinois and a stingy, brisk 35 degrees in New Mexico I still am allowing myself to hope for some sort of weather induced euphoria to grip me any day now. Come on Weather.... I know you can do it. Just give me a couple 75 degree days with no pollen and a bunch of fluffy, jolly ass looking clouds kicking around up in the sky! It should be relatively easy, no? No. The Weather says.... "Nope."<br />
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Jerk.<br />
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What else is new? I re-opened my Etsy shop. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/roadtripjournal" target="_blank">Road Trip Journal</a>. I am slowly but surely loading it back up with good stuff. I have a few pieces listed that are personal favorites. Things that I agonize over actually selling. I am not a rational person when it comes to this particular topic. I will hold on to a dress that know I will never, ever have the occasion to wear or it looks stupid on me for years just because I think some day by some magic trick it will all make sense. I will grow 4 inches taller, my waist will shrink to a circumference of 24 and I will be on my way to a black tie affair that has a 70's theme. What? Right.<br />
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Anyway.... check these out. The first one is a 60's mod shift dress with penguins in the print. I have been selfishly clinging to this dress for like 4 years. I have never worn it. I just keep it stashed away. I'm a sort of hoarder I guess. In the mildest hoard sort of way. I look like a middle aged albino stewardess in the thing so it's time to let it waddle it's way into the heart of a new owner somewhere out in the world. A girl who has a tan. And isn't 40. Go girl.<br />
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This next one is the hardest to possibly part with. It's a 1970's Koos Van Den Akker masterpiece. His designs are curated at The Met.... he's the Cosby sweater designer of the 80's. He's one hell of a groovy designer with such a unique vision and style.<br />
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I grabbed a few images off the web to fill out the visual. Remember these sweaters? If you watched the Cosby Show in the 80's the sweaters were almost like an actual character on the show as much as the people were.<br />
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I know I have passed up a few of these sweaters over the years while I was out thrifting and I wish I hadn't. At the time I did not picture them coming back into popularity and I did not yet have an appreciation for the artful fabric collage work Koos does/did enough to start collecting him yet. I love this dress (and shawl that accompanies it) and if it does not sell I am more than happy to keep it in my personal collection. I have seen his vintage dresses selling for anywhere from $800 to $1100 online and have mine priced at $600. If some bohemian goddess comes along and snatches it up at least I will have a decent chunk of change to fill the empty space in my closet (and heart) for a little while. Thanks Koos.<br />
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I bought this dress about ten years ago in NYC and have had it squirreled away too. It's a 50's era day dress. Sort of an upper crusty one. Day into evening wear perhaps? Anyway... it's awesome. It's a silk fabric with a beautiful texture and sheen to it. It's so totally Betty Draper. Perfect for a Mad Men theme party or if that is just the way you roll in 2012.... looking like it's 1957. It's too big for me... and I guess I can't rationalize gaining 15 pounds so that it will fit. Can I? Hmmmmmm.... So into the shop it finally goes.<br />
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So, yup. That's what I have been up to. Shooting photos and writing up Etsy listings. Researching pieces and hunting for new stuff. Billy is painting like crazy and we are still working out our plans for spring and summer. He has 4 shows lined up.... one on Nantucket, his two week show here at El Zaguan, the show we are doing together here at El Z come August and then he is going to show at a local coffee house in September. It's a lot of painting to get done but if you know Billy... he can do it. He is a painting powerhouse. The kid can't stop. He paints. He eats. He sleeps. He watches bad movies. He has sock fights with Rudy. That's it. No time for anything else.<br />
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Time to grab a coconut popsicle outta the freezer and break away from the net for awhile. Happy first week of spring (almost!) to you wherever you may be.<br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-1127142759669546642012-03-11T23:55:00.000-04:002012-03-12T00:02:46.342-04:00FreedomThis past week was my first in a long while that was totally my own... to sleep when I want to, read, walk, shoot photos, cook or just sit on the couch with my mouth hanging open and breath whenever I feel like it. All day... every day. It took my almost the full week to ease into it. I still have had trouble sleeping at night. I had a few donut dreams which was icky. Lots of dreams that I was flying too high.... and was sure to fall. Long about Friday I started to get my groove on and feel right again. It takes awhile to decompress.... to let the problems you take on at a job wash away and let your mind come back around to being your own. I think about how many people live the majority of their lives without having their mind and heart cleared of other people's troubles or bearing a good portion of the weight of responsibility for other people's financial endeavors and it's pretty crappy really.... that we all slave away under the umbrella of another entity, for it's benefit more so than our own, and for pay that keeps you barely afloat. It's a way of living that stunts happiness, creativity and creates really bad energy over time (unless of course you are the rare example of a person who absolutely <i>loves</i> their job.) It's amazing that things evolved in this way. That exploitation of one anothers' time and energy is the standard. I have no idea how long we will be able to sustain our lifestyle with me not going in to a regular job, but I am so glad for this time I have right now to let my mind flourish with ideas and to let myself rest and replenish my well of sanity... because listen up yo, it was coming fairly close to running dry these past few months.<br />
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All that heavy stuff aside. We had a great weekend. We went to a two year old's birthday party... which I made the cake for. It was my first ever "cake in the shape of a thing." And the thing was a robot.<br />
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We were celebrating Wyatt Hogan Mickelson's 2nd trip around the sun and the kid is doin just fine so far..... he has grown from a wee pea pod of a little guy to a juice guzzling party animal in what seems like no time at all.<br />
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I'm not sure what this cake really meant to him in the moment. I think it was mostly a "I see candy on this big hunk of whatever in front of my face" situation. The gumdrops were the first thing to go....<br />
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The cake was pretty ridiculous. I made it while on copious amounts of allergy meds and after about three nights in a row of not sleeping. Does it show? The robot looks like he may be suffering the consequences of insomnia too.<br />
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Saturday morning I got up and baked bread which is something I have not felt like doing at home in a long time. I made a fig cardamom sweet bread from a <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/figgy-cardamom-bread.html" target="_blank">William's Sonoma cookbook</a>. I don't generally love their recipes, too plain jane, and this one proved to fall into that same category. If I made it again I would jazz it up with some orange zest and vanilla to give more complex flavor. It would make a great french toast as it had a texture similar to brioche inside. It's definitely a recipe to play around with and jazz up and make your own.<br />
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We spent the past few days cleaning and reorganizing our tiny little apartment here at El Zaguan and getting ready for the first artist's meeting to plan the coming 2012 season of shows at our gallery here. We hosted the meeting here at our place and had a really successful brainstorming session. We will have the same crew of artists this coming summer that were here last season so I think we all have a good bead on what we need to do better or differently this coming year to increase our visibility in the Santa Fe art market and have a better turn out for our shows.<br />
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I made a <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/06/zucchini-and-ricotta-galette/" target="_blank">zucchini galette which I snagged the recipe for off Smitten Kitchen's site</a> and I highly recommend it. The recipe is simple and the results are fabulous.<br />
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The chocolate cake in the background was a hit too. I found it on the <a href="http://www.divine-baking.com/2011/10/flourless-chocolate-cake-with-hot.html#more" target="_blank">Divine Baking blog</a>. Again, it's simple but delicious. It's flourless so is a great option if someone is gluten free or trying to go easy on the carbs and it packs a serious wallop of chocolate. Hook it up with some fresh fruit on the side and whipped cream and you may pass out from the joy it brings.<br />
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Our little living room gets maxed out even with just 5 people trying to hang out in it. It's cozy. We need more chairs. But where would we put them?<br />
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I spent some time out shooting pics around the property today. We got snow the past two nights and then the sun came out and it warmed up significantly this afternoon so there was a lot of melting ice and snow everywhere. It gets pretty messy and muddy in Santa Fe and in our yard in particular this time of the year. I can't wait for April when the plants start to wake up and the world is thinking of turning a bit green again. It is nice to hear the water running off the awnings and see moisture on the ground though. I have had enough of dust, dust and more dust.<br />
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This week I have a few social dates to look forward to with friends old and new which is another thing I have not had the chance to indulge in for a long time due to the wacky schedule I was on for work. What plans do you have heading in to spring? Anything exciting going on out there?<br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-70479489819796787302012-03-05T09:49:00.000-05:002012-03-05T09:49:18.289-05:00Spring CleaningGood Morning everyone. It's 7:04 a.m. as I type this and I have been up about an hour. This means I slept in more than 3 hours past my normal wake up time over these last 6 months. This. Is. A. Good. Thing.<br />
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Yesterday was my last day at the donut shop. *Insert huge heaving sigh of relief right here* My coworkers sent me off with such a funny and spirited last day.... I love you guys! Ryan, Rachel and Miles in particular and Abraham too.... it was seriously memorable. A few of our loyal customers stopped in to say adios as well which was sweet. I had made a special for the weekend that went over gangbusters which was a bananas foster cream filled donut. People were feeling it. It was a "deep thoughts" provoking sort of item. Reach deep within your soul.... behold the final donut special..... this donut loves you.<br />
