A Match Made in Heaven: Fehlan and Ally's Fourth Anniversary

Today is the fourth anniversary of Fehlan’s and Ally’s wedding in Tahoe. There were the right amount of people present, Carney, Hausman, Bailey, Kerrick and a few other friends. The weather was crisp, the stars shining. and a lot of love filled the air. Here are some photos. Today is a weaving of sadness for dreams lost for Fehlan and Ally and a warmth of heart for all the love they shared with each other and all of their family and friends. We miss you, Flynn.

Wednesday is Woody Watercolor Day

Wednesday mornings I join my watercolor friends in our weekly class with Woody Hansen.
Tuesdays I sweat, finishing (or beginning) the two watercolors that we bring in for evaluation in the second half of the class. I love Wednesday mornings, even though I usually am stressed, don’t like the pieces that I bring in. But the three years with Woody have been fun and enlightening, have pushed me out of my comfort zone, and taught me a lot about art and about myself. I would advise, when you have the time, to take up an art form, a skill, that is new to you. Your brain will stay active and life will be more interesting.

La Marcha de las Mujeres.

La Marcha de las Mujeres.

January 2016, the day of the Women’s march.

An abstract that reminds me of Hermit’s Peak, my favorite mountain in New Mexico

An abstract that reminds me of Hermit’s Peak, my favorite mountain in New Mexico

Be a Writing Rule Breaker: Blog About Your Dog

October 22, 2018

(Revisiting a favorite post three years later.)

Bella, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, teacher, guardian, and foot warmer.

I’m looking at Bella today, almost three years after this post was written. Not much has changed. She’s twelve years old, still very furry, a little more squarely built now, not quite as active, but still healthy, funny and loyal. People still stop us on the street to smile and talk to her. She is a working dog, and if that work is to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is work of value.

Bella guarding the porch in Sapello, New Mexico.

Bella guarding the porch in Sapello, New Mexico.



Bella the Cardigan Welsh Corgi ten years ago.

Bella the Cardigan Welsh Corgi ten years ago.

On any given day, it can take me 15 minutes to walk my dog the short distance from our house to the corner. This is what a typical morning looks like:

“Hey, lady, I like your dog,” the twelve year old boy yells at me from across the street. “Can I pet her?”
Of course.
Bella, our Cardigan Welsh Corgi, stands patiently while he strokes her back. 
“Wow,” she is so soft. She has so much hair. My dogs are big, they. . .”  
and he spends five minutes telling me about his dogs, which tells me about his character and the good man he will grow up to be.

Bella and I walk on half a block. A house painter, sitting on the grass, taking a break, smiles.
“Is your dog friendly?” 
Of course.
 “Can I pet her?” 
Of course.

A truck rattles by, the driver slows, leans out his window, shouts, “Hey, how’d your dog get such short legs?” and drives on, smiling.

A young woman slams her car to a halt, leans out her opened door. 
"Oh, my god, a Cardigan. Mine just died.
Can I pet her? I need to touch a Corgi."
Of course.

We named her Bella because she is so beautiful with her pure black and white markings, like a cousin to a panda bear. 
Her nick-name is the Smile Machine because she makes so many people smile when we walk through the neighborhood. People stop to ask, “Is that a Border Collie with no legs?” She has a long, feathered, black tail that curls over her back and is tipped with a spot of white, a lantern when we walk at night.

 

The lessons that Bella has taught me.

Bella has taught me that in this complicated world in which we live, when we are all, at any given moment, tired or sad or pained or anxious; 
when we may have had a bad day in school; 
or a sick child at home; 
when we are not sure if we have a job for the next day; 
or that our truck will start;
or we have lost something that we love,
having something warm to touch, something to look at that makes us smile just for one moment, can lighten the day for us.

Bella has taught me about the ways we love or don’t love people. How we might think or say, 
“Well, I would love you better if you lost weight”; 
“I can only love people who are tall”; 
“I can’t love you because your ears are too big.” 
“I don’t love you because you mess up the house.”

I look at Bella, whose body is the shape of a well-stuffed foot stool;
 whose legs are so short that when she walks, her long chest hairs graze the ground, magnets for dirt and leaves;
whose ears are longer than her legs;
whose long, fine, black and white hairs float above the floor like clouds of spiderwebs and clog the vacuum cleaner;
and all I know is how much I love her and the happiness she brings to people.

I like to think of Bella as a teacher for why we should
take time to talk to a child,
or check in on a sick friend,
or smile at a stranger,
why we need write or make music or art.

Bella has taught me that no matter what limitations we may think we have, 
—not smart enough, 
—not rich enough,
—not long-legged enough,
we all have the potential to make another person happy for a brief moment. 
When we act on that potential, we are better people. Our lives are richer when we make someone smile.
If we have a tail, it should wag.

*Corgi, in Welsh, means “dwarf dog". Corgis' legs are very short relative to the size of their bodies and heads . Most people are familiar with Pembroke Welsh Corgis, short-legged, big-earred, brown or black and tan, usually born without a tail. Queen Elizabeth is often seen surrounded by a pack of Pembroke Welsh Corgis, a rollicking group of oversized hedgehogs. Their only relationship to Bella is that both Pembrokes and Cardigans are  dwarf breeds of dogs, natural drovers and herders of cattle, sheep, and people. Cardigans are the older of the two breeds. They are heavier-boned, larger-bodied than the Pembrokes, and have  long tails. Cardigans are said to be distant relatives to Dashunds.  They are smart, non-agressive, and very loyal.

Thanks to the Ulitmate Corgi for this photo of Queen Elizabeth and her pack of Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

Thanks to the Ulitmate Corgi for this photo of Queen Elizabeth
and her pack of Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

American Tumbleweeds: Marta Elva's story of life on both sides of the Mexican-American border

Well, this makes us very happy.

Marta Elva (Gibbons) who joined Green Rivers Writers Workshop last summer, has published her novel, American Tumbleweeds (Circling Rivers, publisher). The official release date is May 10, but already the book is receiving praise and wide coverage. No wonder. This is a lovingly told story of a young girl growing up in the 1960's, a time not so different from the present when language, culture, and gender are being used to divide people, to cause us to contemplate building walls to keep us separate from "those others." Marta's book breaks down walls and brings us together.

American Tumbleweeds is the coming-of-age story of Inez, a confused but gutsy adolescent who is trying to figure out who she is and where her true home is. Inez and her family tumble, psychologically and physically, between Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Inez looses her footing when her charismatic father is sent to prison for drug smuggling; she trips, but she never really falls down.

                                                                      &nbs…

                                                                                                     Marta Elva Gibbons

Marta attended last July’s Green River Writers Workshop, traveling with her husband Michael Gibbons from their home on the Gulf Coast of Florida to New Mexico, to be part of the workshop and, especially, to spend time with Gerry and Lorry Hausman who have worked closely with her in editing the book. Marta’s focus on crafting the powerful story that she has to tell and her willingness to work hard at writing and re-writing shines through in the words of Inez and her family members. Marta brought the same humor, insight, and wisdom to the workshop as she brings to her writing.

Corrine, Marta, Diana, Megan, Jean, and Pam at the Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Eighth Annual Green River Writers Workshop July 2015

Corrine, Marta, Diana, Megan, Jean, and Pam at the Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Eighth Annual Green River Writers Workshop July 2015

Marta starts her author signing  and book tour at Alliance for the Arts in Ft. Meyers, Florida on May 12, before continuing on through Florida, New Mexico, New England, and Texas, demonstrating her own form of being an American tumbleweed. Check the Circling Rivers website for dates of her appearances—and request an appearance at your local bookstore or bookclub. Meet Marta and talk to her about her writing process and her story. She will enhance your life, just as she enhanced Green River Writers Workshop.

With American Tumbleweeds, Marta Elva pulls us into the minds of a half-dozen members of a border family in crisis, dramatizing the state of living ni aqui, ni alla, neither here nor there geographically and emotionally. A moving first novel.
                        — John Sayles, film director, author, and MacArthur fellow
 

Available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and through your local bookstore.                

Published by Circling Rivers                                                                             www.circlingrivers.com                                                                                                                    Jean Huets | 804-368-6833                                                                            jeanh@circlingrivers.com

ISBN 978-1-939530-01-1 (trade paper)

trim 5.5 x 8.5 | 298 pp. | $14.99

ISBN 978-1-939530-02-8 (digital)

all formats $6.99

 

What story do you have to share? Think what a difference your story might make in someone's life, just as Marta's story will change lives. Don't wait. Sit down and write today.

Be a Writing Rule Breaker: Blog About Your Dog

October 22, 2018

(Revisiting a favorite post four years later.)

Bella, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, teacher, guardian, and foot warmer.

I’m looking at Bella today, almost three years after this post was written. Not much has changed. She’s twelve years old, still very furry, a little more squarely built now, not quite as active, but still healthy, funny and loyal. People still stop us on the street to smile and talk to her. She is a working dog, and if that work is to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is work of value.

Bella guarding the porch in Sapello, New Mexico.

Bella guarding the porch in Sapello, New Mexico.



Bella the Cardigan Welsh Corgi ten years ago.

Bella the Cardigan Welsh Corgi ten years ago.

On any given day, it can take me 15 minutes to walk my dog the short distance from our house to the corner. This is what a typical morning looks like:

“Hey, lady, I like your dog,” the twelve year old boy yells at me from across the street. “Can I pet her?”
Of course.
Bella, our Cardigan Welsh Corgi, stands patiently while he strokes her back. 
“Wow,” she is so soft. She has so much hair. My dogs are big, they. . .”  
and he spends five minutes telling me about his dogs, which tells me about his character and the good man he will grow up to be.

Bella and I walk on half a block. A house painter, sitting on the grass, taking a break, smiles.
“Is your dog friendly?” 
Of course.
 “Can I pet her?” 
Of course.

A truck rattles by, the driver slows, leans out his window, shouts, “Hey, how’d your dog get such short legs?” and drives on, smiling.

A young woman slams her car to a halt, leans out her opened door. 
"Oh, my god, a Cardigan. Mine just died.
Can I pet her? I need to touch a Corgi."
Of course.

We named her Bella because she is so beautiful with her pure black and white markings, like a cousin to a panda bear. 
Her nick-name is the Smile Machine because she makes so many people smile when we walk through the neighborhood. People stop to ask, “Is that a Border Collie with no legs?” She has a long, feathered, black tail that curls over her back and is tipped with a spot of white, a lantern when we walk at night.

 

The lessons that Bella has taught me.

Bella has taught me that in this complicated world in which we live, when we are all, at any given moment, tired or sad or pained or anxious; 
when we may have had a bad day in school; 
or a sick child at home; 
when we are not sure if we have a job for the next day; 
or that our truck will start;
or we have lost something that we love,
having something warm to touch, something to look at that makes us smile just for one moment, can lighten the day for us.

Bella has taught me about the ways we love or don’t love people. How we might think or say, 
“Well, I would love you better if you lost weight”; 
“I can only love people who are tall”; 
“I can’t love you because your ears are too big.” 
“I don’t love you because you mess up the house.”

I look at Bella, whose body is the shape of a well-stuffed foot stool;
 whose legs are so short that when she walks, her long chest hairs graze the ground, magnets for dirt and leaves;
whose ears are longer than her legs;
whose long, fine, black and white hairs float above the floor like clouds of spiderwebs and clog the vacuum cleaner;
and all I know is how much I love her and the happiness she brings to people.

I like to think of Bella as a teacher for why we should
take time to talk to a child,
or check in on a sick friend,
or smile at a stranger,
why we need write or make music or art.

Bella has taught me that no matter what limitations we may think we have, 
—not smart enough, 
—not rich enough,
—not long-legged enough,
we all have the potential to make another person happy for a brief moment. 
When we act on that potential, we are better people. Our lives are richer when we make someone smile.
If we have a tail, it should wag.

*Corgi, in Welsh, means “dwarf dog". Corgis' legs are very short relative to the size of their bodies and heads . Most people are familiar with Pembroke Welsh Corgis, short-legged, big-earred, brown or black and tan, usually born without a tail. Queen Elizabeth is often seen surrounded by a pack of Pembroke Welsh Corgis, a rollicking group of oversized hedgehogs. Their only relationship to Bella is that both Pembrokes and Cardigans are  dwarf breeds of dogs, natural drovers and herders of cattle, sheep, and people. Cardigans are the older of the two breeds. They are heavier-boned, larger-bodied than the Pembrokes, and have  long tails. Cardigans are said to be distant relatives to Dashunds.  They are smart, non-agressive, and very loyal.

Thanks to the Ulitmate Corgi for this photo of Queen Elizabeth and her pack of Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

Thanks to the Ulitmate Corgi for this photo of Queen Elizabeth
and her pack of Pembroke Welsh Corgis.