Abiquiú, New Mexico

Our latest trip found us heading Northwest out of Santa Fe, NM towards Durango, CO. After Santa Fe, there were only three stops I wanted to make. The rest of the trip was my husband's desire.

 One of the stops was to stop in Abiquiú, NM and visit the winter home of Georgia O'Keefe. As we sped by the house, my heart sank and I just said "one". And my husband, bless his heart, said "one what?"... And we drove on.

From Wikipedia:
Abiquiú, or Abiquiu^{[1] i}/ˈæbɨkjuː/ (Navajo Haʼagizh) is a small unincorporated town located in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States, about 53 miles (85 km) north of Santa Fe. In the 1730s, it was the third largest settlement in the Spanish province of Nuevo México.^{[citation needed]} Artist Georgia O'Keeffe lived there from 1949 until shortly before her death in 1986 at 98 years of age.
Abiquiú is also the location where the opening shot of the 4th Indiana Jones movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was shot. As per the Production Timeline in the Extras section of the movie's Blu-ray Disc: "On June 16, 2007 even before the start of principal photography, the production's second unit crew was on location near Abiquiu, New Mexico, filming the traditional Indiana Jones opening shot of a "mountain" (in this case a prairie dog mound.)" Other notable films shot in Abiquiu are Cowboys & Aliens, City Slickers, Red Dawn, Wyatt Earp, The Last Outlaw,^[2] and the TV series Earth 2.

As we rounded the corner to Georgia O'Keefe's summer residence, I made a determined effort and said "Turn right HERE!" He did. And we got to see the beautiful country surrounding her "Ghost Ranch".

From Georgia O'Keefe museum:
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) was an important American Modernist who painted the stunning architectural and landscape configurations of northern New Mexico for more than 40 years, beginning in 1929.  She bought her house in Abiquiu in 1945, which is now owned by the Museum.

The 5,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial-era Abiquiu compound was in ruins in 1945, and for the next four years, O’Keeffe supervised its restoration, which was carried out by her friend, Maria Chabot.  She moved from New York to make New Mexico her permanent home in 1949, and lived either at the Abiquiu or Ghost Ranch houses until 1984, when she moved to Santa Fe.
I do recommend clicking the link on the "museum" and watching the video on her houses. Enthralling.

The scenery at Ghost Ranch was amazing. The first happenstance was this rustic outbuilding. Not really part of Ghost Ranch.. but very interesting indeed. There were 3 gentlemen there already. And you just couldn't help but overhear their riveting conversation. One seemed to genuinely be "in the know". He was telling about the cabin and the surrounding mountains as they pertained to the movie City Slickers. Of course now husband was interested, too.

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 This was Jack Palance's "home"...

 From the outside, it looks very authentic.

Open the door- wham! A movie set. The wood floor stopped about 3 feet from the door.

 The scenery was amazing. Breathtaking. I can see why Ms. O'Keefe took up residence here.

I am so intrigued with the strata layers. Seeing the color change is always so mesmerizing.

As we got closer to Ghost Ranch itself, you could see the lush trees full of growth. There is a stream that runs through the property.

Ghost Ranch is an interfaith education and retreat center of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.), located in a northern New Mexico landscape many deem sacred.

From O'Keefe museum:
O'Keeffe lived and worked at the Ghost Ranch house part of each year
beginning in the mid-1930s, and then purchased the house in 1940. Approximately 60 miles northwest of Santa Fe, the Ghost Ranch house is surrounded by the stunning landscape that inspired her art for more than 40 years.  She moved from New York to make New Mexico her permanent home in 1949, and lived at either Abiquiu or Ghost Ranch until 1984, when she
moved to Santa Fe, where she died two years later. Her Ghost Ranch home is now owned by the Museum.

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Can you believe that I got not one photo of the ranch? Exactly what I said!!!

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While I snagged the burro's bite photo, alas, there were none to be seen that day. I think one would be cute out back. Can't convince husband though..something about what goes in comes back out.

With God's majestic scenery provided for our pleasure, I was just overwhelmed. Just a feast for the eyes. If ever you find yourself with some time while in Santa Fe, do run up the road on highway 84 and go visit. Can't tell you about her house in town, but the ranch is wonderful.