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I also did a fresh strawberry version with the berries tossed in rose water, vanilla and apricot preserves. My friend Jeff told me while eating one that it was so good it was weird. This is the sort of compliment I hold dear. The weirder the better.... as long as it's good weird. </div>
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Abraham is a guy who works the overnight shift from midnight til 8 doing the raised yeast dough. He does not speak English and I do not speak Spanish. Somehow over these past months we developed a comfort level with one another in our inability to communicate in a normal every day fashion. We had a translation book that was utterly worthless that we would refer to at least a few times a night only to find the words we were searching for didn't exist in the book. So then it was our own goofy version of sign language and a sort of guessing game with a lot of head shaking and laughing involved. At least 30% of the time the moment would end in a big shoulder shrug and just plain giving up on what one or the other of us was trying to tell the other one. I had asked Abraham a while back to write down his recipe for making Mexican mole sauce for me. The confused conversation that ensued went on for over a month. The mole recipe was elusive and I had sort of given up on the thing. Yesterday Abraham showed up with grocery bags full of stuff, tied on his apron and proceeded to show me how to make the mole in person. He whipped up a complete meal. I now understand why he did not write it down because there are quite a lot of steps and weird little nuances that would have been really hard to describe. It was delicious and he is so sweet for having done this. The dude is a good egg and it's proof that friendship does not require speaking the same language. </div>
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We brought home enough mole sauce to last us for the next 3 months. It is going to have to go in to the freezer there is so much. Awesome. </div>
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I cannot say that I will miss making donuts. It was too specific. Too fried. I am glad I had the experience but I am most certainly done with it. It feels good to shed my donut hat and know that I am moving on to whatever comes next. Today that mostly means laundry and organizing our little apartment which has been in steady decline due to my weird schedule and constant zombie like state of being. We are meeting with the other artists here at El Zaguan this week to plan the coming season and schedule our show dates. Billy and I have a road trip in the Airstream planned for April. I am super excited to get to work on my photography and plan my work for shows here this summer. It already feels like we are off on a good path for a creative and satisfying season. </div>
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Last Monday we hiked the Atalaya trail which is near our house leading up into the foothills of the Sangres. It was still pretty snowy and icy up there but we made it up and the view is always so cool from the top of that little mountain. </div>
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The weather is just now starting to shape up here. We will be in the low 60's for a good part of this week. This is bad news for my allergies but so welcome in every other way. We also start our third session of boot camp today. We just came from a week off and are anxious to get rolling again. Let the pain and suffering begin! Now... off to sort through the piles of mail, magazines, books and general mess that has been silently waiting for me all these weeks. Spring cleaning I suppose. </div>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-82777450139009803062012-02-28T21:00:00.001-05:002012-02-28T21:13:56.587-05:00Little Cabin in the Big Woods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Okkkaaayyyy! So I have returned from Big Sur... ummm about a week ago. I needed a minute upon my return to get my head screwed on straight. Or at least partially so... I guess I am never completely and properly put together. I had a pretty good trip.... it definitely had it's highs and lows. I very much felt like I was dreaming the whole thing for about 95% of the time I was there. I flew into Monterey where my old pal Gordon picked me up. We popped down to Carmel for a few hours to grab a bite and visit for a bit. After that it was straight down Hwy 1 to Big Sur. We arrived at the bakery mid afternoon and I was promptly given a tour of the kitchen by Matt the manager. The kitchen was one of those things you have to see to understand.... it has evolved over the years as the place has grown and changed and is a place wholly unique. While I was getting to look around there were a couple of guys huddled in a cobblestone corner, a sort of indoor/outdoor area boiling crabs in a huge pot.... the bakery is separate from the main kitchen and is a very small room but efficiently laid out. Soon the chef/owner arrived and he brought us up to the little cabin I was to stay in a few minutes walk from the bakery. The place was as cute as a button. I thought I was going to be housed in a room in someone's home and then all the sudden I had this sweet cabin to myself. I was pretty stoked. Thanks Chef Phil for setting me up with such a comfortable place to hang out while I was visiting.<br />
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I started my stage the very next night. I woke at around 3 a.m. and got ready. The chef had left a little Coleman lantern for me to carry on my walk down through the wooded path and along a brief section of Hwy 1 to the restaurant. I am a total chicken about walking in the woods at night. I can turn a short walk into a long one in my mind. There was an owl hooting in a redwood across the highway and I felt like he was telling every man eating beast or rabid raccoon within ear shot that there was a lone red head on the loose and up for grabs if any one was hungry or just wanted to mess with her for sport. Anyway, I made it to the back door of the bakery for the 4:30 start time unharmed. I met Matt #2 (there are three Matts who work at the bakery) and he got us rolling on the production for the night. The place makes an amazing array of baked goods each day ranging from several different croissants, muffins, cookies, donuts and scones to baking their own hamburger buns, pizza dough for the hearth stone oven and two different beautiful hearth fired breads made from a sourdough starter. There are also several plated desserts for the evening dinner service. It's a busy, busy bakery kitchen. We baked off the mornings fare and I worked on prepping some apples for galettes and strawberries for danish. Matt showed me the process over the next three mornings for laminating the croissant dough, making the doughs for the sourdough breads, pizza dough, the buns and a few other special treats. He is a super cool guy and really knows his stuff. I very much enjoyed working with him and getting to chat about our travels and hopes for the future. In my off time I pretty much hung out at the cabin with Mamma Kitty... the big fatty cat who lives there. She was good company other than her bouts of lust in the small hours of the night when she was prone to ravishing me with her furry little paws and purring like a lawn mower. Sadly I don't have any photos of the stuff I made and saw made while I was working at the bakery. It just did not feel right to drag my camera in to the scene for some reason. I regret it now... but at the time it seemed too flakey to be trying to snap pictures while Matt was busting his ass trying to get the job done for the day.<br />
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I did take a walk through the redwoods into state park land across the highway from the bakery. I had to overcome feeling very small and very alone while on my little hike but I had to go see the trees and get a good dose of woods before heading home to the dry ass southwest. I shot these pics with that new little Canon Elph I bought just for the trip.<br />
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This was the view I had out the front windows of my cabin...</div>
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I did not get many good coastal view shots... but I do like this one. </div>
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Gordon came back down on Sunday afternoon to pick me up and we shot straight back up the coast where we had a drink at The Mission Ranch (owned by Clint Eastwood!!) We stayed in Monterey that night and hit the hay pretty early. Our hotel was swathed in Burgandy from head to toe... it was like sleeping inside a raspberry bath robe. That makes no sense... but let's go with it anyway. The next morning we took Hwy 1 all the way up to San Fran and then cut over to Napa so we could lunch at Bouchon. God Bless you Cappy for driving my dumb ass all the way up there. We had a beer across the street while waiting for a table to open up at Bouchon.<br />
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People. I busted out and ordered the steak frites. WTF, right? I KNOW! It's the first time in my LIFE that I have ordered red meat in a restaurant. Hell it's the second time in my entire adult life that I have eaten red meat, period. This is an awful photo... but here it is. My huge steak. It had caramelized shallots and herbed butter on top of it. I managed to eat maybe half of it. Crazy. It was a little too fatty for me to really be able to dig in wholeheartedly... but seriously, for those who really know me.... this was big time nutty.<br />
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We split a dessert of blueberry tart with lemon ice cream. It was beautifully done.</div>
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The next morning we drove into San Francisco to Tartine for breakfast. I was so excited to get to see this bakery in person! The kitchen is very open so I got a good view of the scene back there. Very cool place and their baked goods are gorgeous. I had a pain au chocolat as well as their muesli with a huge latte in a bowl. This was the best croissant I have seen maybe ever. The muesli fell a little shy of being great but the latte was awesome. I wish I could have tried a bite of everything in that case. I do have to say the price y'all at Tartine are charging for your tote bags is falling into the category of highway robbery. I came close to developing an acute case of turrets when I heard my total charges waft over the din of the crowd at the cash register. Knock her down by about twenty bucks and the world will be a better place to live in.<br />
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We found a great little gourmand grocery a block or so down the street and wandered through it oohing and ahhhing over all the fancy treats they had to offer. I found an item I have been trying to get my hands on for a few years now... a <a href="http://mastbrothers.com/" target="_blank">Mast Brothers chocolate bar</a>. They do not carry these very many places in the U.S. and I have been dying to try one ever since I first heard of their place out in Brooklyn a few years back. All their bars are hand wrapped in these great printed papers and at $8.99 a bar you are really investing a bundle in what you hope will be a bad ass piece of chocolate heaven.<br />
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I grabbed one of the straight 73% bars and passed on the fancier stuff with sea salts or maple syrup and walnuts because I wanted to see what their signature blend of cocoa tastes like. Let me tell ya people... it's freaking fabulous. I have to give these guys huge props for not only seeming like the coolest chocolatiers in the states but having some hella good chocolate to boot.<br />
