I think every person I know had already been to New Orleans at least once. But I hadn't, even though it had been on my To Go list for decades. Early in the summer, I finally had my chance. On June 9, we boarded a Southwest flight in St. Louis with Mary and Jaynelle and flew to New Orleans. We would be joined there by Craig's brother Carl, who, for some reason forgotten even by Carl, had opted to drive instead. We rented a marvelous restored old house on Esplanade near the French Quarter big enough for all of us,... Continue reading

Oh, I've been such a slacker on these pages. Life in general has been such a whirl, with the busy gallery and a long and eventful summer of travel. You can blame Facebook, too. I capitulated to the Facebook culture when I realized it might be the only practical way to keep in touch. Those of you who have been following me there know that I've used it regularly to post photos and short stories since early June, when I left San Pancho for the States. Those quick posts are so convenient when spaces of calm hours are scarce. But... Continue reading

Recently, Craig and I finally dragged ourselves out of the technological Dark Ages by scrapping our flip-phones and buying slick new smartphones: shiny iPhone 6 Pluses. They are to our old phones what the Starship Enterprise is to a '69 Ford dump truck. Oh, they're so pretty. Right there at the Sprint store, he bought a nice chunky purple protective case that looks like a tractor tire, but I didn't. I ordered mine online as I wanted something that would protect my new little treasure without destroying her pure white streamlined beauty and delicate balance in my hand. I also... Continue reading

Lately and fortunately I've been in this mood that hits me occasionally which compels me to clean and organize and sort. I've been told by people who study arcane science in patchouli-scented rooms that this mood is caused by the ascendance of my Virgo moon which is in the unhappy position of having to live day-in day-out with my Aquarius sun. Apparently, every now and then the stars hit the fan and they have to duke it out. Personally, I think it's my OCD battling my ADD which amounts to pretty much the same thing. I'm not going to state... Continue reading

I'm sure I must have recounted for you somewhere in these endless pages the tale of a humble weaver and farmer who encountered the glowing vision of a woman on a hillside near Tenochtitlan. Juan Diego was his name. He was fifty-seven years old and a recent convert to Roman Catholicism -- very recent, seeing as how the Spanish and their religion had only just arrived on the scene ten years before at which time they got busy razing the Aztec capitol and erecting Mexico City in its place. Being as avid as he was recent, Juan was walking to... Continue reading

And now, on with our story from Part 1: Our trusty Juan Diego, bearing his dual burdens of the bundled tilma and his role as messenger, returned to the presence of Bishop Juan de Zumarraga to try again. With lowered eyes, he spilled the roses out of his cape. We can only imagine the Most Excellent's surprise, seeing the floor at his feet flooded with roses in bloom. But imagine the effect of what next he saw as his eyes rose to Juan's tilma, for on the coarse fabric was imprinted the image that has become famous and revered throughout... Continue reading

December eleventh?? That's the last time I posted here? Oh my, I just don't understand time at all. One explanation could lie in an article I read in the physics newsletter that pops into my emailbox every now and then. Apparently, astrophysicists may have found evidence of the truth of the last as-yet unproven prediction in Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. What the scientists believe they have witnessed are gravitational waves, which basically are ripples in spacetime, in the fabric of the universe itself. That Albert was a pip, wasn't he? But they should've just asked me: I see evidence... Continue reading

I'm not normally a vengeful person, although I've been known to make exceptions under duress. Lately, I've been slinging revenge around like a demented tennis player. Perhaps you're wondering what is the provocation for this unusual behavior. I'm going to tell you right now. As you may know, we had quite a bit of rain here in October and November, what with Hurricanes Patricia and Sandra and other unnamed storms swirling about, and San Pancho is mosquito-y, maybe more so than usual. All I know is that mosquitoes are obvious lately out on our paradisical terrace and even in the... Continue reading

