Photo by Danielle Shull I have been traveling like a fat little bee lately, touching down to find my creative spirit pollinated by the sweet beauty of Portugal, Spain, Washington State's San Juan Islands, Zihuatanejo and Mexico City. But back home in New Mexico, I am constantly confronted by the beauty in my "backyard." From the glimmering Aspen-topped Sangre de Christo mountains to the glowing red rock of Ghost Ranch, there are places that speak to me; places with "aina", as

I am remiss! It has been four long months since I did any sharing here but, you see, I got house-bound. Being a writer means being ok with house-bound. You put your head down and do the work you promised to do. But then you need a break from the work you want, and need, to do. Especially when your work happens from a chair. In front of a screen. On a desk. In your bedroom. Not in a coffee shop (too much caffeine!). Not at a cafe (too much people watching!). Not on a plane (to

UPDATED 1/11/21 I read somewhere that if Paris is for lovers, Santa Fe is for eaters. This is very true. So a lot of people I know, or friends of friends, come to visit Santa Fe and many of them are looking for some ideas: what to eat, where to eat, what to see. Instead of recreating this wheel for the fiftieth time, I’m going to go totally off-topic for this blog and just post all my good things-thoughts here. I won’t go into great detail on these, just give you a little rea

Maria Chabot on the cover of El Palacio Magazine, July/August 1994 The world-renown Santa Fe Indian Market is this weekend, August 19-20 -- It is the oldest and largest juried Native American art showcase in the world: 80,000-100,000 people popping in to our little town for a looksie. I have a smidge of the crowd-phobia so don't know if I can tackle this one but I'm sure I'm not the only person in that boat...I'll hold your hand if you'll hold mine! The roots of the Santa Fe

A party at El Delirio celebrating the installation of a pool on the property. Courtesy, School for Advanced Research. Just up the hill from my home in Santa Fe is a mysterious compound of sorts. The signs outside its gates identify it as the "School for Advanced Research." Some research of my own unveiled it as a non-profit organization which hosts smarty-smart-folks while they do research on topics mainly dealing with advanced anthropology and the furtherment of Native Ameri

Maria Chabot in Mexico, 1933. Courtesy of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center In March of 2017 I moved from Walla Walla, WA to Santa Fe, NM to continue researching the life of a slightly distant relative of mine who has fascinated me since my teenage years. My relative's name is Maria Chabot. In the beginning, all I knew was that she was my Great Grandmother Edith's sister and that our family had very few stories about her. I knew that she was instrumental in founding