Life Imitates Art
I'm motivated to write a blog post because I've just read two mystery novels, actually three, written by J.A. Jance, where blogging has been a central part of the story. The books are Edge of Evil, Web of Evil, and Hand of Evil. And, I took a blog workshop at SWW on May 1st, in which I was told I should write at least once a seek and I haven't done that. I also haven't read through all the materials that I got as handouts at the workshop. Put it on my to-do list.
Another point that was made in the workshop was to not direct readers away from the page. Until now, I've put my videos up on You Tube, and directed readers there to see them. I was told by my first blog guru that it was better to do it that way, because inserting videos on my blog would slow down the loading time. So we have two positions on this. I might try putting the next one in a post, but I recall having trouble with that. The more I get involved in technology, the more time I have to spend learning how to do it. If you have any ideas on the pros and cons, let me know.
What I was inspired to write about was my trip to Mountainair and back on Tuesday. I went on a Critical Incident counseling call for Magellan EAP to facilitate a group of employees who have been working in the forest fires in the Manzano Mountains since mid-April. The meeting went well, and several of the participants thanked me for coming out afterwards.
Before returning to Albuquerque, I stopped for lunch at the Alpine Alley Café, a new coffee shop that opened up there since my last visit about this time last year. It had been recommended to me by several of the participants in the group. The daily special was a Miss Ruby Tuesday Rueben sandwich, and I had a half sandwich along with a bowl of Asiago cheese soup. The food was good, and I was sorry that I had ordered only a half sandwich. The ranger was there along with her husband and a co-worker, so I sat down at their table. They left to go back to work before I got my food, but that was okay since I had my mystery novel with me.
As I was getting ready to leave, I stopped at a table where Pamela, the owner of Gypsy Treasures, was having lunch with a friend. We talked about the ill-fated article that I had brought Inara to Mountainair to write, and I asked if she was interested in the photos I took. However, someone else had written up her place for a national magazine and sent her a CD of the photos, so I lost out on that one. She talked about the various specialty magazines that had done stories about her business, and said she was more interested in that kind of coverage than something local. She had been traveling for some time (trunk shows? Arts and craft fairs?) and was glad to be home for a little while before starting out again.
I started the drive home, this time on what I call the back road, i.e. on the east side of the mountains, since I had been able to determine that it was open now, although there might be fire trucks on the side of the road. I was warned that there was a construction area that might require a delay of up to 10 minutes. This route went along Hwy 55, then turned north on what used to be called South 14, but had since been renamed Hwy 337, for reasons unknown to the likes of me. It is a ride I always enjoy, through the pines and cedars of the Manzano Mountains and the Cibola National Forest, and through the Spanish landgrant towns of Chilili and Torreon (Torrance County), etc. The air seemed clear, in spite of the wildfires that had been plaguing the area. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there were a few puffy white clouds dotting the sky. I thought of stopping a few times to take photos of the old villages that I passed through, but I remembered the great one I took in black and white of the church at Tajique, and thought, the light just isn't right. That one was taken with a huge black thundercloud overhead, forming a backdrop for the church. Even that church didn't look that same. Since I took that photo, more than ten years ago, the church has been renovated, with a stone facing instead of stucco, and brightly painted turquoise window frames. I sold a copy of my old photo to Victoria, who told me that her grandfather had helped build that church.
As I continued to drive the two-lane road, not worrying about the many no-passing zones on the twisting road because I wasn't in a hurry, I thought about that this was one of the things that I loved about living in New Mexico. The countryside is rich in history, tradition and the kind of visual stimuli that artists thrive on. There is a unique flavor of life here, delicious to contemplate. It makes me happy. I need to get on the road more often.
Another point that was made in the workshop was to not direct readers away from the page. Until now, I've put my videos up on You Tube, and directed readers there to see them. I was told by my first blog guru that it was better to do it that way, because inserting videos on my blog would slow down the loading time. So we have two positions on this. I might try putting the next one in a post, but I recall having trouble with that. The more I get involved in technology, the more time I have to spend learning how to do it. If you have any ideas on the pros and cons, let me know.
What I was inspired to write about was my trip to Mountainair and back on Tuesday. I went on a Critical Incident counseling call for Magellan EAP to facilitate a group of employees who have been working in the forest fires in the Manzano Mountains since mid-April. The meeting went well, and several of the participants thanked me for coming out afterwards.
Before returning to Albuquerque, I stopped for lunch at the Alpine Alley Café, a new coffee shop that opened up there since my last visit about this time last year. It had been recommended to me by several of the participants in the group. The daily special was a Miss Ruby Tuesday Rueben sandwich, and I had a half sandwich along with a bowl of Asiago cheese soup. The food was good, and I was sorry that I had ordered only a half sandwich. The ranger was there along with her husband and a co-worker, so I sat down at their table. They left to go back to work before I got my food, but that was okay since I had my mystery novel with me.
As I was getting ready to leave, I stopped at a table where Pamela, the owner of Gypsy Treasures, was having lunch with a friend. We talked about the ill-fated article that I had brought Inara to Mountainair to write, and I asked if she was interested in the photos I took. However, someone else had written up her place for a national magazine and sent her a CD of the photos, so I lost out on that one. She talked about the various specialty magazines that had done stories about her business, and said she was more interested in that kind of coverage than something local. She had been traveling for some time (trunk shows? Arts and craft fairs?) and was glad to be home for a little while before starting out again.
I started the drive home, this time on what I call the back road, i.e. on the east side of the mountains, since I had been able to determine that it was open now, although there might be fire trucks on the side of the road. I was warned that there was a construction area that might require a delay of up to 10 minutes. This route went along Hwy 55, then turned north on what used to be called South 14, but had since been renamed Hwy 337, for reasons unknown to the likes of me. It is a ride I always enjoy, through the pines and cedars of the Manzano Mountains and the Cibola National Forest, and through the Spanish landgrant towns of Chilili and Torreon (Torrance County), etc. The air seemed clear, in spite of the wildfires that had been plaguing the area. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there were a few puffy white clouds dotting the sky. I thought of stopping a few times to take photos of the old villages that I passed through, but I remembered the great one I took in black and white of the church at Tajique, and thought, the light just isn't right. That one was taken with a huge black thundercloud overhead, forming a backdrop for the church. Even that church didn't look that same. Since I took that photo, more than ten years ago, the church has been renovated, with a stone facing instead of stucco, and brightly painted turquoise window frames. I sold a copy of my old photo to Victoria, who told me that her grandfather had helped build that church.
As I continued to drive the two-lane road, not worrying about the many no-passing zones on the twisting road because I wasn't in a hurry, I thought about that this was one of the things that I loved about living in New Mexico. The countryside is rich in history, tradition and the kind of visual stimuli that artists thrive on. There is a unique flavor of life here, delicious to contemplate. It makes me happy. I need to get on the road more often.
Labels: blogs, Chilili, Cibola National Forest, forest fires, J.A. Jance, Mountainair, mystery novels, New Mexico, Spanish land grants, Tajique, Torreon
1 Comments:
What an interesting read. One of the things that drew me to New Mexico was the geology and the scenery. There's an almost tangible weight to the mystery and majesty of the area--literally the "land of enchantment." There is an old church, just east of Grants, along I-40, which almost looks as though it carved itself out of the rocky face of the slight cliff it rests on--as if the desert itself grew a building, for the sake of the people living nearby.
Thanks for sharing!
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