You already know we were all over the place this past summer, north south east and west, on our ten-thousand mile exploration of the USA and central Mexico. But in our first month back home on the Riviera Nayarit (as the tourist bureau refers to this tropical coast), we've wandered delightedly through more familiar neighborhoods. We've had errands to run and shopping to do, but most of the time we're just looking. We've taken a few jaunts into Sayulita, which is sparkling and ready for its usual tourist onslaught. What a pretty town is Sayulita! Especially when one can wander... Continue reading

It is just past sunset in San Pancho, and a beautiful sunset it was, too. Craig is at one end of the giant table on our outside terrace working happily on a commissioned painting which will become an album cover. We have gathered lamps from the house to illuminate his work, as it gets dark here immediately after sunset. I'm at the other end, writing to you. From the campo de futbol, the soccer field below the house, we hear excited voices rise. A women's match is underway and it sounds like the two uniformed teams have plenty of sideline... Continue reading

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 21, the existence of a weather disturbance in our general vicinity came to my attention. Being a weather geek, and being nosy, I opened the National Hurricane Center website, which bookmark on my Mac is well thumbed. I took a look at the forecast graphics. Hmm. Worth keeping an eye on, I thought. By 10 pm on Tuesday, the depression had become a tropical storm named Patricia. By the time I woke on Wednesday morning, hurricane and tropical storm watches had been posted for a portion of the coastline adjacent to the storm's projected path. At... Continue reading

We returned home to Sauna Pancho on the nineteenth of September. That was way too early, but we knew that going in. We spent a week stunned by a 117° heat index doing whatever organizing for home and gallery we could fit in between long air-conditioned siestas, then packed the RAV and hit the road to high country. We stopped in Ajijic for a visit and to watch the total lunar eclipse from Travis's roof. Our further destination was central Mexico, the launch site of the Mexican Revolution, that dramatic high plateau of desert and forest and cropland so different... Continue reading

I did the numbers. From the time we landed in St. Louis from Puerto Vallarta until our return home for the season a few days ago, we drove ten thousand miles this summer. I'm not counting flights, only our time in cars, on highways and back roads, exclaiming and pointing out to each other unceasing amazing sights. Usually Craig drove and I navigated, though I took the wheel when I most wanted to. With my paper maps crackling and fluttering, I'm a hell of a navigator, and when I'm not, we're totally into U-turns. I love maps, always have. I've... Continue reading

...there is a Virginia. We spent a divine week in that gorgeous state, though we didn't see it all, preferring to hang out near the home of Thom Jefferson in the shadow of the Appalachians. To say we are enamored would be an understatement. We ended up in Virginia in rather an odd way. We had no idea even while we were at Carol and Doug's in Ohio that we'd end up that far south. Our plans had been to take the northern route back to St. Louis, stopping at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland then... Continue reading

Indiana, that is. Now come on, who could resist a sign like that? We couldn't. Twice. The first time, on our way from St. Louis, Missouri to Boondocks, Ohio, we went in search of a moment from Craig's childhood. When he was eight or nine, his parents took him and his younger brother Carl to the tiny town in Indiana named for that superhero of more innocent times. Craig's dad was a good guide and explorer on their family vacations, seeking out places he knew his family would enjoy. Craig and I have already retraced some of the steps they... Continue reading

There's something to be said for being out in the boondocks. No frantic traffic whizzing by. No smog or sirens. No conflicting social engagements. Nothing to do but gaze at the scenery, paint and write, and spend long hours in pleasant conversation with precious companions. We were fortunate enough to be guests of our friends Doug and Carol Woodring during the last week of July. They live out in the boondocks on the Ohio/Pennsylvania border. I mean ON the border: their house is in Ohio and their mailbox is just across the narrow country road...in Pennsylvania. We found their home... Continue reading

Weaving back and forth across the great Mississippi River, I'm having a grand tour this summer of America's Midwest and a sweet taste of the South Atlantic. Many days, it's probably as hot here as it is back in steamy San Pancho in summer, this perhaps an odd choice for a July/August trip. But this is a part of the world I haven't seen since another summer when I was ten years old, when my dad packed us all up and drove us away from Indiana to the Pacific Northwest. So I'm enjoying all of it, from St. Louis through... Continue reading

