Sombody special pigs out in Santa Rosa

Dunpster diving, a favorite sport.

No trash sack is too large.

Smells great!

Yumm Yumm, trash.

Time for a late night snack.

I was buying a coffee to stay awake in Santa Rosa New Mexico and look who was snacking outside the gas station. It was dark and late and the photo lacks a bit of light but I could not resist taking the photo anyway. Raccoons are smart and brave. He obviously lived in the ravine behind the gas station with water and trees and his own fresh trash supply.

The Silver Saddle

We travel cheaply.
I don't like plastic hotel rooms or spending a fortune to stay in a really fancy hotel. I want clean safe interesting older hotels. I do not like dirty shaky places.
My favorite hotel in Santa Fe is the Silver Saddle. I always think I will take it up a notch and stay somewhere else but cannot seem to make myself do it.
I almost did a price line bid for a four star hotel this time but I would feel like a trader. Why spend our precious hard earned money on such a short lived experience? So here we are again in the nicest room at the Silver Saddle, room 1.
We have a large room with a double bed, a microwave and fridge and the theme of this room is the Outlaw Trail. Each room is decorated and has its own theme. We usually stay in the Roy Rogers room or the route 66 room but this is my favorite. It is located right next to Jackalope so if you get board you can go next door and shop or visit the prairie dog display. There is a picnic table outside where we can sit and read and drink a glass of fine wine and now grill if you want as well. The breakfast is OK, bagels and coffee are fine and we supplement them with fresh fruit and yogurt.
I'l put some photos of the inside later this week. It is really pretty quaint for the price, $62 inluding taxes. It is cheaper off season. I never would have picked this place driving by but a good friend told me about it a few years ago.

Join me in another journey to Santa Fe

The drive is long about 10 hours or so from Tulsa. The road is straight and the weather always changes along the way.

That big aluminum cross is always there, beside the road. It is enormous and now it has a tacky little gift shop under it. How about a Star of David across the road from it? At least they don't play Onward Christian Soldiers out loud as you pass.

The light out the window, in the rain, out the window toward the cross was quite dramatic.

More rain.

More rain, more trucks.

It takes a long time to get there. At least we are not walking.

The fronts pass through quickly.

The wind blows like crazy.

Driving and driving, just stay awake.

My car says Santa Fe on the front for good reason. I say I am from here even though I don't have a house or job here. I would love to live here. A piece of my heart is always here. It is, in my opinion, one of the most livable art cities around. Where else can you see so much art in such a small space? Wonderful artists and writers come through have openings, lectures and shows and yet it is not that scary New York big stinky city feel. Maybe really living here is not that great unless you are rich and like cold winters but long visits three out of four seasons works great for me. Great art, great restaurants and good company. I am just glad it isn't any further from Tulsa. It takes us about 10 hours to get here and we don't speed much.

The Travel Bug Strikes Again

I love traveling and photography and writing about it. So, hang on and I will take you to Santa Fe with me. John and I often think we would like to organize trips to cool places like Santa Fe. We look for local dives and do it on a shoestring budget and have fun. We have our favorite places so maybe this is the best way to share the trip. And, I don't have to worry about keeping people pleased on the trip! I bet that is a never ending job. I promise lots of interesting photos and lots of travel tips. This will be a Saturday till Wed night trip.
Ian is keeping our shop open and this once again gives me thinking time. It is so much easier to think out of my natural environment full of daily chores.

I talked to Venture Properties and told them I will give up the front of the shop and hold on to my garage area as a studio and to sell clay, tools etc. I will have to fit in 740 square feet from about 1740 or more square feet. Oooh that will be painful but rewarding. I have to be out of the front shop by August 31.

I have no heat, air or water at this point. Could be worse! I've got a roof and paint and I only have to move across the ally. I do have to have about 4 significant yard sales of extra clay stuff and fixtures. I hope to create a fun studio with a bit of funkiness. I am looking forward to it. I think I can have it for at least a year and then I hope to move home or some other convenient space. The good news is I can afford this space and may come out ahead and will have a life again. The biggest challenge is the water dept at the moment. They say my space does not exist. Funny that the phone and electric co recognize it. I think Venture will help me find my water. Now where is that peach limb that helps lead to the meter?

Santa Fe always is great. So join me and I promise not to naval gaze too much and will post lots of photos. That is always easier away from home.