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I flew home that afternoon with my head swimming from the confusion over what to do.... move to Big Sur? Stay in NM? I was too tired to think straight and decided to just let my brain chill until I could get home and have a proper discussion with Billy and Rudy about what we should do.<br />
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Long story cut short... it would seem that the best choice for now is to stay put in Santa Fe. The logistics of moving to Big Sur are pretty daunting. The only place we could find to live would require a 40 mile round trip drive for me daily to and from work. Getting up at 2:30 a.m. and then driving twenty miles to work is not high on my list of favorite ideas. Let alone the $400 or so it would cost in gas per month. Yuck. We are still planning to head to the coast some time in the next year.... maybe even this fall. It all depends on what this summer brings here in New Mexico.... the winds of change are definitely blowing. I gave notice at the donut shop and this weekend will be my last making the donuts. Billy and I have a few trips planned this spring to areas south of here and in AZ for me to shoot photos and for him to do paintings for our coming art shows here this summer. We are excited to be on the brink of another season here at El Zaguan and hopeful that it will be a bountiful one. As for my future in baking there is a big ole question mark hanging in the air above my head at the moment. We are talking through a few ideas and I will post about any new developments as they roll in.<br />
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Thanks again to the folks at The Big Sur Bakery for hosting me and I hope that someday I will get to let the flour fly in your little back room of that crazy kitchen. And thanks to Gordon for being my chaperone for the trip. I could never have done it without ya Cap! Love you!Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-88633359040123904102012-02-13T16:52:00.002-05:002012-02-13T16:52:58.476-05:00Big (Sur) News!Howdy people. It's me. Sorry I went MIA on ya again for a couple weeks here but things have been hopping. I've got news. Could be big.... could be not so big. We will find out very soon. As you may or may not know.... depends on how long it's been since you last checked in on us, we are in Santa Fe and I have been working at a from scratch donut shop. It's a brand new place which opened up back in October. Things are going well and I have made some very exciting donuts over these past months.<br />
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Examples.... this week for Valentine's Day we are doing rose scented sugar and fresh rose petals.<br />
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These were for a special event at the farmer's market for winter brew fest. They are Dirty Car Bombs.... it's a chocolate stout cake donut with a Bailey's cream filled donut hole covered in Jameson glaze. Ka-Boom!</div>
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Over the holidays.... Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie.... yes, another booze infused donut and that is a real all butter pie crust leaf of top. </div>
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A ways back... pumpkin fritters made from organic sugar pumpkins with fried sage leaves and candied pumpkin seeds on top. </div>
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In the world of fried dough... I am willing to push the envelope as far as I can. Why not? Who needs a plain old raised glaze donut when you could have an orange creamsicle instead?<br />
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Anyway... enough about donuts. Seriously. I never knew I would spend so much time fretting over fried dough in my lifetime.<br />
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On to the news. In a few days I will be flying out to California.... landing in Monterey where my old pal Gordon (aka Cappy) will be rescuing me from the airport and delivering me directly to Big Sur. It's an hour or so down the coastline in the redwoods on highway 1 for those of you unfamiliar. The reason for the trip is my three day try out at the <a href="http://www.bigsurbakery.com/" target="_blank">Big Sur Bakery</a> where I may be destined to bake my next round of muffins and danish in a small kitchen with a wood burning oven on the tippy toe edge of the continent surrounded by hippies, a mountain lion or two and a multitude of star fish. Woo hoo! THis restaurant is super fabulous. They source a ton of stuff locally... always using the best of the best ingredients. We have eaten there a couple times and were never disappointed. In fact we had the best wood fired pizza of our lives there a few years back. They have a full bakery case stuffed with everything you could ever want for breakfast fare. I am really looking forward to seeing how their kitchen runs and meeting the chef and staff.<br />
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Billy and Rudy are staying home to man the fort. I will do my three day audition and then if it's a go I will scout out sites for parking the Airstream for us to live in. Come Monday when the work is done Gordon and I will be ripping up the coastline... climbing redwood trees and wrestling bears.... oh, what? They don't have bears so.... wrestling sea otters and eating kelp like candy. That's how we roll.<br />
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I grabbed a wee little Canon point and shoot camera to take long on the trip so I don't have to drag the nikon along for the ride. It feels like a credit card in my hand compared to the D 80. So tiny! I think it will shoot decent pictures though... and I am stoked to give it a run on one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline on this here planet.<br />
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The first few test shots have been good and I love that it shoots square format pics!<br />
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Rudy posing for his fans in the Best Buy parking lot. </div>
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Valentine's Stump</div>
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Proof of what a well behaved dog we have. Such a regal creature with impeccable manners while out on a walk. </div>
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So yeah! Wish me luck on my weekend adventure! I will report back next week with all the details. I am not bringing my laptop along... so I doubt I will post anything while away. If you are on Facebook with me I am sure I will throw a few posts up there if I am not totally cut off from the ability to do so.<br />
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Happy Valentines Day (also Rudy's birthday so Happy Birthday Snoop Dog!) to you all!Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-57958235466415765722012-01-16T12:22:00.000-05:002012-01-16T12:22:03.044-05:00Jinx!I think I may have made it snow. I posted yesterday about being down on winter (cold and snow) and we woke up this morning to heavy gray skies and giant wet snow flakes drifting down out of the sky! Ah well, embrace the moment. We really have not had that much snow this season so far so it actually does look pretty out there. We took Rudy for our usual morning walk and we all got absolutely soaked. It's 36 degrees out so it's not even all that cold. All in all... not too bad. Maybe I will take back some of my attitude from yesterday. I probably should not have taken the camera out on the walk because of how wet it got.... but I did.<br />
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Our front gate which leads out to Canyon Rd</div>
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The English Garden</div>
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Snowy Trail Blazer</div>
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Sleeping Trees</div>
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Snow Beard</div>
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Trying to love the snow</div>
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Tiny World</div>
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Big Bill McLane</div>
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See Ya...</div>
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Rudy loves to catch snow balls. Unfortunately and curiously it usually ends up making him puke. I know, I know. It's too confusing to think about for long and it does not stop him from wanting to do it so....</div>
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Wet Head</div>
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We are holed up again inside now. Billy and I go to bootcamp at noon and then I hope we can build a fire and curl up for the next 24 hours. Happy MLK Day.... hope you are having a good one.Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-62431753227640825482012-01-15T18:43:00.000-05:002012-01-15T21:19:48.903-05:00Cooped UpWinter. I will never say that I enjoy any aspect of it. Cold can kiss my ass.... snow looks great out the window but I'll take a pass on going out in it much. Dark at 4:30? While it <i>is</i> beneficial for my current sleep/work schedule it sucks eggs. I want to be able to have the doors and windows open... I want to see green on the trees... I want to go barefoot. Remind me again why we moved back to the mainland from Hawaii? That was really, <i>really</i> dumb. Sigh.<br />
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This winter so far has not been too harsh. It has been so mild in fact that I am currently suffering from my juniper allergy. In January. This is about the only reason why I could be moved to cheer for a deep cold spell to fall upon us and linger. Rudy is also suffering from seasonal affective disorder. He lays around in a piss poor mood and all he wants to do otherwise is eat. See?<br />
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Go ahead and look at the larger version of this by clicking on it and take a gander at the dirty look on his face. He is a hater. The dude is hard up. He even has a dried sweet potato treat wedged back there by his bum but he could care less. I think I may buy him a bottle of bourbon just to help him through until we get to the end of February. Everyone likes to pretend come March that Spring Is Here! So I will let Rudy ride that shenanigan train too. Until then... bottoms up Rudy. Just don't puke on the rug.<br />
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The apartment feels like a nest at times. We have too much stuff, it's warm in here and the thick adobe walls can sometimes make you feel as though you were twenty stories underground in a tomb. The thick draperies and blankets we have covering the windows aren't doing us any favors in that department either. I have grown to depend on them though... to block out the car headlights that race through our bedroom every 5 minutes for hours right around the time we go to bed.<br />
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I did notice that our orchid on the high window ledge in the bathroom is getting ready to bloom. I can't even remember what color the flowers are... purple? So that will be cool to watch them open up.<br />
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My favorite tea tin has been getting a real work out. We drink about 40 gallons of hot tea per day. I'm hooked on genmaicha. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good chai? I am thinking of blending my own as I can never quite find a store bought variety that does the trick for me.<br />