The Mississippi Delta was shining Like a National guitar I am following the river Down the highway Through the cradle of the civil war Thank you, Paul Simon, for providing the music. And now I, too, am going to Graceland, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee. Y'all want to come along? Highway 270 in St. Louis takes you to I-55, a straight shot south to Memphis. I sat back to enjoy the drive through Missouri to Tennessee. What I didn't realize, and what Craig had plumb forgotten, was this: Arkansas?? What in tarnation are we doin' in Arkansas?? Turns out we don't... Continue reading

We have to say goodbye to our dog. It’s not really our dog, but it thinks it is. It actually belongs to the man kitty-corner across the street, but when I first moved in the dog was in the habit of coming over to my side of the street to lie in the shade, and by and by we got to know each other and became friends. The dog’s name is Cappy, and, when Craig moved in, it loved him at first sight. It’s a real sweet dog. Kind of lazy. It eats the fresh free range eggs it finds... Continue reading

It really wasn't until I started receiving emails from confused and concerned readers that I realized it had been over a month since I'd posted on this blog. That's ridiculous. In answer to your questions, though, I'm fine. Not sick, not sad, not locked up in some Mexican jail somewhere. I've just been distracted by other things. Such as helping clear out and close up the gallery until next season, bidding farewell to departing friends... ...and trying to finish all the things I've procrastinated during this busy Year of La Casita Mágica. And designing and writing a couple of new... Continue reading

You know those squeezy squeaky toys babies and dogs like so much? Sometimes they're fuzzy and sometimes they're naked, sometimes they're puppies and sometimes they're hot dogs; but they all have a little valve in them that makes a high pitched squeak like a castrated accordion. You know which ones I mean? Cripes, I have so much catching up to do! With the help of the blog goddesses, I hope to get to it all, because if there's anything I can't stand it's an unfinished story, except for somebody telling me the end before I get to it. Let's see.... Continue reading

I have absolutely no idea what happened to March. It was here, I know, dumping with its arrival over two inches of unseasonable rain, making everyone flee the beach and run for cover and warm clothes. It's gone now, leaving behind a taste of the heat and humidity that are to come. But what about the middle? Let's see. We had lots of guests in town including houseguests Steve and Krystal from St. Louis, who were a sheer delight. We had music at the gallery's San Pancho Sidewalk Series. Twice. The facebook page says so. And also I have pictorial... Continue reading

I've been telling people lately that I'm beginning to realize that if one stays put in San Pancho for a while with an open mind, an open heart, and a little patience, everything comes to you. If you're a fairly regular reader of this column, you already know that one of San Pancho's residents is Gilles Ste-Croix. A co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, Gilles--with his wife Monique Voyer and entreamigos, our remarkable educational community center--created Circo de los Niños, the children's circus which will present their 2015 show on March 19, 20, and 21. Over the years, Gilles has brought... Continue reading

It's true we have lazy days here in San Pancho, but they are fewer and farther between lately, and this past week was anything but. We said farewell to two of our new favorite people, Maggie Savoie and Marie-Christine Arpin from New Brunswick, who had given us many hours of stunningly good music during their stay in the pueblo. They performed on Sunday the 15th at the gallery's Sidewalk Series to a large and appreciative crowd. Meanwhile, and for weeks, the many residents and visitors who volunteer at entreamigos, our magnificent community center, were working long hours preparing for one... Continue reading

If you've been reading this blog for a while, or if you've visited the La Casita Mágica Gallery facebook page, you've probably already seen this painting, either featured or off in the background. What you may not know is that I painted this picture from a photo I took here in San Pancho on May 24, 2010. I was walking to the beach from a house I was renting while creating this one, when I noticed this child in a grubby corner and was stopped in my tracks. I only took one shot, apologizing to her as I did it,... Continue reading