Monday, June 29

This is just so heartbreaking.

Four Santa Fe teens killed in wrong-way collision; suspected drunk driver charged.

This takes me back to the end of the summer before my sophomore year when a car of four teenagers was hit on Cerrillios Road by a drunk driver. Three girls and one boy. The three girls went to my high school and two were cheerleaders as was I at the time so I knew them. In fact, one of them had just made the JV squad and she was so excited about it. I had seen her quite often during the summer at practices. The three girls all died and I remember so well the shock and grief, such a tragic way to start the school year. And so hard to absorb the loss. I can only imagine how the family and friends of these four kids must feel.

These wrong-way accidents happen far too often in this area. And they are usually alcohol related.

Just so, so sad.

Sunday, June 28

Apple Miner Colony.

Apples.

When I said that I hadn't been to a rock show in a long time, I wasn't kidding. The last real rock show I attended was on September 25, 2007 when I went to see Lowlights at the Lauchpad in Albuquerque. That's a mighty long time for someone who used to go to rock shows all the time. And I have to say, it was quite refreshing to be at one last night. It was like old times, but not, if that makes sense.

Okay, so I ended up leaving before AMC was done, but I was exhausted. My feet hurt, my back hurt and my eyes were so dry that every time I blinked, I thought one of my contacts was going to pop out. But cut me a little slack as we did spend a good part of the day walking around in the heat of the sun at Gay Pride Fest. We also ate crap all day. (Best. Corndog. Ever.) And had a couple of beers in the late afternoon. All of which contributed to my exhaustion. I really would have loved to see AMC's whole set, but with two opening bands, I was shot. That's what happens with old age, at least my old age, it gets harder and harder to sit through the opening acts. Both bands were terrific, but they wore me out. But let me tell you, Apple Miner Colony is absolutely captivating. I wish that I had gone out to see them before their Last Show Ever.

Talk about a big band.

Apple Miner Colony takes the stage

They are a big band. A HUGE band. 25 members. As such, I had no idea what to expect. Well, no, I sort of expected chaos and not a good kind of chaos. But there was not a single bit of bad chaos. Everyone pretty much follows Cole's lead and he's good at leading. He has quite a presence, that one. When he sat down at the keyboards to begin the set, the entire room went dead silent and all eyes were on him. It was kind of mind blowing. And he kept it going the entire night.

Getting down with the audience.

I was really impressed with the whole group. And it was an emotional night for them and much of the audience. I was mesmerized by their performance, but since I don't have much of history with them, it wasn't exactly emotional for me. But I could totally relate to the emotions. I could imagine that it would be like being at the Last Show Ever of the Johnsons Big Band. (Which I don't think I was at, actually. Totally blanking on that.) I could feel the intensity around me. And it made me happy. It reminded me of all the good times I had at shows and the love felt for the people in the bands and the music they created. Good vibes. Good times. I was a little sad that my first time seeing AMC would also be my last, but you know, it's okay. I think knowing Cole now made a difference in my reaction to the show. With such a long history of having friends in bands, I think I automatically like bands that I know people in better. At least on a local level. Anyway, I am glad that I got to see them before they all go their separate ways. It really was a memorable evening.



And with AMC, I really only know Cole and a few others. Like Dave, the guy up there playing the accordian. He had the honor of seeing me at one of my more drunk moments. Ah yes, I so know how to make a good impression.



And while Cole isn't T. Glitter, he definitely has his own style and charisma and he's quite easy on the eyes. So of course most of my photos are of him.



Working.

Will, who is also easy on the eyes, worked the whole evening, recording all the bands. I swear, he works nonstop, even when he is having fun.

It was a great day and a fantastic evening. We dragged my niece and her friends to the show as well and while they didn't like all the bands, they did like AMC.

If you want to check out the music, you can find Apple Miner Colony here. Will recorded their latest album and it is truly awesome.

Saturday, June 27

The Santa Fe Gay Pride

celebration is today. This year it is being held at the Railyard Park instead of the Plaza which means a lot more space. They are even going to have a Beer Garden! I can't wait to check it all out.

Caroline, my middle niece, and three of her friends are coming down from Albuquerque to join the festivities and they plan to spend the night at our place. Housing four teenagers, three of whom we don't know, should be interesting.

Later today at Warehouse 21, Apple Miner Colony is playing their last show ever. They're freshly back from tour with a brand new album that my dear husband recorded for them. I grew quite familiar with their music during the month or so that they were working here at the house, but I have never seen them live so I am looking forward to it. Not to mention that I haven't seen a rock show in almost two years. Nuts.

So the main decision of the day is what cameras should I lug around with me?!

Thursday, June 25

Sad.

Just found out via dangerousmeta that Farrah Fawcett passed away.

She wasn't my favorite angel, but still, that show was and remains one of my all-time faves. And I remember my brother having that famous Farrah poster on his wall.

Wednesday, June 24

Okay, so there are some days that I don't love my garden.

I know I said I love my garden oh so much, and I do.

Most of the time.

But some days, like yesterday, it makes me want to cry. All the weeds, everywhere. Taking over. Spreading like carpet across my garden beds. Pushing up from underneath the flagstone. Mixing in with the cosmos like wolves in sheep costumes. Strangling the dahlias that are still trying to push up through the soil. Mingling with the gravel in the driveway.

Weeds. Everywhere.

I hate it.

I guess there are days that pulling weeds is somewhat meditative. But other days, not so much. I just get frustrated with the endless nature of the task. Pull today, back tomorrow.

And the chive-like things continue to torture me. I worked for so many hours in the early spring, digging and digging, trying to get all the roots out. I even sprained my damn wrist doing it. And guess what? They're all coming back. Slowly but surely. I'd like to strangle the tenant who planted those damn things.

The ants make me want to cry too. Little black ants. Big black ants. Red ants. Black and red ants. All over. Swarming my greens. Chewing holes in all the leaves of all the plants.

Damn ants.

I'm starting to see baby grasshoppers everywhere too which makes me think the grasshopper infestation is going to be back later this summer.

And the fact that when I don't water for 2 days, everything just about falls flat. All my sunflowers fall over. Some of my seeds croaked. The pansies plaster themselves to the dirt. Even the heat and drought tolerant plants get all sad looking. But in Santa Fe, one is only supposed to water 3 days a week and I try to be good about keeping to it. So I water Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Which makes the wait until the following Tuesday tough on the garden. Especially now that the heat is back.

June was unseasonably cool and the garden delighted in it. But now we are back to our regularly scheduled heat.

And the damn herbs that require "full sun" don't actually like full sun because they are not so perky anymore either.

So yeah, I get frustrated. I feel like I do all this work so the garden can look good for two weeks and then it all just goes to hell with the heat. And the weeds.

But let's face it, I would probably be really sad if I didn't plant a garden at all. And I'll probably be really happy in late August and September when we have lovely tomatoes and peppers and all the zinnias that made it are growing tall and blooming. Then it's all worth it.

But I still don't like weeds. Or ants. Or grasshoppers.

Sunday, June 21

Pretty as a



peony. Awhile back, I spent a little time playing with the close-up kit for my Polaroid Automatic 250. This shot was the only one that came out exactly as I intended. I thought I had it all figured out, but when I used the same method for another shot, I ended up with something totally different from what I was trying to frame. Go figure. But it's fun playing!


Happy Summer Solstice!!

Friday, June 19

You should check out

The Uniform Project.

This would be next to impossible for me to do. Not so much the wearing of one thing, but the creative ways of jazzing it up. Very inspiring.

Wednesday, June 17

Dorks.

We passed the downtown Hilton on the way home from the post office a few hours ago. Two enormous tour buses were parked in front of the hotel and we saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said "Wilco Tour Crew 2009".

Our eyes lit up. Wilco? In Santa Fe? No way. No place big enough here. A secret show? Maybe just spending the night between shows? That makes no sense. Santa Fe isn't exactly a convenient stop off between big cities.

Then we started wondering where Wilco would go in Santa Fe. Margaritas at the Cowgirl? And dinner? There are so many good restaurants in Santa Fe. Where do indie rock bands go?

Of course Wilco is not in town. We looked up the tour dates and they are in El Paso tonight. But someone is in town with two big tour buses. Checked the Santa Fe Brewing Company calendar. Open mic night. Nope. Checked the Santa Fe Reporter which has worthless online listings for live music. The Lensic? There we go. David Byrne is playing a sold out show tonight. Wish we had known, maybe we would have gone. (Though probably not since ticket prices started at $42.)

At any rate, it was kind of exciting to spend a few minutes thinking about Wilco being in Santa Fe and where they might go.

Monday, June 15

I love my garden. Oh yes I do.

Everything is growing quite nicely this year, it's very exciting. All the starter plants and flowers are getting bigger and bigger and the seeds are coming up. I can't wait to have tall sunflowers all along the fence. Granted I am not a big fan of pulling weeds and sometimes I am not in the mood to water, but it's all worth it in the end.

The zinnias are coming along nicely.
Have I mentioned that I love zinnias? I think so.

Garden greens.
Cabbage! And lettuce! Makes me think about Peter Rabbit.

Today we've been inside painting. Fun! Not really. I don't like to paint. At all. And even the smallest bits take me forever to finish. But I am doing it anyway. Thankfully my husband is an expert painter and willingly did the ceiling and the trim for me. So all I have are the easy parts.

So far the new color is a bit shocking to me. I was going to go with the bluer "Reflecting Pool" and then at the last minute decided that the lighter "Spa" would be better. And I am glad I did because the light color suddenly looks so much darker than the sample area that I did. But I think when it's all done, it'll look good.

Oh and our new couch is in! It's being delivered tomorrow afternoon. We are so excited. Of course it means we need to find a new area rug and throw pillows, but that's okay. We'll work it out. I'm just happy that all the house stuff we've talked about is slowly but surely coming together.

Saturday, June 13

Pittsburgh, The City of Champions!

Seriously! First the SuperBowl, now the Stanley Cup. It's totally awesome and I love it. I bet there are lots of happy folks in Pittsburgh today.

And I have to say, I really enjoyed watching all the games. Granted hockey gives me high blood pressure and sometimes I feel like I am going blind because I can't quite see where the fast moving puck is, but still, it was fun. And so many great players! Simon can't decide if he wants to change his name to Sidney, Maxime or Malkin.

Congratulations to all the Pens fans out there. What a great win!!

Also, I was wondering about stats for winning a SuperBowl and Stanley Cup in the same year and I just found it via Rich Eisen:

Pitts becomes 1st city 2 win Super Bowl/Stanley Cup in same yr. In fact, never happened in history of NFL, which began in 1920.

Friday, June 12

flickr faves

6/12/2009

1. Untitled, 2. buds, 3. Untitled, 4. cherry blossoms & sky, 5. manhatan bridge, 6. Untitled, 7. into_deep, 8. spring in hiding, 9. Untitled, 10. Interruptance., 11. Untitled, 12. neurons

Created with fds flickr toys.

Very pleased that

Breakfast.

I get my husband back today. It's too quiet around here without him.

While he was gone, I watched a lot of movies. A lot of "girly" movies as he calls them. (He'll watch just about anything with me, but I figure I shouldn't torture him too much with some of the crap I like to watch.) And some not so girly.

New in Town

He's Just Not That Into You

Revolutionary Road

Bride Wars

Doubt (but I didn't finish it)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

The worst of them? Bride Wars. Not that I expected it to be intellectually stimulating, but it was hardly worth watching.

Revolutionary Road was heavy and not as good as I expected it to be.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona was entertaining and made me dream about going back to Spain. Big time. (But good grief, does Scarlett Johansson have to be in almost every movie I watch? That's what it seems like lately.)

And I know I don't have stellar taste in movies. This week I was watching mostly to be entertained.

Anyway, tonight it's back to hockey. Game 7. Do or die. I have the feeling it is going to be nerve racking. Let's bring that Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh! GO PENS!

Thursday, June 11

Primping.



This is Alexandra, my 20-year old niece, putting on make up before Caroline's high school graduation party. Caroline was in the bathroom - their mom's bathroom - putting on make up as well and I just kind of wandered in there with my camera. They kept doing what they were doing and I snapped a few shots. Then Alexandra said something that I didn't understand followed by "Auntie Juli is kind of creeping me out by taking photos."

