photo by James Salazar
Circle Under Berry
My incredible friend Carter Higgins has a book coming out on September 14th called Circle Under Berry. She’s written and illustrated it – and a few weeks ago she announced in her newsletter:
"I've got a bunch of happy stuff to shove inside an envelope, and I'd love to send it your way.”
The instant I read that, I jumped at the chance to be one of the first lucky ten people to respond. But I was the eleventh. But she sent me the happy pack anyway! It's ingenious, and such a perfect introduction to her new book.
My agent extraordinaire, Rubin, with Carter
Coming September 24
Can you get over these stamps? See the tiny stickers around the edges? You can use them to personalize the monsters! I’ve pre-ordered a truckload. They’re designed by Antonio Alcala and illustrated by one of my very favorite illustrators, Elise Gravel.
Target and Christian Robinson, one of my very favorite illustrators, have collaborated on a collection of 70 items for home and kids’ clothing. I snagged the next-to-the-last throw at our Albuquerque store––isn’t it wonderful?
This magnificent bookend also landed in my cart.
Not only is she gorgeous–she’s super smart, too. That’s Melissa, our niece, with her husband Detrick. We canceled our flight to their wedding reception due to COVID, and moped around at home while everybody else danced the night away.
Bike-In Coffee for Breakfast
Blues Under the Stars
Featuring Joanie Cere, Zenobia, Wendy Beach, & Abby Maxwell–and Our Own Arnaldo on the drums. The moon was waxing, a breeze was blowing, we were dancing.
You gotta admit, this is magnificent! (@writtenbyashleyperrotti)
That’s MILO in the foreground––and Tom, Tim, and Amy in back.
Cottonwood Snow
Our Beautiful Acequia
…or what we call our ditch!
What's Wrong With This Picture?
It was my birthday. We were having huevos rancheros with pancakes and coffee at Dave’s Valley Grill. Suddenly it started pouring down rain (a rare occurrence in itself), but then it started hailing like crazy. The hail was relentless, the streets flooded, and it took us an hour to drive the two miles home. The next morning, June 1, there was still a pile of hail on my back deck.
Happy Birthday, Tom!
Tiny bundt cakes from Planty Sweet
A Visit to See Carol Hoy's Paintings
Carol Hoy The Bird Caller encaustic on wood panel 24” x 36”
I first saw this painting four years ago in a gallery in Santa Fe, where it was hanging outside on a wall. This was back when we were visiting from San Francisco. I’ve never been able to get the painting out of my mind (among others I saw that day by Carol Hoy). A few weeks ago I got a wild hair and emailed Carol. I asked her if any of her paintings were being shown in galleries around here so I could go see them. It turns out she lives in Coralles, about 25 minutes north of us! She invited us to her house/studio, and laid out some paintings she thought I would like on her porch. This one, titled The Bird Caller, was among those paintings, and when she wasn’t looking we loaded it into the car and zoomed away. NOT REALLY! We bought it for our birthdays. One thing I hadn’t realized before is that she works in encaustic––pigments mixed with hot wax.
SAY HELLO: A Little Fan
We biked to Bike-In Coffee
Bike In Coffee at Old Town Farm is the first bicycle-focused coffee hangout on a farm in Albuquerque! Under the trees, on the deck or in the flower garden, you can relax, drink coffee and enjoy things like shrimp or avocado tacos, sweet and/or savory crepes, soups, salads and cakes. Read the morning paper, read your favorite book, visit with friends or just take a break from riding your bike and pick up some fresh produce for dinner.
Music with local groups accompanies outstanding food from Chef David Reyes. Bici-Fixx Mobile Bike Shop here on Saturdays.
The line for food was long, but this is a pretty wonderful place. And Marc from Bici-Fixx Mobile Bike Shop adjusted Tom’s brakes for free.
Santa Fe
We went to visit this amazing photography gallery and to have lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Teahouse.