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My cookie cutters above the fridge are looking sort of lonely.... I need to find the time to bake up a mess of rockets and hippos to deliver to friends with kids. I have not even used most of them yet. I have a monkey and a bison and a bunch of other random shapes. It's just a question of when will a Martha Stewart mood strike?<br />
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Our mantle is such a glom of nick nacks. One of my favorites is the little green wooden guy. He is super old, hand carved and hand painted. He's meant to walk/waddle down a plank board with his big feet. Billy bought me the groovy purple crystal a few years back. We saw it in a gem & mineral store and I was taken with all it's little facets and sparkles. It is supposed to be straight up, pure magic (of the fairy variety.) So far nothing big has come of it but I love it anyway.<br />
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The photo on the right is my Grandmother's family (on my Mom's side) on their cotton plantation in Arkansas when my Gram was a young teenager. The pic to the left of it is her parents. I love both of these photos dearly even though I never met my great grandparents and I only know (knew) 3 out of the ten people in the group shot. The photos make me feel grounded somehow. Knowing that these sort of folks are my roots makes me feel like part of an old oak tree even if I am still somewhat of a bitter little acorn.<br />
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Billy is painting. Every day. Some things (barely ever if not) never change. He is working on a self portrait which I will post an image of when it's been completed. It's been years since he did one... and I think this one will be really cool.<br />
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I'm off to start a new book. Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. Anyone else reading it or planning to?<br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-2591904757395827782012-01-08T18:09:00.000-05:002012-01-08T18:09:05.221-05:00The Weight of a Tooth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Try to imagine what your life would be like if your teeth looked like this. It would really make an impact I think.... right? Rudy carries the weight effortlessly. Such a strong man.Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-42780787459346131262012-01-07T19:20:00.002-05:002012-01-07T19:20:34.350-05:00Late Saturday AfternoonI finished up the work week today and now have three days off. Yessssssss. This is a very good thing. It puts my head in a good place and I almost immediately feel my creative juices flowing. It's winter. It's kinda slow around these parts.... but I have a list a mile long of stuff I want to do. One of the top things on that list is to get back to shooting photos if not daily at least three times a week or so. I'm tired this afternoon and SORE (thanks FRANK!) so I did not wander far but thankfully I don't have to. Our homestead here is about as inspirational as anything you could hope for. I went out and wandered around the property and caught the moon rising over the mountains and there was gorgeous light everywhere.<br />
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Hope you are having a cozy and inspiring weekend.<br />
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Our front door, a tapestry I found at the thrift this summer</div>
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Down the hall by Adam's. </div>
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The Old Bike</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkpYt60BUJK51FzKiOUoJk27mnVr6iwywG-HQ68WzrXrzpyerygjGUP8sv8z0Bbed8Fdn-POYpZb8AgJQuj9Z-ZtgsFdtJGttf9L58nWiPVBhNlUIS2F-V9VofZEPxXRze7X-hg/s1600/moon+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkpYt60BUJK51FzKiOUoJk27mnVr6iwywG-HQ68WzrXrzpyerygjGUP8sv8z0Bbed8Fdn-POYpZb8AgJQuj9Z-ZtgsFdtJGttf9L58nWiPVBhNlUIS2F-V9VofZEPxXRze7X-hg/s320/moon+tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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La Luna</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFVudDO5AfdYqhzNFGX9ofLFT-o6Zypxh9HUoJMkKekyP8IE77n0quV74xB2aJTkW7nOg_hS9ZGiK1-5leGVpBNke378PP9SzqixZhg5HKUt1Or6I79Tybs6gmX4uukT2ixuJSA/s1600/moon+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFVudDO5AfdYqhzNFGX9ofLFT-o6Zypxh9HUoJMkKekyP8IE77n0quV74xB2aJTkW7nOg_hS9ZGiK1-5leGVpBNke378PP9SzqixZhg5HKUt1Or6I79Tybs6gmX4uukT2ixuJSA/s320/moon+view.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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Beautiful Moon</div>
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Winter Tunnel</div>
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Good Night Little Fatty!</div>
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These are my favorite winter birds here. They are so common and plain jane but adorable all the same. </div>
<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-10070205715266229572012-01-03T17:39:00.000-05:002012-01-03T17:40:41.337-05:00How many calories are in that marshmallow?One new development in our lives over the past few months is that Young William and I enrolled in a fitness boot camp. Holy crap, right? Yeah.... that's what I originally said. Holy CRRAAAAP!!! The place we are going to is <a href="http://bootcampsantafe.com/">Boot Camp Santa Fe</a> and we totally love it. I have maybe never been more surprised at myself in my whole life. We were initially prodded to join by Jeff and Kari (friends and owners of the place where I work) because they wanted to join up and start getting in better shape. So we did it... we are now about ten weeks in to a 3 day a week schedule getting our asses whooped. Whipped? Whooped. Definitely WHOOPED. For the initial 8 weeks (the beginner class) we went and never missed a class. I was sore every day for 8 weeks solid. For reals.<br />
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For anyone out there curious about joining a boot camp here is a bit about our particular class..... it's 50 minutes long, you have about a 5 to 8 minute warm up period of stretching and getting your heart rate up a bit and then the next 40 minutes consists of squats, sit ups, push ups, holding the plank pose, mountain climbers, jumping rope, more squats, more sits ups and so on and so forth. You never stop moving and there are a million variations on the theme. I never knew there were so many ways to do sit ups. You will feel like you are going to straight up die for sure at least two or three times during the class. Then there is a quick cool down stretching session right at the end. The thing I have grown to love about the class is that it pushes you to work harder than you ever would alone. Well, for most people anyway. I am sure there are some fitness buffs out there that can go ape shit all by themselves but I am not one of them. After finishing the 8 week beginner class and then doing two of FRANK'S classes over the holiday break time (you must say the name FRANK with some authority and volume because FRANK means business) I feel stronger than I have in perhaps my entire life. Billy is feeling it too although he used to be a muscle head back in the day unlike me so his body has gone down this road before... whereas mine has most certainly not. Allow me to mention that I achieved a moment toward the end of one of FRANK'S classes where I was actually gagging. My body was trying to make me barf.... but I did not let it. Sheer will power people. Sheeeeer will power at work there.<br />
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So yeah! We are now enrolled in the nest session of camp and classes started again this week. We plan to keep going three days a week for the next 16 weeks to carry us through til Spring when we will drop one day of class so we can go hiking in the mountains on that day instead. I also just signed up for this thing called <a href="http://www.gym-pact.com/">Gym Pact</a> which is a free application for iPhones or iPads (nothing on the market yet for droids etc.) where you pledge how many days a week you are planning to go to the gym and a dollar amount you must pay in if you miss a day (I pledged ten bucks.) You check in when you get to the gym and the GPS registers whether or not you are really there.... if you don't check in then you pay ten bucks. If you DO check in and never miss a scheduled day at the gym then you actually MAKE money. The money comes from the lazy slobs who did not go when they said they would... and the funds go straight into a paypal account. Cool, right? I have no idea what the earnings will be.... a pretty insignificant amount I am sure, but what the Hell, it's another motivating factor to get us there.<br />
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Other than that news it's pretty much business as usual around here. Rudy is crabby because it's winter. He is usually stationed by the door that looks out on to the entry way to our compound in his cozy bed garumphing and mumbling at the passers by....<br />
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Yesterday I made some from scratch marshmallows. We have been trying really hard to not eat sweets but listen up Yo, it ain't easy. These gigantic marshmallows only have about 30 calories per.... so they are a great way to shut your brain up when it goes scratching around bitching and moaning that it needs sugar. I made mine with orange zest, cardamom spice and organic orange extract. <a href="http://teaspooncomm.com/teaspoonofspice/2012/01/clementine-kissed-marshmallows-first-on-the-first/" target="_blank">Here</a> is the recipe I used.... you can modify it any old way you please which is awesome. You do need a candy thermometer and a stand mixer with a whisk attachment so go out and buy those things pronto if you don't have them on hand already. I also doubled the recipe and just put it in a 9 x 13 inch pan with no problems.<br />
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If you have never had a real marshmallow before they really do beat the pants right off of the store bought variety. There is no comparison. Especially for putting in hot chocolate.<br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-13570189506662789212012-01-01T20:06:00.003-05:002012-01-01T20:20:53.018-05:002012 and an attempt to blog again....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZF2RMxHvllmiz1J_6lsycceRvmaQdlwWN9qvlzDHV7TVhsT77CzDugRbbDim6_QGVo6tEhfmjz5ucyQd2IOMUL2am_W3yM8NKdA719iJZ_DJvk2splt6ro5ne4KZyv0Hlbik4A/s1600/Magic+Front+Door.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZF2RMxHvllmiz1J_6lsycceRvmaQdlwWN9qvlzDHV7TVhsT77CzDugRbbDim6_QGVo6tEhfmjz5ucyQd2IOMUL2am_W3yM8NKdA719iJZ_DJvk2splt6ro5ne4KZyv0Hlbik4A/s400/Magic+Front+Door.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692837084651244306" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Our front gate at El Zaguan, Christmas Eve farolito walk on Canyon Rd, 2011</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I think I made about 5 or 6 posts here total in 2011. Not so chatty this past year I suppose. It's not for lack of a lot of stuff happening though.... we moved back across the country from Nantucket to Santa Fe, landed an artist residency on Canyon Rd, made tons of fabulous new friends, Billy had a very successful solo show at the gallery here where we live and was featuring in an article about artists in Airstream Life magazine. We helped friends Jeff and Kari open their new, from scratch donut shop (where I still work now) and life marches on with all it's tricky curve balls and moments of beauty intertwined. We all have another year under our belts, albeit a tough one for a lot of us. <div><br /></div><div>I used to post long stories here and loads of photos. For now I hope to pop in a few times a week and just share what's up... even if it's just every day simple stuff. No sense in back peddling and trying to fill in the gap from now going back to my last post which was over 6 months ago.... I am just gonna stick with here and now. Cool? Kosher? You dig? </div><div><br /></div><div>Happy New Year everyone.... let's do everything we can to make it a good one. </div>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-15157870124571287532011-06-19T22:39:00.007-04:002011-06-19T23:11:39.213-04:00Time Off Flies BySo I had the last 6 days off work (going back in tomorrow.... boo hoo) and it really flew by. We pretty much stayed around the compound the whole week. I listed a few things in my etsy vintage shop and Billy painted as usual. Tonight I am so tired my brain feels like the sludge at the bottom of a pond. Don't expect great things out of this post. In fact, you should probably just stop reading it right about now because yeah, I can't even understand why I am trying to post right now. Wha?