It is so great to get to go to Santa again. A big piece of my heart is already there.

Thinking Time

Well, I got the words. The numbers. I am glad to know how long and how much the rent goes up. I have been waiting to find out since a week before Hawaii. Now I can deal with it.
I am out of town for the weekend, visiting Rachel's future college home. It is good see where she will be at the University of Missouri in photo-journalism. I am proud of her. She is ready to go out and conquer the world with her talents.

While here, I can think and re-think the rental options. Survival as an artist. Here we go.
I won't commit to anything this fast. The rent will double with the overhead included. That is what I expected. From Venture's point of view, playing the real version of monopoly, they gotta have the money to pay for their new property. I get it. They will only promise us a month to month for one year, maybe longer.

From my perspective, there are many signs to beware and make a sound business decision. The construction makes customers avoid us, just as they did forever on the other end of the street last year. It will go on until at least August and maybe more. Parking is a disaster from their point of view. A lot of people won't bother to come behind and use the back door. The dust and noise is horrible and they are not even on our side of the street yet.
The electric company is raising prices now.
The rent is increasing as well as additional water bills and maintenance fees.
The gas prices are constantly on the rise competing for those extra dollars in every ones pocket.
My arm is still not at full speed and I am in physical therapy with ultrasound and exercises.

I will not work this hard and have to get a loan to stay in the business.

I could teach more and work harder and raise prices a bit and probably not get ahead but make up the difference in rent. That would mean working one more night a week consistently.

I want to scale down and simplify and do my work. Yes, there will be many more big yard sales with clay supplies and fixture and hundreds more small objects. Yes, I can do it. I have the strength.

I look for little signs about what to do, like a child avoiding the cracks on the sidewalk.

The inside of my flax shirt says:
"I am not stuck with anything unless I stick to it." Is that how wall mart makes their decisions?
Signs from shirts and jumping over cracks in the sidewalk and throwing salt over their left shoulder when it spills on the table?

I have not decided anything for sure yet. Does anyone have an economic crystal ball?

My acupuncturist says he works 4 days a week at acupuncture and the 5th day of the week he does something else he is good at. I like that idea. I have missed a lot of 5th days of other skills. Should I take them all now? I don't think it works that way.

It is good to be out of town and think. I will decide very soon. I have officially until June 20th.

It is such a relief to know what I am dealing with. At last.

Puerto Vallarta worth visiting

My ever so nice Doctor and his lovely wife and her family own a vacation rental in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Visit this web site and take a look. I hope to check this out this summer.
www.casadeonita.com

It is looking good to me and John and I want somewhere fun and real to spend celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe 40 and a half years have pasted since we met. Whew! That was fast.

Thanks for the Biz!

The shop and several others on the block had a yard or should I say Alley Sale Sat. We got set up, sold a little and then the storm hit. I was so glad I had the stuff halfway in the garage. As I scale down there will be more and more garage sales.

My Mother just spent a couple weeks with me and her wise words were, "Think of the future and don't dwell on the past and that will help you part with stuff." I really don't want to be a pack rat and so I listened and as I look at my stuff I have enjoyed I also think now let someone else have this cool stuff for a while. I imagine myself living in an alternative yurt somewhere and try and figure out if the item makes the space cut to the less congested environment.

When I travel in Mexico I love the sound of iron doors shutting in empty tiled rooms. It is the sound of nothingness, just being there.

My friend Maura has said "Think about the times in our lives that we were the happiest. It is when we had less stuff."

So who am I trying to convince? Me or anyone who reads this. It is a bit painful and takes a lot of patience. And we all know the scandal of the situation and that is how the TV version finds viewers. One of my friends turned me in as someone they should attack! Thanks a lot.
So maybe I will photograph some of my interesting junk and put on my sight and have a blog garage sale with the stories as well.

People with a lot of interests have a lot of stuff and a lot of unfinished projects. I surrender!

Life is calmer now. My children have graduated and our family has come and gone. My arm injury is now at the physical therapy and ultrasound level as well as a good dose of acupuncture tomorrow. I am slowly healing. My pots are selling even though the construction is horrible in front of the shop. I am spring cleaning and not being sucked into Negative Nellie problems and realizing I do not have to solve all problems. That is that brain clutter. What a waste.

So peace be with everyone and enjoy your lives and what you have.

Now, just as soon as I find those 2 decluttering books in the pile of stuff in the corner.