SANTA FE IN JANUARY on "TRAVEL TUESDAY"

Short on words today - quiet like Santa Fe in January. Those who read here know how much I love this beautiful Southwest town. Craving Margaritas and a change of scenery, we made a quick trip a few days into the new year.  Luminarias were still in place atop most buildings around town - shadows were long, and it never reached higher than 30 degrees daytime.

Night shots through margarita colored glasses - feeling warm enough (on the inside, at least) for a quick walk through town...no tripod, but a few "acceptable" shots of those little paper bags, lit. Most of these are electric, as they burn all night.  SW charming, for sure!  HUGE pocket watch stands at the side of the Plaza. The closer I got (damnable drink!), the "huger" it seemed to get...tick, tick, TICK...

And the stranger 100 dollar bills looked through Gallery windows - like they were looking back at me, and I couldn't figure out who that President was!

Daytime in the Plaza/winter - not as bustling as the touristy summer months, which leaves plenty of space available for hacky sack among friends.

Sights around town under crisp blue, New Mexico skies - ristras, flags flying, bronze bovines, and the St. Francis Cathedral looming over the Plaza.

Another beautiful bronze outside a Gallery.  Had I seen this the night before, under Margarita skies, I might have believed it real!

Adobe walls, the Loretto Chapel, and antique blankets hung in windows- this beautiful town speaks volumes of history.

And those beautiful blue skies tend to turn into...

this, in the evenings.  Captured on our way to dinner...a quick shout to "Stop the car!  Please!", and a run back to one of the standout spots in town.

Just west of the Santa Fe Plaza, stands the El Santuaria de Guadalupe Church.   Built in 1781, the church is now an art and history museum.

Housing the Archdiocese's of Santa Fe's collection of New Mexico Santos (carved images of the Saints), as well as Italian Renaissance paintings and Mexican Baroque paintings.

I must admit to not being inside of this, as I really thought it was just a beautiful old church...it was a spectacular focal piece for the sunset that night, however.

The town of Santa Fe is SO full of art, up and down the main streets, that we have never really thought to look farther than the "old stomping grounds"...

This, however, just made it onto the "to do" list for a future trip.

Always worth a look, the town of Santa Fe - go for the local beauty and charm...stay for the sunsets, and then head for the Margaritas!

GOLD MEDAL FINISHES AND BLOG PARTY WINNER(S)...

It's been a week of Gold Medal finishes...at least for me (and a few others at the end of this post).  Nothing keeps me awake on the couch at night (maybe because there is that risk of falling asleep and poking my eye out, kid!), like a ball of fabulous yarn (Manos del Uruguay Maxima wool), and a great knitting pattern (Regina by Carina Spencer).  Started last night, during the Men's Combined Skiing...this is in the semi-final heat and should be finished up, in Gold Medal Style, by tomorrow - darling little cloche for next winter. The outside will actually be what is considered the inside right now.  I know, tricky on the mind as that quadruple toe loop, but SUCH an easy pattern.

These were finished this week, during the Olympics as well...Honey Cowl and a pair of  Boot Cuffs (just how much of that yarn DID I have?!) - just getting a ski jump on next winter's gift gifting!  SCORE (and how bout' that Hockey Team of ours this morning?!)!

This is an Etui Box that I took a local class in several years ago - I never finished the "guts" of the thing, but fully intended to...some day.  Made to hold scissors and small hand sewing items, plus a pincushion - that was where I dropped the ball (sitting inside, but unassembled, for the past four years). Fabulous out-of-print fabric (don't ask - it might be a Robert Kaufmann, if I remember right)...a Halloween masquerade ball from the 40's.

Glass drawer pull graces the padded top - this was made from the bottom up, literally.  It started with heavy cardboard pieces that were all covered with fabric and assembled to make this little box with the green satin drawcord...

which, when pulled, reveals a secret stash of sewing fun.  LEGS - I thought that the fun Halloween fabrics deserved a fun pincushion, so ditched the rest of the doll for just the legs.  Finished, just this week - 10.0!

Quilted a bit this week, too...someone had a blog post yesterday about how many projects does a person keep going at any given time..bwahahahahaha - yes, my hobbies are as many and varied as my brain is apparently scrambled.  This beautiful LARGE scale (those mermaids are around 13" tall, and I know that right about now my Dad is reading this and hoping this is coming to HIM) Alexander Henry print is a hard one to figure out what to do with...almost too large for quilt blocks, but this will be a fabulous large duffel bag when done.  Again, not finished yet, but heading down the slope towards the finish line!

The blue was quilted with ocean waves, but the individual mermaids have been quilted around separately. One of the funnest things I do when quilting (and something I taught for getting the "feel" of your machine when free-motion quilting), is "tracing" around these large prints.  You get in that groove, and it's like a fluid, relaxing drawing done with your machine.

But enough of the creative shenanigans - without further ado, (and the crowd goes WILD!) the GOLD winner in this post is MELINDA @lapayasa.  Drawn the old fashioned way of the west - out of a cowboy hat), Melinda will receive the quilted makeup bag and Annie Oakley pendant.

And then, because I thought EVERYONE this week was "puppy worthy", and had a hard time leaving it at just that, I drew three more names, for a pendant each.  I had 86 entries...a few were in subsequent posts from the original blog post, but I included them all.  All three of these are across the ocean from me (well, actually one is across land, but WAY across land, up in Canada, 'ay).  Pam @ Pambustin.com; Tammy @ T's Daily Treasures; and Hannahpat @ Cosmos & Cotton - I will be contacting each of you for your mailing addresses.  To all who landed here via the Blog Party, a hearty thank you for visiting.  I've made quite a few new acquaintances, and revisited old friends...you're all winners in my book!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY...

The little girl who, long ago, cherished the sweet Valentines I've shared this week was my aunt, Violet Elizabeth (license plate behind her looks to be about 1932, which would make her about 3 years old). There were lots of "puppy/kitty worthy" Valentines in her collection, so she was obviously loved.

THIS is a pretty frazzled kitty!

Violet and her sister, Barbara Jean (Bobbie), my Mom - there was a 9 year age difference between them. Sisterly love is a pretty wonderful thing...don't you dare cry, Mom (I already brought her to tears with the Shirley Temple post - HAPPY Valentines thoughts today!  XOXO)

This may be a "puppy worthy" Valentine, but that puppy looks to be an ankle biter!  See, you're smiling NOW, aren't you?

"Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved"...Victor Hugo

"Oh, if to be choose and call thee mine, love, thou art everyday my Valentine"...Thomas Hood

"Shake and shake the ketchup bottle.  First none'll come, and then alot'll"...Richard Armour

From my heart to yours, family and friends alike - 

Happy Valentine's Day!

A WEEK OF VINTAGE VALENTINES - DAY FOUR...

A WEEK OF VINTAGE VALENTINES - DAY THREE...

By Jiminy...this one bears a 1939 copyright date...