<br /><br />The best way to handle a tired post is usually pictures. Lots of them. So here goes... this past week wrapped up in a random assortment of photos.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The garden is looking pretty gorgeous in spite of the drought we are in....<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLqxFef9q7uXTGsGcgm5MUaGaZAdcuNVfabE87PZ3PFv6Fm25KXUJ5Yovwnqx0C5fzpaXA7cRtHm_Bd4otchVdc1j2M4UlLI49eQbtcakAJDcRouaBnoYxKxIWeigyyCtPmcZHQ/s1600/garden.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLqxFef9q7uXTGsGcgm5MUaGaZAdcuNVfabE87PZ3PFv6Fm25KXUJ5Yovwnqx0C5fzpaXA7cRtHm_Bd4otchVdc1j2M4UlLI49eQbtcakAJDcRouaBnoYxKxIWeigyyCtPmcZHQ/s400/garden.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620128178717430658" border="0" /></a><br />Rudy is looking pretty gorgeous in spite of the drought we are in....<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdxbppKHFjl7WCpvJjjRhrea-muAvG7qEU-Rrq3-YmwM_BTEABzOonhyphenhyphenCF_0MvxAIB_jp7uZdIyCWBcBtGLjqHfzA6mnEDM1PiEe13hcE-DdT3JZBiOmLbWGAij28Og2_ayYfvA/s1600/twilight-zaguadog.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdxbppKHFjl7WCpvJjjRhrea-muAvG7qEU-Rrq3-YmwM_BTEABzOonhyphenhyphenCF_0MvxAIB_jp7uZdIyCWBcBtGLjqHfzA6mnEDM1PiEe13hcE-DdT3JZBiOmLbWGAij28Og2_ayYfvA/s400/twilight-zaguadog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620128303755368834" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Billy with his game face on at Friday night's art opening here... he sold one painting so apparently the game face works.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dSvv9Iw6g8G9gGszurStAC1xH-B7IWRPAmN6GLDBHFCxu-gOWcbA4WHFp5HKft2L32jRf2RqW7IXgXaj2Twh8IQWhMb1Fwrf68dMFutotvtQivqJoo78qcbAvXwmr9Ia_cT3Pw/s1600/devious-face.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dSvv9Iw6g8G9gGszurStAC1xH-B7IWRPAmN6GLDBHFCxu-gOWcbA4WHFp5HKft2L32jRf2RqW7IXgXaj2Twh8IQWhMb1Fwrf68dMFutotvtQivqJoo78qcbAvXwmr9Ia_cT3Pw/s400/devious-face.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620128285306925810" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Max with his "get this crazy bitch off me" look on his face...<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBrDokmAw3JRfwm6RmVPmjINPNtRChlb9-47mhAgNAxJWK_RGeggD0-kn1W3Ua3ozIG_vtAqLQKckIuyfnnwP8rgDkTQqiEZk01Bq6FdTCS4-YCFbwBzuXKYBVd7SXLqiiVFGcQ/s1600/get-off-me.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 351px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBrDokmAw3JRfwm6RmVPmjINPNtRChlb9-47mhAgNAxJWK_RGeggD0-kn1W3Ua3ozIG_vtAqLQKckIuyfnnwP8rgDkTQqiEZk01Bq6FdTCS4-YCFbwBzuXKYBVd7SXLqiiVFGcQ/s400/get-off-me.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620131252558137442" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">No need to resort to violence Max.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NsaGplPPFB12B1vCNrShhyNCqXLX5gAGhRaPWrQuNF4c59hCTHrHiRc3q99hI976T8JhZP4Kv61SpQg2jWPfBZ9ijrYzeeeM65iym2fErabKjAlfWBI7hOvALhXhEqFSsaO8-A/s1600/choker.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NsaGplPPFB12B1vCNrShhyNCqXLX5gAGhRaPWrQuNF4c59hCTHrHiRc3q99hI976T8JhZP4Kv61SpQg2jWPfBZ9ijrYzeeeM65iym2fErabKjAlfWBI7hOvALhXhEqFSsaO8-A/s400/choker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620131246541096146" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Billy and Max peeking in people's windows all over town. Perverts.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2McKJVRISqOzqTd6K9yB-6Pn4YzgQEat-IiXEbAt14AH4c3wcNRGsns3qe_EylmtiJVeHXYIqNCMcjkcynRi8mPFKS35MKmEcHyhpJjXsguO7dDyOnqzqo-4g88ORIGhRwICHQ/s400/peekers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620130084797075522" border="0" /><br />The Santa Fe National Forest is on fire big time... New Mexico is basically one big bundle of kindling right now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-RqWrOozB9mB5PDYnXIgjR6fkiTGOpwo2WRFXCJQWwEk3GAEIC4uze_Y0cFhp8L98TmY9CaYlBgRZQzuRqxTBl_vS5rT-5R27L-1G6GKhd8cvKqKiVyYJJFYnlTr94BbAgXn7A/s1600/smoke-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-RqWrOozB9mB5PDYnXIgjR6fkiTGOpwo2WRFXCJQWwEk3GAEIC4uze_Y0cFhp8L98TmY9CaYlBgRZQzuRqxTBl_vS5rT-5R27L-1G6GKhd8cvKqKiVyYJJFYnlTr94BbAgXn7A/s400/smoke-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620130077370736370" border="0" /></a><br />Chelle brought Wyatt over on Saturday for a garden visit... the kid is getting big!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQ0nEbuGh728x2jpBOiFiCSxAYEQ9WWA5ToXFbi28BxRigH5R4Xc7aeP8mUhEQCsGnH4BGcCh8jPQK7cmcAKkVHdxHm125K61AI78Va2SkKkJzj_im6Csz4EYzyuAD9suSFRMLg/s1600/big-eyes.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQ0nEbuGh728x2jpBOiFiCSxAYEQ9WWA5ToXFbi28BxRigH5R4Xc7aeP8mUhEQCsGnH4BGcCh8jPQK7cmcAKkVHdxHm125K61AI78Va2SkKkJzj_im6Csz4EYzyuAD9suSFRMLg/s400/big-eyes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620130070838849778" border="0" /></a><br />Ridiculous cuteness....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlDXpugbz5KvY9gCTf03XgWOBxAN5nHG6_e1orUtt8RYcsT5FB1i72VhL6rWAr9ACyzzPu_nQiMmjiFl7xySU9Ajf0EzAByQLxCryfK_IYpcL4XfflEqFNQMjN7BS4f1-1V077g/s1600/hello-everybody.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlDXpugbz5KvY9gCTf03XgWOBxAN5nHG6_e1orUtt8RYcsT5FB1i72VhL6rWAr9ACyzzPu_nQiMmjiFl7xySU9Ajf0EzAByQLxCryfK_IYpcL4XfflEqFNQMjN7BS4f1-1V077g/s400/hello-everybody.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620130063769166690" border="0" /></a><br />Our dear friend Gordon (aka Cappy) came out for a super quick weekend visit from Cali... it was great to see him and we will soon be hiring a hit man to kill his ass totally dead if he does not just hurry up and move to Santa Fe. That's him dead center (hear that Cap? DEAD center!) waving at you all....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3-tFq2-58LQhiY7nv7ZP8QfuvK4535Jhae39KUmWWwMJI7KwYOxf1f099Xzh9tjLcMkIrOIic1B3YgsAuRc6oN8zS50oxn7sTqgInshaXdf0K2CzSbqX12No0v6XvsH2c-Zq1g/s1600/cappy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3-tFq2-58LQhiY7nv7ZP8QfuvK4535Jhae39KUmWWwMJI7KwYOxf1f099Xzh9tjLcMkIrOIic1B3YgsAuRc6oN8zS50oxn7sTqgInshaXdf0K2CzSbqX12No0v6XvsH2c-Zq1g/s400/cappy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620132260806864002" border="0" /></a><br />What else? uhhhhh.... I dunno. This took everything my wee muddy brain had tonight! Hope you all had a fine Father's Day out there in the world. Neck ties, goofy greeting cards and mixed nuts for everyone! Yeah! But seriously... I am lucky enough to have a boat load of great Dad juju in my life... and am grateful as heck for it. Cheers to all the great Dads of the world! Especially Billy who is of course the world's best Dad to Rudy. (Dumb!)<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-52805390834599460562011-06-12T23:52:00.007-04:002011-06-13T00:19:33.893-04:00The Living Room<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfpYAbMs3v1wR2AY-bxCaIfR5pSfWr-CjxFJ-Q4Plmzpvk7yh4PCqMD1ZEXuBdoXoJdkEx-qHBgKfRNkOId_RG1jQllyi3VHrpZeVByNdELoXg6XCl5zAlP5AQC9r5oYzUJhDtw/s1600/front-door.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfpYAbMs3v1wR2AY-bxCaIfR5pSfWr-CjxFJ-Q4Plmzpvk7yh4PCqMD1ZEXuBdoXoJdkEx-qHBgKfRNkOId_RG1jQllyi3VHrpZeVByNdELoXg6XCl5zAlP5AQC9r5oYzUJhDtw/s400/front-door.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617547400552742258" border="0" /></a><br />This past Friday night we had our first art opening of the season here at El Zaguan which is why I have not posted in a while. Between the show and work I have been a busy bee. It was a group show featuring work by all the current artist's in residence including Billy and I, Brenda Roper, Max Carlos Martinez, Greg Tweed and Adam Eisman. I had three photo prints in the show and Billy hung 8 paintings. We had a great turn out and a really fun evening. The show hangs for another week or so if you are in Santa Fe stop over to say HI and see the work.<br /><br />This is a piece by Brenda Roper.... she is a really thoughtful and interesting person to know and her work is beautiful. This pic has a bit of a glare but gives you a good feel for her art.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQd6SpvMM2lSa4t9Swr-w6QglaYi-QBa8iz5a703tUkYX0TVFPWzOVxiKRkjSFVmRaIpPqwper2BpAYDRhmFnXLwamu-RxNDZml8Wq4fmd9P7d0FnxhlYenVYeA4yRftEyfdf5Q/s1600/brenda.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQd6SpvMM2lSa4t9Swr-w6QglaYi-QBa8iz5a703tUkYX0TVFPWzOVxiKRkjSFVmRaIpPqwper2BpAYDRhmFnXLwamu-RxNDZml8Wq4fmd9P7d0FnxhlYenVYeA4yRftEyfdf5Q/s400/brenda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617548941642582178" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Annnnd this is Max. He lives right next door to us and I love him to pieces. If you move back to New York Max I will burn the city to the ground.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwwTZ62bIVez-f2uy_tU7eakrSgPJ-jK1ZLTMvPRuXio2WXLd2Q9BDDef5ntxvLqcB-a_QzpRuyThuZ_iaY_culu4bp238jAkm0Xd1i1wMCNCZ9Q4cwkvhE4PxHpKpz8EqSRGlg/s1600/martinez.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwwTZ62bIVez-f2uy_tU7eakrSgPJ-jK1ZLTMvPRuXio2WXLd2Q9BDDef5ntxvLqcB-a_QzpRuyThuZ_iaY_culu4bp238jAkm0Xd1i1wMCNCZ9Q4cwkvhE4PxHpKpz8EqSRGlg/s400/martinez.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617548941042324514" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I don't know who this wretched geek is but someone should have thrown her out into the street...<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZP6rV-3s_Zkh9lXVoGCGvu7Rl4ZV_qNaDLCILVi7vCxu9VJKj96B7v7mSF4n3QASdJIHp8GV6guzep_UESLf3vLTvRC3wZUQHzMCCnLLZlqIUt-HZBLDcp5oXRjEk4cXrNjAiA/s1600/the-work.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZP6rV-3s_Zkh9lXVoGCGvu7Rl4ZV_qNaDLCILVi7vCxu9VJKj96B7v7mSF4n3QASdJIHp8GV6guzep_UESLf3vLTvRC3wZUQHzMCCnLLZlqIUt-HZBLDcp5oXRjEk4cXrNjAiA/s400/the-work.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617548937926621586" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here's a long shot view of Billy's wall... I will post a few close ups further down.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicDmVSm8bFCPO_UxnTE6SMDq0q0_Vg6SseUULlG8jLO8C19Zq05j7qJ5nPBtL8xagIPLdfYzm2mnAlbdXktv4OASmym_DzWPXCGIjXDJHp0FBv6rInCYt29tz-joKMAYBMIRUgw/s1600/billy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicDmVSm8bFCPO_UxnTE6SMDq0q0_Vg6SseUULlG8jLO8C19Zq05j7qJ5nPBtL8xagIPLdfYzm2mnAlbdXktv4OASmym_DzWPXCGIjXDJHp0FBv6rInCYt29tz-joKMAYBMIRUgw/s400/billy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617548926062415634" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Brenda and I after a few preliminary sips of prosecco.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteEEab5eCwrkYg_t5NhYpe1SI87WuoeEzVHnMxrxiuu1lDyF1v8E8nJXcMjWV0cOzIj2zoYjBjDOf8xeqjqZRDIZ5lvL1pC0nGjKfOStYza-o4yVJngpf_OAFMmqnPikD3GYugw/s1600/brenda-me.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteEEab5eCwrkYg_t5NhYpe1SI87WuoeEzVHnMxrxiuu1lDyF1v8E8nJXcMjWV0cOzIj2zoYjBjDOf8xeqjqZRDIZ5lvL1pC0nGjKfOStYza-o4yVJngpf_OAFMmqnPikD3GYugw/s400/brenda-me.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617548924854735234" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And here are a few of Billy's pieces... up close.<br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwquAHU2O05Hl0HAmVeAVqmjs_9vAOXFPFB48Ap3ayDC0i6ycanOjBw-BS9A_srGzDDZvLc4x5HUOb2Gqifywlwg99_KEtXHrxgzbGrhLSywOB_67muUJBtAJjYNJPSuT09cLcJg/s1600/wind-adobe-paint.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwquAHU2O05Hl0HAmVeAVqmjs_9vAOXFPFB48Ap3ayDC0i6ycanOjBw-BS9A_srGzDDZvLc4x5HUOb2Gqifywlwg99_KEtXHrxgzbGrhLSywOB_67muUJBtAJjYNJPSuT09cLcJg/s400/wind-adobe-paint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617549505213781826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9jpAgjUU7Ci04XNady-iG0EYront2KvR-x0LB_vplc_50cVJLMj5cgmeP1CF9UiavEojDA1jCI7JUNg2jNn2icwuf5l_6t4lEswWsvbezcndzeVw6wkwvQgENxqyE3slbxhV1Q/s1600/misty-mountain-paint.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9jpAgjUU7Ci04XNady-iG0EYront2KvR-x0LB_vplc_50cVJLMj5cgmeP1CF9UiavEojDA1jCI7JUNg2jNn2icwuf5l_6t4lEswWsvbezcndzeVw6wkwvQgENxqyE3slbxhV1Q/s400/misty-mountain-paint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617549503445749282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijF-3UX_WgJZ-iZM8dsMu-_rcola36U_wlGNovgBuSBVXG5eYXwqAFSn-ir9AL5DgmpIMRnSG_kAb9gUMIB05kMxkGx1kO9rYWOqYzNvlp0Owo1W_qQ9P6OY6U2mJ5srcYYejKog/s1600/large-moon-paint.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijF-3UX_WgJZ-iZM8dsMu-_rcola36U_wlGNovgBuSBVXG5eYXwqAFSn-ir9AL5DgmpIMRnSG_kAb9gUMIB05kMxkGx1kO9rYWOqYzNvlp0Owo1W_qQ9P6OY6U2mJ5srcYYejKog/s400/large-moon-paint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617549498108052258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKoUrrJZT-Mpewm-LbtgwJ46uCq0NUYmBW-7fvLcy3EkSSqyMvd8r6ba-hLnLlhi8bHhTL952YFZgqM71gUlcY-3TkM2AOon1YMkgWb13Fbo7jyzfOBJIwMr2I2BZdFMlKdf7RQ/s1600/big-storm-paint.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 343px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKoUrrJZT-Mpewm-LbtgwJ46uCq0NUYmBW-7fvLcy3EkSSqyMvd8r6ba-hLnLlhi8bHhTL952YFZgqM71gUlcY-3TkM2AOon1YMkgWb13Fbo7jyzfOBJIwMr2I2BZdFMlKdf7RQ/s400/big-storm-paint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617549497225942450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCBEXdGGOZUpf7xZJZyAsPnSO7JQJqXRb6MiyQBGY9aE26pAuH_foN7MQaipjBHzibp93raWw9_LNmXgSsKin0SqlhKKv3dnGpKk3o3Nj5qd8GpkIFvWxdw968Sz2fHVOKic55g/s1600/arroyo-campfire-paint.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCBEXdGGOZUpf7xZJZyAsPnSO7JQJqXRb6MiyQBGY9aE26pAuH_foN7MQaipjBHzibp93raWw9_LNmXgSsKin0SqlhKKv3dnGpKk3o3Nj5qd8GpkIFvWxdw968Sz2fHVOKic55g/s400/arroyo-campfire-paint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617549495481208818" border="0" /></a><br />The last one is a dude all cozied up to a fire in an arroyo.... I love the feel of it. Night time paintings!<br /><br />We are still dry as a heap of shredded wheat here and all smoked up from the fires that continue in AZ. It makes for some beautiful skies in the evening but I have had my fill of the smell and the sore throat, etc. stemming from it.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumaLBy30tuMb06D6agkavZy2UE3Vj5daeykTmqqVz86F-_npSUTEYvcAKZL1rVoOVq2gwyBsYCZnY7VaxaOTQBu_5L5skmnA5TTw3s4IGqLSdCffhDCwj41GZ03CfgBEBCFoP2A/s1600/smoke-horizon.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumaLBy30tuMb06D6agkavZy2UE3Vj5daeykTmqqVz86F-_npSUTEYvcAKZL1rVoOVq2gwyBsYCZnY7VaxaOTQBu_5L5skmnA5TTw3s4IGqLSdCffhDCwj41GZ03CfgBEBCFoP2A/s400/smoke-horizon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617551967245466418" border="0" /></a><br />I have several days off this coming week and a visit from a VIP friend this next weekend so we should have tons of pics and stories to share coming up.<br /><br />Cheers!Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-91105861811442030232011-06-03T11:12:00.002-04:002011-06-03T11:14:23.682-04:00Waiting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaDCJ3opwLUpwxjo5l3rfuyl0GcIb5BjCKZRn5IPk_FehQ7RLmhkiUOaXwAyhcBOCLeYsZIOEn3gMsACVusbFDCq7bd089R-UicSrEtbGsfsg_XCF1HBqyJ5OyLhJNwNHtZoEtg/s1600/softie.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaDCJ3opwLUpwxjo5l3rfuyl0GcIb5BjCKZRn5IPk_FehQ7RLmhkiUOaXwAyhcBOCLeYsZIOEn3gMsACVusbFDCq7bd089R-UicSrEtbGsfsg_XCF1HBqyJ5OyLhJNwNHtZoEtg/s400/softie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614011962283000594" border="0" /></a><br />Still waiting for even a drop of rain to fall on Santa Fe. The cloudscapes are beautiful but they are still holdin' out on us. I have never felt so dusty is all my life.Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-53595205886608065342011-05-31T00:00:00.004-04:002011-05-31T00:05:48.632-04:00Reptilian Canine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYOmE2-BDjpT87FnSunNSju4M1tQxzvTBTk45f1eycOywUpU7QdhLppV3SGCygnK6y37ugUBJgG5IOvmabzQTKhv02XZoJy3ChRHFLauXWrYWTY5PbhUEsCypNiV_r-aQo5jCAg/s1600/wolf-man.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYOmE2-BDjpT87FnSunNSju4M1tQxzvTBTk45f1eycOywUpU7QdhLppV3SGCygnK6y37ugUBJgG5IOvmabzQTKhv02XZoJy3ChRHFLauXWrYWTY5PbhUEsCypNiV_r-aQo5jCAg/s400/wolf-man.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612725819851917746" border="0" /></a><br />This little dog loves the desert. Rudy could not be happier to be back in NM and hanging back in the old hood.<br /><br />Tired, tired, tired from work this weekend.... a sleepy photo of the hall at night and I am off to dreamland.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYF-kYY4DbNyCnMK0ZbFobNCYNg-Z-1efNi6Ny2aVr-8DRo61MkMxwdEba40DELJrJqvFBj6Pd2oKBE0U71yFKLP3ObdtdmaslMGD6ZQjZFp-O1WpNEN-1ijODqDEpYt_BR0nbw/s1600/hall-w-spirits.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYF-kYY4DbNyCnMK0ZbFobNCYNg-Z-1efNi6Ny2aVr-8DRo61MkMxwdEba40DELJrJqvFBj6Pd2oKBE0U71yFKLP3ObdtdmaslMGD6ZQjZFp-O1WpNEN-1ijODqDEpYt_BR0nbw/s400/hall-w-spirits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612726187660266066" border="0" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-42319788202299793172011-05-25T17:42:00.003-04:002011-05-25T18:13:17.635-04:00Number 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaRKMVwRRv0W8d5qs5H5lAID1Zzax540PyRv3P5dW8eOLwFo3grMMcOi9v4cyI2IWHTROQdQM0tGeTCAT3VXDzDA9N5cDfXBKX_Y2cqo2XamPVw492gYcZW5a7pt1TEY_mIdI6Q/s1600/studio-door.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaRKMVwRRv0W8d5qs5H5lAID1Zzax540PyRv3P5dW8eOLwFo3grMMcOi9v4cyI2IWHTROQdQM0tGeTCAT3VXDzDA9N5cDfXBKX_Y2cqo2XamPVw492gYcZW5a7pt1TEY_mIdI6Q/s400/studio-door.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610772752459490594" border="0" /></a><br />Where have we been for the past 6 months? Touring with a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band. No? Can we pretend that is where we have been? Let's do. That way I can just skip right to telling you where we are now. That's all that really matters anyway. Here's a nutshell version.... we left Nantucket in the end of March, spent a month on the road visiting family, bake saling for dollars and trying to live in an Airstream with no running water or electricity that has major parts being held on by duct tape. We managed to travel all the way back to New Mexico in this way and have now settled in to apartment 3 at El Zaguan on Canyon Rd. It's an artist's residency space in an historic building owned by The Historic Santa Fe Foundation. It's a pretty remarkable situation. We have fabulous neighbors, access to real food again (I'm thumbing my nose at YOU Nantucket) and are really glad to be back home in Santa Fe.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is the street view of El Zag looking down Canyon....<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97iIYjrRAAGZYeEfgPwE-BBTLDGxYr3GZawt5L1i6zN2ybC4OV5zjL-dFT-Xov2MwiZGsCDGEg3xftI3LEluhdDDG-FlONvfLzU3NUc703lyCYcpQ6P6iSx7q807QVd0Njtsgww/s1600/looking-down-canyon.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97iIYjrRAAGZYeEfgPwE-BBTLDGxYr3GZawt5L1i6zN2ybC4OV5zjL-dFT-Xov2MwiZGsCDGEg3xftI3LEluhdDDG-FlONvfLzU3NUc703lyCYcpQ6P6iSx7q807QVd0Njtsgww/s400/looking-down-canyon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610776765982724322" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And the view from our garage roof tops out back....<br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGxV9xdckckS6kni3XmlfqiRVdK7v5kfvqcX8M1YIAOjaXWdOA35HhtjNkhvW4NGL8Op46LFNz1yAL2uBRk06f4LSMguI9GRdy_EGv-cgXA9FpOx8QstrPZio8iiA24AsdaRCnA/s1600/garage-top-view.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGxV9xdckckS6kni3XmlfqiRVdK7v5kfvqcX8M1YIAOjaXWdOA35HhtjNkhvW4NGL8Op46LFNz1yAL2uBRk06f4LSMguI9GRdy_EGv-cgXA9FpOx8QstrPZio8iiA24AsdaRCnA/s400/garage-top-view.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610776770930285730" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The view from our bedroom door on the zaguan (a long outdoor hallway that runs the length of the building) at dusk.<br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpodncuuxMnCD-stIJZPtwdYXBskQP8ALsvdfjQkYXh7cXmH7iEztmzqtJMEWcJqWLdUeqMdVmhbcoxmxF4x2FlfDsSognru9z43H1vnqKKvGXcJW6l6-rD90m5MbAww_QWvz4bg/s1600/night-light.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpodncuuxMnCD-stIJZPtwdYXBskQP8ALsvdfjQkYXh7cXmH7iEztmzqtJMEWcJqWLdUeqMdVmhbcoxmxF4x2FlfDsSognru9z43H1vnqKKvGXcJW6l6-rD90m5MbAww_QWvz4bg/s400/night-light.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610776778346998610" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This place is pure magic.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Real%20Estate/The_bones_of_El_Zaguan_date_to_1816">Here</a> is an (lengthy but interesting) article The New Mexican published on the building and it's history for anyone curious.<br /><br />We (the current artist's in residence) will be writing a blog sharing work, photos, writing and event dates such as shows etc. which I will post about here as soon as it is up and running.<br /><br />Thanks for hanging with me.... it was a long, tough winter and I had no motivation to write! The tide has most definitely turned!Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-42740488343459238502010-11-29T20:57:00.010-05:002010-11-30T00:41:54.149-05:00The Winter SituationAhhhhh winter. How I hate your stinkin' rottin' frozen guts! As many times as we have sworn to do anything to avoid cold weather it seems like we always end up getting caught in it time and again. This is mainly due to the other thing I hate dealing with which is a thing called Money. Lack of Money equals living in cold weather. Simple as that. If we were bank rolled right now we would be living it up in the Airstream somewhere warm. Warmer than here anyway. Dang it!<br /><br />Winter on Nantucket is a force to be reckoned with. It does not get down to 30 below or anything.... but it does blow with wet, gray, gale force wind frequently and you do feel as though the rest of the world may be partying it up in Tahiti without you. It gets to feeling melancholy, isolated and other worldly out here come February. So let's hope I discover a trunk of gold doubloons washed up on the beach in January! For now have Christmas to keep us distracted. This is one area where the island does not skimp. They pull out all the stops. Downtown is decked out like you want it to be. Old school with lights, bows and baubles. There are dozens of trees lit and the windows of all the shops are tricked out with decorations, lights and $800 cashmere sweaters. Deeelicious. I snapped a couple of shots late this afternoon on Main St when they had first turned the trees on.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaSJvQhMjqjg_Sl8uPhrlg6x0MuVMY88SludzkZyGRrorke8x6qoY79SLFaqKvBWrRSnlNBrD1RkXw53qyNHbiRXN29R9SifaiGkB92FiVYBbe7C0tqaQcf2onHRiK-qsVEWmtw/s1600/top-of-main.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaSJvQhMjqjg_Sl8uPhrlg6x0MuVMY88SludzkZyGRrorke8x6qoY79SLFaqKvBWrRSnlNBrD1RkXw53qyNHbiRXN29R9SifaiGkB92FiVYBbe7C0tqaQcf2onHRiK-qsVEWmtw/s400/top-of-main.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545204095741705122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lvcwjjo_Qe7kfk7BuPPS9gSFiHetRGzUdY6d2Fn9sUNwmSoGOZah3SnnW6p2UYe3jnpseF0WWZ1_HYkEC51ktyrRC80GaeE4mhw3DxWI69EMzoQ_aPhVTZY9xZjjP_NhSinzBQ/s1600/down-main.