Bountiful Harvest tablescape

This is a reprisal of a tablescape I did in June of 2011. I wanted to badly to create a new bountiful themed table this past week. But that was NOT happening. We had an event at our home Saturday evening. You know what I was doing the week before, right? and then a family dinner Sunday evening. So here you have it.. enjoy.

The wall plaques (yes there are hooks on the back but they don't interfere with setting a table) come in three variations, cabbage - choux, cherry tomatoes - les tomates cerises, and corn - mais. It makes it even better since the words are in French - dontcha think?

Because I wanted the pretty metal pieces to show all their glory - I used my clear glass plates, of which I've probably got a gazillion (well a bit of an exaggeration). Also used a rugged looking woven napkin and placed all on the fabric du jour - burlap! Don't the tags, they already were on the twine hangers, make cool napkin rings?

Our kitchen flatware seemed to be the perfect match for the casualness of the table.

Then I had a blast creating the centerpiece. It's all edible, well except the candle and hurricane. Fresh corn, cauliflower, squash, tomatoes, mushrooms, lemons, limes, artichoke, and bell peppers in all colors. 

Makes me hungry just lookin' at them.

This hurricane has travelled from far and wide to be part of this table. I brought it back to the states, in a backpack, in the overhead of a crowded airplane, all the way from St. Gallen, Switzerland.  Love the cracked glass. The cracked glass throws reflections everywhere. So magical. 

The pitcher and the rooster and hen salt and peppers are from the Chanticleer collection by Fitz and Floyd.

Favorite goblets, French hand blown, carried home gingerly from Santa Fe, NM.

 A darling tray and veggie spreader to hold the jalapeno butter for the fresh sweet corn.

Cast :

Placemats, tray, spreaqder and hanging tags - Hobby Lobby

Clear plates - Pier One

Flatware - Gorham

Goblets - French, from Santa Fe, NM

Napkins - really old

Hurricane - St. Gallen, Switzerland

Pitcher, salt and pepper - Chanticleer collection, Fitz and Floyd

Centerpiece - the grocery store

  Linking up to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish, Susan's Tablescape Thursday and to the Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday. Be sure to drop by on those days so as to see all the pretty things published just for you!

The Quilt Wall in the Sewing Studio

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Well we did figure it out! I wanted a way to hang quilts that would eliminate nail holes in the wall and give me maximum flexibility. I found some on line, but they were pricey, or not as long as I wanted. I was thinking curtain rod. Son went and bought a pipe from the hardware store. 8 bucks. yep. and he found curtain rings that fit. 3/4" rod, 1" rings. with clips. Perfect. Then to hang it. Well for now we use curtain rod hangers. I am not too fond of that since they keep the quilts too far from the wall. So I've ordered these:
from Blindparts.com They will bring the rod closer to the wall just like I want it.  sigh.
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I thought I'd start the display with one of my favorite memory type quilts. A bookcase quilt that was so popular a long time ago. The pictures are printed onto a fabric that has been treated to accept the ink from a printer. The books on the shelves represent some of my favorites, at least at the time. And the small quilted piece is one of Jenny Haskins's throw aways... I salvaged it, embellished it and bound it!

Her it is a little larger.

 A Sue Box embroidery design enlarged 200%. 

My initials embroidered on Ultra-Suede and then carefully cut out and sewn to the piece.

 These were the days. Looks like a company Christmas party in Chicago.

 The cabin we had in Mora, NM that we sold cause I was never home.. Regrets!

 The boys. I love this picture of my two sweet sons. They aren't that little anymore, Cute yes, but not little. 36 and 31. Where has the time gone!!

This quilt being smaller needed to hang not quite so high up towards the ceiling. I purchased some chain (well I had it from when I would hang quilts at quilt shows) and suspended the quilt from the curtain clips.

 This quilt displays some of my favorite quilt show and other pins.

My dear friend Karen Sherman made this for one of the programs at which I was to present. Just darned ran out of time to make it myself.

 I also hung this pin board made out of a baking tray from the dollar store. They used to have them in black. You could spray paint it. Threaded a ribbon through it to hang it. I used an antique drawer pull as a hanger. It's in two parts, so use a longer nail in the wall and then place the backing plate on first and then the knob part. You could also glue the two pieces together. Now isn't that a striking hanger?

On a small quilt hanger, a quilt made to remind us of a tragedy that affects so many of us, men and women. Please give, donate and help where you can. You will never know when it might strike close to home.  

Hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful!