Exhausted…

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Literally.

The last five days have been fantastic, fun, elating, overwhelming and exhausting. What am I talking about? Oh yeah… The Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival.  Every year, we help with the festival. We do Lights and Sound, and a thousand other little bits and pieces. 🙂 Plus we get to hear some of the best Celtic musicians in the world. This year’s theme was Celtic and All That Jazz!

I realized yesterday at the last concert that I didn’t take a single picture. We were just crazy busy. So, Instead of pictures, I will do my best to paint with words. Keep in mind too, that there were other concerts going on that we didn’t work as well as workshops and classes in all sorts of instruments.

Wednesday. The Festival did outreach to the schools. Dancing, music and storytelling. That evening, there was a pot luck in La Veta with many of the festival musicians and workers. It was a blast.

Thursday. First real day of the festival. I didn’t get to help with any of this as I had a school board meeting in the afternoon/evening. Dan and Doug were up in Cuchara, and La Veta most of the day. That evening there was the “Taste of things to come” Ceilidh in Gardner. Dan said it was fantastic.

Friday. My first full day. Wow. We were all over the place providing sound. Best part was at UpTop. We have a free concert up there where all sorts of musicians play. It was cold and it rained/snowed on us, but the music was wonderful.

After that, we drove down to Walsenburg for the 6th Street Hooley. Once again, a free concert outside. Only real issue was the wind! 50mph gusts at times made things difficult. People still had a good time though.

After that, the main concert… The Tannahill Weavers. It was great. Wonderful. Funny and just pure magic. Ah….

Saturday. Busy once more getting sound to various venues. We got to listen to Duncan Wickel, a jazz violinist. Then we were off to get ready for a Celtic Mix of Mairtin De Cogain and the Macdonald sisters, Cassie and Maggie. Following that was a Scottish Dance workshop.

Then we drove up to the Timbers in Cuchara and set up for Leslie Anne Harrison and Frederic Pouille, Folk Ragout. It was a very nice little concert. When we were done, it was a quick trip to Walsenburg and the evening concert at the Fox.

This concert was Irish to the Core. John Doyle, Duncan Wickel, Robbie O’Connell, Adam Agee, Jon Sousa, Sean McComiskey and Ashley Davis. Oh My what a concert. Doyle and Wickel amazed us. Ashley sang sweetly. Robbie charmed us and when they all played, our breath went away. The building shook with the applause. The encore was just as amazing. All I could think of when it was all done was a line out of Much Ado About Nothing where Benedict says…  “Is is not strange that sheeps’ guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies?”

Sunday. Up EARLY. We were in La Veta at the 4H barn by 7:30am. Why? Well, it was an oatcake and tea breakfast with the Tannahill Weavers. I made and served tea. Jack Yule made oatcakes. Yummm! So, for 90 minutes, we ate, drank and listened. They talked about how the Tannahill Weavers evolved and played a bit.

Then we had Cassie and Maggie giving a demo on step dancing. After that we headed off to the La Veta Inn to do sound for Robbie O’Connell. He is a nephew of the Clancy Brothers. He gave a talk about them and his involvement in the music that really started the modern revival of Irish Music. It was wonderful.

Last, but not least… The final concert…  Celtic and All That Jazz. First up were Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman. Next was Park Stickney and friends. This year I got to know Park just a little. He is a fantastic musician and a very impish and funny man. I love his warped sense of humor. He also managed something that no other harper has done. I really like his music. To be honest, before harps have always been sort of “Oh, that’s nice.” Park’s playing was so wonderful that I bought a CD. 🙂

The concert was finished off with the Tannies playing Just One More (last) Chorus with everyone singing. It was a good end to a fantastic week.

When we were done, we fed my mom’s cat. (who we’ve been babysitting all week as well) Then we had dinner and crawled into bed by 8:30pm. I think it will take a week to recover. 🙂

Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival!!!

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Yes, it is that time of year again. Bagpipes, harps and drums echo in the mountains and towns of Huerfano County. The festival is one of our favourite events. It is also a very hectic time for all of us. Dan and I do lights and sound as well as anything else Barbara Yule has in mind for us.

Dan was off early to pick u sound equipment. Today the festival musicians and performers are in our schools. 🙂 So, Dan will be setting up various venues in Peakview and John Mall. Tonight is the artists pot luck up in La Veta.

Unfortunately,  I will miss the Ceilidh up in Gardner for the first time in years. I have a regional school board meeting up in Pueblo. sigh… pout… However, I am the only member of my board going and so I can’t miss it.

I’ll be posting pictures of the festival. Hope if you’re close enough that you can come and visit. There are some free events that are wonderful. Friday from noon until 2:30pm, there is a free concert up on old La Veta Pass and another one from 3:45 till 5pm, there is a street concert, downtown Walsenburg.

Plus, there are free harp, whistle, and drum classes on various days. In the evenings are the concerts with The Tannahill Weavers, John Doyle, Duncan Wickel & Friends, and many others. I hope you come visit. If you do, stop by the sound and lights and say hello.

Rain Dancin’!

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It’s been raining! Honest downpours! In fact, I had to shovel mud back uphill! 🙂 Between rainstorms yesterday that is. 🙂

I should have known it would rain. We did my parents lawn on Saturday and we were going to finish up the weed eater work and mow ours on Sunday. Maybe it will be dry enough by Wednesday at this point.

In the mean time, I’ve gotten a lot of work done on my undertunics. 🙂 Next project will be the caftan coat work. 🙂 I also Tung Oiled my needles and the spindles I made. 🙂 More pictures as soon as I have a chance.

Flamin’ June!

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Or should I say Windy? Here it is the 3rd of June, and the wind just hasn’t stopped.

Friday we went to Pueblo for some needed shopping and just plain relaxation. We got soil for the raised beds, plumbing bits for the Wendy House, a staple gun (wheee!!!! ) and groceries. When we got home, we could smell smoke and discovered that HWY 160 was closed off. There was a fire in town. The Main Event, also locally known as the Walsenburg Walmart had a fire behind it. We looked at the fire for a bit and then went home.

Saturday, I went to Rock Ledge Ranch, in Colorado Springs. They were having a sheep shearing and spinning event. I was suppose to meet a friend there, but her ride didn’t appear. I still had a great time though. It’s well worth the visit. I loved the houses and walking around the grounds.

Afterwards, I went to Joann’s and got some stuff for Battlemoor. It’s in just over 2 months! I have some sewing to do and I’m going to try and make some more nalbinding needles. 🙂

Sunday was suppose to be a workday around the house. Well… we slept in. While Dan worked on his school work, I did a little gardening, and cleaned house. Next weekend though is all about the plumbing! 🙂 Who’d have thought the idea of running water could make a person so happy? 🙂

And Now…. the heat.

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Am I going to complain? NO. We’ve had some lovely rain, and right now it is trying to rain, even though it isn’t hitting the ground. We are working on getting use to Celsius temperature readings, so my atomic clock says that it is now 33C outside. (about 92F) A little warm, but much nicer than -12C. (10F)

On Mother’s Day we did a bunch of gardening. Keep in mind that our yard is Still a construction site. I just get more bits and pieces piling up. On Sunday, we made a tire garden out front on the steps to block access. Before you think I’m crazy, you need to understand that those stairs slant Downhill! They are a danger. So, we are blocking them and adding new steps to the side where everyone walks already. The first two pieces of wood are in place and the steps will be finished in the next week. We plan to add terracing and more herbs out front as well.

In the back, we fixed a piece of fencing with a piece of the old gate. It isn’t a perfect fit, but looks like it has been there a while. We opened up the rest of the gate area which will help the lilac bush.

Then we started building the potting bench. It’s an old cupboard that we’ve attached a door to that will eventually be painted and have a roof. Right now, it works well. On top of that, we repurposed a chunk of old gutter. We’ve attached it to the fence, filled it with dirt and planted lettuce seeds and onion seeds in it.

In the back, where we moved the old tin fence 90 degrees, we have built a raised bed. I added some paving  bricks and will be building a second raised bed to the south of that. Once we got that done, we fell into our chairs and collapsed. It was a great, long busy day.

Here are the pictures… Citronella on the front porch. The bulls head planter, green tire with mint, stairs, raised beds, and potting bench.

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So Proud!

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My aunt, Toni Sudar-Laumbach has been given a very prestigious award.  🙂 The following is the press release.

Toni

LAS CRUCES – Toni Sudar Laumbach, daughter of the late John and Pauline Sudar and 1965 graduate of Walsenburg High School, has been named the 2013 recipient of the Edgar Lee Hewett Award by the Historical Society of New Mexico.

The award, given annually for outstanding service to the people of New Mexico, will be presented to Laumbach during the HSNM Awards Banquet on April 20 at the Las Cruces Convention Center. Laumbach is one of the original staff members of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, N.M., and the facility’s chief curator.

During Laumbach’s 17 years at the museum, she has conceived, designed and implemented most of the exhibitions and public programs for the museum, as well as seeking out, acquiring, cataloging and preserving the museum’s collections of over 10,000 items of historical and cultural significance.

“Toni has been the face of the museum in its many public and scholarly venues,” said Museum Director Mark Santiago. “It has been largely through Toni’s ideas and hard work that the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum has grown from a relatively modest operation with only one exhibit gallery and no public educational programming, into a full-fledged tourist destination.”

Laumbach’s abilities have been shaped by a long career in museums that gave her many unique insights on the development of cultural institutions. As an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico, she worked for Museum Director Dr. J.J. Brody and studied under the renowned archaeologist, Dr. Florence Hawley Ellis. As an undergraduate, she rose through the ranks at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at UNM, serving as both registrar and collections manager.

In 1972, Laumbach became the curator of the New Mexico State University Museum, where she helped organize and catalog their collection. In that role, she also taught NMSU’s first museology classes and organized students in the preparation of the museum’s first exhibits.

Following other dreams, Laumbach enjoyed a successful career as a registered nurse, working in many capacities, both technical and administrative, in the Las Cruces area. However, her true love was museums.

With the development of the concepts for the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum beginning to take shape in the late 1980s, Laumbach approached those in charge of the project and joined the team in 1996, shortly before the museum building was completed. Aside from being the museum’s first registrar and chief curator, she has performed a variety of other tasks, including serving as the interim director in 2005-06.

In addition to her many museum achievements, Laumbach also has continued to pursue a career in archaeology, where she has demonstrated extensive knowledge of prehistoric and historic pueblo ceramics. Most recently, she curated the museum’s exiting new exhibit, “The Cañada Alamosa Project: 4,000 Years of Agricultural History.”

“The contributions of Toni Laumbach in preserving the historical legacy of New Mexico make her a fitting choice to receive the award named for that pioneer historian and archaeologist, Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett,” said Santiago.

March Madness

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I could have entitled this post Yet one more snow storm… but I didn’t. On Mach 8th, we had more snow. 14 inches all total. Brandy was not a happy dog.

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Then on the 15th, Dan went to La Junta to pick up our daughter, Morgan. It is spring break for her. On Sunday, we drove to the Sand Dunes NP. We had a long drive over all, as we went all the way up to Crestone and to the Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomang  It had just started to snow when we headed up the road to the Stupa.  By the time we got up to it, it was snowing very hard, so instead of getting out and looking around, we headed back down the mountain. In less than 20 minutes, there had been over 2 inches of snowfall.

On our way back to the Sand Dunes, we saw over 100 Sand Hill Cranes. It was really neat. The rest of our animal count that day was two hawks flying and about 45 prong horn antelope.

The Sand Dunes also got a dusting of snow. The moisture made the walking easier. Morgan climbed up to the second highest dune and rolled down it twice. Plus she hiked about twice the distance that Dan and I did. I walked the creek bed of Medano Creek. It wasn’t very far down the dunes yet, and there was a lot of fire debris from the forest fire two years ago. Overall, we had a really good time and came home exhausted.

The rest of the week has been spent relaxing. Morgan has had naps with her naps. 🙂 I’ve been writing and doing hand crafts. I’ve been carving Nalbinding needles. They fit in with my Viking persona in the SCA. I may be good enough to actually show it off come time for Battlemoor.

Nalbinding needles.16Oh, and just in case Colorado thought that it might give us a week off, there is more snow due on Saturday. sigh..

 

 

Supersonic September

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This month has rushed by. We started with Battlemoor and will end with the Spanish Peaks Celtic Music Festival In between, we have had birthdays a plenty. Morgan’s, Dan’s, Mom and Dad’s. And, since we got paid, there were new glasses for Dan and Morgan, new shoes for Dan and new tires for the truck. Then it was back to the daily grind of house work, computers and cleaning.

I thought I’d get a breather in there. Wrong. Day after his birthday, Dan felt ill. By Monday night, he was in bed. I won’t share the gory details, but he was not a happy camper. Oh, and he passed out/fell at one point. One moment he was fine, next… out. So, he spent most of the next day in bed and has been making a slow recovery ever since. Why? Well, when he fell, he smacked his hip and cracked a rib. We knew about the hip right away… Can’t miss it if it hurts to sit. And yes, plenty of bad jokes were made about cracks… However, it wasn’t until he actually began to feel better, and stopped hurting everywhere, that he realized he’d cracked a rib.

Now of course, it’s the beginning of the music festival. Dan is up in Gardner today with some of the musicians at the school. Tonight is a pot luck which I need to make a cake or something for and Thursday night is The Taste of Things to Come, the first concert. It is going to be a really good festival this year.

Oh, and on top of that, we are 1) cleaning house to do the plumbing-don’t faint, 2) cleaning house because it’s time to get ready for winter, and 3) Natalie is coming to visit October 1st!!!!!  I’m sorry that she’ll be here when it is all chaotic, but we haven’t seen her in nearly 6 years. (bounce! bounce! bounce!)

After mid-October, when I think I’ll get some time to sew, we’ll see what else crops up.