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lvcwjjo_Qe7kfk7BuPPS9gSFiHetRGzUdY6d2Fn9sUNwmSoGOZah3SnnW6p2UYe3jnpseF0WWZ1_HYkEC51ktyrRC80GaeE4mhw3DxWI69EMzoQ_aPhVTZY9xZjjP_NhSinzBQ/s400/down-main.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545204092266129602" border="0" /></a><br />Before we hit town we took Rudy to run his booty off at Tupancy Links which is the equivalent to a dog park on conservation lands here on ACK. It was a beautiful albeit freezing cold afternoon. The ocean was just amazingly icy blue.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18-HZfyhGnu-g6MDeuVXF5XRXGJp_iWPehK2HE1VySW5xX6aCSYRDR3sH4kta7nSYXwXM8Rk8R4Pwqk9m0XseuwJlqvOYTxO2gjq_cXV9Zl-4IN_vyTKmmtSYtUphLoHcTw2PoQ/s1600/Blue-Sound.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18-HZfyhGnu-g6MDeuVXF5XRXGJp_iWPehK2HE1VySW5xX6aCSYRDR3sH4kta7nSYXwXM8Rk8R4Pwqk9m0XseuwJlqvOYTxO2gjq_cXV9Zl-4IN_vyTKmmtSYtUphLoHcTw2PoQ/s400/Blue-Sound.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545207507970878546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBK7gSehN71BqrfD2G_EAcbJDWN4Y-3KILvBEpqZGxyjgG5c1rHFmToZIccLB6QDSMpEj8DIN6NOlcJms2YzVAx4EA2Z5bL9aQBcTF2PvsbqxoidzE1CePDmoR8QUuKZ72bmS9Q/s1600/favorite-today.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBK7gSehN71BqrfD2G_EAcbJDWN4Y-3KILvBEpqZGxyjgG5c1rHFmToZIccLB6QDSMpEj8DIN6NOlcJms2YzVAx4EA2Z5bL9aQBcTF2PvsbqxoidzE1CePDmoR8QUuKZ72bmS9Q/s400/favorite-today.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545207968124871794" border="0" /></a><br />I loooove the atmosphere in this black and white shot... look at the light reflecting just below the horizon line on the water. So beautiful!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oR8lAkIaDI6uW4JNA-Tg7-Crs-NlCJgrnAn0rL46snq7tr-OuuIAhnXnpKeMPXyiLQbZnfSuVumdfTNuPpiNlvcrDsFu4gGGIzpp4P-FsmK0FihjanY1zIVAtB8RI3ecZg7xDw/s1600/dark-waters.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oR8lAkIaDI6uW4JNA-Tg7-Crs-NlCJgrnAn0rL46snq7tr-OuuIAhnXnpKeMPXyiLQbZnfSuVumdfTNuPpiNlvcrDsFu4gGGIzpp4P-FsmK0FihjanY1zIVAtB8RI3ecZg7xDw/s400/dark-waters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545207982615497858" border="0" /></a><br />Rudy had a blast at the park although he did get busted for not listening to orders and running crazy far away to get at a dog named Dinah on the other side of the field. I mean... take a gander at Dinah and you will see why but still.... rule breaker! Click through on these to see the doggie details.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjI3fViG9CVChlOGcC2wlo8-DnLhsUILMNkCh_z0tQu2xqUvhSJGphCuhQtaTerle1HT9j48C65FAtKCoiOOZQNDOe6yPjF0Gy1rRS2u5t9BnKIrcGLs9warMCNbYbFbyAE8I0A/s1600/dinah.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjI3fViG9CVChlOGcC2wlo8-DnLhsUILMNkCh_z0tQu2xqUvhSJGphCuhQtaTerle1HT9j48C65FAtKCoiOOZQNDOe6yPjF0Gy1rRS2u5t9BnKIrcGLs9warMCNbYbFbyAE8I0A/s400/dinah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545210132570526482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieARJ1HCI9T9a7nnhfo3A7X3wl253WG5tLK2AICNp-Op-Cl_eanz4ic-xbek-nm5QMhcX4Pppua2Y81lpjVeFCwnll4r9elCSY75TcOE9ofmw93LE_vvq3n_drQPt1RJE-Qmwhcg/s1600/standoff-wdinah.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieARJ1HCI9T9a7nnhfo3A7X3wl253WG5tLK2AICNp-Op-Cl_eanz4ic-xbek-nm5QMhcX4Pppua2Y81lpjVeFCwnll4r9elCSY75TcOE9ofmw93LE_vvq3n_drQPt1RJE-Qmwhcg/s400/standoff-wdinah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545210128298291778" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgSUiMOvWu4evpc3IUQs5x6X_0KVth299j6eSvKP_b4ePAmcYD-0Qjegx0BnMUjeyMVA7FfFaH0i7JPXGrG6Vhzs7_2oYXgu8wvEJgSSQ-v2yLJB_rTTLcPlo2OAB557NpbOBOg/s1600/rudy-n-dinah.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgSUiMOvWu4evpc3IUQs5x6X_0KVth299j6eSvKP_b4ePAmcYD-0Qjegx0BnMUjeyMVA7FfFaH0i7JPXGrG6Vhzs7_2oYXgu8wvEJgSSQ-v2yLJB_rTTLcPlo2OAB557NpbOBOg/s400/rudy-n-dinah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545210134139306578" border="0" /></a><br />End result of long distance disobedience? The leash! The worst possible dog park punishment.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_njyP3RCrkf8P4SQzlhttbEgTt4Mov8d2IekOATnqKi9I2-7sq5fZIJZeCrzS_LnEVBV0sOrUKAPCSrcRaU0fYR_FZGDULCPR1yBEKzNGKGK9HHMVeijSlZuOKyTuqCQXJV3-gA/s1600/on-restriction.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_njyP3RCrkf8P4SQzlhttbEgTt4Mov8d2IekOATnqKi9I2-7sq5fZIJZeCrzS_LnEVBV0sOrUKAPCSrcRaU0fYR_FZGDULCPR1yBEKzNGKGK9HHMVeijSlZuOKyTuqCQXJV3-gA/s400/on-restriction.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545211710055647570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here he is watching so hard. Soooo hard. See how his butt is not even touching the ground? Agony. There were two greyhounds peeling the F*ck out all over the field and it was nearly killing him to watch it. Livin' ain't easy Rudy.<br /><br />Hope you all survived the weekend shopping mania over there on the mainland. Nobody got smashed up at Target!? Yikes!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_28043c294e874a7a9e4971a3ec8130fa(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_809e8475266a43a4bc62eaed806e0f7c(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-13976128228633193462010-11-23T14:46:00.006-05:002010-11-23T15:26:37.808-05:00Your Weekly Dose of Cynicism and FrostingGosh I just realized I have been layin' down on the bloggin' job again. Oops! This month has ripped past like a .... like aaaaaah, like something fast as all heck. I can't think of a good comparison right now. Quick like a bunny. There ya go. November of 2010 will go down in history as a money sucking black hole. Our truck broke down and we battled the doofis service department at the Ford dealership here on the island for over a week... I'm not sure they could fix a hot wheels car with a busted wheel. While the truck was in "in for service" (ha! funny concept Ford!) we rode our bikes to work each day. Let me tell you... I guess I am not much of a bike rider any more. It felt so dramatic each time. Painful and dramatic. It was the usual sore butt bones thing that you get when your patootie is not used to sitting on a bike seat but it was also my freakin' <span style="font-style: italic;">legs</span>. Holy crap. I was getting charlie horses and all manner of random shooting pains. And hills? HA! Put me on the lowest gear possible and it'll take me about an hour to go two blocks up a slight grade.... say .35%. Not 35% but POINT 35%. Got it? I just need to call it and get myself a weasel scooter. One of the motorized chairs. What are they called again? I always remember it as weasel and I know that's not correct. Whatever. Mine would be a weasel.<br /><br />I paid big bucks to have my Nikon lens repaired (after I dropped it) and much like the Ford dealership.... I was dealing with poor customer service. It took this place (Precision Camera in CT) over three weeks to repair my lens and turn it around to ship back when they claim 3 to 4 days turn around time for repairs on their website. Also... no one answers the phone there. Ever. Don't send your camera stuff to this place. They stink.<br /><br />There was also an incident involving pharmaceuticals that cost way too much and then turned out to be the wrong pills (for me.) I spent the entire month feeling dizzy and like I was about to throw up and it was because of a "generic equivalent" pill for one of my prescriptions. Neat! Some equivalent! But hey guess what? I just had to buy new pills and eat the cost on the old ones because that is how the cookie crumbles folks.<br /><br />We are considering heading back to the west and living out of a mine shaft, panning for gold, eating opossum and squirrel, and drinking whiskey til we go blind or die from injuries incurred from this life style. It could be the stuff of legend. And way cheaper than trying to live like real people. Being real people seems to kind of suck. It's way over rated anyway.<br /><br />So yeah... Whatever. Life goes on. Baking goes on. With no transportation and no camera lens I don't have too much in the way of photos to share. The old 50 mm just does not cut it for everyday shooting. Want to see more stuff I baked? Sure. Why not?<br /><br />More whoopie pies... man are they popular. People are way into the whoopie. They are pretty fun to make so I guess I am into them too.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQGhE3QFfDDzRxJHVDEcdAbIAqLmQ0mWLc2buvJV-YVf4tBV1DfAEmFZ4_OuEr65M_VZxt8mXITUgIEPISYocJAmcuSZlGqHaNHlKTn__bAKHAfiAmRMTA0Pon3TU6hT7-9YFNg/s1600/regular-whoopie.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQGhE3QFfDDzRxJHVDEcdAbIAqLmQ0mWLc2buvJV-YVf4tBV1DfAEmFZ4_OuEr65M_VZxt8mXITUgIEPISYocJAmcuSZlGqHaNHlKTn__bAKHAfiAmRMTA0Pon3TU6hT7-9YFNg/s400/regular-whoopie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542841329970456546" border="0" /></a><br />I had to make this super funny birthday cake.... a friends kid is in Peter Pan (the play) out here on island this month and his birthday happened to fall on opening night. She asked me if I could make a cake that looked like the "Poison Cake" in the play so here it is folks.... A green funky poison cake (no actual poison involved... it's just visually poisonous.)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBoTQxwPKsCw_AU9tEzFICVNaZ67_4_yvWULWXLzNwvrKAuDO5OW0Hgf-5giaENbyWtYevHeTxY1yVBt-4crZv99DMdL_8roFC8ORbX1xv0InzLjKdYC0Qqzlk8hiQ9Ntaddoa9w/s1600/creepy-cake.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBoTQxwPKsCw_AU9tEzFICVNaZ67_4_yvWULWXLzNwvrKAuDO5OW0Hgf-5giaENbyWtYevHeTxY1yVBt-4crZv99DMdL_8roFC8ORbX1xv0InzLjKdYC0Qqzlk8hiQ9Ntaddoa9w/s400/creepy-cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542841316781393746" border="0" /></a><br />Billy said it reminded him of a poison tree frog...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiII8xv7yGOgWQrxg1tNaq5tNbPj58PUWi1CDIQhTjf9BDQ6i_qrlUPU92FfHsTWqMXtRMZ-lnDbV59lonU5XPukWs594e8d2cQJE3DwuFlSGZ7hcv8QE3hM9zlLmilE5P_gmObWA/s1600/frog.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiII8xv7yGOgWQrxg1tNaq5tNbPj58PUWi1CDIQhTjf9BDQ6i_qrlUPU92FfHsTWqMXtRMZ-lnDbV59lonU5XPukWs594e8d2cQJE3DwuFlSGZ7hcv8QE3hM9zlLmilE5P_gmObWA/s400/frog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542843117312547458" border="0" /></a><br />And just because they were super huge and ridiculous here are some gluten free cakes I made. I called them Cake Bombs because, well, look at them. They were about the size of a grapefruit and filled with two flavors of rich butter cream. Cake Bombs.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfTf4l1-nyxbl-C_lnKjEk29zX9Gmg9nNAr1RKSNUmhrvj8k90tGy_dHRoLvKIKw1yCWXdJ1tlg8UU2fnXtjHPnpITpV590ufwuGygd-8tSWtxoOg62kzNIEywEN6gqT71tDnTQ/s1600/cake-bombs.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfTf4l1-nyxbl-C_lnKjEk29zX9Gmg9nNAr1RKSNUmhrvj8k90tGy_dHRoLvKIKw1yCWXdJ1tlg8UU2fnXtjHPnpITpV590ufwuGygd-8tSWtxoOg62kzNIEywEN6gqT71tDnTQ/s400/cake-bombs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542841304423243890" border="0" /></a><br />Ok! Off to work! Tonight is the Thanksgiving baking throw down. Everything goes out tomorrow because we are closed on the holiday so the eggs, sugar and flour will be flyin' tonight. Have a great holiday peeps and I'll be back for the weekend!<br /><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_467d7db35987452b8fd63403894d53b2(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-78438024518809308292010-11-07T21:39:00.005-05:002010-11-07T23:43:59.975-05:00Winter!God Gawd it descended upon us just today. 40 mph wind, 42 degrees outside, rain and it's generally miserable as all Hell. What. Ev. Er. What can be done? You must bake things. That's what can be done. I direct you to <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/gramercy-taverns-gingerbread/">Smitten Kitchen</a> (as I have done so many times in the past) and I have probably even linked to <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/gramercy-taverns-gingerbread/">this very cake recipe</a> before. So that should really be telling you something. Make the stinkin' cake already.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGios07XB6R87zIHaIVPZ7qVvmzZk_WeHKSRcjZ7wlCZ7KexGsxKUHItglnDSe3LlMzdUPjFey_amgSPGyt4syu8HAM9_Iznkab-3b4KvyjCUnf72AFIqZIV6jSq3vYU37eRHlQ/s1600/guinness-cake.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGios07XB6R87zIHaIVPZ7qVvmzZk_WeHKSRcjZ7wlCZ7KexGsxKUHItglnDSe3LlMzdUPjFey_amgSPGyt4syu8HAM9_Iznkab-3b4KvyjCUnf72AFIqZIV6jSq3vYU37eRHlQ/s400/guinness-cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537008019434764594" border="0" /></a><br />My Mom sent us a boat load of canned stuff this fall.... Thanks Mom! And in the mix were peaches canned in honey with cloves. We busted in to them to eat with the cake tonight. Sick! I tell ya! Sick!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm8fzHXc206ROB1dAobhT8RTVRFz2-2nyTluKwjBSl5CpmCKZJUfRUywjn8xy97Q6VVkkbPpLKm31CrJlBs2YoqrMk5tK_yROWl0JLpw7-9e6zmHv8EQ-v2txZ9QeP8Onz1OwCw/s1600/with-peaches.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm8fzHXc206ROB1dAobhT8RTVRFz2-2nyTluKwjBSl5CpmCKZJUfRUywjn8xy97Q6VVkkbPpLKm31CrJlBs2YoqrMk5tK_yROWl0JLpw7-9e6zmHv8EQ-v2txZ9QeP8Onz1OwCw/s400/with-peaches.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537031563080963554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Other than cake news... we are still getting settled in. Today we managed to clear out most of the random boxes that were loitering around the living room and kitchen. Rudy is still pouting. He always hates it for the first few weeks when we move. At least he has finally started to emerge from the depths of his cave bed. For the past two days you could not even see him he was so deep in there.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpF8vh6pahuYO9q0xVdK6-Y5FHUeeyNnP1I_VgxSEeHWpJyXpCeKco2mI9je7JsVXfYBrq8hyphenhyphen8lWEGocCru1tQQ1Si98DIiiRMD1ksmn4rxCKaXgUnuMEK18rrBWv81E8TdqwYg/s1600/pouty-face.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 397px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpF8vh6pahuYO9q0xVdK6-Y5FHUeeyNnP1I_VgxSEeHWpJyXpCeKco2mI9je7JsVXfYBrq8hyphenhyphen8lWEGocCru1tQQ1Si98DIiiRMD1ksmn4rxCKaXgUnuMEK18rrBWv81E8TdqwYg/s400/pouty-face.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537033046040922594" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />We are down to 4 days a week at the bakery so it leaves us with plenty of time to get projects done... Billy will be painting of course and I have a bunch of stuff I want to accomplish this winter. Art projects, recipe testing and plotting for the future. The biggest project of all will be not gaining 30 pounds over the course of the Nantucket winter. Not sure yet how I will tackle THAT one. So far I am not exactly headed in the right direction (glancing sideways at the giant cake on the kitchen counter.)<br /><br /><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_51920dc820f34a3f872c240f71b80bca(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-67028332265535675062010-11-02T21:42:00.003-04:002010-11-02T21:55:59.035-04:00Still Moving....Well, kinda. We are moved in and the old place is cleaned out but it's that whole thing where we are sitting here all sore and tired in a pile of boxes wondering where the Hell to put stuff now. Words of advice.... if you can help it, don't move from one upstairs apartment to another upstairs apartment. Toooo many staaaairs y'all. I was trying to be all bad ass yesterday carrying heavy boxes and bins up to the new place. Billy kept saying... "That's too heavy! Let me get it!" and I was all "HA! I can carry this with my pinkie finger!" Right up until the moment that my knees lit up like someone had poured gasoline on them and then flicked a Zippo open mid shin. Busted. Up. Knees. This my fine friends is one of those "I'm getting OLD" moments. I CAN still carry the heavy shit upstairs.... but I SHOULDN'T carry it upstairs (apparently, according to my stupid knees.) So yeah, I'm still dealing with that, pain.<br /><br />Otherwise the new digs are great. Clean. Warm. Big. Real Bed. Bath tub. Big Improvement. We are like straight up George and Louise Jefferson up in here.<br /><br />I have no photos for you. Well, I do.... they are irrelevant to this post about moving. They are of Billy's croissants. I'm postin' them. Because they matter and I want to. FYI Billy is mastering from scratch real croissants people. Who does that, right? Billy does. And he knocks that shit right out the park. Check it....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNzeLaE-AjjXzHVI09UTV-psUkBohbNir_hzyRVbuYjIJ0G5zQKZ5Zvus8eRhmWzbVIvcHAmjrUVgKBdGmgZdzHdyoVfJguo_1I6ber_tffMPHltXKIiTRJJ5XaYFeMyUyYCDVMw/s1600/outside.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNzeLaE-AjjXzHVI09UTV-psUkBohbNir_hzyRVbuYjIJ0G5zQKZ5Zvus8eRhmWzbVIvcHAmjrUVgKBdGmgZdzHdyoVfJguo_1I6ber_tffMPHltXKIiTRJJ5XaYFeMyUyYCDVMw/s400/outside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535135482776115618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCAGQVcl5dWx-ot5xeBU7Iq4zoPVJuy8i81H52GvP0YtWkKSCVjYTn4wMboapN9aUQVrINTb_BA1C-tJgjf-Evf238gRpHLNTHsr5FGmHPHTCcwwxBTIgis78nO8Hw81f8hjEbg/s1600/inside.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCAGQVcl5dWx-ot5xeBU7Iq4zoPVJuy8i81H52GvP0YtWkKSCVjYTn4wMboapN9aUQVrINTb_BA1C-tJgjf-Evf238gRpHLNTHsr5FGmHPHTCcwwxBTIgis78nO8Hw81f8hjEbg/s400/inside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535135489505455714" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Can you smell the butter? Because you actually may be able to. Take a deep sniff and let your mind get all doped out on the idea of the perfect flaky, crisp croissant. Yes! Look out Pierre Hermes! Billy's hot on your French pastry tail!<br /><br />Cheers all.... catch you in a day or so once we get more settled.<br /><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_6a0ebc4ebdbd4a10bed8d9a42d8086e4(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36378444.post-17219311158455638172010-10-28T02:01:00.006-04:002010-10-28T02:28:40.727-04:00Sugar RushHowdy Doodies. It's late and it's rainin' and I am looking to curl up in bed with my book BUT I thought I would share a great recipe with ya before I hit the hay tonight. I have been making pumpkin whoopie pies for the bakery and man are they good. If you are headed to a Halloween party this coming weekend bring a mess of these and people will be lovin' you for real.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9xlo1zJhc6SO752cL0uwv30dSriRMTYHBZMLDW3TKTjRLDsgy_n5if0cO2jC_Lobv1Za96ihZjXuTIRvtdCY6kvrzo_tNFWNnPARrlPhCguGMo2B4B8bWyODCrE_5Xc7o1EW8Q/s1600/pumpkin-whoopie.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9xlo1zJhc6SO752cL0uwv30dSriRMTYHBZMLDW3TKTjRLDsgy_n5if0cO2jC_Lobv1Za96ihZjXuTIRvtdCY6kvrzo_tNFWNnPARrlPhCguGMo2B4B8bWyODCrE_5Xc7o1EW8Q/s400/pumpkin-whoopie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532973601357481554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">They are moist, loaded with spices and filled with a maple cream cheese frosting. Get back! It's delicious bitches! I have even had people that hate pumpkin say that these are damn fine eatin'.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Without further ado.... here's the recipe. It's from none other than Martha Freakin' Stewart y'all.</span><br /><br /><div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(102, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none; font-family: georgia;"><li><b>FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES</b></li> <li>3 cups all-purpose flour</li> <li>1 teaspoon salt</li> <li>1 teaspoon baking powder</li> <li>1 teaspoon baking soda</li> <li>2 tablespoons ground cinnamon</li> <li>1 tablespoon ground ginger</li> <li>1 tablespoon ground cloves</li> <li>2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar</li> <li>1 cup vegetable oil</li> <li>3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled</li> <li>2 large eggs</li> <li>1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract</li></div><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Martha uses a straight up cream cheese frosting filling but I prefer to add to the warm fuzziness of these treats by filling 'em with a maple cream cheese...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;font-size:12pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">For the maple cream cheese filling:</span><br />3 cups powdered sugar<br />½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature<br />3 tbsp. maple syrup<br />1 tsp. vanilla extract</span><br /><div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(102, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none; font-family: georgia;"><br />To make the cookies....<br /><br /><li> <span>Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside. </span> </li> <li> <span>In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. </span> </li> <li> <span>Using a small ice cream scoop* with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan. </span></li></div><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">* I use a medium sized scoop.... I like my cookies a bit larger.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">For the filling....</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:12pt;" >To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to over beat the filling or it will lose structure.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I keep these in the fridge after I put them together... they should keep pretty well for two or three days (Ha!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">We are really cranking stuff out at the bakery trying to get stocked up for the coming weekend. I made some great gluten free chocolate cupcakes tonight that I am pretty stoked about. Yup, they are the ones you see on the new header. I also made gluten free chocolate chip cookies and then sandwiched them together with vanilla butter cream. Woo Hoo!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Who has a great Halloween costume planned? Anybody? I am trying for one. I have a thing I am trying to do. Could be good... or it could end up being super stupid. We shall see come Sunday. We went to a pumpkin carving party just the other night... here are the faces we created. Please note Billy's creepy pumpkin off to the far left with the beady little eyes. Yuck Billy. Mine is the one on the top right. I always go for the classic, wicked jack-o-lantern face myself.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAmr7pwuvKiGCM1Incgi2Ls3_oXJAP5iRVmaVxR1JV47IEAhZEHSvxbir92qRueTRvX39lLHPz0_rwyn30M9iTxq2-8vtkedG2j0gbRftXkc815UjdcIiWEbq6Tpc66js6tSCrQ/s1600/everbody.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAmr7pwuvKiGCM1Incgi2Ls3_oXJAP5iRVmaVxR1JV47IEAhZEHSvxbir92qRueTRvX39lLHPz0_rwyn30M9iTxq2-8vtkedG2j0gbRftXkc815UjdcIiWEbq6Tpc66js6tSCrQ/s400/everbody.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532978998839786850" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We will be moving into our new apartment sometime in the next week so forgive me if I go MIA for a minute. Have a great Halloween weekend!<br /><br /><br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);" href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pumpkin-whoopie-pies#ixzz13dCcAb1V"><br /></a> </span></div></div><br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);" href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pumpkin-whoopie-pies#ixzz13dBDZsTP"><br /></a> </span></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_2cd5bb2e10244be6ba24c5ea7a09f59e(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_fbb5b530559c44bdab73ff0c26c5016f(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272221827624550574noreply@blogger.com4