Chimayo On A Whim

Walking onto Chimayo Mission ground on a whim – Adrian having never been there and my having been there with my mom and sisters a couple years prior – I thought maybe he’d like to experience it. It was special and impactful – not for a second expecting that versus the sightseeing detour I assumed it’d be. We walked into the start of an outdoor Mass able to experience that as we entered. Just moments before – getting out of the car and beginning to walk – I noted a tiny heart shaped natural stone on the ground – less than an inch square. I quietly reached down to pick it up and kept walking holding it between my fingers thinking about that unusual moment. Once the service was over – beautiful as it was framed by the mountains behind under a canopy of trees and sun shades – we walked up to the church itself. The legend has to do...

Culinary Learning: Piñon

Just plop me in a new place and tell me to go figure it out. What’s not to love about that kind of geographic adventure? Piñon – Adrian purchased two bags from a Native American couple along a road in Taos while exploring. Pine nuts are not something I know much about – beyond specific recipes that call for them. I get them for that purpose noting they are higher priced than I’d expect having to make sure they don’t go rancid with the high oil content once I purchase them. I’ve tried them as I use them noting oiliness and lack of flavor. With that point of reference, here’s what they were like this time around closer to their original state. I don’t even think I realized how their shell worked I’m so used to buying the meats alone in some plastic container in the supermarket. He jumped in the car showing me the bags saying –...

Meow Wolf

I didn’t have any idea what Meow Wolf was walking through the doors in Santa Fe, New Mexico – one of my very favorite communities. Author and Santa Fe resident George R R Martin – the Game of Thrones guy – is at the financial helm of this endeavor was my understanding once I started to investigate what exactly this was we were experiencing. Walking into the immersive and discombobulating environment was a bit scary at the same time it was a thrill. My understanding is reactions to it have often been cut and dried – extremes of – love it or hate it – is not uncommon. I LOVED it. It was soothing and reassuring. I felt I wasn’t alone in my way of thinking as I walked through it. It felt more like life than so much of what we’re exposed to in media day-to-day. Ok – you walk through a refrigerator portal into a type of space travel...

Series: #9 Do It Again?

Book Author Question Series Will you do it again? It depends on my reasons. I love to write. It’s part of how I breathe. Is it always perfect or ideal? Of course not. That’s not the point of my life on this planet from what I gather through ample life experience. I will do what keeps me feeling vibrant and alive, speaking to my authentic self, able to reach my goals in a way I can feel good about… If what I want to do meets that criteria – I’ll do it. If it means writing a book. Great! If not, I’ll embark on some other creative journey. At the moment I have a few different ideas in mind for future books and I’ve framed a couple of them out pretty well. At the moment, that is enough. One particular quote comes to mind as I type this: Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because...

Series: #8 Mind Clarity

Book Author Question Series How did you get mentally organized enough to do it? Given how active my mind is and how many ideas, thoughts, dreams, possibilities I’m capable of conjuring in an average day – this question is likely one of the most useful ones for people like me. When I look at what’s before me, I’m easily overwhelmed because my instinct is to bite off all of it at once. I learned long ago that the way for me to achieve anything is to break it all down to one task, idea, concept, path at a time and work on one decision until I have the result I want. On the flip side – when I mentally strategize – the big picture aspect of my process – that takes biting off the whole darn thing. Tactical execution takes a practicality and mental organization – skills I’ve worked on mightily over the years. Here is how I pulled this book...

Yay! Upcoming Book Signing!

I’m happy to share that the Normal Public Library is hosting my first book signing May 5th at 2p. Books will be available. I’ll talk about the book, the process, and we’ll read some from it. I want to share this experience with others who have their own stories to tell. Please join me! Thanks to John Fischer at the Normal Public Library in Normal, IL for making this happen. Here is a link to all of the information!