I thought it was hilarious.

Alexandra does not mince her words. At all.

She also changed her dress before the party. She borrowed one from Cassidy, the 15-year old.

Those girls.

They're the best.

A good morning.

On my morning travels, I found some good tunes, important reminders and a picture that made me smile.

These Days podcast from Susie Ghahremiani. I like it.

This post from Myla Kent.

And this photo from Burn the Industry.

Wednesday, June 10

Monday, June 8

All's well that ends well.

We had a stressful morning, but Rocky is okay. We had to sit at the vet for about 45 minutes before we even got called into an examining room. That was not fun. I was in anxiety mode and Rocky was in pain. The vet couldn't tell anything from examining him so I had to leave him there for x-rays. (I suspected this would be the case.) I came home and fretted for over an hour before I finally got the call.

They couldn't find anything wrong with him. Excellent news! No fractures, no hip out of socket and no puncture wounds. (I need to keep an eye on him though because his fur could be hiding a puncture, but I don't think he has one. He usually bleeds when he does.) The vet said he must just be really bruised and sore. So he is on pain meds once again and has to stay in for at least a few days if not longer. Once I got him home, he already seemed better. He wasn't favoring his right hind leg so much and just wanted to eat. Who knows, maybe he has a thing for pain meds! Heh.

So all is fine, it was just a stressful morning and sort of changed the course of the day. Hopefully tomorrow I am a bit more productive. I'm just happy to have my boy back at home.

Not exactly how I wanted to start the week.

Rocky came in limping this morning so it's off to the vet for us. I can't find any blood on him so I have no idea if it's another puncture wound or if he sprained his leg or what. Perhaps it's nothing, but I need the vet to take a look at him. I'll update you with a vet report later.

Thursday, June 4

The Bus.

I will miss seeing Bettis on Sunday nights during football season, although I have to say I am not shocked that NBC is not renewing his contract.

Tony Dungy is going to be a great addition to the show, but Rodney Harrison? Never been a fan. Not to mention there's already enough bias toward the Patriots. Now there will be even more. Ugh.

Wednesday, June 3

On the hockey bandwagon.

Yeah, I know, we mocked some of the folks who jumped on the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon when they made it to the SuperBowl and now we're essentially doing the same thing by jumping on the Pittsburgh Penguins bandwagon. It's just too hard to resist. We are compelled to support any Pittsburgh team that makes it all the way.

And I do like watching hockey. We just never got into it because we are so devoted to football, we decided that we would get nothing else done in our lives if we became so fanatical about another sport. And out here, I don't think they air all that many Pens games anyway so we'd be looking at spending god knows how much more money on another sports ticket. No can do.

But the Stanley Cup is on national television. Yes! (Or at least it was Saturday and Sunday. I panicked last night when I didn't see the game listed on a local channel. Lucky for us it was on one of the other sports channels that DirectTV provides us.) And what a game! I was hoping that playing at home would give the Pens that extra kick they needed to win a game and it definitely did. We are anxiously awaiting tomorrow night's game.

Watching hockey is stressful though. Way more stressful than football. It all happens so quickly. Back and forth, back and forth. Cheering and groaning and cussing and cheering. It definitely brings out the sports fan in me. And, um, I have to say, I really like the fights. More fights!

Last night the game made me homesick for Pittsburgh. They showed a brilliant night shot of downtown Pittsburgh and it made me want to be there again. Plus a lot of our friends back there are huge hockey fans and watching the games makes me think of them too.

GO PENS!!!

The latest



baby hats. I think this is my favorite design so far.

I'd love to have Rocky model one for you, but since I do sell them, I figure it's not so good to get them covered in cat hair. Don't want to make any babies sneeze!

Tuesday, June 2

*

A lovely interview with one of my favorite photographers, Armando Bellmas.

I can't remember when I started following Armando, but it's been a long time and via his photo/web blog, I've watched him grow into the photographer that he is today. I find his work, his life philosophy and his approach to work very inspiring. So go check him out.